So, you were probably waiting for something else written by me, weren’t you?
Fear not. My way-too-early preseason picks will come out tomorrow (which, if you’re reading this after July 1st, it will already be out!) But before you read something that may or may not make you mad, indulge me in reading the latest edition of the #HLMBB Starting Five.
Ready for the World
The FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup kicked off this weekend, and while there isn’t any Horizon League representation on Team USA, at least one national squad has tabbed an HL player, and another has a former Horizon Leaguer on the roster.
Let’s start with Dayan Nessah, who recently signed with Cleveland State earlier this month, is representing the host country Switzerland.
The Swiss were situated in Group C and have faced off against Israel and the Dominican Republic. Switzerland was bested, 102-77, in its first match-up against the Israelis, with Nessah scoring nine points, pulling down eight boards and notching six assists in 31 minutes.
In the second contest against the Dominican side, Nessah was a force of nature. The Swiss held off a tough Dominican Republic squad, 80-76, in no small part of Nessah’s contributions, finishing with 23 points (including four three-pointers), 10 rebounds and five assists.
Switzerland’s last match-up to qualify for the knockout round is Tuesday (7/1), playing against Jordan at 2pm ET. It will be broadcast live via FIBA’s YouTube channel.
Keenan Garner, who played for IU Indy before the coaching change that eventually landed him at Central Michigan, is also playing in this tourney, representing Germany, which swept its initial games against Slovenia and China. Unlike Nasseh, Garner has not seen as much action, not playing against the Slovenians and only getting five minutes of action against the Chinese team.
The Basketball Tournament Gives, and It Takes Away
Summer’s annual tradition, The Basketball Tournament, will be back later on in July, and the TBT organizers have put out the bracket for the latest event.
One team that’s missing from the TBT bracket is Green Bay, which was lobbying the NCAA to get a waiver to participate in the tourney, citing that it would be the same as playing pro teams during overseas trips. The NCAA didn’t budge, as it didn’t last year, the Phoenix won’t be a part of this year’s tourney.
You get the feeling that at a certain point down the road, the NCAA will ease its stance on this, and Green Bay or another school may give it another whirl next year or beyond. But as far as this summer’s festivities go, the Phoenix will have to settle for inter-practice scrimmages.
That’s not to say that there won’t be any Horizon League representation in TBT. Throughout the years, that’s never been the case, as former HL hoopers have found their way onto various rosters.
Such is the case with the Fort Wayne Champs squad, which naturally includes one ex-Purdue Fort Wayne player, Jarred Godfrey. Green Bay legend Rahmon Fletcher also gets back to his pro roots in the British Basketball League, playing with the current B. Braun Sheffield Sharks team that is participating in TBT.
Youngstown State’s Nico Galette makes his debut with X-Rayted, a team that’s sponsored by Primetime Radiology. Fellow ex-Penguins Brett Thompson and DJ Burns, who preceded Gallette, will play for the UK-based Richards Elite and La Familia, respectively. Milwaukee’s Langston Wilson has a spot on the Red Rose Thunder roster as well. Last, but not least, Loudon Love will be a part of the Green Mountain Men contingency.
There’s an extra Horizon League twist for this year’s TBT, as Dan Monteroso, recently hired as an assistant at IU Indy, is slated to play for Dubois Dream. His new colleague Devin Heath-Granger will be on the Fail Harder bench as an assistant. And Keith Oddo, the former Jags assistant added to Andy Toole’s staff at Robert Morris, is listed as an assistant coach for The Ville, the team comprised of ex-Louisville players.
Onward to Madison!
Needless to say, it’s been a while since Wisconsin played Milwaukee. Nearly six years, to be exact. And for Panther fans, that’s been too long. Then again, it’s been even longer since crosstown Marquette has played Milwaukee, either.
That aside, the Badgers have finally gotten around to putting Milwaukee back on the schedule, as the Panthers will travel to Madison for a December 30th tilt.
You can understand why Wisconsin wasn’t all that eager to renew the match-up with the Panthers. 2015 marked the end of the annual game that started in 1992. And that may be because Milwaukee took a 68-67 win over the Badgers in the final contest. The two teams have only played twice since then, in 2017 and 2019.
Will Wisconsin have the Panthers back on a more regular basis after this December? Who’s to say? But it’s a start.
Your move, Marquette.
If It Isn’t Broke…
Ethan Faulker made the head coaching transition look relatively easy after taking over at Youngstown State for Jerrod Calhoun. Even with the top of the Horizon League standings as tough to compete with as any point in recent years, the Penguins still managed to get a top-four seeding and, as a result, a first-round conference tournament bye.
YSU wasn’t done after that. Faulker’s team took down Purdue Fort Wayne and Cleveland State to make it to the Horizon League Tournament finals for the first time since joining the conference in 2001. Ultimately, Robert Morris got the best of the Penguins and took the tourney crown.
The seamless coaching transition, however, was certainly not lost on the administration at Youngstown State, and Faulker was rewarded with a contract extension.
Neel Madhavan from the Tribune-Chronicle provided the details of the new deal, which includes a raise from $275,000 to $280,500 per year, plus another year added to keep Faulkner with Youngstown State until 2030.
Naturally, Faulkner’s continued success could spark the interest of schools in the future. But with a consistent formula in place, Penguin fans can look forward to watching their team perform with the best that the Horizon League has to offer.
Money(ball) In the Bank
For 20 years, Horizon League players and alum have descended upon the Moneyball Pro-Am, the annual summer event created by entrepreneur and former hooper Desmond Ferguson, Sr. In that time, if you’re a Detroit-area player, this is the place to be.
This year, as expected, the Moneyball rosters are full for incoming, current and former Horizon Leaguers, with a significant contingency coming from Detroit Mercy, with Nate Johnson, Tyler Spratt, Lance Stone and Zak Abdalla one board. In addition, Drew Lowder, the ex-Cleveland State player, and Kam Hankerson, the former Green Bay Phoenix, is also on board.
Two games in, it appears that Spratt and Johnson are taking turns scorching the nets for their Case Credit Union team, with Spratt draining six threes in the first contest and Johnson hitting a trio of shots beyond the arc in the second game.
With the Moneyball Pro-Am games continuing through the end of July, you can expect Spratt, Johnson and the rest of the Horizon League group to make some noise throughout.
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