Rebuilding the Lions

Brand New Roster at Lindenwood

(St. Louis, MO) – After earning the most victories in its Division 1 history, Lindenwood basketball coach Kyle Gerdeman is rebuilding the Lions. LU went 18-16 and landed its first-ever sub-300 NET rating (264), but Gerdeman had to replace every player of substance from last year’s team.

Transferring were all-conference wing Jadis Jones (USC), Dontrez Williams (UNLV) and Mekhi Cooper (Louisiana). Turning professional were Anias Futrell and Milos Nenadic. Gerdeman had to hit the recruiting trail with great vigor.

He admits this is the biggest ‘remake’ of his college coaching career. Bringing in twelve new players wasn’t unexpected, but it wasn’t easy.

While rebuilding the Lions, Gerdeman looked for established Division 1 players. Finding veterans from other programs was essential to keep Lindenwood competitive in the Ohio Valley Conference. Gerdeman says the players they’ve added are hungry.

Xavier Spencer, Kellen Robinson, Miles White, Malek Archie, Makhan Diouf, Dom Clay and Matar Diop all come from D1 programs from more highly rated conferences. Spencer was a third-team, all-America East Conference performer. He, White and Robinson are highly touted backcourt players. Robinson missed last season at Little Rock with a knee injury.

Gerdeman says his team’s track record of steady improvement and the success previous players have enjoyed, is a selling point Gerdeman used in landing this year’s talented squad.

Rebuilding the Lions – Taller

Lindenwood will vie for being the tallest OVC team. Four newcomers are 6’10 or taller. Diouf (6’11) played 18 games at Fresno State and he’s joined by Diop who started nine times at Stetson, and two 6’10 freshmen, Parker Seithel and Marko Lukanoski.

Gerdeman says the taller Lions will give his team an advantage they did not enjoy last year.

The Changing OVC

While significant changes have come to the OVC, Gerdeman believes the league is still under appreciated. Little Rock and Tennessee Tech left for other conferences and the now, nine-team OVC seems more wide open than ever. Co-champions Tennessee State and Morehead State should be upper level teams.

TSU has largely rebuilt its roster and Morehead brings three significant players back from last year’s twenty-win team.

SIUE has retained a significant part of its roster and Southeast Missouri’s team has several key returners.

While the OVC may be under appreciated by some, Gerdeman says there are no easy games in the OVC.

After an exhibition game at Southern Illinois Carbondale (October 20), the Lions’ season tips off on November 2 at Texas Christian University.

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