Ohio Valley Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season
7. Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles – Head coach Stan Gouard
2021-22 record: 18-8 overall, 12-6 in the GLVC
Stan Gouard is a legendary Division 2 player at USI and is a rising star in the coaching profession. His .665 winning percentage had him rumored to be in the running for different D1 jobs, and now he has one!
After a successful stint at the University of Indianapolis, Gouard ‘came home’ to USI and the Screaming Eagles are 30-13 during his first two seasons. Now they make the big leap to Division 1 basketball. They are not without weapons.
6’5 senior guard Jelani Simmons was voted to the all-OVC preseason team. He is USI’s leading returning scorer (14.2) and he grabs 4.5 rebounds per game. Simmons spent two seasons at Youngstown State (D1) where he accumulated over 500 points.
Two other double-digit scorers remain from last year’s team. Senior post Jacob Polakovich averaged over eleven points and eleven rebounds per game while junior guard Tyler Henry averaged 12.2 points. Gouard has built a team that can be successful using a wide variety of approaches.
Sophomore Isaiah Swope is a Newburg, Indiana product who averaged over eight points last season.
Dynamic D1 transfer Kiyron Powell comes home to Evansville after a brief stint with Houston’s Final Four team. Powell was the seventh-best Indiana prep prospect, but played in just 14 games with the Cougars and transferred home. The 6’8 center nearly averaged a triple-double during his senior year at Bosse High School.
Trevor Lakes (Nebraska) and Peter Nwoke (Michigan State) are interesting additions. Both frontcourt players were used sparingly at their Big Ten schools. Nwoke who redshirted last year is a 6’7 Nigerian player. Lakes played for Gouard at UIndy before spending two years with the Cornhuskers.
Two Indiana State transfers, Nick Hittle and Sam Mervis also join the Screaming Eagles. Hittle is a 6’10 stretch four. Kent State transfer Jeremiah Hernandez averaged 3.1 points for the Golden Flashes.
USI will be better than many people believe. There is stability on their roster and a good balance of D1 talent infusion. The Screaming Eagles will not be an easy out in the OVC.