What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/28/2021

From Tim Miles at San Jose State to Jordan Mincy at Jacksonville: Tiers of mid-major coaching hires for 2021--The Athletic

Tier 3

Drew Valentine, Loyola Chicago: Porter Moser’s success, which included a Final Four run and this year’s Sweet 16 berth, turned the Ramblers’ job into a desirable one. The candidate pool could have been flush with options when Moser went to Oklahoma. But the school stayed in house with Moser’s right-hand man in Valentine. Just 29, he is now the youngest head coach in Division I. But he also was the team’s de facto defensive coordinator, and Loyola Chicago finished the season with the No. 2 defense nationally, per KenPom.com. There’s some risk here, but the Ramblers have modeled themselves after Gonzaga. The Zags also took a chance on a relatively young and unproven assistant coach when Dan Monson left for a power conference job. Mark Few has worked out all right.

Tier 5

Josh Schertz, Indiana State: The safe and sensible thing would have been to keep Greg Lansing. Though he hadn’t taken the Sycamores to the NCAA Tournament since his first season in 2013-14, Lansing fielded teams that were almost always competitive. And Larry Bird legacy or not, this is a very difficult job. But Indiana State did not play it safe, opting to bring in Schertz from Division II Lincoln Memorial. He had an absurd 83.1 winning percentage there and won 30-plus games five times. Will that success translate? No one knows. This looks like a boom-or-bust decision.

Key will be back with Sycamores--Terre Haute Tribune Star

New ISU women's coach no stranger to Hulman Center--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Chad Killinger Introduced as Ninth Head Coach of Sycamore Women’s Basketball--gosycamores.com

Loyola Chicago hired 29-year-old Drew Valentine to take over a top mid-major and then things got even better--CBS Sports
The 6 most intriguing college basketball coaching hires of 2021--The Comeback

4. Oklahoma: Porter Moser

Oklahoma replaced an excellent coach in the retired Lon Kruger with a rising star. Porter Moser built Loyola Chicago from ground zero (7-23 in his first season), reaching the 2018 Final Four and 2021 Sweet 16. Last season, Loyola of Chicago was the second-best defensive team in the nation, according to KenPom.com. The Ramblers completely dismantled Illinois in this year’s second round of the NCAA Tournament for one of the biggest victories in school history. It’s interesting that Moser chose Oklahoma out of all his possible options (he turned down St. John’s last year). 

His style of play was effective but slow. Loyola Chicago ranked 342nd out of 357 teams in tempo per KenPom. Moser will have a challenging first season with a revamped roster (only five returning scholarship players). He’s adding transfers, including Eastern Washington forwards Tanner Groves and Jacob Groves, and Duke guard Jordan Goldwire.

Several Players Transferring from Loyola Men’s Basketball--Loyola Phoenix

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/27/2021

Watch now: Dusan Mahorcic decides to enter transfer portal, leave Illinois State basketball program--The Pantagraph

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/26/2021

 
The Peoria connection that helped Bradley basketball land Terry Roberts--Peoria Journal Star
Bradley men's basketball lands 6-foot-7 guard from France via Pennsylvania prep team--Peoria Journal Star
Bradley Basketball Signs Maxime Ekono--bradleybraves.com

'I believe in this place': Allison Pohlman introduced as Drake women's basketball head coach--Des Moines Register
Pohlman Introduced As The Suzie Glazer Burt Head Women’s Basketball Coach--godrakebulldogs.com

Women’s Basketball Signs Jada Stinson--goredbirds.com

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/25/2021

 
Valley Expansion: A Different Direction?--Eville-Ways

MSU Insider: Cameron Krutwig's departure means higher expectations for Missouri State hoops--Springfield News-Leader

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/23/2021

The Valley Runs Deep: How Loaded Could the MVC Be in 2022?--Off The Inbound
Indiana State hires Nicholls assistant, Evansville names FIU assistant new women's coach--Southern Illinoisan

Bradley men's basketball team adds JUCO guard Terry Roberts--Peoria Journal Star
Terry Roberts Signs with Bradley Basketball--bradleybraves.com

Portal giveth, portal taketh: Petrees out, two forwards in for Braves--Bradley Scout

Omaha basketball transfer Ayo Akinwole commits to Drake--Des Moines Register
Akinwole Joins Drake Men’s Basketball Team--godrakebulldogs.com

Meet the two newest Evansville basketball players: Antoine Smith Jr., Preston Phillips--Evansville Courier
UE Men’s Basketball adds two in Spring Signing Period--gopurpleaces.com

Illinois State names Johnson as new Assistant Basketball Coach--Hoop Dirt
Illinois State basketball program adds Rob Johnson as assistant coach--The Pantagraph
Muller announces assistant coach hiring--Vidette Online
Men’s Basketball Adds Assistant Coach--goredbirds.com

Watch now: Transfer Jada Stinson to join Illinois State women's basketball team--The Pantagraph

Neese decides to return to Sycamores--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Richardson leaves for Clemson--Terre Haute Tribune Star

Building bonds with the Haute is an important mission for new coaches--Terre Haute Tribune Star

Chad Killinger named ISU's ninth women's basketball coach--Indiana Statesman

Loyola Chicago's Krutwig says he is turning pro--Associated Press
Sean Dwyer, former UC Bearcats and NKU assistant coach, joins Loyola Chicago staff--Cincinnati Enquirer
Cameron Krutwig will forgo his final season of eligibility with Loyola to pursue a professional basketball career--Chicago Tribune
Lucas Williamson is 1 of 4 Loyola seniors to announce his return for an extra season of eligibility — a boost for new coach Drew Valentine--Chicago Tribune
Krutwig's dream season a steppingstone to NBA draft--Daily Herald
‘A Rambler For Life’: Cameron Krutwig Forgoes Eligibility to Declare for the NBA Draft--Loyola Phoenix
‘Run It Back’: Four of Men’s Basketball’s Seniors To Return--Loyola Phoenix
Four Loyola Seniors To Return For 2021-22 Men’s Basketball Season--loyolaramblers.com

Cleveland State transfer Mariah White signs with Missouri State Lady Bears--Springfield News-Leader
Mariah White Joins Lady Bears as Transfer from Cleveland State--missouristatebears.com

Valparaiso lands 7-foot Wisconsin transfer Joe Hedstrom--NWI Times

Morrison, White to Return For 2021-22 Season--valpoathletics.com

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/20/2021

 
Drake promoting Pohlman to head women’s basketball coach--Associated Press

University of Evansville hires Robyn Scherr-Wells as women’s basketball head coach--Evansville Courier & Press
'We’re going to play an exciting brand of basketball': New UE women's coach eager to rebuild--Evansville Courier & Press
Robyn Scherr-Wells named Evansville Head Women's Basketball Coach--gopurpleaces.com

UPDATED: Killinger comes home to lead Sycamores--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Chad Killinger Named Indiana State’s Ninth Women’s Basketball Coach--gosycamores.com

Drew Valentine’s 1st Loyola basketball coaching staff includes former assistants from South Alabama and Cincinnati and a former Division I head coach--Chicago Tribune
Loyola Chicago Men’s Basketball Staff Update--Hoop Dirt
Loyola Announces Men’s Basketball Staff--loyolaramblers.com

Warren Earns Contract Extension--unipanthers.com

Ruedinger betting on himself at Valparaiso, while McMillian and Johnson make decisions--NWI Times
Valpo Basketball Welcomes Thomas Kithier--valpoathletics.com

What's In The Missouri Valley 4/19/2021

MVC Teams Recruiting the Portal--Valley Hoops Insider

Why Bradley basketball's newest transfer chose Peoria over Texas A&M, BYU and more--Peoria Journal Star

Allison Pohlman named new Drake women's basketball coach; served as associate to departing Jennie Baranczyk--Des Moines Register
Allison Pohlman Named Suzie Glazer Burt Head Women's Basketball Coach at Drake University--godrakebulldogs.com

Arizona State lands Illinois State transfer DJ Horne--Zags Blog

State champion guard Jaiden Bryant commits to Missouri State Lady Bears--Springield News-Leader

Former Michigan State player transfers to Valpo, has two years of immediate eligibility--NWI Times

Olivia Brown Signs With Valpo Women’s Basketball--valpoathletics.com

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/16/2021

NCAA Basketball: Evaluating bold preseason predictions from the past season--Heat Check CBB

Missouri Valley

LOYOLA CHICAGO IS A DOMINANT LEAGUE CHAMPION

If you want to argue against ‘dominant’ because of how good Drake was this year, I’ll give you that. But the Ramblers were excellent, ranked in the top ten in both KenPom and the NET rankings and reached the Sweet 16. They swept MVC regular season and tournament titles, too. That counts as a win to me.

Portal magic: Wardle navigates the ever-changing world of transfer recruiting--Bradley Scout

Gabi Haack to return for a fifth season at BU--Bradley Scout
Women’s Basketball Adds Pair Of Transfers--bradleybraves.com

Todd Lickliter: Aces will return four starters, hope to jump 'five more spots' in MVC--Evansville Courier & Press

Peterson, Crawford now official to ISU--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Indiana State Men’s Basketball Adds Two for 2021-22 Campaign--gosycamores.com

Postseason awards: All-Mid-Major Madness First Team--Mid-Major Madness

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve arrived at the summit of awards season here at Mid-Major Madness.

We’ve relived our game of the year, doled out individual awards and handed out our second and third all-MMM teams. That leaves just one piece of business: the first team. As you might expect, some of these names will already have been touched on and, it bears repeating, just because some players on this list qualified by virtue of playing in a mid-major league, it does not mean their team is a mid-major.

Here’s who we think were the cream of the crop in hopefully the only pandemic-affected season we see in our lifetime:

Cameron Krutwig — Loyola University Chicago

2020-21 stats: 15.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.0 APG

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

What’s left to be said about the Ramblers’ man in the middle? Krutwig wrapped up his college career much like he started it: by putting his stamp on the NCAA Tournament. The senior was the centerpiece of another tremendous Loyola team, anchoring the country’s second-most efficient defense while picking the opposition apart with from the high post or low block with a diverse offensive arsenal.

His high school coach, Jimmy Roberts, recently talked to us about what appealed to Porter Moser when he was recruiting Krutwig years ago.

“Coach Moser always talks about Coach [Rick] Majerus being a huge influence on him, and when [Majerus] looked for a big he wanted to find bigs who are basketball players,” Roberts said. “A lot of big kids, tall kids just play basketball because they’re tall, and they’re not basketball junkies, not basketball players and that’s what he loved in Cam. He’s a basketball junkie, he’s a gym rat he just loves to play.”

The MVC Player of the Year is the only player in Loyola history to be in the program’s top 10 in points, rebounds and assists, and is as responsible as any single player for the Moser-led renaissance on the North Side.

Saluki Women’s Basketball signs Laniah Randle--siusalukis.com

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/15/2021

 
Bradley basketball lands commitment from UC San Diego transfer guard--Peoria Journal Star
Mikey Howell Joins Bradley Basketball Program--bradleybraves.com

Bears Sign Valpo Transfer Donovan Clay--missouristatebears.com

Lady Bears Postseason Banquet Set for May 1--missouristatebears.com

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/14/2021

 
What Bradley basketball looks for in NCAA transfer portal. And how the Braves will find it--Peoria Journal Star

Recruiting mailbag: What's next for Iowa State, Iowa, Drake in the 2021 class?--Des Moines Register

Just saw Drake has offered Kobe Elvis from DePaul. I take it Marvin Johnson is going elsewhere?

Drake recently offered DePaul guard transfer Kobe Elvis, joining programs such as Clemson, Dayton, Cal, Colorado State, Boston College and Grand Canyon in their pursuit. He is one of a handful of transfer targets Drake is currently talking to.

Omaha guard transfer Ayo Akinwale told me Tuesday that he's been in talks with head coach Darian DeVries, which is usually a sign a school is seriously interested.

Indian River State College wing Linton Brown told me Tuesday he's hearing from assistant coach Marty Richter, whose reputation is gold with junior colleges in Florida, where IRSC is located. Brown is a 6-5 athlete who logged 18.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game this year. He holds offers from New Mexico, Southern Miss, UMass Lowell, Coppin State and Chicago State, and he's also hearing from Iona, Appalachian State, Radford, Louisiana Monroe, Bradley, FIU, Alcorn State, South Dakota, Wagner, Louisiana Lafayette, Maryland Eastern Shore, Boise State, Towson and SIUE.

Florida SouthWestern point guard Terry Roberts, another high-level Florida juco product, is still on Drake's board and has been for a while.

Montgomery (Alabama) unsigned power forward RayQuan Taylor could become a name to watch. The 6-9 athlete is lighting it up on the AAU circuit right now. He was originally an Austin Peay signee, but the coaching change there ended that. He just picked up an offer from UTRGV on Tuesday.

TCU power forward transfer Kevin Easley is also on the Bulldogs' radar. The 6-7 athlete entered the transfer portal last week. He averaged 4.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game last season. He sat out the year before last season after transferring from Chattanooga. 

Pacific guard transfer Broc Finstuen could also be a name to watch. He told me this week that he hasn't heard from Drake since entering the transfer portal April 9, but he has heard from plenty of other mid-majors so far. He's got good size at 6-4. He's from just outside Rochester, Minnesota, about a 3 1/2-hour drive from Des Moines. And he averaged 11.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last year while shooting 49.7%.

I'm not entirely sure what the status is with Eastern Illinois guard transfer Marvin Johnson, but I haven't heard from him since March 23, three days after he included Drake in his final four alongside Arkansas, Mississippi State and New Mexico State.

New name, added at 1:40 p.m. Wednesday: Pacific guard transfer Jahbril Price-Noel has heard from Drake, UC Riverside, Hawaii, Utah State, Wagner St. Francis-Brooklyn, Youngstown State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Merrimack since entering the portal in mid-March, according to his former AAU program, Northern Kings. He's from Ontatio, and Bulldogs assistant coach Larry Blunt has a good reputation in Canada.

Kierra Collier, a two-season starter for the Bulldogs, transferring from Drake--Des Moines Register

Reeves pushes his stock for upcoming NBA--Vidette Online

Redbird Report Card: Grades for women's basketball's 2020-21 season--Vidette Online

New ISU coach Schertz keeps busy with transition--Terre Haute Tribune Star

Former Ramblers Flourishing In Professional Basketball Careers Overseas--loyolaramblers.com
Loyola Men’s Basketball Adds Three Players To 2021-22 Roster--loyolaramblers.com

‘We Don’t Win Games Without Her’: Senior Ellie Rice’s Impact on Loyola Women’s Basketball--Loyola Phoenix

Duke transfer Jennifer Ezeh is joining the Missouri State Lady Bears--Springfield News-Leader
Lady Bears Land Duke Transfer Jennifer Ezeh--missouristatebears.com

Anderson, Taylor to Join Valpo Basketball Program--valpoathletics.com

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/13/2021

 
Ranking college basketball's top committed transfers: Walker Kessler leads players who have made decisions--CBS Sports

28. Joseph Yesufu

Old school: Drake | New school: Kansas

With star wing ShanQuan Hemphill limited by injury and starting point guard Roman Penn out with a broken foot, Drake turned to Yesufu late in the season, and he delivered. After playing a bench role for the first season and a half of his career, the explosive 6-foot guard averaged 23.2 points in Drake's final nine games and turned in one of the best dunks of the NCAA Tournament in a First Four victory over Wichita State.

Why Donovan Clay stayed in the Valley and transferred from Valparaiso to Missouri State--Springfield News-Leader

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/12/2021

Oklahoma hires Drake’s Baranczyk as new women’s hoops coach--Associated Press
Who could replace Jennie Baranczyk at Drake? A list of possible candidates--Des Moines Register

Gary West point guard chooses ISU--Terre Haute Tribune Star

Salukis' Jakolby Long enters transfer portal--Southern Illinoisan

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 4/10/2021

 
Drake coach Jennie Baranczyk accepts head coaching job at Oklahoma--Des Moines Register
Baranczyk Named Head Women’s Basketball Coach At Oklahoma--godrakebulldogs.com

Evansville’s 2021 KenPom Report Card--Eville-Ways

Watch now: Illinois State coach Dan Muller, like many others, scouring the transfer portal for players--The Pantagraph

Cincinnati basketball coaching candidates: Erik Martin, Dennis Gates, Archie Miller and other names to watch--The Athletic

Call list

(In alphabetical order)

Dana Ford, Missouri State coach: At some point, the 36-year-old Ford will have a chance at a step up. He doesn’t have the experience in the region that others on this list do, but he does have a track record of turnarounds at Tennessee State and now Missouri State, which finished 17-7 in Ford’s third season after going 32-33 in his first two. The Bears made steady improvement from pretty dang bad to 90th in offensive efficiency in 2020-21, ranking 33rd nationally in effective field goal percentage. The upside is clear, and there’s a short but nevertheless measurable record to examine as a coach. He knows how to run a ship and build belief. The only question is if a rattled Cincinnati administration wants an even more experienced hand.

Former Valparaiso star Donovan Clay transferring to Missouri State basketball--Springfield News-Leader