By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
KANSAS CITY - The Missouri Western men's basketball team has experienced many highs and lows in each of the last three seasons.
The Griffons finished fourth in the MIAA in 2020, third in 2021 and then seventh in 2022.
Missouri Western, this past year, finished 14-17 overall with a season-ending loss to Rogers State in the first round of the conference tournament.
Third-year head coach Will Martin said at MIAA Media Day in Kansas City Tuesday that he's excited to see his team bounce back this season with a healthy group of returning players combined with three Division I transfers.
"We're really excited," Martin said. "We return 11 guys and brought in four new players - three transfers and one freshman from New Zealand. I'm excited about the balance our team has."
The Griffons lose two of their top five scorers in Q Mays and Caleb Bennett, but return practically everyone else who played a significant role last year.
Alex John (fractured back) and Reese Glover (personal reasons) had to miss significant time last season after being regulars in the lineup each of the last two seasons.
While John slowly worked his way back into the lineup late last season, playing limited minutes here and there, Glover didn't see the floor for the final 14 games of the season.
Martin, though, can see Glover getting back to his old self. The old self who's made 195 three-pointers in his first three seasons with the Griffons.
"It's great when he's making shots and shooting 40 percent from three at a high volume," Martin said of Glover. "There's something about his energy and the respect our team has for him. So, having that back on the floor has been great. He's been phenomenal in practice. He's going to be a huge piece for our success this year."
Third-team all-MIAA forward Will Eames is the lead returning scorer. The Lee's Summit native averaged 13 points and 7.9 rebounds last season, notching five doubles-doubles along the way.
Entering his fifth year in the program, Eames hopes to lead the Griffons to bigger things this season.
"I kind of look at it like a democracy," Eames said of being a team leader. "It's a whole team thing. It's going to be winning and losing as a team. So, I'm just excited to see what the young guys on our team can do."
"My biggest role is to lead this team. I don't care if I play five minutes or 35 minutes. At the end of the day, can we all put it together?"
Missouri Western added three Division I transfers in the offseason with Ethan Kilgore, Julius Dixon and Matt Nunez. They also signed freshman Josh Book from New Zealand.
The Griffons also made some additions to its coaching staff this offseason by promoting from within.
Former team manager, graduate assistant and Bishop LeBlond alum Weston Smith was promoted to a full-time assistant coaching role in late September.
Martin says Smith's work ethic and passion for the program are his strongest attributes.
"One of the hardest workers and one of the most loyal and genuine people I've ever been around," Martin said of Smith. "Somebody who is all about Missouri Western and not just men's basketball. He was a manager and then a grad assistant and just did it the right way."
Smith spent the last two seasons as a graduate assistant. He was the team's head manager from 2016-2020. He graduated from Bishop LeBlond in St. Joseph in 2016.
Missouri Western also promoted former player and team captain Tony Chukwuemeke as a graduate assistant.
The Griffon men start their season next Friday at home with an exhibition against Benedictine. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. at the Missouri Western Fieldhouse.
Nine days after that, on October 30, the Griffons head to Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky to play the University of Kentucky in an exhibition.
Eames says this opportunity is not only exciting, but also beneficial.
"It's such a cool opportunity," he said. "For us to be able to go down there and get experience by playing a team like Kentucky who's as historic and as talented as they are, it's going to be really good for us. We aren't going in there with any expectations, but we want to play our best game against them and see what happens."
Coach Martin was a student manager for Kentucky coach John Calipari. Two Missouri Western assistants, Jon Hood and Perry Stevenson, also played for Kentucky. That game on October 30 tips off at 7 p.m.
The game will be on KFEQ Radio (680, 95.3) and the SEC Network.
The Griffons then officially start the season on Friday, November 11 against Minnesota-Crookston at the MWSU Fieldhouse as part of the Hillyard Tip-off Classic. They'll face Northern State the following day.
The Griffons were picked to finish seventh in the MIAA this season by the league's coaches and sixth by the media.
A seventh place finish in the league last season left a bitter taste, but Martin and his team seem quietly confident that improvement is on the way, thanks to the players they've brought in through the years and the ones who have just joined the fold here in 2022.
"Finishing seventh last year obviously wasn't our expectation," Martin said. "So, I think that builds a callus. I think you do your best to bring in quality people you think can help you immediately and fit your culture and I think we did that."
Media Day audio
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