The Bears’ top returners are their most important
While Missouri State returns just two of their top six scorers from last season, the two that do return, seniors Tulio Da Silva and Keandre Cook may be the two most important. Da Silva is a 6’8 forward who made a big splash in his first season in the MVC, earning the Newcomer of the Year and 1st Team All-MVC honors. He began his career at South Florida but took off last season averaging 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting over 55% from the field and entering his final season is a strong candidate for conference Player of the Year.
Cook is a 6’5 guard who came from the JuCo ranks in Texas last season, he averaged 12.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in his first season. Cook is a guy who can fill it up offensively, having notched 20 or more points five times last season which was a team-high. Cook will likely be looked to for more offense this season to help offset the loss of guard Jarred Dixon who graduated. That is a role that should suit Cook fine as he was second on the team in shots and three-point attempts last season, trailing only Dixon.
Two other returnees who could play key roles are forwards Kabir Mohammed and Jared Ridder. Mohammed averaged over five points and nearly four rebounds per game as a junior in just 15 minutes of action, while Ridder got nearly 19 minutes off the bench when the 6-8 transfer from Xavier became eligible midseason.