Summit League

Speaking of jumping ship there are two teams who will not be here much longer as next year they are set to join the mighty Missouri Valley. Southwest Missouri State (seems laborious doesn’t it) and Northern Iowa are joining those mighty teams so this is their chance to do something big.  The Bears (now called Missouri State so throw away those SMSU sweatshirts) behind new Coach Charlie Spoonhour are one of the favorites as they have some solid talent coming back this year.  Senior Curtis Perry might be the best big man in the conference as he does everything well and fellow senior Jerry Anderson has had a stellar career in Springfield.  Both were stars when this program won an NAIA title and then finished second in D-2 the following year.  The Bears surely are taking one step at a time but this is one of the great all-time lower division programs and if Spoonhour’s boys play as good of defense as they have in the past they could flat dominate this league. 

The Panthers of Northern Iowa do not have near the history of the Bears though they were in D-2 for a long time and do have a strong history of great coaches.  New Coach Greg McDermott will keep in place the same system revolving around defense and teamwork but they do not have near the talent (or experience) of the Bears or some of the other Mid-Con teams. Their style of controlling the tempo and hitting big shots can lead to upsets but they are going to need an influx of talent to win enough games during the regular season.  It will only get worse next year so McDermott, who played here, better be a heck of a recruiter. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum from these two defensively minded teams are the high scoring Oral Roberts Titans. Coach Ken Trickey has moved this evangelical school into the national spotlight by recruiting a group of players who can flat get up and down the court and will score early and often.  Even though this program has only been around for a few years it is loaded with talent especially a junior class that features high scoring Richie Fuqua and Anthony Roberts and board man Eddie Woods and arguably the most talented Titan of them all in big man David Vaughn plus a couple of high flyers on the wings in Alvin Scott and Calvin Garrett.  ORU will score plenty of buckets this season but their chance to battle for a league title comes down to how well they defend, if it all, and how well Trickey gets them to play as a team and accept lesser roles as he will rotate often.  The sky is the limit and they do have some great matchups with some other high scoring teams from Oklahoma, Arkansas and Memphis as well as some other major programs so they will get the publicity this school from the Outside this program (and this league) covets. 

Valparaiso is also in contention here as Coach Homer Drew has a large group of veterans to rely on.  From their early days in D-2 in the Indiana Collegiate Conference the Crusaders featured a lineup deemed the ‘World’s Tallest Team’ and featured big Milt Schoon and the Warnke brothers up front but nowadays these guys are average for big men.  The world seemed to have passed this school by as well but with Schoon and Bob Dille leading the way and Drew going overseas (and into his own backyard) to recruit some modern talent perhaps the Crusaders will shock the Mid-Con this season. 

Chicago State and Western Illinois are two programs who mirror each other and not just because they are from Illinois.  Both schools have struggled for success and get lost in the shuffle of all the high caliber programs around the Windy City but in the Mid-Con anything can happen.  The Leathernecks of Western Illinois have a greater history as they were once a dominant NAIA school that made many appearances way back in the national tournament in Kansas City including a second place finish to Tennessee State who happens to be on their schedule this year.  Those days seem like decades ago and though some of those players who carried them there are still in Macomb they are nowhere near D-1 level.  Still, Stix Morley will run out an experienced team and the Leathernecks know how to play the game and can win especially in this league. 

Coach Bob Hallberg’s Cougars are much less experienced but do have some potentially talented guys though this team is nowhere near the elite even in this league and could struggle.  There is so much untapped talent in the Chicago area that both of these teams can find some solid players from the leftovers of DePaul and Notre Dame and still put together good teams.  Speaking of untapped talent, Kansas City is a city that does not get its due but when the Kings left for Sacramento it left a void for the fans.  The Kangaroos of Missouri-Kansas City (or UMKC for those of you who like sweatshirts) are jumping right into D-1. With an opening in this league and the other Missouri school leaving next year bigger challenges, they gladly brought in this new program.  The Roos obviously have a very inexperienced team and Coach Lee Hunt is whacking the bushes trying to find some talent but your guess is as good as mine if UMKC can put a competitive team on the court? 

Youngstown State are another new entry into the summit after years of being a solid NAIA and D-2 program.  The Penguins got their feet wet in D-1 last year in the Ohio Valley Conference but that was too rich for their cold blood and they decided to jump in to this league where the water isn’t quite as deep.  Will the talent they have shown there including a rugged if undersized front line of Leo Mogus, Jeff Covington and Herb Lake carryover to this level of competition?  Coach Dom Roselli thinks so and the Penguins would be my surprise pick if they can get some speed and shooting in the back court next to senior John McElroy scorer to complement that front line!

The ‘Summit’ League has floundered on the outside of D-1 college basketball for a few years with barely a blip on the national radar.  They have not won a Big Dance game yet (this Ugly Duckling finally got invited last year) and with the constant changeover in programs the future is not much brighter.  There are some good teams here though and some nice coaches who like some of the programs are looking as this as a stepping stone.  For others they are just glad to be here and whether or not you know who these teams are they have just as much of a chance of winning the national title as North Carolina or Indiana in early April.  And my friend Ruth has also got some Ocean Front Property in Missouri to sell you!