Is Tyson the Valley’s Next Big Star?

Belmont’s Reigning Freshman of the Year

(St. Louis, MO) – Belmont’s Cade Tyson, the Missouri Valley’s reigning ‘Freshman of the Year’ is poised for stardom. A recent run of Missouri Valley Conference players heading to the NBA reveals that stardom in the Valley can lead to national notoriety. While Drake forward Tucker DeVries is the MVC’s number one attraction, the question hangs in the air, ‘is Tyson the Valley’s next big star?’

The 6’7 Tyson was the league’s top scoring rookie and the lone first-year player to be also named the the MVC’s ‘all-newcomer’ team. Robbie Avila, Michael Duax, Conor Enright and Bruin teammate Ja’Kobi Gillespie were named to the ‘all-freshman’ team and each looks ready to have a significant college career.

There is something different about Tyson. Like Green, Sheppard and DeVries before him, the North Carolina native seems like a ‘cut above’. His scoring and rebounding averages of 13.6 (points) and 4.6 (rebounds) are outstanding freshman numbers, but his shooting precision and flair for the dramatic are what sets him apart.

During last season’s opening game, the former NC ‘Mr. Basketball’ scored 18 points, including a game-winning, buzzer-beating, three-pointer to defeat Ohio. He was a model of consistency, topping the 20-point mark only twice, he was the Valley’s second-best free throw shooter (.859) and long distance marksman (.417) and was fifth in overall field goal percentage (.490).

 

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𝐀 𝐁𝐔𝐙𝐙𝐄𝐑-𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐒@cade_tyson | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/iRqMWe3bFl

— Belmont Basketball (@BelmontMBB) November 8, 2022

The memory of Belmont’s Arch Madness clash with Avila and Indiana State won’t soon be forgotten. Avila’s Sycamores won the quarterfinal game 94-91 with Tyson scoring 24 points. It may have been the best Arch Madness quarterfinal game of all time.

Preparing for the Season

Tyson and the Bruins played abroad this summer. Belmont played three games in Spain and that also provided Casey Alexander with extra practices and time with his team. Belmont won two of three games and picked up valuable experience for a relatively inexperienced team.

With a shorter shot clock in place, the Bruins topped he 90-point plateau all three games. Tyson averaged 15.6 points per foreign contest and Gillespie averaged 17. Alexander employed at least 12 players during each game. He hoped to see each of his players in a variety of roles.

With the graduation of Sheppard and five freshmen on this year’s team, Tyson realizes his role is changing. The sophomore is working on becoming a more vocal leader.

 

 

The North Carolina native felt ‘under recruited’ coming from his Carmel Christian High School, but feels fortunate to have landed at Belmont. Alexander’s offensive style meshes well with Tyson’s skill set. This offseason was filled with exciting experiences.

After a season playing with Sheppard, he watched as his teammate was drafted by the NBA’s Indiana Pacers. But his night was not over. Older brother Hunter Tyson was drafted later in the night. The younger Tyson says draft night was emotional.

 

 

This Year’s Bruin Team

There are just three ‘proven’ players returning to this year’s Belmont roster. Tyson, Gillespie and grad student Keishawn Davidson are the team’s known commodities. Gillespie, who was named to the Valley’s ‘all-bench’ team and Davidson are each outstanding distributors and can score when needed. Davidson wasn’t fully healthy last season, and his talents should be on full display this year.

Those three are a solid core. Tyson has great faith in his running mates.

 

 

Vanderbilt transfer Malik Dia brings size and talent. Alexander calls the 6’9 forward the most talented big man he has coached. During his limited playing time at Vandy, he averaged 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds.

Tyson believes fellow sophomore Isaiah Walker will have a break out season. The 6’5 guard recorded two, 18-point games in Spain.

Alexander has maintained that Belmont will largely build through high school recruits. Tyson was part of a five-man class last year and Alexander has five more, highly touted rookies on this year’s team. Sam Orme, Win Miller, Drew Scharnowski, Brigham Rogers and Keith Robbins were top-20 players in their respective states. Only Miller stands shorter than 6’5 and Rogers, Scharnowski and Orme are 6’8 or taller.

Tyson says Alexander wants to build with players that will be ‘Belmont guys’. He believes the freshmen will have ample opportunity to compete.

 

 

Who Are Tyson’s Competitors?

Drake’s DeVries is clearly the star of the Missouri Valley Conference. So the question is who is the Valley’s next great player? Cade Tyson has a great chance to be that player, but he has competition.

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Just six of the 16 players named to last season’s all-Valley teams remain. DeVries is the only first-teamer remaining, but three second-team honorees remain. While Northern Iowa’s Bowen Born, Missouri State’s Donovan Clay and Bradley’s Malevy Leons return, only Born is not a senior. Third-teamers Rob Perry (Murray State) and Evansville’s Kenny Strawbridge are seniors.

Born finished third in last year’s scoring race (17.9 ppg). Perry and Strawbridge were tied for ninth (14.4). Leons led the league in blocks, was tenth in rebounding and seventh in steals. It’s Clay’s overall game that sets him apart. Like Leons, he was named as one of the league’s best defenders and he ranked in the top twenty in six statistical categories.

Eligibility and scoring ability make Born the most likely in this group to outshine Tyson.

Fellow freshman Avila and teammate Gillespie could be his most significant competition. Avila’s rookie campaign showed great promise. The 6’10 forward can ‘pick and pop’ (31 triples) and has exceptional footwork in the post. While his 10.7 point scoring average and 4.0 rebounding average don’t jump off the page, he could become the Valley’s best big man. He made 54% of his field goal attempts and anded out 1.6 assists per game.

Gillespie could leap frog Tyson. During the trip to Spain he led the team in scoring. The 6′ guard was the Valley’s seventh best distributor, third in steals and collected the sixth best assist-to-turnover ratio. His energy often fueled the Bruins during their 21-win season.

Growing in Depth & Star Power

Cade Tyson could become the Valley’s next big star, but this is no coronation. His game will need to grow to meet the challenges of Duax, Bradley’s Connor Hickman, Murray State’s Jacobi Wood and Northern Iowa’s Tytan Anderson.

Highly rated freshmen are flooding the MVC rosters. Thirteen incoming freshmen were ranked as top ten prospects in their respective states. Indiana State’s Eli Shetlar was Kansas’ top ranked player and Illinois State’s Johnny Kinziger was second-ranked in Wisconsin. UNI’s Kyle Pock was second in Missouri. Missouri State’s Tyler Bey comes to the Bears via Overtime Elite’s Georgia squad.

This is one of the most talented rookie recruiting pools in many years.

The Missouri Valley Conference lost star power to the Big Ten, but Cade Tyson and a truck load of young talent promises to make this a successful Valley season.

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