Morehead State still focused on process and progress even after reaching NCAA tourney

Even after the proof of concept was established earlier this year, Preston Spradlin is focused on the process and progress of Morehead State men’s basketball.

In March, the Eagles made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011 after winning their fifth Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title, upsetting top-seeded Belmont with a 15-point win in the championship game.

A 17-point loss as a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament to No. 3 seed West Virginia followed, but Spradlin and his team had reached the dream destination in his fifth full season as Morehead State head coach.

“Obviously when you have some success there’s a lot of great things that come with it ... but I think from a coaching standpoint and from a player’s standpoint you’ve got to make sure that you’re staying grounded and remember how you got there,” Spradlin said during virtual OVC Media Day in October.

Despite finishing second in the OVC last season, the Eagles put together a regular season capable of winning the conference most years. Morehead State went 23-8 overall and a stellar 17-3 in conference games, which was the second-most OVC games won in league history, trailing only the 18 won by Belmont, also last season.

Last season also featured a 12-game winning streak for Morehead State, which tied the 1983-84 Eagles for the longest winning streak in team history.

It was the first time with Spradlin as the permanent head coach the Eagles finished conference play with a winning record, thanks in part to one of the best freshmen in college basketball.

Forward Johni Broome was one of only three freshmen nationally last season to lead their teams in scoring, rebounding and blocks. Broome averaged 13.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, and earned OVC Freshman of the Year and OVC Tournament MVP honors.

The first-team All-OVC selection had 13 double-doubles and broke the school’s freshman rebounding record, previously held by former NBA player Kenneth Faried.

Broome’s breakout freshman campaign came after forward Tyzhaun Claude was ruled out for all of last season with a knee injury. Once Claude got hurt, Spradlin had a conversation with the then-18-year old Broome, explaining to him that expectations had changed.

“I feel as though I handled it at a mature state ... I appreciated the opportunity and took advantage of it, obviously,” Broome said at OVC Media Day. “I’m kind of glad that I got to experience that because it developed me into a better player that I am today because I understand how things work and I got a year under my belt from experience, so I feel as though going into my second year I’m locked and loaded.”

Those around the OVC feel the same way, as Broome was named the league’s preseason co-player of the year along with Belmont senior guard Grayson Murphy.

“He changed his body, put on 25 pounds, he started playing significantly harder, more physical and because of those things, it allowed him to showcase the skill set that he had coming in,” Spradlin said of Broome. “He’s had a great progression this year; you’re going to see a much more mobile Johni Broome.”

Offseason work for Broome has centered around making “scoring passes” out of the post and high post, in addition to defensive development with the goal of using his lateral speed to guard on the perimeter.

Broome will get the chance to display these skills alongside Claude, who is back from that knee injury after he started 19 of 30 games during the 2019-20 season.

Also returning for the Eagles this season is junior forward LJ Bryan, a career 57.9% shooter from the field, and redshirt junior guard Skyelar Potter, who averaged 12 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season after transferring from Wright State.

Broome and Potter were both named to the preseason All-OVC team.

“He plays aggressive and he plays carefree, but he plays in control,” Broome said of Potter. “He knows what he’s doing so he’s capable of getting stops, hitting shots.”

For Spradlin, who is from Pikeville, attended Betsy Lane High School in Floyd County and played at Alice Lloyd College, an NAIA school in Knott County, the task this season is much the same as it was last season.

The plan is for defense to be Morehead State’s calling card again, after the Eagles finished with the OVC’s top team defense in a number of statistical categories last season including points allowed per game (64.1), field goal percentage allowed (40.7%) and rebounding margin (+6.4).

Morehead State was picked to finish second in the OVC’s preseason poll of head coaches and team communication directors, with Belmont again the overwhelming favorite.

But Spradlin believes the depth and experience possessed by Morehead State this season could be a difference maker.

The Eagles have three new transfer arrivals this season: Guards Tray Hollowell from Wofford and Jake Wolfe from Lipscomb, and forward Jaylon Hall from Wright State.

Hollowell led the Eagles with 18 points, including five three-pointers, in Morehead State’s 89-43 exhibition win over Kentucky State on Thursday night.

Even with the influx of talent and several key players returning, Spradlin plans to use the same mindset with his team this season, with the hope that it will lead the Eagles to the same destination it did in March.

“We’ve been very intentional to try not to mention championships and reference last year too much so that we’re focused on this year’s team,” Spradlin said. “A championship is a destination everyone wants to get to, but it’s not something that you can just focus on all the time because you’re going to miss the process in between.

“That’s certainly been a little bit harder, coming off the season like we did last year. At the same time though, it kind of lets your message get home and go harder as well because the guys know the expectation. They understand that if we do buy into that and stay focused on the things we asked them to, the result can be what we all want.”

2021-22 Morehead State men’s basketball schedule

Home games in all capital letters. All times Eastern.

Nov. 9: At Auburn, 8 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

Nov. 12: At UAB, 7 p.m.

Nov. 15: KENTUCKY CHRISTIAN, 7 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Nov. 18: TRANSYLVANIA, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Nov. 21: At Mississippi State, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

Nov. 26: Arkansas State-x, 8 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Nov. 27: Missouri-Kansas City -x, 7 p.m.

Dec. 1: GEORGIA SOUTHERN, 7 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Dec. 6: PRESBYTERIAN, 7 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Dec. 11: At East Tennessee State, 4 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Dec. 15: At Xavier, 8:30 p.m.

Dec. 18: ALICE LLOYD, 4 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Dec. 21: At IUPUI, 7 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Dec. 29: EASTERN ILLINOIS, 7 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Jan. 1: TENNESSEE STATE, 4 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Jan. 6: At Tennessee Tech, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Jan. 8: At Austin Peay, 5 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Jan. 12: UT-MARTIN, 7 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Jan. 15: At Tennessee State, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Jan. 20: BELMONT, 7 p.m. (ESPNEWS)

Jan. 22: SIUE, 4 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Jan. 27: At Southeast Missouri, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)

Jan. 29: At Murray State, 5 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Feb. 3: TENNESSEE TECH, 7 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Feb. 5: AUSTIN PEAY, 4 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Feb. 10: At Belmont, 8 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Feb. 12: MURRAY STATE, 4 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Feb. 16: At UT-Martin, 9 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Feb. 19: SOUTHEAST MISSOURI, 4 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Feb. 24: At Eastern Illinois, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Feb. 26: At SIUE, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN Plus)

Mar. 2 - Mar. 5: OVC Tournament

x-Eracism Invitational in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

This story was originally published November 7, 2021 at 6:30 AM.

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-242-5257

Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription