The Missouri Southern State University men’s basketball team was picked to finish second in the 2020-21 Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) preseason coaches poll that was released on Tuesday as part of the MIAA’s Virtual Media Day.
Missouri Southern went 23-8 overall and finished third in the MIAA regular season standings last year, falling 78-76 to Northwest Missouri in the MIAA Tournament’s championship game.
The Lions had qualified for the NCAA Tournament before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s safe to say the Lions are ready to make up for lost time.
“We’re just excited to play,” Lions coach Jeff Boschee said during Tuesday’s virtual press conference. “All of our guys have been through a lot, from getting their season cut short last year and then dealing with the uncertainty of what was going to happen this season. Not being able to start practice for a month and not being able to use our gym…the guys are just ready to play. We don’t care where we play. Whether we’re home or away, we’re going to have fun with it and treat everything as a challenge and go get it. I’m interested to see how we do against other guys.”
Northwest Missouri was picked first in the poll with 169 points and 13 first-place votes. The Lions were second with 147 points and one first-place vote, followed by Washburn at No. 3, Rogers State at No. 4 and Missouri Western at No. 5. Central Oklahoma was sixth, followed by Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State at seventh. Lincoln, Nebraska-Kearney, Central Missouri, Emporia State, Northeastern State and Newman round out the coaches poll.
The Lions return five players from last year’s team. Leading the way is All-MIAA, All-Region and All-American Cam Martin.
A 6-foot-9 senior forward, Martin was a finalist for the Bevo Francis Small College Basketball Player of the Year Award after averaging 24.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, while shooting 58 percent from the field and 81 percent from the free throw line.
He set the MSSU single-game scoring record with 54 points at Missouri Western and became the only player in Lions’ history to score 700 or more points in a season twice.
“His play speaks for itself,” Boschee said. “He’s going to score. He’s going to demand double teams. I think the leadership part of it and the defensive side of things is where he needs to make a bigger jump than where he was last year.
“I think the biggest thing where he needs to improve is on the defensive side,” Boschee added. “He gets tentative defensively because he doesn’t want to pick up cheap fouls. He’s got to better in pick and roll situations. He’s got to be a more vocal leader and hold people accountable on our team, especially with so many new guys.”
Sophomore Winston Dessesow, sophomore Kyle Younge, senior Stan Scott and junior Christian Bundy are MSSU’s other returning players. Martin Macenis and Tyriqe Jackson both practiced with the Lions last season but utilized a redshirt season and have all four years of eligibility remaining.
RJ Smith is a transfer from Sam Houston State that brings size (6-5, 215) to the lineup, as well as experience. A senior, Smith started in all 31 games a season ago for the Bearkats and averaged 7.7 points and 4.5 rebounds. Junior Yagizhan Selcuk (6-8) comes to Southern from Division I Montana, where he played in 11 games as a sophomore, averaging 2.5 points and 1.1 rebounds.
Freshmen Keryn Collins, Lawson Jenkins, Jalen Parker and Avery Taggard round out the roster.
Missouri Southern Southern will open up the 2020-21 season with a trip to Central Oklahoma on November 19 at 7:30 p.m. The team’s home opener is set for December 3 at 7:30 p.m. against Northeastern State.
“We’re just excited to be getting close to starting,” Boschee said. “With everything that happened last year, it was tough to stay goodbye to our guys. I’m excited about this group.”
2020-2021 MIAA Men’s Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll
- Northwest Missouri (13) – 169 points
- Missouri Southern (1) – 147 points
- Washburn – 140 points
- Rogers State – 123 points
- Missouri Western – 122 points
- Central Oklahoma – 106 points
T7. Fort Hays State – 75 points
T7. Pittsburg State – 75 points
- Lincoln – 67 points
- Nebraska Kearney – 64 points
- Central Missouri – 60 points
- Emporia State – 56 points
- Northeastern State – 55 points
- Newman – 17 points
