Last season, Texas State men’s basketball handled an array of injuries alongside mediocre play, which culminated in a last second loss to Old Dominion in the third round of the SBC tournament. Since then, a deep roster overhaul brought few returners and a lot of new faces.
The Bobcats will look to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997 while also competing in their final season in the Sun Belt.
Freshmen:
Robert Fields, a 6’9” center, averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds with two blocks per game as a senior in high school. He was an all-conference selection his senior year and received offers from schools like UMBC and Wofford.
Standing at 6’7,” forward DJ Hall had a productive high school career where he finished as the all-time leading scorer at Plano East High School with 1388 points. In high school, Hall was named to the TABC 6A All-State team and was a unanimous selection as the district 6-6A MVP.
Cameron Simpson, a 6’7” redshirt freshman, will help bring shooting and a versatile defense to the Bobcats. He shot 49% from three as a junior and finished his senior season averaging 13 points and almost three rebounds a game.
Deke Thompson was an All-State team selection and chosen as the District 4-6A Player of the Year in Oklahoma. Thompson made an impact during his high school tenure, averaging 22 points, six rebounds and three assists his senior year.
Impact Transfers:
6’5” guard Jalen Bolden comes in as one of the more familiar prospects on the team, transferring from Louisiana-Monroe. Bolden started in all 32 games with the Warhawks last season, averaging 13 points, six rebounds and almost two steals a game.
Kyndall Davis, another lateral Sun Belt transfer from Louisiana, made 18 starts last season. Measuring at 6’5,” Davis could become a lethal threat as a guard and is a player to keep an eye out for.
Center Tay Knox, standing at 6’9,” enters his senior year after two seasons at Western Illinois. Knox recorded 11 multi-block games and brings aggressiveness to the defense.
The Pernall brothers, Dimp and Ky, both stand at 6’3” and transferred from Jones Community College, where their production led them to D1 basketball. Both averaged around 13-14 points per game and had more than 25 double-digit point games combined.
Makai Willis stands at 6’8” and hails from ULM. In two seasons with the Warhawks, Willis averaged around eight points and seven rebounds. He totaled 27 blocks and 29 steals last season, making him a threat on the defensive end.
Returners:
Junior guard Kaden Gumbs and senior guard Mark Drone are the only players returning from last season who played meaningful minutes. Both were selected to All-Sun Belt Preseason teams and are the most familiar faces on the squad.
Gumbs averaged 11 points last season in 24 games. He was not only effective on offense, but on defense as well, tallying 41 steals.
Drone didn’t see as much playing time last season due to injuries, playing in just 10 games, but averaging 11.5 points.
Head Coach Terrance Johnson’s squad will look to go through the Sun Belt gauntlet one last time. Texas State began its season last night on the road with a loss to the Bowling Green Falcons.
