Story by Blake Sandlin
Sports Editor
It’s that time of year again: the one day a year when media, coaches and players congregate in Evansville, Indiana, to ask coaches to address the arbitrary significance of their respective preseason rankings.
Among those dismissive coaches was Murray State men’s basketball Head Coach Matt McMahon, who was indifferent towards his Racer team being picked to finish second in the OVC in the preseason standings after Belmont.
“I don’t think you sort it out at all because it’s all very meaningless when you start talking about whether it’s preseason polls, preseason awards, what have you,” McMahon said.
Nevertheless, there’s no refuting Murray State has monumental expectations to uphold. After winning their 16th OVC Championship in program history, cementing a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament and compiling a 26-6 record, the Racers will be tasked with replicating their successes without the services of Jonathan Stark and Terrell Miller.
Stark (21.4 PPG) and Miller (15.1 PPG), who departed for professional careers after last season, combined for more than 46 percent of the Racers’ offense last season.
Thankfully for the Racers, as one door closes, another one opens. And behind this door stands a stellar tandem of successors.
Most notably, sophomore guard Ja Morant and senior guard Shaq Buchanan will be primed to lead the Racers. Buchanan and Morant were each named to the Preseason All-OVC Team. Morant is coming off a year where he averaged 12.7 PPG, 6.3 APG and 6.5 RPG.
“Our guy Ja Morant is special,” McMahon said. “He makes everyone around him better. He can really score the basketball, as I think you’ll see this year. He’s an elite-level passer. A monster athlete, as you’ve seen, with incredible explosiveness. He’s a competitor.”
Buchanan averaged 9.1 PPG last year, and was one of just two players to make the Preseason All-OVC team averaging single-digit scoring. Any offensive shortcomings Buchanan had were well compensated for on the defensive end. The senior averaged 1.6 steals per game to lead the Racers last year.
“With Shaq, you have an elite defender, one of the best I’ve had the opportunity to coach, probably right there behind Jewuan Long, who’s the best,” McMahon said. “But Shaq is relentless on the defensive end of the floor, and I think you’ll see his offensive production be even more than last year.”
Even still, McMahon contended Morant and Buchanan should average even more given the departure of Stark and Miller.
“With Ja and Shaq, 13 points per game and 9 points per game last year, it wasn’t because they couldn’t [score more], it’s that they’re unselfish, smart players,” McMahon said. “They had guys like Stark and Miller, and they created a lot of scoring opportunities for those guys, so we’ll count on them to score more for us this season.”
Morant, Buchanan and the rest of the Racers will need to be sharp this season as they will embark on a top-heavy yet threatening conference poised to dethrone the reigning conference champs. Belmont, picked to finish first, Jacksonville State, picked to finish third, and Austin Peay, picked to finish fourth, are all formidable opponents this year. Despite the frontrunners, McMahon believes the league could see some surprises.
“I think the league’s wide open,” McMahon said. “I think it’s a difficult lead to project because so many teams in our league are dependent on high-major Division I transfers. We have junior college All-Americans coming into our league; talented high school seniors coming into our league. These are guys who although you may not know their names now, they are guys that will be on that All-Conference team come March.”
Fans can discover if the Racers’ No. 2 ranking is warranted when they officially open up their regular season against the reigning Horizon League champs, Wright State, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10 at the CFSB Center.
