Editor’s note
Howdy sports fans! If you take a stroll around campus, you’ll notice there’s a chill coming, the leaves are retiring to the ground for your shoes to crunch on and it’s getting dark earlier and earlier. Yes friends, fall is here and winter is rounding the bend. If you’re like me that means you’ll be seeking warmth and refuge in the best comfort you could possibly find this time of year: basketball.
This year, with all of the excitement around football and the move to Conference USA in 2025, Bears Basketball might have seen a little less attention, but that’s all going to close soon when the season starts — this week in fact!
After 13 years away from the program, Cuonzo Martin is back coaching the men’s basketball team at Missouri State.
His team might look entirely different from the team last year, but if there’s anyone to bring back some hope to the program, it’s the man who got them their only Missouri Valley Conference title.
Standard staff
Editors
Em Blackstone co-editor-in-chief
Liz Garcia co-editor-in-chief
Jayden Pettus co-editor-in-chief
W. Paul Bohlen sports editor
Reporters and visual artists
Maura Curran reporter
Arden Dickson photographer
Robin Garner reporter
Matthew Huff photographer
Daisha Jackson photographer
Jude Jenkins reporter
Spencer Justice photographer
Maddux Radosevic reporter
Mason Ray reporter
Madison Reece reporter
Cooper Sams reporter
Evan Sappington reporter
Faith Sappington reporter
Trey Swaggart reporter
Kaylee Vaughn photographer
Jackson Wright reporter
Aden Zuccarini reporter
Piper Ruebling reporter
Rylie Robinson reporter
Copy Editors
Isabel Gamble
Liliana Hayes
Maddie Tuning
Ruby Knight
Martin has great experienced players (pg. 14) including his own son, Chase (pg. 18), as well as a great looking freshman class to build into the next generation of Basketball Bears (pg. 17).
The Lady Bears are back in action too, led by Lacy Stokes (pg. 13) and helmed by head coach Beth Cunningham for her third season.
They had a tough rebuild after last year’s devastating loss in the final second of Hoops in the Heartland (pg. 5), but they’re back and hungry for revenge.
Join the Basketball Bears and the Lady Bears in bidding farewell to the Valley this year (pg. 4) as they enter a new era of Missouri State athletics. Catch a game on the radio as celebrated broadcaster Art Hains makes his farewell tour into retirement (pg. 16). Make friends in the student section at games (pg. 12-13). Message me on X, @wpbohlen, about your thoughts on my predictions for the teams’ outcomes this season (pg. 19).
But most of all, rejoice! Rejoice! Basketball season is here!
– W. Paul Bohlen, Sports Editor
Advertising staff Cadance Ruth advertising designer Caedran Yeidel advertising sales assistant
Professional staff Jack Dimond faculty adviser
THE
On the cover: Players from the Missouri State University men’s basketball team (left, right) prepare for the season at the 2024 exhibition. Lacy Stokes (center) returns to the Lady Bears for her last season.
STANDARD is Missouri State University’s student-produced newspaper. The university has not approved and is not responsible for its content, which is produced and edited by the students on The Standard staff.
Cover design by Em Blackstone
BASKETBALL TEAMS GEAR UP FOR LAST SEASON IN MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE
JACKSON WRIGHT REPORTER
After 34 years in the Missouri Valley Conference, Missouri State University gears up for their final season in the conference as they have planned their exit.
Has the MVC been nice to MSU?
The MVC has been competitive in recent years, with both men’s and women’s basketball, but the Bears have not been a part of that competitiveness.
In 1992, MSU’s second year in the Valley, the men’s basketball program won the conference tournament after finishing third during the regular season. This performance earned them a berth in the NCAA. It would take a few years, but the Bears were able to gain a berth in the National Tournament after a 13-5 conference record in 1999. They made it all the way to the Sweet 16 with ranked wins over the University of Wisconsin and the University of Tennessee before being beaten by powerhouse Duke University.
To date, that was the last time the men’s program has earned the right to play in the NCAA Tournament. The Bears were able to win the regular season conference title with a 15-3 conference record under coach Cuonzo Martin, who now returns to take charge of the program again for the 2024-2025 season.
The Lady Bears have seen a more successful run of the Valley. In their first year in the conference, they entered in style winning the regular season and conference tournament titles each year from the 1992-93 season to the 1995-96 season, with the exception of the conference tournament in the 1994-95 season.
The dominant run of success hasn’t slowed down since. The Lady Bears again won the MVC Title in the 1998-99, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2011-12, 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, and shared it with Drake in the 2000-01 season. They have also won the conference tournament in the 2000-01, 200203, 2003-04, 2005-06, 2015-16 and 2018-19 seasons.
The Lady Bears have often carried their regular season success into the NCAA Tournament with postseason berths each year from 1991 to 2006, only missing three seasons in 1997, 2002 and 2005. They picked up their winning ways and earned postseason berths in 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
In nine of those seasons, they made it to the second round of the tournament, with five advancements to the Sweet 16 and two trips to the Elite 8. During the 1992 and 2001 seasons, the Lady Bears made it to the Final Four, but neither year were they able to advance into the NCAA Championship game.
What has changed since Missouri State joined the MVC in 1990?
Missouri State has seen the addition of six new schools to the conference which include the University of Northern Iowa in 1991, the University of Evansville in 1994, Valparaiso University in 2017, and Belmont University, Murray State University, and University of Illinois Chicago in 2022. The Bears have also seen the exit of three universities from the MVC: Creighton University in 2013, Wichita State University in 2017 and Loyola University Chicago in
2022.
All of these schools provided strong competition for the Bears and have been able to advance deep into the NCAA Tournament.
Where is Missouri State heading to?
The Bears’ home for the 2025-26 season will be in Conference USA. This move will mean more travel for Missouri State but also provide competition and even the possibility of facing new opponents. Martin and Lady Bears head coach Beth Cunningham had similar approaches towards the upcoming move next season.
Martin said he is not looking towards the move as he is taking it one year at a time.
“For me, this move is all the same, it’s just basketball,” Martin said. “I can’t even think about Conference USA because this (current season) is the most important thing right here … it’s hard for me to say anything
about Conference USA when you are so locked in on this right now.”
Cunningham echoed a similar sentiment.
“Our goals don’t change,” she said. “Our goal is to compete at the top of the Valley this year, put ourselves in a position for a regular season title … and go win in the NCAA Tournament. These goals won’t change when we head to Conference USA.”
Martin believes this is a “good transition” to move to a higher level of competition to bring more success to MSU, and Cunningham said that it can help the Lady Bears in the recruiting process moving forward.
There’s a lot to be excited about for the move to Conference USA, but first, the Bears have to finish their time in the Valley, and try to finish it well.
Photo by W. Paul Bohlen, Qanthro_paul_ogist Members of the Basketball Bears listen to head coach Cuonzo Martin during their exhibition match on Oct. 29.
LADY BEARS MOVING FORWARD TEAM REBUILT AND READY TO COMPETE
JAYDEN PETTUS CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DPETTUSJAYDEN
The Missouri State University Lady Bears will enter the season with a roster largely different from last season’s near-championship team.
After losing over half of the roster to graduation and the transfer portal following the completion of the season, Lady Bears head coach Beth Cunningham took on the difficult task of rebuilding the roster into a contending squad to enter this season.
Cunningham spoke of the team with high hopes, saying that this year’s squad is by far the “most focused and hardworking” team that she’s coached at MSU so far.
“I think we’ve got a really good blend of youth, experience and returners,” Cunningham said. “I felt like we were able to address some needs we had coming into the season with a group of transfers, as well.”
The team’s transfer group is comprised of the following.
Sophomore guard Tyra Robinson, who spent her freshman year at Western Carolina University.
Redshirt sophomore guard Zoe Stewart, who was a member of Lady Bears’ Missouri Valley Conference opponent Murray State University for the past two seasons.
Junior guard Cady Pauley, who came to MSU after spending two seasons at the University of Virginia under former Lady Bears head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton.
Senior guard Kylie Bess, who spent three seasons with Saint Louis University before attending Indiana State University for one year.
And finally, senior forwards Sarah Linthacum and McKennah White, who spent their last three seasons at the University of Missouri and University of Massachusetts, respectively.
In addition to these new recruits, Cunningham and the team welcomed two freshmen to the roster in guard JaNyla Bush, who is currently sidelined with an injury, but is slated for a mid-November return, and forward Lainie Douglas.
With today’s ever-changing college landscape, it is not uncommon to see a team like Missouri State lose a majority of its roster yearby-year, meaning teams must be able to identify and fill their needs in order to find success when possible.
Cunningham noted that the Lady Bears’ staff identified early on, that with the exits of multiple post players — in fact, the entirety of last
post.
“(The changes have) been really good,” Stokes said. “We’ve obviously changed our style of play a little bit, but the girls have been able to adjust. We have a lot of talent in the guard position, a lot of dominant scorers. I think it’s going to be really good for us offensively, but also, you turn around on the defensive side and we’ve got a bunch of athletic players who can scramble and run.”
Stokes, Bekemeier and Daniels will be joined by seniors Angel Scott and Paige Rocca as returners at the guard position from last year’s squad.
The depth added at the guard position by players like Stewart, Pauley and Bush will give the team’s starters a little extra cushion to put it all on the line more often, knowing they have solid backup waiting in the ranks if need be.
“I think all of our guards are going to be able to contribute and impact us and I love our depth in those positions,” Cunningham said.
As the team started to fall into place, Cunningham began to formulate a message for the team early on in preseason workouts. Following the abrupt end to the Lady Bears’ run last season, she wanted to make sure the players knew that she wouldn’t be using it to spark something in them this year.
“I told them I’m not going to hold last year over their head because eight of these kids are new, so you have a majority of the team that weren’t even a part of the season last year,” Cunningham said. “There are certainly things that you can take from every experience to try to build and move forward, but it wasn’t anything I wanted to continue to hang over our kid’s heads.”
Stokes spoke on how the returning members can use the experience to learn, while still not holding it over new members’ heads who simply were not a part of the team.
year’s group — the team had a good sized hole on the floor to fill over the off-season. The thirdyear head coach believes they have found the right players in Douglas and Linthacum, as well as Robinson and White.
“I think, collectively, they’re all very similar in ways and how they fit our system,” Cunningham said. “They have high IQ, they’ve got great skill sets, good sized bodies that can get up and down the floor and have some versatility for us … it’s a matter of just continuing to develop them in our system.”
Once Cunningham and the Bears’ staff had shored up the post, they looked to the portal
for guard depth to back up senior Lacy Stokes, while also being able to retain a bit more talent at the position.
“This is the first year we’ve had this much experience coming back at the guard position, led by Lacy Stokes,” Cunningham said. “But, you look at the youth of Kaemyn Bekemeier and Kyrah Daniels, they’re really going to impact us this year.”
Stokes, who was brought up a number of times during Basketball media day, spoke with The Standard about the team’s roster changes, echoing the same confidence in the depth added over the offseason, as well as rebuilding the
“We kind of discussed, ‘Yeah, last year happened,’ but you can’t hold that over (Linthacum’s) and (Bess’) heads because they weren’t there, that wasn’t their team that lost,” Stokes said.
She noted that, instead, the group of returners can use their experiences as a measure to determine the level of intensity they should be playing with, and be able to hold themselves to higher standards.
With the rebuild complete, and exhibition matches already being played, the time to know whether the right or wrong moves were made is now. The Lady Bears’ 2024-25 season tips off in Tulsa, Oklahoma, against the University of Tulsa Hurricane on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast ESPN+.
Photo by Charles Sargent, Qsargent_photag
Kyrah Daniels (left), Lacy Stokes (center) and Paige Rocca (right) all had standout roles last season and lead the returning effort in 2024-25.
‘ZO STATE ROUND TWO Rebuilding the men’s basketball Bears
W. PAUL BOHLEN SPORTS EDITOR
Dwpbohlen
Believe it or not, Missouri State University basketball is back. The Bears return with new faces in just about all but two ways: first, they still wear maroon and white, and second, Cuonzo Martin is back on the sidelines.
The only coach to get the Bears a Missouri Valley Conference title holds a record at the school of 61-41 from his first tenure as head coach back from 2008 to 2011. Martin came to the school after spending eight years as an assistant for the Purdue University Boilermakers, and leapt into a successful and notable career after that 2011 Valley title.
After his Bears went 26-9 — 15-3 in conference — Martin left the team for a head coaching position at the University of Tennessee. While his leaving also left a bitter taste in the mouths of some, as the years turned the Basketball Bears into a less and less successful team, that overwhelmed the bad taste of his exit. Now, the community has largely welcomed Martin back.
Still, the state of college athletics has changed significantly since Martin coached at a mid-major school like Missouri State, having spent 14 years with Tennessee (Southeastern Conference), the University of California, Berkeley (Pac-12) and the University of Missouri (Southeast Conference).
At those schools, he took them to four NCAA Tournaments and three National Invitation Tournaments, and produced such successful players like the Boston Celtics’ shooting guard Jaylen Brown.
Martin was out of coaching for two years before starting at Missouri State once more, and even in that time, he’s noted having to get used to an era in college basketball where athletes will come and go season by season with the transfer portal.
Transfers have been a major part of Martin’s life this time, however.
Since March 10, when MSU announced it was parting ways with former head coach Dana Ford — now an assistant coach at Southern Methodist University — the Bears saw an exodus that claimed all but two of their players from the 2023-24 season.
“It’s been tough, but in a good way,” Martin said. “There are so many unknowns. You watch a guy on film, and film is probably 60% of a guy in my opinion, because it doesn’t tell you the character of a guy, it doesn’t tell you how hard they work, it doesn’t tell you can they comprehend different actions, different schemes and register that and take it to the floor.”
In spite of the toughness, Martin said he’s happy
Michael Osei-Bonsu goes after the ball against SBU on Oct. 29. He scored 17 points to lead the Bears that night.
with the team he has now.
“This is the first team I’ve been a part of where from top to bottom, guys don’t necessarily play with fear,” Martin said. “They just play and they compete, and our guys got to get better in certain areas, but they’re fearless on the floor and competing.
“Everybody’s just trying to figure out who they are, their identities, identity as a team, what’s expected, who’s the leader, all those things. I think you sort them out through games.”
Though Martin hasn’t determined roles, such as a captain, officially, he does have some great additions who are worthy of noting here.
15 of 17 only just donned the maroon and white
Junior guard Mozae Downing-Rivers is the next point guard for the Bears.
He comes to the Bears from the Barton Community College Cougars after two seasons where he started all 70 of the games he played, scoring 580 points and shooting 39.7% in the 1,768 minutes he totaled.
“He’s a natural facilitator and ball mover,” Mar-
tin said.
After the Bears’ only exhibition match this season on Oct. 29, against Southwest Baptist University, junior forward Michael Osei-Bonsu showed himself to be the Bears’ leading scorer, making 17 of the 72 points the team scored.
“That’s him,” Martin said. “He brings his hardhat, he’s gonna work you down, he’s going to be physical. He’s going to work it, he’s going to make it hard on them, he’s going to make two guys guard him and he’s going to find the right guy.”
Osei-Bonsu had only one real flaw in his play against SBU, and that was his fouling; he fouled out near the end of the game, but Martin isn’t too worried about that yet.
“We’ve gotta get him to get his hands out and up, still got to be better up there,” Martin said. “We talk about meeting guys high and doing a good job not fouling, not swiping. He’s a physical presence down there.”
Martin even compared Osei-Bonsu to Charles Barkley, due to his similar presence on the court as a so-called “undersized” big man — he stands at “only” six-foot-four-inches tall.
His own son, senior guard Chase Martin, has stepped up into some point guard capabilities, as we saw at the SBU exhibition. He followed Osei-Bonsu with 11 points.
Beyond those three guys however, Martin has a strong ten men he wants to play. He limited himself to eight against Southwest Baptist out of caution for for the health of Downing-Rivers and junior forward Sam Murray II.
His assumed starters going forward include Downing-Rivers, Osei-Bonsu, junior guard Vincent Brady II, sophomore guard Dez White, and junior guard Jalen Hampton.
Against SBU, there were very clearly some kinks the Bears need to work out. Among them was an unacceptable 61% efficiency from the charity stripe, 30% lower than their Division II opponent.
Missouri State also shot sub-50% in the game, going 27-56 and 4-16 on 3-pointers. That’s not to say SBU did much better — they did worse shooting, actually, 23-63 from the field — but it’s still something they absolutely must see improvement on before conference play starts for real in January.
“I think the next step for us is not so much getting consumed with shooting and shooting and shooting,” Martin said. “Move that ball and make play shots there. We’ve got to get consistent on defense. We did a good job holding them to 35% from the field, but I see there was a lot of breakdown. We’ve got to get (Osei-Bonsu) where he’s not fouling.”
Better than 11
Missouri State was picked in the preseason polls to finish in 11th place in the MVC, and that’s mostly due to the newness of all but two of the guys on the team.
The current play we saw against SBU is problematic to say the least, but it’s an exhibition match at the start of the guys’ time together. It was never going to be pretty. Martin has a significant amount of work left to do with this team to get them into shape, but the house has good bones.
“If we’re picked to finish 11th, I can safely say, barring any major injuries to this team, this will be the best year in the history of the Missouri Valley basketball program,” Martin said. “If this is 11th, then it’s going to be a heck of a year.”
Wherever they end up in the standings this year, one thing can be assuredly smiled at. ‘Zo State is here again.
“It’s good (to be back), I like being on the side, I like the energy of games,” Martin said. “They’re all the same to me. It doesn’t matter if it’s a ‘big game,’ they’re all the same with the energy. I love it, there’s nothing better than being in this sport.”
Photos by W. Paul Bohlen, Qanthro_paul_ogist
Vincent Brady II makes a dunk against SBU. Brady is expected to be a regular starter for Martin this season.
RETURN OF THE MARTIN
REINTRODUCING THE BEARS’ HEAD COACH
MADDUX RADOSEVIC REPORTER
QMADDUX.RADOSEVIC31
On March 27, 2024, the Missouri State Bears Men’s Basketball program hired Cuonzo Martin as the 19th head coach in school history.
At 53 years old, Martin becomes the first coach in team history to serve a second term as head coach. Martin has had a long, successful coaching career which all began when he served as an assistant coach at West Lafayette High School in Indiana from 1999-2000. He then returned to Purdue University, his alma mater, as an assistant coach from 2000-07 and then associate head coach from 2007-08.
Martin’s first opportunity in a head coaching position presented itself in 2008 when the Bears brought him on board as the 16th head coach in Missouri State history. That year was pivotal not only because of Martin’s onset, but also because it marked the program’s 100th anniversary season and the grand opening of JQH Arena, now Great Southern Bank Arena.
Although the 2008-09 campaign was undoubtedly historical, it was a year Martin and the Bears soon want to forget. Plagued by injuries, the maroon and white finished with a horrific record of 11-20 that season. Morale seemed low, but Martin and his team turned things around the following fall.
Missouri State rattled off ten straight wins to commence its 2009-10 mission and, at one point, earned a spot in the top 25 for the RPI rankings. Martin’s Bears finished the year with a much-improved 24-12 record which the team capped off by winning the 2010 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
Unphased by elevated expectations the following season, Martin and the Bears outperformed their remarkable finish from the previous year with a record of 26-9 and a Missouri Valley Conference title in 2010-11. That year, Missouri State received a bid to play in the National Invitation Tournament, where the Bears defeated Murray StateUniversity before
losing to the University of Miami in the second round. Martin also received personal honors that season by winning the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year award.
After Martin helped Missouri State’s program make tremendous strides, he became one of the most highly coveted coaches in the country. His success paved the way for him to make stops at the University of Tennessee (2011-2014), University of California, Berkeley (20142017) and University of Missouri (2017-2022).
Now, Martin begins his second stint at Missouri State, returning with both joy and determination. Not only does Martin get the opportunity to chase victory with the Bears, but he also gets to pursue that goal with the new assistant coaches he has brought along with him. Tarrance Crump, a returning Carson Cunningham, Marco Harris and Steve Woodberry will all assist Martin on the sidelines this season.
Beyond that, he gets to live the dream with his son Chase Martin who transferred from Purdue to play for his father for his final season. One could only surmise that both Cuonzo and Chase have an extra incentive to make the 2024-25 campaign a momentous one with this year being their one and only season together.
However, despite the anticipatory excitement of Martin’s first season back with the Bears, the journey will certainly not be an easy one.
Much like his first arrival, Martin inherits a team that concluded the previous season with a disappointing 17-16 record. On top of that challenge, Martin also must
deal with a near-complete roster turnover. In fact, only two of his 17 players played for Missouri State last year. To add insult to injury, the preseason poll for the Missouri Valley Conference shows the Bears finishing 11th out of 12 this season.
Despite the doubts and uncertainty, Martin trusts his players.
“I think we have ten strong (guys) we can play, and it can be sound,” Martin said. “In my years of coaching, even as an assistant coach, this is probably the first team I’ve been a part of, where from top to bottom, guys don’t necessarily play with fear.”
Although Martin has faith in his underdog crew, he orders his players to rely on him as well.
“You’ve got to be able to trust me,” Martin said. “You’ve got to be able to let go.”
To ensure his players do put their trust in him, Martin emphasizes how important it is for him to take care of his own responsibilities as a coach.
For Martin, part of those obligations includes making sure his players are not only good players, but also good men. He says that personal responsibility plays a monumental role in living up to this attitude. So far, he has been pleased to see this mature attribute emerge in his team’s identity.
“We have a lot of guys that I would say, right now, are accountable. They are accountable to do their jobs.”
Martin seeks to hold himself to the same standard, and he believes that standard is his main responsibility.
“My job is to do my job.”
Photos by W. Paul Bohlen, Qanthro_paul_ogist
Head coach Cuonzo Martin talks to reporters at his introductory press conference on April 1, earlier this year.
Members of the Basketball Bears listen to head coach Cuonzo Martin during a timeout at their exhibition match on Oct. 29 against Southwest Baptist University.
AN EVOLVING LEAGUE: MEN’S 2024 MVC PREVIEW
W. PAUL BOHLEN SPORTS EDITOR Dwpbohlen
Keeping with an era of significant change in college athletics, the Missouri Valley Conference is gearing up for changes itself. Most notably, the Valley will be losing Missouri State University as a member school after this school year to Conference USA.
Until then, here’s a look at a changing MVC that is sure to make for an exciting 2024-25 basketball season.
Bradley (23-12,
13-7 in
MVC)
Entering his tenth year, head coach Brian Wardle returns the majority of his roster, contributing to the preseason polls that have the Bradley University Braves finishing in first place, with a 70-point polling lead over the No. 2 team.
The Braves finished last season third in the Valley, falling in the Arch Madness in the semifinals to Drake University Bulldogs, the MVC Champions. They made it to the National Invitation Tournament next, falling in round two to the University of Cincinnati.
Fifth-year forward Darius Hannah put up 402 points last year alone and started all 35 of the games the Braves played.
Their best starter, however, is undoubtedly fifthyear guard Duke Deen, a two-year starter and one of their most dangerous pieces.
The Braves sit at No. 1 in the MVC preseason poll with 597 votes.
Northern
Iowa (19-14, 12-8 in MVC)
The University of Northern Iowa Panthers’ season ended last year with a semifinal loss to Indiana State University, both the MVC Championship and NIT runners-up.
Three strong starters remain. Senior guard Tytan Anderson, senior center Jacob Hutson and junior guard Trey Campbell can be assumed to remain in the starting five for the 2024-25 season.
Head coach Ben Jacobsen enters his 19th season with UNI, boasting an overall winning percentage of .604, averaging over 19.5 wins per season.
Also, Redek Born, the younger brother of one of their most effective starters of last season, guard Bowen Born, joins the Panthers this year.
The Panthers sit at No. 2 in the Valley preseason poll with 527 votes.
Murray
State (12-20, 9-11 in MVC)
The Murray State University Racers’ had their postseason hopes slashed early in the MVC Tournament, falling 60-35 to Missouri State.
Murray State has grown since, and they’ve climbed in the preseason poll in just their third year in the Valley.
Helping them on that climb is the fact they are also keeping three of their starting five.
A starter from the beginning, senior guard JaCobi Wood will be looking to make big impacts for the
Photo by W. Paul Bohlen, Qanthro_paul_ogist
The Bears begin full Valley play on Dec. 29 at Evansville.
Racers in his final year of eligibility. Senior forward Nick Ellington also returns from the starting lineup last year, as does junior guard Justin Morgan.
Murray State are picked at No. 3 in the MVC preseason poll with 473 votes and their first ever first place vote.
Illinois State (15-17, 9-11 in MVC)
The Redbirds of Illinois State University ended their season last year with a first round loss in the MVC Tournament to the University of Evansville, and a final conference standing of seventh.
Illinois State has plenty to look forward to in the next season however.
Their head coach — Ryan Pedon — is entering his third year, and they return several talented players like graduate guard Malachi Poindexter and sophomore guard Johnny Kinziger.
They’ll miss talent from last year, like former guard Darius Burford, but the experience they have gained will give them opportunities they might not have had last year.
Illinois State sits at No. 4 in the MVC preseason poll, receiving 397 votes.
Drake (28-7, 16-4 in MVC)
The first major fall from grace is 2024’s Arch Madness champions.
After an extremely successful season which saw an NCAA berth, the team lost in the first round to Washington State University, and then-head coach Darian DeVries announced his move to take a job at West Virginia University.
His star player for the Bulldogs was his own son, Tucker DeVries, and he followed his father to play for the Mountaineers.
All of the Bulldogs’ starters have left. Most of the team had to be rebuilt by new head coach Ben McCollum.
While faces like forward Darnell Brodie and guard Conor Eright will be missed by the Bulldogs, they have too storied a program in recent years to fall too far in the polls.
Drake is sitting at No. 5 in the Valley preseason poll, receiving 388 votes.
Belmont (20-13, 12-8 in MVC)
Following suit with so many mid-major schools,
the Belmont University Bruins are working with an entirely new starting lineup in this, the sixth year of their head coach, Casey Alexander’s, tenure.
After falling to UNI by just a 5-point margin at Arch Madness, the Bruins finished things up in fifth place in the MVC.
Over the offseason, the team lost many of the stars, such as forward Malik Dia, guard Isaiah Walker, guard Keishawn Davidson and guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie.
In spite of their losses, many of last year’s secondaries return, as does a talented coach.
Belmont sits at No. 6 in the Valley preseason poll, with 373 votes.
Southern Illinois (19-13, 11-9 in MVC)
After falling to the University of Illinois-Chicago at Arch Madness and finishing sixth in the MVC, SIU somewhat controversially and quite unceremoniously fired their alum of a head coach, Bryan Mullins, who was soon replaced by former South Dakota State University basketball coach Scott Nagy.
Nagy brings back none of the consistent starters for the Salukis, but has two very familiar faces to Bears fans on his roster.
Junior guard Damien Mayo Jr. and sophomore guard Tyler Bey both put up numbers last season for Missouri State, but now wear another shade of maroon and white.
Mayo in particular was expected to be one of the most notable guards of last season, and he was a regular starter for the Bears.
The loss of these players to SIU will surely add fire to the long-held rivalry between MSU and the Salukis in the Bears’ final MVC season.
The Salukis are picked to finish No. 7 in the MVC preseason poll, with 337 votes.
Indiana State (32-7, 17-3 in MVC)
The Cinderella story that was not to be.
Indiana State had opportunities last season to win the Valley and to win the NIT.
However, small mistakes added up and with an early rumor that then-head coach Josh Schertz was to leave for Saint Louis University, the team couldn’t pull it together at either Arch Madness or the NIT.
Though they won the regular season title in the MVC, they fell by a close margin to Drake in the
championship game, 84-80. They went on to defeat the likes of Southern Methodist University, Minnesota, Cincinnati and Utah in the NIT, but fell by a closer margin to Seton Hall in that championship game, 79-77.
Schertz indeed left for SLU after that, taking his most notable players with him, like guard Isaiah Swope and center Robbie Avila.
Schertz’s assistant coach Matthew Graves is now the Sycamores’ head coach, with a largely unknown Indiana State team in front of him.
Indiana State sits at No. 8 in the MVC preseason poll, receiving 207 votes.
Evansville
(17-18, 6-14 in MVC)
The University of Evansville is one of many teams hit hard by the transfer portal.
After finishing at 10th in the Valley and losing to Drake at Arch Madness, the Purple Aces went to the College Basketball Invitational, defeating Quinnipiac University and falling to Seattle University.
Several stars for Evansville left after that, most notably forward Yacine Toumi, who transferred to Seton Hall and forward Ben Humrichous, who went to the University of Illinois.
Third-year head coach David Ragland kept only one of his semi-regular starters in Cam Haffner.
Evansville sits at No. 9 in the MVC preseason poll, with 199 votes.
Valparaiso (7-25, 3-17 in MVC)
Valparaiso University have been lucky in their offseason, retaining three of their top starters from last year, where they finished dead-last and lost on the first day of Arch Madness to Belmont.
Head coach Roger Powell Jr. brings sophomore forward Cooper Schwieger, senior guard Darius DeAveiro and senior guard Isaiah Stafford back to the team.
In addition to these returners, Cooper Schwieger’s twin brother, Carson Schwieger transferred onto the Beacons’ team from Wright State, where he was coached by Southern Illinois’ Nagy.
The Beacons sit at No. 10 in the MVC preseason poll, with 173 votes.
UIC (12-21, 4-16 in MVC)
Rounding out the Valley for men’s basketball, the University of Illinois-Chicago Flames finished in 11th place, but had an more impressive Arch Madness run.
The Flames held on for an exhausting double-overtime game to eliminate SIU before being knocked out by Bradley the next day.
That team has largely dissolved since then
Only two starters remain on the team, senior forward Filip Skovalj and senior guard Ethan Pickett. Sophomore guard Grant Welch is the only other returner.
UIC also has a new head coach, Rob Ehsan, who most recently was an assistant coach at Stanford University.
The Flames sit at No. 12 in the Valley preseason poll, with 110 votes.
LADY BEARS AT NO. 5: WOMEN’S 2024 MVC PREVIEW
EVAN SAPPINGTON SPORTS REPORTER DEvanSappMSU
With the 2024-2025 season on the horizon, the Lady Bears will look to leave the Missouri Valley Conference full steam ahead before joining Conference USA on July 1, 2025. Here’s a look at who their competition is going to be this year.
Drake (29-6, 19-1 in MVC)
The 2023-24 season for the Drake University Bulldogs women’s basketball team was strong and showcased the team’s skill and depth under head coach Allison Pohlman. They performed well in the MVC, where they consistently maintained a winning record.
Drake finished the season with a solid run and had several high-stakes games, including wins over competitive non-conference opponents like St. Thomas and Iowa State. Although they had challenging games against ranked teams such as Iowa, they demonstrated resilience and growth throughout the season and will look to replicate that coming out the gate this season.
Drake tops the MVC preseason poll with a No. 1 spot, receiving 566 votes.
Northern Iowa (16-16, 14-6 in MVC)
The University of Northern Iowa Panthers had a solid 2023-24 season.
Led by veteran players like Grace Boffeli, the Panthers performed well in MVC play, though they fell short at Hoops in the Heartland. They continued to build a foundation for success under long-time head coach Tanya Warren.
UNI’s ranking reflects confidence in the team’s returning talent, particularly Boffeli and Maya McDermott; both earned spots on the preseason All-MVC team.
The Panthers sit at No. 2 in the MVC preseason poll, with 504 votes.
Belmont (26-9, 17-3 in MVC)
The Belmont Bruins had a serious season last year, particularly as they faced big non-conference opponents early on. They played against teams such as the University of Missouri and Stanford University, which helped set a high bar for the season. The Bruins performed even better in the Valley, establishing themselves as contenders with a solid win streak that showcased their skill and depth.
As the team looks toward this season, Belmont is expected to leverage this experience in MVC play and possibly contend for a top spot in the conference.
Belmont sits at No. 3 in the Valley preseason poll, with 475 votes.
Murray State (20-12, 12-8 in MVC)
The Murray State University Racers showed
substantial growth during the 2023-24 season, nearly matching their previous season’s win total early on.
Head coach Rechelle Turner implemented a more physical, high-scoring strategy in their second year in the MVC, which led to impressive offensive stats. The team became one of the top-scoring programs in the NCAA, boasting over 90 points per game by January, and relied heavily on standout players like senior Katelyn Young and sharp-shooter Briley Pena.
Young, a consistent performer and MVC Player of the Week, led the Racers in both scoring and rebounds, while Pena’s 3-point shooting gave the team a reliable edge in critical moments.
The Racers sit at No. 4 in the MVC preseason poll with 391 votes.
UIC (18-16, 10-10 in MVC)
The 2023-24 season showed promise for the University of Illinois-Chicago Flames as they entered their second year in the MVC under head coach Ashleen Bracey. The team looked to build on their successful 2022-23 campaign, where they achieved 19 wins and a spot in the Women’s Basketball Invitational. This marked one of the biggest turnarounds in MVC history — the Flames had several single-digit-win seasons — significantly boosting program morale and expectations for the following season.
UIC was picked to finish at No. 6 in the MVC preseason poll with 347 votes.
Illinois
State (22-12, 13-7 in MVC)
The Illinois State University Redbirds saw another successful year last season under head coach Kristen Gillespie, achieving their second consecutive 20-win season. This marked a significant milestone, as it was the first time since 2010 that ISU recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons. They won the MVC regular season title that year, while making strong postseason showings with a trip to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament Super 16.
Illinois State sits at No. 7 in the Valley preseason poll, receiving 341
Valparaiso (5-25, 4-16 in MVC)
The 2023-24 season was challenging for the Valparaiso University Beacons. Under head coach Mary Evans, who has been with the team since 2018, the Beacons faced tough competition within the MVC. While they struggled with a series of losses, the season saw key moments that included victories over teams like Bradley University and the University of Evansville, reflecting some growth in the program. The team finished near the bottom of the conference standings, emphasizing the need for improvement in both offense and defense to compete at a higher level.
The Beacons sit at No. 8 in the Valley pre-
season poll, with 193 votes.
Indiana State (11-21, 6-14 in MVC)
The Indiana State University Sycamores went through a rough 2023-24 season, marked by ups and downs but with some notable wins in non-conference play. They faced tough competition, including a Puerto Rico Clasico showing where they secured a win over Radford University, though they ultimately finished with mixed results, especially as conference play began. Consistent efforts, however, set a solid foundation for development as the season went on.
The Sycamores are ranked No. 9 in the MVC preseason poll, receiving 189 votes.
Southern Illinois (1121, 6-14 in MVC)
The Southern Illinois University Salukis went through hard times as well last season, under head coach Kelly BondWhite. Despite a mix of successes, they struggled to build consistent momentum. Key highlights included several close victories and the emergence of standout players, but they ultimately finished toward the lower end of the MVC standings, emphasizing areas for improvement in scoring consistency and defensive play.
Photo by Charles Sargent, Qsargent_photag
Kaemyn Bekemeier scored 118 points in 25 games as a freshman, and is expected to be one of Missouri State’s most reliable returners.
The Braves sit at No. 11 in the Valley preseason poll, with only 97 votes.
Evansville
(4-28, 2-18 in MVC)
Southern Illinois sits at No. 10 in the MVC preseason poll with 167 votes.
Bradley (6-26, 2-18 in MVC)
The 2023-24 Bradley University Braves saw some significant changes and challenges under, at the time, second-year head coach Kate Popovec-Goss. The Braves kicked off their season with a strong exhibition win against Eureka College and had a diverse non-conference schedule, including games against Kansas City and Central Michigan, followed by participation in a tournament hosted by Georgia State. They struggled in conference play, which was reflected by their record.
The 2023-24 University of Evansville Purple Aces’ season started with significant challenges, losing 16 consecutive games at a point in the season. Looking ahead to this year, the program is optimistic after securing commitments from four new recruits on National Signing Day. The new players, including point guards and shooting guards, are expected to enhance the team’s depth and skill set. Head coach Robyn Scherr-Wells expressed confidence in this recruiting class, noting their potential to complement the existing team and improve the squad’s performance in the coming seasons.
Evansville rounds out the Valley preseason poll, sitting at No. 12, having received only 96 votes.
CHANGING THE CULTURE
Bearpawcalypse take on big picture with Bears athletics
W. PAUL BOHLEN SPORTS EDITOR
Dwpbohlen
If you have attended a sporting event at Missouri State University in the last several years, you’re sure to notice something puzzling; big stands, small crowds.
A bit of background
It is not a surprise to anyone to say that sports are not the main focus of Missouri State. People don’t come here for the great atmosphere around athletics. Not for tailgates or opportunities to see NCAA tournament games in basketball, baseball or football.
When it comes to basketball, Missouri State is a solidly mid-major school in a one- to two-bid league with the Missouri Valley Conference. Conference USA — the home of the Bears, come next season — is not much better.
Still, that doesn’t entirely explain the general absence of fans in the Great Southern Bank Arena, which can officially seat 11,000 attendees. GSB Arena is the second-largest in the MVC when considering capacity, and will be the fourth-largest in Conference USA.
There was a reason they built an arena that size — once, at least — to replace the former home of Bears hoops, the Hammons Student Center, which seats a bit under 9,000 people and is currently home to the volleyball team.
Springfield filled that venue, especially under former head basketball coach Charlie Spoonhour’s tenure, one where the Bears made five appearances in the NCAA Tournament. It became colloquially known as “The House of Spoon.”
Spoonhour left Missouri State in 1992 and passed away in 2012, and in many ways, besides the banners atop the rafters of GSB Arena, Spoon, his teams, that game day experience and the community interest all feel very far away today.
But in 2008, when the new arena opened and brought a new team and a new head coach — Cuonzo Martin — onto the court, the average attendance was between 7,000 and 8,000. A few games over the next couple years hit 10,000, and on Feb. 26, 2011, an over-capacity 11,077 fans crammed in to watch the Bears win their only MVC regular season title.
After that, however, the first turns in the program started up. Martin left soon after that year’s team lost in the 2011 National Invitation Tournament to the University of Miami, and his successors oversaw 13 seasons of mediocre basketball and the dissolution of the fan base.
It’s only been in the last decade or so that the student section in particular has dried up. For decades before, it was a shaking, excited, screaming line of MSU students painted in the maroon and white. Last season, you’d have been lucky to see 25 people on their feet. Or 25 people at all for that matter.
Trying to fix the issue
For years, former Director of Athletics Kyle Moats talked about how the people behind the scenes were trying to rectify the MSU attendance woes. For years, it only got worse.
Last year, Director of Marketing and Promotions for Athletics Danielle Richesin reached out to students and finally seemed to give
them a voice.
A group of around 15 regulars at Bears sporting events got together with her and spoke for a while about their and their peers’ grievances with athletics and what might be done to fix the attendance issue.
By the end of the meeting, one of the decisions they made was to form a student organization dedicated to working on changing the culture of sports around Missouri State. A daunting task, but one the group was ready to take on.
Before this group, there was Maroon Madness, which worked to improve the game day atmosphere and build a culture that was proud of its sports. That culture has long fallen away and Maroon Madness has dissolved into the historical records of MSU.
The new group needed their own identity, and eventually became what is now the Bearpawcalypse.
Meet the Bearpawcalypse
Two of the students at the meeting with Richesin were juniors Brenden Duff and Colin Davis, now the president and secretary respectively of the student organization, the Bearpawcalypse.
“Something (Richesin) heavily emphasized is it had to be grassroots, it had to be student-run and built up by the students,” Davis said.
While the attempts to change the culture around MSU athletics is a daunting task itself, so was building the group to do so.
Bearpawcalypse has spent considerable time, especially over the last football and basketball seasons of 2023-24 building traction, getting recognition and building its base in that grassroots manner. As for the 2024-25 school year, Duff said they had learned a lot from their first year that they are trying to improve for this year and beyond.
This year is the group’s first full year and first year as an officially recognized student organization.
In addition to trying to build up members of the student body to join them at games and electrify the atmosphere, they wanted to build up
relationships with the coaches.
According to Duff, one of the first coaches they met with and who embraced them was football coach Ryan Beard. Head soccer coach Michael Seabolt also was mentioned, and the group hopes to work closely with Martin as he did with the Maroon Madness between 2008 and 2011.
“A lot of the talk from the coaches has been like ‘what can we do to help you?’ Whether it’s getting their players to go around with students, getting their players to do some social media stuff with us, getting the players to be involved with students,” Duff said. “It’s been outpouring to say the least.”
With that support, the group has seen some big ideas come to life.
In the spring of this year, they held a night special for Fraternity and Sorority Life at the April 16 baseball Bears game against the University of Missouri, where members were encouraged to bring as many members as they could, and the group with the most members in attendance won prizes.
Bears baseball, which plays at the 8,000-seat Hammons Field, regularly pulls in crowds of only around 300-600 people. At the Bearpawcalypse’s FSL night, the team had a crowd of over 2,500.
They’ve held several similar events at games, but one other notable example from this year was at the Volleybears’ Oct. 4 game against the Illinois State University Redbirds, where the Salt Company campus ministry was invited along and they, coupled with the
Bearpawcalypse, filled
Photo by Matthew Huff, Qhuff.photography_ Members of the Bearpawcalypse cheer on the Bears during the Homecoming game against Indiana State University. The Bears defeated the Sycamores 46-21 on Oct 19.
Photo by W. Paul Bohlen, Qanthro_paul_ogist Bearpawcalypse filled the student section at the Oct. 4 Volleybears game in partnership with the Salt Company Campus Ministries.
the student section and made for a lively and energetic atmosphere.
It was exactly the kind of thing Duff and Davis said they wanted to see more of.
“I think (the mission) is building a foundation, getting a solid group of people that you’re going to see at the games, you’re going to befriend, get those friendly faces,” Duff said. “Overall, my main saying is ‘our goal is to change the culture.’ You’ve had four classes here who had a culture of ‘we don’t go to games, all of our sports teams are bad, no matter what, and there’s just no point.’ Why not change that?”
In just a short time, they’ve seen some of that already, about half-way through their first full year of preparation and planning events.
The Bearpawcalypse has now grown to over 50 members who try to bring people to games and work with the athletics department to improve the game day experience and act as ambassadors for the crowds. They’re giving a voice to the administration about what students want to see at games.
Of those 50 members, around 20 are the dedicated regulars, and Duff said these are the ones you’ll see making the signs at football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports’ events. They’ll also bang drums at soccer games, start the chants at football and basketball games and communicate the most with the entirety of the student section.
To take on a task like restructuring the culture of a whole university is one thing, but building culture where there hasn’t been any is even more of a challenge. Still, the Bearpawcalypse crew is soldiering forward.
Their growth over the first half of this school year alone has showed how quickly things can change and movements like theirs can snowball.
Duff said that when he got to MSU, he didn’t see any level of classmen who had a pro-MSUsports culture. Now, he’s seeing a rise in freshmen ready to show up and get involved. He said that his ultimate goal is to get to a point where Missouri State has four classes which all have that culture.
An essential part of building that is recon-
necting the athletes and rest of the student body.
One of the reasons that high schools tend to have much better student involvement and attendance is because the athletes are the peers of those students, they’re all friends, or at least they know each other from classrooms, hallways and cafeterias.
At Missouri State, student-athletes are usually taking online courses, separated from the rest of the student body. Besides the football team walking from the Forsythe Athletics Center to Plaster Stadium for practice, it’s been sort of rare to even pass student-athletes on campus.
That’s been changing in recent years, but the Bearpawcalypse has taken on connecting students and student-athletes as an active effort as well. The most notable way that they have done this is the Bearpawcalypse Barbeque that was held on Aug. 28 at the Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium.
The event was in partnership with the Traditions Council, and connected students with members of the soccer teams and football team, among others.
Both Davis and Duff agreed they felt it was a major success for both the student body and for their organization.
Since then, they continue to grow and are showing no signs of slowing down.
Students interested in supporting MSU athletics by becoming a part of the Bearpawcalypse can fill a form out in their Instagram bio and Davis as the group’s secretary will begin the process of making new members. Students or alumni interested in supporting the group, they are planning to set up a donation link in the coming months to make their events even bigger.
As daunting a task of changing the culture of Missouri State surrounding athletics is, the Bearpawcalypse have continued to impress on the student body, on the coaches, on local news media and on Missouri State administration. In a time where so much is changing, both at MSU and in college athletics, maybe it really is time for the culture surrounding college sports in Springfield to change. Who better than Bearpawcalypse to do it?
LACY STOKES TO LEAD
LADY BEARS POINT GUARD RETURNS
W. PAUL BOHLEN SPORTS EDITOR
Dwpbohlen
In an interview room in Moline, Illinois, over spring break this year, Lacy Stokes didn’t hide her grief and disappointment.
Her Lady Bears team had set Missouri State University up for a Missouri Valley Conference Championship with a final win at Hoops in the Heartland 2024 in a hard-fought battle against the Drake University Bulldogs.
By now, we all know how Drake came back in the final seconds to swipe the title away from the Lady Bears. We know how the team saw almost all of its guard core transfer out, and none of their bigs remaining.
What you might not know is that in spite of that, as of today, Stokes is smiling again.
More than that, she’s hungry to get back to it and close out the Valley for the Lady Bears and her own college career.
The point guard, who transferred to MSU from Missouri Southern State University after two incredible seasons where she started every game she played and scored a total of 600 or more points in both seasons for a total of 1,235, had an extremely successful 202324 season with the Bears.
In her junior year, Stokes started all 28 of the games she played in, scored a total of 348 points, made 78 steals, 82 rebounds and averaged 33 minutes per game.
According to her, she’s living the dream.
“I grew up just wanting to be a Lady Bear,” Stokes said. “Being able to come back and have an impact on and win in a program that I’ve wanted to play for for so long, it’s been huge and it’s kind of a feeling you can’t really describe.”
Judging from her stats and wide array of accolades which include nine MVC Newcomer of the Week awards, she did a good job leading her childhood team in her first season, but says she plans to do even better this year. With the confidence of a strong season behind her, she’s maintaining the leadership voice in the team to really fill in that point guard role.
“I came in last year, and as a point guard, you’re supposed to be a leader, so I had to earn the respect of my teammates,” Stokes said. “Being able to earn that and come in this year and have half of a new team looking at me for guidance like ‘what do we do, how do we adjust to this?’ It’s been really good … It’s been awesome to pull everyone together. I think our chemistry has been really good.”
Where the Lady Bears have had to fill in their guard and big positions through the transfer portal, Stokes has found nothing but good to say about the newbies.
Among those coming in are two former enemies of the Lady Bears, senior guard Kiley Bess from Indiana State University and redshirt sophomore guard Zoe Stewart from Murray State University.
“I always joke with Kiley Bess that she’s not my
enemy anymore,” Stokes said. “Being able to have people who you hated scouting now be on your team, they already have an understanding of the Valley, that honestly helps a ton. And they scouted us before, now it’s just learning on the right side this time.”
And as for those new players — of whom there are eight — Stokes refuses to make them dry any of the tears or carry the weight of the heavy shoulders following last season’s defeats.
Instead, she’s taking them into a season with a mentality of not letting anything go again.
“Last year I might have just been like ‘oh it’s practice, I didn’t get a stop, it’s alright,’ but if I don’t get a stop in a game, it’s not alright because sometimes there’s not always going to be another player,” Stokes said. “It’s a ‘there’s not always going to be another one’ mentality. This is my senior year and so I don’t have ‘maybe next year we’ll get it.’”
Head coach Beth Cunningham lauded Stokes’ ability to learn quickly and respond well.
“The sky’s the limit for her with what she can do leading the team this year,” Cunningham said. “The one thing that I would say about Lacy is that she’s always been somebody that is a quick learner, she gets a little bit of that experience under her belt and then she figures it out.”
With all of their turnover from season to season, the Lady Bears are going to need some consistency to close their time in the Valley well, but as long as Stokes is on their court, Missouri State is well-represented.
Photo by Charles Sargent, Qsargent_photag Lacy Stokes takes it all in during a game last season.
Photo by W. Paul Bohlen, Qanthro_paul_ogist
Bearpawcalypse president Brenden Duff shouts to the student section at a Volleybears game.
Women’s 2024-25 Basketball Schedule
vs. Tulsa at Wichita State at UT Martin at Saint Louis vs. Gonzaga (neutral) vs. Florida State (neutral) vs. Texas Tech (neutral) vs. Wyoming vs. Little Rock at SEMO vs. Southern Miss at UIC (MVC) vs. Belmont (MVC) vs. Murray State (MVC) vs. Southern Illinois (MVC) at Evansville (MVC) at Indiana State (MVC) vs. Drake (MVC) vs. Northern Iowa (MVC) at Bradley (MVC) at Illinois State (MVC) vs. Indiana State (MVC) vs. Evansville (MVC) at Southern Illinois (MVC) vs. Valapariso (MVC) at Northern Iowa (MVC) at Drake (MVC) at Murray State (MVC) at Belmont (MVC) vs. Illinois State (MVC) vs. Bradley (MVC) MVC Tournament
MSU Men’s basketball welcomes new talent Wesley Oba
JACKSON WRIGHT REPORTER
Missouri State University men’s basketball has a completely different look going into this season than it did even back in March 2024. The team is experiencing both new coaches and new players. Head coach Counzo Martin is back coaching with Missouri State and hit the recruiting trail more than once. In fact, he had to bring in 15 new guys to round out his 17-man roster. One of the new guys on the block this season that Bears fans should keep on their radar is six-foot-eight-inch senior, Wesley Oba.
Who is Wesley Oba?
Oba played high school basketball at Loreto College High School in Manchester where he averaged nearly a double-double with 12.2 points and 9.6 rebounds, nearly 4 of those rebounds being offensive boards. While in high school, he was part of back-to-back national titles in the UK.
His first collegiate stop was in Division II where he played two seasons at the University of Sioux Falls. In his first season, Oba saw only a total of 10 minutes but went a successful 2-for2 from the field. However, in his second season for the Cougars, he saw a lot more success. During his sophomore year, he played in 12 games where he averaged 5.3 points and 8.3 rebounds. He also posted two separate double-doubles in back-to-back games with 10 points and 10 rebounds each game.
This strong second year took him down to Florida Southwestern where he played in 28 games and shot over 55% from the field. In four different games, Oba brought down 10 or more rebounds. The final stage of his pre-Missouri State career was at Delaware State where he played in all 34 games, but only started 7 games. During his one-year stop in Delaware, he averaged 6.2 points and 6.2 rebounds, tying for the team lead in total blocks at 16. Oba continued his hot shooting performances by shooting 54.4% from the field. Several times he recorded double-figure scoring, rebounds and double-doubles.
Why Missouri State?
Oba comes to Missouri State for his last year of NCAA eligibility. When asked why he decided to join the Bears squad for his final eligible year he said, “The transfer portal is very hectic. What stood (out) for Missouri State was the coaching staff for me. Obviously, (this is) a new team so I can’t say I have any connections with any of the players.”
The actions on the court are not the only thing that caught Oba’s eye when visiting Missouri State and getting to know his new home.
“You can tell the coaches here really push you and are honest with you and I want that,” said Oba. “I don’t want a coach that would lie to me. They keep us all accountable.”
Soon after coming to MSU, Oba knew that the coaches were not only aiming to make him a better player, but to make him a better man overall.
“The coaching staff is a family. You can even see that the coaches are all great parents towards their kids, and husbands to their wives, and I feel like that is something I stand for,” said Oba. “I want to be around people that have the same goals in life as me.”
Oba’s journey to Missouri State has allowed him to gain both valuable experience in the game, and discover his own identity.
“I think I have learned a lot about myself. My own identity. You don’t have to be like everyone else…everyone has their role and I have figured out my role with the team,” said Oba.
Oba brings an infectious enthusiasm to the court, which works to fuel the team’s spirit. Oba says you can expect him to be the first one to jump up and down and yell during a big play.
“I’m the energy guy on the team. I will hold the team accountable and I will be loud on the court.”
Photo by W. Paul Bohlen, Qanthro_paul_ogist Wesley Oba goes for a rebound against Southwest Baptist on Oct. 29.
ART HAINS TALKS CAREER, BASKETBALL BEARS
State University Director of Broadcasting Art Hains has been the “Voice of the Bears” for the past 44 years. His recent struggles with West Nile Virus have prompted the beloved figure of the Springfield and MSU community to prepare for retirement. Before that, however, he wants one last run. The 202425 season and the sports in them — football, basketball and baseball — all have one more year with him on the radio.
Evan Sappington SPORTS REPORTER
DEvanSappMSU
There isn’t a diehard Missouri State University sports fan who doesn’t know the name Art Hains.
Hains, the “Voice of the Bears,” has been a staple in the community for many years. But the renowned play-by-play commentator has officially announced that the 2024-25 season will be his last full basketball season with the university.
However, Hains will be back at MSU to call the Bears’ first home football game in Conference USA. The Bears will be hosting the Southern Methodist University Mustangs, his alma
mater, on September 13, 2025.
In late 2022, Hains was diagnosed with West Nile Virus, an insect-borne disease that Hains wasn’t expected to survive. But after years of efficient medical care and rehabilitation, Hains made his return to the press box late last year.
“I was at a rehab center here for a year,” Hains said. “They were just outstanding, Springfield Health and Rehab.”
In regards to men’s basketball, MSU will be looking to leave the Missouri Valley Conference on a high note. With their returning head coach Cuonzo Martin, Hains believes that the Bears will have their work cut out for them.
“New head coach, all new players,” said Hains, “all of Cuonzo’s teams are gonna play good defense and rebound. They’re gonna be
tough, more than anything else.”
With Missouri State’s transition to CUSA, many have speculated what the future of the basketball program is going to look like in a new conference.
“Building the team up would take maybe a couple of years, but I think we should be able to compete right away,” Hains said.
After spending nearly half a century with the Bears, Hains has seen all of the highs and lows the program has gone through as he holds fond memories of some of its greatest accomplishments.
“We went to the NCAA Tournament six times between 1987-99, so I guess those were the glory days. So there have been a lot of good moments,” Hains said.
Hains is in good health and good spirits as the Bears approach the start of the regular season; with question marks surrounding the program and its plans for the future, Hains knows the team is in good hands.
“I have every confidence that Cuonzo is gonna be the guy that turns it around,” Hains said.
While Hains looks forward to retirement, he had a message for all of his supporters from Dallas, Texas, all the way up to Marshall, MO:
“I’m just extremely humbled by all the outpouring and the cards and letters, the phone calls and visits that have come from all of those places.” said Hains, “It’s really meant a lot to me and to my family, so I want to thank everybody that’s been involved in supporting us.”
Photo by MSU Creative Services
Former Missouri
Men’s basketball welcomes 5 fearless freshmen to roster
JAYDEN PETTUS CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DPETTUSJAYDEN
The Missouri State men’s basketball team will enter the 2024-25 season with five freshman members.
With 15 of 17 roster members being new additions, as well as a new head coach for the team, these players are primed to be names remembered by Bear fans for the coming years.
Meet the 2024-25 freshmen
#3 Makhai Valentine, Guard
A 6-foot-3-inch, 190-pound guard hailing from Munhall, Pennsylvania, Valentine is arguably the most notable of the five freshmen. In his senior year at Steel Valley High School, he averaged 33.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists on his way to being named 2024 3A State Player of the Year.
Valentine was named the Pittsburgh Union Progress Player of the Year and finished fourth in regular season scoring in the entire Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League as a junior.
In all, the guard finished his high school career with 1,780 career points — good enough for the Steel Valley High record.
#7 Jurrell Baldwin, Forward
A 6-foot-7-inch, 200-pound forward, Baldwin is coming off a standout senior year at Hyde Park Career Academy in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. In 30 games, Baldwin averaged 28 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, leading the Hyde Park Thunderbirds to an Illinois High School Association state playoff appearance.
The prep star was named to the Chicago Sun-Times All-Area and All-City teams following the conclusion of the season for the second time in as many years.
Baldwin received scholarship offers from Murray State University and Saint Louis University, but ultimately chose to begin his college career with the Bears.
#10 Iago Stanback, Guard
Stanback, a 6-foot-3-inch guard hailing from Naples, Florida, spent a year at Florida Coastal Prep Sports Academy in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, following his stand-out senior year at Palmetto Ridge High. In 28 games during the 2022-23 season at Palmetto Ridge, Stanback averaged 20.3 points, 1.8 assists and 1.8 blocks per game on his way to being named 2023 6A State Player of the Year. The then-senior earned All-State and All-Region honors at the Southwest Florida Sports Award
Show following the completion of the season.
After breaking the Collier County career scoring record his senior year, the guard joined Portugal’s 18U European Championship Team during the summer of 2023. Stanback averaged 2.1 points in seven games with a single-game high of 7 points against Switzerland.
#13 Zaxton King, Guard
Hailing from Lawrence, Kansas, King was a 6A firstteam all-state standout during his sophomore, junior and season years. The 6-foot-3inch, 185-pound guard is coming off an impressive senior year, in which he averaged 28.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2 steals per game.
The hot year by the then-senior built off a standout junior year in which the guard averaged 24.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2 steals per game.
Freshman guard Zaxton King gets to work down low during the Bears’ exhibition with the Southwest Baptist University Bearcats on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
King was named the Sunflower League Player of the Year, as well as Area Player of the Year award in both his junior and senior seasons. The young guard also earned the DiRenna Award, given to the most outstanding male and female high school basketball player in the greater Kansas City area, following his junior year.
#20 C.J. Gaines, Guard
Gaines, a 5-foot-8-inch, 155 pound guard, earned all-region honors all four years of his high school career at Calvary Day School in Savannah, Georgia. He is coming off a senior year in which he averaged 15.5 points per game, while being selected for first-team all-region.
While he may be a long shot to earn starter minutes this year, Gaines has exceptional threepoint range, which could work in his favor, as well as the Bears’ down the stretch.
Cuonzo Martin speaks on team’s freshmen
At MSU basketball media day on Thursday, Oct. 24, Martin spoke about the freshmen on the roster and what they bring to the team, noting the first-year players’ respective characters as much as their ability.
“I think they’re good guys first and fore-
most,” Martin said. “I think they’re fearless on the floor. In my years of coaching, even as an assistant, (this is) the first team I’ve been a part of where, top to bottom, guys don’t play with fear … they just play and compete. (The freshmen) have to get better in certain areas, but they’re fearless on the floor and competing.”
That compete level and fearlessness is certainly something that will help these five freshmen find playing time among the older, more experienced members of the team.
Martin added that the group of freshmen have been trying to absorb some of the experience gained by older teammates, which can be tough to do early in the season while players may still be vying for starting minutes.
“They get after it, they try to find a way to ask a lot of questions and they listen,” Martin said. “They follow the older guys respectfully, and I think the older guys respect them enough to bring them along and show them the way. It’s different, in this time when you have 15 new guys, everybody is just trying to figure out who they are, their identity and the team’s identity.”
The freshmen, along with the rest of the Bears, will get to work on the team’s opening night against the Butler University Bulldogs in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Monday, Nov. 4 at 5:45 p.m.
Photo by W. Paul Bohlen, Qanthro_paul_ogist Hailing from Lawrence, Kansas, King was the Sunflower League Player of the Year during his last two years with Lawrence High.
Photo by W. Paul Bohlen, Qanthro_paul_ogist
Men’s 2024-25 Basketball Schedule
Nov. 4
Nov. 11
Nov. 16
Nov. 19
Nov. 24
Nov. 25
Nov. 26
Dec. 1
Dec. 7
Dec. 14
Dec. 18
Dec. 22
Dec. 29
Jan. 1
Jan. 4
Jan. 7
Jan. 11
Jan. 15
Jan. 18
Jan. 21 Jan. 25 Jan. 29
Feb. 1 Feb. 5
8 Feb. 12 Feb. 16
at Butler vs. Missouri Southern vs. Tulsa vs. UT Arlington vs. High Point (neutral)
TBD (neutral)
March 2
March 6-9
TBD (neutral) at Oral Roberts vs. Indiana State (MVC) at Washington State vs. Lincoln University vs. UC Santa Barbara at Evansville (MVC) vs. Valparaiso (MVC) at Bradley (MVC) vs. UIC (MVC) at Southern Illinois (MVC) vs. Southern Illinois (MVC) at Illinois State (MVC) at Northern Iowa (MVC) vs. Drake (MVC) at Indiana State (MVC) vs. Murray State (MVC) vs. Northern Iowa (MVC) at Belmont (MVC) vs. Evansville (MVC) at UIC (MVC) at Valparaiso (MVC) vs. Illinois State (MVC) vs. Belmont (MVC) at Drake (MVC)
MVC Tournament (St. Louis) 5:45
CHASE MARTIN
KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY
W. PAUL BOHLEN SPORTS EDITOR Dwpbohlen
In 2011, when head basketball coach Cuonzo Martin — now in his second tenure with Missouri State University — was wrapping up his third season, his son Chase Martin was nine, watching and interacting with the team as they improved over his dad’s three seasons with the Bears.
Though he was young when his father left the Bears for the University of Tennessee, Chase still remembers what it was like to watch the first teams Cuonzo fielded as a head coach.
“I just remember them getting better every year while we were here,” Chase said. “My life pretty much consisted of just going to school and then going to basketball games or practices and getting to know the guys, interacting with them. But they got better every year, I mean they really started to play well.”
During his high school career, Chase received three varsity letters while at Columbia, Missouri-based Fr. Tolton Catholic High School, and played a role in taking the Trailblazers to a district title in 2018.
Chase didn’t just succeed athletically, his studies led him to be the 2020 graduating class valedictorian. He’d keep both up in his next venture: a familiar school to his family, Purdue University.
His father had played for the Boilermakers from 1992-1995 as one of their starring players, and later was on the coaching staff from 20002008 under head coaches Gene Keady and Matt Painter.
Unlike his father, however, Chase never started a game. He was a reserve, played in 27 games in four seasons, and made six total points. He made three blocks in that time, and had nine rebounds.
Still, he came away with something very valuable: his education. Chase pursued opportunities at Purdue because of the engineering programs there as much as the basketball.
He graduated this May with a degree in mechanical engineering and a 3.53 GPA, which from a Purdue engineering program, is something remarkable on its own. Completing this degree while being a member of one of the most successful college basketball teams in America makes his accomplishment even more impressive.
With a COVID year remaining and his father returning to Missouri State, where it all started,
Photo by W. Paul Bohlen, Qanthro_paul_ogist
Chase decided to come help his old man start things off well.
“I’m really excited about it, obviously because I love my dad, but also I want to help him win,” Chase said. “His second coaching stint at Missouri State, he left on a good note, we wanna start on a good note and make people excited about basketball here. I’m just excited to be with him here this season.”
Chase noted how quickly the team has come together.
“It starts with just trusting each other and trusting the coaching,” Chase said. “If we can do that, we have the pieces to be good, we just have to give a little bit of ourselves to the team so that we can all be great.
“You can try to help guys to really get acclimated to the system and teach them what is expected and is needed to win games,” Chase said. “Winning is not easy, only one team wins the NCAA Championship every year. Only one team wins your conference every year.”
And speaking of conferences, his excitement carries over into the final MVC season for MSU.
“It means a lot (to play on the last MVC team for MSU), it gives us a shot to win another Valley championship and hopefully go out of the Valley in style,” Chase said. “You always want to win, you always want to win championships, you always want to bring home some hardware, but it also puts a little more on it when you know you’re leaving.”
“The plan won’t change whether we were going to stay in the Valley or were we going to leave. We always want to win.”
The six-foot-two-inch guard who also happens to be the coach’s son has shown not only in his academics, but in his playing — particularly during the Bears’ exhibition match against Southwest Baptist University on Oct. 29 where he scored 11 points and made 4 rebounds — that he belongs here.
Chase Martin is ready to do great things for the Bears.
Chase Martin goes in for a layup for the Bears on Oct. 29.
STANDARD SPORTS STAFF’S REGULAR SEASON PREDICTIONS
JAYDEN PETTUS Co-Editor-in-Chief Dpettusjayden LADY BEARS
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