East Tennessee State tabbed as favorite in the 2019-20 SoCon hoops race

ASHEVILLE, N.C.—Coming off what was an unprecedented season on the Southern Conference basketball hardwood, the 2019-20 season offers more unknowns than certainties, but then again, it was not known just how good the league would be going into the 2019-20 season either.

ETSU guard/forward Bo Hodges

One thing most figured heading into last season was the top four in the league’s pecking order would likely be the same again when the coaches and media convened in Asheville at the Renaissance Hotel for the 2019-20 SoCon preseason media day, which was resurrected by new league commissioner Jim Schaus. It was the SoCon’s first preseason league gathering for the media since 2013-14. 

No team picked to win the preseason media or coaches poll has ended up winning the conference regular-season or tournament was the 2015-16, when Chattanooga claimed both. 

In the 2019-20 media and coaches  polls, East Tennessee State (24-10, 13-5 in SoCon in 2018-19) was the consensus pick to win the league’s regular-season at Monday afternoon’s media outing held at the Renaissance Hotel.

The Bucs return four starters from a team that won 24 games a year ago and took part in the college basketball postseason as a part of the CollegeInsider.com (CIT). The Bucs received 20 of a possible 30 votes in the media poll, while receiving eight of the 10 coaches votes for the coaches all-league squad.

ETSU has three players selected to the preseason all-conference team, with senior forward Jeromy Rodriguez (11.2 PPG, 10.9 RPG), sophomore guard Daivien Williamson (9.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 74 assists/52 turnovers) and junior guard Bo Hodges (10.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG) were part of the the 10-player all-conference team as selected by the league’s 10 head coaches. 

Rodriguez was certainly impressive last season for the Bucs, as was one of the nation’s leaders on the backboards. He gives the Bucs that grit and toughness that Forbes is such an advocate of, having his roots in basketball played in the midwest. Forbes knows Rodriguez’s importance to that particular team dynamic.

UNC Greensboro (29-7, 15-3 in SoCon in 2018-19), which won a school-record 29 games a year ago was selected to finish second in both the media and coaches polls. The Spartans bring back three starters, but graduate two key backcourt performers, in Francis Alonso and Demetrius Troy. 

The Spartans received four first-place votes in the media poll and received two in the coaches poll. UNCG had two selected to the preseason All-SoCon team, including also having the league’s preseason SoCon Player of the Year, Isaiah Miller (15.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 104 steals).

Rim-protector James Dickey (7.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 55 blocks), who missed six games with an injury last season, also returns to the fold and was a member of the preseason all-conference team. 

Bob Richey’s Furman Paladins were picked third and are coming off a season which saw them defeat a pair of Final Four teams last season, in Loyola-Chicago and reigning national champion Villanova to put themselves in the bubble conversation over the final month of the regular-season and even throughout championship week. 

In the media poll, Furman (25-8, 13-5 in SoCon in 2018-19) garnered four first-place votes, and had one player selected to the preseason All-SoCon team, with leading returning scorer Jordan Lyons (16.2 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 105 threes) garnering preseason distinction by the coaches as part of the preseason all-league squad.

Though the Paladins were ultimately left out of the field, despite an NET rank in the high 40s, the attention garnered by Richey’s club was enough to garner Furman its first NIT invitation since the 1990-91 season. 

Wofford (30-5, 18-0 SoCon in 2018-19) didn’t necessarily take anyone by surprise, as Mike Young’s Terriers will fully capable of claiming the league title, however, the fashion in which the Terriers was surprising to most, as the Terriers went a perfect 18-0 and league play, and ran through the SoCon to enter the 2019-20 season having won 21-straight SoCon games. 

Star shooting guard Nathan Hoover (13.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 46.9% from three) was the lone Terrier selected to the preseason All-SoCon squad. Hoover will now be the go-to-guy with the graduation of college basketball’s all-time three-point king Fletcher Magee. 

Rounding out the rest of the preseason predicted order of finish in both polls were in the following order: 5. Samford (17-16, 6-12 in  SoCon in 2018-19), 6. Chattanooga (12-20, 7-11 in SoCon in 2018-19 , 7. Western Carolina (7-25, 4-14 in SoCon in 2018-19), 8. Mercer (11-20, 6-12 SoCon in 2018-19), 9. The Citadel(12-18, 4-14 SoCon in 2018-19) and 10. VMI (11-21, 4-14 SoCon in 2018-19).

The most likely team darkhorse appears to be Scott Padgett’s Samford Bulldogs, who return all four of five starters and add another talented guard via the transfer portal, in Preston Parks. Parks, of course, played in the SoCon once before, garnering Freshman of the Year plaudits at The Citadel.

The Bulldogs will have arguably the quickest guard in all of mid-major basketball, in preseason All-SoCon guard Josh Sharkey (16.3 PPG, 7.2 APG, 2.61 SPG). Samford head coach Scott Padgett is excited about the depth he has added in both the backcourt and frontcourt. 

“We’ve added to our depth and I think that was paramount for us to be able to take that next step. Last year we had two guys we had two guys get hurt early. Logan Dye played about three or conference games that and then got hurt for the rest of the season. That affected our depth at the bigger spots,” Samford head coach Scott Padgett said.

“Then we had kind of some bad luck. Kevion Nolan, who ended up transferring. He had an injury and then had a flagrant two foul, which ended up costing him and then he got sick late in the season, which ended up costing him about six or seven games in conference games and that would end up shrinking our depth in the backcourt,” Padgett added. 

Chattanooga has had to endure some tumultuous times in head coach Lamont Paris’ first two season at the helm of the Mocs basketball program, however, he has his best collection of talent yet, despite losing some talented players like 2019 SoCon Freshman of the Year Kevin Easley, who is now part of the TCU basketball program.  

Paris added some reinforcements like high-profile transfers from Vanderbilt and West Virginia.  Forward Matt Ryan (Vanderbilt) and athletic guard Trey Doomes (West Virginia), who will be eligible immediately. 

The most improved team in the league might be Western Carolina, as the Catamounts were close in more than a few SoCon games last season, but couldn’t seem to get over the top in some of those games. 

However, second-year head coach Mark Prosser returns one of the top big men in all of mid-major basketball, in Carlos Dotson (13.9 PPG, 9.5 RPG), who is one of four double-digit scorers returning to the fold for Prosser. 

Mercer head coach Greg Gary is the other head coach in the Southern Conference heading into the 2018-19 season, and he returns Ross Cummings (17.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 101 threes), who is one of the SoCon’s best shooters and was a member of the preseason coaches all-league team. 

Gary comes to Mercer from Big Ten country, where he was Matt Painter’s top assistant at Purdue, helping the Boilermakers make an Elite Eight run last March before losing to eventual national champion Virginia in overtime. 

“I learned an awful lot from coach [Matt] Painter and if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be in this situation with such a great opportunity at Mercer,” Gary said. 

“He knows how to do things the right way and we were successful there by being able to recruit the right type of kid,” Gary added. 

The league’s two military schools round out the media and coaches polls, with both losing some key pieces, with no one being hit harder by graduation than The Citadel. 

Head coach Duggar Baucom’s high-octane basketball will be in full effect once again in Charleston once again in 2019-20, and he’s of my favorite interviews. Baucom’s unique style lends itself to his upbeat personality, and he is excited to get the new campaign under way. 

“We have seven scholarship newcomers with five freshmen and two grad transfers and seven returners, so we’re pretty balanced,” Baucom said.

“The old guys are certainly trying to help indoctrinate the new guys, but now the grad transfers have college basketball experience so that helps and they know how hard you have to practice and those types of things, but our freshmen have been awesome and they incredible young men and they’ve done everything we have asked them to do and it makes for an exciting time...a learning curve, but still an exciting time,” Baucom added. 

VMI head coach Dan Earl lost his two top double-digit scorers to transfer, in  SoCon leading scorer Bubba Parham (21.4 PPG) and Sarju Patel (10.2 PPG), who transferred to Georgia Tech and Cornell, respectively. 

Myles Lewis (10.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG) is athletic and will blossom into one of the league’s better players this year, while Baucom at The Citadel must replace four of his five starters from a year ago, but do return Kaiden Rice in the backcourt. 

Below are the coaches and media polls, and the poll submitted by Mid-Major Madness. 

2019-20 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll

Team (1st-place votes) Total

1. ETSU (8)                     80

2. UNCG (2)                    74

3. Furman                        61

4. Wofford                        52

5. Samford                       48

6. Chattanooga                41

7. Western Carolina         38

8. Mercer                         29

9. The Citadel                  16

10. VMI                            11

2019-20 Preseason Southern Conference Media Poll

Team (1st-place votes) Total

1. ETSU (20)                   286

2. UNCG (6)                    264

3. Furman (4)                  245

4. Wofford                       216

5. Samford                      169

6. Chattanooga               128

7. Western Carolina        117

8. Mercer                         115

9. The Citadel                  70

10. VMI                            40

Poll I submitted:

1. ETSU

2. Furman

3. UNCG

4. Wofford

5. Samford

6. Western Carolina

7. Chattanooga

8. Mercer

9. VMI

10. The Citadel

Preseason All-SoCon Team Selected By The League's Head Coaches

Bo Hodges, Jr., G, ETSU
Jeromy Rodriguez, R-Sr., F, ETSU
Daivien Williamson, So., G, ETSU
Jordan Lyons, Sr., G, Furman
Ross Cummings, Sr., G, Mercer
James Dickey, R-Sr., F, UNCG
Isaiah Miller, Jr., G, UNCG
Josh Sharkey, Sr., G, Samford
Carlos Dotson, Sr., F, Western Carolina
Nathan Hoover, Sr., G, Wofford

SoCon Player of the Year:

Isaiah Miller--UNCG

Furman ready to return to its hoops roots

Furman Director of Athletics Jason Donnelly

In life, timing is everything. Fresh off a school-record 25-win campaign, the program’s first-ever AP Top 25 ranking, and second appearance in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), Furman has decided to return to its roots on the college basketball hardwood for three weekend games during the upcoming 2019-20 campaign.

At a press conference held on Pepsi Terrace at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on what was a blistering hot early October afternoon, arena manager Beth Paul, Greenville Mayor Knox White, Furman Director of Athletics Jason Donnelly, and Furman President Elizabeth Davis, announced that Furman men’s basketball will return to downtown Greenville for three games in the 2019-20 season. 

Furman men’s basketball coach Bob Richey was also on hand, however, did not formally address the media, but was available to the local media to answer questions following the short presentation.

The initiative is a collaborative effort between the city of Greenville and Furman University to showcase Greenville’s team at Bon Secours Wellness Arena and has been introduced to the public for the upcoming season as “Weekends at the Well.” 

“I speak about this from the perspective of somebody who is a native of Greenville and one of those that has been a longtime member of this community and of course there are so many new people in the city who might not have that perspective but I was sitting there reflecting on something we never thought we two things would see happen again. A downtown arena and that seemed impossible, and they never thought they would see the Poinsett Hotel re-open again...it could never happen...and they never thought they would see Furman basketball downtown again..it would never happen,” Greenville Mayor Knox White said. 

“Furman has been an important part of Greenville for well over 100 years and some great things did happen in the Memorial Auditorium (Furman’s former home for hoops in downtown Greenville) and the basketball tournaments and games that were played here and they conversations that would happen and the stories that were told, but they never thought it would happen again in downtown Greenville, so thank you to everyone who made this possible and Furman University for making this happen, and I have no doubt the community will be all in on helping paint this town purple,” White added.

The Paladins will take on perennial Big South power Winthrop (Dec. 14), and SoCon powers UNC Greensboro (Jan. 11) and Wofford (Feb. 22) at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. 

Wofford, like Furman, spent time in the AP Top 25 last season, became the first 30-win team in the SoCon since NC State in the 1950-51 season, and captured the SoCon’s first tournament win since 2008 last season, while UNC Greensboro, like Furman, won a school-record 29 games last season and will be one of the league’s top teams yet again in 2019-20. 

In an effort to capture the attention of the city of Greenville coming off its historic season of 2019-20, the Paladins will return to their roots playing in the heart of downtown, which was home to the Furman from 1958-97 at the Memorial Auditorium, which has since been demolished. 

The Paladins will play at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, which seats almost 15,000 for hoops and was a regional site for the 2017 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional first and second rounds, hosted by Furman and the Southern Conference. The Tournament will return to downtown Greenville in 2022.

The Paladins, of course, captured the attention of the nation last season when they knocked off a pair of Final Four Teams and were ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for three weeks. On Dec. 1, 1958, Furman played the Jerry West-led West Virginia University Mountaineers in the first-ever game played Memorial Auditorium, although it called downtown Greenville home from 1908-1996 at two different venues. 

The perfect marriage had been forged between the city and its University, which at the time was still located in downtown Greenville before moving to its current campus location in northern Greenville County in 1959. The Memorial Auditorium was referred to as the “Big Brown Box” by many. 

Prior to Furman’s days spent at Memorial Auditorium, it played its games at Textile Hall, where Frank Selvy became the first and only NCAA Division I college basketball player to score 100 points in a game when he did so on Feb. 13, 1954. That game was the first college basketball game to ever be televised in the state of South Carolina, giving Furman an early relationship and presence with the surrounding downtown community.

Despite what was an outstanding win over the Wildcats at the Brown Box, head coach Lyles Alley’s Paladins had managed just an 11-15 overall mark in 1963-64, but enroads were being made and a foundation of future success laid brick-by-brick through the struggles of the 1960s for Furman basketball. Furman sported just two winning seasons during the 1960s, and Davidson, under the direction of James "Lefty" Driesell, were always the class of the SoCon.

One thing that was always a guarantee, however, was that the Paladins would play well on their home floor. During the 1963-64 season, for example, the Paladins had put together a decent homecourt record that season, posting what was a 6-3 mark on the home floor, including a big 70-55 win over No. 5 Davidson on Feb. 11, 1964.

In 2018-19, Furman became the first SoCon team since that Davidson team to start a season 10-0 or better.

Nearly three decades later to the day of that win over a top five team, the Paladins would take down another ranked conference foe, when they downed No. 10 East Tennessee State and Keith “Mister” Jennings, 103-94, before a packed crowd at the Brown Box.

The dates Feb. 11 and Feb. 13 have become significant milestone moments in the history of Furman basketball, and two of those monumental moments for a program that has won four Southern Conference regular-season titles and six Southern Conference Tournament crowns.

Striking While The Iron is Hot

Furman new Director of Athletics Jason Donnelly is one of those guys that just understands mid-major basketball, and the dynamics of it. He comes from Villanova, where he spent time as an Associate Director of Athletics and even spent some time as the Director of Basketball Operations on the Main Line.

He comes from a place that consistently wins, but does it in a big city with five other pretty good basketball programs in the same city competing all for a big piece of the pie. When Furman shocked Villanova, 76-68, in overtime last season, the Wildcats were reigning national champs and had won two of the last three under head coach Jay Wright. 

The Paladins also downed Loyola Chicago--another Final Four member from the 2017-18 season--and the Paladins have four starters returning from that record-setting team of a year ago. Furman will play yet another Final Four team from the previous season on the road, when it faces Auburn on Dec.5, 2019. 

“So one of my first days on the job I came down to the the Well with President [Elizabeth] Davis, myself and our university leadership and we had a chance to look around to see what this is and what I was explaining to them is that for all the success we had at Villanova we had to take some chances as well and we had to build our brand and our product,” Director of Athletics Jason Donnelly said. 

“Philadelphia is a larger city, but we’re also competing against five or six other Division I college programs in that city and it was a little bit of a shared market in that space. The difference we’re looking at for Furman is that it’s an opportunity for us to build and to grow and I described a game at the Wells Fargo Center and it was Jay Wright and John Calipari and you could hear crickets in the gym and people didn’t really understand what it was going to be, but then if fast-forwarded 15 years later it was sold out games and weekend committment, people coming in from all around the country from Chicago to New York to Florida to be a part of that tradition,” Donnelly added.

Head coach Bob Richey, who heads into his third season as head coach of the Furman basketball program and is excited to see the program take another step forward in to re-connecting with Greenville and its roots, is a big thinker/big idea type person, and a major reason for its success is the fact that wise beyond his yeards head coach has never had a limited vision for what Furman’s basketball can eventually become.

“Let’s not put limiting beliefs on this and if you’re seeing this announcement and you’re putting a limiting belief on this, you’re already trying to go against the way we’re trying to go,” Richey said.

“If you’re saying this place is too big or your going to lose home court advantage, that’s not the train of thought we’re trying to get here,” he added. 

For Furman basketball, it all seems to be part of a bigger picture idea to go back and  re-visit its roots, but at the same time blend with one of the fastest growing cities in the nation with the university in the process. Today, on the surface, it appears both of those goals have been accomplished.

Furman opens the 2019-20 season on the road against NCAA Tournament participant Gardner-Webb.