Inside the pregame presentations before the Missouri State basketball home game against Illinois Chicago, the loudest applause in Great Southern Bank Arena came for a player on the road team.
Tyem Freeman, a former Parkview player who began his career in maroon and white, returned to Springfield and started for the opposing UIC Flames.
His personal section of fans had reason to cheer when he led the game with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists, giving the Bears their fifth straight Missouri Valley Conference loss to begin their final season in the league.
Far too often, the Bears lose when local stars excel elsewhere. At a time when Missouri State basketball is struggling to attract fans and top players to stay during this era of college athletics, those who are may be more inclined to stay or at least occupy some seats with family members and local supporters are successful. the Valley or elsewhere.
Cuonzo Martin, who is in his first year as coach, is not to blame. Heck, his final roster at Mizzou included two freshmen who played for Kickapoo’s 2020-21 state championship team. Toward the end of his time in Springfield, former Bears coach Dana Ford burned some bridges with several area high schools and local and regional AAU coaches, leading to some missed opportunities.
If the Bears are going to lose, it might as well be with the local kids. You hope Martin continues the region’s strengths and has already started by getting Greenwood senior Collin Clark to commit as the preferred backup. There are many more budding stars, especially in the class of 2027which also deserve to be pursued.
Here’s a look at who’s playing elsewhere:
Daniel Abreu, Drake (Willard)
Abreu wasn’t a Division I prospect coming out of high school, but he has since become one. He became a star player at Division II Northwest Missouri State before transferring to Drake before this season, following Bearcats head coach Ben McCollum to Des Moines. He has started every game this season for the Bulldogs and is averaging 11.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
Trevon Brazile, Arkansas (Kickapoo)
Brazile didn’t become a top recruit until the summer before his senior year. He’s now 6-foot-10, has NBA potential and plays for John Calipari at Arkansas. Missouri State never offered him one, having run out of scholarships for his class until his senior year. Martin managed to step in late and bring in Brazile to play at Mizzou before being fired at the end of Kickapoo’s true freshman season.
Tyrique Brooks, South (Central) Missouri
Brooks may be one to watch for the future, as he has become a nightly starter at Missouri Southern. Despite being one of the area’s most impressive athletes, he didn’t land on Division I radars throughout his high school career. The 6-foot-4 former Bulldog and Waynesville star might have been the most impressive player on the field when the Bears hosted the Lions for a preseason exhibition game.
Anton Brookshire, Austin Peay (Kickapoo)
Brookshire was recruited by the Bears’ previous team, but he committed to play for Martin at Mizzou shortly after being offered a scholarship to the SEC school. Like Brazile, Brookshire left after Martin was fired after one season and ended up at Iona under Rick Pitino, where he was a contributor on an NCAA tournament team.
After Pitino joined St. John’s, Brookshire joined former Bears associate head coach Corey Gipson at Austin Peay, where he redshirted one season following the untimely death of local basketball coach Rob Yanders, his uncle. Brookshire is now either a starter or one of the first players off the 6-9 Governors bench.
Kael Combs, Drake (Nixa)
Combs was pursued by Missouri State, but seemed more likely to commit to Indiana State because of his relationship with assistant Bryston Williams, who moved to Wyoming, where Combs played his first year. After Williams took an assistant job at Drake, Combs followed, where he now plays for McCollum, who tried to recruit Combs to play at Northwest.
Combs could be headed for more minutes with the Bulldogs as they attempt to further develop their bench.
Tyem Freeman, UIC (Parkview)
Freeman’s career path included a year at Missouri State and one at Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College. He then played two seasons at Central Florida, one at Kent State and, now, at UIC for what is expected to be his final season of eligibility. He was initially pursued by Paul Lusk at MSU before committing to Ford the day after his introductory press conference.
Isaac Haney, Austin Peay (Kickapoo)
Haney was one of the most popular players to play for Ford due to his hard work during his freshman year. Once Gipson left for a head coaching job at Northwestern State, Haney followed, where he spent a year before joining the coaching alma mater in Austin Peay for the last two. He was a starter and averaged over 10 points per game each season.
Zach Howell, Drury (Catholic)
Howell never received serious looks from Missouri State before committing to play at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he spent two seasons. The 6-5 guard is now in his first year at Drury, leading the team with 14.7 points per game while making 39.8 percent of his shots from deep.
Zaide Lowery, Marquette (Kickapoo)
Ford attempted to land Lowery, but the 6-5 guard developed into a four-star prospect and had bigger aspirations, landing at Marquette. Last season, he averaged just under 10 minutes per game for Shaka Smart’s Sweet 16 team. He’s now averaging more than 14 minutes as a sophomore on one of the top 10 teams in the country.
Kyle Pock, Northern Iowa (Bolivar)
Ford tried to land on Pock but had no luck. The 6-6 guard landed in the Northern Iowa Conference, where he averaged more than 11 minutes per game in each of his first two seasons. Few would have argued that his integration at UNI with Ben Jacobson would be better than what he would have had under the previous regime.
Brayden Shorter, Washburn (Kickapoo)
Another name to watch for the years to come, Shorter is having quite the season at Division II Washburn, the second Division II program in the country. He is the team’s leading scorer at 16.8 points per game and is shooting 43.4% from deep.
The 6-5 guard’s recruiting wasn’t too heavy coming out of high school after he really broke out as a senior, being the Chiefs’ best player in a Class 6 sophomore season. He’s having an All-type year -American and will be on many radars if he chooses to enter the transfer portal.
All Wright, Valparaiso (Joplin)
Wright has been among the MVC’s standout newcomers throughout his first season in Valparaiso. He was considered one of the area’s best shooters when he played his first three high school seasons in Joplin before spending last year with Link Year Prep in Branson. Programs like Southern Illinois and Kent State were offered to him while he was at Link, but he didn’t get any serious looks from Missouri State.
This article was originally published on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield area athletes miss Missouri State basketball
