Excitement continues to build around the Missouri State men's basketball program as November's opening night approaches.
A fanbase anxious for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999 will be watching closely.
But will the Bears be ready to contend immediately? Not so fast, says the Bears' new head coach.
Dana Ford knows there's still a lot of work to be done before opening night and afterward.
"I'd anticipate some type of a learning curve — how long that is, I don't know," MSU head coach Dana Ford said. "It'll take us some time. Right now, I'm trying to find out who we're going to have here and what they can do and just go from there.