At noon on Wednesday, Oct 17, the Horizon League released its official Men’s Basketball Preseason Predictions. IUPUI finished sixth in the conference with an 8-10 record in its inaugural Horizon League season last year. This year, those at the Horizon League expect more of the same. The Jaguars were tabbed as the sixth best team this preseason.
Here are the complete team predictions for the 2018-2019 season:
- Wright State
- Northern Kentucky
- UIC
- Oakland
- Green Bay
- IUPUI
- Cleveland State
- Milwaukee
- Youngstown State
- Detroit Mercy
Wright State was the Horizon League’s representative in the NCAA tournament last season after winning the Horizon League’s postseason tournament. The Raiders were later decimated by Tennessee 74-47 in the first round.
The Jaguars have reason to feel snubbed by these rankings. IUPUI won both of its meetings with Green Bay last season and split with Wright State and Oakland.
To be fair, IUPUI had sizable losses this offseason. Forward Aaron Brennan, the leader of last season’s team, has departed for a professional career overseas. He averaged 12.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Evan Hall will be called upon to fill his presence in the post. Hall, entering his senior season, averaged 7.7 points and 6.1 rebounds last year.
The backcourt took a heavy hit with the departure of two regular starters: Ron Patterson and T.J. Henderson. Patterson, who turned 25 in the middle of the season, was one of college basketball’s oldest players last season. His eligibility has expired. Henderson decided to transfer after the season and is now at Marian.
While the losses hurt, there are ample candidates to replace them. Jaylen Minnett showed promise as a freshman last season. The guard from Terre Haute South averaged 7.1 points, usually coming off the bench. Guard D.J. McCall is entering his senior season with confidence after averaging 7 points and 4.2 boards a game last season. Joining those two in the backcourt will be junior Camron Justice. Justice, a four-star recruit after his prep career in Kentucky, transferred in from Vanderbilt.
Justice is far from the only transfer on roster this season. In total, eight of the 15 players on roster are transfers. This includes 7-foot-1 center Ahmed Ismail, formerly of Manhattan, who will figure into the replacement of Brennan.
Despite solid stats from incumbent starters, no IUPUI players were named to the Horizon League’s preseason All-Horizon Team. Northern Kentucky’s Drew McDonald was tabbed Preseason Player of the Year. The rest of the All-Horizon Team follows as such:
First Team
Tyree Appleby, Cleveland State
Sandy Cohen III, Green Bay
Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky
Marcus Ottey, UIC
Loudon Love, Wright State
Second Team
Kameron Hankerson, Green Bay
Jalen Tate, Northern Kentucky
Tarkus Ferguson, UIC
Mark Hughes, Wright State
Naz Bohannon, Youngstown State
The road to proving those at the Horizon League wrong begins Oct. 25 in the annual Red-White scrimmage. IUPUI’s first official game comes four days later at home against Central State, followed by a true test at Xavier Nov. 6.
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