It is brutally hot outside of Great Southern Bank Arena on this mid-August late afternoon, the temperature is 104 degrees as Missouri State coaches and players gather for their first meeting of the fall semester.
The season opener is 11 weeks and one day away, but the journey seems to speed up as Coach Dana Ford enters the team meeting room at promptly 6 p.m. The first and most-important matter? All 14 players are present and accounted for. No one has decided to make a late leap into the transfer portal.
“Welcome back, it’s good to see everybody,” Ford begins as electric fans, attempting to boost the struggling air conditioning in the crowded room, hum in the background.
Ford introduces the team’s student managers and tells the players to “treat them with respect. For these guys, they do it as a labor of love. They don’t get a dime for doing this.”
The players are told to let the academic office handle any issues with their class schedules and warn that anyone falling below 12 hours will be ineligible. Ford said forms have to be filled out with all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed.
He turns more serious when talking about conduct, not only on campus but off. There is a responsibility that goes along with wearing the Missouri State uniform.
“The highest-profile athletes in this town are us. You have a responsibility,” Ford said.
After telling everyone that they’ll play on their own in “open gym” until Sept. 1, then in individual workouts until the first official full-team practice on Sept. 25, Ford tells the players that staying ahead of injury issues is imperative. He interjects some humor.
“Nothing is more important than your availability to be on the floor,” Ford said. “If you aren’t on the floor, we cannot depend on you. Eat right. Prehab and rehab. If you’re a pro, you have got to take care of your body. Nothing is more important.
“Don’t be like me, a 40-year-old, out-of-shape 215-pound guy wearing crocs with six kids and two dogs,” he adds, to laughter. “Seriously, if you don’t have to go to the trainer’s room, you are not pushing yourself.”
Ford then writes the word “Rules” on the white board.
“I don’t have many rules,” he said, going over a few.
- “Do the next, best thing.” In other words, if you make a mistake then own up, fix it and do better.
- “Be where you are supposed to be.” Self-explanatory.
- “Don’t be a bonehead.” Ford elaborates:
“If you are a bonehead, I’ll treat you like a bonehead. This is the best time of your life. Some of you guys have one year, two years, three years, four years or five years of college. Make the most of it. I promise you, this should be the best time of your life.”
Dana Ford
- “Girls, alcohol and drugs are everywhere. Don’t let those things get in the way of what you’re here for.”
- “Stay out of legal trouble.”
Twenty minutes after the meeting began, Ford wraps it up.
“It’s good to have everybody back. I’m excited. I’m happy about our team,” he said. “I was telling our coaches the other day, I’m more happy about this team than any I’ve had. For the first time I can remember, I like everybody on my team. I’ve had teams where I’ve had to play guys, even if I didn’t especially like them. I like everybody on this team.”
A wall to break before West Virginia
Over the next two weeks, players attend “open gym” leading up to the official start of team practice on Sept. 25. Things go well through the first couple of weeks. Ford’s promise of a faster pace is being carried out. But after two weeks of challenging practices, the players have hit a physical and perhaps mental wall exactly one month before the Nov. 6 season opener at West Virginia.
The coaching staff stays after them to sprint up and down the court, to play fast. This is a departure from last season’s team, one of the slowest-paced offenses in Division I. There is some struggle that must be overcome and the season is oncoming.
The Bears have a “secret scrimmage” scheduled for the Saturday before Halloween, at Nevada-Las Vegas.
“UNLV is a lot like West Virginia with their athleticism and the way they play,” Ford said. “They’re coached by Kevin Kruger, (retired veteran college coach) Lon Kruger’s son. Jon Cooper is on the staff, the coach at Tennessee State when I was an assistant there before becoming head coach.
“It will be a challenge for our guys, but it will help us. It’s what we need right now.”
The Bears wind up losing the formal part of the scrimmage by five to the Runnin’ Rebels. As a precaution during his comeback from the knee injury, Matthew Lee does not play the final seven or eight minutes.
The Bears don’t stick around Vegas for the neon lights or glitter. They’re on a redeye flight and headed back home that evening.
Coach's office becomes the Bat Cave
A few days later, it’s Halloween. Ford is a fan of the holiday. He’s instructed all of his players and coaches to dress in the theme — and the head coach does his part by arriving at his office in a Batman mask and suit. Assistant coach Jay Spoonhour is adorned in cowboy hat and sunglasses, calling himself “Coach Prime,” aka Deion Sanders.
All the players abide, except for Chance Moore who isn’t a fan of dressing up for the holiday. He doesn’t offer a reason. Tommy Pinegar is marginal, at best, wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey and claiming he’s dressed as quarterback Dak Prescott.
Everyone has a good laugh as the team gathers for a photo to document the occasion. The laughs soon are gone — along with the costumes — as practice gets underway. Music bumps as the players shoot free throws and go through drills to get the blood flowing.
After an error-filled first portion, things pick up nicely over the final 75 minutes in the final practice prior to the next night’s home exhibition game against Westminster.
Doubling up an NAIA team
As would be expected from a game against an NAIA team, Missouri State clobbers Westminster 100-51. A dozen Bears get into the scoring column. There are smiles all around in what amounts to a glorified workout under the game lights.
Now it’s time to ratchet the intensity up another notch and that happens during a Saturday-morning practice, two days later. It’s the eve of departure for the West Virginia game.
“Go 100 miles an hour,” Ford shouts as practice begins.
Over the next two hours, the Bears work on a variety of things with West Virginia the common denominator: half-court offense vs. a zone, end-of-shot-clock defense, a new half-court offensive set and the starting unit getting 10 possessions with a mandatory seven stops to avoid sprints. The Bears get the seven stops in nine trips.
Only once, when he was annoyed with N.J. Benson’s lack of physicality on defense, did Ford have to stop practice.
“Benson, if you let him catch the ball that easy, we might as well stay home and watch Monday Night Football.”
Way down in West Virginia
Morgantown, West Virginia and the 14,000-seat WVU Coliseum has been one of the toughest places in the nation for visiting teams over the last couple of decades. But that’s when veteran coach Bob Huggins led the Big 12 Conference club.
Huggins was fired in the offseason due to off-court conduct. The Mountaineers lost some top-level players who backed out of commitments or transferred when Huggins was axed.
In other words, this game that looked impossible when scheduled now appears winnable if the Bears come out ready to play.
They don’t. The dreaded bad start, which Ford preached about two days earlier, happens. The Bears fall behind 14-5 in the first five minutes, digging a deep hole in a tough venue as 9,691 fans inside the WVU Coliseum are going wild.
But the Bears settle down and go on to dominate the rest of the first half and, as the Mountaineers miss their final 21 field-goal attempts, Missouri State leads 30-24 at halftime.
There are always two halves
But basketball, being the bizarre game it is, sees a total flip. After making only four field goals the entire first half, West Virginia makes its first five shots of the second half to go in front. In the final practice before departing Springfield, Ford talked to the team about the importance of the first four minutes of the second half.
But under the game lights, those four minutes of the second half go horribly wrong.
Falling behind by 11 with six minutes to go, Missouri State rallies within a bucket in the final minute as Chance Moore makes his fifth 3-pointer. But the Bears are unable to get defensive stops and wind up losing 67-59. A golden opportunity for a win over a Power 5 conference team is wasted, but Ford tries to look at the positives instead of dwelling on the bad stuff.
There are 30 regular-season games to go. It’s too soon to let one night in West Virginia define a team.
Ending silent shoot-arounds in Springfield
Great Southern Bank Arena is deathly silent on this Monday afternoon, except for the sounds of bouncing basketballs. The Bears are practicing free throws. It’s five hours before tipoff of the home opener against Oral Roberts. Coach Dana Ford soon will go over final details in what’s known as “shoot-around.”
Ford talks about getting the ball down low. “Into the paint. We need to convert down there,” he says.
At the conclusion of the hourlong session, he touches on keys to victory. Those include transition defense, which he sums up as “get your ass back and talk. Open. Your. Mouth.
“Their average length of possession is 14 seconds. You have to run back, but you won’t have to guard for very long.”
Defend without fouling is another key. The Bears did not do well in that regard at West Virginia, leading to a 16-4 West Virginia advantage in free throws made.
Finally, play tough and get to the free throw line through offensive execution.
“We are gonna get to the line more than seven times tonight,” Ford says.
The shoot-around concludes and the players go off to eat as a group, then rest until returning to the gym a couple of hours later. Several, including those unlikely to play major minutes, get to the arena by 5 p.m. to work out with assistant coaches. The others are on the floor by about 5:45 p.m. to get shots up.
‘Rise by lifting up each other'
Fifteen minutes before tip, the Bears return to their locker room. Rap music is thumping. Several players are dancing as others sit at their locker stalls quietly, some with closed eyes, before Ford enters the room. He talks about the first possessions, on offense and defense and defensive matchups and goals: one turnover or fewer every four minutes and less than four 3-pointers by ORU in the half.
“Remember, rise by lifting up each other,” Ford concludes. “Be the best version of ourselves. Make new mistakes today. Don’t make the mistakes we made the other night. Have fun and enjoy the opportunity.”
With that, the Bears clap in unison, huddle up and shout, “winners” on three. And they’re out the door for the short jog onto the court as the school fight song plays.
The first half goes well — at least on the scoreboard. The Bears dominate and lead 39-27 at halftime, but there is concern. Leading scorer Chance Moore lands awkwardly on his left ankle three minutes into the game and has to be helped to the locker room.
“Chance won’t be back,” Ford tells the team at halftime, imploring the Bears to stay aggressive. He’s particularly pleased with how bench players Raphe Ayres, N.J. Benson and Cesare Edwards have picked up the slack.
The beatdown continues and Missouri State cruises to an 84-69 victory behind Alston Mason’s career-high 28 points with Donovan Clay adding 17 points before leaving the game in the late stages with leg cramps.
The players charge into the locker room, happy with the result while somewhat uneasy about Moore’s status. He returned to the bench during the second half wearing a protective boot on his ankle.
“That’s a great win guys,” Ford tells the team, calling out a few guys individually including Clay, Damien Mayo Jr., Raphe Ayres and Mason.
“That is a total team effort. You guys did a really good job,” Ford said. “Donny, you were plus-23. Mayo, you were a plus-17. Raphe you were fantastic, especially in the first half. We took care of the ball. Eighteen assists and 11 turnovers.
“Everybody was ready. Chance went down and we stepped up.”
Pack your bags for Paradise
The Bears get the following day off from practice. Ford tells them shooting or free throw work is optional, but the next mandatory appointment is an early one.
“Be here at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, on the bus,” Ford said. “We’re headed to the Virgin Islands. Don’t miss the bus. I want everybody to go. We’re going there to play some ball. It’s a business trip. You like business, Benson?”
Sophomore forward N.J. Benson looks up and says, “yes, sir,” and the players clap and holler.
The first win of the season is in the bank and the next test — 2,155 miles away at the Paradise Jam — awaits.
Matthew Lee leads the Bears to island title
No one enjoyed Missouri State’s pre-Thanksgiving trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands more than Matthew Lee. The senior guard earned the Most Valuable Player award as the Bears captured their first in-season tournament in 14 years with three consecutive victories.
After the team returned home, Lee downplayed the significance of his personal honor and the early season confidence boost it provided.
“It does a lot for somebody’s confidence, but I’m a pretty confident person already,” Lee said. “I was just happy we were able to win. Our team needed that and I felt that everybody played well.”
But it was Lee who ran the show. He averaged 19 points, 6.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds as Missouri State beat Florida Gulf Coast, Kent State and Abilene Christian. All the humbleness aside in downplaying what being the MVP meant, Lee admitted it was special considering the previous 12 months.
Lee was injured in the Bears’ second game of the 2022-23 season, tearing the ACL in his right knee in the second half of a mid-November loss at BYU. Looked upon as a key to that team’s success after transferring from St. Peter’s — an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight Cinderella eight months prior — Lee’s season was over.
And he knew it right away, before what any digital imaging tests showed or what the orthopedic specialist had to tell him.
“I knew it was pretty bad because I tried to get up and I couldn’t really move,” Lee said. “I’ve had knick-knack injuries, twisted ankles and stuff like that and I could just get up and get right back at it. I knew when I couldn’t get up that it was something serious.
“We went back to the locker room and one of the doctors checked my knee and said it was most likely an ACL. It was a tough moment, but things happen for a reason.”
Lee said there were a few tears, but he almost immediately began the process of mentally re-booting his mindset for the grind ahead. One of three sons of former Marquette All-American and two-year NBA guard Butch Lee, Matthew never gave a thought that the injury would end his career.
Basketball was too important. Lee knew he would be back — with moments such as the Paradise Jam fueling his passion to do whatever it took.
Locker room turns into triage unit
It’s a day before Missouri State’s conference opener against Evansville at Great Southern Bank Arena and Ford is concerned — not only with the game against the early surprise team in the Missouri Valley Conference — but with his team’s health.
This starts what would be a topsy-turvy month for the Bears as injuries and struggles on the road threaten to wipe out the goodwill and confidence of a 5-1 record heading into the league opener.
Ford is simply looking for a way to have a quality practice with starting guards Alston Mason and Damien Mayo Jr. unable to run and a couple of other regulars at less than 100 percent health.
“We may not have them,” Ford said of Mason and Mayo, who suffered foot and ankle injuries, respectively, in a blowout non-conference victory three days earlier over South Carolina State. There was concern that Mayo, whose foot was stepped on in the first half, might have suffered a broken bone.
“Fortunately, no breaks or tears,” Ford said. “But they may or may not be ready tomorrow night. And if they play, they’ll be far from 100 percent.”
Donovan Clay and Chance Moore also are nursing ankle injuries. This is not an ideal time to start league play. But like it or not, Evansville (6-0) is on its way to the Ozarks and the Bears had better be ready. While 90 percent of the 90-minute practice is spent walking through plays instead of running, Ford is heavy on everyone being mentally locked in.
By the end of practice, Ford is feeling a lot better than when he session began.
“You’re ready,” Ford told the Bears at the end. “This is what it’s all about. It’s Valley time. Last year, we lost our home Valley opener. We can’t do that again.”
Paradise lost as Bears walk into the Valley
By the next afternoon, any optimism that Mason or Mayo would be able to play was gone. As the Bears begin their mid-afternoon shoot-around with a shooting drill, Mayo gives it a try — but is only able to last about a minute before heading to the sideline. He joins Mason, who isn’t even able to give the drill a go.
The two players go to the locker room and a few minutes later trainer Mark Ortiz comes onto the floor to visit with Ford. The Bears definitely will be short-handed.
It doesn’t matter. Ford’s words from the day before — “you’re ready” — ring true. The Bears sprint to a 42-30 halftime lead, go up by 24 during the second half and wind up dismantling the previously unbeaten Purple Aces 90-78. Six players split all but three minutes of the playing time with Matthew Lee going all 40 — one year after major knee surgery.
Chance Moore scored a career-high 28 with Lee adding 20 points and eight assists. N.J. Benson collects 16 points and 13 rebounds, dominating the interior.
The final margin of 90-78 was not indicative of the butt-kicking this was, despite being short-handed. Missouri State demonstrated what kind of team it could be.
“Yeah, that’s the way to do it,” Clay shouted on his way into the locker room, which is a happy place after wins. It’s downright giddy after this one, with the hip-hop music turned up a notch or two.
“That was a great win guys,” Ford said to claps. “You guys played your ass off out there. There were a couple of things. Other than the end, when (Evansville) was running around … I don’t want to say that it was a perfect game, but that was a really good one.
“You guys made free throws, rebounded, shared the ball. You guys got tired and I couldn’t even tell. That was a total team effort. I’m proud of you. You guys earned the day off tomorrow. We’ll regroup Friday and it’ll be a light practice day. Then we’re gonna fly to Drake and we’re gonna go 2-0 in this league, OK?”
It did not go as planned.
The Bears were the only Valley team to sweep Drake a year earlier, but the Bulldogs came away with the big prize by winning the conference tournament and heading to the NCAAs. The upcoming game in Des Moines is a chance to send early notice that Missouri State is better than the sixth place it was projected in the preseason poll.
But the Bears are short-handed. Mason and his 17-point scoring average and Tyler Bey are injured. Drake is a much-quicker team than Evansville at the guard position and that could mean trouble.
Drake dominates from start to finish. Reigning Valley Player of the Year Tucker DeVries scores 16 of his 24 in the first half as the Bulldogs go up by 12 at the break and win 74-57.
The non-conference slate
While disappointing, it’s a long season with 18 Valley games ahead. Due to the quirky nature of playing two league games so early, there won’t be another until Northern Iowa visits Great Southern Bank Arena in 32 days. Before that, the Bears play five non-conference games before Christmas.
Frustrating road losses at Middle Tennessee State, in overtime, and to Tulsa, when the Bears give up a three-point play to lose by a point in the final seconds, damage the record and the team’s confidence — even with a home win sandwiched in between.
Two days after playing Middle Tennessee State and two days before playing host to Sam Houston State, the Bears have one of their longest practices of the season. It’s a 2 ½-hour, hammer-down afternoon of playing fast, playing hard and with effort.
“We are not a slow team,” Ford said early in the practice. “Every time we play slow, it doesn’t work.”
Later, after a transition drill on defense, Ford becomes frustrated.
“We suck when we rest, guys,” Ford shouts. “The only way to be fast is to get stops, get the rebound and go. I don’t know what we’re doing when we go on the road, but it’s like we leave our legs here.”
Lee, a star in the Virgin Islands, has been trying to play through a sore wrist and has struggled. Ford, with Mason back in the lineup, decides to rest Lee the remaining four non-conference games to hopefully have him healthy for league play.
Home cooking seems to agree with the Bears. They beat Sam Houston State 69-60, but the trip to Tulsa one week later saps the momentum as the Bears cough up a 10-point lead in the final minutes and lose 73-72.
After the Sam Houston State game, Ford was matter-of-fact about the pressure of being a Division I head coach.
“Any time your team doesn’t play well, it’s the coach.”
DANA Ford
On his post-game radio interview after the Tulsa loss, Ford sounds as downcast as any time during his Missouri State tenure.
Outlook brightens on the West Coast
The Bears return home a few days later and dominate new Division I program Lindenwood, improving to 8-4. And now a long trip to the West Coast beckons to face arguably the most-talented team on the non-league schedule, St. Mary’s. What a way to get ready for Christmas.
And what a win for a Christmas gift.
Missouri State plays with poise and toughness, beating a team ranked in the preseason top 25, ending St. Mary’s four-game winning streak. Mason, Clay and Chance Moore combine for 53 points in the 69-64 win, showing what can happen when those three play to their potential at the same time.
“It’s a big win for a lot of reasons,” Ford said. “This is a quality opponent. It’s our first road win of the season. Sometimes you just need to break the ice. No. 3, our emphasis for the season of staying together and elevating our team to another level, doing things we’ve been unable to do over the last couple of years … tonight we stayed together.
“We’ve had a little adversity with Matt going down, probably losing a game or two we were in a position to win. But our guys have stayed together. The best two qualities we have are really good character and we work hard. If you have those things, good things can happen. Our team is capable.”
After a few days off for Christmas, the journey continues with the answer to a key question pending: Can the Bears ride this big win to new heights in the new year?
Stay tuned.
Coming up in Chapter 3:
Beginning with a matchup with nemesis Northern Iowa, the team finds itself at a crossroads early in the Valley schedule. “It's like we gave our defense away as a Christmas gift to somebody,” Ford says.
Bears Insider Ch. 3 >>>
Heartbreak. a New Year's hangover and the season turns
