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
I.    Inside the SoCon
The regular season is complete, and we are just days away from the start of the 100th edition of the Ingles Southern Conference Basketball Championship presented by General Shale in Asheville, North Carolina. There is not a better time of year, as March Madness is upon us. For Southern Conference basketball fans, nothing compares, as there is so much riding on every possession in every game at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville. It’s a nervous time for coaches and players as there is enormous pressure in every game, although that makes for a thrilling weekend for basketball fans.

This year has been as good as the SoCon has seen in many years. The Southern Conference has three teams with at least 23 wins before the tournament begins. In fact, the top three teams have won a combined 75 regular season games! ETSU won the regular-season title outright in a dramatic win over Western Carolina on the last Saturday of the regular season. The Bucs’ NET ranking is 40 (as of March 4) and they may be able to secure the league’s first-ever at large bid in the event they don’t win the tournament championship. 

Although ETSU enters as hot as any team in the country, having won nine straight games and 19 of its last 21, this is far from a one-team race, and that’s what makes it so exciting. The Furman Paladins and UNCG Spartans have won 25 and 23 games, respectively. They are both certainly focused on getting to the Big Dance and have the talent and coaching to do it. But I like the fact that all 10 teams can win at least one game, which could throw things into total bedlam by the time we hit Sunday. 

Personally, I don’t know who will win the tournament. I just know it’s going to be a great weekend of basketball in Asheville!


II.     Celebrating “The Best of Everything” 
As mentioned, it’s been a great regular season, but before we get to the postseason tournament, let’s take a minute and celebrate those that merit recognition. 

In what has become an annual list of the Best of Everything in Southern Conference men’s basketball, the following are my 2019-2020 Dean’s List postseason award winners:

Best starting five – Furman & ETSU
• The Paladins and Bucs are solid at every position. Both have a nice blend of talent and experience in their starting fives. Best of all, both teams have 
terrific chemistry and play unselfish basketball

Best bench – UNCG
• When healthy, the Spartans can go 10 deep. This could help come tournament time

Best backcourt – ETSU
• Lots to choose from in the league, but the Bucs’ backcourt is deep and very dangerous at both ends of the court. Tray Boyd III, Bo Hodges, Patrick Good, Isaiah Tisdale, Daivien Williamson and Vonnie Patterson. This is an outstanding group

Best frontcourt – Furman & ETSU
• Both programs have size and depth in the frontcourt. ETSU gets the nod when/if Jeromy Rodriguez can play extended minutes

Best freshmen – Messiah Jones (Wofford) & Fletcher Abee (The Citadel)
• These two have very bright futures at their respective schools. Travis Evee (VMI) and Keyshaun Langley (UNCG) are also talented young players. In fact, Langley may have the highest ceiling

Best sophomore – Noah Gurley (Furman)
• Gurley has the highest ceiling of any player in the league. And to think, he’s just a sophomore

Best junior – Isaiah Miller (UNCG)
• Miller was arguably the league MVP. The 6-0 guard led the SoCon in scoring, grabbed 5.0 rebounds per game and was among the leaders in steals. Mason Faulkner (Western Carolina) and Bo Hodges (ETSU) also warrant consideration

Best seniors – Jordan Lyons (Furman), Tray Boyd III (ETSU) & Carlos Dotson (Western Carolina)
• All three were fantastic in their final campaigns. Each led their team in multiple offensive categories. Nathan Hoover (Wofford) and James Dickey (UNCG) also deserve mention, as they had outstanding senior seasons

Best sixth man – Mike Bothwell (Furman) 
• Bothwell was recently inserted into the starting lineup and with good reason. But for the first 28 games, was terrific off the bench. Tray Boyd III is also a great sixth man but started nine games for the Bucs

Best newcomer – Mason Faulkner (Western Carolina)
• The Northern Kentucky transfer was terrific from the start. He was a major reason why the Catamounts more than doubled their win total from a year ago. Matt Ryan was also impactful for Chattanooga

Best long-range shooters – Onno Steger (Western Carolina), Jordan Lyons (Furman) & Jeff Gary (Mercer)
• Steger has benefited from the coaching change in Cullowhee more than anyone. This season, he shot 46 percent from behind the arc in league play. Jeff Gary (Mercer) and Jordan Lyons (Furman) also deserve mention

Best dunker – Jalen Slawson (Furman)
• Not a clear-cut winner, but Slawson had some of the most athletic dunks in league play. Isaiah Miller (UNCG) is 6-0, but plays much bigger and can also hammer it home

Best defender – Isaiah Miller (UNCG)
• Isaiah Miller is also a lock-down defender on the perimeter, although there are several ETSU perimeter players that can defend as well

Best glue guy – Garrett Gilkeson (VMI)
• Gilkeson is listed among the leaders in several offensive categories, but his value is more than that. He defends, has basketball IQ and is a great leader

Best versatility – Clay Mounce (Furman)
• The Southern Conference version of the Swiss Army knife. Like is teammate Matt Rafferty last year. Mounce does a little bit of everything. He scores in double figures and in the top 10 in rebounding, field-goal percentage, 3-point field-goal percentage and steals. I would say this guy is versatile

Best player who didn’t get an award by the media or coaches – Onno Steger (Western Carolina)
• Faulkner and Dotson get the headlines, but Steger is vital to Western’s success. He averages 12.8 points per game while shooting 42.5 percent from 3, which leads the league. But he did not win a postseason award by the league coaches or media. That said, I didn’t forget him

Best table setter – Mason Faulkner (Western Carolina)
• One of the leading assist men in the Southern Conference can do a lot of things with the ball

Best in transition – Alex Hunter (Furman) & Josh Sharkey (Samford)
• Both guards are really good when they get going downhill. In particular, Hunter makes great decisions

Best toughness – Ethan Stair (Mercer)
• Stair had a fabulous senior year. He had 12 double-doubles and simply did whatever was needed to in order to provide toughness – and a winning culture for the Bears

Best lungs – Djordje Dimitrijevic (Mercer)
• The Ironman of the Southern Conference rarely came out in league play this season

Best Prospect – Noah Gurley (Furman)
• The redshirt sophomore possesses immense talent. He has length and can play/guard multiple positions. If he can continue to get stronger and cut down on his turnovers, he can go along way

Best individual improvement – Jalen Slawson (Furman)
• Slawson scored all of 19 points last year as a true freshman! This season he averaged 7.0 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game. He also shot 50 percent from the field. He’s got a bright future at Furman

Best team improvement – Western Carolina
• The Catamounts won just seven games last year. Enough said, but Lamont Paris is putting things together at Chattanooga and Greg Gary did a great job at Mercer

Best turnaround – Mercer
• On Jan. 11, the Bears sat at 0-4 in league play and had not played ETSU yet. They proceeded to go 11-3. Wow!
 
Best coach – Greg Gary (Mercer)
• I say this every year, but in a league with really good coaches, it’s hard to select just one. But winning the regular-season title is worthy of recognition, so I need to start with Steve Forbes. Hats off to Bob Richey as well for a job well done at Furman. And then I have to call out the job Mark Prosser did at Western Carolina. But I need to give the final nod to Greg Gary based on what he and his staff did without Ross Cummings and when they were 0-4 in league play

Best Fans - ETSU
• For the third straight season, the Bucs averaged over 5,000 fans in Southern Conference play (5,296). Their fanbase is passionate. Equally, there is a great product to watch

Best SoCon moment – ETSU clinching the outright SoCon regular-season championship with a thrilling victory over Western Carolina
• In front of a capacity crowd of 6,117, the Bucs beat the Catamounts 68-67. Did I mention Patrick Good scored 24 of the Bucs final 30 points, including 17 in the final 4:16!


III.    It’s been a while…
Wofford participated in the NCAA tournament last year and beat Seton Hall. But for some, it’s been too long since they last danced. Here’s offering some luck to every team in the tournament:

Team (last time they participated in the NCAA tournament)
UNCG – 2018
ETSU – 2017
Chattanooga – 2016
Mercer – 2014 (as member of the ASUN Conference)
Samford – 2000 (as a member of the Trans America Athletic Conference)
Western Carolina – 1996
Furman – 1980
VMI – 1977
The Citadel – never participated


V.     Thanks
I must say thanks to SoCon Commissioner Jim Schaus and his staff for allowing me to again report on Southern Conference men’s basketball. I also want to thank those that have followed The Dean’s List. This has been the best regular season in recent memory, and I hope that everyone has enjoyed the articles and content as much as I have enjoyed putting everything together.

I look forward to seeing everyone in Asheville for what should be a great Southern Conference tournament!

Follow me on Twitter: @DeanKeener1