Missouri State Bears
2019-2020 Overall Rank: #100
Conference Rank: #2 Missouri Valley
Missouri State surpassed their low expectations during Coach Dana Ford’s debut campaign leading the program. They finished tied for third in the Missouri Valley standings and had a respectable 16-16 overall record. That may not sound too great, and it isn’t, but the Bears almost had a completely rebuilt roster. The holdovers are gone now though, but Coach Ford has brought in plenty of talented transfers who are ready to pick up the slack and then some.
2018-19 Record: 16-16, 10-8
2018-19 Postseason: None
Coach: Dana Ford
Coach Record: 16-16 at Missouri State, 73-81 overall
Key Departed Players:
Jared Dixon, Guard, 13.1 ppg
Ryan Kreklow, Guard, 7.9 ppg
Josh Webster, Guard, 7.8 ppg
Obediah Church, 6.4 ppg
Szymon Wojcik, Forward, 5.3 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Tulio Da Silva, Senior, Forward, 14.3 ppg
Keandre Cook, Senior, Guard, 12.8 ppg
Kabir Mohammed, Senior, Forward, 5.3 ppg
Jared Ridder, Sophomore, Forward, 5.1 ppg
Ross Owens, Senior, Guard, 1.4 ppg
Darian Scott, Sophomore, Center, 0.6 ppg
Key New Players:
Ja’Monta Black, Freshman, Guard
Spencer Brown, Junior, Guard, Transfer from Lyon College
Tyem Freeman, Freshman, Forward
Josh Hall, Junior, Guard/Forward, Transfer from Nevada
Isiaih Mosley, Freshman, Forward
Gaige Prim, Junior, Forward, JC Transfer
Lamont West, Senior, Forward, Transfer from West Virginia
Anthony Masinton-Bonner, Senior, Guard, Grad Transfer from Colorado State
Projection:
Tulio Da Silva and Keandre Cook were both double digit scorers during their debut seasons with the Bears. Da Silva led the squad with 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds. The 6-8 senior is a very productive in the paint, but he can also step outside and knock down the occasional three-pointer. Cook, a 6-5 senior, added 12.8 points and 4.3 rebounds. He can use his size to attack the basket effectively, but is also a very good outside shooter. Senior Kabir Mohammed and sophomore Jared Ridder will add more experience to the regular rotation, but both will have to compete with the newcomers for minutes. Five transfers are coming into the program and three of them have Division I experience. Lamont West is a huge pickup for MSU. The 6-8 senior started 20 games at West Virginia last season and averaged 11.1 points and 4.1 rebounds. Josh Hall, a 6-7 wing, was a part-time starter during his two seasons at Nevada and is a very capable scorer and shooter. Anthony Masinton-Bonner was Colorado State’s third leading scorer last season and will spend his senior season adding another scoring option for the Bears. Add in Spencer Brown and Gaige Prim and this team has a lot of experienced depth and enough talent to push for a conference title.
Projected Postseason Tournament: CBI/CIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 68.9 (271st in nation, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 67.4 (65, 6)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.2 (133, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 45.2 (264, 10)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.0 (249, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.5 (164, 7)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.2 (224, 7)
Rebound Margin: -0.4 (215, 7)
Assists Per Game: 11.1 (321, 8)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.0 (93, 3)
