Missouri Valley Conference Christmas Wishes

Health and Consistency

(St. Louis, MO) – Here are our Missouri Valley Conference Christmas wishes. In other words, if you were sitting on Santa’s lap and asking for presents for Valley teams, what would you desire?

Obviously, we want all the players and coaches to stay or get healthy and for each to have great success in the classroom. However, now that we’re about to hit conference play, we are limited in what we can desire for their on-court success.

We have league-wide wishes, individual team and individual player hopes. Not unlike the famous song, we’ve listed our twelve hopes for these special programs. We’re listing them alphabetically so don’t be offended by where your program is listed.

National Christmas Wishes

We wish our friends in the national media cared about teams outside of the ‘money conferences’. I have no complaint with them focusing on the teams and leagues that drive the conversation. I am a capitalist and I respect that. However, please don’t ignore programs outside of those 65 programs when the product is good and the stories are compelling.

Hey Gary Parish, Mike DeCourcey and Joe Lunardi, do you know that Indiana State ranks in the top 50 in the National Evaluation Tool, RPI and Kenpom? Are you aware that Evansville is putting together the country’s greatest turn around? When Southern Illinois’ Xavier Johnson is leading the nation in scoring and you publish a graph of the top scorers (from major conferences) aren’t you just silencing the little guy?

The Missouri Valley contains the nation’s most effective field goal percentage team in Indiana State and the Sycamores are eighth in overall scoring, fourth in three point percentage and sixth in tres per contest.

If you’d prefer defense, Illinois Chicago is the nation’s best at defending the three-point line and eighteenth in overall defense.

While Valley teams are 0-8 against ‘money conference’ foes on the road, they are undefeated (1-0) in home games and 1-2 on neutral floors.

Of course we know you love ‘successful coaches’. Northern Iowa’s Ben Jacobson is the second winningest head coach in Valley history (341 wins) and Belmont’s Casey Alexander is one of the country’s fastest to reach 100 wins in a program and 200 overall. Indiana State’s Josh Schertz had unprecedented success at the Division 2 level and is now replicating it in D1. Can you say ‘Bo Ryan’, ‘Rick Byrd’ or ‘Bruce Pearl’?

I’ve interacted with you guys. You know I love and respect your work, but these teams deserve some national love. This is not a call for sympathy but for journalism! These teams DESERVE to be noticed!

Enough! On to my Valley Christmas Wishes

Belmont

I want the Bruins to win at least eleven conference games. Their streak of  20-win seasons is something special and I want Belmont to maintain that standard of excellence! Belmont’s style of basketball is so esthetically pleasing!

The motion and efficiency of the ‘Byrd-built’ system and tweaked and perfected by Alexander is as Mickey said to Rocky, ‘isn’t she a ting of beuty?’ Three players (Cade Tyson, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Malik Dia) scoring at a very high rate is fun to watch. As long as Alexander keeps Dia coming off the bench, the 6’9 forward is a shoe-in for the Valley’s ‘Sixth Man Award’.

Bradley Christmas Wishes

I have just one. A healthy Connor Hickman! Bradley was 6-1 with Hickman in the lineup and then he got hurt during a loss to Indiana State. The Braves are 1-3 since his ankle injury. The junior guard is the emotional leader and the glue of this team. Malevy Leons and Darius Hannah make the high-light reel plays and block shots with abandon. Duke Deen hits big shots and is an outstanding ball-handler, but Hickman is the one Brave that makes it all work.

While in the lineup Hickman was second in scoring (13.5 ppg), the most prolific three-point shooter, a topflight defender and shared the ball-handling duties with Deen. Hickman is the guy that makes everybody else better, and coach Brian Wardle needs his team leader on the floor.

Hickman is still listed as ‘day-to-day’.

Drake Stocking Stuffers

Similar to the Bradley desires, is the health of a star player. We haven’t heard how badly Tucker DeVries’ shoulder is injured, but he missed the team’s last game after being injured very late in the Bulldogs’ win over Grambling State. The Valley’s reigning ‘Player of the Year’ got tangled up with an opposing player and immediately went to the bench. He did not play during the team’s easy win over Alcorn State.

If he’s out any length of time, it could derail a very possible league championship or ‘at-large bid’ kind of season.

My other wish is a bit more critical. Conor Enright has to bring back the mullet! Come on Conor don’t let me down.

Evansville Christmas Wishes

A box of throat lozenges for coach David Ragland. Not since Bruce Weber patrolled the Southern Illinois sidelines has the Valley had such a perpetually raspy voiced coach.

Our serious wish is a solid, middle of the pack finish in the Valley race. Such a finish would give the Purple Aces a win total in the mid to upper teens. That would be an amazing feat for a program that won a total of eleven games over the past two seasons. Coach Ragland has the type of players that can play the style he desires and they are talented enough to compete.

In the vastly improved Missouri Valley Conference, any finish above ten would be outstanding. Other than Valparaiso, Murray State and Bradley, every other MVC team seems better than last season. For the Aces, who were picked eleventh to finish in the eight, nine or ten range wouldn’t sound great, but in this asending league that would represent great progress.

Illinois Chicago Hopes

I want to see assistant coaches Tony Wills and Madison Williams go one-on-one with something on the line. Those two could bring it during their days as players at Illinois State.

Not unlike our Evansville desires, this greatly improved team has a chance to climb above its tenth place preseason prediction. The Flames are certainly better than the sum of their parts. Other than Toby Okani, people scouting UIC aren’t sure why they are winning, but their shutdown defense is a truly unique.

UIC leads the nation in defending the three-point line and are the Valley’s top team in scoring defense, defensive field goal percentage and blocked shots. Since defense travels, the Flames have a legitimate shot anywhere.

Illinois State Christmas Wishes

I need forgiveness from Dalton Banks. I mistakenly didn’t think he was going to be an impact Redbird player and I was super wrong. The SIU transfer has been extremely important to Ryan Pedon’s team. Dalton, please forgive me!

I don’t want Darius Burford to get injured, but could we see a return of the face mask? That thing was intimidating and it seemed to give him super powers last season.

Indiana State Hopes

I want to see Julian Larry and Isaiah Swope in a series of races. Straight line, cone-to-cone and zig-zag races. Those two are lightning quick.

Former Sycamore broadcaster and current SIU play-by-play man Luke Martin was supposed to get me some Robbie Avila goggles last year and well, I still don’t have any. Can someone in Terre Haute hook a brother up?

Speaking of Avila, some people are starting to notice the Sycamore center and while he doesn’t need to have explosive personal numbers for the Trees to succeed, I’d love to see him have one or two ‘Doncic-Type Games‘, just to stir the national audience.

Missouri State Desires

I’m back in the health realm. An uber healthy Matthew Lee makes Missouri State a team that could contend for the Valley title or a spot in the Arch Madness Sunday afternoon game. Alston Mason has settled in as the team’s ‘must stop’ offensive weapon, but Lee’s leadership, distribution abilities and timely scoring puts the Bears right in the title mix.

I want more minutes for Tyler Bey. The rookie could be a Valley star.

Murray State Christmas Wishes

Since winning is as much mental as physical I’m wrapping up a ‘neuralyzer’ (Men in Black memory eraser) for the Racers. They’ve had so many near misses, I’m afraid their anticipating defeats. While they lack size, they have the skill and the coach to close out games. So, a short memory is all they need for Christmas.

Alden Applewhite’s entry into the lineup is a boost and watch out for Justin Morgan during the season’s second half. Morgan will eventually be a difference maker.

Northern Iowa Needs

Bowen Born seems mostly healthy now, but my first request is that he stays that way and gets even healthier. The little lefty can change any game’s direction and now that he’s playing more freely, the Panthers (6-7) have won three straight games and four of their last five.

UNI needs great second halves. Ben Jacobson’s team has had some historically bad second stanzas this season and that must be fixed for the squad to compete.

Southern Illinois Christmas Wishes

I wish that Xavier Johnson will claim the national scoring title. With all due respect to any other player nationally, at this particular juncture, Johnson is the top ‘breakout player of the year’. He averaged seven points per game last season and currently tops the country with a 24.8 ppg average.

While SIU has exceeded preseason expectations, I’m looking for a healthier Sheridan Sharp and Cade Hornecker to give the Salukis a shot in the arm to help them maintain that momentum.

Valparaiso Hopes

A win over Elon. The Beacons have one more non-conference game prior to the Valley season and I want them to snap their six-game losing streak prior to re-opening conference play against Bradley.

Recently, one of their top players, Isaiah Stafford left a game with a leg injury. We’re wishing the junior guard a speedy recovery. Roger Powell has some very good ingredients on this year’s team, but much like Evansville during last year’s campaign, they just don’t all mesh or create the right combination.

We’re hoping for team growth and consistency for Powell’s rookie season.

Christmas Wishes for You

Finally, thank you for visiting ValleyHoopsInsider.com. We love the Valley and have developed many great friends and acquaintances throughout the league. We wish you God’s very best gifts and blessings.

During this time where we celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus, we pray that hope and encouragement will spring up inside of each one of you!

One year ago, we didn’t know if we’d ever hear Missouri State announcer Art Hains ever announce another game. We are most grateful that the hall-of-famer is back in the saddle and doing what he loves. We still pray for Art’s full recovery every day.

Oh! One last Christmas wish. I wish that some Valley team is still be playing basketball very near Easter!

Do Good