Welcome to The Sports Bank’s second annual college basketball season preview series. Last year we looked at 99 teams in 99 days. This year, we are being slightly more aggressive and expanding to 111 teams in 111 days. We will rank the 74 power conference teams and top 37 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
The Murray State Racers won their second straight Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship last year, but were upset in the Semifinals of the OVC Tournament and missed out on the league’s automatic bid into the Big Dance. New head coach Steve Prohm has the pieces needed to cut down both sets of nets this March.
MURRAY STATE RACERS
Last Season: 1st, 14-4 in OVC, 23-9 overall
Predicted OVC Finish: 1st
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Ivan Aska (Sr)/Harley Nussman (Fr)
F: Edward Daniel (Jr)/Brandon Garrett (Jr)
G/F: Donte Poole (Sr)/Latreze Mushatt (Jr)/Tyler Rambo (Fr)
G: Jewuan Long (Sr)/Stacy Wilson (Jr)
G: Isaiah Canaan (Jr)/Jaylen Blend (Fr)/Zay Jackson (Fr)
Gone: G-B.J. Jenkins, G-Isaac Miles, F/C-Jeffery McClain, C-Shawn Jackson (transfer- NW Florida CC), SF-Chris Griffin (transfer)
2011-2012 Outlook:
Prohm takes over for Billy Kennedy who left this off-season to become the head coach at Texas A&M. He inherits a roster that has experience in the starting line-up but several newcomers who will compete for minutes off the bench.
Last year’s leading scorer Isaiah Canaan returns for the Racers. He will need to take over the leadership role in the backcourt and become more of a distributor this year. Freshmen Jaylen Blend and Zay Jackson will battle it out for the back-up job.
Jewuan Long and Donte Poole were key reserves last season and now likely step into the starting line-up on the wing. UMKC transfer Latreze Mushatt will also push for a starting spot and brings more size to the wing than the 6-1 Long and 6-3 Poole. Mushatt started 28 games and averaged 11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds per game in his last season at UMKC. JUCO transfer Stacy Wilson and freshman Tyler Rambo add more depth on the wing.
The Racers picked up a key transfer this off-season in Dexter Fields of UAB. He must sit out this season though per NCAA transfer rules but will be an asset in practice.
There isn’t a ton of size in the frontcourt as only two players stand taller than 6-7. Ivan Aska returns to the starting line-up where he will likely be joined by Edward Daniel. Both players are springy and make up for their lack of size with their tremendous work ethic. Brandon Garrett played sparingly last season will need to take on a bigger role off the bench. 6-10 freshman Harly Nussman adds some needed size to the frontcourt but does not possess a high skill level.
Murray State has relied on their depth and balance the past two seasons, but unless the newcomers on the bench acclimate themselves sooner than expected, the starters will be asked on to carry the bulk of the load this season. Still, the Racers are without question the team to beat in the OVC.
Player to Watch: Ivan Aska
The former OVC Freshman of the Year saw his scoring numbers take a surprising dip last season. After averaging 10.3 points per game in each of his first two years with the Racers, that number dropped to 7.6. Part of the reason was due to a slight cutback on his playing time but also because his field goal percentage went from 58.8% as a sophomore to 45.8% as a junior. With a lack of experience in the frontcourt, Aska must take on a bigger role especially as a scorer.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/20 at UAB
11/26 vs. New Mexico State/Central Michigan/Southern Miss/UC-Irvine (Great Alaska Shootout)
12/4 vs. Dayton
12/10 or 11 at Memphis
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#67 N.C. State Wolfpack
#68 Fairfield Stags
#69 George Washingon Colonials
#70 Indiana State Sycamores
#71 Oklahoma State Cowboys
#72 Indiana Hoosiers
#73 UAB Blazers
#74 Iowa State Cyclones
#75 Creighton Bluejays
#76 USC Trojans
#77 Weber State Wildcats
#78 Maryland Terrapins
#79 Tulsa Golden Hurricane
#80 Minnesota Golden Gophers
#81 Western Michigan Broncos
#82 Dayton Flyers
#83 Stanford Cardinal
#84 Yale Bulldogs
#85 Georgia Bulldogs
#86 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
#87 Richmond Spiders
#88 Ball State Cardinals
#89 Utah State Aggies
#90 Arizona State Sun Devils
#91 Marshall Thundering Herd
#92 Oregon State Beavers
#93 Washington State Cougars
#94 Iowa Hawkeyes
#95 Ole Miss Rebels
#96 Nebraska Cornhuskers
#97 Oklahoma Sooners
#98 South Florida Bulls
#99 LSU Tigers
#100 Colorado Buffaloes
#101 DePaul Blue Demons
#102 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
#103 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
#104 Seton Hall Pirates
#105 Providence Friars
#106 Auburn Tigers
#107 South Carolina Gamecocks
#108 Texas Tech Red Raiders
#109 Penn State Nittany Lions
#110 Boston College Eagles
#111 Utah Utes
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.
You can follow him on Twitter at DavidKay_TSB.