NKU Norse basketball: What you need to know for 2023-24 season

The NKU Norse bring back a trio of starters from last season’s team that made the NCAA Tournament before falling to top-seeded Houston in the first round.

Head coach Darrin Horn returns guards Marquez Warrick and Sam Vinson, as well as forward Trey Robinson.

Guard Hubertas Pivorius and forward LJ Wells are the most experienced returning backups.

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Here’s what to look for from the Norse this season as they attempt to win their fifth Horizon League championship since 2017.

NKU returning starters

It’s hard to think of a better duo to return in the backcourt than Warrick and Vinson.

Warrick averaged a team-high 18.8 points per game and finished second on the team with 92 assists en route to being named second-team All-Horizon League.

Vinson averaged 11.8 points per game while making the Horizon League All-Defensive Team and being named third-team All-Horizon League. He led the team with 76 steals, finished second with 4.3 rebounds per game and third with 91 assists.

Robinson scored 7.0 points per game and grabbed 3.7 rebounds per game last season.

NKU basketball newcomers

The Norse are short on returning veterans, but feature several new faces.

Michael Bradley, a graduate student, transfers from Division II Mercyhurst. Bradley is coming off of a season where he averaged 14.9 points and 4.2 assists per game.

Junior forward Cade Meyer should be no stranger to NKU. He's transferring from Horizon League foe Wisconsin-Green Bay. He averaged 10.5 points and 5 rebounds per game and shot 58.8% from the field last season.

Sophomore forward Keeyan Itejere is a Marquette transfer with athleticism that has to be exciting for Norse fans. He only appeared in 13 games for the Big East champion Golden Eagles last season, but made all five of his shot attempts—all dunks. He also held the Marquette program record with a 36 ½-inch standing vertical leap.

Horn is also adding a recruiting class of four guards: Bryce Darbyshire, Fiston Ipassou, Jeramiah Israel and Randall Pettus II.

Cesar Tchilombo, a 6-foot-9 forward from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, redshirted last season, but will be available this year.

NKU schedule highlights: Go west, young Norse

While the biggest game on the schedule locally is a rematch from last season’s biggest win — NKU’s defeat of Cincinnati — the Norse also have a pair of trips to the west coast planned.

This year NKU have to travel across the bridge to face the Bearcats on Nov. 19.

That game comes just 10 days after their first trip out west, Nov. 9 at Washington. Washington was 16-16 last season and hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2019. It’ll be the second-straight season Horn has brought his team to the Evergreen State. Washington State had a 68-47 win last season.

The Norse will make the trip back out west, this time to California, where they’ll play at Saint Mary’s on Dec. 21. The Gaels have been a consistently good program, despite often playing second fiddle to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference. St. Mary’s has made four NCAA Tournament appearances since 2017 and have been a No. 5 seed both of the past two seasons.

Local connections on NKU

Returning starters Vinson and Robinson are both local products, Vinson from Highlands High School and Robinson from Hamilton High School.

Newcomers Darbyshire and Israel are also local. Darbyshire is from Sycamore High School and Israel from Lloyd Memorial.

Rounding out the locals is Mitchel Minor, a sophomore guard from Scott High School.

2023-24 NKU basketball roster

2023-24 NKU basketball schedule

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Northern Kentucky basketball: 2023-24 roster, schedule preview