Primarily a collection of news links about all 12 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.
Tulio Da Silva will join a talented group of transfers in Lamont West, Anthony Masinton-Bonner, and Josh Hall this upcoming season. A former transfer himself, Da Silva was the Missouri Valley Conference newcomer of the year in 2019 and made his impact felt immediately as a scorer and rebounder for the Bears. Da Silva will be the headliner of a talented Missouri State team that will look to punch their first ticket to the big dance since 1999.
1996 Valparaiso Mid-Continent Conference Championship Ring
Everyone remembers the legendary Valparaiso team that...lost 90-51 to Arizona in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. No, this was not the famous Bryce Drew-led squad, but the Crusaders went 21-11 and won the Mid-Continent Conference Championship. That meant they got some hardware, which you can now purchase on eBay for a starting bid of $150.
To start off, the Valley probably isn’t going to be a two-bid league this year. There doesn’t appear to be a team that’s a cut above the rest that could make a possible run at an at-large bid like we saw Belmont do and Wofford had they not won the SoCon tournament.
As far as favorites go, I really like what Dana Ford is putting together at Missouri State. The Bears are currently just outside the top 10 in the Other Top 25, and have a trio of transfers in Lamont West, Anthony Masinton-Bonner and Josh Hall that should have a huge impact right away. Loyola Chicago is always going to be a contender despite the production that they lost. Northern Iowa could also be a team that I think surprises some people.
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Porter Moser, Loyola Chicago – Reached the Final Four a year ago and obviously has no shortage of ties to the Midwest. Might have a little more pop if he had made a return trip to the NCAA tourney this season.
Moser’s name isn’t burning as brightly a year removed from the Ramblers’ improbable run to the Final Four, where they fell to the Wolverines. But that magical month still attaches cachet to the longtime Valley coach, who showed a willingness to listen to offers from bigger programs after a flirtation with St. John’s last month. There is more to Moser than just the Final Four run, as he built the program in Chicago with some quality recruiting — going back to fringe NBA player Milton Doyle — and an emphasis on a modern, versatile front court. His overall record over 15 seasons and three programs may be slightly underwhelming (246-226), but Moser is an attractive candidate who, if he chooses to move, seemingly makes more sense in the Midwest.
After an up-and-down non-conference run, Ford had the Bears in contention for the Valley regular season title into the final weeks of the season. His recruiting chops were on full display in year one, as he locked up local prep talent and brought in instant impact transfers in point guard Josh Webster and dynamic forward Tulio Da Silva. That continued into this offseason, as the Bears landed Anthony Masinton-Bonner (Colorado State) and Lamont West (West Virginia) to create a team that should be the Valley’s clear favorite in 2019-20.
Coach that fits the profile: Ford seemed destined for big things the second he began to turn things around at Tennessee State at an impossibly young age. The same goes for T.J. Otzelberger who, albeit by inheriting a roster with Mike Daum, found big success over three seasons at South Dakota State after being the staff recruiting darling at Iowa State and Washington. He steps in at UNLV, which, like Ford at Missouri State, is a program many see with untapped potential, especially for a highly regarded recruiter.
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Darian DeVries, Drake
The longtime Creighton assistant jumped the state line back to his Iowa roots and engineered a resurgent season at Drake. The Bulldogs won 24 games and earned a share of the Valley regular season conference title, one year after Niko Medved parlayed his own inaugural 17-17 season into a move to Colorado State. DeVries inherited senior center Nick McGlynn and sophomore point guard Noah Thomas but not much else, and, as it turned out, was able to add a number of impact players right away in JuCo transfers D.J. Wilkins and Anthony and Tremell Murphy, as well as Iowa graduate transfer Brady Ellingson. The Bulldogs played a more aesthetically pleasing brand of offense, and had a balanced team that surprised within the Valley.
Coach that fits the profile: Elon’s Mike Schrage most closely fits the bill. Like DeVries, his entire coaching career has been spent as an assistant, with over a decade of experience at high major programs (Ohio State, Butler, Stanford). Mullins, Jay McAuley (Wofford) and Danny Sprinkle (Montana State) fit the assistant-only profile as well.
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