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Indiana State Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Sycamores

By Harry Schroeder

Mar 5, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Indiana State Sycamores guard Julian Larry (10) drives to the basket as Evansville Aces guard Jawaun Newton (3) defends during the second half at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Indiana State Sycamores guard Julian Larry (10) drives to the basket as Evansville Aces guard Jawaun Newton (3) defends during the second half at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Indiana State Basketball guard Tyreke Key Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Indiana State Basketball guard Tyreke Key Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports /

Know and unknown

There are the ‘knowns’ and the ‘unknowns’. Schertz has three very well-known and proven commodities in his lineup and after that, there is a roster of players that will have the chance to prove they belong in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Tyreke Key – Guard

Key will go down in Indiana State basketball history as one of its greatest players. He is the program’s sixth-leading scorer (1,650 points), he is two rebounds away from 500 and four assists from 200. After being named to the Valley’s all-freshman team he landed on the conference’s second unit of the all-conference team his sophomore year.

He has been an all-league player the past two seasons. While he makes plenty of threes, he is a master of the mid-range jumper and is flawless from the free throw line. Key’s offensive abilities are as good as anyone in the conference.

Cooper Neese – Guard

Neese begins his senior season as a team leader and proven performer. The 6’4 guard averaged 9.5 points per game and saw all of his shooting percentages improve. This Indiana native shot .391 from deep and .816 from the charity stripe. He takes over half of his shots from deep.

Neese has become a much better defender and his conditioning and strength have improved each season at ISU.

Julian Larry – Point Guard

Larry’s freshman season was a learning experience. Former coach Greg Lansing advocated for patience for his young quarterback last season. While his numbers weren’t impressive and his shooting ability never flourished, the 6’3 guard learned valuable D1 lessons.

The Texas native started 21 of 25 games for a Sycamore team that went 15-10 and finished fourth in the league. His assists (40) to turnovers (25) was fine, but teams learned to back off and let him shoot. He was ten of 37 from deep and shot just .314 overall. To stay on the floor, Larry will have to make more shots.

Cameron Henry – Forward

Henry is one of the Railsplitters that came with Schertz to Terre Haute, Indiana. The 6’6 forward is known for his defense but is a proverbial stat box stuffer. He averaged 15.1 points, six rebounds and 4.3 assists for an LMU team that went to the D2 Final Four.

Henry was a three-year, double-digit scorer and converted over 39% of his shot attempts from long distance.

Kailex Stephens – Forward

After playing for two different junior colleges, Stephens missed all of last season with injuries. ISU’s frontcourt will be all new this season. Stephens was the Peach Belt Conference freshman of the year for Francis Marion and was a second-team all-Panhandle Conference player in 2020.

The 6’7 forward is active and athletic and played in two state championship games, winning one during his prep career in Alabama.