Note: The following piece was prepared by Dean Keener, who provides commentary on Southern Conference men’s basketball broadcasts.
Keener played collegiately at Davidson before embarking on a successful 20-year coaching career. He served as head coach at James Madison from 2004-08. You can follow him on twitter: @DeanKeener1
Keener, along with Darren Goldwater, will call the January 24 matchup between UNCG and Chattanooga on ESPN3.
The Dean’s List
January 7, 2015
I. Inside the SoCon
It’s hard to believe that it’s already January 7 and conference play is in full swing. For all Southern Conference basketball fans, remember that an 18-game league schedule is a marathon, not a sprint and can take many twists and turns. Don’t panic if your school is a few games behind in the standings; yet don’t get too high if your team has jumped to the top during the early going. Injuries, suspensions, and more importantly, quirks in the schedule (e.g. Samford will play Wofford twice by January 10!) can help or hurt teams during the grind of January and February.
I do think that we have a slightly better sampling of where teams stand as we enter conference play this season as SoCon teams played just 21 non-Division I games this year as opposed to 32 a year ago. While Southern Conference teams need home games, I like the fact that most members chose to limit non-DI games. In fact, Samford played just one and no team played four as had been the case in previous years!
All said, I think we are in for one of the most exciting conference seasons in a long time - did you happen to see the Wofford / Chattanooga game? While the Wofford Terriers remain the team to beat, there are clearly five or six other programs that have a chance to capture the regular season title.
II. What is Mid-Major Basketball?
George Mason, VCU, Butler and Wichita State have all made the Final Four in recent years and Davidson was a jump shot away from beating Kansas and advancing to the 2008 Final Four. These accomplishments have altered the perception of college basketball. Thus it begs the question; “What is mid-major basketball and who’s in it?”
Realignment has also changed the landscape at the Division I level as 93 schools have changed conference affiliation since 2011. Examples include Creighton and Butler which are now in the Big East. VCU and George Mason also moved and currently reside in the Atlantic 10, which put six members in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. UConn has won four NCAA Tournament Championships (1999, 2004, 2011 and 2014), yet they left the Big East and now compete in a “non-Power Five Conference” called the American Athletic Conference with the likes of Central Florida, who was in the Atlantic Sun Conference just ten years ago and East Carolina, who hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1993 (when they won the CAA with a 14-16 record) and have had just three winning seasons in the last 17 years!
So how can we classify Division I basketball? Years ago, most people placed schools in three categories: low, mid and high-major. It’s simply not that easy anymore. Is the West Coast Conference (WCC) a mid-major conference? Long-time member Gonzaga is anything but a mid-major program and rival BYU plays in the sixth-largest on-campus facility (The Marriott Center) where they averaged 15,875 fans a game last season! The Missouri Valley Conference regularly receives multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament, but most fans would not call The Valley the highest of Division I leagues. I don’t think anyone can make the case that the Ivy League is in the uppermost level of college basketball, but Harvard has won a game in the NCAA Tournament each of the past two years. No doubt, the job Tommy Amaker and his staff have done has put other league members on notice to elevate their talent pool. Yale beat UConn earlier this season and Columbia, without its best player, gave Kentucky all it could handle in Rupp Arena.
The Southern Conference may not be considered a high major basketball league, but the level of play its members compete at is such that all its opponents are on notice every night. Wofford showed that by drilling Iona on national TV in November and then beating NC State in Reynolds Coliseum in mid-December. And if you saw the Terriers play at Chattanooga Monday night on ASN, then you know that this league has some high level players and can provide some terrific moments.
My conclusion is that the term “mid-major” is outdated and should have been thrown out several years ago. You can no longer classify schools by the league they play in. Schools from throughout the country – in all 32 leagues – are playing at a very high level. Many are paying their coaches over $1M, building practice facilities that rival those in the NBA and chartering to games as needed.
Let’s agree to call college basketball just that…..college basketball. Are there upsets? Sure. Are all schools equal in facilities, staff salaries and student-athlete amenities? No, not at all. But just about all the 351 schools that play Division I basketball have proven at various times that the landscape in college hoops is wide open and because of realignment every conference has teams that can advance deep into the NCAA Tournament. It’s what makes March Madness the greatest sporting event in America.
III. What’s in a Name?
What up J? Don’t you find it interesting that a quick look at the current SoCon statistical leaders reveals that: QJ (Peterson) from VMI is the leading scorer, P.J. (Horgan) at The Citadel leads the league in field goal percentage and is tied with UNCG’s R.J. (White) as the leading rebounder? And that’s not to mention T.J. (Hallice) at Mercer, A.J. (Merriweather) at ETSU and C.J. (Bray) at The Citadel who all play important roles for their teams. Too bad D.J. (Covington) graduated from VMI this past spring!
IV. Young Guns
We’re almost two months into the season and while the league has been dominated by upperclassmen, we are already seeing there is a lot of good, young talent in the Southern Conference:
· Christen Cunningham (Samford)
- Point guard has started every game in his young career and is one of the cornerstones of Scott Padgett’s program. Once he improves on his perimeter shooting, he will be hard to guard
· Daniel Fowler(Furman)
- Athletic wing can do a little bit of everything for Niko Medved
· Geoff Beans (Furman)
- The leading freshman scorer in the SoCon (11.2ppg) simply knows how to put the ball in the basket
· Jake Wright (The Citadel)
- Possibly the best young 3-point marksman in the Southern Conference
· Devin Peterson (Western Carolina)
- Very pedestrian numbers, but he is learning from Mike Brown, Rhett Harrleson and James Sinclair. That will pay big dividends down the road
· Desonta Bradford (ETSU)
- Much like Peterson, Bradford gets limited minutes due to a talented upper class perimeter group. That said, he is a name to remember
· Derrick Brooks (Wofford)
- Again, Brooks has average numbers but is playing in a crowded backcourt. His is a terrific athlete that has the potential to be one of the best defenders in the league in years to come
· Cameron Jackson (Wofford)
- The big fella from Winchester, Virginia is still just 18 years old. As he matures and gets his body into shape, he is going to be a real force in the Southern Conference
· Jordan Strawberry (Mercer)
- People want to talk about his father (Darryl), but this Strawberry can play! He has provided solid minutes off the bench for the Bears who are 3-0 in league play
V. The SoCon Ladder
Through the first full weekend of league play, the ladder remains very fluid. In particular, the middle of the pack is going to take some time to play itself out.
1. Wofford –The Terriers are now the “hunted” and getting everyone’s best shot. They opened league play with two games on the road and survived both. The performance by Karl Cochran in the last 12 minutes of the game at Chattanooga was one for the ages as he poured in 24 points during that stretch
2. ETSU – Even with the home loss to UNCG on December 13, the Bucs are still one of the top teams in the SoCon. The loss of Ron Giplaye may be a factor down the stretch, but their strong perimeter play will keep them in most games
3. Chattanooga – The Mocs are starting to hit a nice stride, although the home loss to Wofford has to sting. Justin Tuoyo leads the SoCon in blocks (3.2) and Casey Jones is as talented as anyone in the league. And if Eric Robertson keeps shooting at his torrid pace, look out!
4. Mercer – The Bears have had to navigate through a difficult non-conference schedule as well as playing just six of their first seventeen games in the friendly confines of Hawkins Arena. That said, Bob Hoffman has the Bears sitting at 3-0 in their first year in the SoCon
5. Western Carolina – Don’t look now but Larry Hunter has Western ready for conference play. The Catamounts have won four in a row. Tomorrow’s game at Chattanooga looms large
6. VMI – Nobody plays faster or shoots more threes than the Keydets. They’re exciting to watch and difficult to prepare for and therefore will be a difficult out in league play
7. The Citadel – Chuck Driesell has a veteran group, yet his team’s margin for error is razor thin but seniors Ashton Moore and P.J. Horgan are doing everything they can to turn the Bulldogs’ fortunes
8. Samford – Without question the surprise team in the Southern Conference. Unfortunately, Scott Padgett’s group has nothing to show for it in league play as they sit at 0-4
9. UNCG – The Spartans made a statement by upsetting ETSU in Johnson City in early December, but they couldn’t take advantage of two home games this past weekend and now find themselves in a bit of a bind with four of the next five on the road
10. Furman – The Paladins have some of the best young talent in the Southern Conference, but the young guns will need to grow up quicker than usual if they are going to move up in the standings
Follow me throughout the year on twitter: @DeanKeener1.