Last season represented a rude awakening to the Missouri Valley Conference for UIC. The Flames finished 4-16 in conference play (11th place out of 12 teams) and 12-20 overall in their first season in the Valley. The Flames showed flashes at times and competed but failed to close out a lot of close games. They lost two overtime games and multiple single-digit games.
The 2023-24 season will be Year 4 for head coach Luke Yaklich. The first three years haven’t gone well. Below we see the KenPom final rankings for each of the last five seasons. There’s a big drop off from Steve McClain’s last season to Yaklich’s first. They stayed the same in year two and regressed last season to 301st in the country.
In his first season the offense was the real issue, but in 2021-22, that shifted as the offense actually ticked up, but the defense regressed. Last season, we saw the shift back to a better defense, but a worse offense. Below we see those offensive and defensive rankings in Yaklich’s time at UIC.
Now we focus our attention to last season and the state of the Missouri Valley Conference.
In the above plot we see UIC very close to that area no one wants to be in; bad offense and bad defense. Evansville seems to have the bottom of The Valley on lock, but what this plot does a good job of is visualizing just how far a team like UIC needs to go to reach the top-level teams in the conference. Bradley and Drake will be front-runners again in 2023-24.
On To a New Season
The Flames will have a lot of returning production as they look to make a big jump in year 2 in The Valley. Last year’s team ranked 315th in the country in D1 Experience. This year’s roster boasts seven players who averaged double-digit minutes a year ago with some transfer additions.
Returners
Three key contributors from last year’s UIC team are returning to lead the team. Toby Okani returns to play his fourth collegiate season and is known for his size and versatility, with the ability to play all five positions, handle the ball, and work on his outside shooting. Filip Skobalj, a solid shooter, returns for his third year in the UIC frontcourt. Christian Jones is back after a challenging freshman season where he was thrust into a lead guard role but also showed glimpses of potential.
Coach Yaklich’s son Griffin returns, he’s provided some bench minutes over the last few years when needed.
Jaden Brownell, Cam Fens and Steven Clay all return for their sophomore seasons. The 6’10 Fens started 12 games last year, but you could tell when the freshman got tired and lost effectiveness. Clay got double-digit minutes in 15 games and put up 17 points against Evansville on February 4th. Brownell got double-digit minutes in 13 games last year and has the ability to stretch the floor. At 6’9, Brownell hit 18 of 45 3’s last year (40.5%).
Newcomers
Having returners should give the Flames a boost but they also went out and made some transfer portal additions. They added in two upper-classmen transfers, Isaiah Rivera from Colorado State and Marquise Kennedy from Loyola Chicago. Rivera had an impressive season at CSU, known for his hard work and 3-point shooting. Rivera could really give a boost to this offense. Kennedy, a fifth-year player, brings experience and athleticism, adding toughness and composure to the team. Chicago basketball fans will remember Kennedy from his time at Loyola.
Drew King (Houston Christian) and Yusef Salih (Idaho) also join via the transfer portal as potential depth guards. Ethan Pickett transfers in from JUCO (Triton) and will be a depth wing piece.
As for freshmen, Nathan Ojukwu is the most likely to see the floor. Yaklich has praised his physicality and rebounding.
Projected Lineup
Schedule
UIC opens up with a tough one at Cincinnati on November 6th. The home opener is Friday November 10th against Little Rock. They’ll visit Loyola Chicago November 14th and play three games in the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Nassau Championship. They begin that tournament on November 24th against Middle Tennessee. They’ll host Illinois State to begin MVC play on November 30th. Valley play will pick up again on December 30th after a few more non-conference games.
Full UIC Men’s Basketball Schedule
Wrap Up
It’s a big year for Coach Yaklich and the Flames to prove they belong in the Missouri Valley. I like the transfer additions as they help bolster clear needs at the offensive end and in terms of building a tougher team that can sustain a 20-game MVC schedule. I think the Flames have an improved roster that can compete in the Valley, but they need to prove it. If they can put it together and finish in the top half of the Valley, that’s a big win for me.