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Photographer Jym Wilson assembled a collection of previously unseen and unpublished photos from Bears Insider, a seven-part series chronicling the Missouri State Bears' 2023-2024 men's basketball season that ended with a loss in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and the firing of head coach Dana Ford.
While Missouri State players are introduced in the light of pyrotechnics at Great Southern Bank Arena, head coach Dana Ford continues to plan his strategy from a seat on the sidelines. The Bears lost 64-62 to their nemesis, the Northern Iowa Panthers, at this game on Jan. 3, 2024. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Missouri State University men's basketball head coach Dana Ford would occasionally introduce a light moment into the Bears' practices. In October 2023, he challenged players to touch the backboard glass higher than he could. (Photo by Jym Wilson)A 20-minute intrasquad scrimmage in late October 2023 brought out the Missouri State Bears' competitiveness. Cesare Edwards, left, Tyler Bey and Raphe Ayres battle for position to rebound a missed shot. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Retired Missouri State University athletic director Bill Rowe showed up at the men's basketball team's last practice before a season-opening road trip to offer coach Dana Ford words of encouragement. Rowe was often seen at games mingling with fans and greeting players. (Photo by Jym Wilson)A referee bumps fists with Missouri State forward N.J. Benson while Benson gets stretching help from strength and conditioning coach Marcus Brock before the season’s home opener in Springfield on Nov. 13, 2023. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Whether or not Missouri State men's basketball coach Dana Ford’s basketball-themed socks proved to be lucky is debatable, but they were when he wore them for home opener as his Bears defeated the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles 84-69. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Winning “50-50” balls was frequently on Coach Dana Ford’s list of goals for each game the Missouri State Bears played. Alston Mason battles for one during the Bears’ 92-74 win over South Carolina State. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Missouri State University men's basketball coach Dana Ford had about 10 last minutes with his players in the locker room to drive home goals for the day’s game before they headed out to the court to take on the Evansville Purple Aces on Nov. 29, 2023. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Either Springfield mayor Ken McClure likes to sit alone, or someone in the front office forgot to make sure he had company when he sat courtside in December to proclaim Art Hains Day. McClure sat by himself for both halves of the game. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Missouri State guard Raphe Ayres shouts encouragement to his teammates in the final minutes of the Bears' January loss to the University of Northern Iowa. (Photo by Jym Wilson)“Winners on three!” In the final seconds in the locker room; moments before tipoff; at the beginning and end of practice; after time outs; the 2023-2024 Missouri State Bears would reach out with raised hands to come together as a team. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Give any photographer a seven-month assignment to follow a basketball team and chances are you will see a photo like this. Missouri State men's basketball coach Dana Ford photographed in practice with a 1/6th second exposure. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Missouri State University guard Matthew Lee always stopped between the locker room and the court at Great Southern Bank Arena for a silent prayer. In January 2024, Lee told me, “It’s usually more of, like, the same prayer, just giving thanks and just thanking God for the opportunity. Thanking him for my family’s health and my teammates health. It’s just something I started doing my freshman year in college and I just kept it going.” (Photo by Jym Wilson)This is not a commentary on attendance at Bears’ games. This gentleman was always one of the first fans in the doors and in his seat at home games, including at this 69-60 loss to Illinois State on Jan. 20, 2024. (Photo by Jym Wilson)On the game days that he was a starter, Damien Mayo Jr. would dash past his teammates during introductions and flex biceps with freshman guard Kanon Gipson. Reporter Lyndal Scranton has called Mayo “the heart and soul” of the Bears. (Photo by Jym Wilson)One-hundred year old World War II veteran Harlan Sell, of Springfield, was recognized at halftime during a Missouri State Bears men's basketball game in January 2024. Sell was accompanied to the game by his grandson, Brock Schmitt. (Photo by Jym Wilson)When guard Missouri State guard Damien Mayo Jr. was on the court, he frequently ended up actually ON the court and would have help from his teammates getting up. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Sometimes an accidental photograph produces something interesting, as it did in this shoe shot from a college basketball game between Missouri State and Illinois State at Great Southern Bank Arena Jan. 20, 2024. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Whatever Missouri State men's basketball coach Dana Ford said to his players at the end of a mid-afternoon practice Jan. 24, 2024, must have done some good. The Bears beat Drake that night in double overtime, 83-80. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Christina Ford could often be seen courtside with at least a few of her and her husband, Dana Ford’s children. She and her husband are the founders of the Rebound Foundation, a non-profit that supports women as they recover from domestic abuse and rebuild their lives. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Road trips call for improvisation, including practicing plays on ugly hotel conference room carpet on an approximately 1/3-size court marked off with blue painters tape at a hotel in Carbondale, Illinois. The visiting Missouri State Bears defeated Southern Illinois 76-75 in overtime Jan. 31, 2024. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Missouri State forward Cesare Edwards offers a fist bump in the visiting team locker room after the Bears' 76-75 overtime win after defeating the Southern University Illinois Salukis on the road in Carbondale, Illinois in January. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Missouri State University freshman guard Nick Kramer’s season was reflective of that of the Bears. After transferring to MSU from St. Louis University, Kramer spent the summer and fall rehabbing until he was healthy enough to play just before Christmas and was in the starting lineup by the end of January.
On Feb. 2, he hurt his knee in practice. The next day, when this photo was taken, Kramer was sure he would be back in a few weeks. It was not to be, and he was finished for the year. (Photo by Jym Wilson)A visit from the Kansas City Chiefs mascot, KC Wolf, eight days before the Super Bowl brought a smile to the face of Missouri State men's basketball assistant coach Jay Spoonhour and some good mojo for the Bears, who beat Belmont that day, 87-80. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Missouri State guard Chance Moore takes a shot in the face from a Belmont player on Feb. 3, 2024. Moore was unfazed, leading his team with 23 points and 13 rebounds in the game, an 87-80 win for the Bears. (Photo by Jym Wilson)As previously said… blur can be a wonderful thing. 1/5th of a second to capture this dunk at a practice on Feb. 26. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Missouri State men's basketball fans head to the exits at Great Southern Bank Arena at the beginning of the fourth quarter as the Bears lose to the Bradley Braves, 86-62 on Feb. 21, 2024. (Photo by Jym Wilson)The Missouri State Bears' tradition of circling the court at Great Southern Bank Arena after a win gives young fans a chance to get up close to the players for high fives. Some of the players, including Matthew Lee, seemed to get back as good as they gave. (Photo by Jym Wilson)At a team meeting in August 2023, Missouri State head coach Dana Ford introduced the team’s managers saying, “…treat them with respect. For these guys, they do it as a labor of love.”
Alyson Johnson showed some of that love as she cheered on the Bears in their final game at the Missouri Valley Conference Arch Madness Tournament at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Friday, March 8. (Photo by Jym Wilson)Missouri State University Athletic Director Kyle Moats walks in a tunnel behind the basketball court at at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Friday, March 8, 2024. (Photo by Jym Wilson)
Jym Wilson is a veteran photojournalist who has covered a multitude of topics throughout his career. He’s a Vermont native who began his career at the Burlington (VT) Free Press. He worked as a photo editor at USA Today for 18 years, specializing in entertainment coverage. His work has appeared in the Hauxeda since the day of its launch in 2022.
Email: jymwil@gmail.com More by Jym Wilson
