Top Redhawk basketball recruit out with torn ACL

Maybe the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball program is cursed these days when it comes to knee injuries.

Scott Edgar had bad luck with several knee injuries to key players during his two-year tenure as the Redhawks' coach.

Now it's first-year coach Dickey Nutt's turn to take a hit from the curse.

Leon Powell, Nutt's top signee for the 2009-10 season, suffered a knee injury during a pickup game in St. Louis several weeks ago and likely will miss the entire campaign.

Powell, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward, played the past two seasons at perennial national junior college power Indian Hills in Iowa.

Nutt told me he has received conflicting reports whether Powell suffered a fully torn ACL or a partial tear, but sources told me it is a full tear and he definitely will miss the entire season.

Powell has a redshirt year available, meaning he still would have two seasons of eligibility remaining if he doesn't play in 2009-10.

Powell averaged 11.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game as a sophomore for an Indian Hills squad that went 30-3 and was ranked second nationally. He shot 61.8 percent from the field.

Powell, a St. Louis native who played for national high school power Vashon, earned all-region second-team honors the past two seasons at Indian Hills.

Without Powell what already shaped up as another rough year for the Redhawks likely will be even rougher.

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Former Bell City High School basketball star Will Bogan is being pursued by several major programs, with more expected to join in.

Bogan recently participated in a showcase-type camp that featured what are considered the top 120 junior college players in the country.

Bogan, who played one season at Southeast in 2007-08 before leaving the program, is now at Highland (Ill.) Community College, where he redshirted last year while practicing with the team. He has one season of junior college eligibility remaining.

Former Southeast assistant Ronnie Dean, a current Highland assistant, helped Bogan land at the junior college in Freeport, Ill.

Dean told me last week that the 6-10 Bogan already has been offered scholarships from Auburn, Saint Louis and Western Kentucky, among others. Dean said he wouldn't be surprised is some of the perennial national powers also pursue Bogan.

Dean said Bogan has worked hard in the classroom and on the court since arriving at Highland. He's down to about 260 pounds, after he left Bell City weighing about 340 pounds and played for Southeast at just more than 300.

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Even though the Morehead State men's basketball team won the 2008-09 Ohio Valley Conference tournament and represented the league in the NCAA tournament, all apparently is not well in the Eagles' program.

The university recently announced it is involved in an institutional investigation regarding allegations of NCAA rules violations made against the men's basketball program.

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The college football season is just around the corner as most teams begin their fall camps early next month. Southeast gets its camp going Aug. 5.

Due to the rough economy, the OVC is not conducting its annual in-person football and basketball media days this year. By eliminating those events, which always were held in Nashville, Tenn., the conference will save a substantial amount of money.

But as in the past, preseason all-OVC teams and the predicted order of finish for those sports still will be released. The results for football will come out a week from today.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian