HoriZone Roundtable

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.

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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.

Will Ryan — son of former Wisconsin and Milwaukee Head Coach Bo — will be asked to perform a near-complete rebuild. The Phoenix have three returning players with significant Division I experience, and only two of them played for Green Bay. Fortunately for the Phoenix, Ryan is experienced in this area. Wheeling had just five players on the roster when he took the job there, and he was able to put together a team that nearly finished .500 in a very short span of time.

The 2020-2021 Detroit Titans have a totally different team than when the team last played in 2020. After five players transferred out and seven new players joined the team, it seems like Detroit Mercy might finally have the pieces around Antoine Davis to make things interesting in the Horizon League. Justin Miller — the team's lone graduated senior — is also the only double-digit scorer that the Titans will need to replace this year. A highly-touted incoming power conference graduate transfer seems more than up to the task. Three other Division I transfers — plus a fourth pending a waiver for immediate eligibility — give the team a veteran core that could be a big step up from what we've seen under Mike Davis so far if this strange season gives them time to jell.

With the sub-.500 year behind them and a new home to settle into, the Mastodons are looking to make an impression on their new Horizon League foes. However, there are several unknowns for Coffman and his Purdue Fort Wayne squad coming into the 2020-21 season.

The Panthers bring back 4 starters from the end of the season, but clearly the end of the season didn't instill much confidence about that lineup in voters' minds. The biggest question about Milwaukee's potential this season seems to be finding another go-to scorer to replace Darius Roy. All-League guard Te'Jon Lucas can be relied on to produce on offense most nights, but Josh Thomas is the only other returning player who consistently hit double-figures last year and he never broke 20 points in a game.