Ford has Bears poised for breakthrough season
There are plenty of reasons for Missouri State fans to be excited as college basketball season nears. At the top of this list is watching senior Tulio Da Silva showcase his skills.
The 6-8 forward likes to dunk, and he does it often. In fact, he set a school record with 42 slams last season. This included a late-game, 360-degree throw down on Jan. 8 at Indiana State, which made the rounds on national highlights.
Da Silva also has a rising star as head coach. Dana Ford, 35, has a reputation for getting his teams on the winning track - and fast.
“I wouldn’t vote us number one (in the Missouri Valley Conference). We need to kick that door down first,” said Ford. “We haven’t won the league since 2011. I’d vote for Loyola.”
The respect for Missouri State is clear: the Bears were, indeed, selected No. 1 in the MVC Preseason Poll. The Bears received 29 of the poll’s 44 first-place votes.
“The outside expectations, they pale compared to mine for these guys,” said Ford.
Ford’s goal is clear: getting Missouri State back to the NCAA Tournament. The Bears have not made an NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999, and have missed the postseason the past five seasons.
There’s a good chance that will all change next March.
In Ford’s first season, Missouri State went 16-16 last year and 10-8 in the Valley. The Bears were the No. 4 seed at Arch Madness, but lost 61-58 to eventual tourney-champion Bradley.
Listening to the Valley coaches during the recent MVC Media Day in St. Louis made it clear that Ford is establishing a successful program. Of course, that’s assuming he remains anchored in Springfield. It seems inevitable that other schools will reach out to him in the near future.
Ford has five seniors and four juniors returning. Four Bears will turn 22 or 23 years old during this season. However, Ford did lose three starters and five key players.
Da Silva, from Brazil, averaged 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds last season. He also shot 55.4 percent, and was named to the All-MVC First Team. He was the Valley Newcomer of the Year.
“I feel that we can do something special,” said Da Silva, who declared for the NBA Draft after last season before deciding to return to Springfield.
“I feel coming back to college is going to get me ready for where I want to go. I also want to help my team.”
Da Silva was forced to play inside much of last season, but Ford plans to maximize his freedom in this season’s offense.
“Tulio’s mobility is one of his greatest strengths. When we get him out on the perimeter, moving so fast the defense can’t keep up, or crashing the offensive glass … driving or knocking down open shots, he’s just a mobile player,” Ford said.
Da Silva sat out the 2017-18 season after transferring from South Florida.
Keandre Cook, a 6-5 senior guard, scored 12.8 points per game last season and shot over 37 percent from 3-point range.
“I’ve been getting stronger,” Cook said, when asked about the extraordinary time he spends at the gym, which sometimes includes midnight trips.
Cook said he always brings 6-5 freshman Isiaih Mosley along with him. “I’m trying to show him the way ... just being a leader, and I think he can be a really good player. He’s got great work habits.”
Graduate transfer Lamont West from West Virginia is another 6-8 senior forward. He averaged 11.1 points last season for the Mountaineers and had 64 made 3s. He’s appeared in eight career NCAA Tournament games.
Newcomer Gaige Prim (6-8), a talented interior scorer, is a transfer from from South Plains (Texas) College. He averaged 20.7 points and 11.5 rebounds last season on a successful NJCAA team.
The potent scoring trio of Da Silva, West and Prim is intriguing because of their size.
“We will play them all together, a lot. I think it will work fine. That’s why I get paid, to figure out how to get the best players on the floor,” Ford said. “We’d be nuts not to get him (Prim) the ball.”
Ford was the nations’ fifth-youngest head coach last season. He coached previously at Tennessee State and was an assistant at Illinois State from 2012-14 under Dan Muller. Ford played for Porter Moser at Illinois State from 2002-06.
“There is no doubt that Dana’s team is loaded, and he’s done a great job with recruiting. But, and he knows this because I said it to his teams when I coached him, preseason predictions only matter within your own locker room,” said Moser.
The Bears’ non-conference schedule includes a game on Nov. 29 at LSU. They’ll host Arkansas Little-Rock at JQH Arena to begin this season on Nov. 5. Missouri State’s Valley opener is at home on Dec. 31 against Evansville.
(St. Louis-based writer and MVC Contributor Brian Doolittle can be reached at briandoolittle1973@gmail.com)