#HLMBB Notebook – Season Preview

#HLMBB Notebook – Season Preview

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Rachel White

INDIANAPOLIS (November 6, 2023) – The 2023-24 basketball season tips off on Monday with nine #HLMBB teams in action.
 
#HLMBB NOTEBOOK
#HLMBB DIG DEEPER
  • IUPUI will tip off the Division I basketball season as the Jaguars host Anderson at 11 a.m. ET on Monday in the first game of the 2023-24 regular season.
  • The Vikings return 62 percent of the scoring and 51 percent of the rebounding from last year's squad, led by Tristan Enaruna, who is one of two postseason first-team all-league selections returning this season. The senior forward averaged 15.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest in his first season with Cleveland State.
  • Detroit Mercy welcomes back just five letter-winners from a year ago and one starter in Jayden Stone. With those returners, the Titans bring back just 19 percent of minutes played and 11.9 percent of points scored,
  • Oakland’s Greg Kampe enters his 40th season leading the Golden Grizzlies and is now the longest-tenured men’s basketball coach in the country.
  • Northern Kentucky earned sole possession of the top spot in the preseason poll this season after tying for first place ahead of last season. The Norse have won four #HLMBB championships in their first eight seasons in the League and have two All-League Preseason Selections in Marques Warrick and Sam Vinson.
  • Sundance Wicks takes the helm at Green Bay in his first season as head coach for the Phoenix.
  • Milwaukee’s BJ Freeman earned a spot on the Preseason First Team following a season in which he earned Second Team All-League honors. Freeman burst on the scene and averaged 18.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 0.8 steals per game. He led the team in scoring, rebounding, and free-throw percentage, and his 18.2 points per game scoring clip was the highest for a Panther in 20 years.
  • RMU welcomes four new players to its roster for 2023-24, including two transfers and a pair of freshmen. Forward Markeese Hastings is a grad transfer from Western Michigan, while junior guard Justice Williams joins the Colonials from Louisiana State (LSU). RMU also has two international student-athletes who will make their NCAA Division I debut in 2023-24, including guard Alfredo Boglio (Italy) and forward Alvaro Folgueiras (Spain).
  • Youngstown State’s Brandon Rush Rush averaged 13.9 points per game, shot 47.8 percent from the floor (173-of-362) and 37.9 percent from 3-point range (77-of-203) last season. He finished the year with 473 points and ranked 13th in the league in scoring, tied for fourth with 77 made 3-pointers, and ranked fifth with 2.3 3-pointers made per game.
  • Purdue Fort Wayne’s Anthony Roberts played in all 32 games last season for the Mastodons, shooting 52 percent from the floor.
  • Wright State’s Trey Calvin was named a first team performer by the Horizon League in 2022-23 after averaging 20.3 points per game, which was second in the League and a Top 20 mark nationally. In addition to the Horizon League recognition, Calvin was also named to CBB Review's Horizon League first team, was an HL all-conference selection by HoopsHD and an all-district performer by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) this spring.
#HLMBB ON THE HORIZON
  • Monday, Nov. 6
    • IUPUI vs. Spaulding, 11 a.m. ET (ESPN+)
    • Cleveland State at Duquesne, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
    • Detroit Mercy at Toledo, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
    • Oakland at Ohio State, 7 p.m. ET (BIG+)
    • Northern Kentucky at Middle Tennessee, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
    • Green Bay at Iowa State, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
    • Milwaukee vs. Stout, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
    • RMU at Xavier, 8 p.m. ET
    • Youngstown State at Louisiana, 8:30 p.m. ET
  • Tuesday, Nov. 7
    • Purdue Fort Wayne at DePaul, 9 p.m. ET (FS2)
  • Wednesday, Nov. 8
    • Cleveland State vs. Defiance, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
  • Thursday, Nov. 9
    • Green Bay vs. St. Francis (Ill), 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
    • Purdue Fort Wayne vs. Andrews, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
    • RMU vs. Point Park, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
    • Northern Kentucky at Washington, 11 p.m. ET (PAC12)
  • Friday, Nov. 10
    • Youngstown State at Michigan, 6:30 p.m. ET (BTN)
    • Detroit Mercy at Cincinnati, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
    • Oakland at Illinois, 8 p.m. ET (B1G+)
    • IUPUI at Valparaiso, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
    • Wright State at Colorado State, 9 p.m. ET
  • Saturday, Nov. 11
    • Milwaukee at Providence, 6 p.m. ET (FS2)
    • Cleveland State vs. Ohio, 6 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
  • Sunday, Nov. 12
    • Purdue Fort Wayne vs. Texas A&M Commerce, 2 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
    • RMU at Towson, 7 p.m. ET (Flo Hoops)