By MVC correspondent Brian Doolittle
ST. LOUIS, MO - College basketball fans in Springfield, Missouri have plenty to look forward to this season, and probably for a lengthy time to come.
The Lady Bears have established themselves in recent years under head coach Kellie Harper. Now, the men’s program is looking for similar stability in the Missouri Valley Conference with new head coach Dana Ford.
These young, dynamic coaches already have a record of success. Given the tremendous support Missouri State provides its basketball programs, the Bears’ possibilities are now sky high.
“I’ve honestly loved every minute of it. This is a real sports community here, and they really embrace our players and our team,” said Harper.
Entering her sixth season at Missouri State, Harper has a 93-69 mark with the Lady Bears. She’s led Missouri State to four consecutive postseason appearances. Like Ford, her coaching career began shortly after playing career concluded.
Harper (Kellie Jolly at the time) was a star player at Tennessee for one of the most legendary coaches - men or women - in basketball history, Pat Summitt. She played on three national championship teams for the Volunteers and was a key contributor.
Previously, Harper coached at North Carolina State and Western Carolina. She already has 14 years of head coaching experience, with an overall record of 260-198. She led the Lady Bears to a 21-12 record last season.
Though they went 15-3 in MVC play, Missouri State could not keep pace with Drake (18-0), who once again is the league favorite. The Lady Bears were picked third in the MVC women’s preseason poll.
Harper, 41, is now without leading scorer Liza Fruendt (15.3 ppg) but does bring back three starters. All-MVC junior guard Alexa Willard averaged 10.8 points last season. She’s from nearby Lebanon, Mo.
“It’s great knowing my whole family will in the stands every game. We have like a whole row. I love it,” said Willard.
Senior guard Danielle Gitzen (8.9 ppg, 56 steals) and sophomore guard Brice Calip (7.2 ppg, 84 assists) round out the team’s core.
“I could not be prouder of Danielle, with how she’s handling being the only senior. She knows what it takes to have a championship team, and she’s projecting that,” said Harper.
The Lady Bears return nine players from last season.
“They have big personalities, are high-energy players and they get along. There's a lot of smiles. But there’s also a lot of question marks with the young players,” Harper said.
Harper is one of only 11 coaches to lead three schools to the women’s NCAA Tournament.
There is no doubt that Ford, 33, would be well-served to follow Harper’s path. There is little reason to think that he will not do exactly that.
Ford, who played collegiately at Illinois State from 2002-06, takes over a team that went 18-15 (7-11 MVC) last season. He was previously the coach at Tennessee State, where he was the nation’s youngest head coach when hired. He’s still the nation’s fifth youngest men’s coach.
“I grew up watching Southern Illinois, when they were going to the Sweet Sixteen. I’m just familiar with the league, and appreciate the brand of basketball,” said Ford.
Ford not only made an immediate impact at Tennessee State, but he did so in incredible fashion. The Tigers went from 5-26 the prior season to 20-11 in Ford’s initial season.
Heading into this season, Ford has three returning players but otherwise must sort through a large mix of newcomers and inexperienced players.
Senior 6-8 forward Obediah Church is an immense defensive specialist, one of the nation’s elite. He had 60 blocks last season, and averaged 6.7 points and 5.6 rebounds. He has 184 career blocks, which is more than twice any other returning MVC player.
“We’re very lucky to have an anchor like ‘O’. Our defense will be setup to take advantage of him, to filter things to him,” said Ford.
Senior 6-4 guards Jarred Dixon (9.1 ppg) and Ryan Kreklow also return. Kreklow is aiming to bounce back from his 31 percent shooting last season. The Bears lost leading scorer and all-conference player Alize Johnson (15 ppg, 11.6 rpg) to graduation and the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.
“We’ve got one more year together, and we need to make it a special one. We’ve put in the work, and we started early,” said Kreklow.
The men’s team begins MVC action on Jan. 2 at Southern Illinois.
Harper’s team has a game at Missouri on Nov. 13, which will prove to be interesting in-state test. They begin MVC play on Jan. 4 at home against Indiana State. This is the 50th season for the Missouri State women's program, which will be celebrated throughout this season.