Mid-Major Minutes: Keon Johnson will play in Kosovo, and we ranked the Ohio Valley Conference’s best Ricks

Good morning! If you’re reading this, you’re clearly starting your day off right with an effort to better yourself by becoming more educated about the goings-on in the mid-major world.

In a landscape so dominated by the biggest schools and conferences, it’s quite hard to winnow down the information you want and need to hear about your favorite mid-major programs.

Thankfully, Mid-Major Madness is here to aggregate the news and links for you, providing you with a brand-new, daily post about the world of mid-major hoops.

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#Content to Read

The OVC’s best Ricks, ranked (Mid-Major Madness)

Many of you who are fans of me know that I love two things: Rick Byrd and OVC basketball. I combined those two things to write my finest piece for this site, a comprehensive ranking of the best Ricks throughout OVC history.

Although, I do have one caveat for interested readers: The number one guy may not be who you think it is. There are bound to be surprises, and there are many players that will make you nostalgic for some of the OVC’s best days.

Keon Johnson to play basketball in Kosovo (The Herald)

Perhaps the greatest player in Winthrop history signed to play with Sigal Prishtina, a professional basketball team in Kosovo. Johnson will take his talents to a nation that has only been independent for about nine years, where he will play for a very highly-decorated team.

As The Herald’s Bret McCormick wrote, Sigal Prishtina sounds excited to have Johnson join their squad:

Kosovo’s reigning champs, Sigal Prishtina, announced Johnson’s signing with a press release that required Google translation for English speakers:

“The next player to join our trip is Keon Johnson who despite his height (only 170 cm) is a players and quite promising by testifying that the length is only a number!!”

Norlander examines the offseason’s “most intriguing storylines” (CBS Sports)

Of the 10 storylines that Matt Norlander discussed in his piece, only one truly involved mid-majors: The major conference realignment that the Missouri Valley Conference underwent.

Those who frequently read this great website of ours know that the MVC saw its best member — Wichita State — leave for the American Athletic Conference, and the Valparaiso Crusaders take their place. Norlander also offered his own thoughts on where the MVC should go from here:

League expansion -- potentially. But the Missouri Valley has done well, relatively speaking, with a 10-team setup. I would advise against going to a 12-team model, but ultimately the league presidents will weigh the pros and cons of going to 12. My expectation is that we'll have a verdict on the MVC staying at 10 or going to 12 before the year is up.

Big Sky basketball schedule announced (Big Sky Conference)

Information overload took hold of the Mid-Major Madness staff today as we perused the complete conference schedule released by the Big Sky. The herculean list, released by the conference, lists every game for the upcoming year, leaving us room to be excited about the matchups we are destined to witness.

Oh, and #RoadToReno is the official Big Sky hoops hashtag. Use it accordingly.

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Tweets of Interest

Happy anniversary Coach Cross!

The Palestra is getting a facelift

It’s easy for us to recognize NCCU’s greatness, Coach Moton.

A former Blue Raider gets the Summer League start

Smart and talented!

I’m picking the Jordair Jett team to go to the Final Four

HE HAS A PICKAXE

Just in case you’re confused

A schedule has been released in Ogden

The greatest shoes I’ve ever seen

We didn’t ask to see this

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Recruiting News