Team Preview (And One): Murray State Racers
Ryan Miller brings extensive experience to first head coaching position
2024-25 Record: (16-17 Overall, 9-11 7th in MVC)
Head Coach: Ryan Miller (1st season at Murray State, no college head coaching experience but 22 years as an assistant, including the Associate Head Coach at Auburn, UNLV, TCU and Creighton)
“We have 10 to 12 guys who can really play.”
Sometimes when you hear a quote like this one, you can shake it off as just coach speak, a way for a leader to pump up his roster in advance of a season.
But other times, you go and watch the team and you see that it really might be true.
Murray State falls in the latter category.
In a way, it’s almost unfair to call Ryan Miller a first year head coach. He’s about as decorated as you can be with coaching significant basketball schools across the country. He’s heralded as both a top end recruiter but also an offensive architect, especially coming over from Creighton whose high-paced style can give so many opponents fits. Miller has said he his dad was a coach and gaining knowledge every day.
“You take little bits and pieces from everybody,” Miller said. “We’re going to play Creighton-esque and let it fly.”
Last Year
Sometimes, you come across people that their style just doesn’t mesh with yours. For whatever reason, Steve Prohm was one of those guys. He always came across as one of those coaches who was just a bit over the edge, especially in how he treated the referees. I remember (respectfully) calling him on it from the crowd once at Murray State and him proceeding to get a technical foul only moments later in the game.
But, more than that, I felt like Murray State underachieved the last two years. You’d watch them play both on TV and in person and then you wouldn’t pay attention to them for a few weeks and then they’d lose four games in a row and you’d just ask how that would be possible.
This is especially true when the Racers are playing at the CFSB Center in Kentucky. That is tough place to play and they have some really engaged and passionate fans there.
Driving out to Murray is really unique as well, especially if you come across the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. It’s a bit of a surreal feeling, especially at night, crossing a bridge into nothingness. Since the recreation area is not built up like a town, you don’t have really any lights there aside from the bridge itself. If you ever get a chance to go that way, give it a shot because it’s really different.
Last year’s game at Murray State (and my fingers really need to not keep writing “Missouri State” by a force of habit) was a game that started to really cement how good Bradley could be. I recall both teams shooting well and looking back at the box score, it’s crazy to see the Braves shot 71% from the floor (15-of-21) and yet were only up by six at the half. Bradley would gradually pull away in the second half, especially at the free throw line (11-of-12), but the 13-point victory (74-61) felt at least a little closer than that.
The Racers got another shot at the Braves in Peoria late in the conference season and probably should have won, especially after blitzing Bradley to a 14-0 start of the game. The Braves clawed back and the game went to overtime. In one of the most memorable sequences of the season, Duke Deen took an inbounds pass with seven seconds left in OT and proceeded to drain a deep 3-pointer that everyone thought would win the game. What Deen and the crowd didn’t know was that Coach Wardle had called a timeout, just before the shot.
But, the inbounds play was about as sweet:
https://x.com/BradleyUMBB/status/1893473492282044557
After Bradley had somewhat ripped the hearts out from the Racers twice, it was a little worrisome to see Murray State get matched up against the Braves in the first game of Arch Madness in St. Louis. Sure, the Braves beat them twice, but that adage of how hard it is to beat a team three times in a season is just so accurate.
After a bit of an irritating foul discrepancy in the first half, Murray State led Bradley at the half. But four Braves were in double figures and eventually it was enough to knock off Murray State for a third time.
Things won’t get any easier this season.
Who’s Left?
Well, nobody’s left. Murray State, similar to Drake, completely changed over the entire roster in the offseason.
It’s either scary or funny (maybe both) how the MVC noted six players in their “Watch” list and they have at least 3-5 more guys who aren’t even mentioned who could be key contributors.
Bringing in the Horses
Coaches often bring a few of their guys to a new school when moving and it was no different with Murray State, who has three players coming over from Creighton, where Coach Miller was last.
Fred King (6’9”, 267, Senior, Center; previous: Creighton)
King is the kind of player who might have gotten way more attention by now if he wasn’t stuck behind an All-American in Ryan Kalkbrenner. He has all kinds of potential and put up gaudy numbers at times at Creighton when he occasionally got a chance.
He had 15 points and 11 rebounds in their exhibition game win against Xavier.
There are two big question marks here. For one, can King stay healthy? He did not play in the Racers first regular season game against Omaha with a knee injury.
Possibly more important is the role difference. Some guys can thrive when they come off the bench and the expectations for them is lower. But, when you turn into a starter and some think you can be an all conference player, the big lights can often be difficult.
“He’s going to be asked to do a lot more,” Miller said.
If he can handle that pressure and be on the floor, King will be force for the Racers.
Mason Miller (6’9”, 190, Senior, Forward; previous: Creighton)
Miller’s no coincidence in the name. He’s the nephew of head coach Ryan Miller and son of NBA veteran Mike Miller.
Miller’s a big, left-handed shooter, carved out of that Creighton mold. Offensively, he’s definitely looking to shoot when he gets the ball. Two seasons ago he shot 45% from 3-point range, so he’s got high end ability there.
A bit like King, he also dealt with injuries last year.
In watching the Omaha game, he’s one of those guys who quietly gets his points. Even though he played 26 minutes, I was honestly surprised to see he had 12 points in the box score (all on 3s). He also tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Ben Shtolzberg 6’4”, 195, Senior, Guard; previous, UC Santa Barbara/Creighton)
I’m noting Shtolzberg here as the third Creighton guy, who was there a few season ago with Coach Miller. But, he’s been injured to start the season, so I can’t really report much on him as of yet. I’ll revisit this section once he gets back on the floor.
Other big school transfers
KJ Tenner (6’0”, 166, Sophomore, Guard; previous: West Virginia)
Injuries are becoming a theme in this preview. Tenner is facilitator who is really fast. In watching him in the first half against Omaha, he was cutting through defenses and getting to the basket.
But, unfortunately for Tenner, he got hurt in the first half and never returned to the game, only playing seven minutes.
His profile from West Virginia suggests he’s not going to be counted on as a huge scorer, but he did have 12 points in the exhibition against Xavier.
So, it’s a wait and see with the injury for Tenner but his quickness was definitely noticeable.
JJ Traynor 6’9”, 210, Senior, Forward; previous, DePaul/Louisville)
Traynor is a big and lengthy post player. He just has that feel of a big school player who can influence games, especially defensively.
He’s been dealing with a shoulder injury and as a result missed the Xavier exhibition. But, he’s clearly healthy now as he played a team-leading 31 minutes against Omaha.
Here was one of his blocks, where his athleticism and long arms are on display:
While he will get his points on offense, the reality is that Murray State has so many other scorers, they can rely on him for his defense and rebounding.
Dylan Anderson (7’0”, 235, Junior, Center; previous: Boise State/Arizona)
Anderson is a lanky big man who takes up space in the post and finds space for easy baskets. He was 3-for-3 from the field against Omaha and I think all three were dunks off drives from teammates. I don’t know how gifted he is offensively yet, but he’s another big man who can chew up minutes on the inside.
Grabbing from the Valley
Javon Jackson (6’3”, 190, Senior, Guard; previous: UIC/Utah State)
This was a big miss on the MVC’s watch list. Jackson is a known commodity in the league playing last season as one of the key players at UIC. Jackson can flat out score, averaging 11.9 points per game last year for the Flames. He even put up 30 on his future school last January.
He was everywhere against Omaha, scoring 24 points, including 10-for-10 from the line. If there’s any criticism I could levy from watching him in the past or this season is that he can be streaky and he can get into a place where he takes some ill-advised shots. In some respect, just as Bradley would with Duke Deen, you sort of have to let them have that freedom because they can do really amazing things when they are on. But, if he’s off, I’d expect Coach Miller to go to other avenues for offense on a given night.
But wait, there’s more talent
I’ve discussed seven players already and I haven’t even gotten to the guys I like the most, yet.
Brayden Shorter (6’5”, 210, Junior, Guard; previous: Washburn University (Kan.))
When you talk about someone who is a pure shooter, Shorter is your guy. As we’ve seen in many cases, Div. II guys who can shoot definitely can play in the Valley. Even if it’s a lower level, the fact that Shorter hit more 3-pointers (118) than anyone else in Div. II last year is noteworthy.
And the shooting aspect has held true both in the box scores and what I saw on video. He’s out there to shoot threes and not a lot else. He hit five against Xavier and just two against Omaha, but he definitely looks the part for his particular role. Considering the Creighton-style offense that Miller runs, the shots will be there for a guy like Shorter.
Layne Taylor (5’11”, 184, Sophomore, Guard; previous: Central Arkansas)
Taylor wins the day one award for player I had the most fun watching so far this season on day one. In interviews, he’s being compared a lot to Steven Ashworth at Creighton, which would be a pretty high standard.
“He’s a coaches son,” Miller said. “He’s small in stature but plays big at heart; strong basketball IQ.”
I could have clipped so many moments from the Omaha game, but here are a few:
He definitely can shoot in rhythm:
He can score off the dribble:
He also has good court vision, finding Jackson for an open three:
He also is high energy defensively and you could tell the team fed off his emotion.
Maybe he was overlooked because he’s not super tall, but he just is a basketball player and Murray State found a really good one. I’ll be curious to see how the minutes shake out with him and Tenner if Tenner is healthy. It was basically an even split in the Xavier exhibition.
World Travelers
Roman Domon (6’9”, 225, Freshman, Guard/Forward; previous: BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque (France))
With Bradley finding so many players from Europe during Brian Wardle’s tenure, I was curious to see Domon play. He’s been playing in the top French Pro League and he’s already getting hype as a possible draft prospect.
He played a ton against Omaha (29 minutes) and you can see both why he’s a freshman but why scouts love him.
He’s an incredibly mobile guy at 6’9”. At times, you can definitely see him adjusting to the US college game. He got a bit in foul trouble and took a couple ill advised shots, including short arming a 3-pointer with about 13 minutes in the second half.
Same possession, then he did this:
Oh, now you’ve got my attention. Watch out for Domon as the season goes on.
Mathis Courbon (6’6”, 190, Freshman, Guard/Forward; previous: Lycee Albert Thomas HS (France))
Courbon wasn’t overly flashy in the game against Omaha. He’s just the “other” French prospect on the team who was playing in their Pro B League. I wonder if he’ll get many minutes once the rest of the roster is healthy. But, he didn’t look totally out of place even though there wasn’t anything that really stood out from his performance.
Game 1 & Non-Conference Schedule
The non-conference schedule is okay from my perspective. The opening game against Omaha (neutral), a road game at SMU and a game against Akron in the Jack Jones Classic (Bradley played in this previously) are probably the highlights. They also are playing in the Cayman Islands Classic with games against Middle Tennessee, McNeese State and George Washington.
I’m curious if Miller will be able to land any bigger schools with his connections in upcoming years.
I’m not going to overreact about a win against a OVC team, but Murray State looked exceptionally deep against Omaha. Even when Omaha was winning early, it still felt like the Racers would catch up eventually and they did, winning 85-77. It actually was more lopsided than that but Murray State played terribly in the last few minutes and let a lot of their lead slip away. That’s correctable.
Outlook
If it isn’t apparent from my writing already, I’m really impressed with Murray State. Simply everything is better about them - better coach, more talent, deeper bench. The only thing that could really derail things is if the injuries continue to be a problem. But, beyond that, I’d be shocked if this wasn’t one of the best teams in the Valley.
Prediction: Contender
References: Quotes from Ryan Miller were taken from the Field of 68 and MVC Media Day interviews.