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MVC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season

By Harry Schroeder

Mar 6, 2022; St. Louis, MO, USA; Drake Bulldogs head coach Darian DeVries reacts to a call against the Loyola Ramblers during the first half in the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2022; St. Louis, MO, USA; Drake Bulldogs head coach Darian DeVries reacts to a call against the Loyola Ramblers during the first half in the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former Michigan assistant coach Luke Yaklich (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images)
Former Michigan assistant coach Luke Yaklich (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images) /

11. Illinois Chicago Flames – Head Coach Luke Yaklich
 
2021-22 record: 14-16 overall; 9-10 in the Horizon

UIC joins the Valley, replacing Loyola in the Chicago market, but can the Flames compete in the new-look conference? Coach Luke Yaklich was an assistant at Illinois State and knows and loves the Valley. Yaklich had to revamp the roster and found talent in the portal in the prep ranks.

Returners Jace Carter and Filip Skobalj hope to teach the newcomers the ropes. While Carter was named to the Horizon League all-freshman team and is a defensive stopper, Skobalj is a 6’7 ‘pick and pop’ type of scorer.

6’9 forward Jaden Brownell used a redshirt season to gain 20 pounds of muscle that could help him contribute this season.

Idaho transfer Tre Anderson averaged 14.4 points and five rebounds last year. Toby Okani (Duquesne) and Shaun Williams (Cal State Bakersfield) are bigger guards with a lot of Division 1 experience.

Four freshmen, including 6’10 center Cameron Fens and three-star recruits Christian Jones and Steven Clay may be the highlights of this class. Jones is the State of Illinois’ eighth-ranked prep recruit and Clay is the sixth-rated player coming from the State of Wisconsin.

Fens was a double-double machine, averaging 18.7 points and 11.3 rebounds last season.

Yaklich built a national reputation as a defensive guru. However, his team allowed 73 points per game during its last in the Horizon League. ‘Coach Yak’ will have to shore up the Flames’ defense and with no returning double-digit scorers, the Flames will have to establish an offensive identity and locate his ‘go-to’ scorers.