Furman to take part in Vegas Showdown

Furman to take part in Vegas Showdown

GREENVILLE, S.C.--Now that the 2024-25 roster for Furman has been filled, it's time to start preparing for the upcoming campaign, and over the next couple of months, portions of the slate will be released.

Having already competed in ESPN Events tournaments each of the past two seasons, taking part in the Charleston Classic a couple of years ago, and last season, and taking part in the Myrtle Beach Invitational in the 2023-24 campaign, head coach Bob Richey and the Furman Paladins will set their sights towards the west this season, as the Paladins will take part in the Las Vegas Showdown, which of course, is also sponsored by ESPN Events.

On Nov. 26, 2024, the Paladins will battle Seattle University prior to what figures to be a much anticipated Top 10 clash between college basketball blue bloods Duke and Kansas. The Paladins will face off against Kansas the following Wednesday night at historic Phog Allen Fieldhouse in what will be the second all-time meeting between the two programs.

Seattle will face Duke on Nov. 29 as a part of the Vegas Showdown, with that game slated to take place at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tip-off times for all games will be announced at a later date.

The Paladins, which return three starters from a team that finished 17-16 last season, and has won 198 games since the start of the 2015-16 season, has never faced off against the Seattle Redhawks on the college basketball hardwood. The 198 wins by Furman over that span are tied with UNC Greensboro for the most wins over the past nine seasons. The Paladins were 10-8 in Southern Conference play, which was good enough for fifth in the final standings--it's lowest finish in the league since 2014-15. 

Furman won its quarterfinal matchup over No. 4 Western Carolina (W, 79-76) in overtime at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville before dropping an 84-77 contest to eventual tournament champion and top seed Samford in the SoCon semifinals the following day to conclude the 2023-24 campaign. 

The Redhawks are coming off a 23-14 campaign, winning the College Basketball Invitational (CBI), with a 77-67 championship game win over High Point. The 23-win campaign last season marked a third-straight 20 win season for the Redhawks under the direction of head coach Chris Victor. 

The Redhawks posted an 11-9 mark in the WAC this past season, which was good enough for a fourth place finish in the league standings. The Redhawks' pursuit of a WAC Tournament title would come to an end at the hands of eventual conference tournament champion and NCAA Tournament participant Grand Canyon, who handed the Redhawks an 80-72 setback in the semifinal round of the Hercules Tires WAC Tournament. 

Like Furman's Bob Richey, who has posted an impressive 156-70 record, Southern Conference regular-season and tournament titles (2022-23), and an NCAA Tournament appearance and win (2023) over the past seven seasons, Victor has made his mark as one of the young and upcoming head coaches at the mid-major level. Victor sports an impressive 169-74 record in eighth seasons as a head coach, which includes a 66-35 record in three seasons as the head coach of the Redhawks. 

Seattle plays as a member of the Western Athletic Conference, which includes the likes of Stephen F. Austin, Grand Canyon and Abilene Christian, who are some teams that have made some recent noise in the NCAA Tournament. 

The Paladins faced WAC member Stephen F. Austin back during the 2022-23 season, holding off the Lumberjacks for a 72-70 win at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville. 

The Redhawks are a team on the rise in college basketball, yet remain in search of their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1969. 

However, with its rise in the ranks the past three seasons, a return to the heyday of the 1960s for Redhawks basketball seems a lot closer now than it did just a few years ago. The Redhawks made six NCAA Tournament appearances in the 1960s, including a run to the Sweet Sixteen in 1964. 

The Redhawks (once referred to as the "Chieftains") have made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, which includes making the 1958 national championship game, where they would drop an 84-72 decision to Kentucky at Freedom Hall in Louisville. 

The Redhawks were NCAA Division I members from 1946-80 before budget problems forced the program to ultimately re-classify as NAIA in 1980. The Redhawks would spend 28 years getting back to the Division I level, competing in the NCAA Division II Tournament just once in 2007 before progressing back to Division I in 2008, which is where they have been ever since. 

Like most every successful mid-major program, the Redhawks were bitten by the transfer portal bug, however, also utilized the portal to bring in some talent that should contribute right away. 

The Redhawks must replace their top two scorers from a year ago, in Cameron Tyson (17.9 PPG) and Alex Schumacher (13.5 PPG), who were at the center of the team's overall success and ultimate CBI championship winning team last season. 

In addition to replacing those two guards, the Redhawks also must replace 6-10 junior forward Brandon Chatfield (9.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG), who transferred to Iowa State for his final season of eligibility. 

The good news for the Redhawks heading into the 2024-25 season is John Christofillis (12.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG) returns as part of the backcourt for the 2024-25 season, and he started 25 of the 28 games he logged action in last season. 

The other returning starter to the fold for the 2024-25 season is Melbourne, Australia native and rising senior Kobe Williamson. The 6-8 forward started 28 of 37 games for the Redhawks last season, averaging 8.9 PPG and 5.7 RPG. 

A neat sidebar to the matchup is the fact that Furman's 6-11 Charles Johnston (Cal State Monterrey Bay), which is a key acquisition from the transfer portal, also hails from the Australia, having grown up in the capital city of Sydney. 

The Redhawks also addressed some needs in the transfer portal, bringing in 6-3 guard Maleek Arlington from Idaho State and Dasean Stephens from Mount Jacinto College in Mt. Jacinto California. Both will likely be immediate impact players for the Redhawks this coming season. 

Arlington averaged 12.3 PPG as a member of the Idaho State Bengals last season, while dishing out 5.0 assists-per-game, pulling down 3.5 rebounds-per-game, and posting 2.3 steals-per-contest.

Stevens averaged 21.0 PPG as a freshman and 21.5 PPG as a sophomore at San Jacinto College. Both guards will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Another potential impact player in the low-post in 2024-25 is Matthew Alexander-Moncrieffe, who transfers in from the University of Georgia with one year of eligibility remaining. 

Moncrieffe appeared in 44 games during his time with the Bulldogs over two seasons, averaging 3.9 PPG and 4.0 RPG. Prior to transferring to Georgia, Alexander-Moncrieffe spent two seasons at Oklahoma State. 

When Furman meets the Jayhawks at Phog Allen Fieldhouse on November 30, it will mark just the second all-time meeting between the two programs. The Paladins and Jayhawks will be meeting on the hardwood for the first time since Dec. 21, 1993, when the Jayhawks posted what was a 101-60 win over the Paladins at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. 

The Jayhawks have met several Southern Conference teams of late on the college hoops hardwood, including this past March, as the Jayhawks picked up what was a narrow 93-89 win over Southern Conference champion Samford. 

The Jayhawks have faced SoCon members Wofford (2018), East Tennessee State (2019) and of course, Samford in the NCAA Tournament this past season. 

Furman in ESPN Events Tournaments

Charleston Classic (1-2) (Nov. 17-20, 2022)

vs Penn State, L (68-73)

vs. Old Dominion, L (77-82)

vs. South Carolina, W (79-60)

Myrtle Beach Invitational (1-2) (Nov. 16-19, 2023)

vs. Liberty, L (74-88)

at Coastal Carolina, W (89-80)

vs. Wyoming, L (71-78)