A pair of Black coaches will be guiding their respective teams when the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball tournament tips off Thursday at The Enterprise Center.
Dana Ford’s Missouri State University Bears [MSU] topped Evansville 88-79 on Feb. 26, and later earned the tournament’s No. 2 seed when coach Drew Valentine’s Loyola-Chicago Ramblers suffered a 102-96 overtime loss to the University of Northern Iowa [UNI.]
UNI is the tournament’s top seed, and after tiebreakers, Loyola tumbled to fourth.
Under Ford’s guidance, MSU’s 22-9 regular season record is its best since Cuonzo Martin was coach during the 2010-11 season. The Bears have not won the MVC Tournament since 1999, and Ford is award.
“[The MVC Tournament] is really the only thing our fans care about. It would mean very much. Our community, our fans, those who follow us all have their eggs in the basket of the MVC Tournament,” Ford told reporters on a pre-tournament ZOOM call on Monday.
“It has been a long streak, since 1999. It would mean a lot.”
Missouri State will open the tournament at 6 p.m. Friday against the winner of Valparaiso and Evansville.
Now in his fourth year, Ford’s outstanding season has him listed as a candidate to move on to a larger basketball program in 2022-23.
ESPN college basketball analyst Jeff Borzello has Ford as a candidate for the Kansas State University post if the Wildcats part ways with Bruce Webber. Borzello wrote Ford is among “mid-major names to monitor…who could move on.”
Loyola’s loss cost Valentine’s team the regular season title and top seed in the tournament.
“I still believe we have what it takes to come out on top in St. Louis,” Valentine said during the call.
“You can’t look back. We’re looking forward. No matter who we are playing, it is going to be a grind. We’re positive, we know we’ve got to be better.”
Loyola faces Bradley at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
“Our season is not over with, that’s something that we have to continue to keep in mind. We’re not done. We still have a lot more basketball to play,” Valentine said.
Hired last spring to replace Porter Moser, who took over at Oklahoma, Valentine directed Loyola to a 22-7 record. St. Louis area basketball fans are familiar with the Ramblers since the school entered the MVC and participated in the tournament since 2014.
Valentine will be at the helm as the school now moves to the Atlantic 10, conference home of Saint Louis University.
The Briles Roundup
It does not matter that Art Briles quit as Grambling State University offensive coordinator without ever setting foot on one of its practice fields. Head coach Hue Jackson, athletic director Trayvean Scott, and university president Rick Gallot should all bow their heads in shame for considering the disgraced Briles for the position. Out of college football since 2016, Briles was punted from coaching after Baylor suspended him “with intent to terminate” after numerous sexual assault allegations were made against football players. He would reach an undisclosed financial settlement. Why would Grambling, or any HBCU football program, hire this disgusting rascal? Jackson wrote on his Foundation website the hiring is about “Forgiveness, redemption, and enlightenment.” If you’re like me, you want to throw up right now… Doug Williams, a Grambling product who became the first Black quarterback to win the Super Bowl, said he would end his affiliation with his alma mater if Briles was on board. “If that’s what they want to do, that’s fine. I’m out. I’m very, very disappointed in Grambling.”…As for Jackson’s so-called Foundation, ESPN’s Dan Murphy examined a tax statement from November 2020 and found that its executive director, Kimberly Diemert, was paid $115,000, $15,000 was spent on travel and the paltry amount of $4,038 actually went to charitable causes, or 2.5% of money raised…“First Take” host Stephen A. Smith called Briles’ hiring ridiculous. “Clearly, him being a leader of young Black men is highly questionable. That’s who you hired, Hue Jackson. There’s no way around that. Grambling looks pretty terrible on all fronts here. Not only for hiring Briles but for their cowardice in the way they ‘announced’ it.” Briles’ hiring was disclosed just as Russia was invading Ukraine…Briles probably would not have been approved by a majority of the 16-member University of Louisiana System because of the negative reaction to Jackson’s folly.
