Horizon League Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 09: The Cleveland State Vikings celebrate winning the Horizon League Men's basketball championship after defeating the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on March 09, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

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Horizon League Basketball Jerrod Calhoun Youngstown State Penguins (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /

10. Youngstown State Penguins

2020-21 season record: 15-12 (9-11 in Horizon)

Key losses – Darius Quisenberry (14.9 ppg and 3.1 apg), Naz Bohannon (16.5 ppg and 8.2 rpg)

The Penguins had the talent on paper to finish in the top-4 of the conference last season, with five players averaging over 9.9 ppg, including Quisenberry, who was healthy for the bulk of the second half of the season. But there were two problems that made them “average” overall – awful three-point shooting and fairly poor defense.

With that in mind, as well as losing arguably their two best players to the transfer portal, there are some concerns as to what Youngstown State does if those two areas don’t improve. But at least they benefitted from the extra year of eligibility, as both Garett Covington (12.5 ppg) and returning leading rebounder Michael Akuchie (9.9 ppg and 8.3 rpg) are back for a “super senior” campaign.

The key to Youngstown State being out of the bottom tier will be how much Shemar Rathan-Mayes improves as a sophomore. He was a starter and on the All-Horizon League team last season after averaging 10.4 ppg and 3.5 apg. The 5’11 guard shot just 36% from the field but did tie Covington to lead the team with 34% from three-point range.

There are several newcomers to the Penguins coming from various backgrounds. Dwayne Cohill comes over from Dayton after missing last season with an injury. The 6’2 guard hasn’t played much in his overall career but was once a touted recruit out of high school and comes into this season finally healthy. Senior guard Tevin Olison comes from the NAIA ranks with the reputation of being a quality shooter, particularly from deep.

6’2 guard Owen Long also shot well at D-II program Maryville, while Hampton transfer Chris Shelton averaged nearly double figures in scoring and adds depth in the backcourt. Rathan-Mayes will need some of these guys to step up and create some spacing and be a three-point threat if he and Youngstown State wants to avoid a major drop-off in the standings.