Preston Spradlin and his Morehead State Eagles celebrate after winning the OVC Tournament to earn a NCAA berth. (Morehead State Athletics Photo)
Preston Spradlin said not to mistake the confidence his team had going into the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title game against Belmont Saturday night.
“We had a real peaceful feeling, a lot of belief. When we did win, it was a surreal feeling. Celebrating with the guys was an unbelievable feeling,” said the Morehead State coach.
Freshman Johni Broome, the tourney MVP, had 27 points and 12 rebounds while Skyelar Potter had 22 points and 13 rebounds in the 86-71 win that put Morehead (23-7) into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011.
Spradlin joined us on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports and was fantastic talking about his team. His appreciation for what his team has done this year came across loud and clear.
“We have a fantastic group of young men on our team,” Spradlin, who worked on John Calipari’s staff at UK from 2009-14, said. “I say it in every interview and it’s true. Nobody has more fun than us. We spent a ton of time with each other this year. COVID has given us the gift of not being around anyone else and we got a lot closer.”
Spradlin, a Floyd County native, played at Alice Lloyd College in eastern Kentucky. He was a graduate assistant at UK under John Calipari from 2009-11 and was his assistant director of basketball operations from 2011-14. He joined Sean Woods’ staff at Morehead in 2014 as an assistant coach. He was promoted to interim coach when Woods was forced to resign in 2016 and then head coach.
“When I left UK to go to Morehead to work for Sean it was a homecoming for me,” Spradlin said. “I’m from Floyd County. Morehead was my dream job growing up and still is. It’s where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do at a young age. My wife and I and our family are really invested in the community.
“We are out in the community. We have real relationships with people in the university and town. I have always really wanted to serve the Appalachian region in any capacity. To bring a championship home means a tremendous amount to me.”
Spradlin said the “people” in Morehead separate his program from others.
“We have unbelievable people on campus and in the community who love basketball and are invested in our players’ success,” Spradlin said. “For them all to get to enjoy this championship with us means a lot to me and the players.”
