Wichita State notes: Austin Reaves targets August for return to basketball after shoulder surgery

Austin Reaves knows the routine: wear a sling for five weeks, rehab, return to shooting and passing.

Reaves, a senior at Cedar Ridge (Ark.) High, underwent surgery to repair the torn labrum in his left shoulder on March 23. Three years earlier, he had similar surgery on his right shoulder.

“The doctor said everything went great,” Reaves said. “I would say it kept me out three months (the first time), that’s with full-contact stuff.”

Reaves, a 6-foot-5 guard, gave Wichita State a non-binding commitment in January and plans to make it official during the signing period that begins April 13. He averaged around 33 points, 11 rebounds and 7.5 assists in leading Cedar Ridge to the Class 3A title.

Reaves, who is right-handed, played with the injury since midway through his junior season, wearing a black brace to keep the shoulder stable. He dislocated the shoulder diving for a loose ball. His goal is play on Wichita State’s exhibition tour and practices, likely in Montreal in August, although the details of the trip are not set.

“That’s what we’re shooting for,” he said.

He will come to Wichita in June to start summer school and do his rehab under the care of WSU’s medical staff.

“I’m in a sling for five or six weeks, and then I start rehab after that,” he said.

VanVleet sits out — Wichita State’s Ron Baker scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds for the West in Friday’s Reese’s NABC All-Star Game at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Fred VanVleet did not play and told the CBS sideline reporter that he tweaked his back.

Baker made 4 of 7 three-pointers and had two assists in an 89-85 win over East. Evansville’s Egidijus Mockevicius scored 12 points for West.

Valley slide — The Missouri Valley Conference is finding 2015’s landmark baseball season a hard act to follow. That’s understandable after Missouri State and Dallas Baptist hosted regionals and Bradley — Bradley — earned an at-large bid.

Last season’s MVC ranked No. 6 in the warrennolan.com RPI with those three schools in the top 25 and Indiana State No. 90.

The MVC shouldn’t count on such a haul this season when the NCAA hands out bids. As of Saturday, it ranked No. 15 in the RPI with Missouri State (No. 74) and Indiana State (No. 95) leading the way. The Shockers started Saturday ranked No. 195.

Last season, MVC schools won 58 percent of their non-conference games. This season, it’s 54 percent. Since most mid-week scheduling is geographic, the success of the MVC is tied to the success of the Big 10.

Last season, the MVC benefited from the success of Indiana, Iowa and Illinois, programs that regularly schedule MVC schools.

Bradley, for example, went 5-8 against the top 50 of the RPI and two of those wins came over No. 28 Iowa, a significant factor in the at-large bid for the Braves. No. 12 Illinois went 4-1 against MVC schools and No. 35 Indiana went 0-4.

This season, Illinois is No. 85 with a 1-3 record vs. MVC schools, No. 161 Iowa is 2-9 and No. 194 Indiana is 4-1. The Hoosiers escaped a loss last week thanks to rain. They trailed Evansville 15-0 in the middle of the fifth inning. A two-hour rain delay ended the game and it will not count.

Even if Valley schools win those games, the RPI benefit is much less than in 2015. The Big 10’s strength is similar to last season, but some of the better teams are not playing MVC schools.

The strength of Iowa, Illinois and Indiana is particularly important for the northern Valley schools, who need good opponents within driving distance for Tuesday and Wednesday games. It should be easier for WSU, Dallas Baptist and Missouri State to play good mid-week opponents due to their proximity to Big 12 and SEC schools.

That contributes to significant drops in strength of schedule rankings for MVC schools. Last season, six MVC schools finished with strength of schedules ranked in the top 100, led by Dallas Baptist’s No. 34. This season, with no conference play yet, Wichita State leads at No. 76 and Dallas Baptist is next at No. 137.

Coming and going — This is the transactions season for college basketball and at least three significant players are among several who won’t return to MVC schools.

Evansville’s Mislav Brzoja, the MVC’s Sixth Man of the Year, is forfeiting his final season to play professionally. Illinois State forward Nick Banyard, who started seven games and averaged 5.2 points and 4.3 rebounds, will transfer to another school for his final season. Banyard played one season at Illinois State after playing two at New Mexico. As a graduate, Banyard plans to be immediately eligible, according to the Pantagraph.

Also moving on is Drake forward Kale Abrahamson, who averaged 11.1 points as a junior. His playing time slipped late in the season and he will transfer, according to the Des Moines Register.

Bradley freshman Scottie James, who averaged 3.2 points, is transferring to Liberty, according to the Peoria Journal Star. Bradley freshman Joel Okafor and Davante Cooper are also leaving. Evansville freshman guard Harris Brown, who played little, is another transfer.

Northern Iowa picked up a familiar name — guard Adam McDermott. He is a nephew to Creighton coach Greg McDermott and cousin to NBA player Doug McDermott.

Adam McDermott, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is transferring to UNI from North Dakota, where he played one season and averaged 6.7 points and made 40.9 percent of his three-pointers. He will redshirt and have three seasons of eligibility starting in 2017-18.

This story was originally published April 2, 2016 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Wichita State notes: Austin Reaves targets August for return to basketball after shoulder surgery."