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

The Dean’s List
This is the first of three-part pre-season series on Southern Conference Men’s Basketball

I. Inside SoCon Basketball:

Sure we’re in the middle of football season and the weather is still nice, but it’s fall and that means college basketball is right around the corner. And so, I welcome everyone back to another season of The Dean’s List! I’ve covered Southern Conference men’s basketball for several years and this begins season the fourth season of The Dean’ List which is all about basketball in the Southern Conference. Over the years, I have also touched on national topics to help provide some perspective on rules and other facts relevant to the college game today. We may even talk about SoCon women’s basketball this year from time to time.

I want to take just a moment to thank the league office for allowing me to continue writing about all the great things happening in Southern Conference basketball. In particular, John Iamarino, Geoff Cabe and Jason Yaman have done a marvelous job navigating the league through realignment, new league scheduling and other critical items the past five years and it’s fun to be part of this great league. Because of their leadership, the SoCon stands strong and men’s basketball is collectively primed for another terrific season. I would not be surprised if the league continued to trend upward in the RPI standings again this season.

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. For the sixth consecutive year, the season will culminate in Asheville, North Carolina and the U.S. Cellular Center. As I have said many times, I don’t believe 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! I’m glad the decision was made to keep the tournament in western North Carolina after discussions related to HB2. This year will mark the 97th edition of this wonderful event. For hoop historians, the Southern Conference has the nation’s oldest post-season tournament in college basketball. The first tournament was held in Atlanta 1922 when the North Carolina Tar Heels won and became the first recognized league champions in any Southern Conference sport.

As we know, with each new season comes the anticipation of so many things. Regardless of what has happened in the past, it’s always exciting to have a discussion about the upcoming season. Trying to determine what will potentially be the headlines and stories that guide us through the winter months is fun for everyone associated with SoCon basketball.

For the first time in many years, there was not a single coaching change among league members. This stability simply adds to why many of the programs feel strongly about competing for the championship – or at least being much improved. Yes, there will be new players on each roster (some more than others), but there will be no learning curve and adjustment needed for a new staff.

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 produced this last year which caused much discussion on social media. I hope that it will do the same this year!

With that, we begin the 2016-2017 Dean’s List:

II. A look back at the 2015-16 season

Again, before we get into this year, let’s take one last look at the 2015-2016 season.

First-year head coach Matt McCall and the Chattanooga Mocs captured the regular season and post season titles. They won the Southern Conference Tournament title defeating ETSU 73-67 in the championship game at the U.S. Cellular Center. The Mocs season came to an end in the NCAA tournament against the Indiana Hoosiers. They finished with a school-record 29 wins and did it for most of the season without preseason Player-of-the-Year Casey Jones. Jones dislocated his ankle in early December and did not return. Thus, juniors Greg Pryor, Tre’ McLean and Justin Tuoyo led the way, but seniors Eric Robertson, Duke Ethridge and Dee Oldham also provided solid play during the record-setting season in the Scenic City.

The ETSU Bucs had a terrific season under first-year head coach Steve Forbes. They won 24 games and advanced to the second round of the Vegas 16 post-season tournament. Seniors Ge’Lawn Guyn and Deuce Bello along with junior T.J. Cromer performed at a high level all season.

Furman broke through and built on their season-ending run in 2015. The Paladins were led by Coach and Media Player-of-the-Year Stephen Croone. Head coach Niko Medved did a marvelous job with junior Kris Acox and sophomores Devin Sibley and Daniel Fowler. Freshman Matt Rafferty was also a pleasant surprise in his first season. They proved they could hang with anyone in the league while advancing to the CBI Tournament.

The Mercer Bears were playing as well as anyone until tragedy hit. After the death of Jibri Bryan, the Bears were never the same yet they were able to finish with a bit of confidence and participated in the CIT Tournament. With a terrific fan base, a terrific administration and outstanding facilities, Bob Hoffman and his staff were able to hold things together. The Bears finished their second season in the SoCon at 19-15.

UNCG was, well UNCG. The Spartans showed some positive signs late in the season after being up and down throughout most of the year. They won their last five regular season games before falling to Furman in the conference tournament. Freshman Francis Alonso led the team in scoring and showed that he had a very bright future. Junior RJ White showed signs that he could be a physically imposing force in the league. He averaged 12 points and almost seven rebounds per game. Junior guard Diante Baldwin and sophomore Marvin Smith also had solid seasons for the Spartans.

Samford improved in the win column by one game, winning 14 games in head coach Scott Padgett second season in Birmingham. The Bulldogs started strong jumping out to a 9-4 record, but hit a rough patch during January and early February. Sophomore point guard Christen Cunningham was an ironman and led the league in minutes played. Darius Jones-Gibson was solid in his final season netting 15.0 ppg. Maybe the best thing to last year’s campaign was the Bulldogs had two of the top freshmen in the SoCon, 6’9” Wyatt Walker and 6’4 shooter Matt Rose.

Western Carolina finished 10-8 in league play and showed they could compete with anyone in the league. Once again a heavy senior class led the way. Mike Brown, Torrion Brummitt, Rhett Harrleson and Justin Browning carried the Catamounts to just the third post-season tournament in school history. They played the “other” Catamounts, the University of Vermont in the CBI.

Wofford finished a very respectable 11-7 in conference play tying for third place. But after participating in the NCAA tournament four of the last six years it seemed like the Terriers took a step back. In reality, they were in for a long year losing Player of the Year Karl Cochran along with Lee Skinner who was the heart and soul of the team in 2014-2015. To complicate matters they started 3—9 with road games at Missouri, UNC, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Vanderbilt and Harvard to name just a few. All said, Mike Young and staff did a fine job. The most important thing to happen last year was the emergence of freshman Fletcher Magee. He led the nation in free throw shooting (92.5 percent) and was one of the top 3-point shooters as well (47.9 percent).

The Citadel turned to Duggar Baucom to lead their program and while they were competitive, they simply did not have enough firepower to play the fast-paced system that Coach Baucom wanted. Graduate student Derrick Henry averaged over 16 ppg, but junior Warren Sledge was the most pleasant surprise logging more minutes than any other Bulldogs while averaging 10.3 ppg and shooting 38 percent from behind the arc. The Bulldogs finished 10-22.

VMI lost Baucom to The Citadel and replaced him with Dan Earl. The Keydets had to totally change the mindset of the program as they played a more conventional style. While they only won nine games, they played well late in the season winning three of their final six regular season games. Junior guard QJ Peterson led the league in scoring at 19.8 ppg. He was a threat to score in bunches every time he was on the floor.

No doubt, last season was exciting and created a ton of headlines along the way. Stephen Croone (Furman) was voted Player-of-the-Year by the Coaches and Media, but he wasn’t the only player who had a great year. Greg Pryor (Chattanooga) had a breakout year as did Ge’Lawn Guyn (ETSU) in his only season in Johnson City. Junior QJ Peterson (VMI) led the league in scoring as he returned to the Keydets roster. Stephon Jelks (Mercer) led the league in rebounding and Mike Brown (Western Carolina), Torrion Brummitt (Western Carolina), Tre’ Clean (Chattanooga) and freshman of the Year Fletcher McGee (Wofford) 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, let’s get started with our annual list of 50 things I can’t wait for….

III. 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. How many “upsets” the league can pull during non-conference play
3. How Matt McCall handles the pressure of having the most talented team in the league
4. Life at Furman after Stephen Croone
5. Life at Wofford after Spencer Collins
6. What will be the biggest story of the season?
7. How many shots Justin Tuoyo (Chattanooga) blocks. Can he lead the nation?
8. If Wofford guard Fletcher Magee takes the next step. If so, look out!
9. If Francis Alonso (UNCG) can take the next step and become an all-league performer
10. Can Larry Hunter reach 700 career wins (he needs 20)?
11. The impact of transfers
12. Who will be the next impact player in the league?
13. Who will be the most improved player in the league?
14. Evaluating the non-conference schedules
15. If Mercer can make a sixth straight post season appearance
16. Will Demetre Rivers (Mercer) continue his upward trend and become a dominate player?
17. If Scott Padgett and the Samford Bulldogs can turn the corner
18. How many times the SoCon can make Sports Center Top 10
19. Who will lead the league in attendance?
20. The Western Carolina “Purple Thunder” Band
21. If Kris Acox (Furman) can get back to his old ways and led the league in rebounding?
22. If Casey Jones can regain his all-conference form
23. If RJ White (UNCG) can become a dominate big man and led the Spartans to new heights?
24. If weather interrupts any games this season
25. Who will have the best uniforms
26. The league cracking the Top 15 in the RPI (last season it finished a very respectable #18)
27. If anyone can drop 40 in a game? (no one did it last season)
28. Will any coach be on the hot seat come March?
29. The league tournament returning to Asheville
30. Hoping the post season tournament breaks attendance records
31. If ETSU can recover from the loss of Ge’Lawn Guyn
32. If QJ Peterson can lead VMI to the upper half of the league?
33. Can The Citadel lead the nation in scoring?
34. How many times The Citadel scores 100 in a Division I game
35. Can Larry Hunter finally capture that elusive NCAA bid at Western Carolina?
36. If the hype about Hanner Mosquera-Perea (ETSU) is for real
37. Who will have the best Media Room food?
38. If Christen Cunningham (Samford) will lead the league in minutes played – again?
39. As talented as Chattanooga is, can they average more than 3,400 fans?
40. If Wofford can get back to guarding the way most Mike Young-coached teams have?
41. Who will be the top freshmen?
42. If Stephon Jelks (Mercer) leads the league in double-doubles?
43. What athletic media relations director has the best game notes?
44. Who will have the best dunk of the year?
45. Who will be sixth man of the year?
46. How many teams will make a post-season tournament?
47. Will Devin Peterson (Western Carolina) be able to replace Mike Brown’s scoring?
48. How long Chattanooga goes without losing a league game
49. If the league will run the table in non-Division I games? They better!
50. If any new rules effect the college game

Next edition: Part II of my pre-season preview will include SoCon Power Rankings and Three Questions that Need to Be Answered

Follow me throughout the year on twitter: @DeanKeener1