Though it's the acoustic version, the song has been an element of player introductions for the past three seasons, and this season it's taken on more meaning with even a bit of a subtle message after Furman was picked fifth in the preseason by the league's head coaches and by various preseason publications.
Depending on what preseason publication you subscribe to, the Paladins were thought as a middle-of-the-pack Southern Conference team under eighth-year head coach Bob Richey (162-71), who helped the Paladins return to the NCAA Tournament following a 43-year absence just two years ago, and not only that, the Paladins had a first-round win over Virginia (W, 68-67).
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Richey has been in the lab with his pen and pad putting together a formula to try and correct last season's title defense woes. Furman now looks like a completely different team than it did a year ago and Richey might just be doing his best coaching job yet, however, most like the song says of Dr. Dre, forgot about Furman.
The reasoning behind the consensus low rankings for Furman? Well, for one the Furman basketball program seemed to be one without many on or off-the-court flaws for seven years until in its first year defending its Southern Conference title, the Paladins met with adversity. The preseason pick to repeat stumbled to a 17-16 season and worst finish in the league since the 2014-15 season, as the Paladins finished fifth in 2023-24.
With 71.5% of its scoring lost (56.5 PPG of 79.4 PPG) from a year ago to the transfer portal, Furman had very little left over from the team that knocked off the No. 4 seed Virginia Cavaliers in Orlando, including the silencer himself--point guard JP Pegues--who led the Paladins in scoring at 18.4 PPG and had he returned, would have been the favorite to claim the SoCon Player of the Year honor.
Richey, who has somehow never won SoCon Coach of the Year Award in eight years, despite more wins than any other coach in the league over that span and an NCAA Tournament appearance, was forced to answer a lot of questions he wasn't accustomed to doing in his previous tenure as a head coach, which is navigate the transfer portal for multiple players.
Furman had brought in three players from the portal in his seven previous seasons, and one of those had already come and gone, as Carter Whitt decided to spend his final season in Nashville with Belmont.
Richey and staff hit the portal hard looking for the right pieces to fix the puzzle that somehow got badly damaged last season in the afterglow of the best team in program history. After having set a Southern Conference single-season record two years ago with 401 three-pointers three years ago and connected on 34.4% and 340 threes in the championship campaign of 2022-23, the Paladins major issue offensively was its lack of shooting ability from the perimeter.
Perimeter shooting he would find, with the Paladins featuring four players currently shooting 50% or better from three-point range this season, including all three portal additions. In fact, Furman has a total of five players shooting 40% or better from three-point land this season.
Furman's motion offense is majorly influenced by spacing by creating space through ball movement, high ball screens, and most importantly, cutting off the ball. In fact, Furman's team creates more by what others sacrifice by screening and cutting on actions off the ball than anyone ever does with the basketball. Furman, which had shot no worse than 34% from three-point range in any season under Richey, stumbled to just 32.4% on 320-of-988 shooting from long range last season.
Furman now heads to the High Desert to face off against Seattle (2-3) in what will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. It will also be likely one of the Paladins' toughest challenges to-date, with Seattle having been an emerging mid-major in recent seasons.
The Paladins sit atop the SoCon in the early portions of the season for three primary reasons: They have shot the ball light’s out through the first three games, have played excellent defense, and have showcased great depth.
When I say the Paladins are shooting the ball well, I mean particularly from three-point range, as the Paladins currently head into Thanksgiving Week ranking 13th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (41.9%), while ranking ninth nationally in effective field goal percentage (60.8%). In terms of Furman showcasing its depth, the Paladins currently rank 28th nationally in bench scoring (35.2 PPG), which is the best the Paladins have been in Richey’s eighth season at the helm.
Defensively, the Paladins currently rank 14th nationally in scoring defense (58.3 PPG), holding three opponents to less than 50 points through the first six games of the season. Two of those foes have been non-Division I foes, in wins over Ogelthorpe (W, 124-48) and Columbia International (W, 104-46), however, Furman’s best defensive performance of the season came against NCAA Division I competition, as the Paladins held Charleston Southern to just 46 points, which was the lowest total for an NCAA Division I opponent since Feb. 7, 2019, when the Paladins were able to limit Western Carolina to just 45 points in what was a 64-45 road win.
Furman limited the Bucs to just 31.5% shooting for the game in Saturday afternoon’s blowout win. The Paladins currently rank 32nd nationally in field goal percentage defense (36.9%) and third nationally defending the three, as the Paladins are allowing opponents to shoot just 21.5% (29-of-135) from three-point land this season.
While PJay Smith Jr. (21.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.0 SPG) has been Furman’s top player this season, they have shown to be a comprehensive team in terms of scoring distribution this season. The Paladins have six players averaging eight or more points per game and seven averaging over 6.0 PPG. Smith Jr. is the two-time reigning SoCon Player of the Week, and he has scored in double figures in all five games in which he has logged action this season. One of the reasons most of those publications gave as a reasoning for Furman's fall was its lack of a true point guard. Smith has quickly put that question to bed.
It’s always tough to know exactly how portal players will be in the overall equation, but Furman has picked some good ones when it comes to being selective of players that fits coach Richey’s overall team identity. Guards Nick Anderson (11.0 PPG, 2.8 PPG) and Tom House (9.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG) have been a pair of players that have given the Paladins a boost offensively, with both showing maturity and shooting ability.
Taking a chance on 6-11 forward Charles Johnston (10.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG) has been absolutely a great decision. The native of Sydney, Australia, by way of Cal State Monterey Bay has been outstanding this season for the Paladins, which includes a 25-point effort in a big Furman home win over Jacksonville. He went 8-of-9 from the field and was an impressive 4-of-5 from three-point land.
As important as Furman's newcomers have been, it's been a core that features three players that were instrumental in that championship run of two years ago that have been vital to Furman's strong start. Garrett Hien (9.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 3.3 APG), who scored seven points and nabbed maybe the biggest steal and subsequent assist in Furman history, has been a big reason for Furman's success. Tyrese Hughey (5.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG) and Ben VanderWal (4.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG) have given the Paladins two glue guys that have been through plenty of battles and have more often than not, come out on the right side of the battle when confronted with adversity.
In Hien, the Paladins have an x-factor type player, and it's not his scoring, rebounding, or defending that are as important to the team as his passing. Hien prides himself on being a good passer and his skill at being able to slice apart a defense with one pass is perhaps the thing that makes him a player work so seamlessly at times. His strong start is why Furman is 6-0.
With Cooper Bowser (6.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 51.7 FG%, 2.1 BPG) having made strides offensively, while being a force on the defensive end and on the boards, gives Richey an option to go big by putting Hien, Johnston and Bowser all on the floor at the same time.
The Paladins will take on a tough Seattle (2-3) team coming up on Tuesday night in a game that will be nationally-televised by ESPNU, with tip-off for that contest set for 11:30 p.m. EST.
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 are off to a 2-3 start this season, with losses to Eastern Washington (L, 86-93), Liberty (L, 64-66) and Cal Poly (L, 71-75), while having posted wins over UC San Diego (W, 84-71) and Northwest University (W, 80-52). The loss against a good Liberty team in a game that could have gone either way is a good indicator of how strong the Redhawks are as a basketball team.
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 Richey, who Victor has made his mark as one of the young and upcoming head coaches at the mid-major level. Victor sports an impressive 171-77 record in eighth seasons as a head coach, which includes a 68-38 record in three seasons as the head coach of the Redhawks’ head coach.
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.
Richey has been in the lab with his pen and pad putting together a formula to try and correct last season's title defense woes. Furman now looks like a completely different team than it did a year ago and Richey might just be doing his best coaching job yet, however, most like the song says of Dr. Dre, forgot about Furman.
The reasoning behind the consensus low rankings for Furman? Well, for one the Furman basketball program seemed to be one without many on or off-the-court flaws for seven years until in its first year defending its Southern Conference title, the Paladins met with adversity. The preseason pick to repeat stumbled to a 17-16 season and worst finish in the league since the 2014-15 season, as the Paladins finished fifth in 2023-24.
With 71.5% of its scoring lost (56.5 PPG of 79.4 PPG) from a year ago to the transfer portal, Furman had very little left over from the team that knocked off the No. 4 seed Virginia Cavaliers in Orlando, including the silencer himself--point guard JP Pegues--who led the Paladins in scoring at 18.4 PPG and had he returned, would have been the favorite to claim the SoCon Player of the Year honor.
Richey, who has somehow never won SoCon Coach of the Year Award in eight years, despite more wins than any other coach in the league over that span and an NCAA Tournament appearance, was forced to answer a lot of questions he wasn't accustomed to doing in his previous tenure as a head coach, which is navigate the transfer portal for multiple players.
Furman had brought in three players from the portal in his seven previous seasons, and one of those had already come and gone, as Carter Whitt decided to spend his final season in Nashville with Belmont.
Richey and staff hit the portal hard looking for the right pieces to fix the puzzle that somehow got badly damaged last season in the afterglow of the best team in program history. After having set a Southern Conference single-season record two years ago with 401 three-pointers three years ago and connected on 34.4% and 340 threes in the championship campaign of 2022-23, the Paladins major issue offensively was its lack of shooting ability from the perimeter.
Perimeter shooting he would find, with the Paladins featuring four players currently shooting 50% or better from three-point range this season, including all three portal additions. In fact, Furman has a total of five players shooting 40% or better from three-point land this season.
Furman's motion offense is majorly influenced by spacing by creating space through ball movement, high ball screens, and most importantly, cutting off the ball. In fact, Furman's team creates more by what others sacrifice by screening and cutting on actions off the ball than anyone ever does with the basketball. Furman, which had shot no worse than 34% from three-point range in any season under Richey, stumbled to just 32.4% on 320-of-988 shooting from long range last season.
Furman now heads to the High Desert to face off against Seattle (2-3) in what will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. It will also be likely one of the Paladins' toughest challenges to-date, with Seattle having been an emerging mid-major in recent seasons.
The Paladins sit atop the SoCon in the early portions of the season for three primary reasons: They have shot the ball light’s out through the first three games, have played excellent defense, and have showcased great depth.
When I say the Paladins are shooting the ball well, I mean particularly from three-point range, as the Paladins currently head into Thanksgiving Week ranking 13th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (41.9%), while ranking ninth nationally in effective field goal percentage (60.8%). In terms of Furman showcasing its depth, the Paladins currently rank 28th nationally in bench scoring (35.2 PPG), which is the best the Paladins have been in Richey’s eighth season at the helm.
Defensively, the Paladins currently rank 14th nationally in scoring defense (58.3 PPG), holding three opponents to less than 50 points through the first six games of the season. Two of those foes have been non-Division I foes, in wins over Ogelthorpe (W, 124-48) and Columbia International (W, 104-46), however, Furman’s best defensive performance of the season came against NCAA Division I competition, as the Paladins held Charleston Southern to just 46 points, which was the lowest total for an NCAA Division I opponent since Feb. 7, 2019, when the Paladins were able to limit Western Carolina to just 45 points in what was a 64-45 road win.
Furman limited the Bucs to just 31.5% shooting for the game in Saturday afternoon’s blowout win. The Paladins currently rank 32nd nationally in field goal percentage defense (36.9%) and third nationally defending the three, as the Paladins are allowing opponents to shoot just 21.5% (29-of-135) from three-point land this season.
While PJay Smith Jr. (21.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.0 SPG) has been Furman’s top player this season, they have shown to be a comprehensive team in terms of scoring distribution this season. The Paladins have six players averaging eight or more points per game and seven averaging over 6.0 PPG. Smith Jr. is the two-time reigning SoCon Player of the Week, and he has scored in double figures in all five games in which he has logged action this season. One of the reasons most of those publications gave as a reasoning for Furman's fall was its lack of a true point guard. Smith has quickly put that question to bed.
It’s always tough to know exactly how portal players will be in the overall equation, but Furman has picked some good ones when it comes to being selective of players that fits coach Richey’s overall team identity. Guards Nick Anderson (11.0 PPG, 2.8 PPG) and Tom House (9.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG) have been a pair of players that have given the Paladins a boost offensively, with both showing maturity and shooting ability.
Taking a chance on 6-11 forward Charles Johnston (10.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG) has been absolutely a great decision. The native of Sydney, Australia, by way of Cal State Monterey Bay has been outstanding this season for the Paladins, which includes a 25-point effort in a big Furman home win over Jacksonville. He went 8-of-9 from the field and was an impressive 4-of-5 from three-point land.
As important as Furman's newcomers have been, it's been a core that features three players that were instrumental in that championship run of two years ago that have been vital to Furman's strong start. Garrett Hien (9.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 3.3 APG), who scored seven points and nabbed maybe the biggest steal and subsequent assist in Furman history, has been a big reason for Furman's success. Tyrese Hughey (5.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG) and Ben VanderWal (4.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG) have given the Paladins two glue guys that have been through plenty of battles and have more often than not, come out on the right side of the battle when confronted with adversity.
In Hien, the Paladins have an x-factor type player, and it's not his scoring, rebounding, or defending that are as important to the team as his passing. Hien prides himself on being a good passer and his skill at being able to slice apart a defense with one pass is perhaps the thing that makes him a player work so seamlessly at times. His strong start is why Furman is 6-0.
With Cooper Bowser (6.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 51.7 FG%, 2.1 BPG) having made strides offensively, while being a force on the defensive end and on the boards, gives Richey an option to go big by putting Hien, Johnston and Bowser all on the floor at the same time.
The Paladins will take on a tough Seattle (2-3) team coming up on Tuesday night in a game that will be nationally-televised by ESPNU, with tip-off for that contest set for 11:30 p.m. EST.
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 are off to a 2-3 start this season, with losses to Eastern Washington (L, 86-93), Liberty (L, 64-66) and Cal Poly (L, 71-75), while having posted wins over UC San Diego (W, 84-71) and Northwest University (W, 80-52). The loss against a good Liberty team in a game that could have gone either way is a good indicator of how strong the Redhawks are as a basketball team.
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 Richey, who Victor has made his mark as one of the young and upcoming head coaches at the mid-major level. Victor sports an impressive 171-77 record in eighth seasons as a head coach, which includes a 68-38 record in three seasons as the head coach of the Redhawks’ head coach.
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.
Following Tuesday night's test in Las Vegas, the Paladins will then shift focus to the Midwest the following Saturday, traveling to meet one of the favorites to claim the 2024-25 national championship, in the Kansas Jayhawks. The Jayhawks head into their matchup against No. 11 Duke, which is also part of the Las Vegas Showdown and precedes the Furman-Seattle matchup, as the Blue Devils face the top ranked team Jayhawks at 9 p.m. EST.
The Paladins, who are receiving votes in the AP Top 25 for a second-straight week, started 12-0 in Richey's second season as head coach en route to the program's first-ever national ranking after defeating defending national champion Villanova and Loyola-Chicago, who made the Final Four just a year earlier, as folks started to take notice of Richey and the Furman program. With each triumph comes a new challenge, and the next three games for Furman will tell us a lot about what this current group is made of, starting with Seattle this evening.
Scouting The Redhawks:
Seattle plays in the Western Athletic Conference and the Redhawks are the team projected to challenge mid-major power and WAC juggernaut Grand Canyon for the league title this season. The Redhawks are in their final season competing in the WAC and are set to join the West Coast Conference in the 2025-26 season.
Seattle was the No. 2 seed in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and won four games in five days to claim the program's first postseason tournament championship in school history.
The Redhawks are a program that have begun to establish themselves under now fourth-year head coach Chris Victor. The Redhawks brought back just two starters off a team that finished 23-12 last season, and have pieced together a nice recruiting class from the transfer portal to try and maintain the success, as the program tries to gather momentum towards its first NCAA Tournament berth since making the Big Dance and making it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen during the 1964 Big Dance.
That was a golden era for Seattle Redhawks Basketball, which had its genesis in the late 1950s, when the then "Seattle Chieftains" made it all the way to the National Championship game before losing 84-72 to Kentucky at Freedom Hall in Louisville.
The Redhawks have won 20 or more games in three-straight seasons, marking the first time the Redhawks have achieved feat since 1957-59. Three years ago, the Redhawks won the WAC regular-season title, marking just the second regular-season conference title in school history, including the first as an NCAA Division I program.
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. The Redhawks were picked third behind both Grand Canyon and UT Arlington in the preseason WAC poll.
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 had to replace 6-10 junior forward Brandon Chatfield (9.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG), who transferred to Iowa State for his final season of eligibility.
With that said, the Redhawks returned a pair of valuable starters to the fold for the 2024-25 season, in Seattle native John Christofilis (12.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG) and forward Kobe Williamson. With Williamson currently sidelined with a foot injury, Christofilis remains the lone starter that is a holdover from that 23-win team of a year ago.
Christofilis transferred into the Seattle program from Creighton two years ago. The former Top 150 recruit ranked second on the team and fourth in the WAC in three-poitners made last season, knocking down 64 triples in 2023-24. He is shooting an impressive 42% (13-of-31) from downtown this season, and his 13 triples leads the team.
Like Furman, Seattle is an excellent shooting team from the perimeter, shooting 38.7% from beyond the arc this season, which ranks 50th in the nation. Through five games this season, the Redhawks have knocked down 43 of 111 triples.
Leading the Redhawks in scoring this season has been Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe (14.8 PPG, 10.0 RPG). Alexander-Moncrieffe has logged eight double-doubles during his career, and he originally came to Seattle as a transfer from the University of Georgia, where he played two seasons. Two seasons prior to attending Georgia, Alexander-Moncrieffe spent his first two seasons at Oklahoma State.
For a team that lost some big-time offensive production to the transfer portal, the addition of Moncrieffe has been impactful for Victor's squad this season. Moncrieffe brings NCAA Tournament experience to the fold for a team trying to end one of the nation's longest droughts, as he suited up for the Cade Cunningham-led Oklahoma State Cowboys in his freshman season, making 28 appearances, while averaging just over 5.0 PPG.
Moncrieffe gives the Redhawks a big-time rebounder and athletic presence in the paint. Moncrieffe was a four-star recruit out of high school in Toronto. He has scored in double figures in all five games he's logged action in this season for the Redhawks, including 20 points and 11 rebounds in the season opener and his debut against Eastern Washington. Moncrieffe is shooting a blistering 67.7% (21-of-31) from the field through the first five games of the season and is averaging 25 minutes-per-game.
Malek Gomma (4.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG), who like Christofilis hails from the Emerald City, saw very little action during his first season with the Redhawks, however, this season he's worked hard on the defensive end of the floor and has kind of become the "glue guy" for the Redhawks this season and has been the Redhawks' best defensive performer. He started the season by playing 26 minutes in the season-opening loss to Eastern Washington, however, has seen his minutes dwindle with each game, playing just 11 minutes last time out against Northwest. In limited action in against a non-Division foe last time out, Gomma posted three rebounds and two steals.
Joining forces with Christofilis in the backcourt for the Redhawks will be a pair of junior guards, in Brayden Maldonado (7.7 PPG, 1.2 RPG) and Maleek Arrington (9.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG).
Arrington is another player with plenty of experience, spending two seasons in Pocatello, ID, with the Idaho State Bengals before making his way to the Emerald City. The 6-0 point guard before making his way to the Emerald City.
In his sophomore season with the Bengals in 2023-24, Arrington was called upon produce more on the offensive end, which saw him average 12.0 PPG and 5.0 APG, and he was recognized as of the top defensive guards in the Big Sky, garnering Big Sky All Defensive Team accolades following a season which saw him rank 13th nationally in steals (79 steals). His eight steals this season ranks second on the team behind only Moncrieffe, who has nine thefts in his first five games this season.
Maldonado is an NCAA Division II transfer from Metropolitan State in Denver where he made All-Rocky Mountain Conference after averaging 16.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 2.7 APG last season. As a freshman at MSU Denver, Maldonado was the Rocky Mountain Conference Freshman of the Year.
The Redhawks have a distinctly international flavor, which includes six players that hail from different countries, with a total of five different countries represented. The Redhawks have players from China (2), Australia (1), England (1), Japan (1) and Canada (1) represented on their roster.
Like Furman, the Redhawks are a deep basketball team, as nine players play 11 or minutes-per-game.
The Paladins, who are receiving votes in the AP Top 25 for a second-straight week, started 12-0 in Richey's second season as head coach en route to the program's first-ever national ranking after defeating defending national champion Villanova and Loyola-Chicago, who made the Final Four just a year earlier, as folks started to take notice of Richey and the Furman program. With each triumph comes a new challenge, and the next three games for Furman will tell us a lot about what this current group is made of, starting with Seattle this evening.
Scouting The Redhawks:
Seattle plays in the Western Athletic Conference and the Redhawks are the team projected to challenge mid-major power and WAC juggernaut Grand Canyon for the league title this season. The Redhawks are in their final season competing in the WAC and are set to join the West Coast Conference in the 2025-26 season.
Seattle was the No. 2 seed in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and won four games in five days to claim the program's first postseason tournament championship in school history.
The Redhawks are a program that have begun to establish themselves under now fourth-year head coach Chris Victor. The Redhawks brought back just two starters off a team that finished 23-12 last season, and have pieced together a nice recruiting class from the transfer portal to try and maintain the success, as the program tries to gather momentum towards its first NCAA Tournament berth since making the Big Dance and making it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen during the 1964 Big Dance.
That was a golden era for Seattle Redhawks Basketball, which had its genesis in the late 1950s, when the then "Seattle Chieftains" made it all the way to the National Championship game before losing 84-72 to Kentucky at Freedom Hall in Louisville.
The Redhawks have won 20 or more games in three-straight seasons, marking the first time the Redhawks have achieved feat since 1957-59. Three years ago, the Redhawks won the WAC regular-season title, marking just the second regular-season conference title in school history, including the first as an NCAA Division I program.
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. The Redhawks were picked third behind both Grand Canyon and UT Arlington in the preseason WAC poll.
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 had to replace 6-10 junior forward Brandon Chatfield (9.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG), who transferred to Iowa State for his final season of eligibility.
With that said, the Redhawks returned a pair of valuable starters to the fold for the 2024-25 season, in Seattle native John Christofilis (12.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG) and forward Kobe Williamson. With Williamson currently sidelined with a foot injury, Christofilis remains the lone starter that is a holdover from that 23-win team of a year ago.
Christofilis transferred into the Seattle program from Creighton two years ago. The former Top 150 recruit ranked second on the team and fourth in the WAC in three-poitners made last season, knocking down 64 triples in 2023-24. He is shooting an impressive 42% (13-of-31) from downtown this season, and his 13 triples leads the team.
Like Furman, Seattle is an excellent shooting team from the perimeter, shooting 38.7% from beyond the arc this season, which ranks 50th in the nation. Through five games this season, the Redhawks have knocked down 43 of 111 triples.
Leading the Redhawks in scoring this season has been Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe (14.8 PPG, 10.0 RPG). Alexander-Moncrieffe has logged eight double-doubles during his career, and he originally came to Seattle as a transfer from the University of Georgia, where he played two seasons. Two seasons prior to attending Georgia, Alexander-Moncrieffe spent his first two seasons at Oklahoma State.
For a team that lost some big-time offensive production to the transfer portal, the addition of Moncrieffe has been impactful for Victor's squad this season. Moncrieffe brings NCAA Tournament experience to the fold for a team trying to end one of the nation's longest droughts, as he suited up for the Cade Cunningham-led Oklahoma State Cowboys in his freshman season, making 28 appearances, while averaging just over 5.0 PPG.
Moncrieffe gives the Redhawks a big-time rebounder and athletic presence in the paint. Moncrieffe was a four-star recruit out of high school in Toronto. He has scored in double figures in all five games he's logged action in this season for the Redhawks, including 20 points and 11 rebounds in the season opener and his debut against Eastern Washington. Moncrieffe is shooting a blistering 67.7% (21-of-31) from the field through the first five games of the season and is averaging 25 minutes-per-game.
Malek Gomma (4.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG), who like Christofilis hails from the Emerald City, saw very little action during his first season with the Redhawks, however, this season he's worked hard on the defensive end of the floor and has kind of become the "glue guy" for the Redhawks this season and has been the Redhawks' best defensive performer. He started the season by playing 26 minutes in the season-opening loss to Eastern Washington, however, has seen his minutes dwindle with each game, playing just 11 minutes last time out against Northwest. In limited action in against a non-Division foe last time out, Gomma posted three rebounds and two steals.
Joining forces with Christofilis in the backcourt for the Redhawks will be a pair of junior guards, in Brayden Maldonado (7.7 PPG, 1.2 RPG) and Maleek Arrington (9.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG).
Arrington is another player with plenty of experience, spending two seasons in Pocatello, ID, with the Idaho State Bengals before making his way to the Emerald City. The 6-0 point guard before making his way to the Emerald City.
In his sophomore season with the Bengals in 2023-24, Arrington was called upon produce more on the offensive end, which saw him average 12.0 PPG and 5.0 APG, and he was recognized as of the top defensive guards in the Big Sky, garnering Big Sky All Defensive Team accolades following a season which saw him rank 13th nationally in steals (79 steals). His eight steals this season ranks second on the team behind only Moncrieffe, who has nine thefts in his first five games this season.
Maldonado is an NCAA Division II transfer from Metropolitan State in Denver where he made All-Rocky Mountain Conference after averaging 16.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 2.7 APG last season. As a freshman at MSU Denver, Maldonado was the Rocky Mountain Conference Freshman of the Year.
The Redhawks have a distinctly international flavor, which includes six players that hail from different countries, with a total of five different countries represented. The Redhawks have players from China (2), Australia (1), England (1), Japan (1) and Canada (1) represented on their roster.
Like Furman, the Redhawks are a deep basketball team, as nine players play 11 or minutes-per-game.
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