EWU men's basketball preview: Eagles start over after NCAA tourney run

From news services

After an offseason focused on rebuilding after several key players from last year's NCAA Tournament team transferred out following a coaching change, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team will face its first test of the season on Tuesday when the Eagles play at Nevada.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev.

The game will be streamed on Stadium, and can be heard on ESPN 700 AM.

The Eagles are led by first-year head coach, David Riley. Riley may be in his first year at the helm, but he's a 10-year veteran of the program after serving as the director of operations, assistant coach and associate head coach since the 2011-12 season. He was officially introduced as the new head coach on March 25, after Shantay Legans took the head coaching job at Portland.

Among the departures were the Groves brothers from Shadle Park High, Tanner and Jacob, who are at Oklahoma. Tanner Groves, a forward, was the MVP of the Big Sky Conference in 2020-21. Forward Kim Aiken Jr. eventually landed at Arizona.

Riley brought in a brand-new staff along with 13 new players.

"There was a lot going on this offseason, especially this spring," Riley said. "It's been a whirlwind, but it's been really fun. This summer, we had our players here and there has been a big focus on chemistry and getting our players used to playing with each other. They're getting used to their habits, on and off the court, which is a big way that we play basketball. We make sure the chemistry is there and that the players are gelling and understanding our concepts. We don't have a crazy offense or defense; we just make sure the players know who they are. It's been fun, and we are excited about the season."

Six returners are back from last season, where the Eagles finished 16-8 overall and tied for second in the Big Sky Conference with a mark of 12-3. The Eagles cruised through the Big Sky Tournament and advanced to the third NCAA Tournament appearance in program history where they put a scare into Kansas before falling 93-84 in the first round. Joining the six returners are 13 newcomers, five of which are transfers.

Redshirt sophomore Austin Fadal, redshirt freshman Steele Venters, freshmen Isaiah Amato and Victor Radocaj, sophomore Ellis Magnuson (from Borah High in Boise) and redshirt sophomore Casson Rouse are all back for another year with the Eagles.

Only Magnuson and Rouse started games last year.

Both Magnuson and Venters averaged 3.6 points off of the bench last season. Magnuson made 13 starts in 22 games played, and Venters appeared in 17 games. Rouse started in five games and competed in 18, averaging 2.9 points per game, while Amato and Radocaj appeared in 11 each.

Of the 13 newcomers, eight are true freshmen. The Eagles welcome Tommaso Camponeschi (Rome, Italy), Yousef Elkugia (Seattle/Eastlake HS), Michael Folarin (London/Bella Vista College, Ariz.), Casey Jones (Sammamish, Wash.), Mason Landdeck (Zillah, Wash./Desert Hills HS, Utah), Ethan Price (Bury St. Edmunds, England) and Makai Richards (Oak Park, Calif./Oak Park HS).

Five transfers with plenty of collegiate experience also join the Eagles and look to make an immediate impact. Rylan Bergersen hails from Boise, where he graduated from Borah in 2017. He previously played at both BYU and Central Arkansas. In his career at UCA, he averaged 16.2 points per game with 230 rebounds, 198 assists and made 81 three-pointers. He scored in double figures in 50 of his 54 games, including 18 with 20 points or more.

Angelo Allegri comes from Kansas City, Mo., where he graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas in 2017 and played at UNC Greensboro, where he just led the Spartans to the NCAA Tournament averaging 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Other Eagle transfers include Linton Acliese III (Richmond Calif., San Francisco State), Imhotep George (Laurel, Md.) and Sean Kirk (Mountlake Terrace, Wash./Western Washington).