Missouri Valley Conference Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2024-25
No. 11 – Illinois Chicago Flames
UIC has a new, but not a rookie coach. Rob Ehsan won 76 games during his four-year stay at the helm of the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers. He comes to UIC after serving as an assistant at Stanford. Like Martin, Ehsan has a mostly new roster, but holdovers Filip Skobalj and Ethan Pickett will ease the transition for Ehsan and the other newcomers.
The 6’7 Skobalj is an outstanding pick and pop, stretch four. His 42 percent accuracy mark from deep, opens the floor for his teammates and he handles the ball well from the post. As a preseason, Valley third-teamer, he is the most recognizable and known Flames’ commodity.
Pickett is a 6’4 senior guard with good leadership skills and an ability to score. He started 27 games on last year’s team and made 53 percent of his shots.
Ehsan was very successful in his deep dive into the portal. Texas State transfer Jordan Mason was a Sun Belt Conference star averaging 12.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists. The 6’4 guard is joined by 5’9 sophomore Ahmad Henderson II who was named the MAAC all-freshman team. Henderson averaged 11.2 points for Niagara.
While neither of those transfers have a proven three-point track record, Cal State Bakersfield transfer Modestas Kancleris has shown promise. The former Creighton Bluejay made 40 percent of his triple attempts last season.
Other D1 veteran transfers include Xavier’s Sasa Ciani, Utah State’s Javon Jackson, Mount St. Mary’s Joshua Reeves, UT Martin’s Koby Jeffries and Kent State’s Tyem Freeman. All are proven D1 players. Reaves was nearly a double-digit scorer and Freeman converted 46 percent of his long distance attempts.
Ehsan has big plans for highly ranked high school stars Carlos Harris (Chicago) and Jayce Nathaniel (Arizona). They are three-star recruits.
While we’ve ranked the Flames eleventh, they could be the Valley’s surprise team. They have veteran talent and a coach that knows how to win.