When last we looked at them, way back on March 9, the Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team was all but on the bus heading to their fourth NCAA Tournament in six seasons.
And then it all went horribly wrong in the Horizon League championship game against Wright State. And now here they are again as the Norse open the 2022-23 season picked No. 1 – tied with Purdue-Ft. Wayne for the top spot – in the league’s preseason poll.
It’s not a place NKU is unaccustomed to – well not exactly. It’s the sixth straight season the Norse have been a top-three preseason pick although it is the first time at No. 1.
And right where they should be if you were in the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis last March with the Norse leading 57-41 with just 11:41 left on their way to their 15th win in the final 17 games and a Horizon League championship with its accompanying ticket to March Madness.
Only that ticket never got punched. Only the Norsemen did, in a dramatic 31-14 turnaround that sent Wright State to the NCAA and NKU home to Highland Heights to think about how that happened. And when they could make it right.
One NKU returning preseason All-League selection Trevon Faulkner couldn’t talk to answer the postgame question about what had happened, simply sobbing into his towel.
“No, there’s nothing that can be said,” NKU head coach Darrin Horn said when asked what he told his team that finished an impressive 20-12 after a 6-9 start. “There’s not a lot you can say when you lose (like that).”
But there was something more to say. “It’s brutal,” Horn said. “These guys played their hearts out. This is what it’s all about. There’s no greater lesson in life. Things don’t always work out . . . but you learn from it.”
Even if you can’t do anything about it until the next season. Which is now almost here. And for three preseason All-Horizon selections – first-team Marques Warrick and second-teamers Faulkner and Sam Vinson who were all a part of that game – the time to answer is now.
“I do not put a ton of stock into preseason predictions, but I hope it does speak to the consistency of our program as a whole with this being the sixth year in a row being selected in the top-three,” Horn said. “It is nice to see individual student-athletes like Marques, Sam and Trevon recognized for essentially what is their production and winning the previous year. All three are very deserving.”
In voting by the league’s coaches, athletic communication directors and members of the media, NKU was tied with Purdue Fort Wayne atop the Horizon preseason poll with 15 first-place votes and 394 total points.
Warrick, a junior guard from Lexington, earned First-Team honors a year ago after averaging a team-best 16.8 points a game for the Norse, scoring double digits in 26 of 32 games – and in 15 straight to end the season.
Faulkner, a fifth-year senior from Harrodsburg, has led NKU to an 83-41 record (52-23 in the Horizon League) in his years at Highland Heights, with three trips to the Horizon championship game and two NCAA tourney bids. He’s coming off a season where he averaged 11.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and one steal.
The Horizon Freshman of the Year, 6-foot-5 sophomore guard Vinson, a former Mr. Kentucky basketball at Highlands, was a finalist for the Kyle Macy Award in 2022 given to college basketball’s top freshman. Vinson’s 66 steals set a new freshman league record for steals and ranked Sam 12th in the nation as he averaged 11.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.1 steals while scoring in double digits 19 times.
NKU has an opening exhibition against Tiffin University, Monday, Oct. 24 at 7 PM at Truist Arena. The Norse then open the regular season at Truist Nov. 7 against Kent State, also at 7.
2022-23 #HLMBB PRESEASON POLL
Place Team – Points (First-place Votes)
T1. Northern Kentucky (15) – 394
T1. Purdue Fort Wayne (15) – 394
3. Wright State (3) – 329
4. Oakland (2) – 321
5. Youngstown State (1) – 291
6. Detroit Mercy (2) – 268
7. Cleveland State – 188
8. RMU – 163
9. Milwaukee – 132
10. Green Bay – 111
11. IUPUI – 49
#HLMBB PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy
PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy
Marques Warrick, Northern Kentucky
Jalen Moore, Oakland
Jarred Godfrey, Purdue Fort Wayne
Dwayne Cohill, Youngstown State
PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE SECOND TEAM
Trevon Faulkner, Northern Kentucky
Sam Vinson, Northern Kentucky
Kahliel Spear, RMU
Trey Calvin, Wright State
Amari Davis, Wright State