2018–19 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces, led by first-year head coach Walter McCarty, played their home games at the Ford Center as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 11–21 overall, 5–13 in MVC play, and finishing in last place. As the No. 10 seed in the MVC tournament, they lost to Illinois State in the first round.

2018–19 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record11–21 (5–13 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaFord Center
Seasons
2018–19 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Loyola Chicago 12 6   .667 20 14   .588
Drake 12 6   .667 24 10   .706
Southern Illinois 10 8   .556 17 15   .531
Missouri State 10 8   .556 16 16   .500
Bradley 9 9   .500 20 15   .571
Northern Iowa 9 9   .500 16 18   .471
Illinois State 9 9   .500 17 16   .515
Indiana State 7 11   .389 15 16   .484
Valparaiso 7 11   .389 15 18   .455
Evansville 5 13   .278 11 21   .344
2019 MVC tournament winner

Previous season

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The Purple Aces finished the 2017–18 season 17–15, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for seventh place. As the No. 8 seed in the MVC tournament, they lost to Northern Iowa in the first round.

On March 13, 2018, Evansville fired head coach Marty Simmons.[1] He finished at Evansville with an 11-year record of 184–175. On March 22, the school hired Boston Celtics assistant coach, former Kentucky player, and Evansville native Walter McCarty as head coach.[2]

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Ryan Taylor 0 G 6'6" 195 RS Junior Gary, IN Graduate transferred to Northwestern
Solomon Hainna 5 G 6'6" 195 RS Senior Inglewood, CA Graduated
Dru Smith 12 G 6'3" 190 Sophomore Evansville, IN Transferred to Missouri
Dalen Traore 15 C 6'9" 230 Senior Ivory Coast Graduated
Duane Gibson 25 G 6'3" 195 RS Senior Cleveland, OH Graduated
Blake Simmons 50 G/F 6'5" 210 RS Senior Newburgh, IN Graduated

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Artur Labinowicz 2 G 6'4" 190 Junior Charlotte, NC Transferred from Coastal Carolina. Under NCAA transfer rules, Labinowicz will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Devan Straub 4 G 6'2" 190 RS Sophomore Evansville, IN Transferred from Indiana Kokomo. Will be eligible to play. Will join the team as a walk-on.
Shea Feehan 21 G 6'0" 155 RS Senior Peoria, IL Transferred from Eureka College. Will be eligible to play immediately since Feehan graduated from Eureka.
Sam Cunliffe 24 G 6'6" 200 Junior Seattle, WA Transferred from Kansas. Under NCAA transfer rules, Cunliffe will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

2018 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
DeAndre Williams
#42 SF
Houston, TX Klein Forest High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Apr 14, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247Sports:     ESPN grade: 76
Will Becker
#57 PF
Aurora, CO Smokey Hill High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) May 17, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 65
Shamar Givance
PG
Toronto, ON First Love Christian Academy 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) N/A May 1, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jawaun Newton
SG
El Paso, TX Burges High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) May 8, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2019 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Marcus Henderson
PG
Charlotte, NC United Faith Christian Academy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) N/A Oct 10, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

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2018–19 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Marty Hill 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Champlin Park
Northeast CC
Brooklyn Park, MN
G 2 Artur Labinowicz   6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Combine Academy
Coastal Carolina
Charlotte, NC
G 3 Jawaun Newton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Burges El Paso, TX
G 4 Devan Straub (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So Mater Dei
IU Kokomo
Evansville, IN
G 5 Shamar Givance 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr First Love Christian Toronto, ON
F 10 Evan Kuhlman 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Lakota East Liberty Township, OH
F 11 Will Becker 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Smoky Hill Aurora, CO
G 12 Jared Chestnut (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Harrison Evansville, IN
F 13 DeAndre Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Klein Forest Houston, TX
F 14 Dainius Chatkevicius 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Sr West Oaks Academy
Vincennes
Klaipėda, Lithuania
G 21 Shea Feehan 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 155 lb (70 kg) RS Sr Notre Dame
Eureka
Peoria, IL
G 24 Sam Cunliffe   6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Rainier Beach
Kansas
Seattle, WA
G 30 Noah Frederking 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Okawville Okawville, IL
G 33 K. J. Riley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Standard of Excellence
Howard College
Bronx, NY
F 35 John Hall 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS So Standard of Excellence Philadelphia, PA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Nov 3, 2018*
2:00 pm
New Mexico Highlands W 83–61 
Ford Center (4,460)
Evansville, IN
Non-conference regular season
Nov 8, 2018*
8:00 pm, BTN Plus
at Illinois
Maui on the Mainland
L 60–99  0–1
State Farm Center (11,755)
Champaign, IL
Nov 10, 2018*
4:00 pm, FSN
at Xavier
Maui on the Mainland
L 85–91  0–2
Cintas Center (10,533)
Cincinnati, OH
Nov 15, 2018*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Kentucky Wesleyan
Maui on the Mainland
W 92–72  1–2
Ford Center (4,497)
Evansville, IN
Nov 18, 2018*
12:00 pm, ESPN+
Texas Southern
Maui on the Mainland
W 85–63  2–2
Ford Center (4,578)
Evansville, IN
Nov 24, 2018*
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Ball State L 72–82  2–3
Worthen Arena (3,224)
Muncie, IN
Nov 28, 2018*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Wyoming
MW–MVC Challenge
W 86–78  3–3
Ford Center (4,709)
Evansville, IN
Dec 1, 2018*
6:00 pm, ESPN3
Albion W 65–49  4–3
Ford Center (4,337)
Evansville, IN
Dec 4, 2018*
7:00 pm
at Arkansas State L 77–87  4–4
First National Bank Arena (1,037)
Jonesboro, AR
Dec 9, 2018*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Ball State W 89–77  5–4
Ford Center (5,672)
Evansville, IN
Dec 15, 2018*
1:00 pm, ESPN3
Jacksonville State L 50–55  5–5
Ford Center (4,814)
Evansville, IN
Dec 18, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Murray State L 64–66  5–6
CFSB Center (4,099)
Murray, KY
Dec 22, 2018*
4:00 pm, ESPN+
Green Bay W 80–75  6–6
Ford Center (5,011)
Evansville, IN
Dec 30, 2018*
12:00 pm, ESPN3
at Miami (OH) L 67–70  6–7
Millett Hall (1,456)
Oxford, OH
Missouri Valley regular season
Jan 2, 2019
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Drake W 82–77  7–7
(1–0)
Ford Center (5,503)
Evansville, IN
Jan 5, 2019
3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH
at Illinois State L 46–58  7–8
(1–1)
Redbird Arena (5,643)
Normal, IN
Jan 8, 2019
7:00 pm, CBSSN
Loyola–Chicago W 67–48  8–8
(2–1)
Ford Center (5,049)
Evansville, IN
Jan 12, 2019
1:00 pm, ESPN3
Indiana State L 66–72  8–9
(2–2)
Ford Center (6,419)
Evansville, IN
Jan 16, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Missouri State W 70–64  9–9
(3–2)
JQH Arena (4,923)
Springfield, MO
Jan 19, 2019
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Illinois State L 70–78  9–10
(3–3)
Ford Center (5,731)
Evansville, IN
Jan 23, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Drake L 66–78  9–11
(3–4)
Knapp Center (2,709)
Des Moines, IA
Jan 26, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Northern Iowa L 74–81  9–12
(3–5)
McLeod Center (3,677)
Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 30, 2019
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Bradley L 73–81  9–13
(3–6)
Ford Center (5,019)
Evansville, IN
Feb 2, 2019
1:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH
Valparaiso W 64–53  10–13
(4–6)
Ford Center (5,805)
Evansville, IN
Feb 6, 2019
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Indiana State L 62–85  10–14
(4–7)
Hulman Center (3,469)
Terre Haute, IN
Feb 9, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Southern Illinois L 73–78  10–15
(4–8)
SIU Arena (4,923)
Carbondale, IL
Feb 13, 2019
6:00 pm, ESPN3
Missouri State L 56–68  10–16
(4–9)
Ford Center (5,289)
Evansville, IN
Feb 17, 2019
3:00 pm, ESPN3
Northern Iowa L 58–73  10–17
(4–10)
Ford Center (6,148)
Evansville, IN
Feb 20, 2019
6:00 pm, FSNW/NBCSCH
at Loyola–Chicago L 58–70  10–18
(4–11)
Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,204)
Chicago, IL
Feb 23, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Bradley L 61–63  10–19
(4–12)
Carver Arena (6,571)
Peoria, IL
Feb 27, 2019
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Southern Illinois L 91–98  10–20
(4–13)
Ford Center (6,198)
Evansville, IN
Mar 2, 2019
TBA, CBSSN/ESPN2
at Valparaiso W 65–63  11–20
(5–13)
Athletics–Recreation Center (2,592)
Valparaiso, IN
Missouri Valley tournament
Mar 7, 2019
(10) vs. (7) Illinois State
First round
L 60–65  11–21
Enterprise Center (5,004)
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[3]

References

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  1. ^ Goodman, Jeff; Borzello, Jeff (March 13, 2018). "Sources: Marty Simmons out after 11 seasons at Evansville". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  2. ^ "Evansville hires Celtics' McCarty as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  3. ^ "University of Evansville - 2018–19 Men's Basketball Schedule". gopurpleaces.com.