The Illinois State men's basketball team has gotten better each season during Ryan Pedon's four years as head coach. From 11 wins in 2023 to 23 wins last season and a trip to the NIT Final Four.
But Pedon makes clear that he's not satisfied.
As he opens his fifth season on the ISU sidelines Monday night when the Redbirds play at Saint Mary's College in California, Pedon said the goal is to end the NCAA Tournament drought that's now lasted 28 seasons.
“Seeing our name on Selection Sunday on the television screen, those are moments that we dream of, and we talk about and that I think about incessantly, probably in an unhealthy way,” Pedon said on WGLT’s Sound Ideas. “Our north star always has been and will continue to be getting our program back to where it belongs, and that’s at the top of our conference and representing our team in the NCAA Tournament."
The Redbirds were picked for second in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, behind Murray State.
The Redbirds have nine newcomers, but Pedon said the three returning starters are helping to drive a lot of the excitement about the team this season.
“I want to build a program, not just a basketball team year-to-year. Having those guys, especially influential guys and impact guys, back helps us quite a bit,” Pedon said.
Pedon, who has compiled a 71-65 record at ISU, said seniors Jonny Kinziger and Chase Walker, both 1,000-point scorers at ISU, have an opportunity to cement their legacies at ISU this season. Both could reach the top 10 scoring list in program history.
In an era in which many players transfer at least once, Pedon said he appreciates both players staying with the program for four years.
“The beautiful thing in all this is they were seeing things in this Redbird basketball program that required a vision that maybe other people hadn’t seen, weren’t seeing, or didn’t know about,” Pedon said.
Kinzinger and Walker join sophomore Mason Klabo as the returning starters, while two newcomers are also creating a lot of buzz. Graduate transfer Malik Messina-Moore and sophomore Noah Cleveland was named to the Missouri Valley Conference preseason Players to Watch List.
Messina-Moore, who started all 33 games last season at Xavier, is caught in a legal dispute over his eligibility. He’s one more of dozens of student-athletes from the high school graduating class of 2022 to sue the NCAA over its new 5-in-5 rule which the plaintiffs arguing that the new rule arbitrarily denies them an additional season. The rule gives student athletes an automatic fifth year of eligibility and enables them to play all five seasons.
“We knew it was going to be a bumpy ride, but our hope and belief is he’ll hopefully be eligible," Pedon said.
Cleveland, a Normal Community alum, comes to ISU from Illinois Wesleyan, where he was an All-American in his one season after taking off a season.
“Noah’s done the work but I think his love of the game is from what I gather is at an all-time high,” Pedon said. “I’ve seen nothing but passion pursuit of him becoming the best player he can be.”
5-in-5
Pedon said he has several issues with the new 5-in-5 rule, one of the major rule changes impacting college athletics this season.
Pedon said allowing players to sit out a season had also helped schools like ISU close the gap against bigger schools. While he believes the overall play will improve with more experienced players, he said the downside is there's no longer a medical redshirt for players who get injured.
“It’s difficult to look at a young man in the eye when he has a season-ending injury because of one misstep or one freak injury or accident and know that he can’t get that year back,” Pedon said.
Expanded tournament
Pedon said he believes the expanded NCAA Tournament field to 76 teams, from the current 68, may improve ISU’s chances.
“We’re certainly in a conference that stands to benefit from it,” he said, predicting that at least some of the additional bids will likely go to mid-major schools.
Pedon said he believes the new Missouri Valley Conference Tournament format, in which the top seeds get an automatic bye into the semifinals, will help the league avoid upsets which could spoil its chances of getting an at-large bid.
“There’s a reality to this and whether we like it or not, the tournament format, the large super conferences have skewed the system metrically,” he said.
When asked if there are other concerns he would like the NCAA to address, he pointed to the revenue sharing approved for student athletes that he suggests has quickly gotten out of hand.
Pedon added that he still wishes to see the NCAA put in additional guardrails that would “protect the game” and student athletes.
“There is some leadership that is — I think — very much needed in our profession, and we’ve got a lot of frustrated coaches,” he said.
