Meet Missouri State men's basketball's 14 newcomers entering the 2022-23 season

When Missouri State fans sit down at Great Southern Bank Arena for the first time this season, they might have to spend half of the game looking up and down between their roster cards and the players on the court to get an idea of who is on the men's basketball team this season.

MSU has 14 newcomers on the roster and only three returners. Eight of those players are transfers with six freshmen joining the team. Players have joined the Bears from all over including Division I programs like Arkansas, Maryland, Saint Peter's, Georgia and others.

Here are the new players on the roster and what they and fifth-year head coach Dana Ford said entering the season:

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Chance Moore (sophomore)

The Arkansas transfer joins the Bears as a 6-foot-6 guard who participated in five games for a Razorbacks team that reached the Elite Eight last season.

Moore was a four-star guard out of high school at McEachern, a powerhouse program that has competed in the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions, and he was ranked as the No. 97 overall player in the 2021 class.

"Chance Moore can really score the ball," Donovan Clay said. "He can play defense and he's long and athletic."

Moore describes himself as a shooting guard who can guard one-through-four. He's a slasher who wants to get his teammates involved.

"Coach really focuses on the defensive end," Moore said. "We have the talent to score, but it's the defense that really wins games and the championships."

Alston Mason (sophomore)

Mason, an Overland Park, Kansas, native, is a transfer from Oklahoma who appeared in 18 games with the Sooners last season. He played 111 total minutes and scored 25 total points with eight rebounds, eight steals and four assists.

He was a three-star recruit out of Blue Valley (Kansas) Northwest High where he averaged 22.4 points, 4.7 assists and two steals per game. He's a 6-foot-2 guard who also shot 44% from beyond the arc as a senior in high school.

Ford said he was surprised by Mason's playmaking ability while mentioning he was one of about seven capable starters the Bears have on the roster. Ford foresees lineups in which Mason is on the floor with players like Kendle Moore and Matthew Lee.

The Oklahoma transfer has caught the eye of one of the veterans on the team.

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"Alston can really score the ball," Clay said. "He's a high IQ guard with a floater and 3-point shot. I feel like in years to come, they're gonna be really good. He's a really young guy, and I feel like he can really come in here and score the ball."

Mason wants to turn into a leader on the floor during his time at Missouri State.

"I want to be a second coach on the floor," Mason said. "I feel like I have a really good understanding of the game and my IQ's pretty high so I'm trying to feed that into others as well as teaching myself. I just want us to play hard together as a group and try to win together as a group."

Jonathan Mogbo (junior)

Mogbo floated around the junior college ranks for his first two seasons before he landed at Missouri State.

The 6-foot-8 junior comes to Missouri State from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M where he was one of the top rebounders in his region. He averaged 14.3 points and 10.5 boards per game while scoring in double figures 26 times during the season. Mogbo's career started at Independence (Kansas) Community College where he averaged 8.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Ford said he has been surprised by Mogbo's versatility. Mogbo said that when the coaches visited him at Northeastern Oklahoma, he was sold on their vision and he saw that he would be capable of making a positive impact on the team.

"I feel like I can do everything — pass, shoot, make plays for other guys, rebound and guard one-through-five," Mogbo said. "I feel like I'm a very versatile player. The game's changing and I feel like the more versatility I have in my game, the better I am. So that's what I'm trying to do."

Kendle Moore (senior)

Moore initially decided he was going to stay and play a fifth year at Colorado State but after a great career with the Rams, he hit the portal and wound up in Springfield.

At CSU, the 6-foot guard scored over 1,000 points and was a starter in 119 of his 120 appearances since starting as a freshman. He averaged 6.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game this past season when he averaged 10.5 points as a junior.

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Moore was one of a few players Ford thought of as a capable starter heading into the year. The coach spoke highly of the older transfers who will lead the team including Moore, Bryan Trimble Jr. and Lee.

"I'm a big energy guy," Moore said. "I want to get out there and hustle for loose balls and play defense while knocking down shots and getting to the basket. I feel like I can just do a little bit of everything on the floor."

Bryan Trimble Jr. (senior)

Trimble joins the Bears after three seasons at Akron. He started his career at St. John's. Trimble averaged 10.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game in 23 appearances last season for the Zips. His best season came as a junior when he was an All-MAC honorable selection player who averaged 12 points per game.

The 6-foot-3 guard is a 3-point shooter who attempted nearly eight per game last season. He's been a 35.4% shooter from beyond the arc over his career.

Ford spoke about how he's more concerned about who finishes games instead of those who start. He threw Trimble in as a player who can take a "big shot" when called upon.

"I think the most important thing (about my game) is experience," Trimble said. "Just being a vocal guy and having the biggest voice on the team, I just want to be able to lead. I try to lead by example and sprinkle some knowledge from over the last few years on the younger guys."

Matthew Lee (senior)

As one of the leaders of the Saint Peter's basketball team's magical Cinderella run to the Elite Eight last season, Lee could end up being the Bears' starting point guard when the ball is tossed on opening night.

Lee is a 6-footer who started 25-of-30 games last season for the Peacocks. He averaged 6.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and three assists per game.

Among the players that Ford talked about when it comes to finishing the game, he said that Lee would be on the court.

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"He's just a winner who makes shots," Ford said. "You can tell that he's been a part of a program that's won. He's played in an Elite Eight and beat really good teams."

"He's just a real point guard," Clay added. "You can see that when they went on their big run, he was the starting point guard. Since he's been here, he's been a real captain. When you put him out there, you have a real captain."

James Graham (junior)

Graham comes to Missouri State after appearing in nine games for Maryland over the last two seasons. He was a mid-season enrollee for the Terrapins during the 2020-21 season.

Before the 6-foot-7 wing started his career at Maryland, he was the No. 52 overall player and a four-star recruit in the 2021 class.

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Speaking to the News-Leader after his commitment in May, Graham said he picked Missouri State over Iowa State, DePaul, Georgetown and others.

"A lot of (NBA players) don't come from high-major schools and it's more about going somewhere where you can learn how to play the game correctly," Graham said. "A thing about Coach Ford is that he understands how to get to that next level and he's gotten people to that next level."

Graham appreciated how much time the Bears put into showing him how they could use his skillset. He said the staff showed him a lot of Isiaih Mosley film from last season, but Ford downplayed how similar the two's games were.

"I wouldn't say that his game is similar to Zay's — they're different players," Ford said in July. "James is a fantastic shooter off the catch and he has the ability to make plays late in the shot clock. We also want to establish his game around the rim. From a natural talent standpoint at such a young age, he definitely has a lot of upside and I think it starts with his ability to shoot the ball."

Dalen Ridgnal (senior)

The 6-foot-7 forward makes his move to Springfield from Georgia after playing in 28 games last season while averaging 10.3 minutes, 2.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Ridgnal played the first two seasons of his career at Cowley (Kansas) Community College where he was a two-time All-American.

A Kansas City native, Ridgnal played at Lincoln Prep during his senior season when he played his sophomore and junior years at Rockhurst.

Ford said he was surprised by Ridgnal's ability to shoot from the outside — something the forward showed off during a scrimmage that took place in late July.

Ridgnal said he chose Missouri State because it's closer to home and he was looking for somewhere to win. He said he spent "hours and hours" talking with the staff. On the day Ridgnal entered the transfer portal, he said Ford made the trip to recruit him in person the next day.

"I see myself as someone who can really shoot," Ridgnal said. "I can rebound, I can pass and I feel like I fit in well here."

Damien Mayo Jr. (freshman)

Mayo is a three-star point guard out of Link Academy in Branson where he was the leader for one of the best high school programs in the nation. He played his first three seasons at Chaminade in St. Louis.

The true freshman is the player who is most likely to make an immediate impact on the Bears this season. Ford was very high on Mayo while mentioning him as a likely starter entering the year. Mayo has played with top talent before and came just short of winning a national championship in high school. He does a lot of little things right that have typically been attractive to Ford during his tenure.

"He's tough," Ford said. "Number one, he's coachable. No. 2, he's humble. No. 3, he's an unselfish player and talks and does a lot of things like that to help you win. He impacts winning and obviously, you try to continue that trend and if you impact winning, you're gonna have an opportunity to play, no matter what class you're in. He's definitely a guy that makes an impact whether it's taking charges, offensive rebounding or being the first to the floor. He can execute and play at multiple positions. He does a lot of good things."

"He's a dog," Clay added. "He wants to be here, pay attention to detail and he's gonna go get the ball, he's going to dive on the floor and he's gonna do all the little things and he can score."

Mayo even impressed the veteran newcomers who he came in with.

"You can tell that Mayo has a little more maturity to him than most freshmen," Moore said. "I'm just glad he's here and we can all learn a little bit from him as well."

Jonathan Dunn (freshman)

A former Logan-Rogersville star, Dunn makes his debut with the Bears after playing a year of prep ball with We Are United in Nixa. As a Wildcat, he averaged 23 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 62.6% from the field as a senior.

Before playing his senior year at Logan-Rogersville, Dunn was one of St. Louis' top prospects at Hazelwood Central.

David Hill (freshman)

Hill, a 6-foot-1 guard, is the younger brother of former Missouri State star Alize Johnson and he will join the Bears this season.

Hill played high school ball at St. John Neumann in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where he was a three-time all-state performer who scored more than 1,000 points in his career by his junior year.

N.J. Benson (freshman)

Benson comes to Springfield after he averaged 21.9 points and just under 11 rebounds per game during his senior season. He was one of the top prospects in Illinois and was a 61.3% shooter from the field last year.

The 6-foot-8 forward has the looks of someone who can make an immediate impact for the Bears and grow into a very good MVC player.

"N.J. is going to be a really good basketball player," Ford said in July. "He's got a really good instinct defensively and helping protect the basket. He finishes around the rim and he's very coachable. He's gonna establish himself as an inside-out guy by the end of his career. He's big enough and athletic enough to help you as a freshman, but I think a lot of that will have to do with his learning curve and what he's able to pick up."

Tommy Pinegar (freshman

Springfield knows Pinegar as he'll move down the street from Greenwood to Great Southern Bank Arena. Pinegar was known as a basketball player for his deep 3-point shooting as he ended his high school career with 322 makes — ranking seventh all-time in state history.

Kanon Gipson (freshman)

Another local prospect, Gipson makes his way over to Missouri State after a year of prep ball at We Are United alongside Dunn. He was a standout for four years at Logan-Rogersville where he started each season and led the Wildcats to fourth-place finishes in 2019 and 2021. He was an all-state and News-Leader Dominant Dozen selection as a senior.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State men's basketball has 14 newcomers entering the season