No 6 – Southern Indiana
This may be the Ohio Valley’s surprise team! Head coach Stan Gouard has renovated his roster with experienced Division 1 transfers. Like Lindenwood, USI now has the opportunity to compete to play in the NCAA Tournament, and that change has made a difference in which players are willing to play in Evansville.
Senior guard Braxton Jones is Gouard’s most experienced returner. His 5.6 point-per-game scoring average was the 10-20 Screaming Eagles’ sixth best. Nine, experienced D1 transfers have the opportunity to transform USI into an OVC contender.
Gouard wanted to get older and bigger.
Six of the nine newcomers are seniors and two are coming in from OVC schools. SWAC all-conference player Trey Thomas averaged 16.2 points and made 61 triples for Bethune-Cookman after playing two seasons at Hampton. Cardell Bailey (8.4 ppg) is a 6’6 wing coming from Maryland Eastern Shore and Portland State transfer Ismail Habib averaged right at nine-points-per game during his first season and then first seven games last year before an injury ended his season.
6’8 Ola Ajiboye joins his fourth program in four years including last year’s stop at Tennessee Tech. Morehead State transfer Steven Clay also spent two seasons at Illinois Chicago. 6’7 Appalachian State transfer Ben Ezeagu rounds out that senior class.
Cal transfer Devin Curtis missed most of last season, but he and Southern Illinois transfer Sheridan Sharp could be a huge part of the resurgence at USI. Curtis is a 6’11 junior with his eye on transforming a Flaming Eagle defense that allowed over 73 points per game. Sharp is a multi-talented, 6’3 guard who can defend and distribute. He had a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio last year.
Incoming junior college players Tolu Samuels (6’8) and Alem Fejzic come the to program with great potential and Amaree Brown is a very accomplished NAIA transfer.
USI will be more experienced, have more proven scorers and will defend and rebound better than last year’s team. They could be the OVC’s surprise team.
They open the season at Butler on November 5.