9. Indiana State Sycamores
It seems like every Valley team is getting bigger. The Trees already employed two returning 6’10 players in Markus Harding and Derek Vorst who combined to score over ten points and grab nearly eight rebounds per game out of the center position.
Second year head coach Matthew Graves signed Harding’s 7-foot brother Hunter from Central Michigan. 6’7 NAIA transfer Ian Scott is another powerful frontcourt player. He averaged 18 points and eight rebounds at Grace College.
Graves’ two most notable returners are wings Camp Wagner and Bruno Alocen. Wagner was a double-digit scorer and buried 83 three-pointers last year. Spain native Alocen averaged 5.7 points and spent this summer with his nation’s U20 team.
SWAC Player of the Year Sterling Young is the steal of this year’s portal recruiting for Graves and the Sycamores. The Florida A&M transfer averaged 17 points per game and scored over 100 points from the free throw line. His ability to penetrate and score, get to the line or find those open wings will be crucial to this year’s Sycamore success.
Graves’ team led the Valley in scoring, but their ability to contain the opposition’s offense was lacking. With five returners with significant playing time in Graves’ creative offensive system, the ISU coaching staff spent the summer focusing on defensive strategies and a defensive mind set.
The additional size and athleticism from Hunter Harding, Scott, junior college wing Enel St. Bernard and D2 transfer Zyair Greene should help ISU at the point of attack. St. Bernard is a top-fifty juco player who averaged over seven points and seven boards for Panola College. The athletic junior can defend all five positions and plays above the rim.
The Sycamores have a distinctively international feel. The Harding brothers are from Canada, while Alocen (Spain), St. Bernard (Grenada), Jo Von Buggenhout (Belgium) and Sivert Nordheim (Norway) all hail from much further away.
If the Sycamores can move to the middle of the pack defensively, they could contend for a top half finish in the Valley standings.