New faces join Grizzlies for 2022-2023 season; campaign begins tonight
Fans of the Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Basketball team will see several new faces on the court and on the bench when play for the 2022-2023 season tips off Nov. 1.
Third year head coach Jared Phay added two new assistants – Braxton Williams and Walt Belcher – and 14 new players to the program during the off season, all of whom want to help the Grizzlies get back to the NJCAA Division I Men's National Basketball Championship.
"Both Braxton and Walt are local guys with college coaching experience who also have great familiarity with the Grizzly Basketball program," Phay said.
New coaching staff
Williams, a West Plains native, and Belcher, former coach at Mtn. View-Birch Tree Liberty, are coming from places that reached their respective national tournaments last season. Williams' former team, Ottawa University in Arizona, reached the NAIA tournament, and Belcher's Indian River State College in Florida, reach the NJCAA national tournament the past two seasons.
Two Grizzlies return from last year's squad – starting point guard Sterling White and 7-foot center Dallas Clayton. White averaged 6.8 points and 4.4 assists last season, and Clayton has improved a lot during the off season.
New players
The cast of newcomers joining White and Clayton include transfers Aiden Gair, who averaged double figures last season at Frank Phillips College in Texas while shooting 40% from the three, and Micah Garrett, who brings a touch of physicality and scoring capability with him from Casper College in Wyoming. Both are expected to make an immediate impact on the team, Phay said.
Other key transfers include St. Louis native Rashad Weekly-McDaniels, a 6-foot, 2-inch guard who played at Region 16 rival Mineral Area College last season, and Gagi Gvalia, a 6-foot, 7-inch forward coming to the program from Patrick and Henry Community College in Virginia.
Incoming freshmen expected to contribute early include 6-foot, 6-inch forward Carlos Paul from Detroit, Michigan, and 6-foot, 5-inch wing Kendon Peebles from Virginia.
Phay noted White, Gvalia and Peebles were teammates at Catholic High School in Virginia Beach and helped lead the Crusaders to the state championship finals in 2020.
Also expected to contribute are freshman guard Kyle Germany from Detroit and point guard Gaige Pitts from Thayer.
"We have a good mixture of returning and experienced players joining some talented freshmen, and they're really gelling" Phay said. "The transfers who came in are very happy with the situation here, and White, who he is as a person and a leader, is really pulling the team together."
Season opens tonight
The Grizzlies open the season at home against Link Year Prep Nov. 1 and Missouri Southern State College junior varsity Nov. 3 before hitting the road to visit Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa and Northern Oklahoma College-Enid at the Elite Eight Showcase Nov. 6 and 7 in Edmond, Oklahoma.
The non-region schedule also includes home-and-home contests against perennial national power Indian Hills Community College, as well as two competitive opponents from NJCAA Region 5 in Texas – Western Texas College and Howard College – who will come to West Plains Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 25 and 26.
Other tough non-region teams on the schedule include Southeastern Community College and Marshalltown Community College, both from Iowa, whom the Grizzlies will meet at the annual Missouri/Iowa Challenge Nov. 11 and 12 in Poplar Bluff.
"We have a really good non-region schedule," Phay said. "We try to play as tough of a non-region schedule as we can to prepare for our region games."
The Grizzlies' Region 16 opponents include defending champion Moberly Area Community College, Mineral Area College, Three Rivers College and State Fair Community College.
The Grizzlies will begin region play in December with a home game against Moberly Dec. 8 and an away game against State Fair Dec. 10. Region play will resume Jan. 11 at home against Mineral Area.
"It's going to be a battle, and I think we'll definitely be in the mix, but we just want to be competitive," Phay said. "Of course, you want to win the region, but we don't want to look too far down the road. We just want to have a chance to win."
To do that, the Grizzlies will have to stay healthy and keep on their current path – playing as a team, playing hard and competing.
Although it's early in the season, Phay thinks the Grizzlies have what it takes to be successful. "We have a high basketball IQ team. We rebound the ball well, and the guys are unselfish. We're good at making the extra pass," he explained.
The season also could include a personal milestone for Phay, who will reach his 400th career win if the Grizzlies reach 19 victories for the campaign.
But Phay is focused on his team and taking each game as it comes. "We have a very competitive season on tap, but we have a group of players who will give it 110% night in and night out."