Entering year six under coach Kyle Gerdeman, and following a 2023 season that saw the Lindenwood Lions men’s basketball team go 9-22 and 3-15 in the Ohio Valley Conference, the teams enter 2024 with optimism swirling around the building. A lot of unknown is known about this team, but there is also a lot of excitement entering this season for the Lions.
Lindenwood looks to be a great defensive team this year. They aim to have their defense as their calling card and help jumpstart their offense. On the offensive side of the ball, the Lions will be led by a familiar face and preseason OVC player to watch Jeremiah Talton. Talton enters his second year at Lindenwood coming off a year that saw him start in 25 of 31 games last season. After averaging 7.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.4 assists, and 0.6 steals a year, Talton is the leading returning contributor to the roster. Talton posted a season-high 18 points against SIUE and shot 40% from the field, 37% from three, and 78% from the free throw line. When hearing from Talton at the OVC media day he spoke about how he thinks the biggest strength of this team this year besides defense will be the shot selection his team takes and that they aim to get the best possible shot every time down the floor.
Colin Ruffin is another guy who played in every game last season and returns this season. Ruffin hails from Nixa, Missouri, and enters this year after averaging 3.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists during the 2023-2024 season. Ruffin shot 35% from the field, 17% from three, and 54% from the free throw line and will look to improve those stats and be a valuable contributor to this team.
Jordan Wildy will be another player to join the mix, coming off an ACL tear he suffered in the preseason of last year. Wildy provides some more size to the Lindenwood roster, listed at 6’9 and 220 pounds and it will be interesting to see how Coach Gerdeman utilizes his skillsets.
Nate Johnson Jr is yet another returning player who played in all 31 games for the Lions last season and started in two of them. Johnson averaged 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while playing 14.1 minutes per game. Johnson’s best game of the season came against Southern Indiana when he scored 18 points. Johnson shot 36% from the field, 18% from three, and 76% from the free throw and will be a nice playmaking guard for the Lions to utilize.
Jaylen McDaniel is one final returnee and one that will look to have an expanded role this season. McDaniel averaged 7.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks a year ago. McDaniel scored a season-high 13 points twice on the season against Missouri State and SIUE and a season-high of six rebounds three separate times. McDaniel led the team in blocks (19) and field goal percentage (53%) as a junior and will look to be one of the team’s leaders entering his senior season.
Lindenwood welcomes 10 newcomers to the team, led by Markeith Browning II. Browning has spent his last three seasons at Milwaukee, where he appeared in 54 games making 29 starts. In his career, Browning averaged 8.0 points per game while grabbing 4.0 rebounds and dishing out 2.0 assists. As a Panther, he scored double-digit points 22 times. During his junior season, he started 20 of 29 games and averaged a career-best 9.6 points and 5.1 rebounds during his time at Milwaukee.
Before his time in Milwaukee, Browning played his freshman season at Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kansas where he helped them win a National Junior College Athletic Association Division I National Championship. While at Coffeyville, Browning averaged 8.5 points and 2.9 rebounds making 26 starts in 30 games. He was also tabbed as another preseason OVC player to watch, as he will team up with Talton to create a lethal scoring duo that teams will have to account for.
Reggie Bass is another newcomer to the Lions team. Bass comes to Lindenwood after playing last year at Kent State. Bass appeared in 29 games for the Golden Flashes making 13 starts. He averaged 8.2 points per game while posting 10 double-digit scoring efforts including a season-high 23 playing at Northern Illinois. He shot 38.3% from the field while draining 34.3% from long range.
Before his time at Kent State, Bass played his freshman season at Central Michigan where he was named the Mid-Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year. During his lone season at CMU, Bass averaged 12.4 points per game, 3.3 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game. Bass is yet another newcomer with a skill set that will plug and play nicely with the players already here on the roster and into the system established.
Lindenwood welcomes a plethora of freshmen to the team headlined by Aly Tounkara, and Beren Ozdemir Demir. Tounkara is originally from Guinea, West Africa, but transferred to Principia High School in St. Louis, Missouri. Ozdemir Demir hails from Turkey. He competed for the Turkey FIBA junior team where he appeared in six games during the U16 Euro Championships. Tounkara comes in at a staggering 7’1 and Ozdemir Demir comes in at 6’9. Clayton Jackson, Jadis Jones, Jalen Bouknight, Grant Redd, and Alex Nokes round out the list of talented freshmen joining the roster hoping to grow and learn under their veteran counterparts.
A tough non-conference slate is ahead for the Lions that see them play at Oklahoma, Valparaiso, Missouri, and Ole Miss while also having a matchup against Robert Morris University as a part of the Urban-Bennett Invitational Multi-Team Event hosted by P3R.
Looking at the OVC landscape, in the conference preseason poll Lindenwood is picked to finish ninth out of 11 teams. However, if you look at other Lindenwood sports that have over exceeded preseason expectations lately, the men’s basketball team might be the next to join that list. Along with the likes of women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. Lindenwood has never won an OVC championship, but optimism in the building is high as the season is right around the corner.
Lindenwood’s season opens up on Nov. 4th as they travel down to Norman, Oklahoma to play the University of Oklahoma before returning for their home opener on Nov. 7th against the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy in St. Louis. OVC play opens up for Lindenwood on Dec. 19 against Tennessee Tech at home in the Hyland Arena.
