For the first time since 2010-11 when Morehead was held on the shoulders of the beloved “Manimal” Kenneth Faried, the Eagles found themselves dancing into March in 2020-21, before falling to a strong West Virginia team in the first round. It would be remiss not to mention that Morehead was the commonwealth’s lone representative in the NCAA tournament last year. We’re hoping they have some company this season.
Despite being projected to finish a distant eighth in the 2020-21 Ohio Valley pre-season coaches’ poll, the youthful Pikeville native and fifth-year head coach Preston Spradlin led Morehead to what some might call a miraculous season; over last year, MSU played themselves into the largest one-year turnaround from 2019-20 to 2020-21 both in the NET rankings and the KenPom rankings. After a tough start to their season, which included a 35-point drilling by the worst Kentucky Wildcats team in memory, many onlookers thought their suspicions of a mediocre Morehead team were being confirmed.
However, that all changed fairly quickly. From January 2 to February 11, the Eagles caught fire, rattling off twelve straight wins en route to finishing 23-8 overall and an impressive 17-3 conference record.
So, why the turnaround? One reason was the youth on that squad’s roster. Sophomore 6-10 big man Johni Broome stars as the Eagles’ first legitimate NBA prospect since the legendary Faried, and you can bet he won’t need a month to adjust to college play going into his second year. Certainly, the comparisons to Faried have run rampant since March, but Broome’s collegiate career somehow got off to an even hotter start. Broome’s freshman season could not have gone better for the young man, as he earned OVC Tournament MVP, OVC Freshman of the Year, and All-OVC First Team honors. Buckets, rebounds, defense, efficiency: Broome delivers all of these necessities for a tournament-hopeful team, in a big way. Last season he averaged 14 points per game on 57% shooting from the field, 9 boards per game, and 2 blocks per game. This guy could be a solid starter for many high-major programs, and Morehead would not be the team it is on either end of the court without his intimidating presence marauding around the interior.
Under Spradlin’s four-around-one motion-heavy offense, Broome is an absolute beast on the interior. In their man-to-man defensive scheme, he patrols the paint and gobbles up a bevy of help-side rejections with his quick lateral movement:
I’m calling it now: Johni Broome will be the OVC Player of the Year in 2021-22 (disclaimer: this is not financial advice).
Also key to realizing what could be the Eagles’ first ever back-to-back trip to the NCAAT will be the 6-3 junior guard from Bowling Green, Skyelar Potter. A lethal three-point shooter, the veteran guard is the Eagles’ best perimeter scorer, as well as a decent rebounder. In his campaign last season, Potter scored 12 points and corralled 6 rebounds per game, all while shooting a white-hot 40% from three point land. Along with Broome, Potter was named to the Preseason All-OVC First Team.
Wofford grad transfer and former University Heights (Hopkinsville) star Trey Hollowell likely starts as a combo guard. He’s quick with the ball in his hands, and adds another reliable shooter to the fray. For Morehead, Hollowell will be asked to become more of a playmaker than ever before, as his last season at Wofford he posted only 2 assists per game.
Joining Hollowell in the starting backcourt is 6-4 junior point guard Ta’lon Cooper, this group’s best passer. Cooper averaged upward of eight points an outing last season, but his foremost strength lies in his unselfishness. He posted 3.6 assists per game last year, and I expect that number to surpass 4 this season with the plethora of offensive weapons at his disposal.
It will be interesting to see how Coach Spradlin re-introduces 6-8 redshirt sophomore forward Tyzhaun Claude to the rotation, who sat out last season due to injury. In 2019-20, he solidly played the role that Broome took over last year, throwing in 9 points a game and gathering 6 boards per game. Will Spradlin depart from his traditional four-around-one approach to make room for Claude? Perhaps, but it’s more likely Claude comes off the bench as the sixth man.
Transfer redshirt senior guard from Wright State (and formerly Louisville Doss HS) Jaylon Hall figures to round out the starting five. He’ll be the fourth or fifth option for the Eagles, but plenty of opportunities for him to score should arise as defenses focus on stopping Broome and Potter.
Yet another transfer who will see some rotational minutes is former JUCO standout Tucson Redding (Jr.). The 6-3 guard will provide some depth to the talented backcourt. Coach Spradlin had high praise for Redding: “He is a crafty scorer who has a high basketball IQ and ability to elevate those around him with his motor and passing.”
Former Christian County (Hopkinsville) product 6-7 junior forward Jaylen Sebree likely sees some run as well.
Like last season, Spradlin has challenged his more experienced Eagles early in the schedule again. They open at Auburn, then follow that game against solid UAB and Mississippi State teams.
In the final season of the OVC as we know it, the Morehead State Eagles are projected in the conference pre-season coaches’ poll second, only to—you guessed it—the Belmont Bruins. These two teams, as well as Murray State, should compete for an NCAAT berth. With some teams having already departed (Jacksonville State, Eastern Kentucky) for greener pastures and others (Belmont, Austin Peay) soon joining them, the conference tournament seems to mean more this year. Morehead fans should be jumping up and down with anticipation; the Eagles will be right back in thick of the hunt for March again this season.