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
February 18, 2016
I. Inside the SoCon
It’s with a heavy heart that I come to you with this edition of The Dean’s List. The tragic death of Mercer graduate student-athlete Jibri Bryan was sad and senseless. My thoughts remain with the entire Mercer community as well as the Bryan family.
This time last year, I said that the Southern Conference tournament may very well be the most competitive – and most exciting – as any in recent memory. Well, call me a broken record, but I think this year will be the similar and may be even better! Chattanooga, Furman, ETSU, Wofford and Mercer (until recently) have certainly distinguished themselves as the best during the regular season. In particular, Chattanooga appears to be the clear cut favorite, yet on a neutral floor they are vulnerable.
Furman has the best chemistry and toms of confidence, Chattanooga has the best overall talent and is in the midst of a memorable season. Mercer is as well-coached as any team in the league, and Mike Young has his two-time defending champion Terriers peaking at the right time. Yet you can’t ever forget about Larry Hunter and his Western Carolina Catamounts and the offensive-charged ETSU Bucs. Even The Citadel and UNCG have recently shown glimpses that they can compete with anyone.
No doubt, the long weekend in Asheville is sure to be tons of fun for all Southern Conference basketball fans.
II. Director of Operations
Head coaches generally get all the accolades when things go right as well as most of the blame when things don’t go well. But we also know one person can’t do it alone. The three full-time assistants on a basketball staff certainly have many responsibilities, but recruiting is at the top of their job description each and every day as recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. But what about the Director of Operations? In most situations, this position is held by a young, aspiring coach. So what exactly does this person do? While they are a full member of the coaching staff, a large amount of the job is administrative work.
The Director of Operations generally deals with the head coach on a daily basis as it relates to the following items:
- Budget
- Equipment: dealing with shoe, apparel and other equipment companies
- Team travel: hotels, bus companies, restaurants and other companies associated with travel
- Working closely with academic advisor(s)
- Future scheduling
- Liaison with the women’s program as well as other athletic department personnel
- Director of summer camps
These are just a few of the administrative roles that the Director of Operations handles. The Director of Operations also plays a role in recruiting, but per NCAA regulations they are prohibited from recruiting "off-campus." They can do anything on-campus such as calling coaches, writing prospects, watching film of a prospect and planning visits (official and unofficial).
The "Ops coach" cannot do on-court coaching but they can teach players through film study. They are generally at practice and keep stats and make notes to share with the staff during and after practice.
Overall, the Director of Operations plays a critical role in the success of a basketball program. They must be highly organized and willing to work long hours in order to help the head coach and staff to see success within the program.
III. Replay
My guess is most officials would say they love the use of replay, but has it really helped the college game? At times, replay has elevated the importance of the result of a singular play to a very senseless level. We must remember that college basketball games are coached, played and officiated by humans who are prone to mistakes.
To be clear, I’m not totally against the use of replay as the intent is to “get it right” and that’s what everyone wants. I like the use of replay in certain situations such as fighting, flagrant fouls and even determining who caused the ball to go out of bounds, especially in late game situations. But my biggest grip is the time it takes officials to review the replay. There needs to be a clock (I say one minute) put on the officials. Review the replay, make the call and move on. I’ve witnessed too many games where teams that are without timeouts get three or four minutes to set up a play or set their defense. That is simply not fair.
No doubt, replay is here to stay and with good reason, but as we do with all rules, there needs to be consideration of tweaking the current system to “make it right.”
IV. Potential seeds/opponents for SoCon in the NCAA tournament
As we rapidly approach March, I thought it would be fun to think about possible seeds/opponents for the Southern Conference champion. Certainly there are lots of variables, but what makes this exercise most difficult is that the RPI of each member institution varies greatly.
For the sake of time, let’s assume if VMI, The Citadel, Samford, Western Carolina or UNCG win the conference tournament. They would all likely receive a 16 seed and more than likely be involved in a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio.
If ETSU, Furman, Mercer or Wofford win the title, then I believe they all have a chance at a No. 15 seed which would certainly help the chances of a SoCon team winning a game in the Big Dance. At this point, I think Furman has the best chance at a 15. If they run the table, they would have 23 wins. But that will be difficult as their last three regular season games are on the road (at Wofford, at ESTU and at Western Carolina), which is no easy task, especially for a team that is 4-10 away from Timmons Arena this season.
Chattanooga has to remain in the “at-large” conversation even with the lose at Western Carolina last week. The Mocs have a solid RPI of No. 33 and with wins at Illinois, at Georgia and at No. 15 Dayton (RPI No. 12), the Mocs have a terrific resume. In my opinion, they have a chance to be a 12 seed, possibly an 11 seed if they win the conference tournament.
Lots to keep in mind as we head to Asheville!
V. The SoCon Ladder
This is the final regular season SoCon Ladder. The top slots are beginning to solidify, but the fight for seeding as well as the all-important sixth slot remain very much wide open:
1. Chattanooga – The Mocs recovered nicely from their loss at Western to beat ETSU in front of 5,600 on Saturday. Just continue to stay in the moment. That’s the challenge Matt McCall has for his players
2. Furman – The Paladins have great chemistry and really play the game the right way. This is a team that will be very dangerous come tournament time
3. Wofford – The surging Terriers have learned how to win without Karl Cochran and Lee Skinner. And they were shooting lights out until the UNCG loss on Monday.
4. ETSU – Steve Forbes has ignited a fire in the Tri-Cities and will be a tough out in Asheville. But first, they need to beat the teams at the top (Mercer, Furman and Wofford) to gain the best possible seed
5. Mercer – Unfortunately, the Bears have been hit with adversity. The tragic death of Jibri Bryan coupled with the suspension of Desmond Ringer and Jestin Lewis has set them back. But Stephon Jelks, Demetre Rivers and others continue to fight and are still a team that can beat anyone in the league
6. Western Carolina – The Catamounts finally got a signature victory as they beat Chattanooga at home on February 11 (ending the Mocs nine game winning streak). And that win may very well help them gain the sixth seed as they split the season series with UNCG. Larry Hunter’s team is banged up, but they continue to show great heart
7. UNCG – After a heart-breaking loss to ETSU (Feb. 6), the Spartans were fighting for their lives. Then they came back from an eight-point halftime deficit to beat Wofford on Mondays showing great resiliency. This is a dangerous team, especially when Diante Baldwin is playing well
8. Samford – They’ve hit a rough stretch. In just one month, the Bulldogs have lost eight of nine and seem assured of playing on Friday in the conference tournament. That said, this is a dangerous team that is capable of winning multiple games in a row
9. The Citadel – They are close; very close. I would not want to play the Bulldogs in Asheville, especially if they get the first one on Friday!
10. VMI – The Keydets have shown life and are playing some good basketball. Unfortunately, they have yet to play Chattanooga and still have to go to Hawkins Arena which won’t be easy
Until the next “Dean’s List” on March 2, follow me on twitter: @DeanKeener1