Five Tiny Tidbits On: The Missouri Valley Conference

Thought we were done previewing things? How could you think that, with your NCAA Basketball Tournament office pool a mere four months away? So who's with me? Let's Gooo!

• 1. Chilly Reception. Bradley freshman forward Saihou Jassey, from Gambia, is a member of the the Mandinka tribe, the largest of that African nation's seven major tribes. On seeing snow for the first time last year, he was not only unimpressed, but a bit angry: "Seeing snow wasn't very exciting to me because I don't like snow. It might seem like a cool thing to other people, but not me. I wish I had never seen it."

• 2. ISU Will Dominate You. Indiana State has a player named Dom Johnson (whose full name is Dominitrix), who leads the team in scoring at 16.7 ppg. The second leading scorer is 'Boo' Richardson with 12.3 ppg. Of course this is just three games into the season. Between 'Trix and 'Boo' (berry), there's a lot of opportunities for cereal endorsements. Doug Collins is a former standout player with the Redbirds. — (Thanks to John Modde)

• 3. Well, That's Totally ... What? Southern Illinois freshman forward Jordan Armstrong lost 45 pounds in one week while in the hospital following an automobile accident in 2002. His team bio includes this curious sentence: Father is an officer and also repairs shoes...

• 4. Little Big-Eight. The MVC was formed from a split of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA) in 1928. The larger state schools (Kansas, Missouri, etc..) became the Big Six (later Eight), while the smaller schools formed the Missouri Valley Conference. Many former MVC-affiliated teams have gone on to bigger and better things after leaving the conference. Notable ex-MVC teams include Cincinnati, Memphis, Tulsa, and Oklahoma State (then Oklahoma A&M). — (Thanks to John Modde).

• 5. Out Of His Shell. Evansville sophomore guard Shy Ely is actually pretty gregarious — he's majoring in broadcast communications.