Ohio Valley Conference

EIU's Henry Domercant

Austin Peay (22-10 overall, 10-6 in OVC)

For three years, it has been the Trenton Hassell-Nick Stapleton Show at Austin Peay. Now, it is Stapleton alone who will lead the team.
The former academic non-qualifier returns for a fourth season after graduating last spring. He averaged a career-best 17.8 ppg, hitting a team-best 68 three pointers.
Stapleton is APSU’s only returning full-time starter. Sophomore Adrian Henning (3.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg), a 6-6 guard/forward, started the Govs’ final 10 games more for his defensive presence.
In fact, the combined scoring average (8.1 ppg) of APSU’s other six returnees (including Henning), isn’t even half of what Stapleton compiled a year ago.
Stapleton will be the Govs’ only senior and again will be backed up by 6-0 sophomore Gerrell Webster (1.5 ppg).
Freshmen Levi Carmichael and Anthony Davis, as well as returnees Rhet Wierzba and Kevin Easley will also see time at guard.
Henning figures to get the first look as Hassell’s replacement at the small forward spot, and newcomer Sean Prather, who averaged 18 points per game on the JC level last season, is expected to be the leading starting candidate at the strong forward slot.
The other frontcourt spot should feature a combination of sophomore-returnee Josh Lewis and junior college transfer Bobbye Hill.

Eastern Illinois (21-10 overall, 11-5 in OVC)

Junior Henry Domercant, the nation's fourth-leading scorer, returns, but it is a young Eastern Illinois team that has just one senior on the 2002 roster. He along with returning starters Todd Bergmann, a senior, and Jan Thompson, a junior, will lead the quest for a repeat trip to the NCAA Tournament.
EIU won the OVC Tournament and advanced to the field of 64 with their best-ever finish at the Division I level. However, the Panthers must replace a backcourt that lost the nation's number two scorer in Kyle Hill, along with point guard Matt Britton. This duo combined for 47 points per game in 2000-01.
Domercant, runner-up in the voting for OVC Player of the Year last season, averaged 22.8 points per game with the third-highest total in school history (706). He also finished third in the OVC in three-point shooting (44.1 percent) and scored more than 30 points five times.
Bergmann, a two-year starter at forward, will join the duo of Thompson and sophomore Jesse Mackinson, which combined to average more than nine points per game last year, on the front line.
Junior Craig Lewis and sophomore Rod Henry are candidates to replace Hill and Britton at guard.


Eastern Kentucky (7-19 overall, 1-15 in OVC)

Eastern Kentucky University coach Travis Ford welcomes back two starters and four lettermen to form the nucleus of the 2001-02 edition of the Colonels.
Heading the list of returnees for the Colonels are returning starters senior guard Spanky Parks and senior guard/forward Clinton Sims. Parks finished last season as the team’s second-leading scorer with 13.4 points per game, and he also pulled down 3.8 rebounds per contest. Sims averaged 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Also returning for EKU is senior center/forward Chris Carswell who started 11 games last season and was the team’s second-leading rebounder.
Three players who were redshirted last year will help round out Ford’s second Eastern Kentucky team. Sitting out last season were junior guard Shawn Fields, who transferred to Eastern from the University of Georgia; sophomore guard/forward Jon Bentley who transferred from Marshall; and freshman guard Ben Rushing who sat out last season following knee surgery in December.
Eastern finished last season with a 7-19 overall record, losing eight of those games by 10 points or less.

Morehead State (12-16 overall, 6-10 in OVC)

With four returning starters and eight returning lettermen and with another strong recruiting class, Morehead State has an eye on the Ohio Valley Conference championship.
Heading the list of returnees are All-OVC honorees Ricky Minard and Kyle Umberger. Minard averaged 16.7 points and 4.8 rebounds in 2000-01 and was named second-team all-conference and the league’s Freshman of the Year. Umberger averaged 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds and was third-team All-OVC.
Other returning starters are point guard Marquis Sykes and post player Ike Lopez. Sykes led the OVC in assists as a sophomore, while Lopez averaged 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in his first collegiate season.
Also back are Chez Marks, David Aliu, Andy Keating and Casey Lowe. Marks averaged 6.9 points in eight games before suffering a knee injury. Aliu averaged 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds. Keating averaged 3.0 points and 1.3 rebounds. Lowe served as the back-up point guard and handed out 37 assists.
Five high school standouts make up MSU’s 2001 recruiting class. They are versatile Indiana all-star Corey Burns, Hoosier all-stater Kyle Hankins, Kalilou Kamara from France, Illinois all-stater Ramon Kelly and Ohio all-stater Chad McKnight.

Murray State (17-12 overall, 11-5 in OVC)

Murray State basketball is in a position this year it hasn’t been in some time. For the first time in eight years, the Racers will head into the basketball season, not as a defending OVC champion, but as a challenger. They saw their string of OVC titles end at seven last year.
Justin Burdine, a senior guard, is the team’s leading returning scorer. A third-team All-OVC pick, Burdine averaged 15.3 points per game and shot 40.3 percent from three-point range. Joining him in the backcourt is Kevin Paschel, the only true point guard on last year’s squad. He took over the starting spot after 17 games and averaged 5.1 points and 2.4 assists per game. A 5-11 junior, Paschel will be counted to run the team. Chris Shumate, a junior, is a returning starter who
averaged 12.9 points last year.
Up front, sophomore center Andi Hornig carried a big load a year ago as he started all 29 games as a true freshman. Relied on mainly for his defensive presence, Hornig averaged 6.1 rebounds per game while
blocking 52 shots. At the post, sophomore Jamar Avant will see his first action as a Racer after sitting out last season as a Prop 48. The Racers will also count on 6-8 junior college transfer James Singleton at the power forward spot.

Southeast Missouri (18-12 overall, 8-8 in OVC)

After losing the top four scorers from last year’s team, Southeast Missouri faces a rebuilding challenge for the 2001-02 season.
Southeast returns only one starter in junior Drew DeMond, who started 23 games last season and led the team in blocks with 48. He really developed offensively last season, shooting 58 percent from the field and 77 percent from the line. He will begin the season at the post, but can also play forward.
Another junior, Tim Scheer, came on strong at the end of last season, averaging 6.8 points per game while shooting 51 percent from the field.
Demetrius King, a guard from Okaloosa-Walton College in Florida could be an impact player in the OVC. He is a good 3-point shooter with great leaping ability.
Another junior college transfer, Kenny Johnson, is expected to bring immediate help at point guard while sharp shooting freshman Brett Hale and redshirts Derek Winans and Justin Smith could become consistent scorers.
Freshman Adam Crader, 6-11, will provide depth at the post position.
Hence, Hale, Winans, and Smith, who will become eligible at the end of the first semester after transferring from Arkansas State, are all excellent 3-point shooters.

Tennessee-Martin (10-18 overall, 5-11 in OVC)

Tennessee-Martin returns nine lettermen, including four starters from last year's squad as head coach Bret Campbell looks to continue the progress of the Skyhawks program. With the return of a strong frontcourt and the promise of a stronger backcourt presence, the team looks to become a factor in the conference race in 2001-02.
Leading the returnees is senior forward Brian Foster, the 2001 OVC Newcomer of the Year. Foster averaged 13.8 ppg. He converted 52 percent of his shots from the floor.
Swing player Okechi Egbe is set for his junior season and can play a variety of roles for the Skyhawks. Egbe, the OVC Freshman of the Year in 2000, averaged 13.2 ppg and scored a school record 44 points in the season opener last year.
Joining Foster on the inside will be Jeremy Sargent, the OVC’s leading shot blocker last season. Sargent was also among the league leaders in rebounding at 7.1 rpg.
The backcourt is expected to be boosted by the addition of point guard transfers Brooks Smith and Jair Peralta. Jon Roos is a returning backup at the spot.
Michael Jackson, the team’s starting point guard last season, has moved to shooting guard.

Tennessee State (10-19 overall, 7-9 in OVC)

Tennessee State coach Nolan Richardson III enters his second campaign with the Tigers hoping to build on the team's improvements from last season when he installed his father's famed Razorback defense.
Sophomore point guard Garrett Richardson was an All-OVC honorable mention pick a year ago when he averaged 11.4 points per game and hit 78 percent of his free throws. He also led the league in steals, becoming the first Tiger to do so since 1981.
Senior Kyle Rolston is the other returning starter for TSU. The forward shot 50 percent from the field last season and will be counted on for veteran leadership as well as his solid play on the front line. He will join sophomore Olushala Ajanaku, a former walk-on who has become a solid defensive player, in the frontcourt.
The Tigers will need to see production from some of their newcomers in order to make waves in the OVC this season. Junior college transfers Will Hendricks, Josh Copperwood, Thaddeus Jones and Darnai Thomas will be expected to make an impact early on in the season, as will signee Roshaun Bowens, a forward from Nashville who can play three positions.

Tennessee Tech (20-9 overall, 13-3 in OVC)

After guiding his team to its first OVC championship in 15 years and earning his second straight OVC Coach of the Year honor, Tech head coach Jeff Lebo will put a veteran team on the court in 2001-02, even after losing all-conference performer Larrie Smith.
The Golden Eagles return four starters from last season, giving Lebo and his staff multiple options for this campaign. Senior Adonis Hart and junior Rusty Strange will battle for the starting post position, which was vacated by Smith.
The frontline will be rounded out by two solid seniors in DeAntoine Beasley, who averaged 8.5 points and 5.2 rebounds last season, and Joey Westmoreland, who averaged 6.9 points and 4.8 rebounds last year.
The Tech backcourt has probably the most depth of any position for the Golden Eagles. Junior Leigh Gayden will direct the team from his point guard position. He averaged 13.4 points per game last season, hitting 40 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
Junior Brent Jolly will join Gayden as the other starting guard. He set a new OVC record by draining 93.1 percent of his free throws last year, and he was third on the team in scoring. Jason Harrell, a versatile sophomore, can play in the backcourt or on the front line. He averaged 8.9 points and 3.7 rebounds last season.