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
Inside SoCon Basketball:
50 Things I Can’t Wait for Regarding Southern Conference Basketball
The first of three-part series on Southern Conference Men’s Basketball
Welcome to another season of The Dean’s List! For the past two seasons, I have been given the opportunity to write about all things pertaining to men’s basketball in the Southern Conference. At times, we’ve even touched on national topics to help provide hoop junkies with information, rules and facts relevant to the college game today. I’m thankful that the league office has asked me to do it again and really look forward to getting things started. As usual, we’re in the middle of football season, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start talking about college hoops as there is much to discuss!
Each SoCon team has started practice and with non-conference play quickly approaching, there seems to be a feeling among many members that this could be a special year. One where they represent the league in the NCAA Tournament as conference champions. For the fifth consecutive year, the season will culminate in Asheville, North Carolina and the U.S. Cellular Center. This year marks the 96th edition of this wonderful event as the Southern Conference has the nation’s oldest post-season tournament in college basketball. The first tournament was held in 1922. In fact, I’m not sure there is a better location to hold this event and I look forward to being part of all the action again the first weekend in March!
As we know, with each new season comes the anticipation of so many things. Some good, some not so good, but regardless it’s always exciting to have a discussion about the upcoming season and what will potentially be the headlines and stories that guide us through the winter months. For the Southern Conference, there’s been no shortage of news and excitement as it relates to hoops during the past year. After realignment hit just over a year ago, Commissioner John Iamarino and his staff lured three quality institutions to the league and all of them made an impact in their first year in men’s basketball. Mercer, ESTU and VMI all provided plenty of excitement for hoop fans in the league last year and they should do so again this season for different reasons. And then there were the coaching changes. Four of the 10 league members have a new coach entering this season. While it’s always hard to see good coaches leave their respective schools, I think the athletic directors and Presidents at each institution found the right guy for their open positions.
In Part I of this preseason preview, we will take a quick look back at last season and the headlines that made it a great year in men’s basketball. Then we will dive into the 50 things I can’t wait for regarding Southern Conference basketball!
I’m excited for SoCon hoops and look forward to providing you with information that will keep you updated throughout the year. With that, we begin the 2015-2016 Dean’s List:
A look back at the 2014-15 season
Again, before we get into this year, let’s take one last look at the 2014-2015 season. Mike Young and the Wofford Terriers captured their second straight Southern Conference Tournament title defeating upstart Furman 67-64 in a terrific championship game at the U.S. Cellular Center. The Terriers then gave the Arkansas Razorbacks all they could handle in the NCAA tournament before falling short 56-53. They finished with a school-record 28 wins. Seniors Karl Cochran and Lee Skinner led the way, but juniors Spencer Collins, CJ Neumann and Justin Gordon as well as sophomores Eric Garcia and Jaylen Allen all provided solid play during a record-setting season in Spartanburg.
The Mercer Bears had a solid first year in the league. They participated in the CBI Tournament and beat a very good Stony Brook team in the first round before falling to Louisiana Monroe in the quarterfinals. The Bears finished their first season in the SoCon at 19-16. With a terrific fan base and outstanding facilities, Bob Hoffman and staff proved that they will be a mainstay in the league each and every year.
The Furman Paladins struggled at times during the regular season while playing four freshmen big minutes, yet had a magical run in the Southern Conference tournament and quite possibly could have turned around the fortunes of the entire program in a four-day stretch. Stephen Croone, along with Kris Acox and freshman of the year Devin Sibley proved they could hang with anyone in the league.
Chattanooga was as good as anyone over the course of the regular season finishing alone in second place with a conference record of 15-3, but were upset in their opening round of the tournament and failed to play in the post season. The Mocs had two all-league performers in Casey Jones and Justin Tuoyo.
UNCG showed some positive signs late in the season after being up and down throughout most of the year. Injuries riddled the Spartans and did not allow them to have any consistency in league play. Tevon Saddler was the Spartans most talented player, yet sophomore RJ White showed signs that he could be a physically imposing force in the league. He averaged almost 12 points and seven rebounds per game
Samford head coach Scott Padgett steadied the ship in Birmingham last year. Although the Bulldogs finished just 13-19 overall, they played solid team ball. They had a five-game winning streak in late January/early February that showed they could compete with most in the league. Freshman point guard Christen Cunningham had a terrific first year for the Bulldogs.
Western Carolina finished .500 in league play, but also showed they could compete with anyone as well. Senior James Sinclair was one of the league’s top performers and juniors Mike Brown and Rhett Harrelson had breakout seasons.
The Citadel beat Wofford in mid-January, yet would win just three of its final thirteen. Senior Ashton Moore had a terrific senior season averaging 18.0 ppg, but the Bulldogs simply could not get enough consistency at the defensive end of the floor as opponents shot almost 50-percent from the floor in league play against them.
ETSU proved they were a terrific addition rejoining the Southern Conference after a 10-year absence. The Bucs could really score the ball, but could never get on a roll and after they lost eight of their final 12 games, respected head coach Murry Bartow resigned.
VMI brought its fast-paced offense to the league and gave teams real troubles. The problem was that the Keydets simply could not shoot the three well enough, shooting just 32 percent from behind the arc. Part of the issue was player attrition as talented freshmen Jon Elmore left before the season began and QJ Peterson left in December taking a medical furlough.
No doubt, last season was exciting and created a ton of headlines along the way. Karl Cochran (Wofford) was voted Player-of-the-Year by the Coaches and Media, but he wasn’t the only player who had a great year. Justin Tuoyo (Chattanooga) had a breakout year after transferring from VCU leading the league in blocked shots and ranking fourth nationally. Senior Jalen Riley (ETSU) led the league in scoring as the Bucs returned to the SoCon. Kris Acox (Furman) led the league in rebounding and James Sinclair (Western Carolina), Casey Jones (Chattanooga) and Darious Moten (Mercer) also had outstanding seasons! Make no mistake, the league had some terrific players, some who will be missed, but it only creates opportunities for others this coming season.
So enough about last season. With practice underway and the start of the regular season just weeks away, here are 50 things I can’t wait for regarding Southern Conference Men’s Basketball…..
1. If the league can build on the positive momentum it gained last year
2. Duggar Baucom’s return to VMI
3. The style of play Dan Earl will employ at VMI
4. Life at Wofford after the graduation of Karl Cochran and Lee Skinner
5. How Furman used the off-season to build on its post season tournament run
6. What will be the biggest story of the season?
7. Getting to know Steve Forbes at ETSU
8. How the seniors at WCU perform. Mike Brown, Torrion Brummitt, Justin Browning and Rhett Harrelson are the keys to success for Larry Hunter
9. The Matt McCall era at UTC and how he handles the pressure of having the most talented team in the league
10. How many shots Justin Tuoyo (Chattanooga) blocks. Can he lead the nation?
11. How many times someone in the media will call Mike Young one of the best coaches in the nation
12. The impact of new rules in college basketball
13. Which head coach will be the first to say he doesn’t like the new rules
14. The impact of transfers (particularly at ETSU, Mercer, Wofford and UTC)
15. Can The Citadel score 100 in Duggar Baucom’s first season in Charleston?
16. Wofford and Mercer fan interaction
17. Who will be the next impact player in the league?
18. Who will be the most improved player in the league?
19. Following Will Wade at VCU
20. Which coach gets the first technical of the season
21. Evaluating the non-conference schedules. Last year member institutions limited non-DI games; that’s not the case this season
22. How many “upsets” the league can pull during non-conference play
23. If Bob Hoffman will wear more neckties than mock turtlenecks this season
24. If Mercer can make a fifth straight post season appearance
25. How Scott Padgett builds on the successes of his first year at Samford
26. How Diante Baldwin performs at point guard for UNCG. Tevon Saddler, Kayel Locke and RJ White are talented players, but good point guard play is the key for the Spartans
27. How many times the SoCon can make Sports Center Top 10
28. Who will lead the league in attendance?
29. How long it will take before The Citadel, with a limited roster, is able to transition to Baucom’s style of play
30. If this is the year Larry Hunter can break through and win the Southern Conference Tournament
31. The Western Carolina “Purple Thunder” Band
32. Additional improvements at Freedom Hall. This could be a great venue with a little TLC
33. If Kris Acox (Furman) can build on an outstanding sophomore season when he led the league in rebounding (7.5 rpg)
34. If Casey Jones can lead Chattanooga to a SoCon title
35. If Furman can stay healthy for an entire season. If so, look out
36. If Kendrec Ferrara (Furman) has developed a mean streak for his senior season
37. If Jibri Bryan can be the leader Mercer needs him to be. My guess is YES!
38. If weather interrupts any games this season
39. Who will have the best uniforms
40. The league cracking the Top 20 in the RPI (last season it finished #23)
41. If anyone can drop 40 in a game? (last season it happened twice, but in the same game – Julian Eleby (VMI), had 43 and James Sinclair (WCU), had 40)
42. If RJ White (UNCG) continues his development for the Spartans
43. If Stephen Croone (Furman) can crack 2,000 career points (he needs 626 and would need to average approximately 19 ppg)
44. Can Spencer Collins (Wofford) run the table? That is, can he start every game in his college career? He currently has started 100 games in a row!
45. Can Eric Garcia (Wofford) develop into an all-conference performer? He’s certainly the toughest player in the league
46. With four new coaches and most of the others with a fair amount of equity, will anyone be on the hot seat come March?
47. If the hype about freshman Dakota Quinn at Samford is for real
48. Who will be the SoCon’s best point guard?
49. The post season returning to Asheville
50. If Mercer University President William Underwood remains the most active – and most forward-thinking administrator in the Southern Conference as it relates to intercollegiate athletics. My guess is YES!
Next edition: Part II of my pre-season preview will include SoCon Power Rankings and Five Questions that Need to Be Answered
Follow me throughout the year on twitter: @DeanKeener1