Primarily a collection of news links about all 11 Missouri Valley League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.
We have another Murray State Racer that dominated in the FIBA U20 EuroBasket this season, following in Roman Domon’s footsteps. Mark Padjen
is a 6’5 guard out of Slovenia with a prolific ability to lead a team
as a floor general. Through seven games, he averaged 15.7 points, 2.7
rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.7 steals while shooting 50.8% overall and
33.3% from three-point on 3.9 attempts per game.
Coming
into the summer, he played for Ilirija in the ABA League where he was a
vital player. Throughout 20 games, he averaged 11.3 points, five
assists, 3.2 rebounds, and nearly one steal per game. He shot 42.5%
overall, 50% from inside the arc, and 35.4% from three-point.
What
truly stands out to me is the natural ability he has to be a floor
general. While playing with Slovenia he averaged just 2.3 turnovers, and
with Ilirija he averaged 2.3 as well. That’s over a 2:1 assist to
turnover ratio at just 20 against some strong talent. Let’s compare to a
player that put up some similar statistics last year in the same
tournament: Omer Mayer of the Purdue Boilermakers.
Mayer
went on to average 5.5 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game
in 39 games with the Boilermakers last season as a freshman. He shot
41.2% overall and 35.5% from three-point, and he had some strong games
against tough competition in the Big-10. He dropped 18 against IU,
eleven against No. 11 Illinois, and nine against No. 11 Nebraska.
For
Israel, he averaged 16.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists , and 1.1
steals across seven games while shooting 41.2% overall and 37.3% from
three-point. He also averaged 3.7 turnovers per game. If we compare
Mayer & Padjen’s metrics, here’s how they shape out:
Across
the board, Mark Padjen outperformed Mayer in the majority of
categories. This is a player who had a role on a top-ten team, and at
one point the number one team in the AP Poll last year. Padjen is
joining Murray State which is already loaded with talent, however, this
is a player that you are going to have to watch this season.
POLL
Will Mark Padjen win Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year?
90.
UIC: The Flames crushed it in retention this spring, keeping five key rotation
staples, including prized sophomore wing
Rashund Washington Jr., who would've had a substantial market in the portal. UIC also rounded out
the roster nicely with Ohio State transfer point guard
Gabe Cupps
and
Furman
shot-making wing
Asa Thomas, who started his career at
Clemson. Rob Ehsan had the Flames on the doorstep of the NCAA Tournament last
year, and the nucleus is in place to be in the mix yet again in 2026-27.
