By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Missouri Western men’s basketball team will seek its third winning season in four years this coming November, as the Griffons will welcome back six players with starting experience, and nine total players with significant minutes from last season.
In addition, Missouri Western adds four total players in its 2022 recruiting class, including three Division I transfers.
Head coach Will Martin, who will enter his third year at the helm, says the depth his team has right now is encouraging.
"You look at our roster, you look at the depth and the melting pot of DI transfers with experience, young returners, older returners," Martin said. "It gets you really excited about what the roster looks like."
The Griffons ended last season at 14-17 following a first-round MIAA tournament loss to Rogers State in March. The 2022 signing class was just completed earlier in June when the Griffons announced the signing of 6-4 guard and New Zealand native Josh Book.
"We got to the table kind of late," Martin said of Book. "I was shocked he was still around, but we're extremely excited about him. He's a great player."
The Griffons' 2022 class also includes three Division I transfers - 6-11 center Matt Nunez, 6-7 forward Julius Dixon and 6-5 guard/forward Ethan Kilgore - a 2020 East Buchanan graduate.
Combined with six players who are returning with starting experience, Martin is optimistic as he looks toward the coming season.
"My goal every year is to win the MIAA and get back to the NCAA tournament and dance as much as you can dance in that tournament," Martin said. "But, a lot of times, I think we jump the gun in terms of outward success and really, it's the inward success that matters the most."
The biggest need in this class, Martin says, was size and length. The Griffons lose 6-10 center Tony Chukwuemeke and 6-8 forward Anthony Peacock, but they return seven-foot center J.C. Anthony, and 6-8 forward Alex John will be fully healthy after dealing with a fractured back in the latter half of last season.
"Adding some length and some size was definitely a priority of the offseason," Martin reiterated. "I think we fulfilled that with this class."
The season won't start until November, and the schedule won't be out for at least a little while. In the meantime, Missouri Western men's basketball is getting set to host their summer camp for 1st-8th grade boys and girls June 27-30 at the Looney Indoor Sports Complex.
"We have two camps," Martin said. "We're done recruiting in the 2022 class, but we're already moving on to 2023 and 2024 and that never ends. So, we're anxious to get the guys back."
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