Who is on the 2019-20 Missouri State men's basketball roster?
Wyatt D. Wheeler
The Missouri State men's basketball roster appears to be in place after a long summer of roster moves, but it should be good enough to make the Bears the preseason favorite in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Head coach Dana Ford returns for his second season and has completely revamped the roster in a short amount of time.
It's been difficult to keep up with all the moves, but with school in session and the Bears now at 13 scholarship players, the roster should be ready to go for the 2019-20 season.
Here is a breakdown of every player on the roster and what you can expect going into a highly anticipated season:
Tulio Da Silva, senior
The most notable of the returning players to Missouri State's roster is Tulio Da Silva, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year.
Da Silva, a 6-foot-8 forward, will enter his senior year coming off an offseason in which he declared for the NBA Draft with the intention to return to Missouri State. He's back and is primed to be one of the centerpieces for this year's team.
Da Silva started 26 of 27 games in 2018-19 and averaged 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He played mostly out of position the entire season due to the lack of depth the Bears had at center.
Expect Da Silva to be moved away from the five this season and play more of his natural position of forward.
"I'm more excited to move him around," Ford said during the MVC summer teleconference in July. "I can play him at multiple positions. I had to play him around four guards; now I can do that as well as play him with another interior player. I'm more excited about that versatility he gives us."
Ford said Da Silva should be a better player this upcoming season and that the forward has been working on his outside shot. Da Silva shot 37% from beyond the arc a season ago.
Keandre Cook, senior
Another one of the marquee returning players is senior guard Keandre Cook.
In his first season with the Bears, Cook proved to be one of the best on the team at creating his own shots. He averaged 12.8 points in 24 starts a season ago.
His efforts landed him All-MVC third-team honors and a spot on the MVC All-Newcomer team after joining the Bears from Odessa (Texas) College.
Even with the added talent on the Bears' roster, Cook is still in a good position to be an impact player this season. Word out of Bears practice is that he's been one of the more impressive and improved players on the court.
Lamont West, senior
West Virginia graduate transfer Lamont West is one of the Bears' biggest additions of the offseason, and he figures to have an immediate impact.
West committed to Missouri State on March 31 after starting 20 of 36 games with the Mountaineers while averaging 11.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. He scored 20 or more points seven times during the 2018-19 season and hit 64-of-194 3-pointers throughout the season.
More:West Virginia forward Lamont West transferring to Missouri State
Stadium reporter Jeff Goodman ranks West as the No. 8 graduate transfer in the country, with lower-ranked players behind him transferring to schools including North Carolina, Kansas, Texas Tech and other big-time programs.
West figures to be a player who will find himself in the Bears' starting lineup regularly throughout the season. It's possible MSU will choose to go with a frontcourt of Da Silva, West and Gaige Prim — who are all listed at 6-foot-8.
Ross Owens, senior
The longest-tenured Missouri State player on the roster this season will be non-scholarship senior Ross Owens.
Owens is the lone Bear in his fourth year with the program. He joined Paul Lusk's squad in 2016-17 as a preferred walk-on.
A season ago, the guard appeared in 16 games and scored a total of 22 points. His role was to occasionally come off the bench and give the Bears a boost of energy — particularly on the defensive side. Expect a similar role for Owens this year.
Kabir Mohammed, senior
The lone player to still sign with Missouri State following a commitment to the former regime, Kabir Mohammed enters his second and final year with the program.
Mohammed started in one game last season but appeared in 31, averaging 5.3 points and 3.9 rebounds.
The 6-foot-5 forward was one of the tougher players on the team a season ago. He came in and made hustle plays, even while battling an injury for part of the season.
With more frontcourt depth, it will be interesting to see how Mohammed is used in his second year with the program.
Tyrik Dixon, redshirt-junior
Middle Tennessee transfer Tyrik Dixon is one of the two Division I transfers who joined Missouri State in Ford's first season and had to sit out a year due to NCAA requirements.
Dixon appears to be in line to be the Bears' starting point guard this season following the graduation of Josh Webster.
More:Missouri State lands Middle Tennessee starting point guard Tyrik Dixon in transfer
At Middle Tennessee, Dixon was a Conference USA All-Defensive team player who averaged 4.8 points and three rebounds per game and had over 100 assists in his two seasons as the Blue Raiders' starting point guard.
Fans should expect to see a lot of Dixon in the next two years.
Spencer Brown, redshirt-junior
Missouri State's other non-scholarship player is redshirt-junior Spencer Brown.
Brown didn't play last season after transferring from Lyon College. He averaged 9.3 points as a sophomore and made 12 starts in 32 appearances there.
More:Missouri State adds transfer Spencer Brown to men's basketball roster
Don't expect a big role for Brown the next two seasons as he will likely continue to be a body in practice in addition to being a player at the end of the Bears' bench.
Josh Hall, redshirt-junior
The second of the Division I transfers who sat out last season, Josh Hall should be an impact player for the Bears in 2019-20.
The 6-foot-7 transfer guard from Nevada joins the Bears' active roster with NCAA Tournament experience. He knocked down a game-winning shot with nine seconds remaining to help the Wolf Pack advance to the Sweet 16 in 2018.
More:Missouri State basketball lands Nevada NCAA Tournament hero Josh Hall in transfer
Hall, a top-150 national recruit in the 2016 class, played 64 games, including 17 starts, for the Wolf Pack. He averaged 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game as a freshman. He boosted those numbers to 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists as a sophomore, shooting 50.3 percent from the field and 30 percent from the 3-point line.
Expect to see a lot of Hall in the guard rotation and even as a starter. His versatility as both a guard and forward makes him flexible in multiple lineups. He should be a big-time player for the Bears the next two seasons.
Gaige Prim, junior
One of the top junior college players in the country transfers to Missouri State with a lot of hype surrounding him.
South Plains (Texas) College transfer Gaige Prim figures to be a fixture in the Bears' starting lineup as a true center.
Prim was an NJCAA First Team All-American a season ago. He averaged 20.7 points and 11.5 rebounds per game during his sophomore season.
The 6-foot-8, 250-pounder has the capability to stretch the floor from the center position. While he might not put up the 20-and-10 stat line he did in juco ball, he still figures to be a player with a high ceiling in the MVC.
This is a player worth getting excited about.
Darian Scott, sophomore
Sophomore center Darian Scott returns for his sophomore year coming off his first season of play following a redshirt season.
Scott made 22 appearances a season ago and averaged 6.8 minutes. He averaged 0.6 points and one rebound per game.
The 6-foot-11 center is the tallest player on the team, but with the addition of more frontcourt depth than the team had a season ago, Scott should see his role diminish.
Jared Ridder, sophomore
Following the departure of Anthony Masinton-Bonner, local product Jared Ridder will likely be counted on this season as one of the team's top outside shooters.
Ridder saw action in 23 games last season and averaged 18.8 minutes and 5.1 points per game. He knocked down 26-of-82 3-point attempts (31.7%) and will likely need to improve going into his second season.
Ford said during July's teleconference that Ridder will benefit as the Bears move away from the slower tempo they were forced to play a season ago due to their lack of depth.
"I think the game moved fast for him last year and the way we played wasn't his type of game," Ford said. "We played slow and relied on one-on-one plays. He wants to play fast and pick his spots on the perimeter.
"He has a bright future. He's hopefully going to be a pretty good weapon for us this year."
Ja'Monta Black, freshman
One of two freshmen from Rock Bridge (Columbia) High, Ja'Monta Black joins the Missouri State men's basketball program this year.
Black committed to Missouri State in May 2018 and looked to be coming to Springfield with two of his high school teammates until Dajuan Harris reclassified and committed to Kansas over the summer.
Rock Bridge won its first-ever state championship — at JQH Arena, of all places — in mid-March. Black entered the state semifinals averaging 15.4 points and four rebounds per game.
Black is a good outside shooter who could be a weapon for the Bears this year. Ford could also opt to keep Black sidelined and redshirt him for the season.
Isiaih Mosley, freshman
Perhaps the top recruit out of Rock Bridge is wing Isiaih Mosley.
Mosley announced his commitment to Missouri State the day after he helped lead Rock Bridge to a state title.
Mosley scored 24 points — including 18 in the first half — to go along with four rebounds in the state championship game.
The 6-foot-5, 175-pound guard averaged 22.8 points per game while shooting 58.1 percent entering the Class 5 State Semifinals. He also averaged 6.7 rebounds per game.
More:Rock Bridge star Isiaih Mosley joins teammates, commits to Missouri State basketball
Mosley held offers from Bradley, Mississippi State, Mizzou and Southern Methodist, according to 247Sports.com. The website ranked Mosley as the No. 3 player in the state — behind Mizzou freshman Mario McKinney at No. 1 and Parkview star and fellow MSU signee Tyem Freeman at No. 2.
Word out of Missouri State practice is that Mosley has been one of the more impressive players on the court and that he could be a big contributor to the Bears this season. Mosley is athletic and explosive enough to be an MVC Freshman of the Year candidate if he's able to see the floor enough with how deep the Bears' roster is.
Tyem Freeman, freshman
The first player to commit to Missouri State under Ford was former Parkview star Tyem Freeman — who announced his commitment to MSU the day after Ford's introductory press conference.
Freeman is an ultra-athletic forward who has been regarded as the best player in southwest Missouri the past few seasons.
More:Former Parkview star Tyem Freeman says his knee is at 68%, begins life at Missouri State
Unfortunately, Freeman's senior season was cut short at Parkview after he tore his ACL during a game in December. He is still recovering and will likely redshirt this upcoming season.
Freeman will be an exciting player for the Bears once he's back to 100%. He averaged 28.2 points per game during Parkview's 4-2 start to the 2018-19 season.
Ford Cooper, freshman
The latest addition to the roster is one of the most highly touted players the men's basketball program has landed in a while.
Four-star point guard Ford Cooper committed to the Bears and surprised Bears fans when he reclassified from the 2020 class to the 2019 class in order to join the team this season.
The Charlotte (North Carolina) United Faith Christian Academy prospect was ranked as the No. 105 prospect in the Class of 2020 by 247Sports.com.
"He is a high-IQ point guard who can really pass and can make shots," assistant coach Jase Herl said in a press release upon Cooper's signing. "He has a very good understanding of where the ball needs to be and when it needs to be there. He is also a high-character kid from a great family."
Cooper looks as if he will be the team's backup point guard — behind Dixon — entering the season. He should be a fixture in the Bears' lineup for years to come.