OVC – Could Be Special

Part Two – Eastern Kentucky Knocking On the Door

(St. Louis, MO) – Is Eastern Kentucky knocking on the door of the Ohio Valley Conference’s penthouse suite? Perennial powers Belmont and Murray State seem to have life-time leases there and others come to visit. EKU is attempting to become the latest member of that elite club.

Murray State, Belmont and Austin Peay all reached the 20-win plateau last season and in 2019, the Bruins and Racers both participated in and won a game in the NCAA Tournament. During Part One of our OVC preview, we looked at the Tennessee State turn around under Brian ‘Penny’ Collins.

The Tigers had not won an OVC Tournament game since 2013. TSU’s overtime, opening round win over Morehead State ended that drought. Collins is beginning his third season with the Tigers.

Eastern Kentucky had not won a tournament contest since winning the championship in 2014. The Colonels knocked off Collins’ Tigers in last year’s quarterfinals in Evansville. EKU finished fourth during the regular season race (12-6). Head coach A.W. Hamilton is beginning his third season in Richmond.

EKU’s Veteran Squad

Hamilton survived a summer cancer scare (see Beating Cancer & Telling His Story), and he has not lost one ounce of enthusiasm in the process. The former Hargrave Military Academy coach is confident his veteran team is knocking on the door of the OVC elites.

2019-2020 was a ‘break through’ year for the Colonels. Hamilton says they have made great strides in achieving their goals of being a serious OVC contender.

 

 

All OVC guard Jomaru Brown and second teamer Tre King lead a group of returners that know how to win conference games. Fellow returning starters Jacquess Hobbs and Michael Moreno give Hamilton a very firm foundation. These productive players also love to play the game.

Hamilton is thrilled with his incoming recruiting class.

 

 

Brown and Pressure Defense

Brown (18.4 ppg) was the OVC’s fourth leading scorer and EKU led the league in steals and turnover margin. Hamilton’s “Most Exciting 40 Minutes in Sports”, high pressure defensive style is attracting fans and frustrating opponents.

Brown has spent two seasons turning heads. He landed on the 2019 all newcomer and all freshmen teams. His 41 points in a game against Western Kentucky, were last season’s most by an OVC player and he and Hobbs both were among the top four on the OVC’s ‘steals’ statistics.

Hamilton says Brown is everything you could want in a college basketball player.

 

 

Hamilton’s pressing style demands that his players are in great shape and determined to play for the team and not their own accolades. He says they keep track of deflections and forced turnovers more than steals. King and guard Russhard Cruickshank also ranked among the OVC’s top 15 in steals. While his team is talented, Hamilton loves their toughness.

 

 

Respect for the League

With twelve of last season’s top 15 players returning, the OVC could be special. Veteran OVC coaches have accomplished a great deal and ‘young bloods’ like Collins, Hamilton and Austin Peay’s Matt Figger are three rising stars in the coaching business.

Due to the similarities between the progress being made at EKU and Tennessee State I asked coach Hamilton about the TSU head man.

 

 

Our complete conversation with coach Hamilton can be found at Valley Hoops Insider Podcasts. We discuss his recent bout with cancer and other college basketball issues.

While annual powers Belmont and Murray State will be outstanding again this season, up-and-coming programs like Austin Peay, TSU and EKU are knocking on the door of that penthouse suite. And don’t forget about Ray Harper and Jacksonville State. The 20-year veteran coach had one hiccup of a season. His 511 career wins speak for themselves.

Eastern Illinois boasts of two returning all-league players. Southeast Missouris has a brand new coach and Southern Illinois Edwardsville has a highly regarded recruiting class. If we have a college basketball season, a number of teams will be knocking on that competitive door and the OVC could be special.

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