The transfer portal really hit the SoCon hard this year. Everyone had the option to return, but 8 of 15 All SoCon players choose to go elsewhere (including Alabama, TCU, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Colorado, Cincinnati, Dayton, Duquesne, Winthrop, the pro’s, etc.). Only Chattanooga is unscathed. Combined with some strong play late last year and a couple promising additions that leaves the Mocs the easy favorite.
Chattanooga: 9-7 (18-8 overall)
The only SoCon team with no significant losses is a very experienced bunch (7 Juniors, Seniors and Graduates) that came on strong the last half of the season on those occasions when they had Malachi, Banks, Hankton, Jean-Baptiste et al. eligible and healthy. They also add 2 big studs in 6-9 245 Kansas transfer Silvio De Sousa, a consensus 4 or 5 star athlete, and 6-11 250 CFU transfer Avery Diggs, together with a good JUCO in Tada Stricklen (12.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg and 4.6 apg) and a freshman with multiple big time offers in 6-5 200 Randy Brady. The Mocs are the obvious first choice. If De Sousa is eligible and plays like the guy who scored 16 against West Virginia in a Big 12 championship game, look out! Of course that one could also blow up in their face with his history of trouble. Lots of seniors here, with experience playing together.
Gone: Trey Doomes, Prosper Obidiebube
Return: almost everybody:
6-4 205 Rs-Jr Malachi Smith (16.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 3.3 apg) first team all SoCon and a favorite for POY,
6-1 195 Sr David Jean-Baptiste (16.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.5 apg), second team all SoCon
6-7 217 JR K.C. Hankton (8.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg),
6-6 218 Sr Darius Banks (11.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg), a 1,000 point scorer at JMU,
6-9 223 Gr Stefan Kenic (11.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg),
6-5 Rs-Sr A.J. Caldwell (6.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.5 apg),
6-7 210 Gr Josh Ayeni (5.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg),
6-3 185 Rs-So Jamal Walker (5.1 ppg)
New:
6-9 245 Kansas Sr transfer Silvio De Sousa (8.5 min, 3.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg over 2 years)
6-11 250 Sr. Avery Diggs (UCF, USC Upstate)(3.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
6-9 225 Fr-Tr (Navy) Jacob Radeker
Fr 6-5 200 SG Randy Brady Chattanooga (Hamilton Heights) 9 offers, Florida, FSU, Vandy, Ohio St.
JUCO SO 6-0 160 Axavius ‘Tada’ Stricklen (JUCO stats 12.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.6 apg)
Lamont Paris has learned to play the transfer game having brought in 6 of the above through the portal, and now adding 6-9 245 Kansas Sr transfer Silvio De Sousa, a native of Angola and former 4 to 5 star recruit who is a stunning athlete, but was plagued by problems including a charge of aggravated assault. De Sousa scored 16 points on 8-8 shooting against West Va in a Big 12 championship game and got significant minutes in Elite 8 and Final Four games for KU. But his total stats are unimpressive (8.5 minutes, 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 points in 2 years) as non basketball problems often kept him out of the lineup. He sat out last season and there is no word on whether he’ll definitely be eligible this year – he is not yet actually listed on the roster.
De Sousa’s trial on aggravated assault just resulted in a not guilty verdict:
https://www.kansascity.com/sports/colleg...%27%20eye.
Apparently a man at a bar tried to intervene in an argument between de Sousa and his girlfriend; The guy says he was hit three or four times with a fist. De Sousa and several witnesses say that he hit him once with an open hand. The man claims that he lost vision in one eye. Paris took a risk adding this guy to a team that was already loaded in a weakened SoCon. Why take the focus off a strong team and place it on the troubled De Sousa? High risk, high potential reward. Chattanooga freshman 6-5 Randy Brady had big time offers from Florida, FSU, Ohio St and Vandy.
Wofford: 12-5 (15-9 overall)
Gone: All SoCon Storm Murphy –Virginia Tech, Tray Hollowell – Morehead State, Nick Pringle 6-8 220 Dodge City
Return:
6-1 175 Sr Ryan Larson (5.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.2 apg),
6-5 190 Rs-So Morgan Safford (9.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg) All Freshman
6-3 180 So Max Klesmit (8.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg) All Freshman,
6-6 215 Rs-Jr. Messiah Jones (10.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg),
6-7 185 Rs-So. Isaiah Bigelow back from injury,
6-8 250 Jr. B.J. Mack (6.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg),
6-9 210 So Sam Godwin (6.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg),
7-1 235 Sr David Appelgren (2.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
6-3 180 So Austin Patterson (1.5 ppg, 0.8 rpg)
6-0 155 So Keeton Turner (2.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg)
New:
FR 6-2 Cory Tripp Medina, OH (2 other offers from Cleveland St, Bowling Green),
FR 6-9 Dante Keisenhofer (an offer from Hofstra),
FR 6-7 180 Luke Turner Temecula CA, 6 other offers from UTEP, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Vermont, San Diego, and Riverside
Guards Safford (9.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and Klesmit (8.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg) were both SoCon All-Freshmen last year – they help mitigate the loss of Murphy and Hollowell. Patterson and Turner showed brief flashes at guard and could step up. Mack (6.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg) and Godwin (6.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg) have promise in the middle, with Messiah Jones (10.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.3 apg) leading the way as a relentless, undersized battler. 6-7 Isaiah Bigelow has great potential if he’s fully recovered from injury. Ryan Larson (5.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.2 apg) is a nasty scrapper who could always step in on the rare occasions when Murphy struggled, but doesn’t seem like he can provide the steady production and leadership of a Storm Murphy. Finding new leaders on a young team is the key to this season for the Terriers. Wofford had a better and more consistent season than ETSU last year, split the season with the Bucs and may have lost less.
Furman: 10-5 (16-9 overall)
Gone: Clay Mounce – going pro. Noah Gurley – tr Alabama; both were All SoCon
3 returning starters:
Sr 6-3 190 Mike Bothwell (15.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.9 apg);
Sr 5-11 175 Alex Hunter (11.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.6 apg)
Sr 6-7 210 Jalen Slawson (8.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.8 apg)
Role players:
Sr 6-0 170 Jaylen Pugh
So 6-9 210 Garret Hein (4.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
6-10 205 Jonnie Lawrence (2.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg)
6-1 170 So Joe Anderson (1.5 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 1.1 apg), bet Richey regrets that “SoCon Steve Nash” comment
6-4 200 Rs-So Marcus Foster (2.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.4 apg)
6-1 172 Jr Colin Kenney (2.3 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.5 apg)
New:
Sr Tr from DII Drury, 6-1 170 Conley Garrison 17.3 ppg on 39.7% from 3 with 2.86 makes, 82% FT
Fr 6-1 155 Jaylen Pegues , Nashville TN; 3 other offers, Belmont, Wofford and Chattanooga
Fr 6-4 215 Alex Williams, Cincinnati Moeller; 4 other offers, Robert Morris, Kent, YSU, Milwaukee
Fr 6-7 210 Tyrese Hughey , Blacklick OH; 11 midmajor offers, Ohio U, YSU, Kent, Miami OH, Bowling Green, W&M, UNCW, Toledo
Fr 6-10 250 James Lee Repass, Jacksonville FL; 4 offers Siena, North FL, Jacksonville, Stetson
Furman slipped a notch last year, and now lose Clay Mounce to the pro’s and Noah Gurley to Alabama, both cornerstones of the Paladins for 3 and 4 years. There is no one in sight to replace them. 6-9 210 Soph Garret Hein (4.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg) may have the most all around promise in the middle. Senior Slawson (8.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.8 apg) has defense and rebounding, but can’t create offense like those guys did. Behind Boswell, Hunter, Slawson and occasionally Hein there was almost no production. In a search for help Bob Richey finally went to a transfer, but a D2 guard transfer in 6-1 170 Conley Garrison with 17.3 ppg and 39.7% from 3. It usually takes a year or so for freshmen to work their way into Furman’s lineup – they’ll need quicker help from this year’s crop.
Mike Bothwell (15.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.9 apg) will challenge Malachi Smith and Ledarrius Brewer for POY, and Alex Hunter (11.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.6 apg) is a quality guard. But Jaylen Pugh (3.9 ppg), Marcus Foster (2.7 ppg), Joe Anderson (1.5 ppg) and Colin Kenney (2.3 ppg) haven’t done much at guard yet, and Jonny Lawrence (2.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg) and Ben Beeker (2.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg) have been underwhelming in the middle. On the plus side, this is a tight knit crew with leaders experienced in running the Richey defense and offense effectively. But they are even thinner than usual. ETSU has the talent to pass them if they can perform as they should.
Hey, FUATT, am I missing something here??
ETSU: 8-7 (13-12 overall)
Gone: good teams picked the bones of the troubled ETSU program, snapping up SoCon Freshman of the Year Damari Monsanto – Wake Forest, Richard Amafeule – Dayton, Patrick Good - Winthrop, Serrel Smith – South Florida, Sadadriene Hall – SF Austin. A lot of good programs wanted the talent that the Bucs had. Marcus Niblack, Truth Harris, and Paul Smith also left
Return:
6-5 190 Rs-Jr Ledarrius Brewer (16.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 apg),
6-9 205 Jr Ty Brewer (8.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg),
6-0 180 Gr David Sloan (11.1 ppg, 4.3 apg),
6-8 245 Gr Silas Adheke (5.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
6-4 200 Sr Vonnie Patterson (5.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg),
6-9 215 Jr Charlie Weber. (1.4 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
New: 2 transfers and 7 freshmen. The transfers are:
SO 6-1 175 Jordan King (Siena; 7.4 ppg, .357 from 3 with 1.4 makes) and
SO 6-8 191 Jaden Seymour Wichita State 3*(1.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg).
The freshmen include:
FR 6-5 195 Mohab Yasser, Egypt (offer USF);
FR 6-7 180 Kordell Charles IMG Academy, Unionville, Canada (9 D1 offers, including Illinois, Marquette, Tulsa and USC)
FR 6-1 160 Allen Strothers, Menchville, VA; 11 other offers, all midmajors
FR 6-11 230 Matt Nunez from Hargraves. 10 offers listed including Florida, Georgetown, VCU, Wichita St
FR 6-9 215 Isaac Farah, Fishers IN (offer from IUPUI and 3 D2’s),
FR 6-4 SG Brandon Hall, Harvey, IL; no other offers listed
And walk-on Fr 6-3 184 Cameron George, Knoxville, TN
Despite the losses, that’s still a better core group than many SoCon programs with a fine all around player in Ledarrius, a solid point guard in David Sloan and a decent big man in Silas Adheke. Ty Brewer needs to add consistency to the skills that he often displays. Vonnie is an unselfish scrapper, defender and glue guy. Egyptian FR Mohab Yasser is athletic and exciting, but is adjusting to a different world. Jordan King showed that he can shoot at Siena, (7.4 ppg on .357 from 3 with 1.4 makes); 6-7 180 FR Kordell Charles was heavily recruited. Charlie Weber and Matt Nunez will get lots of opportunity, but must prove that they can hold their own, especially on defense and rebounding. Are they fast enough and tough enough? 7 guys are true freshmen, and not many of those have an impact first year
Last year the Bucs showed good improvement in difficult Covid circumstances, struggling early but then starting 7-2 in conference play. But things fell apart down the stretch with the Bucs sliding to 1-5 the remainder of conference and barely scraping by a severely depleted Chattanooga in the first round of the SoCon Tournament before losing by 12 to eventual champion UNCG in the second round. Those last 8 games were
very discouraging to watch.
Exit Jason Shay, as some people who defended Trump’s incitement of the Capitol takeover in an effort to overturn an American election suddenly posed as patriots, trashing black players who dared to kneel against racism and the coach who had their backs. Enter Desmond Oliver, a well travelled 51 year old assistant coach with no head coaching experience who has the right background (“raised in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the country” in Buffalo, NY) as ETSU’s first black head coach to blunt the obvious criticisms. His recent stint as an assistant at UT shows him to be a good recruiter and apparently also convinced the right wing powers that be that he is safe politically. He is impressive communicating with the press and public, and throws shade on Jason Shay’s brief Covid-challenged tenure. He convinced several key players to stay with the Bucs and has brought in a pretty impressive group of newcomers in very short notice.
Winthrop had the chance to hire Oliver, but instead opted for Mark Prosser, apparently preferring his 37-53 record in 3 years as WCU head man! Somewhat like Steve Forbes (but without Forbes’ JUCO head coaching experience), Oliver took “the long way up the mountain” without the advantage of a famous coach as a father (like Prosser or Murry Bartow). Oliver is quoted as saying he wants an up tempo game shooting within 8 seconds in transition – how this will mesh with David Sloan, who generally plays a deliberate style, often taking 8 seconds just to bring it up court, is anybody’s guess. Teams will probably try pressuring Sloan on the dribble and denying Ledarrius the ball much as they did late last year – daring anybody else on this year’s team to hurt them, until they prove that they can. There are lots of role players here – with few proven difference makers especially on offense.
On the plus side, Ledarrius Brewer rivals Malachi Smith, Mike Bothwell and Hayden Brown for best returning player in the league. Most other SoCon programs have also been hurt badly by personnel losses and/or coaching changes, including Furman (Gurley and Mounce), Wofford (Murphy and Hollowell), Mercer (Ayers, Cummings and Gary) and especially UNCG (Wes Miller, Isaiah Miller,7-1 Koval and freshman sharpshooter A.J. McGinnis).
After the tournament loss to UNCG I posted this, which still seems about right:
“RE: Official SoCon Tournament Thread: ETSU games
We did not play with the energy or effort to beat a good team. And we have not for about 8 or 9 games now.
I posted yesterday that I doubted that we could just turn it on. And we did not.
Major attitude and commitment changes needed for next year. Guys have got to look at themselves and ask if they want to commit the way Isaiah Miller does. Or the way guys like Pun Tisdale did last year. Otherwise we will finish 5th or 6th again, despite the talent level.”
The lackluster play by the Bucs down the stretch, the loss of talented players and the political chaos around the ‘resignation’ of Jason Shay make it hard to rate the Bucs very high. But most other SoCon programs have their own problems this year. If Oliver steadies the ship; if the Brewers, Sloan and Adheke have strong years, and if some new guys produce, perhaps Yasser and Jordan King or Kordell Charles, then the Bucs could do well. Lots of ‘ifs’ there. With so many new young faces I doubt that they’ll look very good early. Maybe by conference time?
Mercer: 8-9 (18-11 overall)
Gone: Leon Ayers, III - Duquesne; Maciej Bender – pro; Ross Cummings was 2nd team All SoCon – not on the roster now; Jeff Gary - transfer
Return:
6-2 165 Rs-Sr Neftali Alvarez (13.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.2 apg)
6-9 253 Rs-Sr Felipe Haase, (11.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.7 apg)
6-6 210 Jr James Glisson, (7.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
6-2 160 Jr Kamar Robertson, (3.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.7 apg)
6-3 150 Jacksen Greco 1.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg
6-10 280 So Shannon Grant, 3.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg
6-10 230 Sr Victor Bafutto, 2.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg
6-3 175 So Jovan Tucker, 1.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.5 apg
6-6 210 Sr Patrick Urey, 1.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.5 apg
New:
6-6 195 Gr Transfer Jalen Johnson from UT and Wake; 2.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg
6-6 JUCO Jr G Shawn Walker, 11.2 ppg on 47% from 3pt.
FR 6-6 220 Quay Primus, Macon; 4 other offers, Presby, NC A&T, Towson, Chrlstn Southern
FR 6-4 169 Javian Mosley, Macon, no other offers listed
Ayers (12.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg) went to Duquesne, 6-11 Maciej Bender (9.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg) went pro and Ross Cummings (13.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.4 apg) and Jeff Gary (6.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.0 apg) appear to be gone, too, taking a lot of offense. Any team with a creative point guard like Neftali Alvarez and a versatile big like Felipe Haase has something to build on, but that’s a lot of offense to replace. The apparent athletic talent of 6-6 Jalen Johnson keeps beguiling Power 5 teams like UT and Wake. But he hasn’t delivered on it and is now on his 3rd stop and his last year of eligibility. The Bears hope that 6-6 JUCO sharp shooter Shawn Walker can make the kind of impact that JUCO Ayers did last year. This is another SoCon team that is looking very thin.
UNCG: 13-5 (21-9 overall)
Gone: Wes Miller is now head coach at Cincinnati – Mike Jones, former head coach at Radford, steps in.
Isaiah Miller – pro; Hayden Koval - Cincy, A.J. McGinniss - Cincy; Angelo Allegri - Eastern Washington, Jarret Hensley - Cincy
Return:
Sr 6-4 190 Kaleb Hunter (8.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.8 apg),
Jr 6-1 175 Keyshawn Langley (10.0 ppg, 3.4 apg)
Jr 6-1 180 Kobe Langley (1.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.5 apg),
Sr 6-9 250 Mohammed Abdulsalam (6.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 0.7 apg)
Sr 6-6 200 Khyre Thompson (3.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg),
Jr 6-10 220 Jr Baz Leyte (1.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg)
So 6-8 220 So Dericko Williams (1.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg)
Add:
Sr 6-4 220 De’Monte Buckingham 3*, dismissed from Richmond, transfer from UC Bakersfield (9.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg);
Jr Tr from Robert Morris 6-0 170 DanteTreacy (5.9 ppg, 3.5 apg);
Jr Tr from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 6-5 245 Jalen White (11.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg);
Fr 6-9 235 Jalen Breath (offers from Radford and Missouri- Kansas City);
Fr 6-0 155 Anthony Williams (9 offers including Ole Miss, Va Tech, ODU and Radford).
Abdulsalam has gradually become a respectable mid major big. Can Baz Leyte (1.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg) or ‘Ricko Williams (1.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg) do the same? What can this team be without the fire, athleticism and skill of Isaiah Miller?
VMI: 7-7 (13-12 overall)
Gone: All SoCon Greg Parham to South Alabama, Myles Lewis to McNeese State: Every year VMI loses very good players
Return:
6-10 260 SR Jake Stephens (14.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 3.4 apg)
6-0 170 So Trey Bonham (SoCon All FR 8.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.7 apg)
6-1 170 JR Kamdyn Curfman (12.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.2 apg),
6-5 215 JR Sean Conway (10.1 ppg, 6.2 reb),
6-6 187 So Tanner Mans (2.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg)
6-0 177 Sr Ta’Vonne Bond (1.5 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 0.6 apg)
6-4 195 Louis Tang (injured last year)
6-8 210 Jr Sam Wolfe (0.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
New:
Lewis Rowe 6-11 246 JUCO – now here’s something new, Dan Earl recruits a JUCO at VMI!
FR 6-0 PG Honor Huff; no other offers noted
FR 5-11 160 PG Brennan Watkins; no other offers noted
FR 6-5 180 SG Cooper Sisco; no other offers noted
The Keydets have a confident core that has learned to play, and often win, the Dan Earl way, spacing the floor, making the extra pass and patiently knocking down the 3 or back cutting to the hoop. But losing Parham and Lewis really hurts. Jake Stephens has transformed his body and become a fine All SoCon big man. With 14.9 ppg, 7.8 reb and 3.4 assists he is another legit candidate for POY.
The Citadel: 5-11 (13-12 overall)
Gone: 6-6 Kaiden Rice to Georgetown, Derrick Webster,
Return:
6-5 225 Sr All SoCon Hayden Brown, 18.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 2.8 apg
6-3 180 Jr Fletcher Abee, 12.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.2 apg
6-1 175 Sr Tyler Moffe, 9.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.1 apg
6-8 200 Jr Stephen Clark, 5.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.2 apg
6-9 200 Jr Brady Spence, 4.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.2 apg
6-0 145 Jr Rudy Fitzgibbons, 4.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.4 apg
5-10 175 Jr Jerry Higgins, 4.6 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 1.6 apg
6-3 190 So Brent Davis, 4.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.4 apg
6-9 205 So Owen Spencer, 1.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg
New:
6-3 180 FR Brock Wakefield, offers Elon, Kansas City, Army and 4 D2’s
6-5 180 FR Jason Roche, no other offers noted
6-8 200 FR Jackson Price, no other offers noted
Hayden Brown (18.8 ppg, 10.5 reb) will challenge for POY. Abee, Moffe, Fitzgibbons and Higgins bring talent at guard. 6-8 190 Stephen Clark is a skinny scrapper and defender inside. Sleep on these guys and they will beat you. Just ask last year’s Bucs. 6-6 Kaiden Rice to Georgetown and tough athletic 6-5 Derrick Webster will be missed.
Samford: 2-9 (6-13)
Gone: most of the team, including Myron Gordon (15.6 ppg) to Bowling Green, Jalen Dupree to Tenn State; Preston Parks, and Christian Guess (15.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg). This continues the recent history of Samford being able to recruit talent, but unable to keep it.
Return:
SO 6-5 190 A.J. Staton-McCray (9.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg),
SR 6-3 Richardson Maitre (6.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg);
SR 6-11 Jacob Tryon (7.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg),
SR 6-8 Logan Dye (9.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg),
SO 6-3 175 Jaron Rillie (5.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.8 apg)
SR 6-2 185 Triston Chambers (5.2 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 1.3 apg)
JR 6-5 195 Quinn Richey (2.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
SO 6-2 175 Marcellus Vail (1.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg)
JR 6-6 210 Stanley Henderson (1.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg)
New:
4* 6-6 195 FR G Wesley Cardet, 22 offers with numerous Power 5’s
6-0 185 SO Florida TR Ques Glover (in 51 games for FL averaged 3.6 ppg)
6-4 195 RS-SO Loyola-Chicago TR Cooper Kaifes; (4.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 1.1 apg)
6-6 220 Sr JUCO and Akron TR Jermaine Marshall (2.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg at Akron; JUCO stats 10.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg)
6-5 205 JUCO JR Jaden Campbell, ( 38.5% from 3)
6-5 190 JR TR Southern Miss., Angel Smith
6-7 190 Rs-FR Rutgers, Daniel Lobach
6-7 215 Jr Tarleton St Konstantin Dotsenko
I’ll just quit here because Bucky’s roster currently lists 22 (!!) guys. It’s impossible to know who he’s serious about. He’s clearly still in the “cast a wide net, throw most back” mode.
The Bulldogs started with a bang last year by kicking Belmont’s butt, then went 5-13 (2-9 in conference) the rest of the way. Bucky McMillan touts his new additions to the heavens. But then again he assured us that Freshman Staton-McCray would be all conference and Freshman of the Year last year. He had a good year, but not that good. Bucky is one of those salesmen who is always painting sparrows yellow and selling them as canaries.
The big recruiting coup is 4* FR 6-6 195 guard Wesley Cardet who had numerous Power 5 offers. He was the #No. 60 ranked player in the nation and No. 13 at his position according to Rivals. He averaged 18.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per game at West Oaks Academy, Orlando.
SO Florida TR 6-0 185 guard Ques Glover played in 51 games in 2 years for the Gators, averaging only 3.6 points per game. He was a former Tennessee’s Class AAA Mr. Basketball at Knox Bearden High School,
RS-SO Loyola-Chicago TR Cooper Kaifes (6-4, 195, Guard) was a Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman in 2019 averaging 5.7 points per game and shooting 46.5 percent from 3-point range. But he sat out his second year and saw action in only 17 games last season.
Western Carolina: 4-13 (11-16 overall)
Gone: Coaching change as Winthrop assistant Justin Gray, takes over while Mark Prosser, 37-53 in 3 years at WCU, is promoted to a superior position as head man at Winthrop. How does that happen??
Mass exodus – Mason Faulkner (Colorado), Matt Halvorsen (FGCU), 6-9 Xavier Cork (TCU), Kameron Gibson (Vermont), Cory Hightower (Winthrop), Sincere McMahon (Winthrop), Ahmir Langlais , Nicholas Evtimov
Return: only 4 players come back!
6-1 187 Jr Travion McCray (9.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.5 apg)
6-7 195 Jr Tyler Harris (6.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
6-0 160 So Brad Halvorsen (0.4 ppg, 0.2 rpg)
6-6 195 So Josh Massey (1.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg)
New:
6-9 Rs-Jr K St transfer Joe Petrakis (1.4 ppg, 0.5 rpg)
6-6 JUCO Jr Vonterius Woolbright
6-3 GR tr IN St, Md-E. Shore Cam Bacote, (4.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.3 apg)
6-4 JUCO JR Madison Monroe,
6-6 JUCO JR Marlow Gilmore,
6-5 JUCO JR Marvin Price,
6-8 SO TR Siena, Johan Crafoord (0.7 ppg, 0.3 rpg)
6-3 180 FR Marcus Banks, Fork Union (1 other offer – Monmouth)
Only 4 guys return from last years’ weak season under Mark Prosser. New coach Justin Gray (Winthrop Assistant) brings in 7 JUCO’s and transfers with only 1 freshman. That’s the opposite approach from Desmond Oliver who brought in 7 freshmen. Looks like a long year ahead. Justin Gray will earn his pay.
Rising 1st place contender: Covid-19
And the “elephant” in the room – rising Covid cases, especially in Tennessee, could dominate another SoCon season.
Gone: goodbye to a willingness to accept masking and social distancing
Returning: Vaccination denial is back for another season
New: the delta variant will get plenty of opportunity this fall, with most Tennesseans unvaccinated and ignoring reasonable regulations
New Covid cases are booming in Tennessee, as folks abandon masking and social distancing, and at the same time refuse the vaccines. Tennessee is currently the 5th worst state in the US in per capita Covid cases with 133,279 cases per million (13.3%), compared to the US average of 109,672 (10.9%) and neighboring Virginia’s 82,341 cases per million (8.2%). See for example:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronaviru...tennessee/
Or use CDC stats or Johns Hopkins stats if you prefer – they all tell the same tale.
The US has plentiful, safe and effective Covid vaccines, but too many refuse to use them. Tennessee is the 6th worst state in the union with only 39% of the population fully vaccinated as of August 6, 2021, compared to 50% in the US as a whole, and 55% in neighboring Virginia. It is no surprise that those numbers go together – low rates of vaccination and high rates of new Covid cases go hand in hand.
Covid is a continuing severe problem only if large numbers refuse the vaccines, and at the same time abandon masking and social distancing. And right now, too many politicians and media types have encouraged exactly that. Despite the widespread availability of effective vaccines, new Covid cases in Tennessee are now at a higher daily average than last year at this time (2,941 per day on August 6, 2021 compared to 1,912 per day last August 6, 2020 by Worldometers’ reckoning) when we had no vaccines at all … and they are rising fast, mostly among the unvaccinated.
It doesn’t matter how effective and available the vaccines are if people are convinced to refuse to use them.
Daily new cases haven’t been this high in Tennessee since last November 9th during the fall surge in cases. I remember one genius posting on this site that “everybody knows” that this would all disappear right after election day! You’ve got to ask yourself, where are we headed by this November when the fall surge strikes? I’ve renewed my season tickets. Will it be safe to use them? That depends largely on the ability of the public to filter out the nonsense and do what’s right. Many will, but I fear that too many won’t.
/
The SoCon on August 6, 2021
