Coach Korn uses preseason rankings to fuel SEMO's comeback ambitions

After finishing 9-22 one year after making it to the NCAA Tournament for the second time as a program, Southeast Missouri State enters the 2024-25 college basketball season predicted to place seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball preseason poll.

Little Rock was picked as the preseason favorite after being one of three teams to share last year's OVC regular-season title along with Morehead State and UT Martin.

Fifth-year head coach Brad Korn sees the rankings as a tool to get his team focused and ready to go. The Redhawks brought back a core of young players and mixed them with junior college transfers and former Texas A&M Corpus Christi guard Teddy Washington Jr.

"I don't get caught up too much in the preseason rankings, but being picked seventh, I think it's a great motivator for our returning guys," Korn said. "In this day of college basketball, if you bring back six-seven guys, you would think that you'd be picked pretty high just based upon returning people."

The Redhawks return their scoring leader in Rob Martin, who averaged 12 points per game. For Martin and Braxton Stacker, major improvement is to be expected from the backcourt after experiencing starter's minutes for the first time after transferring from schools where they were previously at the bottom of the depth chart.

"Braxton got thrown into the fire a year ago having to play a ton of minutes for us because him and Rob Martin both didn't play a ton as freshmen in their respective schools before coming here," Korn said. "I think that's why you see a little bit of our record the way that it was a year ago. That was their first year. They weren't freshmen, but they were playing freshmen minutes. Both guys took a huge jump."

Stacker averaged 20 minutes per game in 30 games, while scoring 7.4 points per game and even chipping in double digits in four of his last seven games of the season. Korn said he had the best summer of anyone on the team.

"Getting more comfortable as the season went on was definitely beneficial for me since I know what to expect now and know how my shots are gonna come, how different defenses are, how different offenses are, being able to guard different positions, things like that," Stacker said.

The Redhawks' season will start with a road game at Bradley on Nov. 4, followed by a trip to Vanderbilt on Nov. 10. SEMO will also travel to Lipscomb on Dec. 5 and Murray State on Dec. 8. The Redhawks will play Central Arkansas (Nov. 21) and UNC Ashville (Nov. 22) in Conway, Arkansas.

"The toughest schedule we ever had was the best year we ever had," Korn said. "We challenge ourselves in the non-con."

Unlike last season, most of the out-of-conference games are closer to home. Last year, the Redhawks started the season at Arizona to play Grand Canyon.

"I thought our travel kind of killed us a year ago," Korn said. "So I wanted to stay somewhat regional."

The Redhawks will open their home slate Nov. 13 against Crowley's Ridge College.