Horizon League Men's Basketball Media Day Wrap

CHICAGO -- The 2013 Horizon League Men's Basketball Media Day took place at the Intercontinental Magnificent Mile. Commissioner Jon LeCrone, as well as coaches and players from each Horizon League men's basketball team, were available to the media throughout the afternoon. Before Commissioner LeCrone's media availability, the Horizon League men's basketball preseason awards and predictions were announced by WGN Radio's David Kaplan.

Green Bay was picked as the league favorite, while Youngstown State's Kendrick Perry was named the Preseason Player for the Year. The full release is available on HorizonLeague.com.

Thoughts from Commissioner LeCrone: After the preseason awards and predictions were announced, Commissioner LeCrone thanked the assembled media for their time and thanked the coaches and players for taking time away from classes and practice to attend. He also gave a special welcome to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, the Horizon League's newest member.

As was to be expected, conference expansion was the hot topic of the session. Without giving too much away, LeCrone said, "Obviously, we're at nine [schools] now; but we've been doing a lot of work on expansion. I think we're trying to make the right move -- and that move might be proactive or reactive."

Commissioner LeCrone said he was impressed by the parity of the preseason poll results, noting that during his time with the Horizon League nearly every school has won a men's basketball championship. "Great balance -- credit to our players and coaches," LeCrone said. "I think it's incredibly exciting."

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Cleveland State coach Gary Waters and Anton Grady: Waters expressed his excitement at being able to travel abroad with his team, giving a lot of new players a chance to gel together while experience basketball and culture in Amsterdam, Belgium and Paris. "I've taken six teams abroad, and this is the first one to go undefeated," Waters said. After being picked near the bottom in last year's preseason poll, the Vikings were picked third this year.

Waters was reminded of last year's media day, when he said, "If you're going to get us, get us this year because next year we're coming for you." Waters laughed at the memory and said, "I have to be a little more humble this year."

But he did express faith in his team's ability to perform at a high level during the upcoming season. One of the reasons Waters has that belief is Grady, who is returning from a knee injury. Grady admitted there is a bit of a trust issue with his knee but he is ready to play.

Grady added that although he and star guard Bryn Forbes had only played six games together, he believes they will be able to mesh on the court without either feeling slighted about who is getting the ball more or scoring the most points. "We're friends," Grady said.

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Youngstown State coach Jerry Slocum and preseason Player of the Year Kendrick Perry: Perry was grateful for the preseason Player of the Year award. "First of all, I want to thank the league for the honor," he said. The senior guard suffered an injury late last season and worked his way back to play in the Horizon League championship at Valparaiso. He admitted the injury was more frustration because it was during the stretch run. He added that he is ready to play a full year.

Coach Slocum, while excited about his own team, was also excited about the conference's newest member, saying that Oakland is a definite upgrade over a Loyola team that consistently finished near the bottom in the Horizon League.

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Wright State coach Billy Donlon and Cole Darling: As usual, Donlon's interview was among the most popular. The outspoken coach hit a variety of topics, including suggesting that those who vote in the Horizon League preseason polls might want to do more diligent work after his Raiders were picked ninth in last year's poll and then finished runner-up to conference champion Valparaiso. This year, Wright State was picked second and received 22 first-place votes.

Donlon said he is excited to be working with five senior this year -- including Darling, who is working his way back from injury. In fact, many of the Raiders went through offseason surgeries and procedures. "I've learned a lot about human anatomy," Donlon said.

In preparation for the season, Donlon said his team has "been trying a lot of crazy stuff in practice" both to avoid injuries and to conform to stricter defensive rules this year.

As for being ready for Horizon League play, Donlon is chomping at the bit. "We have enough motivation," Donlon said. "Anytime you're in the championship game and lose a 6-point lead with four minutes to go ... "

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Detroit coach Ray McCallum and Evan Bruinsma: McCallum lost his son Ray to the draft after last season and impact players Nick Minnerath and Doug Anderson to graduation, so the Titans coach is hoping to rebuild with returning players such as Bruinsma and Juwan Howard, Jr. Both players are expected to transition to full-time starters this season.

The Detroit coach also added that he is excited about the Motor City Matchup between Oakland and Detroit, which will be the Horizon League's new inter-city rivalry. Both of the games between the two schools were voted by fans as the best games of the upcoming Horizon League season.

Bruinsma agreed there will be a bit of excitement between the schools simply because of proximity, but added that the rivalry will grow with time. "I think rivalries are built with both teams winning," Bruinsma said, alluding to the recent Valparaiso-Detroit games. "Obviously, we don't have a lot of experience with them. This is my fourth year and I've never played them."

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Oakland coach Greg Kampe and Travis Bader: Kampe started his address by asking which media member gave Oakland a first-place vote in the Horizon League men's basketball preseason poll. His outlook is plain and simple: "We're going to go out there and play. There are no expectations."

The Oakland coach said that over the past decade, Oakland has played every Horizon League team at least once and is 11-11 in that span. Most recently, the Golden Grizzlies have played Valparaiso in three consecutive years, with those contests decided by a total of five points. Kampe said that the Crusaders are and will be Oakland's Horizon League rival off the bat, but he excepts a rivalry to develop with Detroit. "I think it's going to be a great rivalry," Kampe said. "I think there's going to be all of the things that make it a great rivalry. Closeness, words ... we're really excited to play Detroit. I think it's best just left at that."

Kampe's star player, sharpshooter Travis Bader, was named preseason first-team All-League despite not yet playing a conference game. Bader will have a chance this season to break J.J. Reddick's all-time record for 3-pointers made in a career. Bader isn't focused on the record, though. "It's about the team," Bader said. "It's hard not to think about the record with everyone talking about it all the time, but I couldn't care if I ever shot another 3-pointer."

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Preseason-favorite Green Bay coach Brian Wardle and Alec Brown: Though the Phoenix was picked to finish No. 1, five teams received first place votes in the preseason poll. "I think having five teams with first place votes says a lot about our league," Wardle said. The Green Bay coach said he's not reflecting on last year's buzzer-beater loss to Valparaiso in the Horizon League men's basketball tournament. "Surprisingly, I don't have a rearview mirror very often," Wardle said. "I know the players think about it; I know Alec thinks about it. We have watched it since then."

Brown was doing a lot of watching during the team's trip to the Bahamas late last summer, nursing an ankle injury. Wardle took advantage of the situation as best he could, mixing and matching lineups to see who played best where. "We've got a lot of versatility," Wardle said, "a lot of 'players' as I like to say."

Wardle will be finalizing his lineup in time to start one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the Horizon League -- but that schedule didn't come easily. "Teams don't want to play teams in our league because teams in our league are very hard to beat in their home arenas," Wardle said.

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Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter and Jordan Aaron: The Panthers are in a rebuilding season after finishing ninth in the Horizon League last season, but they could have the pieces to make some noise. "This is my ninth season in the league," Jeter said. "Was I disappointed at time [last season]? Yeah, probably. But discouraged? Never."

Jeter and Aaron are excited about moving the team's home games back downtown after spending last season on campus. "We're trying to build a bigger fanbase," Aaron said.

Both are also excited about Steve McWhorter, a local guard who sat out last season after transferring from Indiana State and could prove a vital weapon for the Panthers during their rebuild. "I think anyone who's not picked to finish first, you're motivated to get to the top," Jeter said. "If you're not, you probably shouldn't be doing what we're doing."

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UIC coach Howard Moore and Hayden Humes: "As far as the Horizon League is concerned, we are proud to be the Chicago representative," Moore said of Loyola's departure. "Being a Chicagoan, knowing where UIC was and where it is now, the sky is the limit."

The sky could also be the limit for the Flames, who will look to build off an 18-win season despite high roster turnover. "I think the basketball I.Q. and the skills are a lot higher than when I started," Moore said. "Having a little bit of success should breed the desire to have more success. These guys are bought in. I don't have to worry about that. I just have to do my job and try to put them in a good position."

As a senior and one of the few veterans on the team, Humes is feeling the pressure as the season gets closer. "There's a little bit more urgency going into your last year. Nothing's guaranteed after that," Humes said. "[Making the NCAA tournament] would be huge. That's the goal every year."

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Defending champion Valparaiso coach Bryce Drew and LaVonte Dority: The Crusaders -- a year after being pick preseason No. 1 and winning the conference tournament championship -- are in a rebuilding stage after losing six senior. They've been picked preseason No. 6 this year. But don't expect Drew to be too torn up about it. "As a coach, I'm always more concerned about the postseason rankings," Drew said.

Dority agreed that the rankings aren't that important. "We just want to win games and get back to the championship and maybe repeat," the senior said. What will be important for Valparaiso is figuring out what pieces fit in a completely different -- and larger -- lineup than what was on the court last year. "I wish we could have names on the back of our practice jerseys because we have so many new guys this year. We've had to do a lot of introductions," Drew said with a laugh. "Our style will change a little bit, but we'll still try to get up and down the court as quickly as possible."

With all those new faces, Dority knows he has to make his veteran presence felt. "I'm more than happy to take on that role," Dority said. "I'm going to try to help as much as I can."