ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Valley Conference is banking on experience in its attempt to escape the world of one-bid leagues.

That's where the Valley has fallen the past two seasons, advancing only its tournament champion to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Before that, the conference had a nine-year run with multiple teams in the NCAAs, landing three berths in 2005 and a record four in 2006.

The teams that qualified those seasons were loaded with wily veterans. Those players moved on, and many of the league's teams were forced to go with younger players the past two seasons. The freshmen and sophomores who took their lumps have now grown into experienced players who Valley coaches and officials hope can produce big results this season.

“I think the maturation process is over with,'' Valley Commissioner Doug Elgin said, “and we'll once again be a league to be reckoned with.''

At the very least, Creighton coach Dana Altman said, it should make for an interesting race for the championship. Altman's team was picked second behind Northern Iowa in the preseason poll announced Tuesday at the Valley's basketball media day.

“The league is much more experienced, and it should be a very competitive race,'' Altman said. “That should make for an exciting year for the league.''

A couple of transfers from Iowa could add to that excitement: Tony Freeman, now at Southern Illinois, and Jake Kelly, now at Indiana State.

That's a view shared by Josh Young of Drake and Adam Koch of Northern Iowa, preseason All-Valley players who squared off against Freeman and Kelly when they were Hawkeyes.

“Oh, man, they're definitely going to bring another level of substance to those teams,'' Young said. “Those guys both compete at a high level. They want to win, and that shows in their games. Both of those programs are fortunate to get those two guys.''

Freeman sat out last season after transferring. He played three seasons at Iowa, averaging 13.8 points as a junior in 2007-08 while earning third-team All-Big Ten honors.

Even though Freeman has yet to score a basket for the Salukis, the 6-foot-1 guard was voted to the Valley's preseason all-conference team.

“That stuff is good for our team, but in the scheme of things, it doesn't really matter,'' Freeman said. “As long as we can keep thinking team and keep that first, all that other stuff will come.''

Freeman, whose father, Tony, lettered on Indiana's 1987 national championship team, is being counted on to help restore some luster to Southern Illinois' image. The league's premier program of the 2000s took a beating last season, finishing fifth in the league and 13-18 overall.

“We expect a lot of leadership out of Tony,'' SIU coach Chris Lowery said. “He's played in a lot of big-time environments at Iowa. We feel that can only help as he comes into our league. And he's a scorer — teams are going to have to guard him every possession.''

Kelly's reasons for transferring to Indiana State were rooted in personal tragedy. His mother, Julia, was killed on June 7, 2008, in a plane crash. Kelly went on to play his sophomore season at Iowa, leading the Hawkeyes in scoring and earning All-Big Ten honorable mention.

After the season, Kelly informed Iowa coach Todd Lickliter that he wanted to return to Terre Haute, where he had lived for the first 12 years of his life. Lickliter gave Kelly his release, and he also wrote a letter to the NCAA on Kelly's behalf, arguing that Kelly should be able to play immediately.

The NCAA granted Kelly a waiver to its rule that requires transfers to sit out a season. He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining, and his presence should have an immediate impact on the Sycamores.

“He's a versatile player,'' Indiana State coach Kevin McKenna said. “He can handle the ball, he can pass, he can shoot. He's a tenacious player. He's fit in really well, and our guys are looking forward to playing with him.''

At 6-6, Kelly poses potential problems on the perimeter for Valley opponents.

“When we played Iowa last year, he was a real tough matchup,'' said Northern Iowa's Koch, who also faced Kelly in summer league competition. “He has the ability to get past guys and then elevate over the top. He's going to be a really good player for them, for sure, and he'll have a chance to do a lot of good things.''

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com