NKyTribune staff
Drew McDonald has accomplished much in his three seasons at Northern Kentucky University, scoring 1,431 points and leading the Norse to appearances in both the NCAA Tournament and NIT.
Now, as he enters his senior year, McDonald has been selected as the Horizon League’s preseason Player of the Year for the second straight season.
NKU’s Drew McDonald works inside against Cleveland State last season. McDonald is the Horizon League’s preseason Player of the Year for the second straight season. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
The 6-foot-8 McDonald is now 11th all-time with those 1,431 points, and he is fifth in Norse history with 762 rebounds.
NKU was picked to finish second in the Horizon League preseason poll. Wright State earned the favorite’s role after capturing the Horizon League’s Motor City Madness title last season.
NKU sophomore guard Jalen Tate was selected to Horizon League’s preseason second team. Tate, who averaged 5.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game, earned Horizon League All-Defensive Team accolades last season and collected All-Freshman Team honors as well.
The Norse are 30-10 against Horizon League foes the last two seasons, the best mark of any team in the conference. NKU is 45-22 overall during the past two years, including a Horizon League Tournament championship and NCAA appearance in 2017, and a league regular-season title and NIT appearance in 2018.
NKU posted a 22-10 record last season and played at Louisville in the first round of the NIT. The Norse also won the Horizon League regular-season crown with a 15-3 mark.
NKU opens the regular season on Nov. 6 by hosting Wilmington (Ohio) at BB&T Arena.
Horizon League preseason poll
Pl. School (1st-place) – Votes
1. Wright State (25) – 377
2. Northern Kentucky (10) – 356
3. Illinois-Chicago (4) – 310
4. Oakland – 239
5. Green Bay – 238
6. IUPUI – 188
7. Cleveland State – 175
8. Milwaukee (1) – 140
9. Youngstown State – 104
10. Detroit Mercy – 73
Preseason Player of the Year
Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky
First Team (alphabetical order by school)
Tyree Appleby, Cleveland State
Sandy Cohen III, Green Bay
Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky
Marcus Ottey, Illinois-Chicago
Loudon Love, Wright State
Second Team (alphabetical order by school)
Kameron Hankerson, Green Bay
Jalen Tate, Northern Kentucky
Tarkus Ferguson, Illinois-Chicago
Mark Hughes, Wright State
Naz Bohannon, Youngstown State
(Information compiled from NKU Athletics Communications and staff reports)
Good for NKU, Northern Kentucky, and Drew McDonald for recognition. Now, may Drew and all NKU players work the season without injury or setbacks, going hard every game on every play. Yes, Wright State is good, but NKU will top them this year.