Indiana State Basketball: In-depth look at sophomore forward Jake LaRavia

Indiana State has a great roster coming back next year, featuring rising sophomore forward Jake LaRavia who is primed for a breakout campaign.

The Missouri Valley always has a handful of teams that can win the conference. Those teams are also trendy upset picks each season in the NCAA tournament. This year would have been more of the same if the NCAA tournament had been held. Bradley did secure the automatic bid for the second season in a row, but there was some speculation that the league had an outside chance to get two teams in the tournament with Northern Iowa.

Heading into the 2020 season the Valley is still going to have its usual allotment of good teams but much like every year, there is slated to be one team who comes out of nowhere and surprises people. A few seasons ago it was Drake and Bradley, this last season it was Northern Iowa and Bradley, and this year it appears, at least on paper, to be the Indiana State Sycamores.

The Sycamores return a lot of their talent from an 18-win team last year and they have their star guard Tyreke Key back on campus for his senior year. Indiana State has not made the NCAA tournament since the 2010-2011 season.

This team is going to have high expectations, while they may just be high right now in Terre Haute, they should be high nationally. Key is the already established guard in the conference, but the Sycamores have their own breakout star who is looking to take the next step this year.

That is sophomore wing Jake LaRavia. After a great freshman season for the forward, what is his follow up season going to look like?  The forward is primed for a breakout.