Veteran squad aims to return to NCAA Tournament: 2022-23 NKU Norse basketball preview
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Season four of the Darrin Horn era at Northern Kentucky University is about to begin, and the Norse return a veteran crew as they try to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
NKU went 20-12 overall and 14-6 in the Horizon League last season. Horn is 57-32 overall and 38-18 in the Horizon in his three seasons. NKU won the 2020 Horizon League Tournament, but the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Northern Kentucky played in the 2017 and 2019 NCAA tournaments, and it certainly has a talented enough group returning to get back this season.
Starters Marques Warrick, Trevon Faulkner, Sam Vinson and Chris Brandon are all returning. Top bench players Hubertas Pivorius, Trey Robinson and Jake Evans are also back.
There will also be six new faces on the roster — five freshmen and a transfer.
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Here are 3 things to know about the 2022-23 NKU Norse basketball team:
Lots of familiar faces for Northern Kentucky basketball
The top three scorers from last season Marques Warrick (16.8 ppg), Trevon Faulkner (11.8) and Sam Vinson (11.2) all return for the Norse.
Warrick, a 6-foot-2 guard, was named second team All-Horizon League last season, and was on the Horizon League all-tournament team.
This will be Faulkner’s fifth season suiting up for NKU. The 6-4 guard has score 1,332 points in his career.
Vinson, a Highlands High School grad, was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Year last season. The 6-5 guard set a new Horizon League freshman record with 66 steals, and also averaged 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
Chris Brandon, a 6-8 forward, returns after starting 20 of the final 21 games last season. Brandon is the team’s leading returning rebounder at 7.4 per game, and led the team with 26 blocked shots last season.
Hubertas Pivorius, Trey Robinson and Jake Evans are back after providing help off the bench last season. Pivorius, a 6-2 guard, is the team’s top outside shooter after going .443 on 3-pointers last season. Robinson, a 6-6 Hamilton High School grad, came off the bench to average 4.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game and was second on the team with 42 steals. Evans, a 6-1 guard appeared in 30 games, averaging 7.6 minutes per game.
NKU newcomers for 2022-23 season
The Norse do have a couple of holes to fill though. Last season’s leading rebounder, Adrian Nelson, and the leader in assists, Bryson Langdon, are both gone.
Will any of NKU’s newcomers be able to help replace them?
The Norse are brining in a trio of freshmen guards — Scott High School’s Mitchell Minor along with Cole Sherman and A’Lahn Sumler.
In addition, Florida Southern transfer Xavier Rhodes will be joining the program. Rhodes averaged 14.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game last season. He reached double-digits in assists three times last season.
NKU also added more size, bringing in 6-9 freshman Cesar Tchilombo and 6-8 freshman LJ Wells.
Imanuel Zorgvol, a 7-footer who red-shirted last season, could also provide help down low.
Northern Kentucky basketball will host Cincinnati, travel to Washington State in non-conference
NKU will have its largest home game since moving to Division I in the 2012-13 season, when the Norse host the Cincinnati Bearcats on Nov. 16.
It will be the second time the two schools have met as DI programs. UC beat the Norse 78-65 on Dec. 4, 2018.
Northern Kentucky will also take a long flight out west to Pullman, Washington to take on Washington State. It will be the first time NKU has ever faced a Pac-12 team.
In addition to the Bearcats, home highlights include hosting Kent State in the season-opener on Nov. 7, Tennessee Tech on Nov. 27 and Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 14.
The Norse will take part in the Florida Gulf Coast Showcase from Nov. 21-23. They will play host Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 21. UT Arlington, Drexel, Indiana State, East Carolina, Kansas City and Toledo will be the other participants.
There will be another trip to Florida on Dec. 21, when NKU travels to play Florida Atlantic.
A pair of Horizon League games — hosting Youngstown State on Dec. 1 and Robert Morris on Dec. 3 — happen in the middle of the non-conference schedule. The full league schedule begins Dec. 29 with the Norse hosting Wright State.
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2022-23 NKU basketball roster
NO. FULL NAME POS. HT. WT. ACADEMIC YEAR HOMETOWN / HIGH SCHOOL PREVIOUS SCHOOL
0 Isaiah Mason G 6-4 175 So. Bowling Green, Kentucky / Bowling Green High School
1 Trey Robinson G 6-6 220 Jr. Hamilton, Ohio / Hamilton High School
2 Sam Vinson G 6-5 205 So. Fort Thomas, Kentucky / Highlands High School
3 Marques Warrick G 6-2 185 Jr. Lexington, Kentucky / Henry Clay High School
4 A'lahn Sumler G 6-3 185 Fr. Buford, Georgia / Buford High School
5 LJ Wells F 6-8 205 Fr. Eau Claire, Wisconsin / Eau Claire Memorial High School
10 Imanuel Zorgvol C 7-0 215 So. Paramaribo, Suriname / Central Florida Christian Academy
11 Xavier Rhodes G 6-1 170 R-Sr. Lee's Summit, Missouri / Florida Southern College
12 Mitchel Minor G 5-10 175 Fr. Taylor Mill, Kentucky / Scott High School
13 Cole Sherman G 5-11 190 Fr. Louisville, Kentucky / St. Xavier High School
15 Cesar Tchilombo F 6-9 205 Fr. Democratic Republic of the Congo / John Carroll High School
21 Chris Brandon F 6-8 220 Sr. Houston, Texas / Bellaire High School Detroit Mercy
22 Trevon Faulkner G 6-4 200 5th Harrodsburg, Kentucky / Mercer County High School
24 Jake Evans G 6-1 190 Jr. Louisville, Kentucky / Male High School
34 Hubertas Pivorius G 6-2 170 So. Vilnius, Lithuania / Christopher Columbus (Fla.) High School
42 Noah Hupmann C 7-1 225 Jr. Union, Kentucky / Covington Catholic High School
2022-23 NKU basketball schedule
Date Time At Opponent Location
Oct 24 (Mon) 7 PM Home Tiffin University (Ohio) Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Nov 1 (Tue) TBA Away Transylvania University Lexington, KY
Nov 7 (Mon) 7 PM Home Kent State University Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Nov 12 (Sat) 2 PM Home UC Clermont Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Nov 16 (Wed) 7 PM Home Cincinnati Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Nov 21 (Mon) 7:30 PM Neutral Florida Gulf Coast University TBD
Nov 22 (Tue) TBA Neutral TBA TBD
Nov 23 (Wed) TBA Neutral TBA TBD
Nov 27 (Sun) 2 PM Home Tennessee Tech University Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Dec 1 (Thu) 7 PM Home Youngstown State Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Dec 3 (Sat) 6 PM Home Robert Morris Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Dec 7 (Wed) 9 PM Away Washington State University Pullman, WA
Dec 14 (Wed) 7 PM Home Eastern Kentucky University Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Dec 18 (Sun) 2 PM Home Miami University (Hamilton) Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Dec 21 (Wed) 7 PM Away Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
Dec 29 (Thu) 7 PM Home Wright State Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Dec 31 (Sat) 2 PM Away IUPUI Indianapolis, IN (Indiana Farmers Coliseum)
Jan 6 (Fri) 7 PM Home Oakland Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Jan 8 (Sun) 2 PM Home Detroit Mercy Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Jan 12 (Thu) 8 PM Away Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI
Jan 14 (Sat) 7 PM Away Green Bay Green Bay, WI
Jan 19 (Thu) 7 PM Home Cleveland State Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Jan 21 (Sat) 6 PM Home Purdue Fort Wayne Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Jan 26 (Thu) 7 PM Home Green Bay Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Jan 28 (Sat) 4 PM Home Milwaukee Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Feb 2 (Thu) 7 PM Away Robert Morris Moon Township, PA
Feb 4 (Sat) 7 PM Away Youngstown State Youngstown, OH
Feb 10 (Fri) 7 PM Away Wright State Dayton, OH
Feb 12 (Sun) 1 PM Home IUPUI Highland Heights, Ky. (Truist Arena )
Feb 17 (Fri) 7 PM Away Purdue Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, IN
Feb 19 (Sun) 3 PM Away Cleveland State Cleveland, OH
Feb 23 (Thu) 7 PM Away Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI
Feb 25 (Sat) 3 PM Away Oakland Rochester, MI
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: NKU basketball: What to look for in 2022-23 season
