NORMAL, Ill. - For the first time since January 13, 1970, the Illinois State men's basketball team will play host to the Illinois Wesleyan Titans in a women's / men's doubleheader starting 30 minutes after the ending of the women's game on Sunday in a doubleheader presented by First Site.
TEAM PREVIEW
After his first season as head coach of the Illinois State men's basketball team, second-year head coach Ryan Pedon has re-tooled the roster, adding to a strong returning group that includes returning four of the team's five top scorers with four NCAA Division I transfers and three freshmen that combined for six First Team All-State honors during their prep careers.
Back for the Redbirds is leading scorer Darius Burford, who averaged 12.9 points with a team-high 76 assists. Also returning is Kendall Lewis who averaged 10.9 points, while finishing third in the MVC in rebounds per game (7.3) and led the team with 46 steals. Malachi Poindexter – the Illinois State single-season free throw percentage record holder – returns after averaging 9.4 points with Luke Kasubke scoring 6.8 points with 50 assists last year.
Among the newcomers include transfers Dalton Banks, Myles Foster, Jordan Davis, and Brandon Lieb in addition to freshmen Ty Pence, Johnny Kinziger and Chase Walker. Banks spent three seasons at Southern Illinois where he played in 89 games for the MVC school while dishing out 167 assists. Foster started 33 games last season for Monmouth, where he averaged 12.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game with 59 assists and 40 steals. Davis had 18 starts last season for Wisconsin, averaging 5.1 points with 3.5 rebounds per game. Lieb, a 7-1 forward, saw action in 31 games for Illinois with 27 points and 30 rebounds.
Incoming freshman Ty Pence had a final high school recruit ranking of 198 by 247 recruiting, as he set the school's career records with 2,328 points and 245 three-pointers, averaging 26.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game as a senior, earning his third First Team All-State honor of his career. Johnny Kinziger, the Wisconsin Co-Mr. Basketball, led De Pere High School to an undefeated state title in 2023, scoring 2,134 career points, the 30th-most points in the state of Wisconsin history, also earning three First Team All-State honors. Walker was the OHSAA Division I District 10 Player of the Year after averaging 19.5 points per game for St. Charles Prep in Columbus.
SCOUTING THE TITANS
Illinois Wesleyan which had a 12-14 record last season including a 7-9 mark in the CCIW, returns eight of 10 players who played in at least 10 games for the squad last season. Gone are the program's two leading scorers who combined to average 29 points per game, while Ryan Sroka, a 6-5 guard, is the team's leading returner averaging 11.0 points per game. Harrison Wilmsen, a 6-2 guard, returns after starting 10 games and averaging 8.2 points per game.
Hakim Williams, a 6-3 guard, averaged 6.8 points while dishing out a team-best 69 assists with 21 steals. Returning for the Titans - after spending a season at North Dakota State in 2022-23 - is 6-0 guard Luke Yoder. Last season Yoder played in 21 games with five starts, scoring 3.5 points per game with 34 assists and six steals twice scoring in double-figures including scoring 15 against Jacksonville State on November 27.Â
Â
