On The Horizon

Jim Squire

How these mid-major teams in state of Michigan got better this offseason--Busting Brackets

Oakland and Detroit Mercy
Oakland and Detroit Mercy both play in the Horizon League and both were able to have success this offseason in terms of being able to potentially compete for a conference title this upcoming season.
Oakland
Key Additions: Keaton Hervey (Missouri State), Lorne Bowman II (Wisconsin), and Chuol Deng II (Hill College, TX)
Entered Transfer Portal: Micah Parrish (San Diego State), and Zion Young
Brief Overview: Head Coach Greg Kampe has been the head coach of Oakland since 1984 with this being his 22nd season coaching the Golden Grizzlies as a division one program. Oakland will miss co-conference player of the year Jamal Cain who entered the NBA draft but they bring back star point guard Jalen Moore who led the team in assists and steals as well as being the second-leading scorer last season for Oakland.
The Golden Grizzlies also bring back their leading shot-blocker and third-leading scorer in big man Trey Townsend. Parrish transferring hurts but Hervey transferring to Oakland should help fill the void and Bowman transferring to become a Golden Grizzlies will give Kampe a very strong and productive backcourt.
Detroit Mercy
Key Additions: Jayden Stone (Grand Canyon) and Sonny Johnson (High School)
Entered Transfer Portal: Noah Waterman and DJ Harvey
Brief Overview: The Biggest news for head coach Mike Davis was that his son Antoine who is the all-time leading scorer in Detroit Mercy basketball history decided to not transfer to another school and play another season for the Titans. Detroit Mercy also brings back second-leading scorer Madut Akec who also led the team in rebounds, steals, and blocks last season. Kevin McAdoo an experienced guard also returns for the Titans.
Waterman more than likely will remain in the transfer portal but may come back, while there is a better chance that Harvey comes back like Davis did after entering the transfer portal. Detroit Mercy brings in a three-star recruit in Sonny Johnson Jr. and Jayden Stone who comes to the Titans as a transfer from Grand Canyon.
Oakland and Detroit Mercy
Both the Titans and Grizzlies expected more last season as Oakland finished 5th in the Horizon League conference while Detroit Mercy finished in 6th place. Neither team advanced to the semi-finals of the conference tournament as well. However, both teams have excitement within their programs fueled mostly by both teams having their star point guards back to play this upcoming season.
With Davis announcing that he is back, the Titans by the time the season starts may have the most depth that they have had in years. The Golden Grizzlies will miss Cain’s production but they will have more depth this season and more experienced players on their team this upcoming season as they did not play as well late in the season as they had done earlier, especially in non-conference play.
Detroit Mercy and Oakland both are expecting to compete for a Horizon League regular-season conference championship and to win the conference tournament to earn a bid to the 2023 NCAA tournament.

Vikes look to improve during wild HLWBB offseason--HoriZone Roundtable

Who’s new and who’s who in 2022: Recapping CSU’s recent hirings, firings, and more--CSU Cauldron

CSU bolsters guard rotation with Sara Guerreiro--HoriZone Roundtable
Juco champ Thomas signs with Vikings--HoriZone Roundtable

These mid-major stars prove going in the transfer portal doesn't always mean a player will leave their team--CBS Sports

UW-Green Bay men's basketball standout Cade Meyer plans to 'stay true' to Phoenix--Green Bay Press Gazette
UWGB men's basketball lands Westosha Central's all-time leading scorer--Green Bay Press Gazette
Green Bay Men's Basketball Adds Brock Heffner and Davin Zeigler--greenbayphoenix.com

JAGUARS ADD TRANSFER GUARD FOR 2022-2023 CAMPAIGN--iupuijags.com

Kate Bruce's task: Lead IUPUI women's basketball into new era while maintaining same success--Indy Star
KATE BRUCE OFFICIALLY INTRODUCED AS NEXT HEAD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH--iupuijags.com

NBA Mock Draft 2022--The Athletic

29. Memphis Grizzlies

Patrick Baldwin Jr. | 6-9 forward | 19 years old | Milwaukee

Baldwin is not a certainty to stay in the draft, and scouts have him all over the map. Some are willing to entirely overlook an unmitigated disaster of a freshman season at Milwaukee. Others are not. Baldwin averaged 12 points and six rebounds while shooting 34 percent from the field and 26 percent from 3 in the Horizon League. That is bad. But a lot of it can be chalked up to circumstance, if you want to make that case. He’s a non-shot creator who ended up having to do too much on offense far too regularly. He’d have been much better off on a team where other players could have created shots for him, and he could have used his pristine shooting mechanics to hit open looks. Indeed, he didn’t get many clean opportunities this season. Per Synergy, Baldwin took just seven uncontested 3-pointers this season in 11 games, a low number that exemplifies how much Milwaukee’s guards struggled. But there are plenty of scouts who are still interested and see the same guy who was a consensus top-five recruit in the country. I’ll be completely honest: I have no idea what direction his draft stock will go.

2022 NBA Mock Draft: Who will the Magic take at No. 1 overall? --Heat Check CBB

20) San Antonio Spurs (via Raptors)

Patrick Baldwin Jr., SF/PF, Milwaukee – 6-foot-9, 220 lbs.
12.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 34.4 FG%, 26.6 3P%

Here comes the real big swing in this mock. Baldwin, a top-10 recruit in the 2021 recruiting class, had a disappointing freshman season at Milwaukee largely due to an ankle injury. When he was healthy at the very start of the season, though, he played at the level of a top-10 prospect. San Antonio, with a real need for frontcourt help, could gamble on his long-term upside because of his versatility, shooting ability (which he showed in high school but didn’t as a freshman), and high basketball IQ.

Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Johnny Davis make the rounds at NBA draft combine in Chicago--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Jose Winston Returns To Milwaukee Bench As Assistant Coach--mkepanthers.com
Lundy Adds Keon Edwards To Men’s Basketball Program--mkepanthers.com
Thomas Rejoins Lundy After Signing With Milwaukee MBB--mkepanthers.com