Wheeling, W. Va. - Following the 2021-22 season, the Wheeling University men's basketball team would see many of their top stars graduate. In their place steps a new generation of Cardinals Men's Basketball players looking to lead the team into the future. We are just under a week away from the start of the season as the Cardinals begin the road back to the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament.

Last season, the Cardinals put together their best season under Head Coach Chris Richardson, going 10-20 overall and 8-14 in MEC play. They earned the #9 seed in the MEC Tournament and would be playing higher seeds throughout their tournament run. However, they handled each task thrown their way, competing down to the final moments of the season. They began their tournament run against #7 seeded Glenville State , got out to an early lead, and road that to a 78-72 victory to advance to the MEC Quarterfinals. It set up a special playoff edition of "The Battle for Wheeling" with the Cardinals battling West Liberty. It once again came down to the final seconds but Wheeling was unable to come out on top as they fell 88-81. Jordan Reid and Jarett Haines each earned All-MEC Second Team honors to close out the season and gave the Cardinals a taste of success.

While Haines and Reid are graduated, the Cardinals bring back a few veterans who were big contributers during the run. The Cardinals top two big men from last season are back in senior John Korte and Junior Andrew Taylor. Korte was Wheeling's top rebounder a season ago, averaging 6.0 rebounds per game while leading the group with 168 defensive rebounds. He finished the season with one double-double and shot nearly 43% from the floor. Taylor was right behind Korte with a career-best 5.6 rebounds per game to go along with 7.6 points per game. Wheeling native Brent Price also returns and looks to be a leader on the court. He averaged 8.6 points per game last season and was one of Wheeling's best shooters at 44.9% from the floor.
However, the Cardinals will feature 10 freshman and one transfer student who will look to make an immediate impact on the team.

Marcus Johnson is the transfer, coming to Wheeling from Parkland College where he had an impressive freshman season. He averaged 8.2 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game in his 29 appearances for Parkland. One of his best traits was his shooting ability, shooting over 50% from the floor and 37.7% from beyond the arc. Among the incoming freshman class is a big local flare with players from Shady side, The Linsly School, and Wheeling Central Catholic on the list. After leading their team to the 2022 OVAC 3A Championship, Raef Wykes and Caleb Murray look to keep that success going in Wheeling. Three time All-OVAC player Ryan Reasbeck and 1st Team All-OVAC player Korey Beckett join the group hoping to impact the team this season.
In his third season at the helm of the Wheeling Men's Basketball team, Chris Richardson understands the challenges of having a team comprised mostly of freshman. However, he is confident in the guys he brought in and is working to make it all come together.

"We wanted to get bigger, and we have gotten bigger, we wanted to get more balanced, I think we have done that, the key for us is going to be how does it all come together," said Richardson. "A lot of these guys are going to be playing college basketball for the first time and a lot of guys are going to be asked to do a little more than they're used to. I'm very excited about this team and it's going to be about how it all comes together dealing with the higher and the lows of a rigorous Mountain East Conference schedule."

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team kicks off the 2022-23 season on Friday, November 11th when they head to the West Liberty Crossover to battle California University of Pennsylvania at 7:30 PM.