The following was written by Keith Jarrett, who retired in 2015 from his position of senior writer at the Asheville Citizen-Times after a nearly 30-year career.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – How important is winning the Southern Conference men’s basketball regular-season championship?
In each of the previous seven seasons, the outright or co-champion has gone on to claim the league’s tournament title and automatic bid to the NCAA tourney.
The projected team to keep that streak alive this season is Chattanooga, a slight favorite over Furman in both the coaches’ and media polls at the SoCon Basketball Media Day presented by Ingles held at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville.
The Mocs have four starters back off an 18-8 team that finished fourth in a strong and balanced league last year that placed the SoCon ninth among 32 Division I programs in overall RPI and 10
th in the NET rankings. Furman will be knocking on the door again this year, after averaging 22 wins per season over four years but looking for its first SoCon tourney title since 1980.
Following is a look at each team, ranked in order of predicted finish in the coaches’ poll.
*****
Chattanooga Mocs
Coach: Lamont Paris (60-64 in four seasons with the Mocs)
Last season: 18-8 (9-7, fourth in SoCon)
Outlook: Program has gotten steadily better the past three seasons under Paris and now has seven juniors and seniors on the roster
Both members of starting backcourt are preseason all-conference picks - senior David Jean-Baptiste (16.1 ppg) and sophomore Malachi Smith (16.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg)
Kansas transfer Silvio De Sousa (6-8, 245-pound senior) is expected to make an immediate impact
Top Newcomer: UCF transfer Avery Diggs brings a big body (6-10, 255) to the paint
Coaches’ Poll: First in the SoCon
Coaches’ Quote: “I’m glad they picked us first instead of last. With that comes a lot of expectations, and we won’t shy away from that. We have an older team, averaging about 22 years of age, and we realize we have a great opportunity. We have the expectation to be good and we appreciate that our peers view us that way, but the season starts at 0-0 and we have to go from there and get the job done.”
*****
Furman Paladins
Coach: Bob Richey (89-35 in four seasons with the Paladins)
Last season: 16-9 (10-5, third in the SoCon)
Outlook: After averaging 22 wins over the past four years and finishing second or third in league play during that span, is this program ready to take the final step to a title? Two senior guards are preseason all-conference selections - Mike Bothwell (15.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Alex Hunter (11.1 ppg, 91 assists), who will start at the point for a fourth straight year
Jalen Slawson is a 6-7 senior (8.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg) who is moving from center to power forward
Top Newcomer: Conley Garrison is a 6-1 grad transfer from Drury who averaged 18 ppg last season
Coaches’ Poll: Second in the SoCon
Coaches’ Quote: “We have a lot of experience and talent coming back. This team is more than capable of winning a championship, with a lot of depth, leadership and experience. There’s a little bit of a burden around this program about the drought (no SoCon tourney title since 1980) and we have paid too much attention to that mess. We have to understand that what has happened in the past will not matter when we come to the (SoCon tourney) in March. I love this team, its work ethic and their desire to get better every day.”
*****
ETSU Buccaneers
Coach: Desmond Oliver (first season with the Bucs)
Last season: 13-12 (8-7, fifth in the SoCon)
Outlook: After averaging 26 wins a year over the previous five seasons, the wheels came off in 2020-21, and now the program hopes the third coach in three years can get the team back on track
Junior guard Ledarrius Brewer (16.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg) is a preseason all-league pick
Point guard David Sloan (11.1 ppg, 4.3 apg) is a veteran presence and also a preseason all-conference pick
Sophomore guard Jordan King is a transfer from Siena who could play a key role in a three-guard offense
Top Newcomer: Mohab Yasser is a freshman from Egypt, a 6-5 guard who plays tough with a high basketball IQ
Coaches’ Poll: Third in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “I took the job based on the past here, because they have had great teams and great coaches. But the past success here has nothing to do with this team. They have to pave their own path, and I have challenged my team to get better every day. So far, they have done that. We are improving and if you get better every day, it’s a small victory that will help us.”
*****
Mercer Bears
Coach: Greg Gary (51-70 in four seasons, 35-26 in two seasons with Bears)
Last season: 18-11 (8-9, seventh in the SoCon)
Outlook: Program looking to build on solid end of the season - winning five of last seven, including three victories in the SoCon tournament and a berth in the title game as the seventh seed
Junior point guard Neftali Alvarez (13.5 ppg, 4.2 apg) is a preseason all-conference pick Another preseason all-league selection is senior forward Felipe Haase (11.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg) Junior James Glisson III (7.2 ppg) will be expected to carry a heavier load this season
Top Newcomer: Wake Forest grad transfer Jalen Johnson is a high-percentage 3-point shooter
Coaches’ Poll: Fourth in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “We want to be able to build on how we finished last year. We got a little taste of what going to the (tournament title game) felt like and that close to the NCAAs, and we are hungry for more. That helps you dig a little deeper when you are training, and our expectations when I got here was to win a championship. We came close, and now we have to learn how to finish.”
*****
Wofford Terriers
Coach: Jay McAuley (34-25 in two seasons with Terriers)
Last season: 15-9 (12-5, second in the SoCon)
Outlook: After losing their top two scorers from last season, the Terriers will need some role players to step up their performances
Senior guard Ryan Larson (5.9 ppg) is a returning starter who shot 45 percent from the 3-point line
Junior forward Messiah Jones (10.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg) is the top returning scorer and rebounder
Sophomore guard Morgan Safford (9.3 ppg) made the all-freshman team last season
Top Newcomer: Luke Turner is a 6-7 freshman and a solid shooter
Coaches’ Poll: Fifth in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “We’re very excited about this team. As always, it’s a new team, a new journey. We lost two outstanding senior leaders (Storm Murphy and Tray Hollowell), but our theme at Wofford has been next man up, next leader up. We take a lot of pride in that 13 straight recruiting classes have been to the NCAA tourney, and nobody wants to break that streak. With that as a focus, we’re ready to go to work.”
*****
UNC Greensboro Spartans
Coach: Mike Jones (174-150 in 10 seasons at Radford, first year at UNCG)
Last season: 21-9 (13-5, first in the SoCon)
Outlook: League’s best program over past five seasons (125 wins) lost coach Wes Miller to Cincinnati, but found a quality successor in Jones, who won 21 or more games in five of 10 seasons at Radford
Senior forward Mohammad Abdulsalam (6.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg) is a 6-9, 255-pound power player
Graduate guard Kaleb Hunter (8.9 ppg) should be a bigger scorer this season
Junior guard Kobe Langley played just 11 minutes a game last season but will be expected to carry a bigger role this year
Top Newcomer: Graduate transfer De’Monte Buckingham from Cal State Bakersfield is an effort guy who will do the dirty work on the court
Coaches’ Poll: Sixth in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “It’s atypical, difficult and a little crazy to (take over an established program). It’s challenging in a lot of ways because of the high expectations of everyone, but these players have a winning culture and winning mentality, and that’s a good thing. These guys have a high standard that we want to continue.”
*****
VMI Keydets
Coach: Dan Earl (57-123 in six seasons with the Keydets)
Last season: 13-12 (7-7, sixth in the SoCon)
Outlook: After five straight seasons of 20 or more losses, VMI turned it around last year and beat No. 3 seed Furman in the SoCon tourney
Senior center Jake Stephens (14.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg) is a preseason all-conference pick
Junior guard Kamdyn Curfman (12.7 ppg) is a 3-point specialist who made 70 last year while shooting 40 percent from beyond the line
Junior guard Sean Conway (10.1 ppg) is another long-range bomber who made 57 3-pointers and also shot 40 percent beyond the arc
Top Newcomer: Freshman guard Honor Huff is a 5-10 guard, a solid shooter and penetrator
Coaches’ Poll: Seventh in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “We’re trying to build on a pretty good foundation from last year. Hopefully that adds some confidence and shows them they can compete. Last year was a building block, a stepping stone, and hopefully we can continue forward from there. This is a really tough league at the top and the middle of the pack, and there is a lot of parity.”
*****
Samford Bulldogs
Coach: Bucky McMillan (6-13 in one season with the Bulldogs)
Last season: 6-13 (2-9, 10th in the SoCon)
Outlook: Nowhere to go but up after a season so devastated by the pandemic that the program had seven games league cancelled and played just five times in the last six weeks of the season
With two seniors and one junior, the young Bulldogs will depend heavily on transfers
Ques Glover is a sophomore point guard transfer from Florida who has all-conference type talent
Sophomore forward Jermaine Marshall is a transfer from Akron who could be a double-double type performer
Top Newcomer: Freshman guard Wesley Cardet Jr. is a four-star recruit, a slasher and explosive athlete
Coaches’ Poll: Eighth in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “We thought about cancelling last season, but we fought through it and got some kids a lot of experience. This year, I like where we are for a team that is almost all freshmen and sophomores, and I believe we are now more in control of our destiny and are set to win. It’s a very strong league and we look forward to competing as hard as we can.”
*****
The Citadel Bulldogs
Coach: Duggar Baucom (252-296 in 18 seasons, 64-118 in six years with the Bulldogs)
Last season: 13-12 (5-11, eighth in the SoCon)
Outlook: Optimism abounds after Bulldogs claimed first winning season since 2009 and have some talented players returning
All-conference graduate forward Hayden Brown (18.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg) is the Preseason Player of the Year selection
Graduate point guard Tyler Moffe (9.7 ppg) led team with 91 assists
Junior forward Stephen Clark (5.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg) has added 17 pounds to a slender frame
Top Newcomer: Freshman 6-5 forward Jason Roche is a 3-point shooter with a very quick release
Coaches’ Poll: Ninth in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “I tell the guys they have started this (winning season) and are the ones who have helped us start turning the corner here. The kids liked winning and liked how that feels, and they are hungry for more. We battled through a lot of adversity with COVID last season and felt like we could have done even better than we did, so we are really looking forward to this season.”
*****
Western Carolina Catamounts
Coach: Justin Gray (first season with the Catamounts)
Last season: 11-16 (4-13, ninth in the SoCon)
Outlook: New coach, virtually new team with just three returning players will look to have success with seven transfers expected to help immediately
Junior guard Travion McCray (9.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg) is the top returning scorer
Junior guard Tyler Harris (6.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg) got 20 starts last season
Guard Nicholas Robinson is a graduate transfer from Valparaiso who will bring experience
Top Newcomer: Kansas State transfer Joe Petrakis (6-10, 224) will bring a strong skill set
Coaches’ Poll: 10th in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “I only had three scholarship players when I arrived, so my whole team came from somewhere else. The big thing here is culture. Before we can win, we have to sustain winning. You can’t just go into the transfer portal and get the 10 best players and think winning is just going to happen. We talk about being relentless, competing at a high level and the power of the unit. Those three things will shine through this program and hopefully help us start winning, whenever that may happen.”