HoriZone Roundtable

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...

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.

Youngstown State men’s basketball is looking to build on a strong campaign from last year and turn that into a bigger and better program this year.

One year removed from their first conference tournament title since 2015, Robert Morris returns a chunk of its core as it prepares to compete in the Horizon League for the first time. Robert Morris will have to overcome the loss of Josh Williams, who graduated and took his 101 made 3-pointers out the door with him. Also not returning are guard Sayveon McEwen (graduation), guard Jalen Hawkins (transfer) and forward Yannis Mendy (graduation). All told, those players contributed toward 56 percent of the team's 3-point totals. Last season, 3-pointers made up 35 percent of RMU's total scoring, 65th in the country. This was a team that used ball movement (the Colonials ranked second nationally in assists to field goals made) to get the ball to capable 3-point scorers.

The Cleveland State Vikings men’s basketball team comes into the 2020-2021 season with a lot of promise. Now second year head coach Dennis Gates has seemingly laid the foundation for an eventual turnaround of the program. Last year, the Vikings were universally picked to finish at the bottom of the Horizon League. CSU was counting on many unknown players at the time for heavy contributions. Through the leadership of Gates, the Vikings won seven conference games, which landed them seventh, out of ten teams in the Horizon League. With an additional two teams added to the league this year, the Vikings are well equipped to improve on their seventh place finish from a year ago.

UIC has new leadership at the helm in Luke Yaklich, which could further improve a strong defensive unit. Just how successful of a season the Flames have will depend on the continued improvement of Michael Diggins and Braelen Bridges and the integration of numerous newcomers. The former Illinois high school coach relied heavily on the transfer market in his inaugural class for replacements to a roster that was decimated by graduation among its guards. Illinois-natives Maurice Commander, Zion Griffin, and Teyvion Kirk return home to inject much needed athleticism and talent.

Greg Kampe has his point guard, can Oakland get back on track? For many years, previewing Oakland University men's basketball was pretty straightforward. You knew...

Without three of the league's top players from last year, Northern Kentucky will be relying heavily on its lone double-digit scorer from 2020 Trevon Faulkner to carry a much bigger portion of the workload and for a large crop of newcomers to figure out how to jell with the returning players quickly.