OVC BASKETBALL MEDIA DAY: MEN’S BASKETBALL
10/22/2021 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Ridder and Simmons discussed the upcoming 2021-22 campaign, which will be the first in the Ridder Era. It will also be the first season in a Skyhawk uniform for all 14 players as UT Martin is the only NCAA Division I institution to not have any returners from the previous season. Because of that unfamiliarity, the Skyhawks were selected 10th by the league's head coaches and sports information directors in the preseason poll.
UT Martin's roster is made up of six Division I transfers, one Division II transfer, a pair of junior college transfers and five true freshmen. The nine newcomers with collegiate experience have combined for 4,151 points and 453 games played. The Skyhawk roster is filled with local talent as four Tennessee natives (KK Curry, Josh Endicott, Chris Nix, Grant Hurst) grace the roster – the most for the program since 2017-18.
The 2021-22 UT Martin schedule is shaping up to be one of the toughest in recent memory as No. 18 Tennessee (Nov. 9) and No. 17 Ohio State (Dec. 21) are amongst four opponents who advanced to the postseason last year. For the first time since the 2010-11 season, the OVC slate will feature home-and-home matchups against the other nine teams. The OVC Championship tournament will be held at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. for the fifth consecutive season as this year's event is slated for March 2-5.
Photo Gallery
Preseason All-OVC Releases
- Belmont Picked As 2021-22 OVC Men's Basketball Favorite; Bruins' Murphy, Morehead State's Broome Tabbed Preseason Co-Players of the Year (OVCSports.com)
Video Content
UT Martin Head Coach Ryan Ridder
UT Martin Guard Darius Simmons
Preseason All-OVC Team
Preseason Co-Player of the Year: Grayson Murphy, BelmontPreseason Co-Player of the Year: Johni Broome, Morehead State
Position - Name, School
F - Johni Broome, Morehead State
G - Tevin Brown, Murray State
G - Jr. Clay, Tennessee Tech
G - Chris Harris, Southeast Missouri
G - Carlos Marshall Jr., Tennessee State
G - Grayson Murphy, Belmont
C - Nick Muszynski, Belmont
G - Skyelar Potter, Morehead State
G - Luke Smith, Belmont
F - KJ Williams, Murray State
Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
- Belmont (17 first-place votes) – 161 points
- Morehead State (3) - 141
- Murray State - 136
- Southeast Missouri - 101
- Tennessee State - 84
- Austin Peay - 76
- SIUE - 65
- Tennessee Tech - 62
- Eastern Illinois - 43
- UT Martin - 34
Social Media Roundup
We will hold our Virtual #OVCMediaDay 🏀 presented by @CenterPoint on Wednesday and Thursday.
— OhioValleyConference (@OVCSports) October 19, 2021
Look for content beginning soon as we preview each team leading up to the beginning of the regular season.#OVCit pic.twitter.com/fOI5HWQ70e
𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐥- 𝐎𝐕𝐂 𝐌𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 🏀 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦
— OhioValleyConference (@OVCSports) October 19, 2021
Here are all 10 members of the 2021-22 All-OVC Men's Basketball Preseason Team as voted on by the league head coaches and communications directors.
More: https://t.co/638CCNmNxI#OVCit pic.twitter.com/VPdA5w1agK
𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐕𝐂 𝐌𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 🏀 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡
— OhioValleyConference (@OVCSports) October 19, 2021
Here is the 2021-22 OVC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll as voted on by the league head coaches and communications directors.#OVCit pic.twitter.com/q5pf5ttiiD
BTS: Media Day 📸 @SkyhawkHoops @UTMartinWBB #SkyhawkNation pic.twitter.com/t1ByqurciZ
— Brandon James Banks 📸🎥 (@_shotbybrandon) October 21, 2021
OVC media day continues today with Murray State and UT Martin getting their turn. We will hear from both the men's and women's teams from each school today. Full coverage throughout the day on WPSD Local 6. @OVCSports @RacersHoops @SkyhawkHoops @RacersWBB @UTMartinWBB pic.twitter.com/s7Y8pIURjt
— Adam Wells (@TheAdamBWells) October 21, 2021
Today @SkyhawkHoops head coach @RyanRidder and guard Darius Simmons were officially introduced to the league at #OVCMediaDay #OneMore #OVCit pic.twitter.com/ElSCJmugAJ
— UT Martin Athletics (@UTMSports) October 21, 2021
Skyhawks continue rebuild of men's basketball program@UTMSports @SkyhawkHoopshttps://t.co/Qm254WuaLf
— Adam Wells (@TheAdamBWells) October 22, 2021
