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 X: @DeanKeener1

The Dean’s List
February 7, 2024
 

1. Inside SoCon Hoops

 
We are 30 days from the start of the Ingles Southern Conference Basketball Championships in Asheville. We just passed the midway point of league games, but there is still lots of basketball to play, including several key games that could decide the regular season champion.  
 
No doubt it’s going to be exciting to see how the regular season plays out. In particular, the race to finish in the top six.  Remember, it’s critical to finish in the top six as teams don’t want to play in the first round on Friday night in Asheville. It’s difficult enough to win three games in a row, let alone four.  Right now, Samford, UNCG and Chattanooga are the top three and look to be fairly safe in finishing at or near the top.  After that, it’s anyone’s guess how things will end up.
 
It's not surprising that Samford, UNCG and Chattanooga have started to separate themselves just a bit from the pack.  Along with Furman and Western Carolina, they all garnered lots of love back in the fall.  Each has proven to be an outstanding team with the ingredients for success. They each have good guard play, at least one solid post player, they share the ball, and they have multiple go-to players that can score when a play breaks down.  Sure, they are well-coached, but every SoCon team is well-coached.  Right now, it’s about players and no one should ever forget that.
 
It's the middle of the pack where things get interesting.  Wofford deserves a ton of love.  The Terriers have won most of their close games and continue to show great resolve. They now have the most wins in the nation in games decided by two points or less (six wins)!  Congrats to Dwight Perry, his staff, and players.  Furman is finally healthy and has major firepower in the backcourt.  Western Carolina has dropped five of their last six (none by more than six points), yet they also have enough talent to beat anyone in the league.  Justin Gray will have the Catamounts back to their winning ways very soon.  I also believe ETSU, Mercer, VMI and The Citadel will affect the final seedings as much as anyone.  Heck, Mercer beat UNCG last week on the road!
 
The next few weeks should be exciting!
 

2. In The Know?

 

• UNCG has led the SoCon in opponent field goal percentage the past two seasons.  They currently lead this year as well, limiting teams to just .398.
• Five of the top 10 scoring leaders in the Southern Conference are transfers, although two (Vonterius Woolbright and Achor Achor) transferred from junior colleges.
• Samford’s Rylan Jones is second nationally in assist/turnover ratio at 4.21. That’s 122 assists on the season with just 29 turnovers while playing for a team that likes to play fast!
• Furman is fourth and Chattanooga is seventh nationally in three-point attempts per game.

 

3. SoCon Trivia True or False

 
Let’s test your knowledge of Southern Conference Men’s Basketball (answers at the bottom):
 

1. The Southern Conference Men’s basketball championship is the oldest tournament in the nation.
2. Michael Cross is the 10^th commissioner in the history of the Southern Conference
3. JP Pegues was a second-team all-conference selection last season.
4. Keith Jennings holds the Southern Conference record for most career assists.
5. Former Wofford head coach Mike Young is the winningest coach in school history.

 

4. Most Improved

 
There are several players that have made a nice jump since last season.
 
As we have mentioned in the past, there are many reasons why it takes some players longer to develop or break into the rotation.  For some players, it’s nothing more than adjusting to the speed and physicality of the college game.  In other instances, a player may be stuck behind an older or more talented player and merely needs to wait for his time, although we don’t see that as much with the transfer portal.  Regardless, it’s always great to see players grow and improve throughout their career.
 
Player development at the college level comes in many different forms.  It’s time spent on the court developing and refining fundamentals.  It can be time spent in the weight room getting stronger and quicker as well as time in the film room.  For your student-athletes, it’s also learning about proper diet and nutrition, which is so important for young players. 
 
In no particular order, here are some of the most improved players in the league:
 

• Achor Achor (Samford) – Arguably the most improved player in the SoCon.  He has been terrific and a big reason why the Bulldogs are atop the league standing at the midway point of league play.

 

• Sam Alexis (Chattanooga) – We saw this coming last year when he was pressed into action with the injury to Jake Stephens.  That said, Alexis has continued to elevate his game.  Yes, he averages 11.5 ppg and just over 9 rpg, but he also leads the league in blocks and is a solid defender.

 

• Donovan Atwell (UNCG) – An argument could be made that Atwell is the most improved player in the SoCon.  His numbers are impressive.  He’s averaging 11ppg (3.3ppg as a freshman) while shooting 40.5% 3FG (31% as a freshman). You better find him, especially in the corners.

 

• Corey Tripp (Wofford) – Tripp has been pressed into a bigger role each year and he has delivered.  He deserves credit for continuing to improve his jump shot and being a better all-around player each season.

 

• DJ Campbell (Western Carolina) – The sophomore sometimes gets overlooked because of those “other good guards” (Woolbright, Jackson and Jones, Jr.) but make no mistake, he continues to get better and will be the cornerstone of this program for years to come.  He’s currently shooting .528 from the field and .429 from three.  Case closed.

 

• AJ Smith (Citadel) – At first glance, you may not know much about Smith, but the more you watch the Bulldogs, the more you come to understand he’s as improved as anyone in the league.  Smith, a sophomore, has been in double figures all but one game this season.

 
 
 

5. The NIT: re the National (not-so) Invitational Tournament

 
Last October, the NCAA put out a release stating several changes to their invitation procedures regarding the NIT.  The most important one was that regular season conference champions would no longer be given an automatic bid to the NIT.
 
Here is a portion of the release:
“The NIT will guarantee two teams (based on the NET rankings) from each of six conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC).  The top two teams in the NET rankings not qualifying for the NCAA men's basketball tournament from each conference, regardless of win-loss record, will be selected.  Additionally, the 12 teams automatically selected will be guaranteed the opportunity to host a game in the first round of the NIT.  
Once the 12 automatic qualifying schools have been selected, the NIT Committee will select the 20 best teams available to complete the tournament's 32-team field.”
Really?  So, we think having a .500 ACC team that may be 8-12 in league play is motivated and a better draw than a regular season champion from say the SoCon, Missouri Valley or Atlantic 10 that happened to lose in the finals of their tournament. 
This seems like it rewards average performance in Power 6 conference play and is a potential roadblock for mid major teams looking to extend their season.  I just hate that good teams with really good players will be left out of the post season. 
 

6. Slotting the Teams

 
There are six at the top in Tier I, but the others will all have a say in how things shake out.The month of February is going to be a lot of fun for SoCon hoop fans:
 
Tier I
 
Samford – The Bulldogs had their 17-game winning streak snapped at Furman but have won three since.  They are undefeated at home (14-0) and just got Jermaine Marshall back.  Their game at UNCG on Thursday, February 8 looms large.
 
UNCG – The Spartans struggled against Mercer but have since recovered.  They looked really good in their win at Furman last Sunday on national TV.
 
Chattanooga – This team was as hot as any in the league, until losing at home to Samford last Saturday.  I still like the makeup of this team as they have talent and coaching.
 
Wofford – This team continues to show resiliency and toughness.  With just three remaining home games (and five on the road), the schedule doesn’t favor them.  But then again, there weren’t many outside of their inner circle who thought they would be 6-4 in conference play on February 7.
 
Furman – The Paladins have the horsepower to compete with anyone in the league.  They’ve proven that by beating Western Carolina and Samford at home.  The losses to Wofford and UNCG were minor setbacks as this program is rock solid and will be just fine.
 
Western Carolina – The Catamounts have hit a bit of a rough stretch, but with three of the next four at home, something tells me they will be in the thick of things by the time we get to Asheville.
 
Tier II
 
ETSU – The Bucs have not played that poorly but are simply not shooting well enough to win the close ones.  Getting Karon Boyd back is huge.  This is a big stretch with their next two at home because they still have late February games on the road at Chattanooga, Western Carolina, and Samford.
 
Mercer – The Bears scored a much-needed home win against VMI on Saturday.  Jalyn McCreary looked like the all-conference player we know.  With five of their next six inside Hawkins Arena, it’s now or never.
 
VMI – The young Keydets continue to battle.  I really like their freshmen and sophomores.  As they grow up, Andrew Wilson and staff will do the rest.
 
The Citadel – The Bulldogs have been oh so close…a one point lose to Wofford, OT loss to Furman and most recently a two point loss to ETSU.  That said, they need to start breaking through. I’m of the opinion they will.
 
True or False
 

1. True (The Southern Conference Men’s tournament is the oldest)
2. True (Michael Cross is the 10^th commissioner in the history if the Southern Conference)
3. False (Unbelievably, Pegues was not a member of the coaches OR media all-conference teams during his sophomore season)
4. True (Keith “Mister” Jennings had 983 career assists during his career at ETSU)
5. True (Mike Young won 299 career games as head coach of Wofford)

 
 
Until the next “Dean’s List” on February 21, follow me on twitter:  @DeanKeener1