By Don Owen
NKyTribune sports editor
Missing from the Northern Kentucky roster are a pair of 1,000-point scorers (Dantez Walton and Tyler Sharpe). Also gone is the reigning Horizon League Tournament most valuable player (Jalen Tate).
As Darrin Horn begins his second season as head coach at NKU, the Norse starting lineup is going to be significantly different. NKU repeated as Horizon League champions last March and finished with a 23-9 record, but three starters have graduated. The Norse also lost center Silas Adheke, who transferred to East Tennessee State after starting 28 of 32 games last season.
Darrin Horn guided NKU to the Horizon League Tournament championship last season. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
That means Horn will look to several key veterans and a host of newcomers to replace more than 3,000 career points lost with Walton, Sharpe and Tate. NKU tips off the season Wednesday night when Ball State visits BB&T Arena at 6 p.m.
With no exhibitions or scrimmages in the preseason, Ball State will be the first outside competition NKU has faced since last March.
“It’s not the ideal opener,” Horn said, noting the original date of the game was in December until the pandemic caused major changes in every college basketball program’s scheduling this season. “We open up with a team that brings quite a bit back. (Ishmael) El-Amin, I think, is terrific, is just a really good player. I love the way he plays. I think he really sets the tempo and pace for them.”
El-Amin, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, averaged 13.8 points and 2.3 assists per game last season as Ball State posted an 18-13 record. He was also named third team All-Mid-American Conference.
Ball State drained 283 shots from 3-point range last season. El-Amin led the Cardinals with 77 triples.
“They are a really good 3-point shooting team,” Horn said. “They are very solid defensively, very physical.”
NKU pulled out a 59-57 win at Ball State last season. Trevon Faulkner scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds in that victory. Faulkner is NKU’s top returning scorer (11.9 ppg) and said he was impressed by Ball State’s tenacity on defense.
“Defensively, they were very good,” Faulkner said of Ball State. “We know we have to get the ball out of our hands as quickly as possible.”
Trevon Faulkner averaged 11.9 points per game last season and is NKU’s top returning scorer. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
Faulkner, a junior guard and a graduate of Mercer County High School, is regarded as one of the Horizon league’s top defenders. But when the preseason All-Horizon League teams and honors were announced, Faulkner was nowhere to be found.
“I’ve never heard of a team getting picked third in their league, and they got a returning player that had 20 (points) multiple times and averaged double figures and did not make one of the all-conference teams,” Horn said of Faulkner. “It’s an anomaly.”
Faulkner, who was named Kentucky Mr. Basketball in 2018 after a standout career at Mercer County, said he isn’t concerned about individual honors.
“I don’t really pay attention to the accolades,” he said. “I’m just really worried about winning.”
Also returning for NKU is junior forward Adrian Nelson, who averaged 6.3 rebounds per contest. The 6-foot-7 Nelson also shot 68.4 percent from the field. Junior point guard Bryson Langdon is also back after dishing out 101 assists and scoring 7.6 ppg. Senior guard Adham Eleeda and junior guard Paul Djoko also return to the backcourt.
Horn has been pleased by Nelson’s performance during the preseason.
“He showed some bright spots last year,” Horn said of Nelson. “Brought us great energy and rebounding. I think this year he has shown more consistency in that he’s elevated his offensive game.”
Among the NKU newcomers are Darius Harding, who averaged 19.3 points per game at Motlow State last season. Redshirt freshman John Harge and transfer guard Carlos Hines — who averaged 12.9 points per game at Northern Arizona two years ago — could also make an immediate impact.
Freshmen Marques Warrick, Trey Robinson and David Böhm are other newcomers of note.
Horn said he is excited about the newcomers.
“I feel like in a lot of ways, we’re deeper and more talented than we were last year. But they’re all new,” Horn said. “We have so many guys who are learning everything about college basketball and what it takes to not only play well to be successful, but what it takes to win a championship. Which is our goal and our focus here at Northern Kentucky every year.”
Wright State is the Horizon League preseason favorite, followed by Youngstown State and NKU. Wright State posted a 25-7 overall record last season but was eliminated in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament.
Wright State’s Loudon Love (17.8 points per game, 10.2 rpg) is the preseason Player of the Year in the Horizon League.
Adrian Nelson (right) goes to the basket against Illinois-Chicago during the Horizon League Tournament championship game. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
Don Owen is sports editor of the Northern Kentucky Tribune. Contact him at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport.
