by CLEVELAND, Ohio— The Cleveland State Men’s basketball team is coming off a 19-7 season, including a Horizon League Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, something the Vikings have only done just twice prior to last season.
There are certainly high expectations in Cleveland this season after head coach Dennis Gates has turned around the entire program in just two years. However, to say there is pressure to repeat as conference champions isn’t something worth mentioning
“Last year was last year, each team has a different identity, a different collection of mentalities and a different disposition,” Gates said during media day Thursday morning. “Last year’s opponents are completely different teams…I have the utmost respect for our league and it’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to be easy at all.”
The team was selected to finish first in the Horizon League following its annual preseason poll voted by Horizon League head coaches, media members and sports information directors earlier this month. However, that doesn’t hold much weight to Gates and his team.
“They’re not concerned about that,” Gates said on the player’s reaction to being selected to finish atop the conference. “We have a great disposition in our program and we don’t talk about the past, we don’t talk about the future. We just try to give our very best in the moment and our guys know where they came from.”
The Vikings are entering the 2021-22 season returning all five starters from a year ago. One starter, senior forward Torrey Patton, headlines an experienced group as he led the team in scoring after averaging over 14 points per game. He was named to the All-Horizon League first team a year ago and was selected to the preseason first-team heading into his senior season as well.
It was an imperative summer for the 6-foot-5 Patton, as he decided to exercise his extra year of eligibility and stay in Cleveland for one last season. He’s ready to improve on last year’s success and knows there’s plenty of more work to be done. Despite being selected as the preseason conference favorites, Patton is not yet satisfied.
“We still got the chip on our shoulder and feel like we still have something to prove. I don’t think were satisfied by us being ranked first in the pool, were still hungry and feel like we have that underdog mentality.”
Additional players returning for another season are players like D’Moi Hodge, Craig Beaudion, Deante Johnson and Tre Gomillion. All four payers each averaged more than 20 minutes per game.
Senior guard Tre Gomillion averaged 10.3 points and five rebounds per game for the Vikings. He became just the third player in school history to earn Horizon League’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
Getting to the tournament is one thing. Winning in March is another and Gomillion has his eyes set on more heading into his senior season. He’s not satisfied and knows there’s more to achieve.
“It was a good experience,” Gomillion said about playing in Indianapolis in March. “It was good to be there, we weren’t really too happy about what we did, ending our season with a 30-point loss. It was good to get there but that’s not the goal. Our goal is to get there and win games.”
The Vikings set to open play on Oct. 30 as they play host to Western Reserve Academy in an exhibition game. Their first official game is on Nov. 9 as they travel to Utah to face Brigham Young University before hosting its first home game against Ohio University on Nov. 13.
