WOFFORD 28-7, 16-2
Roster:
http://athletics.wofford.edu/roster.aspx...ll&roster&
Stats:
http://www.woffordterriers.com/cumestats...tab=stats2
The Terriers lose their best guard in SoCon POY Karl Cochran (leading rebounder with 5.9, leading steals with 1.8, leading scorer with 14.6, leading assists with 2.7 and blocks with 1.0) Also their best front court player in 6’6” Lee Skinner (5.7 rebounds and 9.9 points) generally described as their “heart and soul” the last couple of years. They hope that Evansville transfer Ryan Sawvell 6’8” 215 R-Jr will help replace Skinner. They hope that their 3 experienced guards (Spencer Collins, Eric Garcia and Jaylen Allen) and four incoming freshmen guards, all listed at about 6'4", will yield a replacement for Cochran. Most interesting of the freshmen guards may be
Jimmy Jent 6'4" 185, team captain at Fork Union averaging 13 ppg. He's the son of former Ohio State star and NBA assistant coach Chris Jent. He's a little short of athleticism, but you don't get a better basketball upbringing. They hope that they have enough veteran players used to winning in this system that they can do it again despite the losses. Mercer last year showed how a well coached veteran squad used to winning can often overcome remarkable losses and continue to be very tough to beat. And Emory & Henry alum Mike Young won coach of the year again. Still, they lose a lot of athleticism in Cochran and Skinner which is not being replaced. Young's system doesn't rely on great athleticism, kind of like Rick Byrd, but this year's team may fall below the level necessary to get back to the top. There will be lots of pressure on Spencer Collins and Justin Gordon to step up the way that Darius Moten and Ike Nwamu did for Mercer last year. Look for Young to run a short rotation relying on the following 6 veterans.
GUARDS:
Spencer Collins 6’4” 194 Sr., 27.6 min., 11.8 ppg, .384 from 3 (43 of 112) 2.7 assists, 2.7 rebounds
Eric Garcia 6’0” 181 Jr., 26.9 min., 2.5 assists, 7.7 ppg, .360 from 3 (32 of 89)
Jaylen Allen 6’3” 180 Jr., 17.7 min., 6.3 ppg, .421 from 3 (40 of 95)
FRONT COURT:
Justin Gordon 6’6” 205 Sr., 21.2 min., 7.5 ppg on .547 shooting, 4.0 rebounds
C.J. Neumann 6’7” 230 Sr., 20.5 min., 4.0 ppg on .516 shooting, 4.5 rebounds
Ryan Sawvell (Evansville TR) 6’8” 215 R-Jr., 15.1 min., 6.0 ppg, 3.9 rebounds in first 7 games as Evansville soph.
Some front court bench help may come from 6’7” 255 So
Cameron Jackson (8.3 min., 1.6 rebounds, 2.4 points) or 6’10” 250 Fr.
Matthew Pegram, neither of whom have Skinner’s mobility.
Wofford wins by controlling the pace, keeping the score low (lowest in SoCon), shooting a high percentage (first in SoCon in field goal percentage), taking care of the ball (tie for 1st in assist/t.o. ratio, 2nd best in t.o. margin), defending extremely well (lowest score allowed, lowest 3 point percentage allowed, 2nd lowest field goal percentage allowed), and rebounding well (best rebounding margin) despite being one of the smaller, less athletic teams in the SoCon. This will be tougher without Cochran and Skinner, their 2 best rebounders and their 2 best defenders. But the guys that return know how this is done, and have the confidence born of 2 years of winning the SoCon.
UTC 22-10, 15-3
Roster:
http://www.gomocs.com/roster.aspx?path=mbb
Stats:
http://stats.gomocs.com/mbasketball/2014...m#TEAM.IND
They lose best ballhandling guard Ronrico White (3.4 assists, 1.5 t.o.’s, 11.1 ppg and 2.6 rebounds in 31.4 minutes). But they return everybody else. 6’10” Justin Tuoyo was SoCon defensive POY with 3.4 blocks in 28.8 minutes to go with 11.3 ppg and 6.4 rebounds. Casey Jones was all SoCon along with Tuoyo, and is my preseason pick for this year’s SoCon POY with 29.5 min., 14.2 ppg on mostly short to medium range shots (.519) and 7.0 rebounds). They also lose coach Will Wade, their fine young coach who steps in for Shaka Smart at VCU. They do bring in another young coach with a great pedigree in Billy Donovan assistant Matt McCall from Florida. Still, as Florida Gulf Coast has shown, even a solid replacement coach on a loaded team can have difficulty in conjuring the same magic. Their guards can be attacked. They were 7th in the SoCon last year in both turnover margin and assist to turnover ratio - numbers which get much worse with the loss of by far their best ballhandler in Ronrico White. They'll need Greg Pryor and either his former high school teammate, JUCO Johnathan Burroughs-Cook, or UT Martin transfer Dee Oldham to really step it up here. Freshmen shooting guards Peyton Woods and ZaQwaun Matthews may improve mediocre perimeter shooting, but seem unlikely to help much with the turnover problem. We should press these guys early and often.
GUARDS:
Casey Jones 6’5” 205 Sr., 29.5 min., 14.2 ppg, only 3 made 3’s, 7.0 rpg, 1.8 assists, 2.7 t.o.'s
Greg Pryor 6’1” 195 Jr., 27.4 min., 11.3 ppg on .379 (44 of 116) from 3, 2.5 assists, 2.0 t.o.'s, 1.5 steals
Eric Robertson 6’5” 200 Sr., 21 min., 8.8 ppg, .468 (65 of 139) from 3, 1.2 assists, 1.0 t.o.'s
Dee Oldham 6'4" 180 Sr., midseason transfer from UT Martin where he had lost playing time - 16.7 minutes, 3.3 ppg on 35% shooting, 3.3 rpg, 1.6 assists in 7 games. Career assist to t.o. ratio of 1.8 (105/58). Will be eligible after finals.
Johnathan Burroughs-Cook, 6'1" 170 JUCO Jr., a former high school teammate of Greg Pryor at Memphis Ridgeway; tallied 13.5 points, on 31.3% from 3, 4.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 t.o.'s per game for SWTCC.
http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2014-...hscookusa3
Peyton Woods, 6'3" 167 FR, 3 point shooting specialist, 4th all-time in Kentucky high school 3 point makes with 362, averaged 22.1 ppg on 40.9% from 3 with 108 makes as a senior
FRONT COURT:
Justin Tuoyo 6’10” 235 R-Jr., 28.8 min., 10.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg., 3.4 blocks
Tre McLean 6’5” 205 R-Jr., 21.9 min., 4.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg
Duke Etheridge 6’6” 225 Sr., 12.6 min., 5.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Chuck Ester 6’7” 218 Jr., 13.5 min., 3.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg
2 big freshmen will likely take a year or two before they can help: 7’0” 252
Trey Kalina, 6’9” 212
Jackson White
ETSU 16-14, 8-10
Roster:
http://www.etsubucs.com/mbasketball/roster/
Stats:
http://www.etsubucs.com/media/stats/mbba...m#TEAM.IND
6'6" 250 R-Sr. Providence transfer Ron Giplaye, our only real front court player, got injured after 6 games with the Bucs at 5-1, with home wins against Asheville and Western Carolina, and road wins at Winthrop and Morehead State, losing only on the road at Valparaiso. Just rounding back into game shape after 2 years off (transfer and open heart surgery) Giplaye was averaging 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 points and a block in a mere 18.3 minutes. He gave the Bucs a rebounding margin of +2.3 [39.3 to 37.0], better than Tiggs' teams, better than Wadood/Fields. A strong inside game freed up the Bucs to average 12 made 3's a game on a .424 shooting percentage. Without Giplaye the top 6 guys in the Bucs rotation were 6'4" or less, smallest in the SoCon, and that rebounding margin crashed to -1.0 [35.1 to 36.1], 8th in the SoCon, above only Samford and VMI. With Giplaye, Alex Bates could be an adequate part time sub, facing the other team's second best front court. Without Giplaye, Bates was exactly what he had been the first 3 years of his career. Without an inside game, teams could focus on shutting down the Bucs perimeter, which faded in conference to 8.3 made 3's on .361 shooting. Without Giplaye, ETSU went 11-13 the rest of the way, spiraling downward and losing the last 4 in a row, including a 1st round SoCon tournament loss to Western Carolina.
But new coach Steve Forbes brings hope and a radically different squad (5 transfers [3 ready to play and 2 more sitting out the year], plus 3 JUCO's and 2 promising freshmen)– they will likely start 4 newcomers (counting Peter Jurkin, a Murry Bartow recruit who sat out his transfer year last season). Gone are leading scorers Jalen Riley and Rashawn Rembert, as well as the star-crossed Giplaye and Alex Bates, who was what we thought he was. On paper, these guys should be in the hunt for the top with Cincinnati’s starting point guard 5th yr Sr. Ge’Lawn Guyn, a JUCO all-American shooting guard in 6’3” T.J. Cromer, athletic (but very injury prone) 7’0” transfer from Indiana in Peter Jurkin, and a tough JUCO power forward in 6’7” 225 Abednego Lufile. Because of his health problems Jurkin was only able to see 18 minutes of action, total, in 2 years at Indiana.
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/play...kin-1.html And Guyn frankly struggled a bit against Big East and ACC competition.
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/play...uyn-1.html
GUARDS:
Ge’Lawn Guyn 6’2” 185 Sr., Cincinnati transfer eligible this year, was their starting point guard, last full season stats: 19 min., 4.5 ppg on .309 from 3 (29 of 94) 1.0 assists, 1.0 t.o.'s, 2.0 rebounds,
T.J. Cromer 6’3” 190 JUCO Jr., 3rd team JUCO all-America, same as Jalen Riley, 27.1 min., 19.9 ppg, 46.1% from 3 with 107 makes, 83% free throws, 3.9 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 1.7 assists, 1.2 t.o.'s.
Petey McClain, 6’0” 185 Sr., 21 min., 4.2 assists, 1.0 t.o.’s, 1.6 ppg on .381 shooting.
Petey has speed and a great handle with by far the best assist to turnover ratio in the SoCon at 3.1, and was second in the SoCon with 4.2 assists per game. He continues to struggle with shooting at .381. BUT Guyn was not a strong scorer for Cincinnati with a WORSE shooting percentage - .361. His assists and t.o.'s are also worse than Petey. The SoCon is not the ACC, but I am rethinking how this might play out.
Deuce Bello 6'4" 198, Sr. G, former top 50 recruit, a defensive specialist said to have stunning athleticism, but not much success in stops at Baylor and Missouri; graduated so is eligible this year; 10.7 min., 2.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.5 steals. In the Bucs guard rotation it would seem that Bello would rank behind Guyn & Petey (he doesn't have point guard skills) as well as Cromer and A.J. who are better scorers. That doesn't leave a lot of playing time. Will he be satisfied with limited minutes on a midmajor? Or will he be the first guy to depart from the roster? Or will he find a way to tap into the athleticism that made him a top 50 recruit and really make a mark here?
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/play...llo-1.html
Stetson Moore 6'0" 150 Jr. JUCO (Walters State as sophomore) walkon: 23.7 min., 9.0 ppg on 38.3 (49 of 128) from 3, 2.0 rpg, 1.8 assists, 1.1 t.o.'s
http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2014-...nmoorefha7 (Cleveland State CC as freshman)
http://cscougars.com/sports/mbkb/2013-14...etson_1p58 Knox Halls High School
FRONT COURT:
Peter Jurkin 7’0” 230 Jr. Indiana transfer. Tall, athletic, a major prospect handicapped by leg problems and coming off surgery and rehab. He has not been able to post any meaningful D1 stats yet.
Abednego Lufile 6’7” 225 JUCO Jr., 26.3 min., 12.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg. Rated Canada's 16th best player, looks good on video, but probably not as a 5.
Isaac Banks, 6’7”215 Jr., 18.8 min., 4.9 rpg, 2.9 ppg, 1.0 blocks; best rebounds per minute on ETSU, but probably not a good fit as a center.
Nigel Holley 6’8” 210 JUCO Jr., saw very limited action on a great JUCO squad full of D1 talent (Vincennes, 34-3 and 3rd place in the national tournament, then 31-2). As a freshman about 75 minutes over 34 games, 1.9 ppg and 2.6 rpg
http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2013-...holleypq6m He got 64 minutes over 33 games as a sophomore and a little more production with 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 points:
http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2014-...holleypd87
Toriano Stokes, 6'8" 230 FR from Memphis Westwood where he averaged 16 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks a game during his senior season. With a 7’1” wingspan and a 9’4” standing reach, but only 2 years of organized ball, this bright young man earned an academic scholarship. Upside is sky high, but such an inexperienced player is unlikely to be ready for D1 action this year. Why waste a year of eligibility when there's such potential?
Hanner Mosquera-Perea 6'9" 225 Sr., Indiana transfer must sit out this year, former 4 star recruit from Colombia, career 11.3 min., 3.5 ppg., 2.7 rpg, 0.7 blocks
SWING MEN:
Lester Wilson 6’4” 215 Sr,, 28.2 min., 12.6 ppg on .351 from 3 (72 of 205), 3.8 rpg. With 210 made 3’s is on track to set Bucs career record for made 3’s. Lester was injured last year (unknown to us fans at the time) and is coming off surgery. He has a great outside shot, and hopefully improved health will help him play with the spark and abandon that his powerful, athletic body seems to promise. We could use a little more rebounding and defense. Better inside scoring. A few more assists. A little better ball handling. All of which would be important if he wants to play on the next level. More than anything, I’d like to see a healthy Lester just let it loose and play with an A.J. Merriweather passion his senior year.
A.J. Merriweather 6’2” 185 Jr., 27.2 min., 6.1 rpg, 10.3 ppg on .408 from 3 (20 of 49). Continued his stunning rebounding at 6'2", improved his defense and improved his 3 point shooting to .408, but with only 49 attempts. Without Riley and Rembert there will be more pressure to score. Can he score when we need him to score? Rashawn found out how difficult that can be last year.
Desonta Bradford 6’4” 185 So., 12.2 min., 4.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg. A reasonable freshman year - but we'll need more.
Shemar Johnson, 6’6” 180 FR, 16.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.7 assists per game as high school senior. An excellent prospect with offers from Murray State and Southern Illinois.
Tevin Glass 6'8" 195 Sr. SF, transfer from Wichita State must sit out a year, 5.6 min., 2.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg
The situation with Peter Jurkin could be reminiscent of that with Giplaye. If he’s healthy, the Bucs could be awfully hard to beat. If he’s not, we could struggle without a true 5. But compared to last year, we have so many more options. It may be wise to limit Jurkin's minutes to avoid injury to those legs, which likely means more minutes to Nigel Holley in the post than he's ever gotten on the JUCO level. The undersized Bucs of recent years are suddenly very long (a legit 7 footer and 4 guys 6'7" or 6'8" with 2 more redshirting) and even more athletic. But we’re banking on 4 starters that we’ve never seen, 2 of them JUCO’s with no prior D1 experience, and a new coach. There’s lots to be hopeful about – but lots of uncertainty. Things may not come together till February. If nothing else, they'll look great in the airport and the layup line:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CLfkHWSUYAAacB6.jpg:large
MERCER 19-16, 12-6
Roster:
http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/roster
Stats:
http://mercerbears.com/sports/mbkb/2014-...pos=sh&r=0
Despite losing their top 4 players, Hoffman kept this team very competitive last season and got into the CBI tournament, winning their first round game. His reward is to lose his top 3 players again this year (including 2 all SoCon players in Darius Moten and super athlete Ike Nwamu who transferred out, and best big man 6'10" T.J. Hallice). However he does add 6’9” 255 South Carolina Sophomore transfer Desmond Ringer, a former 3 star recruit who had to sit out last year, and 7’1” 218 JUCO Andrew Fishler, an all-Panhandle Conference JUCO who redshirted last season, who could be real difference makers. 6’6” 225 SoCon All-freshman Stephon Jelks is primed for big things as a Sophomore; double his minutes and he gets 10 points and 6.5 rebounds - or even better with normal improvement. And Hoffman continues to recruit certain types of players. His 3 incoming freshmen will all look very familiar to Mercer fans: 6’7” 185
Cory Kilby of Ada, OK (think Jake Gollon or Brian Mills), 6’5” 195 shooting guard
Ethan Stair (Bud Thomas)and lanky 6’4” 175 point guard
Jaylen Stowe (Langston Hall). But they may take a year or so to learn the Hoffman system and adjust to D1 ball. {Edit: Although announced as 6'4" 175 when signed, Mercer's fall basketball roster now lists Jaylen Stowe as 6'2" 205. So the comparison with 6'4" 180 Langston Hall isn't quite so neat. That's a risk that you run into when you try to analyze a team early. One website rated Stowe the top PG prospect in NC. But Mercer's experienced guard corp will be hard to crack.}
GUARDS:
Philip Leonard 6’2” 200 Sr., 27 min., 8.1 ppg, only 1 made 3, 4.2 assists, 1.9 t.o.’s,
Jibri Bryan 6’4” 185 Sr., 29.7 min., 7.8 ppg .286 from 3 (44 of 154), 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals
Jordan Strawberry 6’1” 175 So., 14.7 min., (14 made 3’s), 4.3 ppg, 2.0 assists,
Jesten Lewis 6’1” 170 Sr., 13.5 min., 4.3 ppg on .380 from 3 (35 of 92)
FRONT COURT:
Stephon Jelks, 6’6” 225 So., 12.8 min., 5.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg. Maybe double that his sophomore year.
Desmond Ringer 6’9” 255 So., transfer from South Carolina, 10.4 min., 2.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg; former 3 star prospect ranked 7th in Georgia by ESPN; redshirted last year
http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/mbkb/2...smond_3dlu
Andrew Fishler 7’1” 218 R-Jr. JUCO, at Gulf Coast State CC was a two-time All-Panhandle Conference selection … Averaged 5.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 blocks per game as a sophomore according to the Mercer roster:
http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/mbkb/2...ndrew_rykg Redshirted last year so has been working with Hoffman's system. But if he's so good, why the redshirt, when T.J. Hallice and the Bears could have really used some help in the post last year?
Niklas Ney 6’10” 260 So., 4.9 min., 1.4 ppg, 0.9 rpg
A front court with lots of very tall post players, who are not necessarily very athletic (Fishler, Ney and Ringer). That's a formula that Bob Hoffman has made work in the past with Monty Brown, Daniel Coursey and T.J. Hallice. Fishler and Ringer could turn out better than all those guys.
Hoffman and a veteran guard crew will keep Mercer competitive, but he may need another year of recruiting and teaching to restock this team after the losses of the last 2 years. It will be tough for them to match last year’s success. But if they get good front court production this year out of 7'1" Fishler, All Panhandle Conference as a JUCO, and 6'9" 255 Ringer, a former 3 star recruit, both of whom spent last year on Hoffman's practice squad learning his system, then they just might be even better. These 2 could be the best 1-2 punch at the post in the SoCon, with solid help from 6'6" 225 sophomore forward Jelks.
Furman 11-22, 5-13
Roster:
http://furmanpaladins.com/sports/m-baskb...-16/roster
Stats:
http://furmanpaladins.com/sports/m-baskb...nStats.pdf
Returns all SoCon player Sr. Stephen Croone 6’0” and two all Freshmen in 6’2” Devin Sibley and 6’4” Dan Fowler. And they’ve got a couple of solid front court players in 6’9” 235 Sr. Kendrec Ferrara and 6’6” 215 Icelander Kris Acox, a Jr.. After struggling badly all season with 4 freshmen playing 20 minutes or more a game (Sibley, Fowler, Geoff Beans and John Davis), this team seemed to finally put it together for a 3 game win streak in the SoCon tournament, knocking off both Chattanooga and Mercer before narrowly losing to Wofford 67-64 in the championship. They may well have beaten the Terriers if their best front court player and leading rebounder Kris Acox did not go down with an injury only 6 minutes into the game. And they return everyone, while Mercer, Wofford and Chattanooga have significant losses. That puts Furman right at the top of the SoCon going into this season. Going into his 3rd year as head coach Niko Medved may have something cooking here.
GUARD:
Stephen Croone, 6’0” 170 Sr., 32 min., 17.3 ppg on .348 from 3 (55 of 158), 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.2 t.o.’s, 1.7 steals
Devin Sibley 6’2” 175 So., 25.0 min., 10.2 ppg on .371 from 3 (36 of 97), 3.0 rebounds
Daniel Fowler 6’4” 195 So., 29.7 min., 7.8 ppg on .324 from 3 (22 of 68) 4.0 rebounds
John Davis III 5’10” 160 So., 20.0 min., 3.8 ppg, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists
Jonathan Jean 5'11" 170 Fr PG, 2 time Florida all-state
Second to last in the SoCon in turnover margin and dead last in assist to turnover ratio. Point guard Jean could be a very useful addition if he's ready for D1 play. Another team which should be susceptible to the press.
FRONT COURT:
Kendrec Ferrara 6’9” 235 Sr., 24.7 min., 7.1 ppg, 4.4 rebounds
Kris Acox 6’6” 215 Jr., 27.8 min., 7.0 ppg, 7.5 rebounds
Geoff Beans 6’7” 210 So., 21.4 min., 7.8 ppg on .338 from 3 (46 of 136), 2.2 rebounds
Larry Wideman 6’4” 190 Sr., 17.6 min., 3.5 ppg, 1.7 rebounds
Matt Rafferty, 6’8” 215 Fr., 2 time Illinois all-State in high school
Depends on which team shows up – the one that went 5-13 in conference, or the one that went 3-1 and almost won the SoCon tournament. With 4 rising sophomores having gotten 20 minutes or more as freshmen, there's a good chance it will be the latter.
Western Carolina Basketball 15-17, 9-9
Roster:
http://www.catamountsports.com/sports/m-...l-mtt.html
Stats:
http://www.catamountsports.com/sports/m-...l#TEAM.IND
All SoCon guard James Sinclair is gone, taking 19.4 points, 6 rebounds and 2.2 steals with him as is 6’10” rising sophomore Tucker Thompson. But most everybody else of importance returns. This is a consistent, well coached program led by 4 Seniors, but without any proven front court besides the stalwart Torrion Brummit.
GUARDS:
Mike Brown 6’3” 175 Sr., 34.9 min., 13.8 ppg on .368 from 3 (42 of 114), 6.3 rebounds
Rhett Harrelson 5’10” 170 Sr., 34.1 min., 11.8 ppg on .379 from 3 (85 of 224 !)
Devin Peterson 6’1” 171 So., 12.9 min., 3.0 ppg
Elijah Pughsley 6’1” 175 Fr., 2 time all-Ohio, Lima Senior High
FRONT COURT:
Torrion Brummit 6’7” 240 Sr., 26 min., 11.2 ppg, 6.4 rebounds
Justin Browning 6’4” 175 Sr., 25 min., 5.8 ppg, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals
Charlendez Brooks 6’9” 250 R-So.., 8.3 min., 1.1 ppg, 0.9 rebounds
Marc Gosselin 6'7" 195 Fr., Lyon, France, athletic swingman who can shoot and handle the ball,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OaHGr1onHQ
Jessee Deloach 6'7" 225 Fr., Mt. Pisgah Christian, GA, not highly recruited, very modest stats
Kyle Rhoades, 6’6” JUCO Jr walkon with a limited past season of 8 games
UNCG 11-22, 6-12
Roster:
http://www.uncgspartans.com/SportSelect....SID=810485
Stats:
http://www.uncgspartans.com/fls/32200/St...m#TEAM.OCF
Only 1 significant contributor leaves. This was a bunch that underperformed last year. They had better talent than an 11-22, 6-12 record shows. A Junior and Senior laden team could move forward, however.
GUARD:
Tevon Saddler 6’6” 205 Jr., 30.5 min., 13.4 ppg on .224 from 3 (12-54), 4.6 rebounds, 4 assists but 3.7 t.o.’s, 1.3 steals
Diante Baldwin 6’0” 181 Jr., 32 min., 10.2 ppg on .302 from 3 (13 of 43), 4.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists but 2.4 t.o.’s, 1.7 steals
Clay Byrd 6’0” 176 Jr., 22.8 min., 5.5 ppg on .321 from 3 (44 of 137)
Marvin Smith 6’6” 190 So., 18 min., 4.7 ppg on .333 from 3 (15 of 45) 2.8 rebounds
FRONT COURT:
Kayel Locke 6’5” 240 Sr., 29.5 min., 12.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg
R.J. White 6’8” 280 R-Jr., 23.8 min., 11.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.9 blocks, 1.3 steals
Jordy Kuiper 6’9” 250 Jr., 14.1 min., 3.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg
Lloyd Burgess 6'11" 270 R-Fr, a real project who did little in high school despite his size
VMI 11-19, 7-11
Roster: Only 10 men are listed on the 2015-2016 roster thus far {EDIT: it's up to 13, including the return of Q.J. Peterson}
http://www.vmikeydets.com/SportSelect.db...EASON=2015
Stats:
http://www.nmnathletics.com/fls/9800/sta...m#TEAM.IND
6 of top 8 contributors return, but that group was not very successful last year. And they have to replace all time winningest coach Duggar Baucom after 10 years. New Coach Dan Earls (associate head coach under former ETSU head coach Ed DeChellis at the US Naval Academy) has to pick up a team used to Baucom’s unique style and short of personnel... in fact, just plain "short" period with their biggest players listed so far going 6'7" 196, and 3 6'6" guys ranging from 205 to 210.
GUARDS:
Tim Marshall 6’3” 195 Sr., 22.2 min., 11.7 ppg, on .320 from 3 (86 of 269), 2.7 rpg
Julian Eleby 6’3” 190 Jr., 25 min., 11.1 ppg on .304 from 3 (35 of 115), 4.5 rebounds
FRONT COURT:
Phillip Anglade 6’5” 210 Sr., 23.1 min. 8.9 ppg (no made 3’s), 5.8 rebounds, 2.9 blocks
Trey Chapman 6’6” 206 Jr., 21.1 min., 6.8 ppg (17-61 from 3), 3.6 rebounds
Jordan Weethee 6’6” 210 R-Sr., 18.3 min., 5.9 ppg on .324 from 3 (33-102), 3.9 rebounds
Craig Hinton 6’7” 196 Jr., 13.0 min., 5.1 ppg, 2.5 rebounds
Fred Iruafemi 6’6” 205 So., 12.3 min., 2.8 ppg, 2.5 rebounds
Four freshmen are coming in:
Adrian Rich 6’2”,
Austin Vereen 6’4”,
Will Weethee 6'6" and
D’Andre Mahaffey 6’6”.
{EDIT
Q.J. Peterson 6'0" Jr with his 19 points a game is now back on the roster.}
SAMFORD 13-19, 6-12
Roster:
http://www.samfordsports.com/roster.aspx?path=mbball
Stats:
http://www.samfordsports.com/cumestats.a...&year=2014 &
The bad news: 5 of the 9 players who averaged 14 or more minutes are gone.
The good news: those guys weren’t very good anyway.
This is going to be a lengthy rebuild. 6'2" rising sophomore Chris Cunningham got 30.1 minutes per game last year and made SoCon All Freshman. Five incoming freshman will get every opportunity to do the same this year.
GUARDS:
Darius Jones-Gibson 6’1” 175 Sr., 26.8 min., 12.2 ppg on .227 from 3 (5 of 22), 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals
Christen Cunningham 6’2” 185 So., 30.1 min., 10.3 ppg on .268 from 3 (11 of 41), 2.4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.2 steals, made SoCon All Freshman
Marcus Johnson 5’11” 185 Sr., 19.1 min., 6.1 ppg, 2.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists
FRONT COURT:
Jamal Shabazz 6’6” 205 Sr., 15.1 min., 4.4 ppg, 3.4 rebounds
Alex Peters 6'8" 225 So., 9.3 min., 1.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg
CITADEL 11-19, 6-12
Roster:
http://www.citadelsports.com/roster.aspx?path=mbball
Stats:
http://www.citadelsports.com/cumestats.a...year=2014&
Only 4 players return who saw any action at all on last year’s squad, which was 11-19 and 6-12 in conference. None of them were among the top 3 for Citadel. But there is a new coach, Duggar Baucom, who will find his work cut out for him here. Duggar knows the military academy culture from his 10 largely successful years at VMI, and his high speed style of play will certainly bring a new look to the Citadel. Six (6) incoming freshman will get plenty of opportunity. Also several transfers attracted by Baucom, including P.J. Boutte 5'9" 160 Graduate from IUPUI, and Derrick Henry, 6'3" 190 Graduate from Winthrop.
GUARDS:
Warren Sledge 6’3” 180 Jr., 21.2 min., 3.1 ppg on .393 from 3 (11 of 28), 3 assists, 1.4 t.o.’s
FRONT COURT:
Brian White 6’8” 205 Jr., 21.4 min., 7.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg
Quinton Marshall 6’5” 205 Sr., 25.1 min., 6.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Tom Koopman 6’8” 210 Jr., 7.4 min., 1.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg
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A really too early look at the SoCon
