Basketball is near. Here's what Missouri State, Dana Ford said during MVC Media Day
ST. LOUIS — Every other player or coach at Tuesday's annual Missouri Valley Conference media day either said their team was going into the season with a "chip on their shoulder" or they were "excited" for the season.
The parade of cliches indicated that basketball season was near. The Missouri State men's basketball team will tip off its season at West Virginia on Nov. 6 with an exhibition game against Division II Westminster at Great Southern Bank Arena four days before.
Bears head coach Dana Ford started his 2023-24 season where 2022-23 ended as he sat in the same seat he sat in following Missouri State's 54-51 loss to Southern Illinois in the Arch Madness quarterfinals seven months before.
Instead of recapping a loss to end the season, Ford expressed optimism for a group that has rare continuity in the current college basketball landscape. The Bears were picked to finish sixth heading into the season but Missouri State should have higher expectations for itself heading into Ford's sixth year.
More: Checking in with Missouri State basketball coach Dana Ford during 2023 offseason
"We're excited about the core that we have coming back as well as the new guys that we have returning," Ford said. "We are looking forward to it."
Dana Ford kept praising the ability to keep the team's 'core' together
Ford kept referring to the importance of keeping the Bears' "core" together over the offseason. He made reference to using Name, Image and Likeness to keep players in Springfield along with building an atmosphere players wanted to play in.
"It's been a focal point of ours to keep our core intact," Ford said. "We've been able to do that and we've added to that in the areas we thought we needed. I think it's a testament to our guys."
The core of the Bears begins with Donovan Clay who is using his extra season of eligibility. He was voted to the MVC's Preseason First Team after earning postseason first-team honors after the 2022-23 season.
Chance Moore received an MVC Preseason Third Team nod and returns for his second season. Alston Mason, Damien Mayo Jr. and N.J. Benson also started throughout last season and saw critical minutes.
The continuity has helped give returners a bit more comfort in knowing their roles on the court and expectations on and off it heading into a new year.
"It's more of a 'how do I get better?' as opposed to 'how do I prove that I can play?' or 'How do I prove I want this position?'" Ford said. "You can see it when they play amongst each other. They know the expectations of what we do on the court and off the court so we don't have any distractions. There's a laundry list of things that I've been able to notice."
The players have noticed its benefit on the court.
"With our main core coming back, just adding a couple of guys to this group, I really feel like our team is really gelling this offseason," Mason said. "I can tell we like each other on and off the court and it's going to show when we play together. I'm expecting a great season."
Football: Yes, Western Illinois is awful. It didn't take away encouragement shown by Missouri State.
Matthew Lee is cleared to play and is being eased in
Ford hasn't coached an entire season with his Day 1 starting point guard since his first at Missouri State with Josh Webster. Injuries hampered the likes of Tyrik Dixon and Demarcus Sharp in the past. A season-ending ACL tear to Matthew Lee in the second game of last season made the position look cursed.
Lee opted to return for another season and he's been cleared to play. He may or may not be the Bears' starting point guard come opening night but Ford is still taking a cautious approach to easing him back in.
"He's in good shape," Ford said. "He's been cleared to play. He practices two or three times a week. He does most of the drill work and some live work. We're just trying to navigate the rest of his body to what he needs. But he's probably ahead of schedule a little bit."
The return of Lee should open the door for Ford to put players in their more natural positions and mix and match different matchups defensively.
"Matthew is a guy who can really create, not only for himself," Ford said. "It allows Alston to play his natural position, which will help us tremendously. It also allows Donnie to then go up against bigger players where he can now have an advantage."
What steps have young players like Alston Mason, Chance Moore taken?
Moore and Mason were two transfers a year ago who had minimal Division I playing experience. Ford looked at the two like they were freshmen and he said he would look at them like sophomores heading into their second years.
The two are going to be depended on heavily heading into their second years to also make a jump. With Lee back, Mason should be playing a bit more off the ball while Moore will look to build off a strong finish to the season. Moore could find himself in the starting lineup when he came off the bench in 28 games a year ago.
The two were touted as prized recruits before Mason played a year at Oklahoma and Moore played one at Arkansas. They have high ceilings and should be ready for bigger roles.
"Their level of toughness, aggressiveness and assertiveness should definitely take a step," Ford said. "That's the only thing that I think would hold these two guys back is if they held themselves back."
The newcomers Moore, Mason say have stood out in practice
Instead of having a completely overhauled roster, Missouri State has just four newcomers this year and Ford expects them to have roles this season.
Both Moore and Mason spoke highly of 6-foot-8 freshman guard Tyler Bey who played a year of prep ball last season at Overtime Elite. He was a four-star player playing in a professional environment.
"I like his game," Mason said. "He's got a nice outside stroke, great length and I think some really good tools to be a great player in our conference."
All have also been high on 6-foot-2 freshman guard Davion Hill who is the younger brother of former Missouri State standout Alize Johnson. Hill's energy and effort have been praised by Ford throughout the preseason which typically bodes well for who he decides to play.
"I like Davion's game," Moore said. "I think (Hill and Bey) bring a new source of energy for our team that I think we need. They bring some type of value from our rotation standpoint that is going to be important down the stretch."
Will Dana Ford use Missouri State's available scholarship at some point this season?
A late departure from Dalen Ridgnal seemed to come as a surprise to Ford and Missouri State. After one season, the Georgia transfer entered the portal and is now at Wichita State.
Ford said that Ridgnal was going to be a rotation player. His departure has allowed the staff to spend more time trying to develop the likes of Bey and Hill. It also opened up a scholarship that is still vacant.
"We could potentially add someone at mid-year if that player becomes available," Ford said. "Currently, we're just going to leave it open."
Quick injury report with Nick Kramer expected to miss time
Saint Louis transfer Nick Kramer is a sharpshooter who the Bears could use with some departing 3-point shooting out the door. He won't be available to begin the season after missing all of the summer and fall recovering from an undisclosed injury. Ford said he started physical therapy on Monday and that he might start practicing by the second week of November and may be available closer to December.
Ford said that was the only "injury" and that others have little things here and there but everyone else is available.
Missouri State has a lot coming back. Why was it picked to finish sixth?
From how the Bears were being written about in preseason magazines and from conversations with others around the league, it wouldn't have been a surprise if they were picked to finish anywhere from fourth to sixth.
The News-Leader's preseason poll placed the Bears fourth due to the amount the Bears had returning. Our submission had Drake, Northern Iowa and Bradley placed first, second and third, respectively.
The three at the top have the most respected programs with the most established coaches in the Valley. Drake's Darian DeVries might be the best game-day coach in the league and brings back his son, the reigning MVC Player of the Year. Northern Iowa returns its entire roster and Bradley has demanded enough respect under Brian Wardle to be considered a top-tier team until he departs.
Indiana State and Belmont were placed ahead of the Bears. The Sycamores made a jump in their second year under Josh Schertz and the Bruins finished 14-6 in their first year in the Valley.
A sixth-place finish, for the second year in a row, would be considered in Missouri State land with how much the Bears have returned and how far the program is into the Ford era. A sixth-place slot feels more like a league-wide perception of the coach when the Bears have been placed higher in previous years and fell way short of expectations.
MVC Preseason Poll
Projected Finish, Team, (First-Place Votes), Points
Drake (24) 558
UNI (19) 524
Bradley (3) 487
Indiana State 402
Belmont 400
Missouri State 386 (1)
Murray State 292
Illinois State 237
Southern Illinois 218
UIC 157
Evansville 95
Valparaiso 66
MVC Preseason Teams
First Team
Bowen Born, UNI
Donovan Clay, Missouri State
Tucker DeVries, Drake (Preseason Player of the Year)
Malevy Leons, Bradley
Cade Tyson, Belmont
Second Team
Tytan Anderson, UNI
Robbie Avila, Indiana State
Darnell Brodie, Drake
Julian Larry, Indiana State
Rob Perry, Murray State
Kenny Strawbridge Jr., Evansville
Third Team
Darius Burford, Illinois State
Duke Deen, Bradley
Xavier Johnson, Southern Illinois
Chance Moore, Missouri State
Toby Okani, UIC
Isaiah Swope, Indiana State
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State basketball takeaways from 2023 Valley media day
