No. 7 – Lindenwood Lions
The waiting period is over and like Southern Indiana, Lindenwood is now eligible to play in the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Kyle Gerdeman says that made a difference to potential players on the recruiting trail.
OVC Freshman of the Year Jadis Jones’ return to the Lions’ program was huge news throughout the OVC and sent another message to possible recruits. Lindenwood can be a conference contender.
Jones leads a group of returners that will physically matchup the OVC competitors, and if healthy could climb much higher than this prediction implies. Leading rebounder Anias Futrell (12.8 ppg and six rebounds per game) also chose to return. He and Jones are both 6’5 wings that present matchup problems for opponents.
Coming back from injuries are Jeremiah Talton and Jaylon McDaniel. While the 6’7 McDaniel missed the final month of the season, the talented 6’6 Talton was out all year. After an outstanding junior college career, Talton averaged seven points for Gerdeman during the 2023-24 season and showed the ability to connect from long distance.
Last year was not a successful three-point shooting season in St. Charles, Missouri.
Lindenwood has more ‘overall’ size but lacks size in the post. 6’9 Arkansas Pine-Bluff transfer Robert Lewis and 6’10 Maine transfer Milos Nenadic combined to play just 6 games last season. Health and shaking off the rust will be huge for this duo.
Perhaps the most important newcomers are point guard Mekhi Cooper and the athletic Dontrez Williams. Cooper is a true, ‘distribute the basketball’ facilitator that Lindenwood needs. Williams, the Abilene-Christian transfer is from nearby Sikeston and after landing on the WAC’s all-freshman team, he came home to Missouri to play for the Lions. Each of these players averaged nearly six-points-per game last season.
Ironically, Williams was the State of Missouri’s top ranked senior in 2024 and Jadis Jones was number two. Teammate Clayton Jackson was that season’s tenth ranked senior.
For this team, it is all about health. Jones fought a foot injury in the early offseason and several key players are looking for injury-free seasons. If that happens, Lindenwood could be a scary, middle-of-the-pack or better team.
The Lions open the season on Tuesday, November 4 at Texas Tech.