By MATT PIKE
The Missouri Western State University men's basketball team is back in the NCAA Division II tournament for the first time since the COVID shortened 2021 season, earning the #5 seed in the Central Region in Topeka hosted by Washburn University.
It's been a remarkable season for the Griffons under first year head coach Brooks McKowen, who came to the university after his time at Upper Iowa University where he led the Peacocks to three NCAA tournament appearances in his time. McKowen says the fit had to be right for him and his family to leave Upper Iowa, and the support he's received from MoWest is what makes this run so special.
"When Andy called me and I came down and met everybody here and got to see the facilities and see the people and see what they were about, that's where the belief and excitement came for me," McKowen tells reporters. "And then to go full circle now and at the end of this year get a chance to play in the postseason is special, it's a big deal and it's something that to me it makes us feel good as a family, moving my family here that we made the right choice and we're on the right track, this isn't the end of us, we're going to continue to build this program and hopefully compete every year."
McKowen essentially rebuilt the Griffons program from the ground up, with only one returning player from former head coach Will Martin's team. The groundwork started with three players that followed McKowen from Upper Iowa to MoWest, senior Noah King, sophomore Gavin Hershberger, and junior William Kiburis, as well as freshman Trey McKowen, the nephew of Brooks who played for his brother at Kennedy High School.
King, says it's special to do this with McKowen, with one of his hold ups prior to transferring being wanting to go somewhere he could compete for a national tournament in his final year.
"On my visit we had a really good heart to heart in his office and he said he truly believed that this was a special place and that he'd be able to put a team together if some of us guys followed him where we'd be able to do that and compete for these goals that we're talking about to be in the spot we are right now," King explains. "And obviously I had a blast in the couple seasons before doing that with him and on his team, so I just believed in him and he said that he thought we'd be not rebuilding, that we'd still be competing for the same goals as we were together at the previous stop, so just trusted him and pretty sweet moment now that we are in this spot."
For McKowen, he says one of the biggest emotions that comes for him is getting to see the guys that followed him getting this moment, not having to follow him away from Upper Iowa.
"The joy that to see them get to play in a postseason now, that they believed in me and they believed this wasn't a rebuild it was a chance to go compete," McKowen says. "Because we won over 20 games last year at Upper Iowa and should have been in the NCAA tournament, but some bad luck happened for us at the end, so for these guys to now take that next step and get to play in an NCAA tournament after their hearts were broken sitting on a bus watching themselves get played out and having nothing to do with it, that's huge, that's where my emotions come and that's why it means so much this time around."
It's just as surreal though for the one returner from last year's squad, senior Devin Butler. Butler was the lone player off Will Martin's squad to not depart from the team, and was key in helping grow McKowen's team as well.
"I just think about everything that led me up to this point and all the hard times, the losing seasons, and I've never had a chance to go to the dance," Butler says. "It's exciting, I'm extremely happy to be here, this is a blessing."
One surprise from this year's team has been the emergence of freshman Marko Pavlovic. Pavlovic burst onto the scene in his first year averaging 29 minutes a game and 7.3 rebounds per game, along with 12 points per game. Pavlovic says it's a lot to take in, but everything in his freshman year has exceeded expectations.
"I'm just grateful to be in this position and to play for a coach like Brooks, it's just been a great experience overall and I would say not bad for a freshman year, not bad," Pavlovic says. "It's been a great experience and I'm excited to play St. Cloud in the regional tournament and I hope we get some wins there."
MoWest will travel to Topeka on Saturday as Washburn hosts the Central regional. The Griffons will face St. Cloud State in the first round of the tournament, tip off time is currently unknown.
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