New Years Wishes For the Valley

Hains Healing & Raucous Conference Race

(St. Louis, MO) – As I sit on my couch with the flu, prepared for an afternoon on Valley hoops on ESPN+ I am filled with many wishes for the Missouri Valley Conference. I’ve been watching, announcing and reporting on the MVC since the 1998 edition of Arch Madness.

This great league is what college basketball is all about. While others focus solely on NCAA Tournament births, high profile coaches and five-star recruits, the Valley’s focus on conference races, grade-point-averages and traditional rivals is much more about what 90 percent of the college athletics experience.

So, I have some New Years wishes for the Valley.

New Years Wishes for People

Art Hains – Missouri State Broadcaster

#Prayers4ArtHains is not passive hashtag message, it is an earnest desire by this reporter. Our friend and hall-of-fame broadcaster has been cut down by West Nile disease and we pray daily for his recovery. The 66-year-old ‘voice of the Bears’ has been making small, incremental progress and your prayers are invited and coveted. Several Springfield, Missouri broadcasters have been doing a good job in Art’s absence, but each of them have told me, they’re just keeping the seat warm for their friend.

Austin Phyfe – Northern Iowa Center

Phyfe has battled physical issues during his six years at Northern Iowa. The most recent difficulties are covid-related. The 6’9 post player has suffered from ‘long-term covid effect’. It cost him any ability to log serious minutes last year and perhaps due to some of the treatments he ended up with blood clot problems. Treatment for those blood clots is on-going and he will be revaluated in January. We wish Phyfe health and recovery, whether he plays for the Panthers or not, but we hope he can return to the UNI lineup.

Ja’Shon Henry – Bradley Forward

Henry is healthy right now, and we hope it stays that way. He missed much of last season with concussion problems and sustained a head injury again this season. Henry returned this season with the sole purpose of winning a Valley championship. Whether the Braves can accomplish that or not, our wish for Henry is an injury-free remainder of the season.

New Years Wishes For the Season

Murray State Fans Enjoy Arch Madness

Racer fans have dominated the Ohio Valley Conference end-of-season tournament in Evansville and I’m looking forward to seeing an ocean of Murray State fans at Enterprise Center in March. The MSU athletic department does a great job of inviting those rabid Racer fans to road games and conference tournaments.

A Great Three to Five Team Race

This could be one of the most hotly contested regular season races in recent memory. As many as six teams can truly contend. Drake is the clear favorite, but so many other teams don’t have to take a back seat to the Bulldogs. Bradley’s great frontcourt and dynamic defense makes them a big time road block to Drake. Missouri State and Murray State are highly talented and still growing into the teams they will be.

Southern Ilinois plays great defense and Marcus Domask is having a Larry Bird Trophy kind of season. Belmont has a championship pedigree and Ben Sheppard has been the league’s best player so far. Indiana State is in first place and has been the Valley’s ‘surprise’ team and has great depth and pace of play.

Take your pick. It could be an historically wide race to the regular season title.

Indiana State to Average 80 Points Per Game

The Sycamores boast of the Valley’s fastest paced and highest scoring team. Josh Schertz’s team’s at Lincoln Memorial would routinely average in the 90’s and his current Indiana State squad is averaging 82.1. While we know ‘defense wins championships’ don’t be confused by Schertz’s fast-paced approach. They are third in the Valley in steals and lead the league in turn-over margin. The Sycamores cause more problems than just an efficient offense.

This writer welcomes a high-scoring approach into the highly defensive minded MVC.

New Years Wishes for Dynamic Duos

Magical Duos to Make Headlines

We love Valparaiso’s “K-Squared Offense”. The combination of Ben Krikke and Kobe King is combining to score more that 35 points per game and are capable of even more. These talented performers are the masters of the midrange game.

Bradley’s “Double Dutch Twin Towers” are as formidable a duo as we have. Rienk Mast and Malevy Leons both hail from the Netherlands and rule the paint like no Valley twosome in a long time. They combine to average nearly 25 points, 14 rebounds and are impressive rim protectors. Each is 6’9 and can hit from long distance.

Southern Illinois’ “Junkyard Dawgs’ are terrorizing opponents. Lance Jones and Marcus Domask can dominate games on every part of the floor. They combine to score over 31 points, ten rebounds, six assists and almost three steals per game. Offensvie opponents struggle to drive on the two Dawgs and they are highly efficient offensive players.

Eleven Game Success at Arch Madness

With the addition three new teams, the Valley has expanded the conference tournament eleven games. We applaud the league from continuing the tradition of every league member being invited to the league ‘Family Reunion’. My wish is for fans to come and support the tournament with their attendance. This culmination to the season is an important piece of history, tradition and for most of the Valley teams, it is their opportunity at ‘March Madness’.

Arch Madness is also a crucial part of the league’s financial health. Fans showing up, makes a big difference to their players and coaches and also to the league.

Do Good