What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 9/13/2023

How local college basketball programs fared in the transfer portal--Chicago Sun-Times

UIC

Coach Luke Yaklich took a big hit with the loss of leading scorer Jace Carter to the portal; Carter transferred to Texas A&M. But UIC has done quite well in the portal this spring with the addition of four players.

Portal prize: Isaiah Rivera, Colorado State

A star in high school at Geneseo in central Illinois, the big 6-5 guard played the past three seasons at Colorado State where he was part of a NCAA Tournament team as a sophomore and started 31 games as a junior this past season. Rivera averaged 8.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists a game for the Mountain West school.

Other portal pieces: Yaklich restocked his backcourt. In addition to Rivera, the Flames will welcome a trio of other perimeter players.

Marquise Kennedy, the former Brother Star who played the past four years at Loyola, is a big addition.

The athletic guard stays in Chicago and will complete his college career with the Flames. He brings a wealth of experience, knows the league from his days when Loyola was in the Missouri Valley Conference, and has averaged over 20 minutes and been a consistent eight to nine points a game in his four years with the Ramblers.

Drew King transferred in from Houston Christian and could prove to be a sneaky good addition after a rock-solid freshman year. King makes the jump from a low-major Division I program to a mid-major one but put up 8.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game playing in the Southland Conference.

Yusef Salih is a 6-0 guard with two years of eligibility remaining. He spent two seasons at Idaho where he played major minutes in the Big Sky Conference. Salih averaged 6.5 points a game while also being a three-point threat (89 three-pointers the past two seasons) this past season.

Bradley

The Braves, who have either won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament or regular-season championship in three of the last five years, lost a good one to the portal in Rienk Mast. The 6-10 Mast was an all-MVC first-team selection who transferred to Nebraska. But coach Brian Wardle added three portal transfers with a whole lot of years left to play.

Portal prize: Emarion Ellis, Marquette

Ellis was once a top 100 recruit out of high school and brings perimeter versatility with his size and length. He played sparingly as a freshman at Marquette before missing last season with a knee injury. But the 6-5 Ellis is a definite talent who could thrive in new surroundings.

Other portal pieces: While many programs have taken portal transfers with a lot of age and seasoning to them, Bradley will welcome a pair who just completed their freshman seasons: 6-10 Kyle Thomas and 6-3 Trey Pettigrew.

Thomas, who played at St. Joseph and Benet while in high school, brings legit size and potential after playing 13 minutes a game last season at Eastern Illinois. Pettigrew, a guard with positional size and scoring acumen, played his senior season of high school at Kenwood. He returns to the state after playing 11 minutes a game as a freshman at Nevada.

Illinois State

Coach Ryan Pedon is set for his second season and has assembled a roster that is poised to make a move up the Missouri Valley Conference, thanks to the addition of four portal transfers.

Portal prize: Jordan Davis, Wisconsin

The numbers won’t jump out at you but when you can add a player who played 20 minutes a game in the Big Ten, the potential of a portal gem is there. The 6-4 Davis brings athleticism, size and a defensive presence to the perimeter after averaging 5.1 points and 3.5 rebounds a game last season for the Badgers.

Other portal pieces: The addition of Monmouth transfer Myles Foster will be key. After three seasons at Monmouth, the 6-7 Foster brings size and endless length following a breakout junior campaign where he played over 30 minutes a game. Foster averaged 12.7 points and 6.6 rebounds a game this past season.

Brandon Lieb is a familiar name. The 7-footer played his high school basketball at Deerfield before spending the past three years developing at Illinois. Lieb didn’t put up numbers or receive much time while in Champaign, but he developed his body and competed against the likes of legitimate Big Ten big men every day, including Kofi Cockburn.

The Redbirds will also bring in Dalton Banks, a transfer from Southern Illinois who knows the league well having played three years for the Salukis. The 6-2 guard was a spot starter in his time in Carbondale and averaged 20 minutes a game over three seasons with the Salukis.

Southern Illinois

There were some significant but not unexpected holes to fill with veteran standouts Marcus Domask (Illinois) and Lance Jones (Purdue) entering the portal and ultimately leaving for the Big Ten. They helped the Salukis to a successful 23-10 record this past season.

Bryan Mullins, who begins his fifth year in Carbondale, assembled a group of four portal transfers.

Portal prize: RJ McGee, Tulane

A Chicago native who played at Kenwood, McGee has one year of eligibility remaining and a whole lot of experience after playing four seasons and starting 27 games at Tulane. More importantly, the 6-5 McGee brings a ton of versatility on the perimeter with his size, length and ability to defend multiple positions.

Look for McGee’s numbers to rise with a bigger opportunity in front of him at SIU after averaging 4.4 points and 2.8 rebounds a game.

Other portal pieces: The Salukis added three other pieces from the portal in guards Trey Miller and Jovan Stulic, along with 6-8 Jarrett Hensley.

With a developed mid-range game and some athleticism to go with it, the Salukis hope Trey Miller can provide some offensive punch after showing such promise as a young player this past season. The 6-2 guard averaged 10.4 points and 3.1 assists a game as a true freshman at Incarnate Word.

Stulic played in only four games this past season at Arkansas-Little Rock due to injury, but the 6-5 guard has started 59 games in his four years. Stulic averaged 7.8 points a game and shot 44 percent from the three-point line just two years ago while playing 26 minutes a game.

While the game experience has been limited thus far, Hensley does bring three years of college experience to SIU –– one season at UNC-Greensboro and the last two at Cincinnati –– to go with size and shooting ability.