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Horizon League announces All-League Teams

John Parker
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Horizon League announces All-League Teams

Could this be the year Naz Bohannon earns postseason honors?

In addition to announcing its Preseason Poll, the Horizon League announced its Preseason First and Second Team All-League picks on Thursday. The votes were cast by Horizon League Head Coaches, Sports Information Directors and some media members.

As was the case with the HoriZone Roundtable Preseason All-League Teams, Loudon Love was pegged as the league’s Preseason Player of the Year. Joining him on the first team were Detroit Mercy guard Antoine Davis, Green Bay guard Amari Davis, IUPUI guard Marcus Burk and Youngstown State guard Darius Quisenberry.

The Second Team consisted of Cleveland State forward Al Eichelberger, Milwaukee guard Te’Jon Lucas, Oakland guard Rashad Williams, Robert Morris forward AJ Bramah and Youngstown State forward Naz Bohannon.

First TeamSecond Team
Loudon Love, F, Wright State (POY)Al Eichelberger, F, Cleveland State
Antoine Davis, F, Detroit MercyTe’Jon Lucas, G, Milwaukee
Amari Davis, G, Green BayRashad Williams, G, Oakland
Marcus Burk, G, IUPUIAJ Bramah, F, Robert Morris
Darius Quisenberry, G, YSUNaz Bohannon, F, YSU

Unlike with the Preseason Poll, it seems things were pretty cut-and-dry for voters with the All-League teams this year. The HoriZone Roundtable Preseason First Team All-League picks perfectly match the league’s official team. The second team has four of five identical picks with Bohannon swapped out for Dante Treacy, who our voters feel is primed for a big year in 2021.

The one player included on the official All-League list that wasn’t on ours, Naz Bohannon has consistently been on the shortlist for league recognition but could never seem to break through until now. Bohannon averaged 11.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as the primary post threat for fourth place Youngstown State last year.

With the Penguins projected for second place in both the HoriZone Roundtable Preseason Poll and the league’s official preseason poll, and Bohannon anticipated to improve as a senior voters are confident he’ll finally have the year that they deem worthy of the postseason award. If the league continues last year’s decision to announce a Third Team All-League in the postseason, Bohannon should have some wiggle room to earn postseason honors.

It’s not a surprise that none of the league’s newcomers were selected to the Preseason All-League teams given that this has been an ongoing trend and that it may be the result of who coaches select to be eligible for voting. Don’t be surprised if some of the very promising newcomers wind up taking up several of the All-League spots and making sure that Bohannon and the rest of the preseason selections work extremely hard to earn even third team honors in 2021.

Miss anything from Preview Week(s)? Check it all out below:

Predictions
HoriZone Roundtable Preseason Poll • Preseason All-League Teams
If we had an All-Newcomer Team… • All-Freshman Team Picks

Team Previews
Wright State • Youngstown State • Robert Morris • Cleveland State
UIC • Oakland • Northern Kentucky • Detroit Mercy
Green Bay • Purdue Fort Wayne • Milwaukee • IUPUI

Horizon League announces Preseason Poll

John Parker
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Horizon League announces Preseason Poll

Wright State picked to repeat; league voters trust NKU to contend

The Horizon League released its Preseason Poll on Thursday. The poll was voted on by Horizon League Head Coaches, Sports Information Directors and some media members.

Unsurprisingly, Wright State was the overwhelming favorite and earned 37 of 44 first place votes. If anything, it’s a bit surprising to see teams other than Wright State get so many first place votes given that the Raiders suffered far less roster turnover than any of the other three teams that made it to the Horizon League Tournament Semifinals.

Last year’s fourth place finisher Youngstown State earned three first place votes on its way to being selected in second place. 2020 regular season runner-up and Horizon League Tournament Champion Northern Kentucky was selected for third place with four first place votes despite losing three All-League performers from last year’s roster. Robert Morris was picked for fourth place in its first season in the Horizon League. UIC is projected fifth after losing four key seniors from a fourth place team that made a run to the Horizon League Championship game a season ago. Oakland rounded out the top half of the league, narrowly edging out 2020 Horizon League Coach of the Year Dennis Gates and Cleveland State.

Following a coaching change and serious roster turnover, Green Bay is picked to finish in eighth place. Detroit Mercy’s large cast of experienced newcomers wasn’t enough to get the team picked higher than ninth place. Milwaukee, Purdue Fort Wayne and IUPUI round out the projection.

While there are a number of similarities between the HoriZone Roundtable Preseason Poll and the league’s official poll, there are some stark differences as well. Here’s a look at the two side-by-side:

HoriZone RoundtableHorizon League
Wright StateWright State
Youngstown StateYoungstown State
Robert MorrisNorthern Kentucky
Cleveland StateRobert Morris
UICUIC
OaklandOakland
Northern KentuckyCleveland State
Detroit MercyGreen Bay
Green BayDetroit Mercy
Purdue Fort WayneMilwaukee
MilwaukeePurdue Fort Wayne
IUPUIIUPUI

Both polls like the returning talent on Wright State and Youngstown State, with the first major difference being opinions on Northern Kentucky. While HoriZone Roundtable voters seemed to think the loss of four significant upperclassmen could cause the Norse to drop, Horizon League voters appear to have serious faith in Darrin Horn to get the team to jell.

Next, the two polls differ greatly on Cleveland State. While our poll likes the returning talent on the Vikings, the official league poll seems to think the Vikings spent too much time feasting on lesser competition last year to be a serious threat at the top of the league. From this HoriZone Roundtable voter’s perspective, it seems like the league’s tendency to undervalue newcomers might be seeping over into the Preseason Poll. Not only do elite Junior College recruit D’Moi Hodge, composite 3-star freshman Alec Ogelsby and a large crop of newcomers inject a ton of talent into a hard-nosed Vikings team, they provide offensive firepower and 3-point shooting that the team was sorely lacking in 2020.

It seems the team has the talent that league voters valued heavily with Wright State and Youngstown State plus highly touted newcomers that seem primed to star in the league quickly, but still didn’t get nearly the respect that the Raiders and Penguins got. Another consideration that could easily come into play is that CSU might be the deepest team in the league, and voters might’ve been coming from a perspective that the league won’t see several players forced out of several games due to mandatory quarantine periods.

None of the rest of the discrepancies between the HoriZone Roundtable and Horizon League polls are very significant, with every other school projected within one spot of their official projection. Of the remaining options, the one that might stand out the most is Detroit Mercy versus Green Bay.

While the Phoenix were obviously very successful in 2020, the team fired Linc Darner and hired Will Ryan after a single year at Division II Wheeling University where he led the Cardinals to a 14-13 record. Following several transfers, the Phoenix were left with just three returning players with meaningful Division I experience: projected First Team All-League guard Amari Davis, 2020 HoriZone Roundtable Sixth Man of the Year PJ Pipes, and Illinois State transfer guard Josh Jefferson. While Green Bay’s incoming class looks good on paper, its frontcourt starters and every bench player except former walk-on Jiovanni Miles will be making their NCAA debuts in just a few weeks.

On the flipside, Detroit Mercy brings back 2020 First Team All-League performer Antoine Davis and a number of players with Division I experience DASH both with the Titans and with other schools DASH for what could finally be the team Head Coach Mike Davis has tried to assemble. The most notable of the newcomers is former Syracuse and Seton Hall big man Taurean Thompson. Thompson averaged 9.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game with Syracuse before transferring to Seton Hall. While he didn’t get the playing time he wanted with the Pirates, he looks like he could be a supremely talented big man like the ones that Davis had success with in the past. Both Aaric Murray and Trayvon Reed thrived under Davis at Texas State after previously receiving high acclaim at bigger schools.

It seems voters believe in Ryan to put together a scrappy team like he had at wheeling more than they trust Davis to finally surround his son with players that allow the Titans to thrive.

Miss anything from Preview Week(s)? Check it all out below:

Predictions
HoriZone Roundtable Preseason Poll • Preseason All-League Teams
If we had an All-Newcomer Team… • All-Freshman Team Picks

Team Previews
Wright State • Youngstown State • Robert Morris • Cleveland State
UIC • Oakland • Northern Kentucky • Detroit Mercy
Green Bay • Purdue Fort Wayne • Milwaukee • IUPUI

Horizon League Releases 2020-21 Schedule

John Parker
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Horizon League Releases 2020-21 Schedule

Could the format impact the Horizon League race in 2021?

The Horizon League released the 2020-21 league schedule on Wednesday. In doing so, the league confirmed rumors of a 20-game schedule where each team would play back-to-back days against the same opponent at the same location. Following the additions of Purdue Fort Wayne and Robert Morris, that means each team will play all but one league opponent.

In a release sent on Wednesday, the conference announced that league play would start on December 19th. Like several conference around the country, the Horizon League will play the 2020-21 season with back-to-back games at a single site.

For the first two weeks of the schedule, teams will play on Saturdays and Sundays, meaning that there are games slated right after Christmas, on December 26th and 27th.

Starting on New Year’s Day, the Horizon League will shift the conference schedule to Fridays and Saturdays. This is most likely to accommodate the league’s partnership with ESPN, which has broadcast features contest on one of the its family of networks. In addition, all conference games will remain available either on ESPN3 or ESPN+.

As for attendance, the Horizon League stated that for at least the start of the schedule, there will be no spectators at any venue. This doesn’t apply to non-conference games, which will be determined by each individual school.

Like the threat of losing key players to mandatory quarantines, the unbalanced schedule is an element of this bizarre season that probably didn’t get enough consideration with early Preseason Polls. The HoriZone Roundtable Preseason Poll’s projected second place finisher Youngstown State, third place finisher Robert Morris and fourth place finisher Cleveland State all have to travel to Dayton for a pair of road games against projected champion Wright State. If our projections would’ve held in a normal season it looks like the Raiders could wind up with an inflated lead over the rest of the league, and they were already the overwhelming favorite to win the regular season crown. It could also allow the teams that the Raiders play twice on the road like projected fifth place UIC, sixth place Oakland and seventh place Northern Kentucky to steal victories over Wright State and move into the upper echelon of the league.

Projected second place finisher Youngstown State is probably the contending team that got the toughest draw this year. The Penguins travel to Wright State, Robert Morris, Cleveland State, Oakland and Northern Kentucky while missing the opportunity to play our projected eleventh place finisher Milwaukee. With many projecting the middle of the league to be even more competitive than last year, that could mean the Penguins finish lower in the standings than they might’ve in a normal season.

If the league goes as predicted with Wright State ahead of the pack, the team that avoids playing them would have a serious advantage under this format. Purdue Fort Wayne is our projected tenth place team, but by avoiding a pair of games against Wright State that’ll wind up in 0-2 records for several Horizon League foes, the Mastodons might end up positioned better purely by luck of the draw.

With the Horizon League providing the final pieces of information as to how the regular season will happen in this bizarre season, all we’re left waiting on is information on the Horizon League Tournament. It was already going to be new information following the addition of two teams, but fan-free league games could throw things into even more uncertainty if they’re extended beyond December.

Miss anything from Preview Week(s)? Check it all out below:

Predictions
HoriZone Roundtable Preseason Poll • Preseason All-League Teams
If we had an All-Newcomer Team… • All-Freshman Team Picks

Team Previews
Wright State • Youngstown State • Robert Morris • Cleveland State
UIC • Oakland • Northern Kentucky • Detroit Mercy
Green Bay • Purdue Fort Wayne • Milwaukee • IUPUI

Managerial Life Changes in Bizarre 2020

Alec Kwait
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Managerial Life Changes in Bizarre 2020

The life of a college basketball student manager is extremely busy and hectic. In addition to balancing school and a social life, a manager undertakes similar responsibilities to those of the players themselves. As someone who has worked for both Cleveland State and John Carroll University’s men’s basketball programs, I can say without question that despite the at times grueling hours, the job is extremely worthwhile for someone who lives and breathes basketball.

Attending and helping facilitate daily practices are a huge part of the job, and with COVID-19 playing a huge factor in this season’s operations, all managers must follow the guidelines the NCAA put in place. This probably equates to wearing masks at all times inside buildings and during practices and eventual games. In addition to masks, managers will have to be extra careful as to who they spend their downtime with, as an irresponsible decision in one’s personal life could lead to significant consequences in this COVID era.

Despite this, teams should still be able to conduct chemistry building activities off the floor, managers included. One aspect of the manager’s job that differ in 2020 is traveling to road games. In a normal year, managers are given the option of whether or not they would like to travel with the team on road trips or plane rides. While this still could be the case for larger programs, I would imagine to cut down on the number of people being transported during the pandemic, younger managers might not receive the option to travel for road games.

Personally, my favorite part of the job was the relationships I developed with the players and other managers, some of whom I consider dear friends to this day. While the bizarre nature of 2020 might impact what one does off the court, it is very much business as usual on it, as both players and coachers alike get ready for the season. Managers still should have the opportunities to connect with the players and their fellow managers, as long as they follow the proper guidelines the NCAA has put forth in order to protect everyone involved in the program.

Players and managers around the country share a similar responsibility this season off the court, as COVID-19 cases continue to skyrocket around the country. In order for this season to be successfully completed, both players and managers must carry themselves as if they are professional athlete. While that might not be fair to ask college kids to do that, we’ve already seen the effect COVID-19 can have on college football as games from schools around the country have been forced to cancel games due to outbreaks.

Despite basketball being easier to pull off due to less players on one team, it is still critical for those players and managers to act in a professional manner off the floor, to help ensure this season gets completed. Managerial work can be extremely rewarding for someone especially interested in the game of basketball, but due to the bizarre circumstances of 2020 the job description intensifies even more.

Horizon League Breakout Candidate: Trevon Faulkner

John Parker
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Horizon League Breakout Candidate: Trevon Faulkner

With three All-League performers graduating, Faulkner could star at NKU

Trevon Faulkner joined Northern Kentucky’s roster after winning Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball in 2018. Given how unusual it is for a player of that caliber to join.a program that’s so recently removed from Provisional D-I status unless that program has the backing of a billionaire former NBA owner, there might’ve been some expectation for Faulkner to immediately step into a starring role with the Norse.

But a deceptively loaded NKU team was about to win a share of its second straight Horizon League Regular Season Title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Horizon League Player of the Year Drew McDonald stole the show and a number of very talented players had to take a back seat. Faulkner averaged just 4.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists as a freshman. Looking back, that wasn’t the indictment of his talent that some might’ve seen at the time. Tyler Sharpe, Dantez Walton and Jalen Tate all had to wait their turn to show their All-League potential while Chris Vogt transferred to Cincinnati where he became a consistent double-digit scorer against tougher competition.

As a sophomore, Faulkner’s numbers jumped dramatically with a bigger role, but so did those of the players around him. Faulkner averaged 11.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game on a team that featured three All-League honorees. While the increase is significant — and I probably would’ve called it a win if wrote an article calling him a breakout candidate a year ago — he was Northern Kentucky’s fourth leading scorer and wasn’t asked to be a focal point of the team on a nightly basis.

Now it seems it’s Faulkner’s turn. He’s the top scorer and second on the team in assists and rebounds among returning players for the Norse this year. While Northern Arizona transfer Carlos Hines looks like he could be an All-League talent in his own right, clearly last year shows that Darrin Horn’s team isn’t capped at a single All-Horizon League honoree. With an even more perimeter-oriented roster than last year, don’t be surprised if Northern Kentucky plays at a tempo that allows several players to post eye-popping numbers.

With that said, Faulkner will need to make some improvements to live up to his All-League potential. In going from a last resort option in the starting lineup as a freshman to a players who was asked to produce as a sophomore, Faulkner’s efficiency suffered. His shooting percentage dropped from 59.1 percent to 43.2 percent, his 3-point percentage from 34.6 percent to 28.6 percent and his assist-to-turnover ratio from 1.22:1 to 0.78:1 between his freshman and sophomore seasons. He’s going to need to turn around these percentages despite facing more attention and more acclaimed defenders this year.

While Faulkner’s play is obviously going to determine a large part of whether he can become an All-League honoree, another consideration is the Horizon League’s additions of two new schools. They bring more competition for All-League honors, but also likely make the 2020 decision to select a Third Team All-Horizon League a permanent one. Last year was the first time in recent memory that the Horizon League selected a Third Team. With 12 teams, 15 All-League honorees make more sense than 10.

Regardless of the additional All-League Team, Faulkner seems like one of the likeliest returning players who didn’t get All-League honors last year to earn them this year. Carlos Hines looks more likely to give Northern Kentucky’s offense both a 1a. and 1b. option than to outright turn Faulkner into a second option. He’ll need to work on his efficiency, but Trevon Faulkner certainly seems like a guy with great potential to earn All-League honors in 2021.

Miss anything from Preview Week(s)? Check it all out below:

Predictions
HoriZone Roundtable Preseason Poll • Preseason All-League Teams
If we had an All-Newcomer Team… • All-Freshman Team Picks

Team Previews
Wright State • Youngstown State • Robert Morris • Cleveland State
UIC • Oakland • Northern Kentucky • Detroit Mercy
Green Bay • Purdue Fort Wayne • Milwaukee • IUPUI

Breakout Candidates
Dante Treacy

Horizon League Breakout Candidate: Dante Treacy

John Parker
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Horizon League Breakout Candidate: Dante Treacy

With RMU needing perimeter scoring, look for Treacy to step up

In the coming weeks, HoriZone Roundtable will highlight some of the returning players who could be in for breakout seasons in 2021. While a large number of breakout players are sophomores building off of strong freshman campaigns to become All-League performers — which I promise we’ll get to — the league frequently features late-bloomers who step into starring roles as upperclassmen.

Last year, Dantez Walton went from role player to early contender for Horizon League Player of the Year at Northern Kentucky before injuries derailed his season. JayQuan McCloud went through a smaller but still impressive jump to become a First Team All-League performer at Green Bay.

Due to an unusually high amount of roster turnover, there are several players who look like strong candidates to erupt into Horizon League stars this season. To start the series looking at the league’s potential new stars, we’ll highlight a player that many on our staff are high on as he enters his first year in the Horizon League to the point that he snuck onto the HoriZone Roundtable All-League Second Team.

Dante Treacy was one of Robert Morris’ best all-around players last year. He led the Colonials with 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. The 6-foot tall junior is also the team’s second best returning scorer. He capped off an excellent all-around season by winning the Northeast Conference Tournament MVP. Don’t be surprised if the versatile guard builds off of last year’s success and takes on a bigger role scoring for RMU.

Unlike a number of potential breakout players we’ll highlight this week, Treacy isn’t expected to break through because of an anticipated increase in playing time. Rather, the Colonials’ do-it-all guard seems like an excellent candidate for this list because of how much perimeter scoring Robert Morris lost and because he’s an intelligent player who Head Coach Andy Toole will want to have the ball in his hands.

Robert Morris lost leading scorer and All-NEC guard Josh Williams and and backup Sayveon McEwen to graduation, while Jalen Hawkins transferred to Norfolk State after a promising sophomore season. Williams’ brother Jon and Cameron Wilbon — who missed the 2020 season due to injury — are the only two returning players with experience. The rest of the backcourt rotation will be filled out with freshmen. While RMU’s other HoriZone Roundtable Preseason All-League pick AJ Bramah should pick up some of the offensive slack inside the 3-point arc, the team will need a consistent performer on the perimeter.

With the team losing three experienced guards and replacing them with three true freshmen, there’s a good chance there won’t be as much scoring balance at RMU this year. Don’t be surprised if Treacy’s numbers in particular make a significant jump in 2021. He led the team in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio despite not being the team’s full-time starting point guard. He also hit over 50 percent of his shots from inside the arc and almost 40 percent from 3-point range. While he averaged just 8.7 points per game as a sophomore, his efficiency both inside and outside the 3-point arc suggest he has room to take on a bigger workload.

Treacy won the Northeast Conference Tournament MVP in 2020 after averaging 12.3 points, 3 rebounds 5.7 assists and 2.7 steals per game. Treacy hit 65.2 percent of his shots from the field and 55.6 from beyond the 3-point arc in leading the Colonials to an automatic berth in the cancelled 2020 NCAA Tournament. While it’s hard to project a full season’s body of work off of one postseason tournament, the fact that he was able to be so productive while sharing the court with two All-Conference performers suggests he could have the confidence to fill the void Williams leaves behind.

Miss anything from Preview Week(s)? Check it all out below:

Predictions
HoriZone Roundtable Preseason Poll • Preseason All-League Teams
If we had an All-Newcomer Team… • All-Freshman Team Picks

Team Previews
Wright State • Youngstown State • Robert Morris • Cleveland State
UIC • Oakland • Northern Kentucky • Detroit Mercy
Green Bay • Purdue Fort Wayne • Milwaukee • IUPUI

Who could be on the 2021 Horizon League All-Freshman Team?

John Parker
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Who could be on the 2021 Horizon League All-Freshman Team?

Roster turnover could allow lesser recruits to shine early

We had so much fun with the first Preview Week that we’re stretching it out for another!

To kick off another week of content to prepare you for the 2020-21 Horizon League season, we’ll be taking a look at some of the top incoming freshmen. Unlike the Preseason Poll and our All-Horizon League picks, this will be one man’s opinion rather than a poll of our whole staff.

With so much roster upheaval throughout the league, this feels like a season where opportunity could be more important than raw talent with regard to making the All-Freshman team. There are a number of promising freshmen who didn’t make this list including Cleveland State’s Alec Oglesby, Northern Kentucky’s Marques Warrick and UIC’s Demetrius Calip II. While they’re some of the highest regarded players entering the league, they might have a hard time getting enough playing time to earn the honor with so much veteran talent at their position groups. If these three contend for All-Freshman Team spots despite the veteran competition, their fanbases should be very excited for the future.

With that said, here’s my take on who could make up the Horizon League All-Freshman Team in 2021:

Jacob Jones, G, Green Bay – Jacob Jones joins Green Bay after averaging 13.1 points and 5.4 assists for a loaded Jeffersonville High School in 2020. While Green Bay’s guards are responsible for every minute of NCAA Division I playing experience returning to the team this year, the three with significant experience will likely all be in the starting lineup. The 5-foot-10 Jones is a pure point guard and should have ample opportunity to spell PJ Pipes, as Amari Davis and Josh Jefferson are better served playing off-ball.

Kam Farris, G, Robert Morris – Farris joins Robert Morris as a composite 3-star recruit. He averaged 22.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as a junior at Rice Memorial High School in Vermont on his way to being named the 2018 State Player of the year. Farris transferred to Tabor Academy, where he played until he enrolled at RMU in January of this year. The extra time with the team could prove helpful for the 6-foot-3 guard. Robert Morris will need to fill in over 60 minutes per game following the departures of Josh Williams, Jalen Hawkins and Sayveon McEwen. Expect Farris to get a significant number of those minutes.

Trey Townsend, F, Oakland – Townsend is a second generation Oakland University basketball player. His father Skip played for Greg Kampe from 1986 to 1990. The younger Townsend is an excellent athlete with high energy who looks to be on his way to a lot of playing time at Oakland this year. While injured Rashad Williams and currently ineligible Zion Young being able to play could change the lineup, Townsend has been running with the starters. His energy and ability to act as an athletic glue guy out of the gate should allow him ample opportunity to play early, even if it’s in the form of bench minutes.

John Harge, F, Northern Kentucky – Harge initially joined the NKU roster in 2019, but missed all of last season with a torn ACL. If he’s fully recovered, he’ll have the opportunity to jump right into the action for the Norse. Following the graduation of Dantez Walton and the transfer of Silas Adheke, junior Adrian Nelson and fellow freshman David Böhm are the only other front court players on Northern Kentucky’s roster. Nelson seems like he’ll clearly have one front court spot locked down, but the other is up for grabs. With a year in the system, a healthy Harge would seem to have the advantage over Böhm for the spot.

Terrance Thompson, F, Green Bay – Like Harge, Thompson should have ample opportunity to see playing time on a roster that’s severely lacking in post options. Unlike Harge, Thompson won’t even have one Division I experienced front court player to compete with. Tank Hemphill, Manny Patterson and Will Chevalier are all forwards who had eligibility remaining but opted against returning to Green Bay for the 2021 season. As a result, Thompson, Junior College tweener forward Paris Taylor and fellow freshman NAME are the only post players on the Phoenix roster this year. Thompson committed to the Phoenix and Linc Darner after being offered by DePaul, Duquesne, Bradley, Milwaukee and UIC. He remained committed when Green Bay fired Darner and hired Will Ryan. The coaching change could actually help Thompson, as traditional post players didn’t typically see many minutes under Darner. Don’t be surprised if the lack of front court depth means Thompson plays almost as much as Patterson and graduated forward Josh McNair combined for, about 30 minutes per game.

Miss anything from Preview Week(s)? Check it all out below:

Predictions
HoriZone Roundtable Preseason Poll • Preseason All-League Teams
If we had an All-Newcomer Team…

Team Previews
Wright State • Youngstown State • Robert Morris • Cleveland State
UIC • Oakland • Northern Kentucky • Detroit Mercy
Green Bay • Purdue Fort Wayne • Milwaukee • IUPUI

Post-Preview Week Recap, Part 2

admin
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With Preview Week on horizoneroundtable.com in the books, Bob and Matt welcome John Parker (@jjparker084) to talk about how everyone’s pre-season predictions shook out. Naturally, because of how many teams are now involved, this is the second of a two-part recap. And this episode also presents a challenge related to Bob’s hair. Here’s a hint: It involved Loudon Love and the National Kidney Foundation.

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Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/horizonert/message
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Post-Preview Week Recap, Part 1

admin
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With Preview Week on horizoneroundtable.com in the books, Bob and Matt welcome John Parker (@jjparker084) to talk about how everyone’s pre-season predictions shook out. Naturally, because of how many teams are now involved, this is the first of a two-part recap

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Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/horizonert/message
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/horizonert/support

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Wright State Raiders 2020-21 Season Preview

Nick Lorensen
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Wright State Raiders 2020-21 Season Preview

Raiders the clear favorites in the Horizon League

Wright State comes into the 2020-21 season as heavy favorites in the Horizon League, returning last year’s Player of the Year, Loudon Love. Not many have been bold enough to pick against the Raiders, and that is a smart choice.

Wright State went a stellar 25-7 last year, 15-3 in the Horizon League. Now the team will need to figure out how to replace Second Team All-League wing Bill Wampler and Third Team All-League point guard Cole Gentry plus a number of veteran role players. If Head Coach Scott Nagy can find answers at point guard and shooters on the perimeter, the Raiders should be in a position to win another Horizon League Title.

Newcomers

Tim Finke – This season the big addition to the squad is the 6-foot-6 sophomore wing from Champaign, Illinois. Finke was originally ranked as the #2 player in his class from his home state but decided to go to Grand Canyon. That did not work, as he shot 37% at GCU. He now finds himself in Dayton after averaging 3.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game with the Lopes.

Andrew Welage – The 6-foot-6 shooting guard chose the Raiders over mid-major powerhouses Nevada and Vermont. Welage averaged 21.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game as a senior at Greenburg High School on his way to being named an Indiana ‘Supreme 15’ All-State Selection. Welage brings another shooter with good size to the Raiders’ roster. He shot 46.6 percent from beyond the arc as a senior after hitting more than half of his three-pointers as a junior.

Dre Harris – Redshirt freshman Dre Harris was going to have a hard time breaking into the Wright State rotation last year. The 6-foot-3 guard lost out against a group that featured 10 upperclassmen and multiple Horizon League All-Freshman Team picks, as well as the team’s projected starting point guard Trey Calvin. He averaged 17.9 points per game at Brush High School in 2019.

Alex Huibregtse – Another sharpshooting freshman, Huibregtse averaged 24.2 points per game while knocking down 47.3 percent of his 3-pointers en route to being named to Wisconsin’s Division II All-State First Team. His 7.3 points per game on the EYBL circuit don’t exactly jump off the page, but the fact that he was able to hit over 44 percent of his 3-pointers against stronger competition than he faces at Grafton High School would seem to indicate the shooting could translate very well to the college level.

Brandon Noel – The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 18.0 points per game as a senior on his way to being a Ohio First Team All-State Division 1 selection. Wright State Head Coach Scott Nagy highlighted Noel’s ability to score in the post or on the perimeter. While the emergence of Grant Basile and James Mann could keep Noel from playing many minutes early, having another player with size and shooting ability is never a bad problem to have.

Lineup

Trey Calvin – The graduation of All-League point guard Cole Gentry and graduate transfer Jordan Ash has forced the Raiders to move sophomore Trey Calvin into a role that’ll see him running the offense far more often in 2021. Calvin averaged 4.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in just 18.5 minutes per game as a freshman. Calvin will need to improve on his assist numbers and assist-to-turnover ratio this year. Having a pair of players who convert on shots far more often than they miss playing in the frontcourt should help accomplish that.

Jaylon Hall – Hall was a solid but unspectacular starter for Wright State in his first year back after being sidelined by a knee injury in 2019. He averaged 7.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists as a sophomore. With Cole Gentry and Bill Wampler graduating, the team will likely need Hall to step into a bigger role as a junior. Given that Calvin isn’t a true point guard, Hall will also likely have to act as a primary ballhandler.

Tim Finke – Wright State is hoping fresh scenery will help Tim Finke return to the form that had him. One bright spot during Finke’s time at GCU is that he was able to maintain an efficient shooting clip from beyond the 3-point arc. Finke hit 36.7 percent of his 3-point attempts on the year. If Finke can maintain a high 3-point percentage on more volume, he’ll be a key piece to a team that lost

Tanner Holden – Holden was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman team last season, starting all but four games for the Raiders. He was Wright State’s third leading scorer a year ago, averaging 11.8 points per game. Holden is one of the best shooters in the country, ranking 12th in eFG% and 22nd in TS% a year ago. He had a total of 20 double digit scoring games. The ball will always tend to go to either him or Love under the net, in their faster tempo offense.

Loudon Love – Obviously, the Raiders leader is Loudon Love. Love was the 2017-18 Horizon League Freshman of the Year, leading the Raiders to the NCAA Tournament. He has only grown since then, becoming an All-Horizon First Team member in 2018-19, Player of the Year in 2019-20, and a Lou Henson All-American in 2019-20.

Love will be in contention for national All-America talks, as he hopes to lead the Raiders to their first dance since his Freshman year. Last year he killed all facets of the game, averaging 16.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Love had the #10 offensive rating and drew the 12th most fouls per 40 minutes in the country last season.

Outlook

Once again, Wright State enters the season as the strong favorite to repeat as Horizon League Champion. The Raiders still have Loudon Love in a league where few teams have anything resembling an answer for him. They also bring back multiple All-Freshman Team members who could see significant boosts in their second seasons on the court.

One weakness for the Raiders is depth. They bring back very little off the bench and will have to rely on Freshman to make a difference. The other three were very lightly recruited by other Division One schools, if any. COVID really impacted not on the athletic department and university as a whole, but recruiting as well. It’s clear that the team targeted shooters in recruiting, but remains to be seen if those shooters can translate to the Division I level.

While it’s obviously too early to make a prediction on Wright State’s overall record given how COVID-19 has impacted scheduling, the Raiders will have at least one Quadrant One chance when they visit Illinois around Thanksgiving. Very little is known about the Raiders non-conference schedule outside of the Illinois MTE.

Prediction: 1st Place

Miss anything from Preview Week(s)? Check it all out below:

Predictions
HoriZone Roundtable Preseason Poll • Preseason All-League Teams
If we had an All-Newcomer Team… • All-Freshman Team Picks

Team Previews
Youngstown State • Robert Morris • Cleveland State
UIC • Oakland • Northern Kentucky • Detroit Mercy
Green Bay • Purdue Fort Wayne • Milwaukee • IUPUI

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