Although located in Indiana, Valparaiso is just 55 miles from downtown Chicago. That is closer than Illinois, Bradley or Illinois’ directional schools–Northern, Southern, Eastern or Western.
Valparaiso also might have a better basketball team than 11 or 12 of Illinois’ 13 Division I schools–all except Illinois State and, perhaps, the Fighting Illini.
The state of Illinois went 2 for 13 at making the 64-team NCAA field last year. Illinois State and the Illini made it. Bradley played in the NIT. The other 10–Northwestern, DePaul, Loyola, Illinois-Chicago, Chicago State, Northeastern, Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western–stayed home.
But Valparaiso coach Homer Drew’s Crusaders earned an NCAA bid with a team that featured the coach’s son Bryce, a couple of 7-foot Europeans and a set of 6-6 twins from Glendale, Wis. All five return this season.
Guard Bryce Drew, a 20-point scorer, is one of the very best players in the Midwest. Tony Vilcinskas from Lithuania and Zoran Viskovic from Croatia provide muscle. The twins, Bill and Bob Jennings, provide points, rebounds and leadership.
“We’re going to be hunted,” said Homer Drew. “People will be out to get us. Our schedule is tough. We could play well and be 2-6. We must stay healthy.”
The Crusaders look tough enough, however, to win their fourth straight Mid-Continent Conference title and return to the NCAA field.
Western Illinois, second to Valparaiso in the Mid-Con last year, is picked fourth in preseason polls. The Leathernecks lost Clint Ford and Janthony Joseph, but they retained guard Tony Ackerman and added 6-10 junior-college transfer Fernando Coloneze.
Chicago State and Northeastern Illinois are not regarded as threats. In fact, Northeastern will drop sports after this year.
“I’m 55, and looking for a new career at 55 is no fun,” said Northeastern coach Rees Johnson. “I love kids. I love coaching. I won’t let ego stand in the way (in a job search).”
Despite the loss of high-scoring Anthony Parker, Bradley could return to postseason play. The Braves have three big assets:
– Center Adebayo Akinkunle, a 6-8 Chicagoan from Morgan Park.
– Matt Moran, a 6-7 transfer from Northwestern.
– Coach Jim Molinari’s always tough defense. The Braves ranked ninth in the nation last year, yielding only 59.6 points a game.
Southern Illinois, beset with questions, ranked seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference in preseason polls. Illinois State, Southwest Missouri State and Bradley ranked 1-2-3, respectively.
Eastern Illinois, led by 6-5 Rick Kaye from Hoffman Estates, is slated for fifth place in the preseason poll for the Ohio Valley Conference. Eastern finished fifth in the league with a 9-9 record last year, when Kaye averaged 16.8 points a game.
