The Dean’s List

March 4, 2015

Inside the SoCon

For hoop fans, March is unequivocally the best time of the year.  With the regular season now complete, it’s time to look to the post-season tournament.  In a league like the Southern Conference, there’s nothing better as so much is riding on every possession in every game that it simply makes it a thrilling weekend for fans. 

With their eye on the prize this weekend in Asheville, each of the ten Southern Conference teams will vie for the automatic bid – the ticket, if you will – that allows the winner to enter the NCAA tournament.  While Wofford enters as the regular season champion, make no mistake that four or five teams have the capability to win the 95^th SoCon Tournament.  Personally, I don’t know who will win the tournament, but I am sure there will be multiple upsets (based on seeds) due to the competitive balance of the league this year.

Celebrating “The Best of Everything”

It’s been a great regular season, but before we get to the tournament, let’s take a minute and celebrate those that deserve recognition.  The following are my 2014-2015 post-season award winners:

Best starting Five – Chattanooga
· The Mocs have a nice blend of talent, experience and size in their starting five.  But with three 1,000 point scorers Wofford may think otherwise

Best bench – ETSU
· Although Jalen Riley started a few games down the stretch, he was clearly the best sixth man in the SoCon.  That alone helps makes the case for the Bucs.  Devin Harris and Desonta Bradford were also solid off the bench

Best backcourt – Wofford
· Lots to choose from, but the Terriers backcourt is very dangerous

Best frontcourt – Chattanooga
· Justin Tuoyo leads the way, but with the emergence of Duke Etheridge the Mocs were solid up front.  Add Lance Stokes and Chuck Ester and this group can compete with anyone in the league

Best freshman – Christian Cunningham (Samford)
· Although I don’t believe there are any true “stars” in this year’s class, I think there are several really good freshmen in the league.  Jake Wright (The Citadel), Devin Sibley, Daniel Fowler and Geoff Beans (all Furman) and Marvin Smith (UNCG) all have a chance to be really good players in this league

Best sophomore – Justin Tuoyo (Chattanooga)
· Numbers simply don’t lie and Tuoyo is a big time difference maker.  The VCU transfer led the league in blocked shots, but also was among the leaders in FG percentage and rebounding

Best junior – Casey Jones (Chattanooga)
· This race was really close as there are several top-notch players in the junior class.  Stephen Croone (Furman), Lester Wilson (ETSU) and Ike Nwamu (Mercer) also rank as some of the top juniors in the Southern Conference

Best senior – Karl Cochran (Wofford)
· This was also a tough call as James Sinclair (Western Carolina), Jalen Riley (ETSU) and Ashton Moore (The Citadel) all had really good final campaigns

Best sixth man – Jalen Riley (ETSU)
· Riley led the SoCon in scoring while only starting a handful of games.  Marcus Johnson (Samford) and Jaylen Allen (Wofford) were also good off the bench

Best newcomer – Justin Tuoyo (Chattanooga)
· The VCU transfer was fantastic right out of the gate for the Mocs.  That said, Darius Jones-Gibson (Samford) had a terrific first season and also warranted strong consideration

Best long range shooter – Eric Robertson (Chattanooga)
· The league was loaded with long range bombers this season.  Robertson gets the nod over Rashawn Rembert (ETSU), Eric Garcia (Wofford), Jake Wright (The Citadel) and Nicholas Paulus (UNCG)

Best dunker – Ike Nwamu (Mercer)
· Nwamu’s dunk – I mean posterization - over Justin Tuoyo on January 29 easily put this award away although his teammate, Darious Moten, had a few of his own that were highlight material

Best Athlete – Phillip Anglade (VMI)
· Listed at 6’5”, Anglade had 84 blocks during the regular season.  He is a beast for the Keydets inside

Best defender – Justin Tuoyo (Chattanooga)
· Blocks 3.3 shots per game and alters several more.  Enough said

Best glue guy – Lee Skinner (Wofford)
· Repeat winner.  Yes, he averages 9.6 ppg and 6.0 rpg, but he does more intangible things than just about anyone in the league.  He talks on defense, is a great leader with his teammates and does all the dirty work inside.  Most importantly, he is fearless and gives the Terriers loads of confidence.  How do you not love this guy?

Best in the clutch – Karl Cochran (Wofford)
· How many times has Cochran gotten hot when the Terriers needed him most?

Best versatility – James Sinclair (Western Carolina)
· Sinclair is asked to do so much for Western.  He is their leading scorer, but also comes up with key steals.  He also makes his free throws

Best player(s) who may not get an award by the media or coaches – Spencer Collins (Wofford) & Darious Moten (Mercer)
· Both are vital to their team’s success, but neither may win an award by the league coaches or media.  That said, I didn’t forget them!

Best table setter – Phillip Leonard (Mercer), Eric Garcia (Wofford) & Petey McClain (ETSU)
· This was too close to call.  They can all run their teams and find the open man

Best in transition – Stephen Croone (Furman)
· Croone has to be considered one of college basketball’s fastest players with the ball in the open court

Best off the bounce – Karl Cochran (Wofford)
· Not only is Cochran dangerous with the ball, but his athleticism allows him to elevate over most defenders in this league.  Tevon Saddler (UNCG) is a very close second, but his mid-season knee injury set him back just a bit

Best lungs – Ashton Moore (The Citadel)
· The Ironman of the Southern Conference, Moore simply did not come out in league play this season

Best toughness – Eric Garcia (Wofford)
· Garcia fought through a broken jaw as well as an ankle injury this season and still managed to run the team with the focus of a surgeon

Best place to watch a game – Mercer
· There are several nice venues in the league, but for my money new member Mercer has the nicest facility.  By the way, they finished the season with six consecutive sellouts at Hawkins Arena

Best SoCon moment – Karl Cochran vs. Chattanooga (January 5, 2015)
· With 11:27 to go, Karl Cochran had 6 points.  What happened next was one of the great shooting performances in SoCon history.  He ended with 33 points and single-handily carried the Terriers to victory
o A close second was the VMI at Western Carolina 2OT thriller.  The Keydets won 113-112 as Julian Eleby dropped 43!

Best name – Ike Nwamu (Mercer)
· It was too hard to pick between AJ, PJ, RJ, QJ and TJ

Best coach – Mike Young (Wofford)
·  The league has several top-notch coaches, but Mike Young gets the nod this season.  That said, Larry Hunter lost over 5,000 points and Bob Hoffman lost five senior starters and both had their clubs in the mix this season; simply amazing

Best surprise – Rhett Harrleson (Western Carolina)
· I love this kid, but if you tell me you thought he would average 12.1 ppg, 2.45 apg, I might not have believed you

Best improvement – Darious Moten (Mercer) & Torrin Brummitt (Western Carolina)
· Moten had never started a game until this season.  He scored all of five points a as freshmen, averaged 1.5 ppg as a sophomore and 4.8 as a junior.  This year, he exploded with 10+ points in 20 games.  He led the Bears in scoring (14.5 ppg) in SoCon play and is a big reason why they have chance to win the tournament

Brummitt had a breakout junior season averaging 11.4 ppg and 6.4 rpg.  After waiting his turn, the 6’8” big man proved to be a real force for the Catamounts

Best value – Jordan Strawberry (Mercer)
· Non-scholarship player (walk-on) who provided valuable minutes for the Bears this season

Seems like just yesterday, sort of…
While Mercer and Wofford both participated in the NCAA Tournament last year, for some, it’s been far too long since they last danced and for that, here’s hoping a little luck to every team at the 2015 Southern Conference Tournament.

Team (last time participated in the NCAA Tournament)
Wofford – 2014
Mercer - 2014
ETSU - 2010
Chattanooga – 2009
UNCG - 2001
Samford - 2000
Western Carolina – 1996
Furman – 1980
VMI - 1977
The Citadel – never participated

“Thanks” to the league office
Think for a moment if the Southern Conference had not done their job and corralled three terrific institutions?  ETSU, Mercer and VMI have all brought a ton to Southern Conference men’s basketball (competitive basketball, great venues and terrific fans) and each finished in the top six during the regular season!  For that we should all be very thankful to Commissioner Iamarino and his staff.

I look forward to seeing everyone in Asheville!

Twitter:  @DeanKeener1