Offseason Review: Illinois State
Illinois State filled their final roster spot last week for the 2024-2025 season. Let's review how the Redbirds stack up in the Missouri Valley Conference.
On last Wednesday, Illinois State filled their final spot on their roster with the Ole Miss transfer, Cameron Barnes. The Redbirds finished last season 15-17 and 7th in the Missouri Valley Conference. At times, they flashed signs of success, but they could never maintain it. They started off 2-0 in the conference and went 5-1 in a six game stretch before dropping 6 straight. They then went on a stretch at the end of the season going 4-1 including a win over #23 Indiana State. Let’s review their offseason thus far and what the Redbirds could look like next season.
Roster Overview
Let’s recap who the Redbirds have added and lost on their roster:
Cameron Barnes (Freshman) - Ole Miss
Redshirt
Caden Boser (Junior) - Valdosta State (DII)
12.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2 assists per game
Landon Wolf (Sophomore) - Northern Iowa
4.7 points, 1.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists per game
Boden Skunberg (Senior) - North Dakota State
14.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists per game
The following players are returning next season:
Johnny Kinziger
8.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists
Jordan Davis
3.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.6 assists
Dalton Banks
8.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists
Malachi Poindexter
8.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Ty Pence
0.8 points, 0.7 rebounds, 0.3 assists
Chase Walker
3.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists
Brandon Lieb
3.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists
Here’s who they lost in the portal:
Luke Kasubke (Junior) - North Dakota State
4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists per game
Myles Foster (Junior) - TBD
12.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists per game
Darius Burford (Junior) - UT Arlington
12.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1 steal per game
Harouna Sissoko (Junior) - TBD
1 points, 1 rebounds per game (9 games)
In addition to the four players they lost in the portal, the Redbirds also lost Kendall Lewis (8.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1 assist per game) and Ryan Schmitt (2.4 points, 0.4 rebounds, and 0.2 assists per game (5 games)) due to no remaining eligibility.
On the surface, it does look rough for Redbirds as they lost both Darius Burford and Myles Foster in the portal. Neither of these were a shock to fans or anyone who consistently watches the Missouri Valley Conference. Myles Foster was named to the MVC All-Newcomer Team, while Darius Burford was an excellent scorer shooting 43% from the floor (even while shooting a disappointing 20.9 3pt%).
Their additions more than make up for these losses. Caden Boser shot 48.3% overall and 40.5% from beyond the arc for Valdosta State. The year prior, Boser shot 49.3% from the floor and 42.6% from 3pt. These is an elite scorer who was getting looked at by other great mid-major schools as well, such as, Belmont, Eastern Kentucky, UC San Diego.
Boden Skunberg was a bucket-getter for North Dakota State over the last two seasons. Last season, his numbers dipped a bit to 40.8% from the floor and 34% from 3pt, however, in the year prior Skunberg shot 45.3% from the floor and 39.5% from 3pt. Skunberg led the Bisons in points and rebounds per game this season, and trailed Alabama star Grant Nelson in both categories in the prior season.
Landon Wolf appeared in 30 games off the bench for the UNI Panthers this past season and did not disappoint. Wolf shot 48.5% from the field and 45.3% from 3pt. His minutes per game dipped from his freshman year where he averaged 7.4 points, 1.6 rebounds in 24 minutes per game on 40.3% from the floor and 36.2% from 3pt. Coming out of high school, Wolf had offers from UNI, Toledo, Milwaukee, South Dakota, Western Illinois, Bryant, Quincy, and Truman State.
Cameron Barnes is a flier pickup here as he has yet to appear in a collegiate game, however, Barnes was a 3-star recruit and listed as the 25th best player in Texas and 169th overall in 2023. Barnes comes in at 6-10 and held offers from Memphis, Texas A&M, SMU, Baylor, Wichita State, Oklahoma State, and Ole Miss. Barnes was highly sought after should provide an immediate impact, even if that’s off the bench, for the Redbirds.
Illinois State is also adding incoming freshman Jack Daugherty and Cade Norris to the mix as well. Daugherty comes in as a 3-star recruit and the 3rd best recruit out of Wisconsin. He held offers from many top-tier mid-majors, such as, Richmond, Toledo, St. Thomas, Indiana State, Southern Illinois, and more. Cade Norris (yes, the younger brother of long-time Loyola Rambler Braden Norris) comes in as a bit of an under-the-radar pickup. Norris held offers from Lipscomb, Winthrop, Ball State, Wright State, and Illinois State.
Preseason Expectations
Redbirds fans are going to be hungry for a successful season in 2024-2025. With the turnover in the Missouri Valley, the conference is truly wide open for teams that have started to turn it around like Illinois State to claim a larger stake in the conference.
Illinois State hasn’t finished with 20+ wins since 2017 and haven’t had a winning season since 2019. However, next season could break this streak. I’m personally putting a lot of this stock into two players: Johnny Kinziger and Boden Skunberg.
Skunberg provides a “veteran” presence on the team and his game will transfer well to the Missouri Valley from North Dakota State. At 6’5, he’ll be a great option at the SG/SF position and will most likely lead the team in offensive production next season. However, Kinziger could be the go-to guy next season. As a Freshman, Kinziger went off at the end of the season. In his last 7 games of the season, he averaged an insane 17.1 points per game to go along with 3.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds. At 5’11, Kinziger is an excellent option at the PG position as he averaged just 2.1 turnovers per game during this stretch as well.
The largest question in my opinion will be the frontcourt. They are pretty thin, new transfer Caden Boser provides some size at 6’8, so he’ll fit more into the Power Forward position. Brandon Lieb comes in at 7’0, however he set his career high last season in minutes at just 11 per game in 17 games. Sophomore Chase Walker is 6’9, but he appeared in just 17 games as well at 7.6 minutes per game. 3-star Jack Daugherty comes in at 6’7 as a freshman, so he could provide some minutes at SF and maybe the PF depending on the matchup.
The offensive options of Jordan Davis, Dalton Banks, Malachi Poindexter, Johnny Kinziger, Boden Skunberg, and Landon Wolf will be a tough matchup for other schools in the MVC. However, they’ll be exposed by some of the other big men in the conference.
What I see happening for the Redbirds is, a team like the Indiana State last year. They will score a ton of points, but they’ll also give up a ton of points, so each game will be a complete shootout. However, their backcourt is strong enough to propel them to a winning season and a top half finish in the Missouri Valley.
We are projecting a 18-20 win season next year for the Redbirds and a Top 6 finish in the Missouri Valley.
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