Valley Unit Rankings

Part Three – MVC’s Best Depth

(St. Louis, MO) – It’s a long basketball season and the Missouri Valley Conference season is a grind. While star players are important to a team’s success, often a deep roster is difference between a winning and losing season.

During Part One (Frontcourts) and Part Two (Backcourts) we mostly looked at front line players. Today we rank the Valley teams with the best depth. Last year injuries derailed the seasons of Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois and created late season problems for Drake.

Depth is a crucial component to a successful Valley season.

Number Five – Drake Bulldogs

Drake has six of last year’s top seven players back and added a top 100 high school player to the mix. Their seven are as good and versatile as any top seven in the league, but that’s as far as it goes.

The healthy returns by Roman Penn and ShanQuan Hemphill means the Bulldogs will be talented and versatile at four of the five spots on the floor. Both were all-league players when healthy and stat stuffers.

The return of Tremell Murphy and Darnell Brodie means every starter (D.J. Wilkins is the other) returns from last year’s 26-and-5 team. All bench player Garrett Sturtz is back to fill in where ever Darian DeVries wants him and the coach’s son Tucker was a nationally coveted recruit. DeVries has guard skills in a 6’6 body and was the State of Iowa’s ‘Player of the Year’.

Those seven players are outstanding but the loss of guard Joseph Yesufu, cut deep into the Drake depth. Jonah Jackson started 23 games two seasons ago and was the first Bulldog off the bench last year after Yesufu and Sturtz had to join the starting lineup.

Number Four – Southern Illinois

When Southern Illinois lost its best player (Marcus Domask) and highest rated transfer (J.D. Muila) head coach Bryan Mullins force fed some players valuable playing time. Last year’s difficulties will pay dividends this season.

With the return of Domask and Muila the Salukis will have ten starting quality players. Domask, the Valley 2020 ‘Freshman of the Year’ is a game changer and does everything well, but the Egyptian Dawgs are more than a one-man-show with their increased depth.

Seven other Salukis averaged over twenty minutes per game during SIU’s 12-14 season. Third-team all-conference guard Lance Jones (13.4 ppg & 3 assists per game) became Southern’s go-to player. His 52 triples led the team and his .426 percentage from deep was the league’s best.

Jones has become one of the Valley’s top players.

SIU’s ‘twin condos’, Kyler Filewich and Anthony D’Avanzo contributed a combined 14.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game from the Saluki paint. Both are adept passers and give Mullins a lot of fouls to work with.

Ben Harvey (9.7), Trent Brown (6.9), Dalton Banks (6.2) and Steven Verplancken (7.0) all played valuable perimeter minutes. While all shot better than 37% from deep, Brown played some lockdown defense and Harvey was relentless in driving the lane.

The return of Muila aids the frontcourt and the addition of Ben Coupet Junior brings another proven contributor. Coupet (6’7) played previously and UNLV and was a double-digit scorer after transferring to Little Rock. The Chicago native could play a special role in this ten-man rotation.

Number Three – Missouri State

The Bears have star power and depth! Dana Ford’s entire starting lineup and sixth man all return. During the offseason Ford added two veteran transfers.

Gaige Prim is the Valley’s best big man and Isiaih Mosley is an electric offensive player and the conference’s leading scorer. Both were all league selections last season. The rest of the starting lineup of Ja’Monta Black, Demarcus Sharp and Keaton Hervey logged heavy minutes and contributed in numerous ways. All three averaged at least seven points and three rebounds per game. Sharp was named to the Valley’s all-Newcomer team.

The talented transfers are Valparaiso’s second leading scorer Donovan Clay and IUPUI double-digit scorer Jaylen Minnett. The 6’1 Minnett tallied over 1,400 points for the Jaguars and the 6’7 Clay was part of the 2020 Valley all-freshman team. Both averaged over 10 points per game last season.

Highly recruited Isaac Haney (Springfield Kickapoo) and Melvyn Ebonkoli (Putnam CT) should be instant contributors. Haney is the State of Missouri’s fourth all-time leading prep scorer (3,141 points) and the French native Ebonkoli, played for the this nation’s second ranked prep team.

Ford’s team will go at least nine deep.

Number Two – Northern Iowa

Only one team has more returning veterans than Northern Iowa. They didn’t lose one player of significance and two players that missed all of last season are coming back. UNI is seems ready to remind people they were last year’s pre-season Missouri Valley favorite.

Back is 2020 Larry Bird Trophy winner A.J. Green. After two surgeries and a long rehabilitation journey, Green is poised to reestablish himself as the league’s best player. Antwan Kimmons is returning after taking the bulk of the season off while tending to family needs during the pandemic.

UNI’s top six players in terms of minutes played, all return. Four of them (Trae Berhow, Austin Phyfe, Bowen Born and Noah Carter) were double-digit scorers. A fifth player, Nate Heise, was named to the Valley’s all-freshman team and the sixth, Tywhon Pickford was on the rookie three seasons ago. Born was last season’s ‘Freshman of the Year’.

Following those eight players is transfer Goanar Mar. Big things were expected from the George Mason transfer last season, but transfer complications restricted his early season contributions. The 6’7 wing was a three-star recruit coming out of DeLaSalle High School (MN) and averaged 10.9 points per game as a freshman at George Mason.

James Betz’s ability to step outside and make threes last season, made him a valuable big man behind Phyfe.

Number One – Loyola

Cameron Krutwig isn’t walking through those doors . . . but everyone else is. Loyola’s roster returns intact, minus the league MVP but with very valuable additions. Six players that started games return, including the Valley’s top defender in Lucas Williamson.

While only Krutwig averaged double-digits in scoring, seven returners averaged 4.9 points or better last season. Five players came away with at least twenty steals for the league’s best defensive unit.

Keith Clemons and Braden Norris each converted more that 40% of their shots from long distance and Norris was named the Arch Madness all-tournament team. Marquise Kennedy is a two-time member of the conference’s all-bench team and forward Aher Uguak joined Williamson on the league’s best defenders list.

While Jacob Hutson and Tom Welch attempt to replace Krutwig, the Ramblers have two proven Division 1 scorers who have transferred in. Chris Knight (Dartmouth) and Ryan Schwieger (Princeton) were each double-digit, Ivy League scorers. Knight was twice named to Ivy League’s second team all-conference squad and during his junior season was named his team’s MVP.

Former Indiana Hoosier, Damezi Anderson is 6’7 forward and former four-star recruit out of South Bend, Indiana. Saint Thomas is a three-star freshman recruit from Omaha. First year coach Drew Valentine has ten proven D1 players and these two prospects in this year’s rotation.

How these Valley squads utilize their great depth will go a long way towards their chances of success. That leads us to our next and final unit ranking – The Coaching Staffs.

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