Players To Watch in the MVC

(St. Louis, MO) – Who are the new stars of the Missouri Valley Basketball Conference? It is well documented that nine of the ten players named to the Valley’s all conference teams have graduated. So who are the next generation players that will emerge.

Someone will score the most or rebound most often, but are there players that can grab this league by the jugular like Fred VanVleet, D.J. Balentine, Ron Baker, Egidijus Mockevicius did? Who will become those ‘big game’ players like Wes Washpun and Anthony Beane?

Talent in Wichita

There are so many candidates in Wichita. Last year’s freshman of the year Markis McDuffie leads the way. The 6’8 sophomore showed great explosiveness and a willingness to perform in big games. The New Jersey native came to the Shockers in what some called the most talented one-two punch in Shocker recruiting history when he was joined by Landry Shamet.

Shamet missed all but three games last season and reboots his potentially outstanding career this season, but he’s joined on this year’s class by two outstanding freshmen guards (Austin Reaves and C.J. Keyser) who bring weighty resumes of their own to the next dominant player job interview.

McDuffie, a four-star recruit (ESPN) and Shamet collected four stars from Rivals.com. McDuffie is the top returning scorer for Gregg Marshall’s brand new team, which also includes former Kansas Jayhawk (and four-star player coming out of high school) Conner Frankamp. When measuring talent alone, WSU may have their best team since the Xavier McDaniel, Cliff Levingston, Antoine Carr days.

Great Scott

The only guy from those two all-conference teams still hanging around the Valley is Indiana State’s Brenton Scott. The Valley’s leading returning scorer (16.8 ppg) has the ability to take over games on the offensive end. Consistency and a bit more defense are the only things hindering Scott from being one of those elite level players that coaches and fans fear. Head Coach Greg Lansing believes this will be the year the 6’1 guard reaches the highest rung of success.

Standard Bearer

Several preseason magazines have tabbed Northern Iowa’s Jeremy Morgan as their preseason player of the year. Indeed at last season’s Arch Madness celebration there was a picturesque changing of the guard as Washpun cut down part of the net and handed the scissors to Morgan.

 

 

Morgan didn’t wait until this year to take that responsibility. After scoring 16 points in the Panthers’ opening round NCAA Tournament win, the 6’5 forward scored an historic 36 points while grabbing 12 rebounds in UNI’s epic double-overtime second round defeat. ‘Captain Morgan’ seems poised to take of the mantle handed down from Seth Tuttle, and then to Washpun as UNI’s go-to player.

Reaching His Potential

Loyola’s Milton Doyle has been something of an enigma during his first three seasons in the Valley. The Kansas transfer was literally expected to leap tall buildings with a single bound and stop speeding bullets.

Instead he’s been just a very good player and thus something of a disappointment. Injuries have hampered the Chicago native and he enters this season healthier and more acclimated to his teammates than ever before.

The story is similar for Illinois State’s Deontae Hawkins. The 6’8 junior signed with the Redbirds after much controversy related to not following through on his previous commitment to Wichita State. His connection to ISU was so hotly contested that before he ever played a game at Doug Collins Court, the league had to rule twice about his status.

Hawkins has been a slowly emerging player, but he and fellow 6’8 stallion MiKyle McIntosh seem ready to be Captain America and Iron Man on this year’s Avengers squad in Normal, Illinois.

The Best of the Rest

What about Drake’s Reed Timmer, the league’s second leading returning scorer, and Missouri State’s reigning newcomer of the year Dequon Miller? Don’t forget that wave of talented freshmen at Bradley. All told this could become a notable talent laden season in the MVC.

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