A look at the Wichita-area Jayhawk Conference basketball teams

Coach: Brian Barone, first season

2014-15: 29-4, 14-2 Jayhawk West

Outlook: Barone takes over for former Marquette teammate Mike Bargen, who left to become an assistant coach at Bradley. Barone is a longtime Division I assistant and spent last season at Milwaukee-Green Bay. Bargen hardly left the cupboard bare after winning his second Jayhawk West title and earning an at-large bid to the NJCAA Tournament. Two honorable mention All-Jayhawk West players return: 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Jacolby Harris and 6-4 sophomore forward Chris Howell. Harris averaged 11.0 points, 3.2 assists and led Butler with 2.3 steals. Howell averaged 11.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and finished with five double-doubles.

Coach: Tommy DeSalme, seventh season, 117-76

2014-15: 11-20, 7-4 Jayhawk East

Outlook: Despite Cowley’s overall record – the Tigers finished nine games under .500 – they were one game away from winning the Jayhawk East regular-season title last season. Cowley returns six players from last season, led by 6-6 sophomore guard/forward Soufiyane Diakite, the team’s leading returning scorer (9.6 points) and rebounder (5.3). What Cowley lacked last year was size, with Diakite the team’s tallest player. DeSalme remedied that in the offseason by adding a pair of 6-10 posts in Sao Paolo, Brazil, native Pedro Henrique Martins Da Silva and Kamaal Davis. 　

Coach: Steve Eck, seventh season, 164-39

2014-15: 29-7, 11-5 Jayhawk West

Outlook: Eck is coming off his second Region VI championship at Hutchinson and the Blue Dragons’ first appearance in the NJCAA Tournament quarterfinals since 1994. Hutchinson should be primed for another run at Region VI with its best player back in 6-7 guard Bashir Ahmed, the Jayhawk West Freshman of the Year and an honorable mention All-American. Ahmed averaged 16.3 points and was second on the team with 7.0 rebounds last season. The Bronx, N.Y., native’s recruiting has gone into overdrive this fall. After committing to Iona out of high school, Ahmed now has offers from St. John’s, Cincinnati, Rutgers, Seton Hall and USC, among others. Eck scored an in-state recruiting coup when he landed Wichita East guard Samajae Haynes-Jones, a 5-11 scorer who has Division I potential and helped lead the Aces to the Class 6A title in March.

Coach: Mike Helmer, eighth season, 150-77

2014-15: 24-7, 13-3

Outlook: Helmer has averaged 28 wins over the last three seasons and added a Jayhawk West title in July when Hutchinson was forced to forfeit all of its wins. Butler returns little experience. Only 5-foot-7 sophomore guard Nia Roberts started 11 games last year and averaged 4.5 points. Butler adds former Wichita South guard Eledria Franklin, who spent last season at NCAA Division II Newman, where she appeared in 15 games and averaged 1.2 points, and University of Denver guard Tamara Lee, who led Edmond (Okla.) Santa Fe High to a pair of Class 6A titles.

Coach: Todd Clark, 12th season, 257-98

2014-15: 24-8, 7-6 Jayhawk East

Outlook: Clark has led Cowley to nine straight seasons of at least 20 wins. Clark and assistant coach Troy Thrasher hit the recruiting trail hard in the offseason, with 10 newcomers on the roster and a decidedly international flavor. Clark brings in a pair of guards from Australia (Amy O’Neill, Bridget Mimmo); two 6-2 post players from Spain (Jana Delaurens Murciano, Grace Diaz-Brito); and a 5-10 forward from England (Rhianna Lainge). Cowley’s top returner is 5-9 sophomore guard Makenzie Vining, a Caney native who averaged 9.6 points and 4.0 rebounds.

Coach: John Ontjes, ninth season, 221-62

2014-15: 0-37 (36 wins forfeited)

Outlook: Hutchinson had all of its wins wiped out from last season after the NJCAA, in conjunction with the Jayhawk Conference, concluded two players were given grants-in-aid that exceeded permissible amounts. Part of the penalites included a reduction in scholarships from 15 to 11 this season and 15 to 13 in 2016-17. The silver lining ended up being that the Blue Dragons got to keep their NJCAA runner-up finish and another penalty banning Hutchinson from postseason play this season – a penalty administered by Jayhawk commissioner Bryce Roderick – was overturned. Ontjes has the unique position of becoming the school’s career wins leader for the second time when he hits win No. 226.

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 4:54 AM with the headline "A look at the Wichita-area Jayhawk Conference basketball teams."