Five takeaways from Valparaiso men's basketball media day

MBB: Beacons are building toward the start of the 2025-26 season

VALPARAISO - The image was striking on Thursday afternoon.

As Roger Powell Jr. sat down for the start of Valparaiso’s annual Men’s Basketball Media Day press conference, he was flanked by four players that had to squeeze together to be in the camera shot.

There was the lone scholarship player who logged minutes last season. The player who went from NAIA to Division II and is now getting a crack at Division I. The former four-star recruit that started his career in the Big Ten before finding his footing in the American Athletic Conference. Then there was the Evansville native who was overlooked by his hometown school and will undoubtedly have a handful of games circled on his calendar this season.

The truly intriguing part about Thursday’s press conference is there’s no guarantee the four players featured will end up being everyday starters in the lineup. Sure, much is expected of Justus McNair, Brody Whitaker, Isaiah Barnes and Owen Dease, but Powell could’ve easily brought Mark Brown Jr., Shon Tupuola, Carter Hopoi and JT Pettigrew into the presser. Or Kobe Walker, Rakim Chaney, Tucker Tornatta or Sader Servilus.

For a program that has put its coach front and center for the last two years, there are suddenly a host of players that will have an opportunity to step into the limelight.

Here are five takeaways from Valparaiso men’s basketball Media Day.