The Man, The Mister, The SoCon Legend

Like most college basketball program’s, there’s one figure-- whether it be a coach or player--that defines a program more than any other figure or icon. For ETSU, that one defining icon is Keith “Mister” Jennings, who played for the Bucs in the late 1980s and early 90s. 

In what is the 100th year of Southern Conference basketball not many have been better than one people simply refer to as “Mister.” Instantly those who follow Southern Conference basketball over the years, and maybe even the hoops junkie in general recognizes the nickname.

That’s because the man known to some simply as "Mister"had such a profound effect not only on East Tennessee State basketball during his time as a player for the Bucs. Jennings, a native of Southwestern Virginia, was one of those diamonds in the rough. The 5-7 guard was looked over by plenty of major programs, as well as some solid mid-majors in the area. The diminutive point guard with quickness is most-often looked over by the bigger programs. Sure, you have the occasional Muggsey Bogues or Spud Webb story, who end up at power fives like Wake Forest and N.C. State, but more often than not, guys like Mister Jennings at ETSU, Earl Boykins at Eastern Michigan or K.J. Maura at UMBC. These kind of “fall through the cracks” stars—particularly the diminutive in size—are the ones that typically see their star shine the brightest at mid-majors.

 

Many times, those diminutive players get the opportunity to shine long after their collegiate careers, and some, like the aforementioned trio, in the NBA. For “Mister” Jennings, it was about bringing something to Johnson City that hadn’t been seen before in terms of a sustained basketball and culture in the Tri-cities area.

It didn’t phase Jennings, who only went on to become one of college basketball’s best-career assist men in his four seasons at ETSU, finishing with 983-career assists, which still ranks as the SoCon’s top mark all-time. 

At the time of his graduation at ETSU in 1991, his status was already solidified as both a Bucs legend, as well as being a Southern Conference legend. One of the important thing to remember about Jennings and his memorable career at East Tennessee State is that he was able to play with an outstanding core group of players, which is arguably the greatest collection of talent at one time in the history of East Tennessee State basketball. 

Guys like Calvin Talford, Greg Dennis, Marty Story, Rodney English, Major Geer, Michael Woods, and Alvin West were all part of a group that helped lay a foundation of tradition of ETSU basketball that will always be remembered not only in the annals of Buccaneer basketball, but also in the annals of mid-major hoops as a whole.

“It was an amazing experience and a lot of fun being able to play with guys like that, and how we learned to win like that was really in high school,” Jennings said.  “We all learned how to win at a high level in high school and that enabled us to have success early on at ETSU and we ended up being teammates for two, three or four years,” Jennings added.

“I started to understand and I think we started to understand what true brotherhood meant. Here were all these other new guys coming from different places and high level basketball backgrounds of their own and that loved for the game and had a will to win like I had. That started an immediate brotherhood and friendship for all of us on and off the court, and after that, it was just came natural.”

Unfortunately, both West and Geer--significant members of that memorable group to play with Jennings and help create the tradition-rich dynasty that ETSU basketball is known for--have since passed away. Geer died on July, 2020, following complications of emergency heart surgery. The Chapel Hill, N.C., native was just 51 years old.  Geer’s closest friend from that ETSU team was Alvin West, who died almost two years to the day earlier than Geer in August 2018.  Like Jennings, West was a part of that 1987 recruiting class that also included Michael Woods and Greg Dennis. West was just 49 years old when he passed away from complications related to cancer.

“I look back on it now and I am so grateful for those guys and the time I got to spend with them. They became great friends, and we kept in touch over the years long after ETSU basketball, so it hit us all hard when they passed away. I think it taught us all to cherish those moments we had on the court together and what he had in our friendships with them even more,” Jennings said as he reminisces on the lives of the two ETSU greats. 

Another Buc from that era--Calvin Talford, who won the 1992 NCAA College Basketball Dunk contest--survived a massive heart attack almost exactly a year ago. Even Jennings himself had to have an emergency appendectomy, which he admitted in our interview, was scary and painful. 

Mister Jennings and that talented Bucs recruiting class first made their presence known on the basketball hardwood for the Bucs during the 1987-88 season, and in his freshman season, the Bucs would finish off what was a respectable 14-15 season and 9-7 mark in the Southern Conference. 

That 9-7 record in Southern Conference play was good enough to see the Bucs finish the campaign with a fourth-place finish in the league standings, and the young Bucs headed to Asheville with visions of upsetting the apple cart and winning the tournament and the school’s first NCAA Tournament bid in two decades. 

Though the Bucs would eventually be knocked out of the tournament by upstart No. 6 seeded VMI, who had a dynamic guard tandem of their own, in twins Ramon and Damon Williams and would go on to defeat the Bucs, 79-60, it would ultimately be the beginning of a dynasty of dominance for Jennings and the Bucs over the next four years. 

While Jennings played in a different era in the Southern Conference, it’s important to point out that the SoCon when he played had its own version of talented players. Guys like Marshall’s John Taft, Furman’s Hal Henderson, Tyrone Enoch of Chattanooga,  and Ramon and Damon Williams of VMI were all as good and as competitive as any guards and scorers in mid-major basketball. 

“No disrespect to the East Tennessee State team of today because I am very proud of what these guys have been able to accomplish and what they have done because I am very proud of those young men, but the Southern Conference that I played in and going to Marshall and seeing John Taft and even at App State you had Kemp Phillips, and Whit Peeler, and at Furman Hal Henderson and then you got the twins at VMI Ramon and Damon [Williams] and then at Chattanooga you had Tyrone Enoch and Eric Spivey waiting on you. It was a competitive league and you had to be ready to play everytime out, or you would get beat. I know John Taft now and when we played them [Marshall] we knew that he was going to be the guy we had to stop.”

Marshall’s Taft was no joke. At the time, he was one of college basketball’s best pure scorers, and still holds the record for the most points in three games in the Southern Conference Tournament, having posted 109 points during the 1989 edition in Asheville.  Just a year earlier, Marshall’s Skip Henderson had set single-game SoCon Tournament record with 55 points in a 1988 tournament win over The Citadel. 

Prior to the 1988-89  season, the Bucs were tipped as the favorites to claim the Southern Conference title by the media and several different publications. Certainly, most knew the Bucs were the best collection of talent heading into that particular campaign, but games are never played on paper. 

The Bucs, though the most talented team in the SoCon, weren’t overly impressive during Southern Conference play, finishing just 8-8 overall. However, by the time the Bucs arrived in Asheville for the1989 Southern Conference Tournament, everyone kind of knew they were a team well capable of winning it if they played their best basketball. 

The Bucs went on to win their first of four-straight Southern Conference Tournaments, with Jennings leading the way during the weekend of basketball at the Asheville Civic Center, as the Bucs knocked off The Citadel (83-79), Chattanooga (76-73) and Marshall (96-73) en route to the Bucs’ first NCAA Tournament bid since the  1967-68 Bucs accomplished the feat under head coach Madison Brooks.

Naturally, being the fourth seed to win the Southern Conference Tournament meant the Bucs would be the No. 16 seed when the Bucs headed for the NCAA Tournament as a part of the Southeast Regional in Nashville, where they would meet up with top-seeded Oklahoma. The Bucs put more than a scare into the Sooners, losing 72-71. Had Mister Jennings not fouled out late in that contest, UMBC’s win over Virginia in the 2018 tournament probably would have seemed far less epic. The Bucs were very much an unknown outside of the Southern Conference coming into the 1989 season, however, the nation would quickly find out about one of mid-major basketball’s best-kept secrets in the very near future.  

Though the loss was heartbreaking to the Sooners, the Bucs had finished off what was a successful 20-11 season. It was the program’s first 20-win campaign since Barry Dowd was the head coach back during the 1982-83 season. 

The very next season in 1989-90 campaign would see the Bucs repeat the feat as Southern Conference champions, and led by Jennings, ETSU lived up to its preseason accolades once again. Under the direction of head coach Les Robinson, the Bucs would impress during the non-conference portion of the slate, as they went out and took on whoever would play them of the big boys of college basketball at the time. 

In the non-conference portion of the slate, the Bucs went to Knoxville early on in the regular-season, and posted an 83-70 win over the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena, raising more than a few eyebrows around college basketball. It was starting to become clear that Jennings’ Bucs were becoming the cream of the crop when it came to mid-major basketball programs. 

During that same 1989-90 season, the Bucs would also travel into ACC country and pick up what was a 92-82 win over Jim Valvano’s North Carolina State Wolfpack. The Bucs had effectively cooled the first of Wolfpack star wing scorer Rodney Monroe, and burned star point guard Chris Corchiani. Fire-and-ice might has well have been null-and-void against Jennings, Talford and the rest of the Bucs. 

The Bucs won the regular-season Southern Conference outright, with a 12-2 overall Southern Conference record. The lone losses in regular-season Southern Conference play came on the road at both VMI (L, 77-78) and at Furman (L, 97-100). 

Clearly, when the eight Southern Conference members headed for Asheville for the Southern Conference Tournament in 1990, the Bucs were the prohibitive favorites this time around. Jennings and the Bucs came to the Civiv Center as the No. 1 overall seed, and an impressive 24-6 overall record. In the opening round, the Bucs would be tested for a while by Western Carolina before pulling away for a 75-60 win. Then came a battle with nemesis VMI and Ramon and Damon Williams, but the Bucs proved to be too much in the end after getting a 99-94 win. 

In the Southern Conference championship game, the Bucs would battle mountain rival Appalachian State. The Mountaineers had beaten an emotional Furman team, which saw its point guard Neal Garrison lose his father to a heart attack the night before in an overtime win over Marshall, 99-82. But Steve Spurlock, Billy Ross and Tim Powers were no match for the Bucs, who claimed a third win over the Mountaineers that season with a 96-75 tournament title game win.

In the win, Jennings posted 16 points, while Greg Dennis led the way with 24 points and both were named to the all-tournament team for the second-straight season, with Jennings taking home SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player accolades. 

The 27-win Bucs were back in the Big Dance, and this time around, would once again stay in the Volunteer State, and would face a team out of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the tournament, taking on Bobby Cremins’ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Thompson Boling Arena in Knoxville.

The Bucs came into the NCAA Tournament as the No. 13 seed that season, and would be facing off against Georgia Tech and “Lethal Weapon III” which featured, Kenny Anderson, Dennis Scott, and Derrick Coleman. It would be the only time the Bucs would truly be overmatched in an NCAA Tournament game in the four years they would advance to the Big Dance, as the Yellow Jackets claimed what was a 99-83 win over the Bucs. 

The Ramblin’ Wreck were simply unconcious from the field, and Dennis Scott’s 36 points led all scorers en route to the win. Georgia Tech was a scorching 14-of-22 from beyond the three-point arc. Keith Jennings and Calvin Talford led the Bucs in the losing effort with 17 points apiece.The Bucs would have a new coach leading the way in Jennings’ senior season, as Les Robinson left to become the successor to Jim Valvano at N.C. State, while top assistant Alan LeForce was tabbed to take over as the head coach of the Bucs. 

Jennings’ senior season of 1990-91 would turn out to be one of the most memorable seasons in the history of not only ETSU basketball, but for all program’s that have ever called themselves a “mid-major” program at one point or another. 

Back then, it was easier for good mid-majors to get games with high-profile opposition, which is certainly not the case these days. The Bucs would take down some pretty impressive competition during the non-conference portion of the schedule. 

It would be a memorable exit for Jennings, who in the 100 years of Southern Conference basketball, is certainly in the top 10 players to ever play in the league, and probably would be in the starting five all-time. Jennings shot an astounding 59.5% (84-of-142) from three-point range during his senior season, and would lead the Bucs to a memorable season, which would see the Bucs win a school-record 28 games in the process. In addition to being the SoCon’s all-time assist king, Mister Jennings also left his mark in other areas of his game, including scoring, as his 1,988-career points currently rank fourth all-time in Bucs scoring history. 

Under the direction of Alan LeForce, the Bucs flourished in the former assistant’s first season leading the Bucs basketball program, especiallt during the non-conference slate. The Bucs would knock off a Shawn Bradley-led BYU (W, 83-80) team to open the season. That would be followed by a win over North Carolina State (W, 94-91) later in the non-conference slate, as Les Robinson made his return to the Memorial Center on the opposing sidelines. The Bucs also got an impressive 90-79 win at Cincinnati. Giving the Bucs a chance to do even more chest thumping, at least within the Volunteer State, came as a result of an impressive 105-102 overtime win over Memphis at the Pyramid in January. Of special importance for Jennings were those games against Virginia schools that didn’t recruit him out of his home state. 

“The only school that showed interest in me in my home state was VMI, and I wasn’t interested in going to a military school. The only other program that showed any interest in me was ETSU, and so when we played teams like George Mason, Liberty, James Madison or other teams from my home state, I made it especially personal in those games when I went out on the floor,” Jennings said. 

In Jennings’ senior season, the Bucs just happened to face George Mason twice in the non-conference portion of the slate, defeating the Patriots on both occasions, as the Bucs took a 105-92 in Johnson City before going on the road later in non-conference play and taking a 96-86 win. The Bucs also took an 86-55 win over Liberty and won a 68-65 game at James Madison. ETSU would also meet with some adversity during the 1990-91 season, as star center Greg Dennis went down with a season-ending knee injury, changing the dynamics of the Bucs basketball team. Dennis had been a reliable force in the paint and as a rim-protecting shot-blocker. Darrell Jones would be asked to step in and fill the role for the Bucs. 

Despite the loss of Dennis, the Bucs perservered. In fact, ETSU entered the national rankings for the first time in school history at No. 24 on Dec. 11. The Bucs entered the rankings at No. 24 in the nation. It was the first ranked team in the Southern Conference since the 1983 campaign, when Chattanooga found its way into the national rankings.

The Bucs would rise as high as No. 10 when they headed for Greenville, S.C., to take on the Furman Paladins at the Memorial Auditorium. It offered me the rare chance to see Jennings play, as well as the No. 10 ranked team in the country. That didn’t happen all that much in the Southern Conference then, or even now. In fact, the Bucs were one of just a few ranked teams that have ever played at Furman. Though a very good Furman team ended up handing the Bucs a 103-94 setback in Memorial Auditorium on a night when the Paladins shot over 50% from the field for the game, and were led by its own version of Keith “Mister” Jennings, in Hal Henderson, who posted one of his best-career performances with 29 points. Not to be outdone, Jennings kept the Bucs in it, as he finished with a game-high 31 points.

It was an epic battle before a packed crowd in Furman’s downtown home. Though Furman won the game, all I could think about how good of a basketball team I saw, in East Tennessee State, and how good of a player I had just witnessed, in Keith “Mister” Jennings. Though years have passed by, I have never forgotten just how good of a point guard Jennings was and how much he meant to this league in terms of gaining its notoreity in a crucial time for the league and college basketball. 

It was a time when the SoCon was trying to make the leap from being what was considered probably a low-major league prior to Jennings’ arrival to one that is now looked at as more of an elite mid-major--it least it has been that in recent seasons. Having players like ETSU’s Jennings or Davidson’s Stephen Curry certainly doesn’t hinder the cause either. The Bucs would finish the regular-season with a 25-4 record, which included an 11-3 record in Southern Conference play, which was good enough for a three-way tie for the Southern Conference regular-season crown along with Chattanooga and Furman, as the eight teams headed to Asheville for the annual Southern Conference Tournament. 

Other than the loss to Furman, the only other conference losses the Bucs suffered during the regular-season came against Chattanooga (L, 74-76) and Marshall (L, 103-107), which both came on the road. The Bucs were still the favorites to take it all in Asheville for a third-straight year, however.  

Jennings and the Bucs would open his final Southern Conference Tournament against Western Carolina, and though the Catamounts battled for a while, Jennings and the Bucs were too much for Terry Boyd and the Catamounts, as ETSU picked up a 75-60 opening round win. 

In the semifinal round of the tournament, the Bucs would take a commanding 104-71 win over Chattanooga, setting up a championship game appearance against Appalachian State. The Bucs would continue their dominance of the Southern Conference in Jennings’ senior season in the tournament title game, as Appalachian State was no match for Jennings and the Bucs in the championship game.

ETSU went on to get a 101-82 championship game win over its mountain rivals once again. A 31-point performance by Jennings naturally stole the show. It was back to the Big Dance for Jennings and the Bucs. In his final appearance in the NCAA Tournament, Jennings’ Bucs would face off against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the NCAA Tournament. The one matchup the Bucs figured to have a big problem with was Acie Earl off the bench for the Hawkeyes. The Bucs would enter the tournament as the No. 10 seed, while the Hawkeyes were the No. 7. Most had that classic No. 10 over No. 7 upset in their bracket in this very game. 

The Bucs also had entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 17, and were three years removed from being a virtual college basketball unknown until nearly upsetting No. 1 seed Oklahoma. By the time Jennings had gotten to his senior season, the Bucs were a program that all the big boys feared, and no one wanted to draw Jennings and the Bucs on Selection Sunday in March.

Earl was one of college basketball’s top big men, as well as being one of the top sixth men in the country. It would be another closely contested basketball game, but in the end, the Bucs ended up dropping what was a heartbreaking 76-73 decision to the Hawkeyes. It was a game in which the Bucs actually held a 37-33 lead at the break. 

Backcourt mates Mister Jennings along with Rodney English both added double-doubles in their final games in Blue and Gold uniforms, as English led all Bucs scorers with 25 points to go with 10 boards, while Mister Jennings added 11 points and 13 helpers. For the Mister, it would be his final game in the Bucs Blue and Gold. Though the Bucs ultimately ended up losing the game in heartbreaking fashion and went 0-3 during Jennings’ career in the NCAA Tournament as the ETSU point guard, the Bucs weren’t all that far away.  They had established themselves as elite in the minds of many of those who watch and cover mid-major basketball on a regular basis.

Without Greg Dennis in the paint, it was tough for the Bucs to find a way to stop Earl and the Hawkeyes, who were more physical in the paint. Earl scored 10 of his 18 points from the charity stripe, going 10-of-14 from the stripe. The Bucs would lead by as many as five points (61-56) in the second half, with just over seven minutes remaining, however, the Hawkeyes took the lead for good when James Winters scored a basket with 4:22 remaining, giving Iowa the 63-61 lead. 

“I didn’t shoot the ball well against Iowa, and I think if I had shot the ball better, we would have won the game,”  Jennings said. Jennings’ impact on the Johnson City and the culture of ETSU basketball at-large have been profound. He gets back there as often as he can to see games, and you could hear the love in his voice that he still has for the school and the people of Johnson City. 

A native of from Culpepper, VA, had left a giant footprint on the history of ETSU basketball, leading the Bucs to a school-record 28 wins as a senior. That record wouldn’t be broken until the 2019-20 season saw Steve Forbes’ Bucs win 30 games. During his four seasons with the Bucs, ETSU posted an 89-38 mark, while finishing with a 39-19 record against Southern Conference foes, including an impressive 23-5 mark in Jennings’ final two season. 

Jennings was at the forefront of so many big wins. Victories over Memphis, Cincinnati, Tennessee, BYU, NC State and Mississippi State were just a sample size of the effect that Jennings had on the Bucs basketball program. In many ways, he was a trailblazer for the Bucs basketball program.

The year after Jennings graduated, the Bucs broke through and were able to win their first NCAA Tournament game in more than two decades, as No. 12 ETSU upended mighty No. 5 seeded Arizona, 87-80, in the Southeast Regional Atlanta. In a five-year span from 1987-92, the Bucs won 113 games and lost just 45. The Bucs finished that five-year span with a 51-21 record against Southern Conference foes, winning four regular-season and tournament titles.

Dennis, who had gotten a medical redshirt during Jennings’ senior season due to a season-ending injury, got to be a part of that win over Arizona. Dennis had been a wide-eyed freshman along with Jennings back in the 1987-88 season, and the two were trying to help a program that was not all that far removed from probation a couple of years earlier. 

In the win over the Wildcats, Dennis posted eight points, three rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. His college career along with several others would end in the following round, as Michigan’s Fab Five handed ETSU a season-ending 102-90 setback. As far as comparing that golden generation of Bucs basketball to now and elite mid-majors of today, as to where it stands on the all-time pantheon of great mid-major programs. 

“We had a team that...we were fast enough, we were strong enough, and we were talented enough that if you weren’t ready to play, it was going to be a problem for your team no matter what team you were.”  

“How many teams had or have four 1,000-point scorers at the same time? How many teams can get ranked and stay ranked nowadays...That’s something we did. I am not talking about mid-majors like Gonzaga, but rather real mid-majors from like the SoCon and other leagues like ours. I can probably guarantee you will find few programs to accomplish what we did in a tough league for a period of time like that.”

Jennings seems like he would be a natural candidate for a head coach or assistant coach in Johnson City one day, as he’s one of ETSU’s own. However, ETSU has never been a program to hire from within except if you go back to LeForce.  

“I am not sure why that has been the case over the years, Jennings said of ETSU hiring from outside its family. “I know it would be a dream of mine to coach there one day,” Jennings added.

We just saw ETSU complete what was an amazing run in the Southern Conference this past season, winning 30 games and the Southern Conference Tournament title, but unfortunately didn’t get to see how that would pan out in the NCAA Tournament. The Bucs were looking to become the second team in as many years to claim an opening round win in the NCAA Tournament.

Jennings finished off his senior season in spectacular fashion, averaging 20.1 PPG, shooting 59.5% (84-of-142) from three-point range, 89.5% (136-of-152) from the line, and dished out 9.1 APG, leading the Bucs in each of those categories. His single-season mark of nearly 60% shooting from beyond the arc still stands as a single-season Southern Conference record. 

In four years running the point for the Bucs, as you might imagine the Bucs led the SoCon in points-per-game in all four of those seasons, averaging 94.0 PPG in 1990-91. He went on to play two memorable seasons in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors. 

“Even though I only spent two years in the NBA, those years I spent with the Warriors I will cherish forever. Playing with guys like Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullins--guys you had grown up watching and trying to emulate on the playground--and then you realize all of it is real. Man, there’s nothing quite like that.”

Just last year, Jennings put together a feature documentary chronicling ETSU’s dominance of the Southern Conference from 1989-92 in a film called “4Ever.” The trailer for that documentary is linked below if you care to look into purchasing it. It will give you much better of an idea of just how dominant the Bucs were during that era than even I can in this article with my words.  There are also a couple of links to some own personal archive from his standout career. 

Today, Jennings has not been too far removed from the game he loved as a player at ETSU and as a boy growing up in southwest Virginia, serving as the head women’s basketball coach at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, N.C., where he has already started preparations for the 2020-21 season.  

What I found out about Jennings when I interviewed him was the fact that he was the same type of jovial, good-spirited human-being off the floor, as I remember him being on the floor when I saw him and the 10th-ranked ETSU Bucs play some 30 years ago.  I look forward to catching up with some more former SoCon greats, as the league celebrates its centennial year as a basketball league.  Just as much as Jennings was an ambassador for ETSU basketball, he was an ambassador for the Southern Conference as a whole. People would go on in later years to discover the high level of hoops played in this league, including me, as I started to appreciate the basketball more and more in the SoCon as the years past.

When guys like Steph Curry (Davidson) or Andrew Goudelock (College of Charleston) came along to play in the league years later, Jennings would also serve as that reference point. That’s how good he was. When comparing the great teams of recent years like Davidson of 2007-08 or Wofford 2018-19, my reference point is always those ranked Bucs teams. 

In 2016, Jennings was inducted into the Southern Conference athletics Hall-of-Fame, as well as being a member of the inducted into the ETSU Basketball Hall-of-Fame in 2013. His 983-career assists still rank fifth in NCAA history for helpers, and he also holds the single-game (19 assists vs Appalachian State/Feb. 2, 1991) and single-season (301 assists in 1990-91) assist records in the SoCon record book.

Jennings was not only great on the offensive end of the floor, however, as he shined on the defensive end as well. Jennings holds the SoCon career record for steals (334), as well as holding the SoCon single-season steals mark (109).

The Mister finished his career as a two-time SoCon Player of the Year (1990 & ‘91), as well as being the Francis Pomeroy Naismith Award winner in 1991, as he was voted the best player under six-feet tall. Jennings finished his career with 1,988-career points, and ranked as the program’s all-time leading points scorer after he graduated in 1991. 

No, Jennings and the Bucs weren’t the first SoCon team to be ranked in the modern era of SoCon hoops, but in my lifetime, it was a team that I was blessed to see play and left an indeliable mark on not only me as a SoCon hoops fan, but also as a mid-major hoops fan. In my opinion, the man they called “The Mister” was more than a man and more than a nickname, he was a SoCon hoops legend.

Check midmajormainess.com as well for a more condensed version of this story. It certainly was a joy to interview him and to hear about his experiences playing for ETSU as a part of what was a memorable generation of basketball inside the Southern Conference.

SoCon Hoops 2020-21: A blog about the innocence of a boy and a love for sports

 

The 2020-21 season is ready to commence, but it is shaping up to me a season that will be unlike any other in terms of the protocols that will be put in place to protect both players and coaches from the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected our country. Pictured above is a time when things were simpler for me as a fan of college basketball. There was no pandemic to worry about, or social distancing. 

In fact, at the ripe old age of 10 in the above photo, it was encouraged for kids like myself to get up close and personal with our favorite college basketball players. 

For me, in my hometown of Greenville, S.C., that was of course the Furman Paladins. I can't help but think back to those times and wonder if today's climate, and the pandemic we are all dealing with as a country, and particularly in the both the entertainment and sporting industries, whether it be be collegiate hoops or pro hoops, pictures like the one above will become something of an extinct history.

However, as we all prepare for another potentially enthralling season of basketball on the Southern Conference basketball hardwood, I am sincerely hoping that is not the case. This summer has been an interesting time, and in my interactions with coaches from both the SoCon and Big South, there was a collective, yet hopeful sigh that things will change in time to at least have as close to normal of a season as possible.

With that being said, there is an innocence about the above photo I found this summer in the above photo. It's one that conjures up what all of us who love college basketball like myself, or any collegiate sport for that matter has always held, an innocence about these sorts of relationships. 

In 2020, those relationships haven't been tested by just social distancing, but also social injustices that continue to happen within our society, which have spilled over into our sports culture and the things we hold sacred. What I take complete comfort in during these times is the photo above. That innocence, but also the re-assurance to know it never has been a question for me. I've always looked up and held those student athletes of color, or ones of my color in the same awe and regard. It's funny how a picture can bring us peace.

In times of turmoil in our country, I take comfort in the photo of Furman basketball players and how they were just as happy or maybe more to see me as I was to see them. Pictured above are Chris Bass (left), Hal Henderson (middle) and former football standout fullback Billy Stockdale (white shirt) were all guys that at that time were my friends.

Remember what it felt like to look up to someone as a kid. I never looked at skin color or anything of that nature. I haven't changed in that way and that photo is three decades old. Although the older one now, I still look at these athletes I cover with the innocence I had as a 10-year old, but only now, I can help them by writing about them and giving them the coverage they would not normally get at a school the size of a SoCon school. 

It's my passion, and it may not seem like much, but that honest innocence I have realized can go a long way in today's culture and what we are witnessing each night as a part of local and national news. I am so thankful that God nor my family let me view the world from what someone on a television or what anyone told me. They let me meet my heroes at that time. But I am also thankful to those young men at Furman when I was that age. 

Those African-American student-athletes are responsible for a special sort of love and bond that you don't get at bigger schools. Go to any SoCon school and you find the same. You can make an intimate bond, and instant memories you take with you for the rest of your life. 

I know because I have. But it's so much more. You think I cared about the politics of our country in that photo? Do you think that I actually even knew about flags or monuments, and if I had known about them, do you think it would have mattered or kept me from seeking out those African-American student-athletes from Furman University who I gloried in watching as a kid growing up? The answer is always no. It will always be no. One special thing the SoCon has given me is that it has given me the chance to get to know these great human beings as people and to care about them as people and to write their story as people through sport.

That might not sound like a lot, but in a world where we see hate fill the airwaves, whether it be acts of racial injustice or some stupid pandemic or even dumber political arguments, I find myself not understanding what's happened to that same innocence that I still have and those others around me must have had at some point in their lives...Where did they check out? Where were they influenced in the wrong manner?

My guess is somewhere it had to have started at home. I am so thankful my parents let me love on these student athletes, black or white, for the tremendous human beings they all are. I never lost that hunger to seek out a friendship, but the only difference is now I have something to give back for the autographs they gave me as a kid. I have words that I can put together to tell their stories, and I am so blessed by God and thankful to my Savior each day I get to do that. It truly is something special to me.

I know that's a different way to introduce the upcoming basketball season, but I felt it was important to get off my chest and just say I am so thankful that these guys aren't just some people that just run fast and jump high to me on the weekends. They are people I care for...Guys like Carlos Dotson (Western Carolina), Stephen Croone (Furman), Jordan Lyons (Furman) and even a guy 

I interviewed the other day--Keith "Mister" Jennings--stand as true testaments of how great this league is, and how rich the relationships can become between both black and white if you just let those friendships blossom. One thing I have always known is that you don't have to be from the same neighborhood to share the same brotherhood. It's true. God made no mistakes. 

So, I am thankful more than ever this year for the African-American athletes I have met at both Furman and in the SoCon over the years. Y'all have meant so much to me, and to be able to write good words to your amazing stories has been a blessing that I carry in my heart each and every day.

Next time I will get more in-depth on the preview of the upcoming season. I have shared my predicted order of finish below, but I wanted to share this photo and how it means so many different neat things to me, especially now that I look back at it in a year like this.

I realize we are in a pandemic, but I hope we never get to a point as a nation to where these photos aren't able to be taken because of a virus. If it happened back then, it would have stolen the opportunity for me to really meet some truly awesome human beings, and I am not sure how that might have altered my life. I am so thankful that I don't have the words to convey it.

1. Furman

2. UNCG

3. East Tennessee State

4. Mercer

5. Wofford

6. Chattanooga

7. Western Carolina

8. VMI

9. Samford

10. The Citadel

SoCon Basketball 2020-21: player rankings and some games to watch

Furman forward Clay Mounce

We will have college basketball in 2020-21. What that will look like, however, is anyone's guess and could play itself out completely as the season progresses. 

The NCAA men's basketball chair, Dave Gavitt, along with other conference commissioners, athletic directors and coaches, voted to push back the start of the 2020-21 season,  which was originally slated to get underway Nov. 10, but will not get its start on Nov. 25. 

That's a relief to most coaches I have talked to around the SoCon, and unlike football, it was something the coaches were pretty much expecting. Most see the opportunity at Thanksgiving that while all the other students head home to stay, and will finish out the year doing course work online, it will give the opportunity for coaches and teams to stay on campus and create their own bubble so they can be extra conscientious towards health and safety of the student-athletes.

Testing is one of the things that will be imperative for each team, and unlike football, which has to test at or near 100 student-athletes before ever counting coaches, other staff members and university support staff, such as athletic trainers. Obviously, that kind of testing runs in the high-dollar range. For basketball, which usually travels 13 players at the most, four coaches, and maybe the SID, bus driver and Director of Athletics on occasion, the cost of daily testing Is much more manageable for mid-major college basketball programs than it is for mid-major college football programs.

With that being said, we know that there will be a lot of change to get used to heading into the 2020-21 season in the Southern Conference. This isn't likely going to be like the previous two seasons in terms of strength, however, this is is a season that will be seemingly no less fun as the previous two seasons. 

The Top 15 Players in the SoCon Entering 2020-21

1. G-Isaiah Miller (UNCG)-Miller is perhaps the most draftable player in all of mid-major basketball. His ball-handling skills and quickness on defense are only part of the whole package that Miller brings to the Spartans. The senior guard from Covington, GA, is the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year and has not only left a legacy on UNCG basketball, but also Southern Conference basketball. Other than Kyle Hines, Miller would be considered the best player in the history of Spartans basketball. Miller ranked second in the Southern Conference. 

Miller’s quickness and athleticism are as good as the SoCon has seen in its 100-year history. The 6-0 guard from Covington, GA., is a menace on the defensive end of the floor, and nearly unstoppable off the dribble on the offensive end of the floor with his tremendous quickness. His 241-career steals are a program record, while his 1,410 points rank him 10th in Spartan history in scoring. His 594 field goals in his career ranks him fourth in program history in that particular category. 

While his 17.8 PPG ranked him second in the SoCon in scoring last season, Miller’s 89 steals ranked him second overall in that category in the nation. Miller also topped the Spartans in assists last season, dishing out 100 total helpers on the campaign. He was one of three Spartans that started all 32 games during the 2019-20 campaign. 

One of his more impressive performances on a grand stage came early in the season in a decent performance by the Spartans against Kansas. Miller scored 17 of his 19 points in the opening half of play, helping the Spartans stay in the game at the half against the third-ranked team in the country, trailing just 

Miller had his best performance of the season last year against Mercer, as he scored a career-high 31 points and a UNCG single-game record nine steals in a win at Mercer. He had a double-double of 19 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in a win at Samford. Miller finished the season leading the Southern Conference with a season-high 12 gaames with 20 or more points. 

The one area that the senior continues to try and work on with his offensive game is his outside shooting. Miller was able to connect on just 23.5% () of his shots from three-point range last season. However, the strengths of the Spartan basketball team during this current era has never been its three-point shooting, as UNCG finished the 2019-20 season connecting on just 32.4% from three-point range last season, which ranked dead last in the SoCon. 

While Miller’s quickness and overall athleticism causes havoc for opponents on both ends of the floor, his supporting cast is good enough to help the Spartans not only win the Southern Conference, but once again be one of the top teams in mid-major basketball. 

2. G-Mason Faulkner (Western Carolina)-The Catamount point guard took the league by storm last season, recording two triple-doubles during the 2019-20 season, and without Carlos Dotson, a lot more will be asked of Faulkner. 

Faulkner is coming off what was an outstanding season for the Catamounts, as he finished with two triple-doubles for the Catamounts. That's believed to be the first time that's happened in program history. Faulkner has a chance to do something even bigger this season, which would be to lead Western Carolina to just its second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. 

Faulkner comes off a 2019-20 season, which saw him average 17.7 PPG and 6.0 RPG. Faulkner ended the season ranking third in the SoCon in scoring average, while his two triple-doubles during the season came against North Carolina A&T and Samford. Against the Aggies, Faulkner posted 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, to record the first triple-double in program history. The other triple-double came in a Southern Conference game against Samford, scoring 16 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out a career-high 12 assists. He finished the campaign by scoring in double figures in 27 of 31 games for the Catamounts last season. 

In the semifinal loss to East Tennessee State, Faulkner made a career-high 17 free throws. He finished ranking in the top 10 in seven different statistical categories. Faulkner, who will lead the point guard position this season once again, and was a first-team All-SoCon pick, as well as being selected to the all-tournament team in Asheville. 

3. F-Noah Gurley (Furman)--Noah Gurley has a chance to be one of the best players in the recent history of Furman basketball if he can finish out his next two seasons like he finished out his first two. His improvement--from post moves to his composure with the basketball--were the most noticeable aspects of that improvement of his game last season, and credit can be given to newly hired coach Tim Johnson, who was a major part of Gurley's improvement in the post from his freshman season. Other than UNCG's Isaiah Miller, Gurley is likely the league's top NBA prospect. He is cerebral and will be a key member of the Paladins' potential hopes of making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1980. 

Gurley will have a chance to compete for Southern Conference Player of the Year this coming season. Gurley was Furman’s most consistent player in the post last season, and one season working with Johnson, you could see the improvement in Gurley’s overall game, and that he was a much more polished player in the post, especially when it came to his post moves. 

The 6-8, 210-lb junior started all 32 games last season and finished the campaign by garnering third-team All-SoCon honors. In addition to his 14.3 PPG last season, Gurley also finished the season shooting a solid 53.4% (173-of-324) from the field and was also an effective 40.7% (24-of-59) from beyond the three-point stripe. He is one of the most versatile players in the Southern Conference with his ability to step out and shoot the three. 

He made 10 less three pointers than his redshirt freshman season in 2019-20, but he also shot a much higher efficiency from beyond the arc because his shot selection was so good, as he shot 49 less three-point shots, which is a testament to how much Johnson has worked with Gurley to perfect and round Gurley into the type player that has the basketball acumen and shot selection to know the difference between a good shot from three-point land and an ill-advised attempt. 

It’s just a small sample of a much broader effect of how much Johnson has helped Gurley become the kind of player that can become even more of a force in the SoCon in his final two years of eligibility. The Fayetteville, GA, product scored a career-high 29 points on an 11-for-14 shooting perforrmance in a win over USC Upstate at Timmons Arena last Decemeber. 

Against Auburn, though he didn’t score 29 points, Gurley offered perhaps his most improessive performance of the season, as he posted 21 points and eight boards in the 81-78 overtime loss for the Paladins. In that contest, he connected on 8-of-17 shots from the field, 2-of-4 from three-point range, and was 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. Gurley had six performances in which he scored 20 or more points in 2019-20. 

4. F-Clay Mounce (Furman)--Clay Mounce is another important piece to Furman's potential NCAA Tournament hopes for the 2020-21 season, and it's Mounce's leadership that will be key the Paladins' championship hopes. , and he might have been Furman’s best all-around performer on both ends of the floor last season. 

The Elkin, N.C., native appeared in all 32 games last season, logging 29 starts. Mounce saw his scoring average improve by 2.5 PPG last season, and connected on six more three-pointers, however, saw his foul shooting decrease from 75% as a sophomore to 60% as a junior.

Mounce finished the 2019-20 campaign connecting on a team-best 39.1% (59-of-151) from three-point range. His 59 triples ranked third on the team in three-pointers made last season, and his 39.1% shooting clip from long range ranked Mounce fifth overall in the SoCon in three-point shooting. 

In terms of free throw shooting, Mounce completed the 2019-20 season connecting on 48-of-80 free throws, which covered to just a 60% shooting clip from the charity stripe. During his sophomore campaign, Mounce had shot the ball much more effectively from the line, as he was a 75% shooter from the charity stripe, connecting on 33-of-44 foul shots. The good news for Mounce is that his offensive game was much more aggressive last season, leading to more foul shot attempts. That number should only increase this season with Mounce again looking to be one of Furman’s primary scorers, and especially should with the graduation of Lyons. 

He comes into his senior season needing 76 points (924 pts) to reach 1,000 points for his career. He is shooting the ball extremely well from three-point range for his career to this point, connecting on 38.7% (117-of-302) for his career from three. Mounce finished the season with 25 double-figure scoring performances, and posted four games scoring 20 or more points. 

He enjoyed two of  better performances of the season against both at The Citadel and vs. Loyola-Chicago, scoring 22 points in each of those contests. Mounce’s top performance of the season came on the road in a win at Samford, as he connected on 9-of-12 shots from the field and 5-of-7 from three-point range. 

Mounce proved to be one of Furman’s top defenders on the season, as he posted 21 blocks and also posted a team-high 49 steals. His 21 blocks ranked third on the squad, while his 49 steals (1.5 SPG) ranked him fourth overall in the SoCon. The rising senior forward also dished out 66 assists last season, which ranked third on the squad, and his 51.6% (157-of-304) field goal percentage ranked third on the team. 

Wofford senior guard Storm Murphy

5. G-Storm Murphy (Wofford)--Murphy has shown himself to be one of the premier point guards in all of mid-major basketball, and he is obviously known for the big shots he has made in his career for the Terriers. Murphy was certainly a major reason the Terriers found themselves in the SoCon title game last season, with his jumper from the top of the key with time winding down against Chattanooga, helping the Terriers into Monday might's championship game against East Tennessee State.

Murphy follows in a great line of point guard success the Terrier basketball program has enjoyed over the years, with guys like Eric Garcia (2013-16), Brad Loesing (2008-11) and Drew Gibson (2004-07), having all turned in successful careers at the point guard position for the Terriers, and the Wisconsin native Murphy has a chance to put his name in rare company with a big senior season. 

“Murphy is the consummate Wofford player that on and off the court he leads, he does the right things, he works his tail off and he’s a killer when you need him to be a killer,” McAuley said. 

Murphy has been just the “killer” Wofford has needed throughout his career, which dates back to early in his career as a Terrier. As a sophomore a couple of years ago, the Terriers needed Murphy to be a “killer” in wins against Samford and Furman back in 2018-19. His three-pointer at the buzzer against Samford helped Wofford survive the Bulldogs in overtime, while his three-pointer with 18 seconds left a couple of nights later helped Wofford hold off a tough Furman team for a 59-54 win at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.

Murphy’s game-winner against Chattanooga in the SoCon Tournament semifinals only added to his legendary status of making big shots in big moments for the Terriers. 

The 6-0 point guard from Middleton, WI., started all 34 games he played in last season for the Terriers In total, he has started 67 of 68 games he has played in over the past two seasons, and has started 96 of 102 cames in his Wofford career. 

One of the biggest advantages of having a guy like Storm Murphy on the floor is his threat as a three-point shooter. For his career, Murphy is a 42.5% shooter from three-point range, having connected on 155-of-365 three-point attempts over his first three seasons as a Terrier. Last season, Murphy connected on 42.1% (64-of-152) from three-point land.

Murphy had one of his best games of the season in early non-conference win over High Point, as he posted 26 points in a big home win. Murphy finished the campaign ranking fifth in the SoCon in assist/turnover ratio (1.6), and his 42.1% clip from three-point range put him second among the league’s best long-range shooters. His 3.6 assists-per-game ranked him sixth in assists-per-game, while his 121 assists for the season ranked him fourth overall in the SoCon last season.

6. G-Ross Cummings (Mercer)--Ross Cummings is one of the players that as a basketball fan, I missed watching play in the Southern Conference last season. His cleverness on the basketball court is something that is really something that separates him from a lot of players in mid-major basketball. He has to have that cleverness coming off screens to get his shot off, as he is the focal point of a lot of team's defensively because of how lethal a shooter he has proven to be for the Bears in recent seasons. 

Cummings missed all but six games during the 2019-20 season as a result of a back injury. Cummings is quite simply one of the most underrated players in the Southern Conference, and one of the most underrated shooters in all of mid-major basketball. The Dickson, TN., native has one last chance to realize his dreams and a chance at not only a Southern Conference title, but a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years, and for just the fourth time in program history. 

Cummings came into what was supposed to be his senior season in 2019-20 as a preseason All-SoCon selection, and though he saw action in just six contests last season, he did manage to score a season-high 16 points in a loss to in-state rival Georgia Southern. 

Prior to encountering his injuries that proved to be too much to overcome last season, Cummings played through the pain in 2018-19 and in the process, came of age as a player. The Volunteer State native led the Bears in scoring, at 17.4 PPG, and that scoring average ranked sixth overall in the Southern Conference and average was en route to a breakout campaign for the Bears. 

In Southern Conference play as a junior, Cummings was even more impressive, having posted 19.9 PPG in league games. In an early February loss at home to Furman (L, 63-74) during the 2018-19 campaign, Cummings had just notched his 14th-straight game in double figures, however, what made his play down the stretch that season that no one knew about was the fact that he was playing through an extreme degree of pain.

Following that Feb. 2 loss to the Paladins as a junior, I was able to catch up with former head coach Bob Hoffman. The normally articulate head coach couldn’t find enough words or even a word with all the needed words combined to describe the toughness of Cummings, yet he gave it his best shot.  

“He’s been amazing...he plays probably too many minutes...(trails off in thought with a half-grin)...you just can’t sub him because you never know when he’s going to be open and can hit a three and you hate to miss those opportunities for him because he’s playing at such a high level and our guys have done a tremendous job of running plays and getting stuff and we keep trying to experiment and keep trying to figure out new things, but he’s walked right into it and he’s getting guarded completely different (as a junior in 2018-19) than he did last year (as a sophomore in 2017-18) and Furman put a lot of length on him, but he was still able to get loose a little bit,” Hoffman said.

7. G-LeDarrius Brewer (East Tennessee State)--With so much turnover within the East Tennessee State squad that won 30 games just last season, the Bucs will need to get a big first season out of LeDarrius Brewer if the Bucs won't to once again be a factor in the Southern Conference championship race. Brewer is a pure scoring threat, and will remind Bucs fans of the style of player that TJ Cromer once was when he starred for ETSU. 

LeDarrius Brewer came to ETSU from Southeast Missouri State, where he averaaged 13.6 PPG and 4.2 RPG for SEMO in two seasons with the Redhawks. He will provide an instant scoring presence in the backcourt for the Bucs, and will likely contend for newcomer of the year honors in the Southern Conference during the 2020-21 season. 

Brewer was a dynamic scorer during his time as a Redhawk. He started 49 of 59 games during his career playing inside the Ohio Valley Conference. In a game against Eastern Illinois  back on Feb. 15, 2018, LeDarrius Brewer poured in a career performance in a win over Eastern Illinois, posting 34 points and went an impressive 7-of-10 from three-point range in the contest.

During his two campaigns at SEMO, LeDarrius Brewer scored 805 points and racked up 118 three-pointers, as he shot 40% from the field (277-of-689), 34% from beyond the arc (277-of-689), and 74% (133-of-180) from the free throw line during his career at SEMO. As a freshman during the 2017-18 season, Brewer was named the Ohio Valley Conference All-Newcomer Team.

Brewer is like earmarked for a starting wing, and the 6-5 wing is athletic and is a prolific scorer. In his final season with SEMO, Brewer averaged 13.6 PPG and 4.2 RPG. I am looking forward to seeing him suit up in the Blue and Gold in 2020-21. 

8. G-Matt Halvorsen (Western Carolina)--If you watched the SoCon for any length of time in your lifetime like I have, you'll notice that year-in and year-out, the league is stacked with great perimeter threats. Western Carolina's Matt Halvorsen fits that mold of player to a "T". Halvorsen will look to expand his game and influence as a scorer beyond just the three-point line this season, as he is one of three starters returning for Mark Prosser's Catamounts for the 2020-21 campaign. 

 Halvorsen, a native of Kingsport, TN., is coming off a solid season, which saw him finish in double figures in 12 games last season, including posting a season-best 21 points in a Senior Day, 96-84, win over The Citadel. Halvorsen connected on 7-of-12 shots from the field, and was 5-for-10 from three-point range in the contest. 

For the season, Halvorsen finished as one of the league’s most-prolific three-point threats, as he ended up connecting on 40.2% (78-of-194) from three-point land last season. For his career, Halvorsen is shooting the ball extremely well from three-point range, connecting on 37.5 (214-of-587) for his career. 

Halvorsen will end his career as one of the top perimeter shooters to ever wear the Purple and Gold, and will once again be a pivotal part of the plans offensively for the Catamounts. With the graduation of Onno Steger, Halvorsen will now be the primary perimeter shooter. Halvorsen finished the season  hitting 2.5 three-point field goals per game, which ranked him sixth in the SoCon in that category. His 32.5 minutes-per-game last season ranked eighth in the SoCon and second overall on the team last season.

9. F/C-Jalen Dupree (Samford)--Jalen Dupree is one of the premier big men in the Southern Conference, and he will likely be new head coach Bucky McMillan's go-to-player in the paint this season. 

The 6-8, 235-lb redshirt senior from Cordova, TN, had a good initial season for the Bulldogs after transferring in from Murray State.  He was the only one of Samford’s players to start all 33 games last season.  Dupree finished the season with a team-high 243 total rebounds and rebounds-per-game (7.4 RPG). His 11.1 PPG ranked fourth on the team in scoring. 

Dupree is big and athletic, and also finished the campaign connecting on 51.6% (133-of-258) of his shots from the field, and also finished the 2019-20 campaign with an impressive 82.2% (86-of-105) clip from the charity stripe.  Dupree recorded five double-doubles in his first season for the Bulldogs. He posted career-highs of 23 points in games at both Furman and at Houston Baptist, while corraling a career-best 14 rebounds in a game at Wofford. 

Prior to coming Samford, Dupree started his career at Murray State playing for head coach and former SoCon and Appalachian State star guard Matt McMahon. While playing for the two seasons for the Racers, Dupree played in 27 games, averaging 4.0 PPG and 2.9 RPG. In his freshman season of 2016-17, Dupree scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against UT-Martin.

During his sophomore campaign at Murray State in 2017-18, Dupree saw action in a total of 25 contests, making starts in 17 of those games.  He finished his sophomore season averaging 6.6 PPG and 4.7 RPG. 

10. G-David Jean-Baptiste (Chattanooga)--David Jean=Baptiste is the leading returning scorer for the Mocs following the graduation of Matt Ryan and the loss of big manRamon Vila, who has decided to return to Barcelona, Spain to turn pro. 

Jean-Baptiste started all 33 games for the Mocs last season, and the member of the Haitian National Team is the leader of this bsketball team in every sense of the word. He completed the season with three performances in which he scored 20 or more points. Jean-Baptiste scored a career-high 25 points in a win over the Jaguars. 

Jean-Baptiste also scored 20 points in what was an 85-80 homecourt loss to Mercer. The senior from Miami, FL, also posted 21 points in the 78-68 upset win over UNC Greensboro in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament. 

In the 2020-21 season, Jean-Baptiste needs just 75 more points to reach 1,000 points for his career, 24 rebounds to reach 300 for his career, 43 assists to reach 250 for his career, and 23 steals to reach 100 for his Mocs career. 

All told last season, Jean-Baptiste scored in double figures in 22 games and finished the season with a total of 417 points. As a perimeter threat for the Mocs last season, the 6-1 guard shot 35.3% from three-point range, connecting on 54-of-153 shots from long-range. His 54 triples last season were second to only Matt Ryan’s 88 triples last season.

11. G-Kaleb Hunter (UNC Greensboro)--Kaleb Hunter has been one of the more underrated guards in the Southern Conference over the past couple of seasons, but was the Spartans' second-leading scorer in the 2019-20 season after battling some injuries early on. 

Hunter has come into his own in the Spartans backcourt, and is ready for a breakout year for the Spartans. Hunter was a SoCon All-Freshman selection two years ago, and an argument could be made that Hunter was a snub as an All-SoCon performer last season. He finished the 2019-20 season starting 24 out of 27 games for the Spartans last season. In the loss to Kansas, Hunter turned in one of his best performances in the loss to Kansas, posting 17 points and 12 rebounds. 

Hunter is a solid three-point shooter and finished the season connecting on 20-of-65 shots from three-point range, which converted to 30.8% shooting from the field. Hunter will look to be even more of a scorer for the  Spartans this season, and he is versatile enough to score in a variety of different ways. 

Furman point guard Alex Hunter

12. G-Alex Hunter (Furman)--From UNCG's Kaleb Hunter to another one of the SoCon's most underrated guards, in Furman point guard Alex Hunter. Alex Hunter is a player that takes excellent care of the basketball. In fact, no one in the Southern Conference took better care of the basketball last season. unter has been outstanding and poised throughout his career handling the point guard position for the Paladins. Hunter has been the starter at the point guard position each of the past three years, and has been the go-to-guy at the point guard spot ever since the graduation of John Davis III.

Hunter should end his career as one of the best ever to don a Paladin uniform. The 5-11, 175-lb native of Raleigh, N.C., will likely be encouraged to be a bit more of a scorer as a senior, because when Hunter is on from three-point range, he has the potential to go off for a big night. 

He saw action in all 32 games last season, logging 31 starts. The lone game Hunter did not start was Furman’s big win on the road at UNC Greensboro. Hunter’s poise and ability to distribute the basketball, while also helping facilitate Furman’s motion offense like a well-oiled machine. In fact, it was because of Hunter that the Paladins ranked as one of the most efficient offenses in the country, according to KenPom. 

Hunter finished out the 2019-20 season committing just 37 turnovers in over 1,000 minutes of court action, and he completed the campaign ranking third in the nation in assist/turnover ratio, with a 3.55 ratio. Hunter completed the 2019-20 campaign with 15 double-figure performances. Hunter’s  top performance of the campaign was in a road win at Western Carolina (82-73), posting 21 points. He finished the contest going 7-of-11 from the field, including going 5-for-7 from three-point range. His 21-point performance in the 82-73 win over the Catamounts in February. 

Hunter finished the campaign with a team-best 117 helpers during the 2019-20 season, which also ranked fifth in the SoCon for assists-per-game. Naturally, Hunter led the SoCon in assist/turnover ratio. As a three-point threat last season, Hunter connected on 64-of-182 attempts from long range, completing the campaign with a 35.2% shooting clip from long range. 

As a free throw shooter, Hunter shot 66.7% (22-of-33) from the charity stripe, and shot 42% (101-of-239) from the field last season. His 1,026 minutes played were the second-most on the team last season, which computes to an average of 32.1 minutes-per-game. 

For his career, Hunter heads into his senior season with 688 points in his Paladin career with 262 helpers in his career, where he ranks just outside the top 15 in school history in the career assists category. He needs just nine assists to surpass former Paladin point guard Terry McGann to move into the top 15. Hunter is the key to whether or not the Paladins end up cutting down the nets in Asheville or not.

Hunter finished the 2019-20 season averaging 8.9 PPG and 3.7 APG. 

13. G-Jeff Gary (Mercer)--Jeff Gary was seemingly the ‘x-factor’ when he stepped into the lineup for the Bears last season, and from the time he became eligible for action, it was clear that his shooting ability is an aspect of his game team’s had to be prepared for.

Gary became eligible just before the start of Southern Conference play, and played in 22 contests, with 20 starts. Gary is the nephew of head coach Greg Gary, and ended up also helping make up for some of the scoring and shooting slack left as a result of not having Cummings in the lineup. 

Like Cummings, Gary is capable of outstanding shooting performances. His eight three-point field goals in a win over Samford helped the then junior set a Hawkins Arena record, while his 32 points were a career-high. 

Gary finished the season third on the team in three-point field goal percentage, as he finished the campaign by connecting on 48-of-123 attempts from three-point land. Gary finished the campaign with 13 double-figure scoring performances, He finished his first season in Macon averaging 11.5 PPG and 2.3 RPG.

14. F-Ty Brewer(ETSU)--The other player that could pay immediate dividends for the Bucs this season is Ty Brewer, who was granted a waiver by the NCAA and will be allowed to play right away. He's a t power forward, similar to guys like Phil Powe and Zakee Wadood served ETSU on past teams. He’s similar athletically to Hodges, with much more power and better size. Hodges spent a large majority of his career in an ETSU uniform playing out of position, however.

The 6-7, 210-lb power forward will have two years of eligibility remaining in an ETSU uniform. In 57-career games for the Lions prior to his arrival at ETSU, Ty Brewer totaled 563 points, 313 rebounds, 56 steals in 31-career starts with the Lions. 

As a sophomore last season, Brewer started 28 of 31 games for the Lions last season, and perhaps the most impressive his game last season was his field goal percentage, as he finished the season ranking fifth in the Southland in that particular category, completing the campaign by averaging 23.3 PPG against power five programs Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma State last season. He finished the season averaging 14.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG and 1.5 SPG last season.

ETSU fans are going to love Ty Brewer’s overall athleticism, and his ability to be physical in the paint. With the waiver of eligibility now granted,  the Bucs have added roughly 30 ppg between he and his brother LeDarrius.

15. F/C-Hayden Brown (The Citadel)--Brown, a redshirt junior from Greer, S.C., has shown up big in big games over and over again for The Citadel in his career. Despite seeing action in only six games for the Bulldogs last season,  he turned in two of the best individual performances 

In an early-season matchup against Georgia, Brown posted 26 points in a game he kept The Citadel in the entire way before losing by nine on the road. 

In the loss to Georgia, The Citadel was 8-of-14 from the field and was 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.  In The Citadel’s Southern Conference opener against East Tennessee State, Brown kept the Bulldogs around for much of the night, as he played through injury. He finished the night with 12 points and five boards. 

Though Brown saw action in only six games last season, he scored in double figures in four of those games for the Bulldogs. Brown also posted 18 points in a loss to Campbell last season. He made five starts in those six games for the Bulldogs last season. 

It pretty much goes without saying that with Brown in the lineup last season, The Citadel likely wouldn’t have gone winless in SoCon play. He will be a huge difference-maker heading into the 2020-21 season, and like Spence, is 100% healthy again and ready to contribute for a full season for the Bulldogs.  Brown will also likely be the Bulldogs’ best shooter from the perimeter this season, and comes into the 2020-21 campaign with 35 triples. 

Appealing Non-Conference Games:

Kyle Lofton (Photo courtesy of St. Bonaventure athletics)

The non-conference slate for everyone has remained a rather fluid situation, with some teams losing games and some truly great games have been lost from the non-conference had the season not been affected by COVID-19.

That being said, there are still some appetizing games to look forward to for the 2020-21 campaign. The shift to start the season on Nov. 25 has led many coaches scramble to try and put together a schedule in a limited amount of time. 

But while matchups like Furman at Louisville or ETSU at Mississippi State are still not on the docket for the 2020-21 season, there are still some intriguing matchups to look forward to. Below are just a few.

St. Bonaventure at Furman (TBD)--While preseason Southern Conference favorite Furman won't be facing off against Loyola-Chicago for a third-straight season, what we will have is an intriguing clash between Furman and St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies will be making the trip to Greenville and Timmons Arena on a date to be determined. 

The Bonnies play in the best mid-major conference in the country, in the Atlantic 10, although many now consider the A-10 as a high-major conference. The Bonnies are under the direction of Mark Schmidt, who heads into his 14th season at the helm of the program located in Olean, N.Y. The two programs have faced off against each other on one other occasion, as the Paladins and Bonnies met back in the 1997 San Juan Shootout in San Juan Puerto Rico. In that particular meeting, the Jim Baron-led Bonnies were able to post what was a 58-46 win over the Larry Davis-led Paladins. 

The Bonnies will be a tough test for the Paladins, as St. Bonaventure is coming off a 19-12 season last year and an 11-7 mark in A-10 play, which was good enough to see the Bonnies tie for fifth in the A-10 standings. 

Even more encouraging for the Bonnies heading into the 2020-21 season is the fact that all five starters return to the fold for the 2020-21 season, led by junior guard Kyle Lofton, who is coming off quite a 2019-20 campaign, as he averaged 14.1 PPG and 6.0 APG. Lofton will team with arguably the top backcourts in the A-10, teaming with both Dominick Welch (11.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG) and Jaron English ().

The Bonnies will be one of the favorites in the Atlantic 10 in 2020-21 and will likely be a favorite to make an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bonnies will likely be the best team to visit Timmons Arena in the 2020-21 season.. 

UAB at East Tennessee State (Dec. 12, 2020)--Another excellent mid-major matchup will be between East Tennessee State and UAB. The Blazers are coming off a 19-13 record, which included a 9-9 record in Conference USA. The Blazers are a perennial contender in a good mid-major league, however, the SoCon was the higher ranked conference last season, according to KenPom.  

After 19 and 20 wins in successive campaigns, Robert Ehsan was let go at UAB, making way for the arrival of a pretty big hire, as former Ole Miss coach and SEC color commentator. Now he’s back in the coaching game, and he takes over a program with a lot of promise going forward. The Blazers have a proud basketbal program, and this will be one of the more intriguing non-conference matchups in the SoCon. 

The Blazers bring back three starters for the 2020-21 season, which includes leading scorer Tavin Logan, who finished out the 2019-20 season averaging 13.0 PPG and started all 32 games for the Blazers last season. The 6-4 rising junior guard posted a career-high 25 points on 10 field goals in a game against Middle Tennessee State last season.

Also returning to the fold for Kennedy in his inaugural season at the helm of the UAB basketball program are senior guard Tyreek Scott-Grayson (10.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG), as well as sophomore point guard Jalen Benjamin (11.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG). Georgia Southern graduate transfer Quan Jackson, as well as senior 7-0 senior center Trey Jamison, who will be eligible immediately.

The meeting between the Bucs and Blazers will mark the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs, with the Blazers holding a 3-0 all-time series edge. The original meeting in the series came way back in the 1985-86 season, with the Blazers getting a 63-44 win over the Les Robinson-led Bucs in Birmingham. 

In the last meeting, which obviously had some emotional tie-ins for former ETSU head coach Murry Bartow, whose father, Gene Bartow, who posted a 366-203 record in 18 seasons at the helm of the Blazers basketball program, which included helping UAB to 14 postseason appearances, including nine NCAA Tournament appearances, the Bucs were hammered by the Blazers, 74-52, during the 2009-10 season.

Javote Smart (photo courtesy LSU athletics)

Mercer at LSU (Dec. 13, 2020)--For the fourth-straight season, a team for the Southern Conference will take on the LSU Tigers. Few will forget what happened last season when a team from the SoCon faced LSU, as East Tennessee State made easy work of the Bayou Bengals, getting a 74-63 win at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mercer was one of the few teams to defeat the Bucs last season, and head coach Greg Gary has a talented core of players returning for the 2020-21 season.

The Tigers are under the direction of head coach Will Wade, and the Tigers bring back three starters, led by junior guard Javonte Smart (12.2 PPG, 4.2 APG). The leading returning scorer for the Tigers is 6-9 forward Trendon Watford (13.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG). Watford has scored in double figures in 25 games last season, which included a 26-point outburst against Vanderbilt. Darius Days is the third returning starter for the Tigers, and he comes off a season which saw him average 11.1 PPG and 6.8 RPG. 

It will mark the third all-time meeting between the Bears and Tiger, with LSU owning a 2-0 lead in the all-time series between the two.