Photo: Arianne Boma/Griffon Sports Insider
The most competitive athletic conference in Division II is on the cusp of beginning a new season.
By the time students are back on campus, Missouri Western basketball will be finished with their preseason schedule. When the team tips off Dec. 1 at Pittsburg State, conference play will officially begin.
The third season of the Will Martin era is sure to be an interesting one. After turning heads in 2020-21 en route to a third-place MIAA finish as well as a Central Regional berth, the team’s record took a step back last year. A seven-game conference losing streak could be seen as the catalyst for the team’s seventh-place finish.
Much has changed since Missouri Western fell to Rogers State in the conference tournament in March. For the second straight offseason, the team’s starting point guard has transferred. This time it was Q Mays, who headed to Fort Lewis. Also departed is Caleb Bennett, a Lafayette product who gave the Griffons two solid seasons after transferring from Lehigh.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the expectations in the MIAA. A lot of talent has graduated from the league, most notably Trevor Hudgins, a Northwest Missouri legend who now plays for the Houston Rockets. Some of last year’s other top teams have lost stars as well, including 2021-22 MIAA leading scorer Isaiah Wade from Central Oklahoma and Washburn’s sharpshooter Tyler Geiman.
Despite these losses, Northwest Missouri, Central Oklahoma and Washburn are still ranked 1-2-4 in the MIAA preseason polls. Simply put- the MIAA is good. It always has been and always will be.
The Griffons are seeded sixth in the media poll and seventh in the coaches poll, which is where they finished the 2021-22 campaign. This year’s team has a bunch of questions left to be answered.
If there’s one player that Martin knows he can rely on, it’s forward Will Eames. Eames, the 2020 MIAA Freshman of the Year added a third-team all-conference nod last year when he increased his scoring from 11.9 to 13.0 points per game. This junior can put up 11 points and seven boards any given night and has the ability to shoot 35% from beyond the arc. He’s long been a minutes eater, as evidenced by his 43 minutes of action in the preseason against Minnesota-Crookston. He enters MIAA play having just won Player of the Week recognition by the conference.
One player that emerged last season was junior JaRon Thames. After spending most of his first three seasons as the sixth-man, Thames had his name called 18 times last season and stepped up to the occasion. Thames has excellent handles as a 6’6” forward and has a knack for being able to finish at the rim. He scored 27 points against Northwest Missouri last season and has had his fair share of showstopping dunks. This emergence gives Martin some leverage with his lineup, as Thames, Alex John, J.C. Anthony and Justin Bubak could all see starts in either a four-out or five-out setting.
New into St. Joseph is Morehead State transfer Julius Dixon. Early returns on Dixon are promising, as he’s shown strong defensive awareness while also scoring in double-figures in all five preseason games. Like Thames, he moves very well for a 6’7” guard and looks to be another asset in a very deep rotation. He’s already earned his team’s trust, starting alongside Eames, John, sophomores Zion Swader and Taye Fields.
If this team has an X-Factor, it has to be junior Reese Glover. Griffon fans still remember his four-point play in the first round of the 2021 MIAA Basketball Championship Tournament to force overtime against Lincoln. That’s the kind of big plays Glover is capable of producing. Simply put- Glover is a sharpshooter. He’s also been very streaky in his career. But when he’s on, there may not be a better shooter in the MIAA. Glover only appeared in 17 games last year and his absence was noticed as the Griffons had the third-worst three-point shooting percentage in the league. Glover can easily shoot 40% from deep like he did in 2019-20, but what version the team gets will be a major question.
Missouri Western is a tough team to predict. They have the talent to make a run, but how much of that potential will be realized? The MIAA lost some big faces in the offseason. Now more than ever is an excellent chance for the Griffons to make a name for themselves.
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