Players to watch at The Field of 68 Opening Day Showcase

The 2024-2025 NCAA basketball season is rapidly approaching, and the Sanford Pentagon will be the site of the first game of the season. The matchup between Southern Illinois vs. College of Charleston on Nov. 4 will officially tip off the season at 11 a.m. That game will be the first of three matchups at the Sanford Pentagon that day as part of The Field of 68 Opening Day Showcase.

The Field of 68, a college basketball media network bringing basketball fans premier sports content, is partnering with Sanford Sports and the Sanford Pentagon to launch a new, innovative event on the opening day of the college basketball season. The inaugural event features the following matchups and will be broadcast on The Field of 68 YouTube Channel and X feeds:

• College of Charleston vs. Southern Illinois – 11 a.m. Central
• Saint Louis vs. Santa Clara – 2 p.m. Central
• McNeese State vs. South Dakota State University – 5 p.m. Central

With six teams coming to the Sanford Pentagon, there will be plenty of talented players taking the court. Freddy Coleman, Sanford Sports Academy basketball manager and former North Dakota State University basketball star, highlighted six players that fans should be excited to watch during The Field of 68 Opening Day Showcase.

Kalen Garry: Guard, SDSU

Garry and the Jackrabbits are the local flavor for this event. Garry played his prep basketball down the road at DeSmet and as a redshirt freshman started 15 games for SDSU last season.

“He's a really good scorer and a really good shooter,” Coleman said. “His greatest strength is he’s the toughest kid on the court every game. Toughness not in terms of strong or physical, but just making winning plays. He dives on the floor for loose balls. He’s a really good defender. He’s a strong and athletic kid. He just makes winning plays and I don’t think you can have enough of those guys on the floor. The kid is just a tough basketball player and that’s what I love about this game.”

Christian Shumate: Forward, McNeese State

Shumate was named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year last season. His menacing defense helped McNeese State win 30 games and reach the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Gonzaga in the first round.

“He’s a really long athlete,” Coleman said. “He’s long, lanky, bouncy. His length and athleticism on the defensive end gives teams fits. He does a good job with tips, deflections and blocks. He’s a high-energy guy that impacts the game on both ends of the floor. He’s a walking double-double.”

Robbie Avila: Center, Saint Louis

Avila, an Indiana State transfer, has the most star power of any player at The Opening Day Showcase. Last season, Avila averaged 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. 

“He’s not super quick twitched,” Coleman said. “I call them groundhogs. He’s a below the rim type of guy. He’s not going to out athletic you. He’s not super long or lanky. He’s got good footwork, and he never gets sped up. He doesn’t get out of his element. He plays at his speed and his comfort zone.”

Coleman noted that Avila’s game reminds him a little of Nikola Jokic, the starting center for the Denver Nuggets and three-time NBA MVP.

“He’s that European big. He’s a good passer and a really good shooter. He’s almost a Baby Joker. You have to know where he’s at on the floor. He impacts it so much when the ball is in his hands.”

Adama-Alpha Bal: Guard, Santa Clara

During his first season at Santa Clara, Bal led the Broncos in scoring and averaged 14.6 points per game. The Arizona transfer and France native has a knack for knocking down tough shots.

“He’s just a playmaker,” Coleman said. “The biggest thing with him is he consistently makes tough shots. As a defender it’s really frustrating when you do everything right and you bait him into a tough shot, and he still makes it. With his length and athleticism, he can get to the rim. He’s really crafty around the rim. When the ball is in his hands, he’s electric.”

Ante Brzovic: Forward, College of Charleston

Brzovic is the lone returning starter for a Cougars team that’s coming off a 27-win season that ended with an opening round loss to Alabama in the NCAA tournament. The crafty lefty averaged 12.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game last season.

“He's got food feel for the game,” Coleman said. “He’s big and he’s physical. He’s really good in the post and he’s aware of where his defenders are. His go-to move is he feels out this defender and he spins baseline. He does it consistently. It shows what kind of footwork he has at 6’10.” He has an ability to knock down threes and has a feel for the offensive glass. He gets some tips and deflections to keep the ball alive.”

Drew Steffe: Guard, Southern Illinois

Southern Illinois has a ton of new faces on the roster this season. A player who could quickly make a name for himself due to his offensive skillset is Steffe.

“He redshirted last season at Texas Tech,” Coleman said. “He was a four-star recruit out of high school. He’s a big guard and he’s known as a scorer. He can really shoot it and fill it up. He can stretch it from three. He set all sorts of records in high school out of Frisco Memorial. I think they are going to be relying heavily on him offensively.”

Stars on the sideline

This event will feature coaches who have enjoyed a ton of success at the Division I ranks. The most familiar name is Scott Nagy, the former SDSU head coach. Nagy spent 21 seasons at SDSU and owns a career record of 577-332, and he’s guided his teams to 14 straight winning seasons. The Southern Illinois head coach currently ranks No. 18 in wins among active Division I coaches.

Other coaches who will be featured in this event include Chris Mack (College of Charleston), Will Wade (McNeese State), Herb Sendek (Santa Clara), Josh Schertz (Saint Louis University) and Eric Henderson (SDSU).

“They bring some star power,” Coleman said. “This building is starting to become a national thing, where people want to come and play. It says a lot about the staff and the administration that bring some of these teams in. These coaches understand what this place is about as well. I think it’s really cool to get some star power in this event and to get some coaches in here that have done it at a high level.”

Tickets for this event are on sale now at Ticketmaster.