OVC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2023-24 season

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 07: Head coach Preston Spradlin of the Morehead State Eagles speaks with Mark Freeman #0 in the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on November 07, 2022 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

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Rob Jeter left WIU for Southern Utah. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

7. Western Illinois Leathernecks – Head Coach Chad Boudreau

2022-23 record: 16-14 overall, 9-9 in the Summit League

The OVC’s newest member is a familiar foe. They’ve gone 5-1 against OVC teams the past three seasons and have a long-standing rivalry with Eastern Illinois. The Leathernecks also have the newest head coach.

Former Associate Head Coach Chad Boudreau was promoted to the top job when Rob Jeter left for Southern Utah.

WIU enters the OVC without its top three scorers from last season, but two proven contributors will ease that pain. 6’4 guard Quinlan Bennett and 6’5 forward Jesiah West each averaged just under ten-points per game and were outstanding rebounders. While neither is truly an outside threat, the two seniors will provide great experience and stability to the Leathernecks’ rebuilt roster.

Junior guard K.J. Lee is Boudreau’s third most experienced player. The 6’8 Lee who averaged 4.2 points-per-game and grabbed nearly three rebounds per contest is the son of legendary St. Louis area prep coach Kelvin Lee.

Illinois State transfer Joe Petrakis joins his fourth program after not grabbing much playing time for the Redbirds. The 6’11 senior played two seasons at Kansas State. While not a prototypical center, he and Missouri-St. Louis (D2) transfer Drew Cisse will provide Boudreau with ample frontcourt size. UMSL reached the D2 Elite Eight game last season.

Roderick Payne was extremely productive for Wisconsin-River Falls last season. The 6’8 junior averaged nearly 17 points and over six boards per game.

Shay Davis may be the steal of this recruiting class. Rated in the top 80 of all junior college players, Davis averaged over 15 points for Ranger Community College. Davis is solid from deep (42 %) and spectacular from the free throw line (.883). Boudreau’s contingent of junior college players includes John A. Logan’s James Dent and Indian Hills’ Ryan Myers.

Dent averaged 11 points-per-game for the national junior college champions and is an outstanding outside shooter. Myers averaged nearly nine points for the 29-win Warriors’ squad.

Like most of these OVC teams, blending the new with the old will be major key to success.

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