Four Tier Rankings – Part One

Tier One – Stacked and Ready

(St. Louis, MO) – Joining the long list of ‘too early’ predictions, here is the Valley Hoops Insider ‘Four Tier Rankings’. While we know there are gaping roster holes remaining in numerous MVC rosters and our evaluations will change, we charge into declaring our Spring evaluations of Valley rosters.

All-Valley players are scattered across the fruited plain, so how do we evaluate these teams and the league’s level of play for the coming season? Five of the league’s top 15 players remain from last year’s all-conference teams. Drake’s Tucker DeVries is the only first teamer returning. Three all-Valley players will be playing in the Big Ten next season.

Marcus Domask has moved from Southern Illinois to the Fighting Illini, Valparaiso’s Ben Krikke has taken his talents to Iowa and Bradley’s Rienk Mast is now a Nebraska Cornhusker. While the ‘portal pandemic’ is real, all three of these players are graduate transfers.

Only 3 of the league’s top twelve scorers return and we have a new head coach at Valparaiso. It is another year of transition for the once, extremely stable Missouri Valley Conference. Even Associate Commissioner Sherika Montgomery has left.

Valparaiso has a new coach and a decimated roster. Belmont’s roster won’t look like last year’s successful team, but Casey Alexander is restocking the shelves well. With the advantage of a full offseason Evansville is remaking its roster while UIC and SIU barely have one.

Most Valley teams still have holes to fill, so these outstanding Valley MVC coaching staffs are working to find the right players for the correct roles and program fit. So, these rankings will change often during this off season.

We are evaluating on what we know about the returning players, what we’ve heard about their newcomers and in some cases what we’re guessing is happening with some players that still seem to be mysteries.

There have some very significant recent signings. In our Four Tier Rankings, we list the teams in alphabetical order.

Four Tier Rankings – Stacked & Ready

Bradley Braves – 25-10 (16-4)

While the defending champion Braves lost very significant pieces to last year’s title team, they return their starting backcourt (Duke Deen and Connor Hickman) and second team all-Valley forward Malevy Leons. When you add Darius Hannah to that mix, the Braves have a tremendous nucleus. Sophomore Christian Davis looked like he could be a serious contributor.

Brian Wardle and his coaching staff have put together a solid group of newcomers. Wardle was true to his word when speaking in January, that April was now a majorly important month in the recruiting schedule.

Early signee Demarion Burch and recent commitment from Almar Atlason are very solid prep signings. Burch was ranked seventh in the State of Wisconsin and Atlason comes from the highly regarded Sunrise Christian Academy. Oh and he’s from Iceland, as Wardle continues to score on players from Europe. Mid-season signee, Ahmet Jonovic is a 7’1 Serbian player that appeared in five Bradley games and will likely be a freshman.

Three transfers come to the Hilltop with legitimate Division 1 credentials. While not stars on their former teams, all three come highly regarded. Guard Trey Pettigrew comes via Nevada but was the State of Illinois’  fifth best player in 2022. Forward Kyle Thomas was rated 29^th and the 6’10 post averaged 5.9 points and 3.7 rebounds at Eastern Illinois.

Marquette transfer Emarion Ellis is an intriguing prostpect. The 6’5 guard was third in the Iowa rankings behind second rated Payton Sandfort (Iowa Hawkeye) and someone named Tucker DeVries. Ellis played 14 games as a freshman and an offseason leg injury ended his sophomore season before it started.

Wardle has called this his most talented Bradley roster.

Missouri State – 17-15 (12-8)

Like Bradley the Bears have a very solid returning core. Second team all-conference wing Donovan Clay returns to play his covid year after also landing on the league’s All-Defensive team. While leading rebounder Jonathan Mogbo transferred out, starting guards Alston Mason and Damien Mayo return. MSU’s second leading scorer and provider of instant offense off the bench, Chance Moore also returns.

After St. Peter’s transfer Matthew Lee missed all of last season due to injury, his return is very significant and Bears fans haven’t seen the last nor the best of James Graham yet. Junior Dalen Ridgnal was a solid contributor. Sophomore N.J. Benson has a serious upside.

When Dana Ford added red-shirt Saint Louis guard Nick Kramer and Xavier forward transfer Cesare Edwards, he may have cemented his team as the preseason favorite. Edwards was rated as South Carolina’s fourth best 2021 player and Kramer was Missouri’s ninth in 2022.

Northern Iowa – 14-18 (9-11)

UNI struggled through last year with devastating offseason losses and then early season physical issues, but if healthy, this is a very experienced and talented team. Second-teamer Bowen Born returns to lead a Panther team that should be very good.

Born is the league’s second highest returning scorer to DeVries and has garnered league-wide honors during each of his three seasons in Cedar Falls. Former all-freshman team member Nate Heise returns after missing all of last season with injury problems. While we wait on the eligibility status of Austin Phyfe, we anticipate his return.

The MVC rebounding leader and captain of the Valley’s ‘Most Improved Team’, Tytan Anderson returns along with ‘All-Freshman Team’ member Michael Duax and ‘All-Bench Team’ member Landon Wolf. Fellow sophomore to be Try Campbell could have easily been added to the rookie team.

The rotation of bigs in James Betz and Cole Henry is still around and the addition of Loyola Chicago center Jacob Hutson means, with or without Phyfe, the post will be a place of strength for Ben Jacobson’s team. With Phyfe it becomes elite.

Another solid crop of freshmen are arriving. Point guard R.J. Taylor (fifth in Michigan) and 6’7 forwards Kyle Pock (second in Missouri) and Wesley Rubin (seventeenth in Illinois) bring serious talent to the Panther lineup.

This team may be better than Jacobson’s title-winning team of 2021-22.

Do Good

Editor: All of our high school rankings come from prephoops.com.