Missouri State’s Whole New Roster

Wyatt Wheeler Breaks it Down

(St. Louis, MO) – Missouri State has eleven new players and has more players than roster spots for the upcoming season. The Bears have a whole new roster. Head coach Dana Ford has a revamped coaching staff, a dramatically different roster and high hopes for the upcoming season.

Wyatt Wheeler (@WyattWheeler_SN) is the Bears’ beat-writer for the Springfield News Leader and helps us evaluate the new team and the excitement surrounding the plethora of free agents.

Missouri State finished tied for second place in the Missouri Valley Conference (23-11, 13-5) when they had the league’s best center in Gaige Prim and most explosive scorer in Isiaih Mosley. They are both presumably gone, but Ford’s whole new roster is far from talentless.

Prim has graduated and Mosley has entered both the NBA draft and the transfer portal.

Also heading out the door are guards Jamonta Black, Demarcus Sharp, Lu’Cye Patterson and fan favorite. Isaac Haney. Back up center Nick Tata is returning to his native Australia to play professionally. That loss of talent would devastate most programs, but not Ford and his active staff.

Coaching Changes

Former Associate Head Coach Corey Gipson is gone and some of those departing players followed him to Northwestern State where he is a first-time head coach. Wheeler says Gipson was a beloved figure in the MSU program and it was natural for those players to join him in Louisiana.

Gipson’s replacements are outstanding. Returning to the Missouri Valley Conference is former Southern Illinois head coach Chris Lowery. The former Saluki player and coach led SIU to two Valley titles and has been a long time assistant with Bruce Weber at Kansas State.

Lowery was a two-time ‘Valley Coach of the Year’ (2005 & 2007) and scored 1,225 points while wearing the Saluki uniform.  While working for Weber at Illinois, SIU and at K-State, Lowery has succeeded at basketball’s highest levels.

Joining Lowery is Nebraska assistant Buzzy Caruthers. The former Kansas City, Kansas native is well connected in the midwest and Wheeler says Caruthers’ connections to MoKan Elite are significant.

Ford has consistently recruited talented players. Wheeler says the fifth year coach believed he needed to get some ‘X’s & O’s’ help on his coaching staff.

 

 

Assistant Jeff Herl has been elevated to Associate Head Coach. Wheeler says Rutherford and Herl are important parts of MSU’s future recruiting endeavors.

Bears’ Whole New Roster

Missouri State has loaded up. While virtually replacing every person on the roster, the Bears’ talent level is likely the best in the Valley. Four former ‘power 5’ conference players join the team along with three other Division 1 transfers.

With three and four star recruits all over the roster, Wheeler says there is growing excitement in the Springfield, Missouri fan base.

 

 

Headliners include transfers Chance Moore (Arkansas), Oklahoma’s Alston Mason and Maryland’s James Graham. Moore and Graham were top 100 players coming out of high school and both have good size. Mason participated in 18 of last season’s Oklahoma’s games.

Dalen Ridgnal (Georgia), Bryan Trimble (Akron), Saint Peters’ Matthew Lee and Colorado State’s Kendle Moore bring veteran experience and proven track records. Trimble was a double-digit scorer while Lee played a significant role in last spring’s Peacock ride to the Elite Eight. Kendle Moore recorded over 1,000 points with CSU’s Rams.

Ridgnal averaged just under three points and three rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Wheeler says Ford is using a unique way to recruit four-star players.

 

 

Bears’ Rookies

Don’t sleep on the Missouri State freshmen. Damien Mayo, N.J. Benson and Jonathan Dunn are highly regarded players. Mayo played a significant role in Link Year Academy’s runner-up finish in the Geico Nationals, while Benson and Dunn were building impressive accolades of their own.

Benson is the State of Illinois’ seventh rated prep player (Mount Vernon). He and Dunn will both provide frountcourt strength for the Prim-less Bears. Mayo is a St. Louisan from the same high school (Chaminade) as Bradley Beal and Jayson Tatum) who transferred to the Branson-based prep school.

Wheeler is high on the rookies.

 

 

Ford told MissouriStateBears.com that Mayo is a unique talent.

“Damien is wise beyond his years and adds a lot of value to our program.” Ford said. “He is an extension of the coach on the floor,” Ford explained. “He’s tough, and he has the ability to play multiple positions. Former Bear Rodney Perry has done a great job preparing him for the collegiate level.”

Small forward Jonathan Mogbo is the is number 31 in jucorecruiting.com’s top 100 rankings.

Wheeler believes each of the newcomers have legitimate talent to contribute and to contribute right away. During the first full offseason of ‘name, image and likeness’ variable, he tells us there was $100,000 available to help Mosley choose to return.

Head to Valley Hoops Insider Podcasts to hear our entire conversation.

While, MSU has added eleven new players, other Valley schools have not been as successful in attracting high level talent. The Bears’ whole new roster could be league’s preseason favorites.

Do Good

 

Editor: Feature photo of Alston Mason and courtesy of soonerssports.com.