The 2021-2022 college basketball season is just about under way and the Illinois State Redbirds are poised for a bounce back season after going 7-18 last year. The Birds have three out of their five starters returning and eleven out of their fifteen letterwinners returning for this upcoming season. Having that many players returning is always a plus, especially when two of them are Antonio Reeves and Josiah Strong. Last season, Reeves and Strong both averaged double digit points per game. Reeves averaged 12.4 points per game and had 82 rebounds and 36 assists while making starts in 24 out of the 25 games Illinois State played last season. Strong averaged 11.5 points per game, made 37 percent of his three pointers, and had 59 assists. With these productive playmakers returning for Illinois State and a handful of key new guys coming in, the Birds could have an exciting 2021-2022 season. 

A few of the notable newcomers include a group of four incoming transfers, Mark Freeman, Kendall Lewis, Liam McChesney, and Ryan Schmitt. Freeman was named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference Second Team last season after averaging 17.1 points per game with 4.6 assists per game at Tennessee State. Lewis averaged 9.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game last season at Appalachian State before he opted out of the season. McChesney was one of the top prospects coming out of Canada during his senior year of high school. In his first season at Utah State, McChesney unfortunately got injured and had his season cut short. Lastly, Schmitt helped Des Moines Area Community College to an NJCAA Division II National Championshi[ last season. Schmitt averaged 11.8 points, 2 rebounds and blocked 2.7 shots per game, the fourth highest in the country.

Illinois State head coach Dan Muller has been at the very top of the Missouri Valley Conference and has seen the very bottom of the conference. He is entering his tenth season as the Redbirds’ head coach and just four years ago led the Birds to a 17-1 conference record. Since that season, the Redbirds total wins have dropped every season since then. Last season’s 7-18 record was the lowest winning percentage for Illinois State’s basketball team since Muller has been at the helm. The Redbirds will have to have quite the bounceback season if they plan on competing with teams like Drake and Loyola Chicago in the Missouri Valley Conference this year. With the lack of experience over the past two years for Illinois State, the team is looking for a couple of upperclassmen to step up and fill a leadership role for this Redbird basketball team that has some potential. 

With many new faces coming in and a couple of their starters returning, Illinois State’s basketball team could have an improved season from last year. The Redbirds have had experience with winning in the recent past, so it’s definitely possible for ISU to have a season that would surprise a lot of people in the college basketball world. The Missouri Valley Conference is a fairly deep conference when it comes to good basketball teams. A lot of people are saying that this season, the Missouri Valley might have the most talent that the conference has seen in a long time. It will definitely be a challenging season for the Redbirds, but if the returners and the new additions can find a way to make things work for the Birds, they could surprise a lot of basketball fans and really make some noise in the Missouri Valley Conference.