Missouri State men’s basketball coach Cuonzo Martin has built a roster almost from scratch, with just two players from the 2023-24 season returning since taking over the program in late March.
Martin appears to have 13 scholarship players signed or committed for the 2024-25 season. There may be some movement before the fall semester begins in mid-August.
Here are some initial thoughts on the Bears’ new-look roster coming together.
Missouri State Men’s Basketball: A look at Missouri State’s 2024-25 roster under head coach Cuonzo Martin
Missouri State Basketball Roster Doesn’t Have an Obvious ‘Star’ You’d Point to Right Now
In years past, you would be able to point to the Missouri State roster and know someone like Alston Mason, Isiaih Mosley, Gaige Prim or as old as Alize Johnson would be the one to carry the team. Martin even gave Kyle Weems his first try.
There isn’t a player of that caliber that you would point to right now. Someone will emerge from somewhere in the first month of the season and we will start to hear more news closer to the report.
Names to point out are Austin Peay transfer Desmond White and South Plains (Texas) College transfer Jalen Hampton, who both played at the Division I level and had success. White is a solid 3-point shooter, while Hampton has shown to be a solid inside player. So you’re waiting to see if others develop, like freshmen Jurrell Baldwin and Makhai Valentine or Murray State transfer Sam Murray II.
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Not as talented as last year’s team on paper, but could be much more successful
Last season’s team was very disappointing because you look at the likes of Mason, Donovan Clay, Chance Moore, Cesare Edwards and NJ Benson and then see how bad the results were. Part of it was with them, part was with the coaching staff being fired.
As the roster is built now, Missouri State has a lot of tough players who fit Martin’s mold and will fight inside and play hard-nosed defense. It was not made to go out and play to overcome the opponent. It looks like it will create ugly scores, but it could emerge victorious.
Knowing Martin’s story, there’s still a sense of confidence that the Bears will be better this way, even though they have a roster of unknowns and don’t look as talented as they once did.
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There are a lot of upsides to some of Missouri State’s prospects
There are some prospects that have high ceilings and could end up becoming solid players. Murray II is extremely athletic and never saw his potential at Murray State. Baldwin seems to be the highlight of the first year to keep an eye on in the Chicago area. lovers could have opportunities to take the court if he continues to be a solid outside shooter.
White is still a young player coming off a season in which he set a 3-point shooting record as a freshman at Austin Peay and Hampton He showed that he can be a good player in the First Division. Both have room to grow and appear to be two of the players most likely to get an immediate shot.
Vincent Brady II, a transfer from IUPUI, is a good athlete at 6-foot-3 and has proven to be a solid shooter in the past. He is coming off a season in which he shot 21.5% from deep when he was a 34.7% 3-point shooter as a freshman.
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Here’s a very early starting lineup prediction
This will certainly change in the coming months. The trio of Downing-Rivers, White and Hampton are the ones we feel most confident in.
How does Missouri State’s roster compare to everyone else’s in its final year in the Missouri Valley Conference?
There was a lot of turnover at Valley, with 89 of its 194 players entering the transfer portal after the season, while 23 of the 194 graduated. That represents 57.8% of the league changing schools or becoming ineligible. This also includes 75% of the league’s starters from last season. Five of the 12 schools will also have new coaches.
Bradley gained a lot of attention in the preseason because it is the only school that will continue when it has already been successful in recent years. Valparaiso, Northern Iowa and Murray State are the other three schools returning three starters.
The rest of the league is rebuilding its roster. Indiana State had big shoes to fill following Josh Schertz’s departure to Saint Louis while also signing some of its players. New Drake coach Ben McCollum brought in some players from Northwest Missouri State or some he had tried to recruit there in the past or had signed. New Southern Illinois coach Scott Nagy retained Kennard Davis and also signed Damien Mayo Jr. and Tyler Bey from MSU. Illinois State retained standout freshman Johnny Kinziger.
Where will Missouri State be picked in the preseason poll? Who cares. But it will probably be in the middle of the pack or a little lower. It will be the biggest craps game ever and hardly worth paying attention to in September-October.
This article originally appeared in the Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State men’s basketball roster under Cuonzo Martin
