PointGuard

Season 5, Games 13 & 14 Game #13, Dec. 26, 2017, #16 Connecticut (7-3): UCONN has wins over Minnesota, Wake Forest, Georgia, and #13 Stanford. One of their losses was to #5 Kentucky. They have 3 players averaging in double figures: SG Bobby Harris (17.0), SF Byron Thompson (13.6) and PG Jabari Younger (11.6). We took an early 19-10 lead but Connecticut stormed back with a barrage of 3’s to take a 29-22 lead with just under 7 minutes left in the first half. By the end of the half we were behind 43-30. We hit just 28% of our 1st half shots. PF Angelo Craft led our scoring with 10 points. Things got worse in the 2nd half and we trailed by 20 with 12-1/2 minutes left in the game. We cut their lead to 8 with 5 minutes to go and then 7 with 2 minutes remaining. Angelo Craft knocked down 2 free throws at 1:04 to make it 79-74. Then Craft pulled down an offensive rebound and put up an 8 footer than dropped and we trailed 79-76 with 29 seconds to go. We fouled, and after making 24 of 25 free throws, they only made on of their two shots to put us behind by 4. Then Austin Hunter hit a 3 to make it 80-79. We fouled with 11 seconds and the Huskies missed both shots. We called a time out with 6 seconds left. We set up a screen for Hunter, but when he got the ball he travelled giving UCONN the ball with just a second to go. The 80-79 loss was a tough one to take, particularly at home. SG Austin Hunter topped our scoring with 21 points. PF Angelo Craft scored 19, and PG Jared Keady had 11. SF John Jones pulled down 10 rebounds. UCONN’s SG Bobby Harris was the game’s high point man with 22 points. (11-2, 0-1, 6th place tie) Game #14, Dec. 29, 2017 @ Houston (4-8, 0-1): We quickly built up a double digit lead and finished the half up 42-29. Reserve PG Abraham Althoff scored 9 points to lead our scoring. We increased our lead to as much as 20 points in the 2nd half and won with ease 75-60. We dominated the boards 36-23. PG Jared Keady scored 14 points, SG Austin Hunter tossed in 13 and had 5 assists, PG Abraham Althoff hit for 11 in 13 minutes of play, and centers Kevin Ross and Jules Grant both had 9 points with SF John Jones adding 8 points along with 6 rebounds. (12-2, 1-1, 4th place tie; Ranked #3; RPI: 2) Award: SG Austin Hunter is selected as the AAC’s Player of the Week.

Rob Porter, Sports Writer, Springfield News-Leader Game #18, Jan. 25, 2019: Missouri State Bears (10-7, 4-4) at Indiana State Sycamores (8-9, 3-5) The struggling Missouri State Bears traveled to Terre Haute, Indiana to take on the Indiana State Sycamores, a team that had a 4 game losing streak. The Bears were unable to get untracked in the first half and steadily fell off the pace. They turned over the ball 9 times in the half leading to 14 fast break points for the Sycamores. The half ended with Missouri State trailing 35-26. SF Aaron Wells was the top scorer for the Bears with 5 points. For Indiana State, PF Rowland Williams contributed 11 points, many of those on put-backs. The Bears then completely disappeared in the second half. They allowed Indiana State to control the boards (35-26), turned the ball over too much (17 times), hit just 33% of their FT attempts and a miserable 19% of their 3’s (4 of 21). The Sycamores dismantled Missouri State’s offense and riddled their defense. Final Score: Indiana State—76, Missouri State (10-8, 4-5, 6th place tie)—47. Leading players for Missouri State: PG Bart McCain-8 pts, 3 assists, 1 steal. Player of the Game: Indiana State’s PF Rowland Williams-16 pts, 2 assists, 7 reb, 1 steal. Injury: PG Bart McCain strained a muscle and is likely to miss the next game.

Entering into conference play We finish our pre-conference games with a 11-1 record, a #2 rank in the polls, and the best RPI in the country. The only other ranked team in our conference is UCONN which has a 7-3 record, is ranked #16 in the polls and has the 3rd best RPI in the nation. Player stats: PPG: Hunter-15.9, Keady-11.4, Jones-10.1, Ross-8.4, Craft-7.6, Grant-7.3, Zolkin-6.2, Bains-4.7 RPG: Ross-6.3, Hunter-5.5, Grant-4.8, Jones-3.2, Craft-2.2, Keady-1.7 APG: Hunter-3.8, Keady-3.1, Cox-1.9, Craft-1.6, Jones-1.3, Samnick-1.3 SPG: Keady-1.5, Hunter-1.4 BPG: Grant-1.5, Ross-0.8, Hunter-0.7 Team stats: We’re averaging 77.4 PPG and giving up 68.4 PPG We’re out-rebounding our opponents 32.3 to 29.5 We’ve made 13.0 TOPG while our opponents have averaged 14.7 TOPG We hit 47% of our FG attempts and our opponents hit 42% of theirs We dropped in 36% of our 3’s and our opponents hit just 28% of theirs We outshot our opponents at the free throw line 77% to 68%

Annika Vandergard, Bret’s sister A couple weeks ago, I called Bret and asked him if Tommy and I could come live with him for a while. I divorced Jimmy Rothman, my husband and Tommy’s father, not long after our Tommy got returned to me after being kidnapped in Cheney, Washington. Jimmy just wasn’t adding anything to the marriage or as a father. No job, and his attitude was a bad influence on Tommy and making me depressed. But Tommy’s nearly 8 years old now and needs a man in his life. I’m hoping that Bret can provide that. Tommy’s acting out. Far too much for such a young child. But he grew up pretty fast while being held by the kidnappers and what he saw and learned there was not what anybody wants him to emulate. He needs somebody other than me setting high expectations and providing some discipline. I was reluctant to ask Bret, knowing he’s consumed by his coaching duties, but there was no one else I felt could help. Bret was great. He didn’t even hesitate. He just said, “Sure Sis, it would be great to have you and Tommy here with me.” When we arrived several days ago, Bret took Tommy right into what is to be Tommy’s bedroom. It was bare. He said, “OK, Tommy, let’s you and me decide what you want in YOUR bedroom.” They spent a good part of the day deciding what color to paint the walls, what furnishings there should be, and what decorations Tommy wanted on the wall. Tommy was ecstatic! We got him into school here and Bret has been taking him to school nearly every morning. Tommy likes that. Tommy has given his teachers a tough time and not done well in school thus far, but Bret is working with him and making sure he does his homework...often not an easy thing to get Tommy to do. Tommy still has had some bad behavior episodes, but now it’s a shared effort between Bret and me to handle those. Tommy knows what buttons to push to set me off, but he hasn’t figured that out with Bret, so Bret is much better to get control when it’s needed. Bret doesn’t talk about his personal life, so I was surprised to see Meaghan Kriley spending as much time as she has been at the house. With her anchor role with the TV station, she’s a busy woman though, so her time here comes in spurts. Fortunately, she and I get along great. And Tommy likes her also, so that’s a bonus. As for me, I’ve taken a part time job at a boutique in Springfield just to have something to do and have some spending money. The owner has been great at giving me hours that allow me to get off in time to pick up Tommy at school and be home with him in the afternoons. It’s not a job I’d want to do forever, but fills the bill for now. The only down side is that Tommy’s grandparents still live in Washington state so they can’t see Tommy and me regularly like they used to do. But I’m working on them to get back for a visit soon.

Season 5, Game 11 & 12 Game #11, Dec. 13, 2017 @ Tennessee (3-4): While we’re still in the state of Tennessee, this is our 3rd straight road game. The Volunteers are led by PF Chris Edwards who is scoring 15.0 ppg. The lead shifted back and forth throughout the entire first half (19 lead changes and 11 ties). Fittingly the half ended with the scored tied 41-41. SF John Jones led our scoring with 10 points. We fell behind by as much as 10 points in the 2nd half. We kept trying to dig our way out of the hole, but continually fell back into it. Finally with 4:16 we cut Tennessee’s lead to 67-65. We then fell behind by 7, but with 57 ticks on the clock we closed to within a single point. Tennessee missed a shot and we brought it down court. As the clock wound down, John Jones had a good look at the basket and put up a 10 footer that came off the rim to Jules Grant who put it back up and in with 14 seconds remaining to give us a 73-72 lead. Tennessee played for last shot and their point guard drove down the middle of the lane, but Jared Keady stuck to him forcing an off-balance shot that failed to drop. We escaped with a 73-72 comeback win but with a bit more gray hair for me. With 16 turnovers, we made twice as many as the Volunteers, but we dominated the boards 39-27 and outshot Tennessee (47% to 39%). SF John Jones topped our scoring with 18 points plus had 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and 3 blocks. SG Austin Hunter scored 15 and pulled down 6 boards. C Jules Grant hit for 11 points plus had 13 rebounds. PG Jared Keady added 8 points. (10-1, Ranked #2 in the polls, RPI: 1) Scholarship: Since we have one vacant scholarship this season, we decided to award it to walk-on senior SF Aaron Rohwer. He’s been playing better subbing for John Jones so deserves it. Game #12, Dec. 19, 2017 @ Syracuse (3-4): We held a small lead throughout most of the first half and came out of it with a 32-28 lead. SG Austin Hunter scored 8 points for us. We quickly built up a 10 point lead in the 2nd half as our defense solidified. We never let Syracuse get close the rest of the way and we came away with a 72-56 victory to end our pre-conference play. SG Austin Hunter scored 13, pulled down 8 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, and had 3 steals and a block. C Jules Grant scored 11. PF Adrian Bains and SG Georgiy Zolkin came off the bench to score 9 and 8, respectively. SF John Jones added 8. SG Thurman McKnight scored 20 for Syracuse. (11-1, Ranked #2 in the polls, RPI: 1)

Meaghan Kriley, KSMO TV News Anchor Gambling! So Alexei Koramatsov is a gambler. Very interesting. That’s not a path I had thought to check. I need to look into this more.

Buddy and Brenda Portman, Branson entertainers Game #17, Jan. 21, 2019: Bradley Braves (6-10, 3-4) at Missouri State Bears (9-7, 3-4) Buddy: This time of year, things are quieter than usual in Branson. In the winter, many performers leave and some of the theaters are dark. And those, like ours, that continue to have performances, reduce the number of shows per week. So we have the time to get to some of Missouri State’s games. It’s fun, exciting, and we have a good time interacting with the other fans. We had a great dinner at a Springfield restaurant before the game. That along with the drinks that went along with it ensure we are in a good mood. Brenda: Meaghan Kriley doesn’t get to attend many of the games due to her schedule, but she’s here tonight, so I bring her over to sit with us. She’s such a sweet girl. Buddy likes kidding her and so there are a lot of laughs before the game. Buddy: The Bears haven’t done all that well so far in conference play. With Joey Jones not suiting up, 7-1 freshman Marquis Hollins is starting at center for the Bears. The Bears scored the first 7 points and then forged that into as much as a 14 point lead, but let the Braves back into the game in the latter portion of the first half and came away with just a 33-29 halftime advantage. C Marquis Hollins had scoring honors for Missouri State with 12 points. Brenda: During halftime, Alexei Koramatsov, came over to say hello. Meaghan gave him a cold look and ignored him completely. After he left, I asked Meaghan what was wrong. Instead of telling me, she asked me a bunch of questions about Alexei. I told her he was a friend and that Buddy liked to gamble. Alexei had given him tips and clued him into some bets that had panned out for some big winnings. Buddy: The second half was ugly as both tams shot poorly. Bradley got within a single point midway through the half, but the Bears came back to go ahead 57-45 with 4 minutes left to play. They then expanded the lead to win easily. Final Score: Missouri State (10-7, 4-4, 5th place tie)—69, Bradley—48. Leading Players for Missouri State: C Marquis Hollins-15 pts, 2 assists, 6 reb, 2 steals; PG Bart McCain-12 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb, 2 steals; PF Ricky Lee-10 pts, 5 reb. Player of the Game: C Marquis Hollins-15 pts, 2 assists, 6 reb, 2 steals.

Season 5, Games 9 & 10 Game #9, Dec. 5, 2017 @ North Carolina St. (3-2): The first half went back and forth with 15 lead changes and 8 ties. North Carolina State came away with a 30-28 halftime lead. We altered our game plan during halftime and immediately began to pull away as our defense smothered the Wolfpack and we dominated the boards (33-22). We finished with a 64-49 road victory. SG Austin Hunter scored 16 and pulled down 8 boards. PG Jared Keady added 10, while SF John Jones and PF Angelo Craft both scored 8. (9-0) Game #10, Dec. 8, 2017 @ Purdue (5-2): Purdue put us in an 8-0 hole. By the midpoint of the first half, we trailed 31-11. And at the break we were behind by a 49-29 score. The Boilermakers got to the line 14 more times where they scored 14 more points that did we. Our leading scorer was Jared Keady with 6 points. We decreased Purdue’s lead to 10 with 9 minutes to go and then to 7 with 7-1/2 minutes left. At the 5:48 mark, Aaron Rohwer put back a shot and was fouled. He converted the 3 point play to make it 62-58 in favor of Purdue. Purdue quickly re-built a 12 point lead with just over 3 minutes to go. We cut their lead to 6 with a minute left. But we couldn’t do it and lost 73-64. Purdue’s 15 more free throws where they scored 14 more points were the difference. We were called for 21 fouls while Purdue was whistled just 10 times. C Kelvin Ross had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. SG Austin Hunter scored 12, PG Jared Keady added 11, and SF John Jones had 9. (9-1, Ranked #2, RPI: 1) (The team ranked above us is UCLA, who we beat in the Coaches Classic.) Injury: PF Ufuk Oztorum is nursing a bruised shoulder, but shouldn’t miss our next game.

Erick McGadney, 1st Assistant Coach Game #16, Jan. 18, 2019: Missouri State Bears (9-6, 3-3) vs Southern Illinois Salukis (8-7, 4-2) We only had two scholarships to award this season and since we’ve already locked up our two recruits, I’m spending more time working with the team. While the other 4 positions are set, the starter at the SF position for us continues to flip-flop between Quintin Asbury and Aaron Wells. Tonight Aaron is starting. After a slow start this season, he’s begun to pick up his game. In less than 3 minutes of play PG Bart McCain is relegated to the bench with 2 fouls. Both teams are turnover-prone early in the game. At the first time out, Coach V tries to settle down our team. But our turnovers continue resulting in giving the Salukis as 12-8 lead with 13:17 to go and raising the intensity level of their fans. With the house rocking, we aren’t handling the pressure well. With 5 minutes left in the half, we already have 12 turnovers and Southern Illinois has used that to build a 30-20 lead. The half finally ends with us trailing 36-28. We had 16 turnovers in the half! That’s given the Salukis far too many breakaway lay-ins. The refs have made life difficult for us also, whistling us 13 times and sending Southern Illinois to the line 10 more times than we got there where they scored 8 more points. SG Brent Gregory tops our scoring with 10 points. Early in the 2nd half we fell behind by 14 points, but then Brent Gregory took it upon himself to get us back into the game. He poured in 15 points to tie the game at 53-53 with 10:44 remaining. At that point we had to pull Gregory to give him a breather and the Salukis scored the next 8 points. We cut their lead to 4 and then Gregory came back in and he pulled us within a single point with 2:30 left to go. The refs then kept calling fouls on us and with 50 seconds to go, we trailed 68-61. PG Bart McCain was fouled and made both shots to trim the lead to 5. We then fouled and they made 1 of 2 shots. Down by 6 with 35 seconds to go, We called a time out to draw up a play to free Gregory for a 3…it worked to make it 69-66 with 26 seconds on the clock. We fouled again but this time they sunk both fouls shots. Another time out, another 3 by Gregory and we trailed 71-69. We fouled with 5 seconds remaining, but again they made both free throws. McCain got off a desperation last shot and tried to lean in to his defender, hoping to sink the shot and draw a foul to tie the game. No foul but his shot missed anyway, so it didn't matter. Turnovers (23 by us) and fouls (30 by us sending the Salukis to the line 45 times) were our downfall. Final Score: Southern Illinois—73, Missouri State (9-7, 3-4, 5th place tie)—69. Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-35 pts, 1 assist, 2 reb; no one elsc scored more than 6 points. Player of the Game: SF Bryan Briggs: 19 pts, 2 assists, 1 reb, 3 steals. Injury: C Joey Jones suffers a serious bruise to his right arm that will keep him out of the next game.

Season 5, Games 7 & 8 Game #7, Nov. 28, 2017, #17 Stanford (3-0): Stanford’s PG Dan Davis has been their biggest offensive threat thus far. Based on the strength of his play thus far, Kelvin Ross will start for the first time at C for us. Hunter and Keady hit 3’s in the first minute of the game to ignite our crowd. We scored the first 11 points of the game and led 15-2 at the first TV timeout. Our defense sparkles as we hold the Cardinal to a shooting percentage of 26% in the first half and force them to turn the ball over 8 times. By the end of the half our lead had ballooned to 39-21. SG Austin Hunter led our scoring with 9 points while grabbing 5 rebounds. We hold a big lead throughout the 2nd half, although Stanford cuts into it late in the game to make the final score 67-54 in our favor. C Jules Grant came off the bench to score 14 points and haul down 8 rebounds. SG Austin Hunter had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. (7-0) Game #8, Dec. 1, 2017, #1 Indiana (7-0): We have a ton of media here, not only TV, but reps from all around the country for this matchup of the #1 and #2 ranked teams. And the FedEx Forum is packed to the rafters, not only with our fans but a big contingent from Indiana. Indiana has some great players, but our main focus will be on PF Trenton Patterson. He’s 2nd on the team in scoring (17.0 ppg), but doing it so efficiently that if we can limit his shots and force others to shoot, they are likely to make fewer of the shots that would he. Jules Grant is starting at center for us again. We fall behind 20-7 as the Hoosiers, and in particular PF Trent Patterson and C Craig Davis, shred our defense. We make several mini-runs but they are always effectively countered by the Hoosiers and we limp off the floor at the break trailing 46-31. The only thing we are doing well is that we got 8 blocks in the first half. SF John Jones leads our scoring with 9 points. Patterson and Davis combine for 25 of Indiana’s 51 points. In the 2nd half we repeatedly reduce the lead to 7 but only at the 7:32 mark do we get closer when we close to 64-59. Jared Keady sinks 2 free throws at 5:50 to make it 68-65. Then with 4:53 on the clock, Austin Hunter drills a 3 to tie the game at 68-68. After Indiana scores inside, Angelo Craft knocks down a 3 on our next possession and we take our first lead since it was 2-0. With 1:45 to go, Jared Kennedy cuts around a screen and puts up a 15 footer that finds the bottom of the net and gives us a 76-72 lead. Indiana steals the ball and scores on a breakaway to narrow our lead to 76-74 with 1:23 left. Austin Hunter drives the baseline, pulls up and tosses in a 10 foot jumper to put us up by 4 again. Then Craig Davis of Indiana drops in a pair of free throws making it 80-78 with 48 ticks on the clock. We toss the ball away. Indiana makes us pay by hitting a 2 to tie the game. I call a time out with 29 seconds to go and instruct our guys to hold onto the ball for a timeout in the final 10 seconds so we can go for the last shot. So what happens? Austin Hunter thinks he’s free and lofts up a 14 footer with 20 seconds to go. It misses, but an Indiana player lurches to try to block the shot and fouls Hunter. The first shot is good as is the second. But now the Hoosiers have time to tie or win the game. I put my best defensive players on the court. John Jones fouls with 12 seconds to go. The first of a 1-and-1 rims out, but Indiana pulls down the rebound and puts up a quick shot which is blocked by Kelvin Ross. We grab the loose ball and Jared Keady puts up a shot at the buzzer that drops to make it 85-80 in our favor. The Hoosiers outplayed us in most aspects of the game, but we outshot Indiana 58% to 50%. That plus the home court advantage allowed us to get a come-from-behind win against a team that was better tonight. SG Austin Hunter scores 23 and has 7 assists. PF Angelo Craft picks up 15, SF John Jones has 14, PG Jared Keady gets 13, and C Jules Grant adds 10. (8-0, Ranked #1 in the polls, RPI: 1) Incident: The after game celebration turns sour when Troy Cox and Adrian Bains get into yet another argument. I pull them aside to give them a stern lecture. Bains is repentant but Cox gives me lip which earns him a one week suspension.

Jarell Spencer, high school coach Game #15, Jan. 14, 2019: Wichita State Shockers (8-6, 3-2) at Missouri State Bears (8-6, 2-3) I grew up in Kirkwood, Missouri. I was a star on our high school team. The University of Missouri then gave me a scholarship or I wouldn’t have been able to go to college since my family barely scraped by financially. I’d like to say I starred with the Tigers, but it took me a couple years before I was starting and then I was at best simply a steady player. My expectation of getting into the NBA quickly was revealed to be a dream rather than reality. I had a difficult time for a few years after college since my time at Mizzou was more “basketball” than “education”. But I finally got an assistant coaching job at North Central Community College in Trenton, MO. Spent 3 years there, took a few classes the first year and then took some college classes so I could pick an education degree. That set me up to get a job at Mountain Grove HS teaching history and as the coach of the boys’ basketball team. Took a couple years, but we soon became one of the better teams in Class 3 (middle size high schools in Missouri), regularly getting into the class state tournament. A couple years we’ve won the state Class 3 championship. So I brought my team over to Springfield to watch a college game, since some of my boys have never seen college hoops in person. My boys are a little overwhelmed by the size of JQH Arena and the big crowd that is here tonight. Well OK…yeah, I have an ulterior motive for coming also. It’s a chance for me to make contact with Bret Vandergard so that maybe I’ll have a chance to get on his staff when a vacancy arises. I’ve been impressed by what he’s done so far at Missouri State and he could use a minority assistant. Wichita State comes out of the blocks fast and takes a 9-4 lead, but Missouri State scores the next 6 points to take their first lead of the game. The Shockers outshoot the Bears (52% to 43%) plus hit 5 from outside the arc to take a 35-30 lead at the break. For the Bears, C Joey Jones leads their scoring with 8 points. Coach Vandergard must have lit into his guys at the half, because they come out playing defense and kept the Shockers from scoring for over 4 minutes. Meanwhile the Bears scored 14 points to take a 44-35 lead. With 5-1/2 minutes remaining in the game, Wichita State cuts the lead to 2 points. The Bears fight back to pull ahead 64-57 with 57 seconds to go. That’s a big enough lead to hold off the Shockers. The Bears turned things around in the 2nd half to outshoot the Shockers 50% to 44% for the entire game, as well as finishing with +3 in rebounds and +5 in turnovers. I think my team will benefit from attending tonight’s game and will be able to up the level of their game based on what they saw tonight. Of course, I have a couple guys who don’t pay attention and only learn by a 2X4 up beside the head. But I got to meet with Coach Vandergard. I was surprised how familiar he was with our program at Mountain Grove, and he was very complimentary about the job I have done there. I tried to get him excited about one of our players and also mentioned a couple others in our league that the Bears should scout. He said he’d pass that along to his first assistant coach. Final Score: Missouri State (9-6, 3-3, 4th place tie)—66, Wichita State—61. Leading players for Missouri State: C Joey Jones-14 pts, 5 assists, 3 reb, 2 steals; PF Ricky Lee-12 pts, 1 assist, 9 reb, 1 steal; SG Brent Gregory-11 pts, 6 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal; PG Bart McCain-9 pts, 1 assist, 1 reb. Player of the Game: C Joey Jones-14 pts, 5 assists, 3 reb, 2 steals.

Season 5, Games 5 & 6 Game #5, Nov. 21, 2017, @ #18 Michigan (2-0, RPI: 23): This is a tough game on the road in which to have our star SG (Austin Hunter) and a key sub (PF Ufuk Oztorun) not suiting up due to injuries. I’m starting freshman Georgiy Zolkin at the 2 based on his strong play in our last game so John Jones can move back to the 3, which is his more natural position. Jared Keady picks up his 2nd foul with the game just 3 minutes old. SF John Jones joins him 4 minutes later. After trailing all the way, we tie the game at 17-17 with 10 minutes to go in the half. We finally take a 27-26 lead with 5:50 left. We hit 59% of our 1st half shots to take a 40-38 lead to the locker room. SG Georgiy Zolkin drops in 11 points. In the 2nd half, even though we lead 51-44, we already are assessed our 7th team foul in the first 4-1/2 minutes of the half and 4 of our starters are on the bench with 3 fouls each. Playing with an all-sub team, we storm to a 71-57 advantage with 7-1/2 minutes to go in the game. Michigan tries to come back but we hold them off for a nice 84-75 road win. The win was keyed by our outshooting the Wolverines 57% to 46%. C Kelvin Ross had his best game of his short collegiate career with 16 pts, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and a block. SG Georgiy Zolkin again played strongly and also scored 16. PG Jared Keady played just 13 minutes due to foul problems, but scored 9 points. PF Angelo Craft and SF John Jones both scored 8. (5-0) Game #6, Nov. 24, 2017, Ohio State (1-2): Our second Big 10 team this week, but this time on our own home court. We’re back to full strength with no one hampered by injuries. The game is close throughout the first half, but we give ourselves a little breathing room at the end of the half and finish with a 43-35 advantage. C Kelvin Ross scores 9 and pulls down 8 rebounds. We play sloppily in the 2nd half and Ohio State overtakes us 51-50 with 11-1/2 minutes to go. From there on we steadily pull away and win by a score of 81-70. C Kelvin Ross led our attack with 17 points while hauling in 9 rebounds. SG Austin Hunter scored 14, SG Georgiy Zolkin has 11, C Jules Grant scored 9, and SF John Jones added 8. For Ohio State, Pf Veini Kyllonen scored 18 and C Larry Mascoe grabbed 15 rebounds. (6-0, Ranked #2, RPI:1) After winning two games this week, one against a ranked team on their home court, our RPI improves to best in the nation, but we drop from 1st to 2nd in the polls. Strange. Especially while the now #1, Indiana, although also having a 6-0 record and being champs of the Hawaiian Shootout), has played lesser quality teams thus far. But no matter, better for our team to have something to strive for. Plus we play them next week, so this provides some ammunition for that game. Before that though, earlier this week we have to get through #17 Stanford. Team Incident: Adrian Bains and Troy Cox got into a loud and lengthy argument. I brought both into my office to keep the incident from escalating, but don’t think I had much effect. Award: C Kelvin Ross was named the AAC Freshman Player of the Week.

Tyson Rodero, play-by-play announcer for KSMO radio Game #14, Jan. 11, 2019: Missouri State Bears (7-6, 1-3) at Evansville Purple Aces (4-8, 1-3) TR: I’m here tonight with Flash Borden who has been fielding your comments and questions about the Bears on his nightly sports show on KSMO radio. So Flash, what is up with this team? FB: I think that’s the question everyone is asking. The Bears played well in pre-conference play against some tough competition and were picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference this year. Thus far they have fizzled in conference play. They’re just not gelling as a team. Beyond Bart McCain and Brent Gregory, the other players are just not playing with any consistency. Seems like a guy will have a good game and then 2 or 3 bad ones. TR: Yes, the coaches seem confused too. They’ve been starting a different group most every game. FB: That’s right, Tyson. It’s like coaches are throwing darts to decide who will start at the 3, 4 and 5 positions. And whoever they choose may or may not show up to play well. But it’s a very young team. 9 of the 13 scholarship players are freshmen or sophomores and the entire front line is freshmen and sophomores. So I think there is a leadership vacuum. TR: Turnovers have been a problem lately also. FB: The team has definitely been turning the ball over more during this losing streak that they were earlier in the season. Again, though, that’s just a result of the team not playing all that well together lately. TR: Well, we’re ready for the tip-off, Flash. Let’s see how the Bears do against a team they’re tied with at the bottom of the conference standings. ****** The Bears let Evansville get some easy baskets inside on those first two possessions. ****** Wells hits a baseline jumper and is fouled. He drops in the free throw to make it 10-8 in favor of Missouri State. ****** Aaron Wells puts up a long 3 pointer and it drops! That puts the Bears ahead 15-6 with 13:52 remaining in the first half. Wells how has 8 points. ****** Wow! The fouls keep mounting up on both teams. Bart McCain will go to the line for the Bears. He makes the first and misses the second to give the Bears a 24-14 lead. This team of refs must have all got shiny new whistles for Christmas. ****** Another inside bucket for the Purple Aces. That’s 8 unanswered points cutting the lead to 24-22. ****** Kenneth Grandison takes a pass deep down along the right baseline. He fakes his man and then puts up a shot that falls through the silks to put the Bears ahead 32-27 with 90 seconds to go in the half. ****** Evansville’s Marty Rollerson puts up a 30 footer at the buzzer that goes in to knot the score at 34-34 as the teams head off the floor for the break. ****** Evansville hit 63% of their shots in the first half. The Bears need to not let them get so many easy shots. Aaron Wells 8 points led the Bear’s attack. ****** Following the 4th straight turnover by Evansville, the Bears finally convert as Gregory hits a 3 from the right corner to make it 41-36, Bears. ****** Simmons shot misses, but Hollins get the offensive rebound out in the key and puts it back up. He’s fouled on the shot and goes to the line for 2 shots. He sinks both shots to give him 10 points and put the Bears ahead 54-43 with 10:52 on the clock. ****** Bart McCain drives down the lane, puts up a contested shot that drops. There’s a time out on the floor with 3:48 to play and the Bears on top 60-54. ****** The ball goes over to Brent Gregory. He’s free for a 3 pointer and it drops to make the score 65-56 with 2:09 left. That’s 16 points for Gregory. ****** Grandison chips in a 3 with 25 seconds to go. 71-61 now. ****** The buzzer sounds. Missouri State has broken their 3 game loss streak with a 73-61 victory. While outshot 51% to 42%, the Bears held a 24-23 rebounding advantage and more importantly a 20-13 turnover advantage. ****** Final Score: Missouri State (8-6, 2-3, 6th place tie)—73, Evansville—61. Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-16 pts, 2 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal; PG Bart McCain-11 pts, 4 assists, 1 reb, 1 steal; C Marquis Hollins-10 pts, 1 assist, 7 reb; SF Aaron Wells-9 pts, 2 steals. Player of the Game: SG Brent Gregory-16 pts, 2 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal.

Meaghan Kriley, KSMO TV News Anchor My solo investigation of Alexei Karamatsov isn’t progressing as quickly as I had hoped, but since I’m doing it during my non-working hours, I’ve not had as much time as I would have liked to work on this. But, I’ve determined that his claim to be a big time entrepreneur is bogus. He has no record of owning and selling companies. He emigrated from the Ukraine at the age of 20 on his own. The rest of his family remains in the Ukraine. He spent his early years in New York City and didn’t move out to Missouri until 6 years ago. He owns his home in Springfield outright and has only a small mortgage on his condo in the Ozarks. His work record is spotty and doesn’t provide a means for his acquisition of wealth. But I have yet to be able to get a handle on how he made his money in the U.S.

Coaches Classic Tournament Game #1, Nov. 13, 2017, Coaches Classic vs Virginia (0-0): Angelo Craft scored 7 of our first 10 points but then he picked up 2 fouls after playing just 4 minutes. We led 21-8 with 14:15 to go. The refs kept Virginia in the game by calling 14 fouls against us, sending the Cavaliers to the line 22 times. But we still finished the half with a 49-38 edge. Austin Hunter led our scoring with 11 points in the first half plus he had 5 assists. Throughout the 2nd half we held onto a safe lead and took down Virginia by a score of 86-71. We were +6 in rebounds and +7 in turnovers. Six of our players scored in double figures: PF Angelo Craft-13, SF John Jones-12, SG Austin Hunter-11 (he also had 7 assists and 5 rebounds), PG Jared Keady-11, C Jules Grant-10, PF Adrian Bains-10. (1-0) Game #2, Nov. 15, 2017, Coaches Classic vs #6 Duke (1-0): Duke is a 4th seed and we’re a 5th seed in this 16-team tourney. The Blue Devils won their first round game by beating UNLV 74-68. In that game they got most of their offense from their guards, but they have gifted players throughout their lineup. C Jules Grant was in foul through throughout the game so that meant Kelvin Ross got a lot of minutes in his 2nd collegiate game. He didn’t score much but pulled down his fair share of rebounds. But my other 4 starters played exceptionally well with all 4 scoring in double figures and also defensively controlling the talented Dukies. We carved out a 40-30 halftime advantage and expanded our lead to as much as 20 in the second half. We relaxed a little at the end but still won 79-66. PG Jared Keady scored 21, SG Austin Hunter had 20, SF John Jones tossed in 13, and PF Angelo Craft had his 2nd straight strong game with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. (2-0) Game #3, Nov. 17, 2017, Coaches Classic (semi-final) vs #2 UCLA (2-0): UCLA puts a great team on the court every year, winning 120 games in the previous 4 years and posting two NCAA Championship banners. The #1 seeded UCLANS came away with easy victories over Georgia and Oklahoma State in their first two games of the tourney. The Bruins 3 perimeter starters are collectively averaging 55 ppg. Since UCLA has so much talent outside, we decide to try to wear them down by running the ball, pressing as much as possible, and trying to shut down at least 2 of the 3 high scorers. We make 4 turnovers in the first 4-1/2 minutes and UCLA converts that into a 13-5 lead. Then aided by 3 UCLA turnovers, we score 11 unanswered points in the next 2-1/2 minutes to take a single point lead. We increase our advantage to 30-21 with 6:10 to play in the half. UCLA knocks down some threes but we still come away with a 45-39 lead at the break. Austin Hunter topped our scoring with 11 points. UCLA closed to within 4 points early in the 2nd half, but our defense resurfaced and we then pulled away to take an 80-60 lead with 6:48 on the clock. Our game plan worked to perfection as we walked off the court with an 83-68 walloping of the highly-touted Bruins. We dominated the boards 34-24, held a 17-14 turnover advantage, and outshot UCLA 58% to 45%. The 3 Bruins perimeter starters scored 51 points, but 17 of those points were on free throws and the 3 players hit just 13 of 33 FG’s. SG Austin Hunter scored 23 points, dished out 7 assists, grabbed 3 rebounds, and had 2 steals and a block. C Kelvin Ross dropped in 13 points and had 7 rebounds. PG Jared Keady scored 12 and PF Angelo Craft added 11. Since we played an up-tempo game and pressed so much, our subs came in to spell our starters as needed, and we got scoring from 12 players. (3-0) Game #4, Nov. 19, 2017, Coaches Classic (championship) vs Brigham Young (3-0): The Cougars scored impressive wins over Louisville, UCONN, and Florida to get to this tournament championship game. We’ll be without SG Austin Hunter who picked up a serious strain in his right calf during practice yesterday. I decide to move John Jones from the 3 to the 2 and start Ufuk Oztorum at the 3. Our defense was porous and we fell behind 17-6 in the first 4 minutes of the game. Our two interior starters were on the bench with 2 fouls apiece after just 5 minutes of play. We continued to be flat and trailed 29-13 with 9 minutes to play in the half. At that point we woke up and finally tied the game at 35-35 with 6 minutes left before the intermission. We leave the floor trailing 50-47. Our defense was horrible, letting BYU hit 58% of their shots. BYU also controlled the boards 22-12. PG Kevin Keady was our only player who came to play. He scored 17 points and has 5 assists. We went on a 9 point run midway through the 2nd half to put us ahead 63-54. BYU didn’t give up though and came back to tie us at 67-67 with just over 8 minutes to play. We forged a 6 point lead but then the Cougars clawed their way into it by scoring on reverse layup with 0:53 to play. We called a time out to try to get a score early enough to get the ball back for a last shot. We set up a pick and roll and Jared Keady screened out the man guarding John Jones, who hit a 14 footer from the right side of the key to give us a 4 point cushion with 43 seconds left in the game. BYU’s 3 pointer rimmed out and the Cougars had to foul. Keady made one of two, but then BYU hit a 3 with 13 seconds remaining and it was a one-possession game at 79-77. The Cougars again fouled, but this time Keady sunk both free throws. With 9 seconds left, we were in control. We escaped by the skin of our teeth with an 81-77 win and a championship in the Coaches Classic. We lost the battle of the boards 38-30 but our defense was good enough in the 2nd half to drop BYU’s shooting down to 45% for the entire game and force them to make 18 turnovers (to our 9). PG Jared Keady tossed in 24 points and had 7 assists and 4 steals. SG/SF John Jones scored 11 while feeding out 3 assists, grabbing 7 rebounds and getting 3 steals plus a block. SG Georgiy Zolkin (11 points() and C Kelvin Ross (9 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block) both played well coming off the bench. For BYU, C Todd Felton had a double-double (17 points and 10 rebounds) plus also had 7 assists. (4-0, Ranked #1, RPI: 13) PF Ufuk Oztorun hit the floor hard in the 2nd half of the final game and suffered a mild concussion. So both he and Austin Hunter, who is still nursing a calf injury, will miss our next game against #18 Michigan, even though both want to play in this high profile game. Both SG Austin Hunter (18 ppg, 5.7 apg, 4.7 rpg) and PG Jared Keating (17 ppg, 4.3 apg, 3.3 spg) were named to the All-Tourney Team. I think PF Angelo Craftcould have joined them, had he not gotten into early foul trouble in the final game so he was limited to 11 minutes on the court. At the center position, Jules Grantplayed well, but freshman Kelvin Ross even played better. Freshman SF John Jones played consistently well in all 4 games. PF Adrian Bains was impressive coming off the bench. American Athletic Conference note: After the first week this season, the only team other than us in the AAC without a loss is Tulane (2-0). The remaining 10 teams have a combined record of 3-13. Award: SG Austin Hunter was the AAC’s Player of the Week.

Cal Phillips, Missouri State athletic department janitor This team's in a real slump and they go back on the road for their next game. I heard a lot of rumbling in the locker room after practices. Some of these guys listen to me since they know I played a lot of ball as a young man, so I tried to turn around their bad attitudes. I’m not sure if I had any success with that though. They’re a pretty sorry bunch of guys right now. Several of the guys are blaming Coach V for how things have been going. You know, guys thinking they should be on the court more time, guys feeling the Coach has let them down planning for and executing a solid game plan, things like that. Ultimately the only thing that’s going to turn around attitudes is for them to begin winning again. I’m just not sure how ready they are to pull together to do that.

Bryson Chambers, state legislator representing Springfield Game #13, Jan. 7, 2019: Loyola-Chicago Ramblers (8-4, 2-1) at Missouri State Bears (7-5, 1-2) I’m making my annual foray to Missouri State to ingratiate myself with their fans. The game holds no interest for me, but you gotta do what you gotta do. And these folks represent votes and, more importantly, campaign funds. I’m hoping to move up the political ladder in the next couple years, so money is a necessary component of my strategy. So I’ll glad hand the folks here and present an award to the university at halftime. These folks eat up awards, so being the person to present one leaves a lasting impression in their minds. I’m hoping the Bears win because their fans in a good mood means they have a more favorable impression of me being here with them. Don’t expect a full-blown recap of this game. I’ll watch as much as I have to so I can talk somewhat intelligently with the fans, but to me, basketball is just a frivolous display of a bunch of guys running up and down the court. I really don’t see what anyone sees in it. I told you basketball was boring. The refs kept stopping the game with fouls and travelling calls. I thought the first half would never end. 20 minutes took what seemed like an hour. And the Bears stuck up the gym and trailed 45-37 at the break. Brent Gregory scored 10 points for Missouri State but only was on the floor for 4 minutes because the refs kept calling stupid fouls on him. The Bears other starting guard, Bart McCain went to the bench a minute later than Gregory with foul problems. The Bears stunk in the first half and they stunk worse in the 2nd half. A total waste of time coming to this game if you were a fan of Missouri State basketball. They poor play put the crowd in a surly mood and made my electioneering difficult. Final Score: Loyola-Chicago—85, Missouri State (7-6, 1-3, 7th place tie)—68. Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-14 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb, 1 steal; PF Ricky Lee-11 pts, 5 reb, 1 steal; PG Bart McCain-8 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb, 1 steal; PF Aaron Wells-8 pts, 4 reb; PG Terrance Simmons-8 pts. Player of the Game: Loyola-Chicago’s SG Bryant Crocker-24 pts, 1 assist, 7 reb, 2 steals, 1 block. Others for Loyola-Chicago: SF Ricardo Canty-20 pts, 2 assists, 3 reb.

Final Pre-Season Notes Schedule We set a tough pre-conference schedule with a number of ranked teams and others who may be by the time we play them: Coaches Classic (Virginia) @ Michigan #13 OHIO ST. #14 STANFORD #3 INDIANA @ North Carolina St. @ Purdue @ Tennessee @ #23 Syracuse Memphis Tigers Roster 2017-2018 Starters: PG Jared Keady, 6-3 Sr, Orange, Virginia, 2.5 ppg last season SG Austin Hunter, 6-1 Sr, Harvey, ND, 10.7 ppg last season SF John Jones, 6-7 Fr, HS Sr, Oroville, CA, HS last season PF Angelo Craft, 6-8 So, Lebanon, TN, 7.1 ppf last season C Jules Grant, 6-11 Jr, Minneapolis, MN, JC last season Subs: PG Troy Cox, 6-0 Fr, Fairbanks, AK, HS last season PG Abraham Althoff, 6-1 Sr, Nashville, TN, 1.1 ppg last season (walk-on) SG Georgiy Zolkin, 6-0 Fr, Russia, HS last season (pronounced gay-OHR-ghee) SG Bryan Smith, 6-3 So, Bloomington, MN, 0.0 ppg last season SF Aaron Rohwer, 6-7 Sr, Memphis, TN, Didn’t play last season (walk-on) PF Adrian Bains, 6-8 Sr, Atlanta, GA, 4.1 ppg last season PF Ufuk Oztorun, Turkey, 2.2 ppg last season (pronounced oo-foohk) PF Eugen Smodlaka, 6-8 So, Croatia, 0.3 ppg last season PF Lionel Samnick, 6-6 Jr, New Tazewell, TN 0.0 ppg last season (walk-on) C Kelvin Ross, 6-10 Fr, Lakewood, WA, HS last season Our first goal for the season is to win the Coaches Classic.

Recruiting Recap Improving our competitive advantage With a bigger recruiting budget we can even more aggressively “compete”. Over a couple month period, here’s how we attempt to spread our largesse: #1 PG Scott White: High level of interest in our program. Poor financial status. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Michigan St} #4 SG Aaron Williams: High level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Notre Dame] #6 SF Derek Jackson: High level of interest in our program. Poor financial status. $10K offer which he declined but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Stanford] #7 SG Roy Field: High level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with MEMPHIS] #10 PG Aaron Graves: High level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he declined and interest level dropped to ++ but then rebounded to +++. [Eventually signed with Oklahoma] #18 SG Chris Pohlman: High level of interest in our program. Poor financial status. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with UCLA] #17 SF Tyrone Davis: High level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Oklahoma St.] #21 Jimmy Fox: High level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he declined and interest level dropped to ++. [Eventually signed with Connecticut] #22 Isaac Wright: High level of interest in our program. Poor financial status. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Memphis] #12 Justin Hayes: Low level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he declined but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Texas] #13 SG Cliff Harris: High level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Stanford] #15 SF Marcel Marshall: Medium level of interest in our program. Poor financial status. $10K offer which he declined and interest level dropped to +. [Eventually signed with Duke] #24 SG John Parris: High level of interest in our program. Very poor financially. $10K. $10K offer which he declined but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Kentucky] #42 SF John Williams: Medium level of interest in our program. Poor financial status. $10K offer which he found tempting & will factor, but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Boston College] #73 PG Gerrick Forrest: High level of interest in our program and 8th on his Top 10. Poor financial status. $5K offer which he declined but with no discernable change in interest. [Eventually signed with Tennessee] #11 SF Ben Perez: Medium level of interest in our program. Middle-class financially. $10K offer which he declined and interest level dropped to +. [Eventually signed with Syracuse] We made scholarship offers to the following recruits: #2 PG Scott White [Eventually signed with Michigan St.] #4 SF Derek Jackson [Eventually signed with Stanford] #8 PG Morris Wolfe [Eventually signed with MEMPHIS] #9 SG Roy Field [Eventually signed with MEMPHIS] #10 PG Aaron Graves [Eventually signed with Oklahoma] #17 SF Tyrone Davis [Eventually signed with Oklahoma St.] #22 PG Isaac Wright [Eventually signed with MEMPHIS] #25 SF Damien Sanders [Eventually signed with Kentucky] #53 SF Lonny Ferguson [Eventually signed with Ohio State] #63 SF Julian Blevins [Eventually signed with MEMPHIS] Recruits who will be coming to Memphis: We locked up Field and then Wolfe in mid-September, giving us a very strong core of new recruits around which to build further. Wright chose us in late September and then Blevins took our last remaining scholarship in mid-October. Early on we lost out on a number of high-flyers and we had a very difficult time nailing down a good SF, burning our way through 4 offers and having others we liked opt for other programs before we could make an offer. SG Roy Field, 6-4 HS Sr, Sarasota, FL, 3.6 GPA. 25.3 ppg, 2.8 apg, 6.8 rpg, 6.7 spg, 1.2 bpg. Excellent scorer with sweet shooting from both inside and out; Strong rebounder; Outstanding ball thief and very good shot blocker; Great passer; Good athleticism; Not a leader but doesn’t cause problems; Talented player who could work harder; Top 25 at Indy Elite Camp; MVP at Memphis Hoops Summit. Ranked #5 with an overall rating of A. We’ve stashed away $10,000 for him when he arrives at campus. PG Morris Wolfe, 6-0 HS Sr, Maynardville, TN, 2.9 GPA. 21.8 ppg, 8.2 apg, 7.0 rpg, 5.4 spg, 1.0 bpg. Excellent scorer with a good shot from outside and inside; Excellent passer; Strong rebounder; Great defensively; Excellent at stealing the ball and a good shot blocker; Tremendous work ethic; Top 5 at Indy Elite Camp. Ranked #9 with overall rating of A. No bribe was offered. PG Isaac Wright, 6-0 HS Sr, Burbank, CA, 3.0 GPA. 20.0 ppg, 7.1 apg, 6.5 rpg. 2.1 spg, 0.5 bpg. Excellent scorer with great outside range; Excellent passer; Strong rebounder; Very good defensively; Good athleticism; Hard working kid; Not a leader but doesn’t cause problems; Doesn’t have many problems with injuries; Top 10 player at the Indy Elite Camp. Ranked #16 with an overall rating of A. Another $10,000 has been held aside for him when he gets here. SF Julian Blevins, 6-7 HS Sr, Whitwell, TN, 3.4 GPA. 16.2 ppg, 2.0 apg, 3.7 rpg, 1.7 spg, 0.8 bpg. Excellent scorer who can shoot well from both outside and inside; Strong athleticism; Weak rebounder; Hard working kid; Doesn’t have many problems with injuries; Decent, but not spectacular, showing at the Indy Elite Camp; Top 5 at the Memphis Hoop Summit. Ranked #69 with an overall rating of B. No bribe was offered. So why no bribe offers to either Morris Wolfe or Julian Blevins? With respect to Wolfe, he had us at the top of his top 10 at the beginning and while we slipped to #3 before the home visits, the chance of having the bribe offer backfire and blow us out of the water wasn’t worth the risk. Also he came from a very well-off family which decreased the chance of the bribe being meaningful to him. And we went after Blevins hard at the very end of the fall recruiting cycle and he was an in-state recruit so we had an inside track without having to use a bribe. Where’d the top 10 ranked recruits go? #1, PG Scott White to Michigan State #2, SF Stephen Standmark to Stanford #3, SG Aaron Williams to Notre Dame #4, PF Heath Crawford to Syracuse #5, SG Roy Field to MEMPHIS #6, PF Jonathan Ballard to Syracuse #7, SF Derek Jackson to Stanford #8, SG Tim Morton to Syrcuse #9, PG Morris Wolfe to MEMPHIS #10, PG Aaron Graves to Oklahoma

Paris George, 3rd Assistant Coach Game #12, Jan. 4, 2019: Missouri State Bears (7-4, 1-1) at Drake Bulldogs (10-3, 1-1) Drake has 3 players averaging in double figures (PF Kevin Jackson-13.3 ppg, PG Mark Davey-10.7 ppg, and C Dupree Weathers-10.1 ppg). They have wins over Virginia Tech, Northwestern, and Rutgers, were champions of the Alaskan Classic, and an overtime loss to #7 Maryland. They have the 19th best RPI in the country. Taking them on in Des Moines, Iowa will be a big challenge. They’ve won all their games there thus far. Kenneth Grandison continues to impress at PF and Coach V has him starting again. Hopefully he not only scores but is able to control Kevin Jackson. Quinton Asbury continues to start ahead of Aaron Wells at SF. Our first 10 points are all scored by our big men. But the Bulldogs hit 5 of 7 from beyond the arc and take an 26-12 lead with 8 minutes to play in the first half. We chip away but Drake continues to drop shots in from far outside, hitting 8 of 12 of their 3’s to put us into a 43-33 halftime hole. PG Bart McCain spearheads our offense with 13 points. But Kevin Jackson scores 11 for the Bulldogs. We come out strong in the 2nd half and 51-50 lead in the first 6-1/2 minutes of play in the half. But the Bulldogs pound the ball inside with Kevin Jackson tearing our defense apart to storm back to a 5 point lead. We chip away to close to within a single point with 4 minutes to play. Drake then turns it on to pull away to a 75-67 advantage with under a minute to play. There’s not enough time to come back and we drop a game we had a chance to win. Our defense was just too porous, allowing Drake to hit 60% of their FG attempts (and 52% of their 3’s). Our advantage in rebounds (30-23) and turnovers (16-13) as well as PG Bart McCain’s best game wasn’t enough to overcome that. Final Score: Drake—75, Missouri State (7-5, 1-2, 6th place tie)—70. Leading players for Missouri State: PG Bart McCain-27 pts, 6 assists, 6 reb, 2 steals; C Joey Jones-10 pts, 9 reb, 2 steals. Player of the Game: Drake’s PF Kevin Jackson-26 pts, 1 assist, 6 reb, 1 block.

Meaghan Kriley Against my better judgement I said “yes”. To what you might ask. Well, Bret asked me to join him for a weekend at Alexei Koramatsov’s condo in the Ozarks just over the state line in Arkansas. I am co-anchor of the nightly news for KSMO TV in Springfield, so work weekdays and have weekends off. We were to go down there on Saturday morning and return Sunday afternoon. So when Bret asked, I said “yes”, then kicked myself in the butt because it meant being around Alexei. Alexei is a big talker but does have a good sense of humor. He seems to be rolling in money and that’s part of my aversion since it’s hard to figure out where he gets it from. He says he’s an entrepreneur and has owned and sold a lot of businesses, but he’s pretty vague on just what they were. And then there’s his glances, smirks, and sly smiles toward me. He does this when no one else is looking so I seem to be the only one who notices. I also vividly remember his suggestive remarks while Bret and I were on his boat a while back. Anyway, I had said I’d go and didn’t want to wreck what little time Bret gets away from his all-encompassing coaching duties. So he and I drove down there early Saturday morning. It was a nice drive and I think Bret enjoyed our conversation as much as did I. It turns out Alexei’s condo is up on the top of a small mountain in a remote area of Arkansas. When we arrived the overly-sexy Candy Marshall and her generous Double-D’s came out to greet us, a bit too passionately with her greeting of Bret to my way of thinking. Alexei was his usual self…an overly-indulgent host. But actually the day went pretty well and both Bret and I were able to relax from what have been highly stressful jobs. The expensive, but divine, Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon of which Alexei had a surprisingly big supply probably helped with the relaxation. It also probably helped me foolishly offer to prepare dinner. Alexei had some fresh scallops and butternut squash so I decided to make Scallops with Butternut Squash Caponata. Alexei’s kitchen had all the necessary ingredients except pinenuts and capers. I said, I could prepare it without those, but the others all said I should have everything that is part of the recipe. Bret offered to drive down the mountain to the nearest store. There was no way of talking him out of it. Then as he was heading for the door, Candy said she had forgotten to bring her makeup and would tag along with Bret to pick them up at a drugstore. Sure! So I continued my preparations for dinner while Alexei rattled on about nearly everything under the sun and kept refilling my wine glass. He said he didn’t know much about cooking so wanted to watch what I was doing. Then while I was busily preparing the ingredients for our salad, he came up behind me and ran his hands over my body. While I said, “stop it”, I didn’t immediately physically stop him as I would normally have done had I not had so much wine. But my mind finally cleared sufficiently to allow me to turn and abruptly push him away while forcefully telling him to leave me alone. He laughed and said he wasn’t a rapist, but he knew I liked it…and besides “Bret owes me.” All I could say was, “GET...OUT…OF THE KITCHEN…NOW!” Giving me a wink he turned and went into the living room. I was so nervous I almost couldn’t continue preparing the dinner, but remained in the kitchen where the knives were ready at hand. Bret and Candy returned about 30 minutes later and Bret was in a good mood, telling Alexei that the condo was so far out off the beaten path that it was more like a hide-out than a luxury condo. He and Alexei kidded around so much that I’m sure Bret didn’t even notice that I was upset. I finished preparing dinner and we ate, but I then said I wasn’t feeling well and thought I better head back home. Alexei feigned empathy and said that it might be better just for me to get some sleep at the condo and return when I felt better in the morning. I gave him a cold stare and was adamant about leaving. Very few words came out of my mouth on my ride home with Bret. He probably thought I really was sick. I considered telling him about the incident, but was embarrassed that I had not stopped Alexei immediately and also worried that Bret might think I had misinterpreted or over-reacted. So I just silently resolved to limit further interaction with Alexei and to never be placed in a position where I would be alone with him. Not only is Alexei a slime ball around me, but there’s something fishy about him. Is he involved in drugs? Is he conducting online fraud and scams? Well, hey! I’m an investigative reporter. So I have the wherewithal to unofficially investigate that low-life.

Top Erick McGadney, 1st Assistant Coach Post-Game Incident: PF Jimmy Woni went off after the game complaining about not getting enough playing time and how he should be playing in place of Ricky Lee. Coach V was quick to pull Woni aside and chew him out. Woni was unrepentant. Woni is now suspended for the next 2 games.

Season 5 (2017-2018) Team Prestige is now 86. Facilities remain rated an A-. Conference prestige is now 69. Our incoming recruiting class has been rated as the 6th best in the nation. Those with better rated recruiting classes were: (1) Oregon; (2) Michigan State; (3) Florida; (4) Kentucky; (5) Texas. Rounding out the Top 10 after us were: (7) Wake Forest; (8) Kansas; (9) Notre Dame; (10) Indiana. A preliminary evaluation of our team this season is that we should be stronger at 3 positions and weaker at 2 positions, but there is solid strength at all 5 positions and depth at 4 of the 5 positions. Rather than having one dominant player, any one of the 5 positions should be able to lead the way for us on a given night. The 4 freshman we are bringing in this year all look like they will contribute. John Jones is almost certain to start at SF. Kelvin Ross will likely backup Jules Grant at C but could challenge Jules or take over the PF position before the end of the season. Troy Cox will be given as many minutes as possible backing up Jared Keady at PF, particularly since Keady will be graduating after this season. And finally, Georgiy Zolkin will, along with sophomore Bryan Smith, back up Austin Hunter at SG since one of those two will likely take over for Hunter after his graduation at the end of this season. NCAA Probation: North Carolina: no post-season play for 1 year and no scholarships for 2 years. Obviously the NCAA’s investigation budget must be very low. So we will continue our indulgences. Planning for Recruiting: Since we lost players to the pro draft at the end of last season, we have one unfilled scholarship this summer. That means we MAY fill it with a transfer player, if the right guy is out there. But otherwise we will add it to our 3 scholarships that will come available and go after quality high school seniors this fall. We’re going to purchase the basic national report as well as the basic reports for each region of the U.S. While we won’t spend money on the international report, we still will look closely at international recruits and do what it takes to get one if there is a stud out there on the horizon. That should still leave us enough money to go to a couple camps plus recruit aggressively and have enough to “sweeten the pot” for a few recruits. We opt to go to two camps, the Indy Elite Camp and the Memphis Hoop Summit this summer. Transfer Season: There’s a good PG and a C in the transfer pool. But the center is reputed to have a poor attitude and could be a cancer, so we’ll pass on him. But the PG looks solid and is transferring from Stanford after playing soundly as the backup PG there in his freshman year. We’re not on his radar, but we’ll try to change that. We immediately go after the PG from Stanford and offer a scholarship, but he signs with Arkansas at the earliest opportunity. As we explore the rest of the transfers, we find another PG who is nearly as good and was Big East Freshman of the Year and 2nd Team All –Conference at Butler last season. But he’s got a terrible personality plus he wants to play most of the game. We decide to pass on him. There also are a SG and PG from Washington who look good, but not great. So we decide to go with just 12 scholarships this year and add the unused scholarship to give us 4 high school recruits to go after. We’d rather roll the dice on getting a good high school recruit than take a good transfer player who deficiencies. We add a 3rd walk-on for this season, Sr SF Aaron Rohwer, a cousin to our star center from a couple season’s ago, Ruben Rohwer who declared for the pro draft following a single season with us after being Freshman Player of the Year and 1st Team All-Conference. Aaron looks to be a decent player, but not a star like Ruben. Aaron played JC ball a couple years and has been off the court for a couple years so may be a bit rusty. The best part of Aaron’s game is rebounding. Academics Since a few of our players have poor GPA’s from last season and some of the incoming freshman didn’t have stellar academic records in high school, we decide to get some tutors for those players to see if we can get their grades up high enough to keep them from flirting with academic ineligibility. Pro Draft SF Greg Brooks was the 8th player selected in the draft and C Joey Brown’s stock surprisingly sunk so that he was the 11th player selected. 5 of the top 10 selected were from Michigan State. Recruiting We have 4 scholarships to offer. Ideally I’d like to pick up 2 PG’s, a SG, and a SF, but if the right big man is there and available, it would be hard to turn down. From within Tennessee, there is one stellar PG that I’d like to pick up and a handful of other players we will take a look at. Regionally there’s one excellent SG and a number of other players we add to our list. On the national front, we add some of the top flyers to our list. Internationally there are only 3 players we have interest in at this point. Norton Award: SG Austin Hunter was nominated for the Norton Award.

End of Season Odds & Ends Awards C Joey Brown—Winner of the Norton Award !!!!! C Joey Brown—WS Player of the Year C Joey Brown—WS Defensive Player of the Year C Joey Brown—1st Team All-American C Joey Brown—AAC Player of the Year SF Greg Brooks—AAC Freshman Player of the Year C Joey Brown—AAC Defensive Player of the Year C Joey Brown—AAC 1st Team All-Conference SG Austin Hunter—AAC 1st Team All-Conference Tom Bradley—AAC Coach of the Year (So now I guess it’s not so surprising that Joey Brown declared for the Pro Draft. What more can he prove by playing another year of college ball? We were just exceptionally lucky to have him play for us for 3 years. He easily could have declared for the draft after his freshman year, but I think the extra two years of development will stand him in good stead in the pros.) Head Coaching Jobs Some great jobs are available to me, including North Carolina, but I decide to stay at Memphis to try to develop a championship team. Plus I like the laissez faire attitude of the administration. Meeting with the Board I requested a budget increase. The board concurs and provides a substantial increase from $273,100 to $321,000. Nice, $48,000 more to spend each year HOWEVER it suits me!

Alexei Koramatsov, “entrepreneur” Game #11, Dec. 31, 2018: Missouri State Bears (7-3, 1-0) at Illinois State Redbirds (3-7, 0-1) One of Illinois State’s 3 wins was over Utah, so they can be dangerous. Even though the Redbirds shoot well particularly from beyond the arc, their offense has sputtered. That’s because they are error-prone and turn the ball over nearly 19 times a game. In addition their foul-shooting is poor. Surprisingly, while the Bears are favored, the spread is extremely close. I got together with Bret Vandergard for a beer a couple days before the game, and he let it slip that they plan to pressure the Redbirds to exploit their tendency to turn over the ball. With the spread like it is, this is a helluva opportunity and I’m betting heavily on the Bears to beat the spread. If the weather were better I’d make the 6 hour drive up to Normal, Illinois to enjoy my expected windfall. But since it’s snowing and blustery, I decide to just listen to the game on the radio. Unfortunately ESPN2 isn’t carrying the game on TV. Bret’s starting lineup is McCain at PG, Gregory at SG, Asbury at SF, Grandison at PF, and Jones at C. All but Jones are excellent defensively, a further indication that Bret plans to employ a solid defense against the Redbirds. Jones has been the Bears best rebounder so he should make up for Grandison’s less-than-stellar rebounding skills. Illinois State scores the first 4 points of the game as the Bears turn the ball over twice. Not good. The Redbirds don’t make a turnover until the 15:25 mark of the first half. The Bears finally get their first lead at 7-6 with 13:25 left in the half. Defense predominates leading to both teams shooting poorly. Turnovers mount for both teams throughout the half. In the latter part of the half, the Bears finally begin hitting some shots and pull away for a 28-20 halftime advantage. Both teams turn the ball over 7 times in the first half, but the Bears hold a 41% to 38% shooting advantage and out-rebound the Redbirds 17-12. SF Quinton Asbury is the top scorer for the Bears with 5 points. As the refs continue their calls against the Bears in the 2nd half (like they were doing in the 1st half), Bret finally has had enough and gets tagged with a T at the 15:26 mark. That doesn’t happen to him much, so these hometown refs must really be bad. A minute later the Bears have 3 starters (McCain, Gregory and Asbury) on the bench with 3 fouls apiece and Illinois State has used this to build a 35-33 lead. With 9:17 to go, the refs tag the Bears with their 10th foul of the half. At this point they’ve only charged one foul against Illinois State. After trailing by 7, the Bears make a run and take a 54-52 lead with 4:40 left in the game. The refs immediately call another foul sending Illinois State again to the line allowing them to tie the game. The Bears turn the ball over 2 times in a row and together with a continuing parade to the foul line for the Redbirds, Illinois State goes ahead by 6. Brent Gregory cuts the lead to 4 with 32 seconds to play, but the Bears have to foul and Illinois State buries both shots to go up by 6. Missouri State hits a late shot but there’s not enough time to make up the difference. That p***es me off! I’d like to kill those refs. A 12 point differential on free throws in favor of Illinois State was the difference this game. This is the first time I’ve lost money betting on Missouri State. Bret was unable to make good on his plan to burn the Redbirds with turnovers as they made just 13 (while the Bears had 15 turnovers). I’m not a happy man! I don’t like losing money, particularly big amounts of money. So what has Bret Vandergard done for ME recently? Not a damned thing. Bret doesn’t know it, but he owes me for his failure to get his team to perform as they should have. Final Score: Illinois State—66, Missouri State (7-4, 1-1, 2nd place tie)—62. Leading players for Missouri State: PG Brent Gregory-16 pts, 3 reb, 1 steal; PF Kenneth Grandison-8 pts, 1 reb. Player of the Game: Illinois State’s C Vernon Harmon-10 pts, 5 assists, 4 reb, 5 steals, 1 block. Others for Illinois State: PG John Gresham-17 pts, PF Brett Washington-13 pts.