GLVC Release

INDIANAPOLIS - Coming off a fourth consecutive 20-win season and the first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years, the 2017-18 Truman State University men's basketball team was picked to finish second in the West Division for the GLVC's Preseason Poll. Bellarmine, Maryville and Drury were picked as the favorites in the East, Central and West Divisions, respectively.

With the closing of Saint Joseph's this past spring, the league switched to three five-team divisions instead of two eight-team divisions that were in place for previous seasons. Teams will play a home and home against teams within their divisions and play the other 10 teams once apiece for 18 GLVC games.
 
The top eight teams with the most points derived from the new GLVC Point Rating System at the end of the regular season will earn a berth to the GLVC Basketball Championship Tournament on March 1-4 at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois.
 
The Bulldogs earned 56 points and five first-place votes just behind Drury's 60 points and seven first-place nods. In the East, Bellarmine received 54 points and 13 of a possible 15 first-place votes while each of the five teams in the Central were given first-place nods. Maryville was out in front with 56 points and six first-place votes.
 

2017-18 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
East	Team	Points (1st)
1.	Bellarmine	54 (13)
2.	Indianapolis	51 (1)
3.	Lewis	49
4.	Southern Indiana	48
5.	UW-Parkside*	21 (1)

 

Central	Team	Points (1st)
1.	Maryville	56 (6)
2.	Missouri-St. Louis	53 (3)
3.	Illinois Springfield	43 (3)
4.	Quincy	42 (2)
5.	McKendree	26 (1)

 

West	Team	Points (1st)
1.	Drury	60 (7)
2.	Truman State	56 (5)
3.	Rockhurst	47 (2)
4.	Missouri S&T	29
5.	William Jewell	28 (1)

*Ineligible to win division title and appear in GLVC/NCAA postseason (GLVC sanctions)
 

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SEASON PREVIEW: New Faces, Same Goals for Truman Men's Basketball

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - It's safe to say that the Truman State University men's basketball team and head coach, Chris Foster, have made a habit of 20-win seasons. The Bulldogs have reached such heights four seasons in a row and Foster had his hand in each of those as either the head coach (2014-17) or Matt Woodley's assistant (2013-14). Last year, the ninth 20-victory campaign in school history equaled the fourth-most wins in program history with 22 and Truman's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years.

Fast forward to right now and Foster's staff may be facing its most daunting challenge yet. The 18 players on the 2017-18 edition of Truman men's basketball feature eight that haven't seen game action at the college level, another two that haven't competed at the Division II level and four more with 25 games played or less under their belt. That leaves just four players with more than 25 games of experience as a member of the Purple and White. Those four represent a combined 40 games started, 30 of which come from one player in Jake Velky. Breaking those 18 down even further, 10 are freshmen or sophomores and the senior class is represented by just one face, Zach Fischer.

Point Guards (two freshmen, one junior, 20 games played)
The most inexperienced of the five position groups for Truman will be led by Turner Scott, who redshirted as a freshman in 2016-17. The only player with any experience in this group is redshirt junior, Taurin Hughes, who appeared in nine games as a redshirt freshman and 10 as a redshirt sophomore. That leaves incoming freshman, Jake Messer, younger brother of junior sharp shooter, Nathan Messer, both of whom played at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Mo. As a member of the Lancers, Jake started and lettered two years on the hardwood while averaging 10 points per game and shooting 42 percent from behind the arc with 67 three-pointers made.

Shooting Guards (one freshman, three juniors, 93 games played)
This group may just have the most firepower as it boasts two returning starters/juniors in Second-Team All-GLVC performer, Jake Velky, as well as deep threat, Nathan Messer. Velky led the team in scoring last season with 16.1 points per game and Messer was fourth in that category (11.6) despite missing seven games due to injury and being hampered down the stretch because of it. Velky was also slowed down by injury late in the season, but managed to finish first on the squad in scoring. The Waverly, Iowa native can thank his hot start for that and after the first eight games, he was averaging 19.4 points per contest while shooting 62 percent from the floor, nearly 59 percent from behind the arc and just under 95 percent from the free throw line. Messer was second to Velky in triples made with 77 and cashed in on an absurd 41.2 percent of those looks.

Next up in this group is redshirt junior, Jacob Socha, and rookie, Connor Kasperbauer. Socha redshirted in 2015-16 before appearing in nine games as a redshirt sophomore last season. Kasperbauer comes to Kirksville from Cole and Cory Myers' territory in Ankeny, Iowa and Ankeny Centennial. There, the 6-4 guard averaged 18 points, three rebounds, two steals, and two assists per game as a senior while being named Third-Team All-State and First-Team All-Conference.

Small Forwards (two freshmen, one sophomore, one junior, 34 games played)
The one to watch in this group and possibly the X factor for this team will be redshirt sophomore, Brodric Thomas. After redshirting with Truman in 2015-16, Thomas was busy winning an NJCAA National Championship with Southwestern Community College in 2016-17. The Spartans went 36-1 and Thomas was named MVP of the National Tournament as he averaged 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 54.2 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from behind the arc.

The only other player with experience in this group is redshirt junior, Jack Green. During his time on campus, Green has played in 34 games including 13 as a redshirt freshman and 21 as a redshirt sophomore. As small forwards, Thomas and Green will be joined by redshirt freshman, Mark Rogers, and incoming freshman, Collin Hill. Hill was a stat sheet stuffer during his time at South Hamilton High School and as a senior, he averaged 21.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.7 steals, 2.6 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 63 percent from inside the arc and 42 percent behind it.

Power Forwards (one freshman, one junior, one senior, 113 games played)
Behind Velky's 59 career games played, this position group represents the second- and third-most marks in that category with redshirt junior, Nikola Pesic, at 58 and redshirt senior, Zach Fischer, at 55. However, Pesic will miss the season because of a torn ACL, so Fischer, the team's lone senior, is the one to watch here. Last season, Fischer proved to be a valuable asset off the bench as he appeared in 30 of the team's 32 games while averaging 7.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest. Last, but not least, in this group is redshirt freshman Tanner Zeil.

Centers (two freshmen, one sophomore, one junior, 24 games played)
After point guards, this is the most inexperienced group for Truman with 24 games played, all of which have come from redshirt junior, Connor Lusso, 14 as a redshirt freshman and 10 as a redshirt sophomore. Alex McQuinn is back after redshirting last season, Cade McKnight is a true freshman and sophomore, Olawale Odofin, transfers in from Lewis & Clark Community College. During his time at Grinnell High School, McKnight averaged 21 points and nine boards per contest as a senior with 33 total blocks and a 60+ shooting percentage from the field.

Schedule
This year's slate of games features a total of 27 including 12 inside Pershing Arena, 10 true road contests and five neutral games. Breaking those 27 down even further, 21 are within the region, 18 are against Great Lakes Valley Conference foes and nine of them are non-conference affairs.

The season will tip off on Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 11-12 at the GLVC/G-MAC Challenge in St. Louis, Mo. Truman will face Trevecca Nazarene that Saturday at 5:15 p.m. and Cedarville the following Sunday at 1 p.m. Then comes the Bulldogs home opener vs. Lindenwood on Nov. 15 with the start set for 7 p.m. After a trip to Maryville, Mo. to take on Upper Iowa and the defending National Champion, Northwest Missouri State, on Nov. 17 (5 p.m.) and Nov. 18 (5 p.m.), the Purple and White come home for two.

Truman will host Lincoln on Nov. 28 and UMSL on Dec. 2 in the GLVC opener. After the Tritons, the Bulldogs go to McKendree on Dec. 7, the Quincy Tournament vs. Ohio Valley and Missouri Southern on Dec. 18-19, and welcome in Iowa Wesleyan on Dec. 30. Following the meeting with the Tigers comes the stretch run and 16-straight conference showdowns for Truman.

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