Can the Southern Illinois Edwardsville Cougars win the Ohio Valley?
Head Coach Brian Barone has the Southern Illinois Edwardsville Cougars trending and with an impressive offseason, Cougars fans have their eyes on the prize.
The Ohio Valley hasn’t quite been the same since Belmont, Murray State, Jacksonville State, and Austin Peay all left to join various conferences. The void of power allowed up-and-coming Morehead State an opportunity to swoop in, but with head coach Preston Spradlin heading to James Madison, Morehead State is going into a rebuild. Some of the additions in Western Illinois and Little Rock have proven valuable, UT Martin is on the rise and I believe the Jeremy Shulman will keep that trend rolling, and even Lindenwood is starting to build off their transition to Division I. All of this to say, the Ohio Valley could be wide open this coming season.
SIUE has been on the rise for the last couple of seasons now after what’s been a rather rough go at it in Division I. Prior to the 2022-2023 season, SIUE had never finished with more than 12 wins or a record above .500. However, the Cougars luck started to turn around in 2022-2023 where they finished with a 19-14 record overall and 9-9 in the OVC, good enough for an appearance in the OVC Tournament. Last season, they finished 17-16 overall and 9-9 in the OVC, once again good enough for the OVC tournament.
What does the coming season look like for SIUE, and can Cougars fans get excited? The short answer is yes with head coach Brian Barone continuing to build on their recent success.
Roster Overview
Let’s recap who the Cougars have returning on their roster:
Eddiean Tirado
1.6 points, 0.8 rebounds per game
Ray’Sean Taylor
13.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game
Desmond Polk
4.2 points, 2.3 rebounds per game
Brian Taylor II
2.8 points, 1 rebound, 0.9 assists per game
Jordan Pickett
2.2 points, 0.8 rebounds per game
Arnas Sakenis
3.3 points, 2.5 rebounds per game
The Cougars have added the following players from the transfer portal:
Myles Thompson (Freshman) - Barton (JUCO)
7.1 points, 5.5 rebounds per game
Ring Malith (Sophomore) - Barton (JUCO)
12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists per game
Jamir Price (Senior) - Minnesota State - Moorhead (DII)
14.5 points, 4 rebounds, 2.5 assists per game
Jordan Hamilton (Sophomore) - College of Southern Idaho (JUCO)
7.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists per game
Declan Dillon (Junior) - Winona State (DII)
6.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists per game
Darrion Baker (Freshman) - Akron
Redshirt
Kyle Thomas (Sophomore) - Bradley
2.1 points, 0.9 rebounds per game
The Cougars have added the following players as incoming freshman:
Cham Okey
The Cougars have lost the following players:
Shamar Wright - Ineligible
14.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.6 steals per game
Lamar Wright - Ineligible
9.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1 block per game
Terrance Thompson - TBD
5.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.1 assist, 1 block per game
Adeola Seun - TBD
0.9 points, 1 rebound per game
Ethan Yancy - Sul Ross State (DIII)
1.8 points, 0.8 rebounds per game
Dorion Staples - Miles College (DII)
2.6 points, 1.6 rebounds per game
Damarco Minor - Oregon State
15.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals per game
In terms of the losses for the Cougars, there is no doubt they’ll miss Damarco Minor and the Wright brothers next season. Minor was an underrated find, starting at JUCO and leading South Suburban College to an undefeated season and their first NJCAA Division II Championship. At SIUE, Minor didn’t disappoint averaging 14.3/5.5/2.8/1.3 & 15.5/8.5/3.1/1.1 over the last two seasons. Now, he’s headed to Oregon State in the WCC.
The Wright brothers have lived and breathed SIUE basketball since they joined the team in 2019. Over the last five years, they’ve helped elevate the program and build momentum. For Cougars fans, it was easy to be fans of both Wright brothers and they’ll miss their combined 23.8 points per game.
Outside of those three, the Cougars will also be missing Terrance Thompson who provided to be a crucial piece to the rotation. Thompson has yet to announce his next destination as of the date of this article.
I’ve previously written and expressed my opinions that the future of small conference schools, such as, SIUE will have to rely on reaching out to the JUCO levels to construct their rosters. The Cougars are fitting right into that mold this offseason, adding three JUCO players and another two out of the Division II ranks. They’ve no doubt added some intriguing pieces.
Myles Thompson and Ring Malith are both coming in from one of the most successful JUCOs in the country last season in Barton College where the team went an insane 36-1. They proceeded to defeat Triton College in the NJCAA Division I Championship this past Match.
Malith is going to provide an immediate impact for the Cougars. Coming in at 6’9, he provides great size and not just a presence in the paint, but a 3pt threat as well. Malith shot over 47% overall from the field and 38% from beyond the arc last season. I’d love to see him rebound more given his size, however, this is a high scoring treat and will help fill the void that Damarco Minor is leaving, operating as a perfect SF he will be a problem from other teams. I’m attaching a highlight video from last season and this guy has some serious speed and dunking ability as well. He’s the real deal for SIUE.
Thompson is a true PF that’s going to be a great inside presence for the Cougars. Averaging 14 points per game and 48% shooting overall, Thompson also grabbed 6.7 rebounds per game. I’d love to see him alter more shots, at 6’7 and primarily playing in the paint (he took just 43 3pt shots last season), but he’s a significant rebounding threat which makes up for that. Thompson has a great story (I’m going to post a video below) where he nearly lost the ability to play basketball all together, but he was able to work his way back to the court. He appeared in just 2 games in the 2022-2023 season as a result, but last season he appeared and started in at 37 games for Barton. Cougars fans should be really excited about the two new additions from Barton.
Jordan Hamilton out of the College of Southern Idaho seems to be a nice bench addition for the Cougars. Hamilton appeared in just 15 games and started in 4 for the Golden Eagles, averaging 7.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in just 16 minutes per game. At 6’6 he provides some nice size at the SG/SF position. His best game of the season came against Utah State Eastern where he shot 7-14 from the floor for 20 points and 7 rebounds in just 20 minutes. This is a guy that can obviously shoot it, so he’ll most likely work his way into SIUE’s rotation.
Diving into the Division II transfers, Jamir Price is an excellent pickup for SIUE. In his first seasons as Minnesota State - Moorhead, Price immediately helped bring the school to one of their best seasons in history. The Dragons finished the season ranked #2 in the country, where Price averaged 14.5 points, 4 rebounds, 2.5 assists per game. Price is a veteran guard coming in as a graduate transfer where he’ll certainly slot in as an important piece for SIUE. Price isn’t much of a 3pt threat, shooting just 27.6% on 27-98 shooting, however, he has a strong ability to score shooting 41.8% overall. Price spent the 2022-2023 season on Cleveland State, where he averaged 1.2 points, 1.1 rebounds in just 7.3 minutes per game. He did appear in 25 games for the Vikings, but Price bet on himself by transferring down to Division II to prove that he was Division I material. It worked out and now he’s looking to help lead SIUE to their 3rd consecutive winning season. Here’s some highlights from his time at Mineral Area College a few seasons ago:
Declan Dillion is an underrated pickup in my opinion. His stats won’t blow you away, but he’s the kind of player that’s a stat-sheet stuffer. He’s spent four seasons at Winona State, where each season he saw his playing time increase. Last season, he averaged just 6.7 points per game, but he also provided 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He isn’t going to drop 30 points, however, he’s a hustler and does the little things and at just 6-1, his ability to average nearly 5 rebounds per game is impressive. After spending four years in Division II, he’s ready to make the leap in his last season to prove that he has Division I abilities.
The last two transfers are coming in from Akron and Bradley in Darrion Baker and Kyle Thomas. Baker redshirt last season for Akron, but this is a massive pickup for SIUE. At 6-8, he has great size and coming out of high school, he was ranked as a Top 10 prospect in Illinois. He had offers from several of the top tier mid-majors in the country, including, Akron, Radford, Missouri State, Drake, Wofford, Indiana State, Toledo, Illinois State, Appalachian State, Saint Louis, and more. 247 Sports had Baker listed as a 3-star. This is a tremendous pickup for SIUE where Baker will be looking to prove that he has the high-end potential to be an impact player. Here’s some highlights below…I’m excited to watch him play.
Kyle Thomas is transferring in from Bradley where he gained some nice experience in one of the best mid-major conferences in the country. As a freshman in the 2022-2023 season, Thomas played in 29 games, averaging 5.9 point and 3.7 rebounds in just 13 minutes per game for Eastern Illinois. He saw his playing time diminish last season when he transferred to Bradley, averaging just 2.1 points and 0.9 rebounds in 5.8 minutes. Thomas has a strong ability to score and be an impact player on the boards. At 6’10, he’ll provide the Cougars from great size and a strong ability to score inside where he shot 45.7% overall as a freshman. He’s already gotten experience in the Ohio Valley and he’ll be an impact player at the 5 for SIUE.
Cham Okey is an incoming freshman out of Phoenix Prep. Okey wasn’t highlight recruited as SIUE was the only Division I offer I could find, but at 6’6 he has excellent height at the SG position and he seems to be a versatile scorer. Coach Barone seems to be very high on the incoming freshman.
Ray’Sean Taylor returning is a huge positive for SIUE. I’ve had the privilege of watching Taylor play a couple of times and he’s a legitimate high mid-major player. What’s crazy is, he actually had a down(?) year last year, averaging just 13.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game as a junior. His freshman year saw some insane stat-lines, averaging 17.6 points, 5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. The largest cause for this decrease in production was Damarco Minor. As a freshman, Taylor was the go-to guy to do virtually everything. With the addition of Minor, Taylor was able to share the workload more, so the decrease in production wasn’t a Taylor issue, it was a testament to the betterment of SIUE’s team overall. Last year, Taylor was even invited to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Elite Student-Athlete Symposium (wow that’s a mouth full) where he was just one of 14 players invited to meet with former NBA players, high-tier NCAA staggers, etc. to learn about furthering their careers professionally. Taylor has next level potential and I love that he has chosen to stay at SIUE to build something special. If you are good, scouts will find you no matter where you play.
Preseason Expectations
Now that we have discussed some of the key players joining the team and a general overview of SIUE’s roster, what should Cougars fans expect this coming season? First, let’s look at the Ohio Valley as a whole:
Morehead State and UT Martin were part of a three-way tie for 1st place with Little Rock last season and both schools have lost their head coaches.
Western Illinois is returning their top performer in Ryan Myers, however, they lost 2 out of their top 3 scorers.
Little Rock was dismantled in the transfer portal, losing top talent KK Robinson (TBD, but formerly played at Texas A&M and Arkansas) & Deantoni Gordon (Southern Miss), while Jamir Chaplin is out of eligibility.
Tennessee Tech, Southern Indiana, and Lindenwood all have a long ways to go still.
SEMO has picked up some intriguing pieces in the portal and should be able to finish middle of the pack again after an extremely disappointing season last year.
Coach Brian Penny Collins always finds a way to build solid teams at Tennessee State, so I expect no different this coming season. He’s building almost an entirely different team for this coming year, so I’m excited to see what the Tigers can do.
It seems like Marty Simmons has Eastern Illinois at least headed in a better direction. He’s also built nearly an entirely new team for next season and they are no doubt wanting to build off their best season since 2020.
What does all of this mean? The Ohio Valley is wide-open in my opinion, and anything less than a top four finish would be disappointing for SIUE. With Ray’Sean Taylor returning and now with three years under his belt, this is the year that the Cougars could have something special. Obviously, losing Minor hurts, but Coach Barone has went outside of the box, dipping into JUCO and Division II to find some diamonds in the rough, that combined could have a ceiling as high as their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
SIUE is building a nice non-conference schedule which has Green Bay, Ball State, Western Michigan, and Canisius thus far. I’m curious to see how they shape out the rest of the schedule, but so far, it seems like they are going the route of mostly fellow mid-majors. Meaning, the Cougars could rack up the wins this season if they meet their potential.
On the floor, the Cougars have height in Kyle Thomas, Ring Malith, Darrion Baker, Arnas Sakenis, and Myles Thompson. They have elite scoring in Ray’Sean Taylor and Malith. Guys like Baker, Thompson, Taylor, and Jamir Price can be your go-to offense, while others like Declan Dillon & Jordan Hamilton have the potential as well. I’m putting a lot of stock in Darrion Baker, the talent is clearly there and if he can tap into it, it’ll take SIUE to another level.
I haven’t even highlighted some of the talent outside of Ray’Sean Taylor that is returning. Desmond Polk is returning for his final season after posting a career high 4.2 points, 2.3 rebounds per game last season in 18.9 minutes per game. At 6-4, he provides an excellent option off the bench (shooting 41% from the floor and 36% from 3pt) to go along with guys like Hamilton and Dillon.
Arnas Sakenis is returning where he nearly doubled his impact from his freshman season. As a sophomore, he averaged 3.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and a staggering 1.1 blocks per game (27 games played at just 12 minutes per game). At 6’11 he provides excellent size and should be a nice rotation piece for the Cougars next season. I want to add that he was also a walk-on, so impressive stuff from Sakenis.
Brian Taylor, Jordan Pickett, and Eddiean Tirado all played roles on the team last year. Taylor appeared in 30 games, Pickett in 16, and Tirado in 21. Combine them with Polk, Hamilton, Sakenis, and Dillon and that’s an exceptionally deep bench.
There’s no doubt this team is going to be able to score, but I believe they’ll be stout on the defensive end as well. Most people won’t know who SIUE is to start the year, but I believe that this Cougars team will shock some people as the year goes on, and maybe even shock the Ohio Valley.
Now, my largest concern is their 3pt shooting. However, I don’t think it’s going to be detrimental. Ray’Sean knocked them down for 36.7% and Jamir Price was very impressive from beyond the arc. The starting lineup won’t be an issue, but I’m concerned when they have to rely on their bench. Polk shot 36.2%, which will be their best option off the bench from 3pt, but Taylor II shot just 23%, Tirado 32% (just 31 attempts), Dillon 32% (just 46 attempts), and so on. Again, I don’t think this is detrimental, but it’s something to keep an eye on.
With the combined returning talent and additions in the portal, I see SIUE finishing top four in the Ohio Valley with the ceiling to win the Ohio Valley. Considering it’s just July, I’m not comfortable saying that X team is going to be the clear winner of their conference. I want to see some practices, exhibitions, etc. However, I firmly believe that SIUE will be one of the teams to watch in the 2024-2025 season and I know I’ll be tuning into their games.
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