Eastern’s head coach Marty Simmons and the Panthers are looking to improve after coming off their best season in five years.
Last season, the Panthers finished with a 14-18 record last season, and they finished with an 8-10 record in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Eastern finished seventh in the OVC conference. They lost to the sixth seeded Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the first round of the OVC tournament.
Announced by the OVC, the Panthers are projected to finish sixth in the OVC conference.
“It’s like we’re in the underdog spot, so we got a chance to surprise a lot of people,” senior guard NaKyel Shelton said.
Six players have returned for the Panthers, including last season’s leading rebounder for the team in senior forward Kooper Jacobi. Here are a few returners on the Panthers that made a significant impact last season:
- Kooper Jacobi
The graduate forward from Sellersburg, Indiana started the first 17 games of the season for the Panthers before suffering a season ending foot injury.
Jacobi was top five in the OVC in rebounding averaging 7.7 rebounds per game. Jacobi led the offensive rebounds with 47 and was second on the team with 131 total rebounds. And added 8 double digits scoring games
Jacobi will be a huge piece for this team with his ability to rebound and shoot the ball from three.
- NaKyel Shelton
The senior guard from Chicago played in 29 of the 32 games last season and made 24 starts.
Shelton led the Panthers in non-conference scoring, averaging 11.5 points per game. Shelton also finished the season averaging 11 points per game.
Shelton had 16 double digit scoring games and five of those games were 20 plus games.
Shelton showed his ability to score the ball in his first season with Panthers, and he will be a main component for the Panthers this year.
- Corey Sawyer Jr.
The senior guard from Orlando, Florida averaged 10.3 points per game in conference play last season and was second on the team in free throws attempted.
Sawyer Jr. also recorded a season high of four steals against SIUE.
Along with the returners, there are nine new faces on Eastern’s roster. Here are a few names to keep in mind before the start of the season:
- Zion Fruster
The junior guard from Douglasville, Georgia averaged 18 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in 17 games at Virginia Wise University.
Last year, Fruster had a season high of 34 points as he recorded five games with 20 or more points.
Fruster will look to bring his scoring ability to Eastern this season.
- Terry McMorris
The freshman forward from Oklahoma City is a new addition to Eastern’s forwards.
The Panthers have a total of seven forwards with McMorris being the youngest.
Sawyer Jr. said the team is always wanting to learn this season to help improve on their skills.
“We have a lot of hard working guys on our team this season,” Sawyer Jr. said. “They want to learn. They’re good at taking coaching from not only the staff but from the team leaders too.”
The Panthers open their season on Nov. 4 at the State Farm Center in Champaign versus the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.
For their home opener, Eastern will host Earlham College on Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.
The Panthers will open a four game road trip starting on Nov. 10 against Indiana before traveling to Evanston to play the Northwestern Wildcats.
Eastern will play in the DePaul Classic starting on Nov. 19 against DePaul. The Panthers have two more games in the tournament against Valparaiso (Nov. 24) and Northern Illinois (Nov. 29).
To end the majority of their non-conference season, the Panthers will travel to Indianapolis to play against the Butler Bulldogs on Dec. 3 before hosting Calumet College of St. Joseph for Eastern’s Kid’s Day Game on Dec. 6.
Eight days later, Eastern will be in Berea, Kentucky to compete against Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 14.
The Panthers open OVC play at Southeast Missouri on December 19th and at Little Rock on Dec. 21.
Eastern will finish their non-conference games against Blackburn College in Groniger Arena on Dec. 28.
The Panthers will pick back up on their conference schedule with four home games, starting with Lindenwood on Jan. 2.
Here is the rest of the conference schedule:
Jan. 4 vs Western Illinois
Jan.7: vs SIUE
Jan 9: vs Tennessee Tech
Jan.16: at UT Martin
Jan.18: at Tennessee State
Jan 23: vs Morehead State
Jan.25: Southern Indiana
Jan.30: at Western Illinois
Feb.1: at Lindenwood
Feb.4: at SIUE
Feb.8: at Tennessee Tech
Feb.13: vs Tennessee State
Feb.15: vs UT Martin
Feb.20: at Southern Indiana
Feb.27: vs Little Rock
Mar.1: vs Southeast Missouri
The OVC tournament starts March 5 in Evansville, Indiana.
March is a long ways away, but Sawyer Jr. and Shelton believe it’s anyone’s conference to win.
“The conference lost a lot of people,” Sawyer Jr. said. “Lot of new teams, lot of new coaches, lot of new faces. I feel like it’s up for grabs, and I feel like we have a good chance to go get it.”
“The conference is wide open,” Shelton said. “We got a good team, and it’s a good chance to make a name for ourselves.”
Eastern’s first game of the season is against the UofI at State Farm Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Zaria Flippin and Cameron Thomas can be reached at 581-2812 or at densportsdesk@gmail.com.
