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 February 14 matchup between Furman and ETSU on ESPN3.
The Dean’s List
February 4, 2015
I. Inside the SoCon
We’re just one month from the 95th annual Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament in Asheville, North Carolina! It’s been a bit of a wild ride to date in conference play. Some of the highlights include Justin Tuoyo (Chattanooga) blocking a conference-game record nine shots against Western Carolina as well as Rhett Harrelson (Western Carolina) knocking down eight threes in a December game at ETSU. He finished with 30, yet it still wasn’t enough in a great game! And who could forget Karl Cochran (Wofford) finding the zone (as play-by-play announcer Darren Goldwater said, “He was Stephen Curry-like”) scoring 24 points in the final 11 and half minutes in one of the great performances in recent SoCon history. But things are far from settled and if the second half of league play is anything like the first, it should be a lot of fun.
Make no mistake, everyone wants to win the tournament and punch their ticket to March Madness. But the first goal is to receive a first round bye as no team has won four consecutive games to win the SoCon Tournament since 1939 (Clemson). There has been some separation among the top teams, but the race to land in one of the top six slots is still very much open!
II. Most Improved
“Rough diamonds may sometimes be mistaken for worthless pebbles." Thomas Browne, English author
Sometimes it just takes guys longer to adjust to the speed and physicality of the college game. There are other instances where a player is simply stuck behind an older/more talented player and needs to wait his time (unfortunately, this has led to lots of transferring in recent years). So it’s always fun to see players grow and improve throughout their career, especially in a league like the Southern Conference where there aren’t one-and-done players.
Coaches talk about “player development” in recruiting all the time, but not all of them invest the time and energy that’s necessary to help players improve on their strengths and weaknesses. Player development comes in several forms. It’s time spent on the court, in the weight room and in the film room. It’s also learning about proper nutrition and diet as well as maturing as a young person while on a college campus.
With that said, let’s take a quick look at those players that have shown the biggest jump in their game this season:
· RJ White (UNCG) – White as become a major force for the Spartans. The biggest battle he fights is staying on the court. Due to conditioning and foul trouble, he is only averaging 24 mpg, yet he still leagues the league in double-doubles and rebounding
· Darious Moten (Mercer) - He played significant minutes last year, but has really embraced his role as a starter lately. He scored at least 10 points in eight-straight games (until a nine-point outing against Wofford last Saturday) and leads the Bears in scoring in conference play (15.3 ppg)
· Justin Gordon (Wofford) – The junior from Charlotte averaged 1.7 ppg and 1.3 rpg as a freshman, then 5.5 ppg and 3.3 rpg as a sophomore. As a junior, he is currently averaging 8.1 ppg and 4.0 rpg. He is much like the Wofford program, he simply gets better with time
· Rhett Harrelson (Western Carolina) – He was stuck behind 2,000 point scorer Trey Sumler for two years, but now the junior is an integral part of the Catamount attack averaging 13.7 ppg while shooting 41 percent from three-point range. He’s also learned how to run a team from the point guard slot!
· Greg Pryor (Chattanooga) – He was thrust into the fire last year as a freshman and Coach Will Wade continued to tell anyone that would listen that he was a better shooter / player than his stats suggested. That is paying big dividends now as he is a huge catalyst for the Mocs as a sophomore
III. Role Players / Being a non-starter
Not every player can be a starter, but the really good teams have guys that understand their role off the bench and embrace it. In fact, every great team has role players that understand their job – they keep the music going when entering the game. It’s the coach’s responsibility to put players in the right roles and it’s the player’s responsibility to accept those roles.
Here are few key attributes to being a good bench / role player:
· Provide great energy to your team
· Totally into the game at all times, even before entering the game
· Always pay strict attention to the scouting report of each opponent, even though you may not be as involved during practice sessions
· Take your role very seriously
· Love to compete and have an edge, but not in a way that disrupts team chemistry
· Keep yourself in great physical condition because you play variable minutes in each game
· You have the ability to play and/or guard multiple positions, thus adding to your value
· Finally, great role players don’t think in terms of what “they are can’t do”, but rather “what they can do”- and they know this can change game-to-game
At the end of a game it doesn’t matter who started. What matters is who finishes the game. If a player can fulfill many of the attributes listed above, they can be a valuable addition to their team – and be in the game when it matters most.
IV. The SoCon Ladder
The Ladder suggests that the top three will remain that way in some form, but the battle for fourth, fifth and sixth place is still very much WIDE open:
1. Wofford – With three 1,000 point scorers, the Terriers have talented experience. Combine that with outstanding coaching and they remain at the top of the SoCon Ladder
2. Mercer – The Bears have proven to be a great addition to the Southern Conference. Anyone that doesn’t think they can win it all in Asheville simply doesn’t follow college basketball
3. Chattanooga – The Mocs are just as good as Wofford and Mercer. Period. In fact, on a neutral court, I think they could take the Terriers and Bears, but until they prove it they will be slotted here
4. ETSU – The Bucs slipped up and lost both on their Greenville/Spartanburg road trip last week, but recovered with a HUGE non-conference win over North Carolina Central. Freedom Hall will be rocking Thursday night when Wofford comes to town!
5. Western Carolina – The Catamounts proved they can win on the road this past weekend! Now they have five of the next six in the friendly confines of the Ramsey Center where they are really good. The ‘Cats can really make a move with some solid play
6. Furman – Niko Medved’s group are currently in sixth by a half game, but they face a daunting weekend inside Timmons Arena as Chattanooga and Mercer both pay visits
7. VMI – The Keydets are currently 1-1 during their five-game home stand. They really need to hold serve inside Cameron Hall if they are to have any chance at a first round tournament bye
8. The Citadel – The Bulldogs have lost four in a row since upsetting Wofford on January 15. It’s now or never for the men from the Military College of South Carolina
9. Samford – Scott Padgett’s group finally put things together and find themselves with a three-game winning streak. In fact, they are deserving of a higher ranking, but with five of their final seven on the road, we will find out how good they really are
10. UNCG – The Spartans margin for error is razor thin. But even with the loses they’ve experienced in recent weeks; they have continued to play really hard
Until the next “Dean’s List” on February 18, follow me on twitter: @DeanKeener1