4 Missouri Valley Conference Questions

(St. Louis, MO) –  It is a transition year for  Missouri Valley Conference basketball and with that in mind there are four questions rumbling around inside my brain.

1. Can the Shockers Sweep the MVC?

Wichita State made national headlines dancing into the 2013 Final Four, now some experts expect them to sweep through the Creighton-less MVC. But can they? Coach Gregg Marshall’s team lost both their intimidating inside force in Carl Hall and their dynamic point guard in Malcolm Armstead to graduation, but the cupboard is hardly bare.

Cleanthony Early burst on to the national scene during the WSU run and averaged 13.9 points per game and the senior is being hailed as a potential all-american candidate.  A trio of sophomores will be key to this year’s team.  Ron Baker, Fred Van Vleet & Evan Wessel will make sure the Shockers maintain a standard of excellence. Baker had a spectacular post season after missing most of the season with injuries. Van Vleet learned valuable lessons from Armstead last season and Wessel was a starter early last season before being shelved by injuries of his own.

Plenty of good recruits are on the way and Marshall’s teams have averaged almost 28 wins the past four seasons. With many MVC teams in transition and Creighton in the Big East, the Shockers could be the first Valley team to go undefeated since the 1985-86 Bradley Braves.

The “Blue Ribbon Yearbook” has the Shockers 13th in their pre-season rankings.  That’s eight spots IN FRONT OF CREIGHTON.

2. Will Indiana State Arrive?

The Sycamores return four starters from last year’s  18 win team that collected wins against NCAA Tournament teams Mississippi, Miami, Creighton and Wichita State.  Among those returners is one of the better players in ISU history, point guard Jake Odum. The Terre Haute native will be starting for his fourth straight year and is set to tie or break many Sycamore assist and scoring records.

The tough minded Odum has a strong ally in swing man Manny Arop, and some muscle in Justin Gant.  Coach Greg Lansing gets a boost from 6’11” returner Mike Samuels who missed all of last season with a broken leg. Both Arop and Gant played internationally this off season and should be better prepared for the 2013-14 season.

3. How Will Loyola Chicago Fair In The MVC?

Coach Porter Moser returns to the Missouri Valley Conference as his Ramblers gained access to the league.  Moser played at Creighton and coached at Illinois State, so the rigors of the 18 game MVC schedule will be no surprise to him.

Leaving the Horizon League is a step up for the Ramblers, but it is a return to St. Louis for both Moser (who was an assistant at Saint Louis U.) and Christian Thomas. The forward is a St. Louis native having played his prep ball at Clayton High School and averaged 12 points per game last year.  Thomas is a “Sporting News” pre-season all MVC player.

The Ramblers will struggle early in this transition, but the Chicago based school has recruited well and they will be a tougher out than many people think. One of those recruits, Milton Doyle is a red-shirt freshman transfer from Kansas. Doyle makes the pre-season all-freshman team according to College Sports Madness.

4. Will Missouri State Move Up?

Paul Lusk’s ‘Baby Bears’ struggled mightily last season, but those growing pains should pay big dividends in 2013-14. Returning freshman of the year Marcus Marshall leads a group of sophomores into this season and they are joined by Jamar Gulley. The flashy guard was poised to be an all-conference performer last year, but missed the season with injuries.

Lusk welcomes a recruiting class that includes junior college transfer Ron Mvouika and Northern Colorado transfer Emmanuel Addo. Mvouika a Sheridan (WY) College transfer averaged 19 points and eight rebounds a game last year. He is a 6’5″ guard who was born in France.

Addo is a 6’7″ senior post player. Last year he averaged 5 points and 2 boards per game, including a ten point performance against Wichita State.

Do Good