Southeast Missouri Basketball: Redhawks 2021-22 season preview and outlook

SEMO’s reserves

This is a group that is more about potential than known outcomes. Center Manny Patterson is the most established of the reserves. The 6’8 senior played three seasons at Green Bay before joining the Redhawks last season. Patterson started 12 SEMO games mostly after the injury to Taylor.

Patterson averaged 5.5 points and 2.8 rebounds. His high-point was a 22-point performance in an early February encounter with Tennessee Tech.

Nate Johnson and Nygal Russell played some significant Redhawk minutes. Russell started seven games and played 19 minutes per game and the 6’4 junior averaged 3.9 points and four rebounds per game. His 29 steals were third on the team.

Dylan Branson is a 6’5 wing who played in 27 games and converted .519 of his 27 attempts from beyond the arc. Parker Long, a D2 transfer from nearby Sikeston Missouri is another sharp-shooter who made three of four from deep during his limited minutes.

Korn has a wave of freshmen with size, on the way. Sam Thompson is a highly regarded 6’10 St. Louis area player. Chase Thompson (no relation) is a junior college transfer who will still be a freshman is a 6’7 forward with good shooting range. Adam Larson is 6’9 forward and was a prolific scorer in Fennimore, Wisconsin.

Phillip Russell (no relation to Nygal) is another transfer with freshman status. Another St. Louis native, Russell played for the highly regarded Vashon High School where he converted 56% of his shots from long distance. He originally signed with Saint Louis University. He played eight games at SLU.

None of these players’ biographies scream ‘impact player’, but they are Korn’s kind of player. They are well-rounded, defend, and have come from winning programs.