I haven't got the time to be really comprehensive, but here are my early thoughts about this year's conference.

Wofford (20-13; 11-5) The team to beat in the SoCon returns everyone from a team that won the SoCon tournament and lost 40-57 to Michigan in the NCAA’s. CBS Sports rates them 7th Mid Major in the country preseason. http://mweb.cbssports.com/ncaab/eye-on-c...mid-majors
But I just don’t see them being nearly that good. They are not well positioned to take advantage of ETSU’s smallness since they max out at 6’6” 220, 6’4” 195; 6’6” 206 and 6’7” 230 in the front court. It will be tough for incoming players to make an impact in this experienced group. 6'8" Evansville transfer Ryan Sawvell sits out this year.

UTC (18-15 and 12-4) looked lethargic in losing to ETSU in the postseason last year. They lose their key player, big Z. Mason, with 18.1 points and 9.7 rebounds. But they gain an exceptional incoming group that could really turn things around – 6’10” 220 Justin Tuoyo, a VCU transfer, becomes eligible; they add 6’6” 224 Duke Ethridge, NJCAA 2nd team All-American averaging 19.8 ppg and 9.3 rebounds who was a highly recruited high school football player http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?S...EASON=2014
Tre McLean, 6’5” 195 transfer with a 7 foot wingspan and high energy becomes eligible; and they add 5’11” 169 point guard Jacolby Mobley, NJCAA All-Region 23 with 16.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 2.9 assists. These guys seem to have the energy that last year’s crew lacked and may be primed for a big improvement.

Nobody loses as much as Mercer (27-9, 14-4) from the the ASun championship team that beat Duke – their best 2 guards (Langston Hall and Anthony White) and their top 4 frontcourt guys (Coursey, Monty Brown, Bud Thomas and Jake Gollon). But they bring back some contributors who were part of this run and could really step it up – 6’5” 205 athlete extraordinaire Ike Nwamu, 6’6” 195 Darius Moten, 6’3” 180 Jibri Bryan and 6’9” 205 T.J. Hallice among them. And they add a ton of new recruits. Some guys, like Murry Bartow, perennially have 11 and 12 man rosters. Bob Hoffman always has 17 or 18 – he has 18 again this year. How does he do this and stay legal?????? He brings them in by the bushel and ruthlessly weeds them out. in 7’1” 215 JUCO Andrew Fishler and 6’10 235 Niklas Ney (one of the top 4 players in his German league) they add 2 guys who could help right now. 6’9” 255 South Carolina transfer Desmond Ringer will have to sit out this year. Sometimes a team loses key players but still manages to produce. I’ll bet that Mercer will do exactly that and challenge for #1 in the SoCon this year. Bob Hoffman has shown a remarkable ability to find and develop talent among the recruits who survive his winnowing process.

ETSU (19-16; 10-8) Except for 6’10” frosh Karl Overstreet, Bartow failed to recruit the frontcourt help that the Bucs desperately need. So we’re left hoping that 6’6” 250 Ron Giplaye recovers from heart surgery, that little used sophomore Isaac Banks can step up, and that 6’10” frosh Overstreet will be ready to produce. That’s quite a lot to hope for. Otherwise we’ve got nothing else in the frontcourt. A lot of responsibility falls on rising Junior Lester Wilson to step up his game (especially on defense and rebounding) and become the all around star and team leader that he can be. That’s what Mike Smith did his Junior year. Rashawn Rembert, Jalen Riley and A.J. Merriweather are a high energy guard crew that will be tough for opponents to match. Freshman Desonta Bradford looks to be in the same mold as Merriweather. But 6’5” 260 matchup nightmare Kenard Gadsden-Gilliard will be sorely missed, as will 6’7” post player Hunter Harris. Last year’s undersized Bucs look big compared to this year’s version.

Western Carolina (19-15, 10-6) loses their top 2 players and 4 of their top 5; Early signees are high schoolers unlikely to make a big impact this year – except perhaps for 6’8” 200 forward Alex Hicks. Late signees are not yet listed.

VMI (22-13, 11-5) loses 2 of their big 3, the most damaging loss being 6’9” 235 superstar D.J. Covington. They will still present an interesting challenge with their high octane, fast paced style (88 ppg). But they just won’t have the horses that they had last year. ETSU should do pretty well against that fast paced attack with athleticism and scoring ability.

UNC Greensboro (14-18, 7-9) loses top scorer and rebounder 6’7” 210 Kyle Cain, a real stud who decided to go pro. Nobody coming in looks likely to replace him.

FURMAN (9-21; 3-13) The good news is that they return their top 4 players. The bad news is that they didn’t do much with those players last year.

SAMFORD (13-20, 6-10) lose their coach and their top 3 players to transfer or graduation.

THE CITADEL (7-26, 2-14) the best player on a bad team, Matt Van Scyoc, transfers.

(08-10-2014 04:21 PM)swvabucsfan Wrote:  I haven't got the time to be really comprehensive, but here are my early thoughts about this year's conference.

Wofford (20-13; 11-5) The team to beat in the SoCon returns everyone from a team that won the SoCon tournament and lost 40-57 to Michigan in the NCAA’s. CBS Sports rates them 7th Mid Major in the country preseason. http://mweb.cbssports.com/ncaab/eye-on-c...mid-majors
But I just don’t see them being nearly that good. They are not well positioned to take advantage of ETSU’s smallness since they max out at 6’6” 220, 6’4” 195; 6’6” 206 and 6’7” 230 in the front court. It will be tough for incoming players to make an impact in this experienced group. 6'8" Evansville transfer Ryan Sawvell sits out this year.

UTC (18-15 and 12-4) looked lethargic in losing to ETSU in the postseason last year. They lose their key player, big Z. Mason, with 18.1 points and 9.7 rebounds. But they gain an exceptional incoming group that could really turn things around – 6’10” 220 Justin Tuoyo, a VCU transfer, becomes eligible; they add 6’8” 224 Duke Ethridge, NJCAA 2nd team All-American averaging 19.8 ppg and 9.3 rebounds who was a highly recruited high school football player http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?S...EASON=2014
Tre McLean, 6’5” 195 transfer with a 7 foot wingspan and high energy becomes eligible; and they add 5’11” 169 point guard Jacolby Mobley, NJCAA All-Region 23 with 16.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 2.9 assists. These guys seem to have the energy that last year’s crew lacked and may be primed for a big improvement.

Nobody loses as much as Mercer (27-9, 14-4) from the the ASun championship team that beat Duke – their best 2 guards (Langston Hall and Anthony White) and their top 4 frontcourt guys (Coursey, Monty Brown, Bud Thomas and Jake Gollon). But they bring back some contributors who were part of this run and could really step it up – 6’5” 205 athlete extraordinaire Ike Nwamu, 6’6” 195 Darius Moten, 6’3” 180 Jibri Bryan and 6’9” 205 T.J. Hallice among them. And they add a ton of new recruits. Some guys, like Murry Bartow, perennially have 11 and 12 man rosters. Bob Hoffman always has 17 or 18 – he has 18 again this year. How does he do this and stay legal?????? He brings them in by the bushel and ruthlessly weeds them out. in 7’1” 215 JUCO Andrew Fishler and 6’10 235 Niklas Ney (one of the top 4 players in his German league) they add 2 guys who could help right now. 6’9” 255 South Carolina transfer Desmond Ringer will have to sit out this year. Sometimes a team loses key players but still manages to produce. I’ll bet that Mercer will do exactly that and challenge for #1 in the SoCon this year. Bob Hoffman has shown a remarkable ability to find and develop talent among the recruits who survive his winnowing process.

ETSU (19-16; 10-8) Except for 6’10” frosh Karl Overstreet, Bartow failed to recruit the frontcourt help that the Bucs desperately need. So we’re left hoping that 6’6” 250 Ron Giplaye recovers from heart surgery, that little used sophomore Isaac Banks can step up, and that 6’10” frosh Overstreet will be ready to produce. That’s quite a lot to hope for. Otherwise we’ve got nothing else in the frontcourt. A lot of responsibility falls on rising Junior Lester Wilson to step up his game (especially on defense and rebounding) and become the all around star and team leader that he can be. That’s what Mike Smith did his Junior year. Rashawn Rembert, Jalen Riley and A.J. Merriweather are a high energy guard crew that will be tough for opponents to match. Freshman Desonta Bradford looks to be in the same mold as Merriweather. But 6’5” 260 matchup nightmare Kenard Gadsden-Gilliard will be sorely missed, as will 6’7” post player Hunter Harris. Last year’s undersized Bucs look big compared to this year’s version.

Western Carolina (19-15, 10-6) loses their top 2 players and 4 of their top 5; Early signees are high schoolers unlikely to make a big impact this year – except perhaps for 6’8” 200 forward Alex Hicks. Late signees are not yet listed.

VMI (22-13, 11-5) loses 2 of their big 3, most damaging 6’9” 235 superstar D.J. Covington. They will still present an interesting challenge with their high octane, fast paced style (88 ppg). But they just won’t have the horses that they had last year. ETSU should do pretty well against that fast paced attack.

UNC Greensboro (14-18, 7-9) loses top scorer and rebounder 6’7” 210 Kyle Cain, a real stud who decided to go pro. Nobody coming in looks likely to replace him.

FURMAN (9-21; 3-13) The good news is that they return their top 4 players. The bad news is that they didn’t do much with those players last year.

SAMFORD (13-20, 6-10) lose their coach and their top 3 players to transfer or graduation.

THE CITADEL (7-26, 2-14) the best player on a bad team, Matt Van Scyoc, transfers.

Thanks SWVA! I always enjoy reading your great information.

I enjoyed learning more about our SOCON competition. Thanks for posting, swvabucsfan.

To add to the synopsis on ETSU, we've added two frontcourt players for this season: 6'6" Tommy Williams of East Georgia (juco) State College and 5th year transfer Alex Bates of Tennessee State. Williams' game reportedly resembles another former Buc named Tommy-Tommy Hubbard. The scouting report on Williams is that he attacks the glass and scores on putbacks and other hustle-type plays. He averaged 12 & 10 at East Georgia, so he should be able to contribute rebounding. Throughout his career, first at Northeastern and then at TSU, Bates produced very little averaging less than 1 pt. and 2 rpg. Still, he's 6'9" and might bring intangibles such as leadership, experience, and post defense.

(08-10-2014 08:28 PM)Bucfaithful Wrote:  I enjoyed learning more about our SOCON competition. Thanks for posting, swvabucsfan.

To add to the synopsis on ETSU, we've added two frontcourt players for this season: 6'6" Tommy Williams of East Georgia (juco) State College and 5th year transfer Alex Bates of Tennessee State. Williams' game reportedly resembles another former Buc named Tommy-Tommy Hubbard. The scouting report on Williams is that he attacks the glass and scores on putbacks and other hustle-type plays. He averaged 12 & 10 at East Georgia, so he should be able to contribute rebounding. Throughout his career, first at Northeastern and then at TSU, Bates produced very little averaging less than 1 pt. and 2 rpg. Still, he's 6'9" and might bring intangibles such as leadership, experience, and post defense.

As you say, Williams does give us some reason to hope, and with the departure of O'field he'll get plenty of chances to produce. He's listed at 6'5" on the East Georgia roster http://www.ega.edu/athletics/sports/bask...all_roster and his 11% 3 point shooting suggests that he's not likely to remind us of Tommy Hubbard in his Junior or Senior years. Still, even the Tommy Hubbard of his Sophomore year (a ferocious defensive scrapper and rebounder who helped get us to the NCAA's to battle Pittsburgh) would be valuable. Williams is described as having been recruited by SEC and ACC teams out of high school before suffering a knee injury. See http://thegcaa.com/sports/mbkb/2012-13/r...0212egabkb which lists him as 6'6" and 215.

Bates just sounds like a long shot.

At the bottom of this linked page is the complete video replay of a game in which #5 Tommy Williams scores 28 points and grabs 14 rebounds.
http://jucoreport.com/game-recap-georgia...t-georgia/

I like your assessment on the Bears, and of course the overall league. Great info, thanks for posting!

(08-11-2014 02:05 PM)MercerFan Wrote:  I like your assessment on the Bears, and of course the overall league. Great info, thanks for posting!

It could be awhile until the pieces come together. In fact it took Hoffman 2 big recruiting years to put together the team that graduated last year. But sometimes the guys who are left after a heralded bunch leaves will surprise you. UVA made the Final Four after Ralph Sampson left.

Hoffman has pulled in his usual balanced crew - some big guys that may not be the best athletes but that he can coach up, some solid perimeter players. You can see the outlines of the kind of team he likes, one that can give you problems inside or out.

But it's still an awful lot to replace. I've graded down most other SoCon teams who are losing less.

Mercer will be very interesting to watch.

The other really interesting crew of newcomers will be UTC where Coach Wade may now have the personnel to actually play the kind of "chaos" that he likes to talk about. Taking Z. Mason away from the team that played in the Dome last year would leave them pretty tame. But the crew of transfers and highly touted JUCO's that they're adding should really shake things up for the Mocs.

Wofford remains chalk - they know how to win. But they just don't look scary - they're not that big, or that athletic, or that skilled. Just a solid Mid Major team that plays well together. And they're not bringing in any real help. They should be vulnerable to a team that can put the pieces together.

Most of the rest of the SoCon (barring major late signings) seems to be losing more than they are adding.

I was thinking of former JUCO's to compare Tommy Williams to and remember the unheralded play of Eryk Thomas. Thomas gave us athleticism, length, tremendous on-the-ball defense (I don't know how well Williams defends), solid rebounding, and high-percentage scoring. Maybe Williams will give us a similar presence.

(08-12-2014 01:02 PM)Bucfaithful Wrote:  I was thinking of former JUCO's to compare Tommy Williams to and remember the unheralded play of Eryk Thomas. Thomas gave us athleticism, length, tremendous on-the-ball defense (I don't know how well Williams defends), solid rebounding, and high-percentage scoring. Maybe Williams will give us a similar presence.

Williams and Thomas do seem to have similar body types at about 6'6", but different skills at this point. Williams has a very smooth game around the basket and scores better, almost all of it on layups and little hooks. Check out his play in this JUCO game: http://jucoreport.com/game-recap-georgia...t-georgia/ Thomas, at least at first glance, seemed to be quicker and a better defender, but not as good a scorer.

We will be hoping for rebounding and defense out of Williams. We were not a strong rebounding team last year, and we lose 13 of our 35.1 rpg's with the departure of Harris, KGG and Poderis. By far our best returning rebounder is the slim 6'2" Merriweather.

What we can get from Giplaye, Banks and Overstreet is anybody's guess.