Who's Bret Vandergard and what's he done for us lately? [DDSCB3]

[PointGuard 70]

 

•  
•  
•  

Buzz Moriarity, Missouri State Athletic Director

 

Game #25, Feb. 18, 2019: Southern Illinois Salukis (17-7, 13-2) at Missouri State Bears (15-9, 9-6)

While he Salukis have locked up the conference championship, this remains a big game for us. We lost to Southern Illinois by 4 points on their home court earlier this season, but want to post a solid win tonight so that if we meet them in the conference tournament, we will have established a dominance.

The Salukis have a 9 game win streak which started with their 73-69 win over us. Southern Illinois has very balanced scoring throughout their lineup. They employ a sound 1-3-1 zone defense. Not having PG Bart McCain available due to injury makes beating that defense even more daunting.

Our guys cracked the Salukis’ vaunted defense, opened an early lead and held onto it throughout the half. We hit 57% of our shots and out-rebounded Southern Illinois 17-11 while building a 41-28 lead as the first half expired. SG Brent Gregory’s 9 points led our scoring.

Brent Gregory picked up his 3rd foul on the first possession of the 2nd half. The Salukis took advantage by cutting our lead to 44-41 with 15:51 to play. But we answered their challenge by scoring the next 7 points to open a 10 point lead. Then we expanded our lead to 15 with 10:43 left in the game. With 5:41 remaining we led by 20. 

The efficiency that our team displayed was impressive…hitting 58% of our shots, knocking down 13 of 14 free throws, and dominating the boards 30-18. The only negative was that the Bears turned the ball over 21 times.

Final Score: Missouri State (16-9, 10-6, 2nd place tie)—75, Southern Illinois—60.

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-14 pts, 4 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal; PF Ricky Lee-13 pts, 1 assist, 1 reb; C Joey Jones-10 pts, 1 assist, 5 reb; SF Aaron Wells-10 pts, 3 assists, 3 reb, 4 steals; SF Quintin Asbury-9 pts, 1 assist, 3 reb, 2 steals. 

Player of the Game: SG Brent Gregory-14 pts, 4 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal.

For Southern Illinois: C Tyrone Taylor-19 pts.

[PointGuard 70]

Annika Vandergard, Bret’s sister

 

Game #26, Feb. 19, 2019: Wofford Terriers (12-13) at Missouri State Bears (16-9)—Bracket Breaker Game

 

Tomorrow is a day off from school for Tommy, so I brought him to the game tonight. He knows and idolizes most of the players plus he thinks he brings good luck to his Uncle Bret. Bret got us some good seats not far behind the Bears bench.

 

This is a Bracket Buster game for the Bears. Bret says that even though the Terriers big men are scoring more that their perimeter players, that SF Charles Jones and SG Ike Wilson are hitting a high percentage of their shots, so they will try to keep them from igniting. The Bears starting PG Bart McCain is sitting out another game due to his injury. 

 

The Bears scored the first 10 points of the game. Tommy was cheering wildly. But Wofford stormed back and cut the lead to 20-17 with 11 minutes left in the half. The Bears recovered, though, and left the court at the half with a 48-36 advantage. Top scorers were PF Ricky Lee and C Marquis Hollins who both had 7 points.

 

Bret’s team expanded their lead to 18 points in the 2nd half, only to see Wofford come within a single point with 2-1/2 minutes to play. The Bears got two straight steals followed by driving layups to pull ahead 70-65 with 55 seconds on the clock. The only points scored after that were two free throws by the Bears. The biggest difference in team stats was that Wofford turned the ball over 19 times to Missouri State’s 12 turnovers.

 

Final Score: Missouri State (17-9)—72, Wofford—65.

 

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-14 pts, 4 reb, 1 steal; PG Terrance Simmons-11 pts, 2 assists; C Joey Jones-8 pts, 1 assist, 7 reb, 2 steals, 1 block; C Marquis Hollins-8 pts, 6 reb, 1 steal.

 

Player of the Game: SG Brent Gregory-14 pts, 4 reb, 1 steal.

[PointGuard 70]

 

Meaghan Kriley, KSMO TV News Anchor

 

My investigation into Alexei Koramatsov continues on its private course. Doing this on my own, without the backing of the TV station, makes things more difficult plus means I have to tread lightly to get myself in trouble with the station. I now am certain that he’s a gambler but am having trouble nailing down if it goes further than being a personal vice. The mere fact that he personally is into high stakes gambling worries me about his contact with Bret. But before I can say anything to Bret, I have to fully understand the scope of his gambling activity and have my information rock solid. Otherwise since he and Bret have become good friends, I fear that Bret might become defensive and be unwilling to accept what I have to say.

 

[PointGuard 70]

Tyson Rodero, play-by-play announcer for KSMO radio

 

Game #27, Feb. 22, 2019: Missouri State Bears (17-9, 10-6) at Bradley Braves (11-15, 8-8)

 

Play-by-play excerpts:

 

Hey Bears fans, this is Tyson Rodero bringing you Missouri State basketball! Tonight the Bears take on a tough foe on the road. This is a big game for Missouri State since a win will give them sole possession of second place in the Missouri Valley Conference since Drake has already lost their game earlier today. While the Bears easily beat the Braves when playing in Springfield earlier this year, Bradley has been tough at home while the Bears have not done all that well when playing away. 

 

Unfortunately the Bears’ starting PG, Bart McCain still is not 100%, but he is suited up tonight and may see limited time on the court even though he’s not in the starting lineup. But Bradley’s starting SG Adam Ross has been nursing a sore back. The Braves have him starting again though. Ross, along with PG Khalid Hawkins and reserve big man, Michael Whitworth are the mainstays of Bradley’s offense.

*****

Ouch! That foul was assessed against Ricky Lee, so not only does Bradley’s Nick Williams drop in the basket and go to the line with a 3-point chance, Lee goes to the bench with 2 fouls after just 3 minutes of play. Kenneth Grandison comes in to replace Lee. Williams toes the line but misses the shot so Bradley leads 9-6.

*****

Oh, Hawkins hits a his second 3 to put the Braves on top 15-6.

*****

Grandison hits a reverse layup. That’s 6 straight points for the Bears who cut Bradley’s lead to 15-12.

*****

Another foul against the Bears. Bart McCain returns to the court after missing 3 games. Let’s see if he can shake the rust off.

*****

That’s the 4th blocked shot by the Braves who quickly bring the ball up court and Whitworth makes them pay by putting in a 10 footer to make increase their lead to 28-17 with 8 minutes left in the first half.

*****

Another offensive rebound by Bradley. Mason puts the ball back up and scores making it 32-23.

*****

Another miss. The Bears shooting in the last 10 minutes has been atrocious. That taken together with their ineffectiveness on the boards and their propensity to turn over the ball makes it unsurprising that they trail by 13. Vandergard doesn’t seem to be able to put the right combination on the court.

*****

OK, the buzzer sounds ending the first half with the Bears behind by a 42-26 score. The Bears hit 39% of their shots, were a minus 8 in rebounds and had 10 turnovers. Kenneth Grandison and Brent Gregory topped the Bears’ scoring with 6 points each. Bradley’s Khalid Hawkins topped all scorers with 10 points.

*****

We’re nearly to the midway mark of the 2nd half, and with Simmons two free throws, the Bears finally cut the lead to 10 points, but they have yet to show an ability to make an extended run to get back into this game.

*****

Missouri State’s shooting woes continue. That miss makes them 0 for 11 on three point attempts.

*****

Gregory takes the pass and puts up a shot over his defender. It drops for 3 points to cut Bradley’s lead to 59-56 with 4 minutes left in the game.

*****

Hawkins sneaks inside and puts up a tough shot around Simmons. The shots drops and he’s fouled with 2:29 remaining. His free throw gives him 20 points and makes it 65-

*****

That’s it…game over. The Bears go down in defeat and stay tied for 2nd place. Not a lot of difference in team stats, but just enough of an edge for the Braves in most all categories to keep Missouri State from being able to pull out the win.

 

Final Score: Bradley—71, Missouri State (17-10, 10-7, 2nd place tie)—62.

 

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-17 pts, 2 reb, 1 assist; PG Terrence Simmons-13 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb; PF Kenneth Grandison-9 pts, 2 reb, 1 steal.

 

Player of the Game: Bradley’s SG Adam Ross-16 pts, 4 assists, 6 reb, 2 steals, 3 blocks.

 

Also for Bradley: PG Khalid Hawkins-20 pts.

 

Post Game interview of Coach Bret Vandegard by Tyson Rodero:

 

TR: Tough loss tonight, Coach.

BV: Every loss is a tough one, but yeah, we had a chance to win this game but just couldn’t make a final push.

TR: Do you think that not having Bart McCain playing at the top of his game was the difference?

BV: Bart did OK, and Terrence (Simmons) came on strong at the point, so no, I don’t think that was the reason we lost. Our shooting was off. We need to hit more than 42% of our shots to have a chance. 

TR: What did you think of Bradley’s guards?

BV: 36 points between the two of them speaks volumes. Gotta tip my hat to both of them. They fought all the way through the game.

TR: Your final game of the regular season is this Saturday at home against Indiana State. Think there’s any chance to take sole possession of 2nd place in the conference?

BV: Anything is possible. But let’s be realistic, both Drake and Northern Iowa have home games also. Plus our opponent, Indiana State, whipped our butts in our earlier game this season against them. So, the main thing is for us to focus on revenging that embarrassing defeat, then go to the conference tourney with the aim to knock off each opponent we take on to become tournament champs and get to the Big Dance.

TR: Thanks, Coach. We’re behind you on that one.

[PointGuard 70]

Buddy and Brenda Portman, Branson entertainers

 

Game #28, Feb. 25, 2019: Indiana State Sycamores (12-14, 7-10) at Missouri State Bears (17-10, 10-7)

 

Whooo Hooo! It’s like a big party here at JQH Arena tonight. The university is putting on its version of Mardi Gras and its extended to the game tonight. We had plenty of drinks with dinner before coming to the game so the atmosphere here is just right for us. We brought some of cast and crew with us tonight, so we’re all whooping it up and probably making big asses of ourselves.

 

We’re hoping to see the Bears whip these guys from Indiana. Due to our performance schedule, getting to the conference tournament games will be difficult, so this may be the last game we see this season.

 

Alexei Koramatsov came by and said he could get in a bet for us, but we declined since we’re sort of buzzed.

 

Damn…4-1/2 minutes into the game and the Bears haven’t scored yet and trail 9-0. They better get at it soon or they’re gonna dampen the party atmosphere mighty fast. Twelve minutes into the half and the Sycamores have a 25-5 lead and the Bears have already turned the ball over 10 times. The first half ends with the Bears trailing 36-22. While they finally started scoring toward the end of the half, they just played horribly, allowing Indiana State to hit 58% of their shots and turning the ball over 12 times. Kenneth Grandison and Donte Hartfield led their scoring with 5 points apiece.

 

That was so bad, we went out to our car and downed a few more drinks during halftime.

 

Things don’t start any better in the 2nd half. With 15-1/2 minutes to play the Bears are down 49-24. With 8 minutes left, the Bears had only closed the score a little, trailing 57-39. This game was a downer the entire way and definitely took the air outta the party. A terrible home loss.

 

Final Score: Indiana State—69, Missouri State (17-11, 10-8, 3rd place tie)—50 

 

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-18 pts, 3 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal; PF Ricky Lee-10 pts, 1 assist, 2 reb, 2 steals; PF Kenneth Grandison-9 pts, 1 reb, 1 steal.

 

Player of the Game: Indiana State’s C Jared Cox-12 pts, 3 assists. 9 reb, 4 steals.

 

Others for Indiana State: SG Charles Stoa-18 pts.

 

Injury: PG Terrence Simmons went down hard toward the end of the game and sustained a concussion. Fortunately we have over a week off before our next game and he should be ready to play by that time.

[PointGuard 70]

 

Steve Piersall, KSMO TV sports anchor

 

What’s up with the Missouri State Bears? They played like zombies in their last two games. They shot like they had no idea where the basket was located, failed to pound the boards, and turned the ball over like it was a hot potato. Coach Bret Vandergard seems to have no idea how to get this team firing on all cylinders. While there is no doubt the team is better than before he came, his vaunted prowess has been tarnished by his inability to get the team playing with any consistency. It’s time for the athletic department to start considering a replacement. This time find a coach who knows how to motivate his players!

 

[PointGuard 70]

Mike Martin, 2nd Assistant Coach

 

Here's the Final Standings for the Missouri Valley Conference for the 2018-2019 season:



At first blush it looks pretty good. We tied for 3rd place!

But...those last two losses really hurt. While we tied for 3rd place, the MVC's tie breaker system put us at the bottom of the 4 teams that tied for 3rd place. That means we’re the 6th seed for the MVC Tournament. 

And our RPI is now 5th best in the MVC. If we are to make the NCAA Tournament, I think we will HAVE to win the MVC Tourney.

[PointGuard 70]

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament—Play in Games

 

Indiana State—77, Illinois State—63 (Indiana State led throughout the game. SG Charles Stoa led Indiana State with 19 points. PG John Gresham scored 30 points for Illinois State’s losing effort.)

 

Evansville-77, Wichita State—65 (Wichita State jumped out to an 8 point lead but by the half, Evansville led by 9 and wasn’t seriously challenged in the 2nd half. C Brian Covert scored 20 for Evansville.)

[PointGuard 70]

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament—Round 1

 

Southern Illinois—70, Evansville-58 (Southern Illinois came out of the 1st half with a slim 3 point lead, but took control early in the 2nd half and coasted to a win. SF Brian Biggs led the Salukis with 21 points.)

 

Indiana State—67, Northern Iowa—56 (This was a game of two distinctly different halves. Northern Iowa was in control in the first half, but the 2nd half was an entirely different affair with Indiana State taking over in the 2nd half and winning going away. C Jared Cox and PF Albert Massiah both scored 10 points to lead Indiana State.)

 

Drake—66, Loyola-Chicago—53 (Drake’s defense squelched the Ramblers in the first half and they extended their lead in the 2nd half. Reserve C Dupree Weathers scored 18 points in 17 minutes on the court.)

 

Paris George, 3rd Assistant Coach

 

Game #29, Mar. 4, 2019: Missouri State Bears (17-11, 10-8) vs Bradley Braves (13-15, 10-8)

 

During the season, home court prevailed as each team when playing at home beat the other team. Since this game is on a neutral court, may the best team win! In our win, our defense was stellar. We’d like to repeat that effort. In Bradley’s win, their two starting guards, PG Khalid Hawkins and SG Adam Ross, burned us for a combined 36 points. So we need to keep those two in control.

 

Both teams are tight early, but the refs came to use their whistles against both teams. While we held a small lead throughout a good portion of the first half, Bradley came back to take the lead with about 5 minutes to go and held it until we moved ahead in the final moments of the half to leave the floor with a 37-33 advantage. C Marquis Hollins scored 10 points to lead us offensively.

 

We continued to hold a small edge in the 2nd half, but could not pull away. With just under 8 minutes to go we were up 48-46. But then the roof caved in and Bradley scored 7 unanswered points. We then clawed our way back to cut their lead to 55-54 with 3:40 to go. Our shooting, which had been poor the whole second half continued to be our Achilles heel. Bradley hit a 3 with a little over 2 minutes remaining to take a 59-54 lead. The Braves knocked down a 3 from the corner with 40 seconds left to go up by 8 points. We crashed and burned in the 2nd half by hitting less than 20% of our shots and finishing the game with a woeful 31% from the field for the entire game. We thus let a game we had in our hands slip away.

 

Final Score: Bradley—64, Missouri State (17-12)—55.

 

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-15 pts, 3 reb; C Marquis Hollins-12 pts, 6 reb, 1 steal; PF Ricky Lee-9 pts, 2 assists, 3 reb.

 

Player of the Game: Bradley’s PG Khalid Hawkins-18 pts, 2 assists, 5 reb, 1 steal.

 

So, out of the conference tournament, and with an RPI of 117, we can only await to see if we get into one of the lesser post-season tournaments.

[PointGuard 70]

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Conclusion

 

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament—Round 2

Southern Illinois—56, Drake—42 (Southern Illinois stopped Drake with a sound defense that held Drake’s shooting to 32% and forced the Bulldogs to turn the ball over 22 times. PF Cliff Thorne was the Player of the Game for the Salukis with 9 points and 9 rebounds as no one on the Southern Illinois team scored in double figures.)

Indiana State—65, Bradley—53 (Indiana State jumped out on top and never looked back. But the Sycamores actually won the game by getting to the foul line 13 more times where they scored 14 more points than the Braves. SG Charles Stoa topped Indiana State’s scoring with 18 points.)

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament—Championship

Southern Illinois—58, Indiana State-47 (Another strong defensive effort by the Salukis brought them the championship. Not only did they limit the Sycamores shooting to 38%, but they forced 25 turnovers on Indiana State. PG Jamie Mueller was the leading scorer for Southern Illinois with 15 points, but sub PF Alvin Webb scored 12 points and pulled down 8 rebounds plus had 5 steals to win Player of the Game honors.)

[PointGuard 70]

Missouri State Player Stats 2018-2019 season

 

Here's the player stats for the Missouri State Bears for the 2018-2019 season:

 

•  

[PointGuard 70]

Post-Season Tournaments

 

NCAA Selection Show:

 

#1 seeds: Syracuse, Florida, North Carolina, Duke

Southern Illinois is a #13 seed in the Indianapolis Regional and will play #4 seed UCLA

 

NIT:

 

Drake is the #5 seed in the East and will play #4 seed Tulsa

Eastern Washington is the #5 seed in the South and will play #4 seed Idaho

 

CBI:

 

Northern Iowa is the #8 seed in the East and will play #1 seed Lipscomb

Loyola-Chicago is the #4 seed in the East and will play #5 seed New Mexico State

 

So we miss out on getting any of the tournaments.

 

NIT Tournament Round 1:

 

Tulsa—69, Drake—64 (Drake played tough but was behind by a small margin throughout most of the game. PF Kevin Jackson scored 19 points to lead Drake’s offense.)

 

Eastern Washington—61, Idaho—55.

 

NIT Tournament Round 2:

 

Eastern Washington—66, George Mason—48

 

NIT Tournament Round 3:

 

Eastern Washington—58, Michigan—43 

 

NIT Tournament Semi-Finals:

 

Oklahoma—62, Eastern Washington—59

 

NIT Championship:

 

Louisiana Tech—78, Oklahoma--63

 

CBI Tournament Round 1:

 

Northern Iowa—73, Lipscomb—67 (In a game that was close throughout, Northern Iowa pulled away enough late in the game by outshooting Lipscomb. SG Edwin Walton had high point honors with 17 points.)

 

New Mexico State—77, Loyola-Chicago—69 (Loyola-Chicago led early in the game but then the Aggies gradually asserted control as the refs piled up fouls against the Ramblers awarding 27 more free throws to New Mexico State where they outscored Loyola-Chicago by 19 points. In other words, Loyola-Chicago wuz robbed. SG Andre Arnold was high point man for the Ramblers with 12 points.)

 

CBI Tournament Round 2:

 

Northern Iowa—74, New Mexico State—64 (Northern Iowa revenged Loyola-Chicago’s loss to New Mexico State by controlling the boards 33-20. PF Edwin Walton had a phenomenal game for Northern Iowa, scoring 32 points.)

 

CBI Tournament Semi-Final:

 

Northern Iowa—67, Florida Atlantic—64 (This game had 24 lead changes and 13 ties. Northern Iowa pulled out the win by out-shooting Florida Atlantic 46% to 39%. SG Edwin Walton scored 18 points for Northern Iowa.

 

CBI Tournament Championship:

 

Northern Iowa—68, Southern Methodist-60 (Northern Iowa led from the outset and built as much as a 19 point lead, then held on to win the Championship. PG Ronnie Towns came off the bench to score 18 points to lead Northern Iowa’s offense.)

 

NCAA Round 1:

 

UCLA—69, Southern Illinois—55 (While the Salukis were out-classed by the Bruins, Southern Illinois hung in to keep the game somewhat competitive. PG Jamie Mueller was Southern Illinois’ top scorer with 14 points, but C Jamar Peterson scored 20 and hauled in 11 rebounds to lead UCLA.)

 

NCAA Semi-Finals:

 

Indiana—64, North Carolina State-59

Cincinnati—64, Arizona—66

 

NCAA Championship:

 

Cincinnati—64, Indiana—54

[PointGuard 70]

Buzz Moriarity, Missouri State Athletic Director

 

The Missouri Valley Conference awards came out. While we garnered only one award, it was a well-deserved one:

 

Brent Gregory—1st Team All-Conference

 

I'm glad Brent will be back for another year.

 

Several schools called to inquire if they could interview Coach Vandergard for positions, but he said he preferred to stay here and try to take the next step in improving the team. Coach V met his goals this year, but I want him to improve school prestige next year from its present state (30).

 

He requests a facilities upgrade for a second straight year. But again Jerome Nevins, a major benefactor for out athletic department, expresses some concerns since the team didn’t impress in conference play, failed in the conference tournament, and didn’t get to a post-season tournament. While there was overall improvement, it wasn’t enough for Nevins, so he again withheld funding. Therefore, no facilities improvements this year.

 

Coach V and Erick McGadney, his first assistant, are bringing in some excellent incoming recruits for next season, who should give us some good depth at the guard positions:

 

SG Kareem Masiello, 6-2 HS Sr, Marysville, KS, 3.9 GPA, 1180 SAT. 20.9 ppg, 4.6 apg, 8.5 rpg, 2.8 spg, 4.6 bpg. Outstanding scorer with an excellent shot from outside, Great passer, Very strong rebounder and shot blocker. Hard working kid who’s not a leader but doesn’t cause problems either. Ranked #25 in the nation. Overall rating: A.

 

PG Matt Lewis, 6-1 HS Sr, Peoria, IL, 2.9 GPA, 1010 SAT. 14.0 ppg, 5.8 apg, 5.8 rpg, 3.0 spg, 1.1 bpg. Great outside shot and very good scorer, Excellent passer and very good ball handler, Strong defender, adroit at making steals, very good athleticism. Tremendous work ethic. Not a leader but doesn’t cause problems. Has had some recurring injuries. Ranked #653 in the nation. Overall rating: C.

 

Paris George, 3rd Assistant Coach, stopped by to chat and said: "Buzz, with just a year left on my contract, I was getting nervous about job security. But Coach V met with me and his offer of a 2 year extension for a little higher salary was gratifying so I jumped at the opportunity. Thanks for approving it. It's going to be good to have our staff remaining intact for the upcoming year." 

 

My response: "Yes, I think the stability within the coaching staff will be a big plus. Coach V has repeatedly said he has been pleased with what you've done thus far and he looks forward to working with you to develop players further next season. So I'm glad you decided to remain with us, Paris. Now let's see how far this team can go next season!"

[PointGuard 70]

Start of 2019-2020 Season: Ansel Adamson, Missouri State Asst AD

 

I’m overseeing the Athletic Department budget and am concerned that Coach V decided to purchase the Gold Report for the Great Plains Region this year. That’s a huge increase over what we’ve done previously and cuts the basketball recruiting budget nearly in half. I argued against it, but Coach V took his case to Buzz and I was overridden. Fortunately we only have 2 graduating scholarship players this coming year. After getting a top 25 recruit last season, I think Coach V wants to repeat that this coming season, so he’s pulling out all the stops. But there is no wiggle room in the overall Athletic Department budget, so Coach V better carefully manage his remaining recruiting budget since there will be no supplemental funds allotted.

 

Then in June, a bomb is dropped when PF Jimmy Woni decides to transfer. We tried talking him out of it, but he was unhappy that he got so little playing time last season. Coach V was particularly disappointed since Woni appeared to make some big strides in his skills late in the season to the point where he could have challenged for a starting role this coming year. 

 

Now the recruiting budget is even tighter since there will be 3 scholarships to fill. It looks like there are some good players in the transfer pool, so Coach V may decide to try filling the scholarship void left by Woni’s departure with a transfer player.

 

Coach V attracts two SF’s early in the transfer season and quickly hauls in Quin Bruton, a transfer from Michigan State. Bruton is a 6-7 junior with a sweet outside shot. When he was a high school senior, he was ranked #23 in the nation. He played little as a freshman at Michigan State, but got into every game as a sophomore, averaging about 11 mpg and 4 ppg, but hit a very high percentage of his shots, particularly from 3 point range. But he fell into serious problems with his grades this past season, so we’re going to have to work hard to raise his GPA this coming season, which as a transfer, he has to sit out of action on the court. With Quintin Asbury being our only SF and graduating after this coming season, Bruton hopefully will be able to take over as the starting SF in his final two years of eligibility.

 

Jimmy Woni gets picked up by the Chattanooga Mocs of the Southern Conference.

 

Fortunately for our dwindling budget, Coach V opts for minimal travel to summer camps. He’ll only attend the Houston Classic.

[PointGuard 70]

Top

•  
•  
•  

Delvon Washington, Eastern Washington Asst Coach

 

I got a call from Coach Bret Vandergard tonight following the completion of the Pro Draft. During Coach V’s last season at Eastern Washington, I was his recruiting assistant. We pulled in two top-notch JC players just a couple weeks before Coach V got upset with the lack of support from the athletic department and left to take over the reins at Missouri State. 

Coach V congratulated me since both of those JC recruits were selected in the Pro Draft after finishing their college careers a few months ago. PG Quintin Brown was the 50th player selected and C Adam Stevenson was the 55th player selected. Having two players selected in the draft is quite an accomplishment for Eastern Washington basketball. Coach V said he would really have liked to have seen them develop and then said he could really have used them at Missouri State the past two years.

I told Coach V that I was in the process of interviewing for two head coaching jobs, one at an NAIA college (Evergreen State College) and the other at a Division II school (Seattle Pacific University). He wished me luck, said he thought I'd be a heckuva good head coach, and told me to feel free to use him as a reference.

[PointGuard 70]

 

•  
•  
•  

Erick McGadney, 1st Assistant Coach

 

We took a shotgun approach early in the recruiting season. Since we aren’t in desperate need at any position, we don’t feel constrained to seriously go after recruits for the two positions that the graduating seniors play. Therefore, we focused on players at all 5 positions, based purely on their capabilities and potential. We’ll let the chips fall where they may. I think if he had his druthers, Coach V would like to recruit a PG and a big man this year, though. At this point we’re not straying out of the Great Plains region.

After landing a top 25 recruit last year, the expectations by the alumni are very high. That resulted in our recruiting for last year being rated as the 20th best in the nation! 

But our program and our reputation aren’t strong enough to routinely accomplish that. I think it’s more important to find two recruits with the potential to grow into solid starting players by their sophomore or junior year.

As summer and fall recruiting proceeded, we made slow progress toward getting recruits interested in our program and our school. In September we had two guards spurn our scholarship offers, one choosing Oklahoma and the other Temple. At the end of September we get two to accept our scholarship offers:

PF Pete Diame, 6-7 HS Sr from Anadarko, OK. 3.2 GPA. 15.3 ppg, 1.6 apg, 7.5 rpg, 1.3 spg, and 2.9 bpg last season as a junior. An effective inside shooter and scorer. A very good rebounder and shot blocker with good athleticism. A significant factor in our choosing him was that he’s a great leader on and off the court. Ranked #303 nationally with an overall B rating.

PG Albert Hunter, 6-3 HS Sr from Columbia, MO. 3.1 GPA 16.2 ppg, 3.4 apg, 3.5 rpg, 1.6 spg, 0.4 bpg last season as a junior. Excellent outside shooter who scores well. Very good ball handler and strong defender. While not a leader, he doesn’t cause problems. Ranked #679 nationally with an overall rating of C. 

So, two solid players who will take time to develop and aren’t likely to be big stars, but we just didn’t have the muscle to snag top-flight players.

[PointGuard 70]

Buzz Moriarity, Missouri State Athletic Director

 

I’m not happy with my efforts at creating this year’s schedule, but other programs aren’t jumping at the chance to play us.

 

When I show Bret the schedule he’s less than enthusiastic also. 6 of the 9 pre-conference games will be on the road. Bret’s Washington ties did allow us to get Washington State to come here for our season opener. We’re taking on a tough Louisville squad in Louisville. Otherwise our away games are against teams that are unlikely to inspire our team or spark interest among our fans. Bret’s parting comment, “Wins against these teams on the road won’t do much for our RPI and playing 2/3 of our games on the road makes it tough to post a good record before we go into conference play.”

 

WASHINGTON STATE

@ Maryland Eastern Shore

SOUTH CAROLINA

@ Louisville

@ Oakland

USC

@ Wofford

@ Hartfield

@ Niagara

[PointGuard 70]

Mike Martin, 2nd Assistant Coach

 

Coach V decides to see if freshman SG Kareem Masiello can handle the move up to college. With him starting at SG, that means last season’s SG Brent Gregory has moved back to PG, his position in high school.

 

Starters:

 

PG Brent Gregory, 6-5 Sr, averaged 14.3 ppg last season but worked hard on his passing and ball-handling this past summer and he’s a solid defender.

SG Kareem Masiello, 6-2 Fr, the #25 ranked recruit was a scoring machine in high school but has some maturing to do.

SF Quinton Asbury, 6-5 Sr, averaged 5.0 ppg last season in a supporting role, but was a double-digit scorer in his first 2 seasons at Oregon State. Hopefully he gets his shooting stroke back this season.

PF Ricky Lee, 6-6 Jr, averaged 6.7 ppg last season. He’s been a solid, but not flashy player for us but he has extremely high athleticism.

C Marquis Hollins, 7-1 So, averaged 5.0 coming off the bench last season. He’s still developing but is expected to become more of a presence as the season progresses.

 

Bench:

 

PG Bart McCain, 6-3 Jr, a starter last season who averaged 9.5 ppg. As a reserve he will still get plenty of minutes.

PG Matt Lewis, 6-1 Fr, he came in and showed more skills than expected this early. Has a very good outside shot.

SG Cleveland Brown, 6-4 Jr, he averaged 3.6 ppg in a reserve role last season, but became a bigger presence on the court late in the year.

SG Rashad Thompson, 6-3 Sr, as a walk-on he’s filled in when necessary during his 3 years here. Last season he got very limited time on the court and averaged 1.3 ppg.

SF Marcus Jones, 6-8 Jr, a walk-on this year who has a lot of skills, particularly as a rebounder and shot blocker.

SF Quin Bruton, 6-7 Jr, a transfer from Michigan State so will have to sit out this season, but Is likely to take over at the 3 position next season.

PF Kenneth Grandison, 6-6 Jr, played extremely well coming off the bench last year, averaging 5.9 ppg and hitting a high percentage of his shots.

PF David Earl, 6-6 Jr, he’s developed slowly but steadily during his first 2 years on the team and was used in a very limited role last season averaging 0.7 ppg.

C Joey Jones, 6-9 Jr, primary starter last season, averaging 4.7 ppg, a solid rebounder and streaky scorer, but weak defensively.

C Donte Hartfield, 6-8 Jr, a part-time starter in his first 2 years on the team, averaging 3.6 ppg last season and is a good shot-blocker.

[PointGuard 70]

•  
•  

Annika Vandergard, Bret’s sister

 

Game #1, Nov. 14, 2019: Washington State Cougars (0-1) at Missouri State Bears (0-0)

Bret worked with Tommy this past summer and Tommy has become a very good young basketball player. I brought him to tonight’s game since it’s not a school night. He’s spent time with Bret at practices so thinks he knows everything about this season’s players and how they are going to take the Cougars apart tonight. There’s a bigger than normal media presence since there appears to still be interest from those in the Northwest in Bret.

Neither team could score in the first couple minutes, but we then took a 5-0 lead and held a small lead throughout the first 13 minutes of the first half. Then SG Kareem Masiello, who had picked up 2 fouls early in the half, came back on the court and scored from all over the court while the Bears defense clamped down on the Cougars. The result was a commanding 46-21 halftime lead. Masiello, who hit every shot he took, dropped in 17 points while playing just 9 minutes. His play brought forth a level of excitement heretofore unknown in JQH Arena.

Tommy ate too much junk food in the first half and got sick at the half, so I took him home. But the Bears kept the Cougars at arms’ length, dominating all team stats, to win with ease and start the season on a very positive note. Bret said he played two deep subs throughout most all of the 2nd half to see how they would do. Freshman PG Matt West looked good, whereas Junior PF David Earl failed to impress and likely will be relegated to the end of the bench for the foreseeable future.

Final Score: Missouri State (1-0)—82, Washington State—59.

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Kareem Masiello-26 pts, 4 assists, 4 reb; SF Quinton Asbury-16 pts, 1 assist, 7 reb; PG Matt Lewis-12 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb.

Player of the Game: SG Kareem Masiello-26 pts, 4 assists, 4 reb.

Injury: After the game, SG Kareem Masiello complained of a sore hip. He’ll nurse it for a few days to ensure it doesn’t inflame and may miss the Bears’ next game.

[PointGuard 70]

Paris George, 3rd Assistant Coach

 

Game #2, Nov. 17, 2019: Missouri State Bears (1-0) at Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks (1-1)

 

SG Kareem Masiello still isn’t 100% but his hip has improved to allow us to start him, but we’ll limit his time on the court.

 

Thus far this season the Hawks have won their opener at home, then they took a loss on the road.

 

For the 2nd straight game, Kareem Masiello picked up 2 fouls very early in the first half. This time he was quickly joined by PF Ricky Lee on the bench as the refs called things tight against us. We were assessed our 7th foul at the 15:48 mark of the first half. Ultimately it wasn’t fouls, but poor shooting that doomed our first half efforts. We hit just 27% of our FG attempts and were behind 39-27 at the break. C Marquis Hollins led our scoring with 7 points.

 

Behind the stellar play of Brent Gregory and Quinton Asbury, we scored the first 20 points in the 2nd half to take a 47-39 with 14:15 to go. The Hawks came back, partly behind the concerted efforts of the refs. Coach V got called for a technical and the Hawks tied the game at 48-48 at the 11:47 mark. After trailing by 6, we pulled with a single point with 2 minutes left, but the Hawks hit a shot that made it 64-61 with 1:36 remaining. After we called a time out, our designed play failed. We got the ball back with 48 seconds on the clock. We called another time out and this time cleared Kareem Masiello for a 3 that dropped in to tie the game. After the Hawks missed a shot, we played for last shot, but as the clock was expiring, Quinton Asbury was too well guarded. He forced up an awkward 3 that clanked off the rim and we went to OT.

 

We drew first blood in the OT, but the refs repeatedly put the Hawks on the foul line and the game was tied at 68-68 with 2 minutes left. With 1:40 on the clock, Bart McCain found C Marquis Hollins inside who drove to the bucket and threw down a monstrous dunk to put us up by 2 points. The Hawks hit a basket but the refs called the basket off due to too many steps. The Hawks tied it with a minute to go and then were put back on the foul line to go up by 2 with 43 seconds remaining. Brent Gregory hit a shot to tie the game at the 0:32 mark, but then we let the Hawks score inside and an errant pass with 13 seconds led to a final driving layup to ice the game for the Hawks. We lost a heart-breaker in a game we should have won.

 

Final Score: Maryland-Eastern Shore—76, Missouri State (1-1)—72 (OT)

 

Leading players for Missouri State: SF Quinton Asbury-15 pts, 3 reb, 3 steals; PG Brent Gregory-14 pts, 3 assists, 6 reb, 1 steal; C Marquis Hollins-13 pts, 2 assists, 4 reb, 2 steals; PF Kenneth Grandison-8 pts, 3 reb.

 

Player of the Game: MD-Eastern Shore’s SG Craig Eschmeyer-15 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb, 3 steals.

[PointGuard 70]

Meaghan Kriley, KSMO TV News Anchor

 

It’s taken quite a while, but I’ve now got evidence that Alexei Koramatsov not only is a big time gambler, but also has deep ties to a major gambling syndicate. 

 

I finally decided to lay it all out to Bret. It came out awkwardly and Bret was reluctant to accept what I had to say about his friend. Rather than forcing the issue, I suggested he think it over carefully and we’d talk again. 

 

Two days later we again discussed it. This time he was more open to listening, but still didn’t want to believe it. But I brought along some of the evidence I had, so it soon became impossible for him to deny. I expressed that I was just afraid his friendship with Alexei could well lead to allegations that would harm Bret and jeopardize his coaching career. Finally, he thanked me and closed the discussion by saying he would take care of it.

 

The TV station was sending me out of the country to report on a human rights story in the Mideast, so it was a week-and-a-half before I got back together with Bret. He told me he had confronted Alexei who had denied everything. Bret said, “With Alexei denying that he bet and that he was associated with gamblers, it was tough, but I just told him that while I appreciated our friendship, I had to sever ties with him and not allow him into athletic department facilities. He seemed hurt at first, but then flew into a rage, saying, ‘I know who is behind this and I don’t forget’ before storming off.” 

 

Bret again thanked me, but I think he’s hurt by my finding out a friend of his was not whom he seemed and embarrassed that he didn’t discover it and that I was unofficially investigating his friend and by necessity him. While he’s not mad, I think our relationship has suffered at least a temporary setback.

 

A week later I got a call from Brenda Portman. She said she understood I had made allegations about their friend Alexei and that she felt I was wrong and what I had done was unjust. According to Brenda, “Like many people, Alexei likes to gamble. There’s no harm in that. But to try to tar him with being involved with illegal gambling and bookies is just wrong and mean-spirited.” I wasn’t going to get into specifics with her, but she then abruptly hung up on me anyway. I guess I'll not be expecting any free tickets to her shows or those of other entertainers in Branson.

[PointGuard 70]

 

•  
•  
•  

Buddy and Brenda Portman, Branson entertainers

 

Game #3, Nov. 21, 2019: South Carolina Gamecocks (1-1) at Missouri State Bears (1-1)

We missed the season opener but wanted to see the Bears go up against South Carolina. I have family in South Carolina and hope to be able to rub in a loss to the Bears. Due to the holidays, Branson is and will be busy for the for the next 6 weeks, so getting free for a night is an unsual occurrence right now.

Brenda has a burr under her saddle about how Meaghan Kriley is harassing Alexei Koramatsov about his gambling. So she doesn’t even acknowledge Meaghan when she shows up for tonight’s game. I still like the gal, but know when it’s best to follow my wife’s lead. But i'm gonna miss kidding Meaghan tonight.

I sure hope the Bears can take a big step forward this year. I think they should because their talent level seems higher this year.

After both teams sputter in the early-going, Missouri State catches fire to take a 35-20 lead with 6 minutes left to play in the half. That’s due to their hitting over 70% of their three’s and all their FG attempts. We’re all whooping it up big-time. But then their shooting cools allowing South Carolina to pull closer, but the Bears still hold a 44-35 lead at the break. PF Kenneth Grandison came off the bench to lead Missouri State’s scoring with 8 points during his 9 minutes on the court.

Not much to say about the 2nd half other than Missouri State steadily adds to their lead throughout the half. Their bench scores 44 points of the team's 76 points.

Final Score: Missouri State (2-1)—76, South Carolina—58.

Leading players for Missouri State: SF Quinton Asbury-10 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb, 2 steals; PG Bart McCain-10 pts, 3 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal; PF Kenneth Grandison-10 pts, 2 reb; PG/SG Brent Gregory-8 pts, 3 assists, 3 reb, 2 steals; PF Ricky Lee-8 pts, 2 assists, 1 reb, 2 steals.

Player of the Game: SF Quinton Asbury-10 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb, 2 steals.

[PointGuard 70]

Rob Porter, Sports Writer, Springfield News-Leader

 

Game #4, Nov. 24, 2019: Missouri State Bears (2-1) at Louisville Cardinals (1-1)

 

Bears' Claws Trimmed

 

Last night the Missouri State Bears traveled to Louisville to take on the ACC’s Louisville Cardinals. But the Bears came out on the short end of a 70-66 score.

 

The Bears came out firing and took a 10-2 lead. The Cardinals struck back though and the first half became a tussle. At the end of the half, the Bears held a slim 36-33 lead. SG Kareem Masiello led Missouri State’s first half offense as he knocked down 12 points.

 

As the Cardinals zeroed in on their shooting, Missouri State’s shooting went stone cold midway through the 2nd half to allow Louisville to take a 9 point lead with 6 minutes to play. Missouri State made a gallant effort to comeback but didn’t have enough time to catch the Cardinals. Louisville outshot the Bears 53% to 47%. But the biggest advantage the Cardinals held was that they got to the line 15 more times and scored 10 more points on free throws than Missouri State.

 

After the game Coach Vandergard said, “We played well but just couldn’t stop their two big interior guys.” PF Eddie Terrell scored 17 and C Russell Robinson hit for 15 points for Louisville. 

 

Final Score: Louisville—70, Missouri State (2-2)—66.

 

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Kareem Masiello-18 pts, 3 assists, 5 reb, 1 steal,1 block; SF Quinton Asbury-11 pts, 3 reb; PG Brent Gregory-9 pts, 2 assists, 1 reb; C Marquis Hollins-8 pts, 3 assists, 5 reb, 5 steals.

 

Player of the Game: Louisville’s C Russell Robinson-15 pts, 1 assist, 8 reb, 1 steal.

[PointGuard 70]

Kareem Masiello, freshman shooting guard

 

Game #5, Nov. 28, 2019: Missouri State Bears (2-2) at Oakland Golden Grizzlies (1-3)

 

Well, we now know that Oakland isn’t a place where the Raiders play and Oakland University is located in a place called Rochester Hills and Rochester Hills is sort of a suburb of Detroit. Who says college basketball players don’t get an education? We also know that late November is cold as hell here in Michigan.

 

The Golden Grizzlies had a 24-6 record last season and were ranked #22 in the polls plus made their way into the NCAA Tourney.

 

This will be my 5th start. 2 of my previous 4 starts went well and I scored 26 and 18 in those two game, but then the other two were nightmarish. In one I scored 7 but only played 14 minutes before I fouled out and the other was an abomination in which I was held to 2 points and Coach V only kept me on the court 16 minutes. Obviously, I need to be more consistent, but the coaching staff keeps telling me not to be overly self-critical. They say it takes time to make the jump from high school ball to Division I college hoops. I’m feeling more comfortable with my teammates all the time.

 

I’ve not made many turnovers in the previous games, but damned if I didn’t throw the ball away on our very first possession of this play. But two possessions later I drew my defender into a foul. It took us 5 minutes before we scored as we shot like there was a lid on our basket. After 8 minutes of play we were down 12-4 having turned the ball over 5 times and hitting just 1 of 7 shots from the field. I stayed in the game for the first 11-1/2 minutes and led our scoring with 5 points, but it was an ugly 11-1/2 minutes as we hit just 29% of our shots and let Oakland pull away to a 26-12 lead. With 3 minutes to play in the half, I got back into the game, but we trailed 33-18 by then. We finished the half in a 39-25 hole. In the locker room Coach V got on us about shot selection, not surprising after we dropped in just 22% of our shots. But he was confident that we could come back in the 2nd half. I scored 5 points in the first half, but our leading scorer was Kenneth Grandison with 7 points.

 

In the early going of the 2nd half we began to whittle down Oakland’s lead and at the first media timeout were down 43-33. I played the first 9 minutes of the 2nd half, but when I went to the bench for a breather, we will still had a 52-39 deficit. I got back into the game with 7-1/2 minutes to go and we were behind 57-41. We made a run but we started it too late and came up a little short. If we could have hit better than 28% of our shots, we would have won this game. But give it to Oakland…they led from wire to wire.

 

Final Score: Oakland—65, Missouri State (2-3)—59.

 

Leading players for Missouri State: PF Kenneth Grandison-14 pts, 2 reb, 2 steals; SG Kareem Masiello-9 pts, 7 reb.

 

Player of the Game: Oakland’s C Lamont Allison-18 pts, 9 reb, 2 blocks.

[PointGuard 70]

Steve Piersall, KSMO TV sports anchor

 

(KSMO Nightly News sports report)

 

After the Missouri State Bears returned home yesterday, I caught up with Coach Bret Vandergard as the team came off the plane returning them from a disastrous 2-game road trip that again put their season record under .500. Here’s my interview of Missouri State’s supposed basketball messiah:

 

SP: Hey Coach, are you happy to be back home?

BV: (a cold stare) Well yeah, home is always a good place to be.

SP: What happened in the past 2 games? In the first game your team played well in the first half and then tanked in the 2nd half and then in the next game, the Bears looked like they were asleep in the first half and much of the second, and only a late run make it look as if the game was close. 

BV: Look Steve, most sports reporters would know that playing on the road in NCAA Division I basketball is tough. The fact that the guys made both of those games close is a positive, not a negative. Louisville regularly has a top-flight team and Oakland is coming off a great season with their team mostly intact.

SP: Yes, but I thought you were supposed to turn this team around? And yet, here we are looking at what is beginning to appear to be yet another mediocre season.

BV: That’s your assessment, Steve, not mine. I think this team has made steady progress the past 2 years and this season will be yet another positive step along the road to ultimate success.

SP: Hasn’t the move of Brent Gregory from the 2 to the 1 and the resultant benching of Bart McCain been a failure? Gregory’s production is down and McCain’s court generalship is sorely missing.

BV: It’s much too early in the season to draw any conclusions, but I think Brent has performed well at the point guard position and he’s a big reason freshman Kareem Masiello is leading our team in scoring. And Bart has been getting a lot of playing time, so his importance to the team has not been diminished in the least. Importantly, those three can spell each other meaning we have a solid backcourt pair on the court throughout the game. Additionally Cleveland Brown is coming into his own as a solid backup at the 2.

SP: Well, none of your big men have stepped up to lead the team. It seems you’re playing the 4 and 5 positions by committee and none of the committee is comfortable or productive with that approach.

BV: The actual fact of the matter is that we have a group of big men, all of whom can step in and do what’s necessary. As you should know, Steve, playing inside is physically demanding. Being able to spell our big men with the depth we have inside before they get too tired is a real plus.

SP: Quinton Asbury has been doing pretty well at the 3 position, but you just don’t have depth there to take over when he’s off the court.

BV: Wrong again, Steve. Kenneth Grandison, not only plays well as a power forward but also has the shooting skills to ably fill in at the 3 and Brent Gregory can perform well at any of the perimeter positions. Then there’s walkon Marcus Jones who has been improving week-by-week in practice and will likely get more playing time as the season progresses. Obviously another key cog, but not until next year, will be small forward Quin Bruton who has to sit out this season since he’s a transfer player.

SP: So are you saying that this team will finally make it to the Big Dance this season?

BV: I’ll leave the predictions up to those like you looking in from outside. We just have to play the games as they come up and do the best we can and then let the chips fall where they may. But…now I have to head out of here with my team. (turns and walks away)”

 

Well, Bears fans, there you have it. Coach Vandergard doesn’t have any idea about how this team will do. And the question remains…will this coach ever be the savior he was thought to be when he arrived in Springfield? You know, it’s not what have you done in the past for someone else, but what have you done for us lately, Coach Vandergard!