What's Up In The Missouri Valley

Monday, May 14, 2018

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 5/14/2018

How good are the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge games, anyway?--Mid-Major Madness

Ladellia “TeTe” Maggett Signs National Letter of Intent with Illinois State--goredbirds.com

Loyola signs New York shooting guard Tykei Greene to 2018 recruiting class--Chicago Tribune
Loyola sees uptick in donations and season ticket deposits after Final Four run--Chicago Tribune
Loyola Athletic Department Sees 660 Percent Increase in Donations--Loyola Phoenix

Sunday, May 13, 2018

What's Up In The Missouri Valley 5/13/2018

2018’s Holiday Tournaments: What’s Still Open--Blogging The Bracket

Update (5/9): Just hours after I posted this, the Horizon League’s Milwaukee Panthers announced their participation in the Belfast Classic, with Buffalo also on the list, along with the Albany Great Danes (America East), Dartmouth Big Green (Ivy League), LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds (NEC), Marist Red Foxes (MAAC), and San Francisco Dons (WCC). Given the fact teams will play a pair of games in Northern Ireland and Buffalo has two home games as part of the event, one team is still TBA and there will be some sort of split-bracket arrangement for this event.
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As for the other events needing teams . . .

A Penn State message board discovered that the Nittany Lions, SMU Mustangs, and Wright State Raiders are set to be hosts in the Cancun Challenge. While the visitors’ quartet is full, one host, who naturally won’t come from the American, Big Ten, or Horizon, is required to fill that field.
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11 non-committed teams from the top tier of mid-major conference are other possibilities to fill these spots, and again, if Richmond and Wyoming are no longer tied to the Suncoast Classic, that number will stand at 14 13.
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MVC: Bradley Braves
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Mid-Major Focused Tournaments

The remaining events without teams are either ones that are totally focused on mid-majors or visitors’ brackets of tournaments with (primarily) power conference headliners. Two returning events—the Gulf Coast Showcase and Savannah Invitational—fit in the first category. So might the Rocky Mountain Challenge, a new event the Mountain West Conference will sponsor that’s set for the U.S. Olympic Committee’s headquarters in Colorado Springs.

But there look to be plenty of places available for mid-majors willing to exchange a possible beating for a sizable pay check in the visitors’ brackets of a split-field event.
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The host Chaminade Silverswords will play in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational on the Mainland for the first time, with the Evansville Purple Aces apparently joining them.

Illinois State & UNI Have Early Opportunities--Valley Hoops Insider

Power conference basketball salaries well above Missouri Valley pay grade--Peoria Journal Star

Evansville Purple Aces Release Their Non-Conference Schedule for 2018-19--College Court Report
Evansville Aces announce 2018-19 men's basketball non-conference schedule--Evansville Courier & Press
University of Evansville announces Coaches Caravan with Walter McCarty--Evansville Courier & Press
UE men’s basketball announces 2018-19 non-conference slate--gopurpleaces.com
Coaches Caravan set for May through September--gopurpleaces.com
ACES INSIDER - "Get on Board" with McCarty Caravan tour--gopurpleaces.com

Power forward latest transfer to join ISU basketball team--The Pantagraph
ISU's Yarbrough released on bond for reckless conduct--The Pantagraph
Redbirds Add San Jose State Transfer Keith Fisher III--goredbirds.com

ISU inks transfer point guard Bacote--Terre Haute Tribune Star
Cam Bacote Joins Sycamore Basketball Program--gosycamores.com

51 Sycamore Student-Athletes Set For Spring Commencement--gosycamores.com

Meet Hall and Staff at Wednesday’s Special High Noon Huddle--gosycamores.com

Loyola Athletics Department Recovering from Wild March--Loyola Phoenix
Loyola’s March Madness Publicity Worth More Than $300 Million--Loyola Phoenix
Loyola’s March Success Sends Ticket Sales Skyrocketing--Loyola Phoenix
My Next Chapter: Sports Editor--Loyola Phoenix
Loyola Men’s Basketball Signs Tykei Greene--loyolaramblers.com

Four Players Who Will Look to Turn Heads at the 2018 NBA Draft Combine--College Court Report

Alize Johnson – Missouri State Bears

2017-18 Stats: 15.0 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 2.8 apg; 43.0% FG, 75.9% FT

As a junior in 2016-17, the 6’9” Johnson burst onto the scene for the Missouri State Bears. His play over the course of that season propelled his name up draft boards all across the country as he asserted himself as one of the top forwards in the nation. He returned to school for his senior season, and despite the Bears not being able to live up to the preseason expectations that surrounded the team, Johnson is still among the best big men in the country.

Over his two year career with the Bears, the native of Williamsport, PA combined to score 982 points and pull down 735 rebounds. He recorded 20 double-doubles as a senior this past season, giving him 37 such performances over his career at Missouri State. Johnson has the ability to stretch the floor with his three point shooting, but is also an interior threat around the rim.

His rebounding ability and effectiveness on the glass on both ends of the floor will set him apart from other forwards at the combine. Many have Johnson tabbed as a late-second round selection as of now. If he can perform well in the drills and five-on-five game action in Chicago, he could climb to the early parts of the second round or higher.

Johnson heads to the NBA Draft Combine--The Standard

From Springfield to overseas, Fruendt is going pro--The Standard

SLATE: Kansas State to play Eastern Kentucky and potentially Missouri at Paradise Jam--Bring On The Cats

The Paradise Jam revealed the bracket for the 2018 edition of the annual tournament at the University of the Virgin Islands yesterday, and K-State will face the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in the primetime game in the first round on November 16.

Two nights later, the Cats will face the winner (or loser, if they somehow stumble themselves) of the first-round contest between Northern Iowa and Pennsylvania. They’ll play again on November 19, with a multitude of possibilities; the hope, however, is that they’ll be in the championship game. Who would they face?

Local, area sports briefs--Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
Paradise Jam Bracket Revealed; UNI vs. Penn--unipanthers.com