Murray State – Loaded Again

Racers Ready to Defend Their Title

(St. Louis, MO) – A standard of excellence has been established at Murray State. Eight straight Racer coaches have taken their teams into the NCAA Tournament. When you look at the MSU talent you have to conclude that they are loaded again.

The Racers have won 25 conference championships. Last season they swept the regular season and conference tournament titles and they routinely send players into pro basketball careers. In just the last six seasons, three Racers have been drafted or signed by NBA organizations. (Isaiah Canaan by the Houston Rockets in 2013; Cam Payne by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015; Jonathan Stark signed by the Minnesota Timberwolves this summer)

Murray State always seems to have an elite guard or wing player. Last year it was Stark mentoring the freshman Ja Morant. Head coach Matt McMahon says Stark was an elite, program-building player and Morant is poised for a spectacular season.

 

 

Early in the 2017-18 season we posed the question ‘Who is the OVC’s Next Big Thing?’ and we concluded it is the 6’3 Morant. The South Carolina native was named to the Ohio Valley Conference’s all conference and all newcomer teams. He was one of two NCAA players to score 400 points, grab 200 rebounds and hand out 200 assists. Morant was fourteenth nationally in assists and second among all freshmen.

The Rest of the Crew

This is not a one-man-show. The Racers are loaded again.

Joining Morant on the OVC’s preseason all-conference team is senior Shaq Buchanan. The 6’3 senior averaged 9.1 points per game and it was his three-pointer that sealed Murray’s OVC Tournament championship over Belmont. Buchanan is an outstanding defender.

McMahon says his team is about half newcomers and half returners and how they blend together will determine how well they play. He goes on to say that Buchanan is a program changer because of his ‘team-first’ mentality and elite defensive prowess.

 

 

Sustained Success

Murray has been able to enjoy sustained success for multiple reasons. Through coaching changes and the decades of societal adjustments, there has been one constant in Murray, Kentucky. The Racers are going to win a lot of games and many league championships.

When asked about who is the next player or players we should be watching for, McMahon didn’t want to single one player out, but landed on three-star recruit Tevin Brown. The 6’5 wing red-shirted last season with a broken foot.

That sustained Racer success is, in McMahon’s mind, rooted in one thing. The fan support in Murray Kentucky.

 

 

Other key returners Brion Sanchious and Anthony Smith provide energy and defense. McMahon calls the 6’8 Sanchious the ultimate ‘glue-guy’. Smith may be Murray’s best defender and at 6’7 will be called upon to carry more of this season’s rebounding load.

In Morant, Buchanan and Brown the Racers are loaded again with fire-power and dangerous perimeter players. Preseason favorite Belmont and emerging Jacksonville State will be the Racers’ chief competition for an OVC title. If they can defend the post and score in the paint the Racers should be in the middle of that three-horse-race.

Do Good

 

Editor: In the preseason media poll, ValleyHoopsInsider.com was the only first-place vote cast for Jacksonville State.