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
Even with all the struggles, we are nearing the halfway mark of conference play. Incredibly, we are just 44 days from the Ingles Southern Conference Championship presented by General Shale. With all the postponements, teams are simply having to adjust to playing multiple games in a five or seven day stretch. That said, Southern Conference basketball has been exciting and for the most part very competitive thus far.
 
During the past several seasons, the Southern Conference has established itself as one of the premier leagues outside the power conferences. That remains this year, as well. There is little hesitation that the top teams in the Southern Conference can compete with anyone in college basketball, especially in a one-game event like March Madness. This season, the coaching and performances have been really good, and I don’t see that changing as we head toward February and March.
 
But there are still lots of questions that need to be asked, although finding the right answer is a bit more difficult at this time. Here are some persistent questions related to SoCon men’s basketball:
 

• Can the SoCon gain an at-large bid? The Southern Conference currently has two teams in the top 100 in the NET rankings, but things would have to fall right for an at-large bid come March. As talented as Furman is, I don’t think it can raise its NET ranking (No. 52 as of Jan. 20) enough to be in consideration. Losses on the road at Winthrop, Cincinnati and Alabama hurt their overall resume
• Is The Citadel ready for prime time? Maybe. Duggar Baucom’s group sprinted out of the gates to an 8-0 record. Since then, the Bulldogs have lost to Furman, VMI and UNCG. This is a solid team capable of beating anyone in the league, but it needs a signature win to prove it belongs
• Can VMI effect the league race? Yes! The Keydets have played well all season. Therefore, their wins over Chattanooga and The Citadel are not a surprise. This group has grit and resiliency and is very well-coached
• Who’s competing for Coach of the Year? It’s still very early, but the current collection of coaches in the league are all really good. Right now, Dan Earl, Bob Richey, Jason Shay and Jay McAuley are currently at the top of the list for Coach of the Year
• Who’s competing for Player of the Year honors? Much like Coach of the Year, there are plenty of candidates – and still time for others to make their case – but as of today in no specific order it looks like the reigning POY, Isaiah Miller, is with a solid group that includes Mike Bothwell (current leader?) and Clay Mounce of Furman, Wofford’s Storm Murphy, Western Carolina’s Mason Faulkner and ETSU’s Ledarrius Brewer. Hayden Brown of The Citadel is also in the conversation, but his team needs to win and move up in the standings to be considered

 
It is exciting to know that Southern Conference basketball is doing well in the current environment. For those that have followed this league the past few years, the successes are no surprise, and they understand that nothing will be settled until the teams get to Asheville in March.
 

II. Did You Know?

• In the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 released Monday, Furman is No. 4 while Mercer, Chattanooga, UNCG and Wofford are all receiving votes
• The SoCon had four 20-game winners last season (ETSU, Furman, UNCG and Chattanooga). This was the fourth straight season the league had four 20-game winners. Can they make it five straight seasons?
• The Citadel is third in the nation in scoring offense at 91.5. Only Gonzaga and Iowa average more points per game
• UNCG center Hayden Koval is currently 12th in Division I in blocked shots per game at 2.93
• Western Carolina forward Xavier Cork is fifth in the nation in field-goal percentage, making 69.8 percent of his shots
• Western Carolina guard Matt Halvorsen has played 456 of a possible 500 minutes this season for the Catamounts

 

III. Importance of Good Assistants
I’ve written about this in the past. Make no mistake, head coaches are the face of a college basketball team. Yet many times it’s the assistants that can determine the success or failure of a program over the long haul. This has never been more important than this year with the postponement and rescheduling of games, recruiting via live streaming (not in-person), and a variety of other key areas due to the global pandemic.
 
All conversation regarding an assistant coach begins with recruiting. It’s understood by just about everyone in the business that the lifeblood of any program is the recruitment of talented student-athletes. The most critical responsibility of any assistant is evaluating prospects, sustaining a workable database and successfully recruiting players to a program. But recruiting today is far more than just the identification of a prospect and judging the fit between talent and program – it's also about establishing and building relationships with those around the prospect – and much of that work must be done by the assistant coach. This has been more difficult as coaches have not been able to leave campus and really have not be able to have on-campus visits.
 
While recruiting is the top priority of every assistant coach, today’s assistants are required to be well-rounded if they are going to help the program be successful. An assistant is asked to deal with a wide variety of issues – on and off the court – to help manage a program.
 
The following areas are of vital importance for a college basketball assistant. I also believe these qualities are deemed critical to master if an assistant aspires to eventually run his own program:
 

1. Recruiting:

As mentioned, recruiting is at the heart of an assistant’s job. An assistant coach must have a level of seriousness during all evaluation opportunities as well as during the entire recruiting process. Division I coaches have not been allowed to leave campus since mid-March 2020 and are currently not able to recruit off-campus until April 15 – that’s 13 months of having to evaluate off film, live streaming during scholastic and non-scholastic events as well as gaining intel from high school coaches and travel coaches.
 

2. Dealing with players:

It’s critical for assistant to keep a pulse on the team. I have found that the best assistant coaches learn from their players – so watching what they do, listening to what they do and understanding why they do it can only help make for a better coach/player relationship. “Recruiting” the current players may be more important than ever with players entering the transfer portal at break-neck speed.
 

3. Player Development:

Player development/skill development is also important for assistant coaches. Assistants need to be capable in their abilities to help develop players both in-season and out of season
 

4. Time Management:

Time management and handling crises are keys to success in any endeavor. Assistant coaches must understand that multiple things will come up in a day that were NOT planned or accounted for. How they react to these situations will, in many instances, determine their success. Again, the pandemic has added another responsibility to coaches and that is making sure the players are abiding by university COVID-19 protocols
 

5. Scouting Opponents/Watching Film:

During the season, an assistant must find time to watch film of the next opponent even if it’s not his scout. This will help develop a better understanding of the upcoming game – and he just might pick something up. This is a never-ending task by the entire staff
 
The importance of a good staff simply cannot be overstated. If an assistant coach is solid in the areas mentioned above, the odds of success for the program greatly increase.
 

IV. SoCon Ladder
This is always difficult to compile and no doubt, this Ladder could very well look different in early February, but for now here are the selections as of Jan. 20:
 

1. Furman – In a league with multiple teams capable of winning the regular-season title, the Paladins are currently the class of the SoCon
2. Wofford – When your leader is Storm Murphy, you know how to win. The Terriers are always tough to beat at home, but they’ve have already won four conference road games!
3. ETSU – The Bucs are solid from top to bottom. They had won five of six, then didn’t play for two weeks. That’s difficult, but they should get back in the groove and will be one of the top teams in the league as we head toward February
4. UNCG – Wes Miller’s group looks to be hitting its stride. If so, look out as the Spartans are as talented as anyone in the league
5. Mercer – I think the Bears are better than this, but they will need to prove it. Once they learn to play with energy and defensive consistency (without fouling) for 40 minutes, this group will compete with anyone
6. The Citadel – This group can score! But they need to get back to their winning ways quickly to stay in the hunt
7. Chattanooga – The Mocs are a solid group, but after a terrific start they have not been able to finish games
8. Samford – The Bulldogs had not been able to get over the hump in over two weeks until a solid win over Western Carolina on Monday
9. VMI – The Keydets continue to be more than competitive. Inside Cameron Hall this is a tough group to beat
10. Western Carolina – The Catamounts are talented, yet they are another team that didn’t play for over two weeks and simply need time to find their groove. It would also help if they didn’t get down by double digits in the first half of games!

 
Until the next “Dean’s List” on Feb. 3, follow me on Twitter: @DeanKeener1