Who Are the OVC’s Top Four Players?

Can the OVC’s Top Four Players Maintain the league’s momentum?

Ja Morant and Dylan Windler are gone, so who are the top returning players in the Ohio Valley Conference? In a season of massive transition, several players now carry the moniker as the league’s marquis players. Who are the OVC’s top four players?

Austin Peay’s Terry Taylor

Despite being named the 2018 ‘Freshman of the Year’ and being named to the all-OVC first team two straight years, Taylor has been overshadowed by OVC superstars.  Belmont’s Windler, Eastern Kentucky’s Nick Mayo and the transcendent Ja Morant dwarfed every other league player.

OVC watchers know Taylor is a dominant type of player. In two seasons in Clarksville, the 6’5 Taylor has accumulated 1,205 points and 585 rebounds and the Governors have won 41 games. His two-year averages are 18.0 points-per-game and 8.7 rebounds. Taylor recorded 12 double-doubles and his 42-point performance against Morehead State was the league’s largest one-game out put.

Because of Windler, Morant, Mayo and Murray’s Jonathan Stark the year before, Taylor has flown under the OVC radar, but he will emerge this season as the league’s best player.

Nick Muszynski Belmont’s Next Big Thing

Casey Alexander’s first season on the Belmont bench will be made easier by the presence of the league’s best ‘inside-outside’ combination. Sophomores Nick Muszynski and Grayson Murphy had outstanding rookie campaigns. They should insure the Bruins won’t tumble from prominence without former coach Rick Byrd.

The 7’ Muszynski was everything Byrd hoped for. His 14.7 scoring and 5.8 rebounding averages were solid and he dominated on the defensive end. His 2.2 blocks per game led the league and he converted better than 60% of his field goal attempts.

He is a true, back-to-the-basket center with good footwork and soft hands. When you combine that type of post player with a ‘pass-first’ playmaker like Murphy, the Bruins have a recipe for offensive success. Murphy (6.5 per game) was second only to Morant in compiling assists. His 214 helpers were a Belmont freshman record. Muszynski’s presence in the middle only enhances the vaunted Bruin three-point game.

Parker Stewart Joins His Dad at UT Martin

UT Martin head coach Anthony Stewart begins his fourth full season (fifth overall) with one of the highest ranked recruits in school history. The coach’s son, Parker Stewart becomes eligible this season. Rated as a four-star high school player, Stewart signed with the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Pittsburgh. As a 6’5 freshman he was Pitt’s second leading scorer (9.1 ppg) and set the Panther freshman record with 71 three-pointers.

While at Union City High School he was rated the third best player in the State of Tennessee. During his freshman season at Pitt his .425 three point percentage was second best among all ACC players.

Anthony owns a master’s degree in business administration and the younger Stewart was an academic All-ACC honoree. The younger Stewart spent his red-shirt season wisely.  He has become the first Skyhawk player to earn a bachelor’s degree in just two years.

For a team that is losing its top long distance marksman (Delfincko Bogan), but returns its top two scorers (Craig Randall and Quintin Dove) Stewart fits perfectly and will likely become an elite OVC player.

National pundits are missing this, but Stewart will be one of the OVC’s top four players.

Is Tevin Brown Murray State’s Next Great Guard?

Tevin Brown was the player Murray State was scouting when they encountered Ja Morant. After sitting out the 2017-18 season with an injury, Brown led the Racers with 90 three-pointers and a .372 completion rate from deep. His 11.8 scoring and 4.2 rebounding averages indicate he’s ready to be the leading man in Murray, Kentucky.

Is Brown the next great MSU guard? Seemingly Isaiah Canaan handed the mantle to Cameron Payne, who loaned the title to Jonathan Stark who gave way to Morant. Brown’s numbers are actually better than Canaan’s freshman statistics.

Perhaps in a sign of things to come, the 6’5 Brown led the Racers with 19 points during the team’s NCAA Tournament win over Marquette. He is more than a great shooter. Brown’s game is more broad than he had the opportunity to demonstrate with Morant (rightly) dominating the basketball last season.

(Read ‘Four Returners Will Shape the Valley Season’)

Others Waiting in the Wings

Despite the loss of star power, the OVC has a deep talent base returning. Two other All-OVC team members Jordan Walker, Josiah Wallace return. Second teamers Jr. Clay and Quintin Dove should emerge.

These players reside just outside of our rankings of the OVC’s top four players.

All-Newcomer team members Darnell Cowart and Jomaru Brown are in a similar spot. Jacksonville State’s Ty Hudson will be a centerpiece in the Gamecock’s rebuilt roster while Southern Illinois Edwardsville has two solid building blocks. Brandon Jackson and Tyresse Williford give first year coach Brian Barone a good foundation.

The sophomore class of Muszynski, Murphy, Tennessee Tech’s Clay and Eastern Kentucky’s Brown are a unique group of second year players.

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