Without further ado, let’s get right into the breakdown.

Player Bio:

Before transferring to Winthrop, Anthony Smith III spent 1 season at North Dakota.

2025-26 (Freshman Season):

• In 34 games, Smith averaged 7.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 2.3 APG, including making 8 starts for North Dakota.

• Ranked 2nd in the Summit League for Assists by a True Freshman this season.

• Had a career high of 6 rebounds against Winthrop last season.

Film Review:

Film from HoopHound5 on X:

Playmaking Ability:

One of the best aspects of Anthony Smith’s game is his ability to play make and create for his teammates. Last season, Anthony Smith had an Assist Percentage of 25.1% with a 1.6x Assist/Turnover Ratio, both being in the top 1/3rd of D1 guards last season. In the Summit League last season, Smith finished 2nd in Assists by a True Freshman and 4th for all freshmen. Of those 4 freshmen, Smith played less than 2/3rd of any of their minutes with similar APG numbers. Smith also turned in the 3rd best Assist/Turnover Ratio for any freshman, and only ranking behind Nick Janowiski in both APG and Assist/Turnover Ratio.

Anthony Smith’s playmaking threat makes him a perfect fit in the Big South Conference. Last season, Anthony Smith’s season was comparable to two Big South guards in Triston Wilson and Jacoi Hutchinson, along with now Longwood guard TJ Robinson. Alongside those Big South player comps, Smith also holds comparisons from Nik Graves, TO Barrett, Ace Buckner, Zoom Diallo, Budd Clark, and many other P5 and MM stars.

This addition also fills a hole that opened for Winthrop after Kareem Rozier’s departure after his senior season. The one main crossover point in both Rozier’s and Smith’s abilities is that they are elite playmakers. Last season, Rozier had an Assist Percentage of 20.7% with an unreal 3.3x Assist/Turnover Ratio. While Smith doesn’t control the ball as well as Rozier, they both are able to convert and set up their teammates and be the leader of an offense.

Strong Attack:

The biggest reason for Smith’s offensive success, including his playmaking, is his ability to get down and attack the rim. Last season, Smith ranked in the 93rd percentile and 97th percentile for Rim Attack and Attack and Kick plays on Hoop Explorer. Nearly 58 out of every 100 plays with Smith on the floor involve an attack of some kind, most of which involve him. Anthony Smith also takes 53% of his shot attempts at the rim while shooting nearly 58% from the rim. Smith was one of 8 freshman to shoot over 100 close 2PT’s and shoot over 55% from that range, including his own teammate from last season, Greyson Uelmen.

Last season, one of Winthrop’s biggest issues was making shots at the rim. Some of that was due to fouling, but Winthrop had 3 main guard pieces that shot in the bottom 5th percentile at the Rim last season, according to HoopExplorer. In the 24-25 season, Winthrop was not a stellar 2PT shooting team, but Kasen Harrison and his 52.6% at the rim helped Winthrop shoot 56.4% at the rim compared to the 321st-ranked at the rim with 53.3%.

Once again, comparing to the 2024-25 team and their PG, Kasen Harrison. During that 24-25 season, Kasen Harrison ranked in the 99th and 96th percentile for Rim Attack play and Attack and Kick play frequency, very similarly to Anthony Smith III. The comparisons don’t just stop there between Smith and Harrison. Before transferring to Winthrop from Lamar, Harrison, much like Smith, was not a good pick-and-roll passer, with Smith ranking in the 3rd efficiency percentile, and Harrison ranking in the 18th and 27th efficiency percentile on pick-and-roll passer plays. At Winthrop, those percentiles saw an immediate jump for Harrison, with him having 2 of 3 seasons in the Top 70th percentile, with one season at the 31st percentile, and 79th percentile for frequency.

Roster Shift:

While taking a more outward look at the roster as a whole, I do believe Smith encompasses the idea as a whole of a roster shift having occurred at Winthrop. Last season was the first season during Mark Prosser’s tenure at Winthrop that the Eagles ranked outside the Top 100 in 2PT Percentage and the Top 110 in Effective FG Percentage. While Kareem Rozier was an elite PG who kept the ball safe, leading to the lowest team turnover Percentage under Prosser’s tenure. Rozier was a different kind of PG than what Coach Prosser has had his entire career.

This season’s team is more similar to past Mark Prosser teams, and that begins with Anthony Smith III. Both Harrison and Smith are higher-level playmaking guards who primarily score and create by attacking the rim. Smith and Harrison also have similar sizes, similar player profiles when entering Winthrop’s system, and will have similar tools around them. Harrison had Talford and Doucet as a two-headed monster down low to feed the ball into. This season, Winthrop has George Natsvlishvili, whom Smith played with at North Dakota, and Eeshar Singh Sarai joining Seifeldin Hendawy and Tai Hamilton down low for Smith to feed into.

Jump Shooting:

The one big concern is that if Anthony Smith III doesn’t take many jumpers, and when he does take them, he doesn’t really make them consistently. Last season, while at North Dakota, Smith shot a total of 42 3 Pointers and 19 mid-range 2’s. Smith went 10-42 on 3’s ranking in the bottom 11th percentile in 3 Point attempt rate and the 13th percentile from behind the arc. While the attempts were limited to 23.8% from 3, which is concerning, especially when you consider the shocking fact that Smith went 0-11 on Open Catch-and-Shoot Attempts past season.

There are two things that I think give optimism about these shooting numbers improving, or not even creating an impact. The first being that last season seemed to be an anomaly, shooting-wise, for Smith. During conference play, Smith averaged 30% from behind the mark; in his final 8 conference games, his shooting rose to 33%. Smith was also an 83% free-throw shooter and a 42.1% mid-range shooter. The second part that gives me optimism is that Winthrop doesn’t rely on their PG’s to shoot the ball. During all 3 of Kasen Harrison’s seasons at Winthrop, Harrison never ranked higher than the 30th percentile in 3PT Attempt Rate.

Final Thoughts:

This addition just screams that Mark Prosser is going back to what worked in 24-25: getting a strong attacking PG who can play make. From 22-23 to 24-25, it was Kasen Harrison, and now in 26-27, Winthrop hopes it is Anthony Smith. The comparison is nearly perfect, similar shooting percentages entering the portal, similar play style compared to what succeeded for Harrison at Winthrop. Smith’s stats might not pop on the paper, but the stats look better with the context of being behind another stellar freshman in Greyson Uelmen.

If you have to rebuild a roster like Winthrop did this offseason, getting a high-level PG is a MUST. Anthony Smith III seems to be Winthrop’s stab at getting that, and personally, I do like the addition. Mark Prosser has had success with guards like Smith, as seen in Winthrop’s success when Kasen Harrison was the PG. Kasen Harrison earned Big South HM, so I believe you can expect similar from Anthony Smith.

Without further ado, let’s get right into the breakdown.

Player Bio:

Before transferring to USC Upstate, Patterson spent 1 season at Navarro College.

2025-26 (Freshman Season):

• In his freshman season at Navarro, Patterson averaged 14 PPG, 3.6 APG, 2.4 RPG, and 2 SPG across 30 games.

• Earned 2nd Team All-Region XIV Honors for his efforts.

Pre-College:

• Held offers from Charlotte, Tulsa, and Bethune-Cookman before going JUCO.

• Dropped 44 points against Darryn Peterson in High School.

• Brother of former Minnesota guard Lu’cye Patterson.

Film Review:

Film from Navarro College (X):

Scoring Ability:

The first thing that becomes evident when watching Jalyn Patterson on film is his ability to score, and to do so efficiently. Last season at Navarro, Jalyn Patterson averaged 14 PPG on 56.5% True Shooting and 50.16% Effective FG percentage. In D1 last season, 14 guards 5’10” or shorter had a 55% True Shooting or higher, including two Big South legends in Rob Martin and Darryl Simmons. When moving the True Shooting percentage down to 50%, it still bodes well for Patterson with Big South 2nd Team Kareem Rozier being included, along with new Longwood guard MJ Williams. At that 50% level, 48 guards since 2008 have been 5’10 or shorter and had averaged a 50% or better True Shooting percentage, the 2nd most out of any league in D1 basketball, behind the Southland with 53.

USC Upstate is the perfect spot for a guard like Patterson to be with those shooting numbers. Last season, USC Upstate’s lead guard, Karmani Gregory, took 13.3 FG Attempts Per Game, with both Bendinger and Adkins also taking 10+ Attempts Per Game. Upstate added two very high-scoring JUCO guards in Derek Edmond and Jalyn Patterson, who will likely fill two of those three offensive shot diets. Compared to Patterson, Patterson comes in as the better of the two guards from JUCO, with better 3 Point shooting and production across all facets, though only a marginal dip in 2-point shooting.

Playmaking:

Another massive part of Patterson’s game is his ability to play make and find the open man. Whether it’s Patterson’s ability to just find the open man while driving, finding the open cutter for a backdoor lob, or playing off the pick and roll, he makes the pass. Patterson also does a very good job at keeping control of the ball, something he honed in on during the season. During the first 3 games of the season, Patterson had 10 turnovers to 9 assists. For the rest of the season, Patterson only had 1 more stretch of 3 games in the whole season with 10 turnovers, and even then, Patterson held a positive Assist to Turnover, having 11 assists, holding a 1.1 Assist to Turnover during that stretch.

During the entire season, Patterson had an Assist to Turnover Ratio of 2. Last season, 6 players, 4 of whom were PGs, had Assist-to-Turnover Ratios of 2 or more. Those 4 guards were High Point’s duo of Rob Martin and Conrad Martinez, along with Winthrop’s Kareem Rozier and Charleston Southern’s Luke Williams. All 4 considered among the best playmaking guards in the league. If Patterson can keep building on his ball control and playmaking, he has a very good chance of succeeding.

Defensive Issues:

The most glaring flaw for Patterson is his ability on the defensive end. Unlike his undeniable offensive power, the defensive abilities are very lacking in my opinion. Many of Patterson’s defensive flaws stem from his size; against bigger guards, he is at a massive disadvantage. In Jalyn Patterson’s 4 toughest opponents at the JUCO level, Patterson allowed two 20+ point games, a 15-point, 6-assist game, and an 8-point, 7-rebound, and 7-assist game, and Navarro ended up losing all 4 games.

The one thing you can look to and see a ton of promise for Patterson, though, is his ability to apply ball pressure and create turnovers. Last season at Navarro, Patterson had 58 steals in the regular season and a season-high 7 in their conference tournament loss. In both of Marty Richter’s seasons at Upstate, he has had success with players who create a ton of steals, whether that’s Tyler Smith, Mister Dean, or Breylin Garcia. Patterson had around a 3-4% Steal Percentage last season, which would have been one of the highest in the entire Big South. Even if Patterson drops to 2-2.5%, he would be in the 50th-70th percentile for guards in steal percentage.

Final Thoughts:

Since becoming Upstate’s head coach, Marty Richter has placed a CLEAR emphasis on JUCO recruiting, especially for its star players. In his three recruiting classes at USC Upstate, Marty Richter has signed 11 JUCO players, including 4 players in this year’s class. Last year, USC Upstate had 7 JUCO players in the Top 9 most minutes players, 8 if you include Learic Davis. Marty has always leaned on JUCO PG’s to lead his team, and I think he does that again with Jalyn Patterson, which might be his best JUCO player yet.

Jalyn Patterson is very Chris Clemons-esque: both are small guards who can attack at will, aren’t afraid to shoot from anywhere, and attack the ball on defense. I don’t think Patterson is quite the player that Chris Clemons was, but I believe they played comparable styles. I think realistic expectations are a bit of an up-and-down for Patterson, but I do think you’ve seen a ton of flashes, and I believe he finishes the season strong, setting up the potential to return, much like Karmani Gregory, and have a breakout junior season.

Without further ado, let’s get right into the breakdown.

Player Bio:

Before transferring to UNC Asheville, Tylon Chatman spent his first 3 seasons at Lee University at the D2 level.

2023-24 (Freshman Season):

• Chatman appeared in 8 games, averaging 1.6 PPG, 0.1 RPG, and 0.1 APG.

2024-25 (Sophomore Season):

• Chatman had a breakout, appearing in 27 games, 18 being starts, averaging 10.4 PPG, 2.4 APG, and 2.1 RPG.

• Chatman began and ended the season hot with 3 double-digit games to begin the season, then 3 20+ Point performances in his last 6 games of the season.

2025-26 (Junior Season):

• Appeared in 28 games, starting 27, averaging 14.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 3.7 APG while shooting 37% from 3.

• Chatman led the Flames in scoring and was 2nd in Assists on the team.

Film Review:

Film from HawksEliteAAU on X:

Scoring Skill:

The first thing that becomes clear on Tylon Chatman’s film is his ability to create space and score. Last season in the Gulf South Conference, among players with 400 minutes played, Tylon Chatman ranked 8th in ORAPM and 17th in PPG while shooting in the Top 1/3rd of all guards in D2 in 2PT Percentage, 3PT Percentage, and Effective FG Percentage, with the only shooting zone where Chatman was below D2 averages was “Above the Break” 3 pointers, where he ranked in the 49th percentile.

In the past two seasons in the Big South, two players have been 6’ or shorter and averaged 50% from 2 and 35% from 3: Charleston Southern’s Luke Williams and High Point’s Bobby Pettiford. Tylon is truly a mix of both guards. For scoring, I think Tylon has a lot of Williams’ abilities, both coming from the D2 level with similar shooting profiles, especially compared to Pettiford.

UNC Asheville had a similar guard this past season, Justin Wright, who was only 2 inches taller. The season before, another very similar guard, Jordan Marsh, shot 49.5% from 2 and 31.5% 3. Both of which are viewed as some of the best guards in the Big South in recent history, with massive success in Mike Morrell’s system. Tylon Chatman could be the next guard to follow in their success.

Big Playmaker:

The other really shining part of Tylon Chatman’s game is his ability to play make and create for others. Tylon Chatman ranks in the 82nd percentile for D2 guards in Assist Percentage and the 85th percentile in Assist/TOV Ratio. The play-making ability becomes clearer in times when Tylon Chatman was the sole ball-handling point guard. Lee had an Offensive Rating of 116, a 12.3% Turnover Percentage that ranked in the 95th percentile, and a team Effective Field Goal Percentage of 59.6%, ranking in the 96th percentile.

Last season in the Big South, 6 players played over 400 minutes and had Assist Percentages between 17% and 22%, with Turnover Percentages below 15%. Once again, former UNC Asheville guard Justin Wright appears with Wright having a 19.3% Assist Percentage compared to 19.8% for Chatman, but Chatman excels in Assist to Turnover with 1.9x compared to Wright’s 1.2x. Both guards are used to being pivotal pieces to their offensive systems.

The Fit:

Truly, the biggest thing I love about this addition is the fit with Mike Morrell and what he has done well. In Mike Morrell’s tenure at Asheville, his best seasons have been when he has a strong playmaking guard surrounded by good shooters and an elite big man. Tylon Chatman will fit right into that strong playmaking point guard. He isn’t the playmaker that Burgess was in 22-23 and 23-24, but he also provides a stronger offensive upside than Burgess did.

In both 2022-23 and 2023-24, Burgess was surrounded by shooters and elite big men. While I don’t see any game-changing big men, Morrell did surround Chatman with 3 very good 3-point shooters, much like what Chatman had at Lee and what Burgess had at Asheville. The recipe is for Chatman to follow in the footsteps of the 3 Asheville PG’s before in Wright, Marsh, and Burgess and stamp his name in Asheville history.

Defensive Liability:

The biggest flaw in Tylon Chatman’s game comes on the defensive end, where Chatman, unlike on the offensive end, is not a net positive to his team. Last season at Lee, Tylon Chatman had both a negative DRAPM of -0.3 and a DWS/40 below the 50th percentile at 0.03, ranking in the 31st percentile. When Tylon Chatman was on the floor last season, Lee’s saw a 4.3-point slide in Defensive Rating, which placed him in the 24th percentile in On-Off Defensive Rating. That defensive rating jump put their defensive rating to 110.4, which places them in the 40th percentile when he is on the court, compared to the 65th percentile when he is off the court.

One reason I see upside on the defensive side is that last season Chatman played primarily shooting guard, compared to his ALL-sophomore season, when he played point guard. In 24-25’ Chatman played PG and had a 0.8 DRPAM, placing him in the 73rd percentile with a slightly improved 108.2 Defensive Rating and only a 1.1 Defensive Rating drop when he is on the court compared to off the court. Comparing his 24-25 season On/Off’s to his 25-26 On/Off’s, Lee was better with him on the court defensively in the 24-25 season compared to 25-26, except for Block Percentage and Blocks/PF.

Another reason I think the defensive concerns could be overblown is what Mike Morrell did with Justin Wright. Justin Wright, in 2023-24 at LMU before transferring to Asheville, had a DPRAM on -1.4 and a 0.03 DWS/40 with a 9.3 Defensive Rating drop, putting him in the 7th percentile. In 2025-26, Wright had a 0.7 DRPAM ranking 2nd in Asheville and in the 68th percentile, along with a 0.04 DWS/40, with Asheville in the 55th percentile of Defensive Rating when Wright is on court. It is very possible that Morrell can get a similar jump from a very similar guard.

Final Thoughts:

I think Tylon Chatman is the prototypical guard that Mike Morrell always gets the most out of. A guard that is on the smaller side, with very good control of his body and the court, and is a top-level offensive threat. Chatman reminds me of a more well-rounded Justin Wright. Both had similar shooting percentages as lead pieces in their offense, with similar playmaking attributes. Tylon is the better playmaker of the two, but Wright is the better scorer by about the same margin, in my opinion.

The comparisons to Wright don’t just stop there at playstyle. I think Chatman will have a similar role to Wright, as Asheville’s other guards don’t have the playmaking skill and overall threat of Chatman. I think Chatman will get the majority of the PG minutes and solid success while doing it. While I don’t think Chatman gets any all-league mentions at season’s end but still has a productive season as a focal point of Asheville’s offense.

Without further ado, let’s get right into the breakdown.

Player Bio:

Before transferring to Radford, Ja’Corey Robinson spent one season at Austin Peay after being a 3-star with offers from Missouri State and Murray State.

2025-26 (Freshman Season):

• During his true freshman season at Austin Peay, Robinson averaged 6.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 2 APG across 30 games.

• Finished 2nd on the team in Blocks.

• 6th in Minutes Per Game on the ASun Regular Season Champions.

Pre-College:

• Ranked #6 Prospect in KS on 247Sports Consensus, 459th overall recruit.

• Won 2023-24 Kansas MaxPreps Player of the Year.

Film Review:

Film from Arman Jovic/PDT Scouting on X:

Defensive Prowess:

The first thing that stands out on film for Ja’Corey Robinson is his defensive ability. Ja’Corey Robinson’s size makes him an anomaly when combined with his athleticism, and that is evident on defense. Last season, 14 total freshmen had a Defensive Rebounding Percentage of 10%+, a Steal and Block Percentage of 2%+, and a DBPM of 1+. Of those 14 freshmen, 4 are listed as “Wing Guard” by BartTorvik: Darryn Peterson, Braylen Mullins, Ace Flagg, and Ja’Corey Robinson.

Last season, Radford was not a good defensive team, ranking 42nd percentile in Defensive Rating. That defensive rating would have been worse if it were not for Tyson Brown and Dennis Parker Jr. When Dennis Parker Jr is on the floor, Radford has a defensive rating in the 49th percentile; with Parker off the floor, that rating drops to the 23rd percentile. Furthermore, when Tyson Brown is on the floor, Radford’s defensive rating moves to the 59th percentile, but drops to the 13th percentile when he is off the floor.

Sadly for Radford, Parker went to Kansas via the transfer portal, and Tyson Brown graduated, leaving Radford with no positive analytical defenders. Zach Chu immediately targeted that by getting Ja’Corey Robinson, an analytically better defender than any Radford Highlander last season. I don’t think Robinson will maintain that same level of defending, but I believe him, along with all the other additions, will be an improvement defensively over last year’s team.

Rim Threat:

Last season against D1 opponents, Ja’Corey Robinson took a total of 135 shot attempts. Of those 135 attempts, a total of 18 shots were not “In the Paint” or “At the Rim” with Robinson going 2-9 from mid ranges and 3-9 from 3 in the other 18 attempts. Robinson ranked in the 82nd percentile for Rim Attempts/40 and in the 96th percentile for Paint Attempts/40 with nearly 10 attempts per 40 minutes across the two zones.

The ultimate reason Robinson takes so many shots at the rim and in the paint is his ability to make those shots. Last season, Robinson shot 52.4% from 2PT, placing him in the 72nd percentile while also ranking in the 71st percentile for True Shooting, with a 56.7%. Another reason Robinson takes so many shots inside the paint is his ability on the fast break. Robinson ranked in the 90th percentile for Percentage of Points from Fast Break and 87th percentile for Fast Break Points/40.

Robinson will be an almost seamless fit into Radford’s offensive scheme. Last season, the Highlanders ranked in the 90th percentile for Rim Attacks plays, with their 2nd-most-common play, Transition, in the 87th percentile there. Robinson’s ability to consistently finish those shots should provide a pleasant boost to their sub-50 % PPP on both plays, given his above-average rim and Paint shooting.

Playmaking:

The most underrated aspect of Ja’Corey Robinson’s game is his ability to create for his teammates at 6’6. Last season, 5 freshmen between the heights of 6’5” and 6’7” had an Assist Percentage of 20%+, a Usage of 20%, and an Assist/TOV Ratio of 1.5 or more. Those freshmen were: Keaton Wagler (Illinois), Mikel Brown Jr (Louisville), Jordan Watford (Queens, NC), Connor Igoe (Columbia), and Ja’Corey Robinson (Austin Peay). All 5 players were a part of some kind of success, with all but Ja’Corey Robinson earning All-Rookie or Rookie of the Year honors in their league.

Last season in the Big South, 14 players had an Assist Percentage of 18-22%. Of those 14 players, only 2 were above 6’3”: Kameron Taylor from UNC Asheville and Brycen Blaine of Charleston Southern. Both players were viewed as among the best playmaking non-PGs in the Big South, leading to moves up in competition: Blaine to ECU and Taylor to Florida State.

The even more promising fact for Radford about Ja’Corey is that, analytically, he is a better playmaker than both Blaine and Taylor, and the difference is a pretty wide margin. Ja’Corey had a 20.6% Assist Percentage compared to 19.0% by Taylor and 19.6% by Blaine. Ja’Corey also bested Blaine and Taylor in Assist Ratio, with Robinson at 21.5%, with Taylor and Blaine both around 12%, and in Assist/TOV, where Robinson had a 1.4, with Taylor having 1.12, and Blaine having a 0.82.

Non Shooter:

The biggest flaw in Ja’Corey Robinson’s game comes from his being a complete non-shooter during his time at Austin Peay. In the “Rim Threat” section, I mentioned that Robinson only took 18 shots against D1 teams from outside of the paint. What I didn’t mention is that besides not taking those shots, he also isn’t exceptionally good at shooting them, only going 5-18, with Robinson only shooting above D1 average in one spot, that being “Above the Break 3’s,” where Robinson shot 2-5 on the season.

The thing that gives me hope is that Robinson has shot more volume in the past, and that players have been able to develop that ability over the course of their careers. Robinson hit 22 three pointers en route to his many accolades, which isn’t a ton, but compared to .3 3PA Per Game last season, even at 100% shooting, would be nearly double his .3. In recent seasons, we have seen Yaxel Lendeborg, Ali Dibba, and Cameron Hildreth all become higher volume shooters on decent figures. Will that happen for Robinson? Only time can tell.

Final Thoughts:

I have gone back and forth on Robinson a ton since this addition was on my radar, but ultimately, I do like the addition. Ultimately, what gives me hesitation about the addition is Robinson’s ability to play on an island. His lack of ability to space so far in his D1 career, I think, has limited his game, and without that ability, it limits when he can be played and how he is used, but I believe Coach Chu and his staff can at least alleviate some of those spacing concerns with finding Robinson open and their lineup construction.

Robinson reminds me a ton of Dennis Parker Jr in a way, both came from successful programs with clear defensive ability and offensive promise. Parker was more of a shooter than Robinson, but what Robinson lacks in shooting, he makes up for with better playmaking, defense, and athleticism. With Radford taking a dip in their supporting cast, I do see a performance drop compared to Parker, but overall, both should have similar profiles. In the end, I think Robinson will end up on the All-Conference Honorable Mention list at season’s end.

Without further ado, let’s get right into the breakdown.

Player Bio:

Before transferring to Presbyterian, EJ Smith spent his first two college seasons at D2 Lincoln Memorial.

2024-25 (Freshman Season):

• In his true freshman season, EJ Smith appeared in 31 games for the Railsplitters, averaging 8.6 PPG, 2.6 APG, and 2.1 RPG playing 26.9 MPG.

• EJ Smith earned SAC All-Freshman Team Honors.

• EJ Smith helped the Railsplitters to a 25-6 record and an NCAA Tournament Berth before losing in the First Round to UNC Pembroke.

2025-26 (Sophomore Season)

• Despite an offseason coaching change, EJ Smith returned to LMU.

• In 31 games, EJ Smith averaged 10.3 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 1.9 RPG across 21.5 MPG.

• LMU once again made the NCAA Tournament before falling to D2 Runner Up Lander in the First Round.

Film Review:

Film from EJ Smith on X:

True PG:

The biggest pro for Presbyterian getting EJ Smith is something that you don’t even need to tape for, EJ Smith is the definition of a True PG. EJ Smith almost always brings the ball up for LMU and is the conductor of the offseason. Last season, when EJ Smith was on the floor without Drew Lewis (LMU’s main PG), LMU had a Net Rating of +13.2, with an Offensive Rating of 118.4, and a Defensive Rating of 105.3. When Drew Lewis was on the floor without EJ Smith, that Net Rating fell to -1.9, Offensive Rating fell to 110.2, and Defensive Rating fell to 112.1.

Last season, Presbyterian played 15 lineups that qualified for percentile rankings on CBB Analytics. Of those 15 lineups, 4 featured separate PGs; only one other Big South team had that many PGs in its Top 15 lineup: Charleston Southern. CSU played 4 because they had 3 elite PG’s with over 20% Assist Percentage: Luke Williams, A’lahn Sumler, and Jaquias Franklin. Presbyterian had only one PG with an Assist Percentage above 20%, Erik Taylor, who was injured in Game 5 of the season. JD Bowden was the next highest at 19% as a True Freshman.

Having multiple true stand-alone PGs is very important; having one with winning experience like EJ Smith is an absolute game-changer. When EJ Smith is on the floor, he’s vocal, he’s always involved in the play, and is usually the one IN THE PLAY. Now with a healthy Erik Taylor and 2nd year JD Bowden, along with Chaise Smith and now EJ Smith. Presbyterian has one of the best PG rooms.

Jack of All Trades:

One of the best things for Presbyterian with EJ Smith’s game is that he has no glaring flaws in his game. Out of the 19 stats on CBB Analytics’ Player Stat Overview, Smith ranks in the bottom 25th percentile in ZERO statistical category and only ranked below the 50th percentile in 4 total categories. The 4 categories below the 50th percentile are ORB%, DRB%, FT Attempt Rate, and 3PT Attempt Rate. Of those 4 categories, only two are true detriments to a PG: FT Attempt Rate and 3PT Attempt Rate.

Of the 2 below-average categories below, neither is a major need for a Presbyterian PG. Last season, as a team, Presbyterian was in the 2nd percentile for 3PT Attempt Rate, with only 3 players attempting more than 50 3-pointers. For the Free Throw Attempt Rate, LMU as a whole was in the 31st percentile, with EJ ranked 4th on his team with a 65th percentile Shooting Foul Draw Per 40 Minutes. A system that feeds the paint will create chances for EJ to get the line, a place where he shot 80.6% from last season.

Defensive Strengths:

The part that I think has gone underrated in EJ Smith’s game is his ability to guard some of the best guards and give them trouble. The three games I watched, EJ Smith’s main matchups were against a D2 All-American guard, a MM D1 transfer guard who made the D2 Final 4, and a MM D1 transfer guard who averaged 7.7 PPG last season. EJ Smith held the D2 All American to 12 points on 3-12 shooting, including 0-5 from 3. The D2 Final 4 guard scored 11 points with one of his least efficient games of the season, and the MM D1 transfer scored 4 points, shooting 2-7 from the field.

Last year, Presbyterian had two guards in the 50th percentile in DWS, with Carl Parrish at the 67th percentile and Triston Wilson at the 73rd percentile. EJ Smith at LMU last season was in the 71st percentile, and during his freshman season was in the 82nd percentile. Presbyterian has the chance to have one of the best defensive starting 5’s in the Big South if they desire.

Playing Time:

The one concern for me is EJ Smith’s limited playing time compared to what Presbyterian usually asks of its point guards. In EJ Smith’s two seasons so far, he has averaged 26.9 MPG and 21.7 MPG, which is nothing to slouch at, especially as a Junior. Since the 2019-20 season, Presbyterian’s feature PG has averaged 30 MPG or more, with the lowest being Marquis Bennett at 31.5 and 31.7 MPG in 22-23 and 23-24, respectively.

EJ Smith does have the ability to play longer periods throughout the season. We saw that with him playing over 30 minutes in 16 of the games during his freshman season, while competing for minutes against stars like Wes Enis and Elyjah Freeman. Another way I think this can be alleviated comes from the Presbyterian amazing condition program. Carl Parrish spoke about how those offseason workouts have prepared him to play 40-45 minutes if needed.

Final Thoughts:

Presbyterian entered the portal with only one glaring need, and this addition addressed it with EJ Smith. The limit of a true PG is what, at times, held Presbyterian back last season. Last season, Presbyterian ranked 322nd in Turnover Percentage, its lowest in 2021 and tied for the 3rd-lowest since moving to D1. Having a PG that you can trust with the ball should return the turnovers to their normal levels, if not better than those levels.

For Presbyterian, if you can get exactly what EJ did at LMU, I think you are a fan of the addition. EJ Smith might not have the upside of other available guards in the portal, but he might provide some of the flash of other players. The portal is a lot like the NFL draft. If you are in WIN NOW, you fill your biggest need with the most ready player available, and that’s what I think Presbyterian with EJ Smith.

Without further ado, let’s get right into the breakdown.

Player Bio:

Before coming to Longwood, Jorke Aav had extensive basketball experience in Germany’s professional leagues, as well as multiple seasons of competition in Estonia’s U-18 and U-20 competitions.

2021-22 (Team Ehingen Urspring)

• At 16 years old, Jorke Aav made his debut against Baskets Paderborn, scoring 5 points, having 1 assist, and 1 steal in 20 minutes.

• In the 2021-22 season, Aav averaged 2.4 PPG, 0.5 RPG, and 0.5 APG in 10.9 MPG across 17 games.

• In his 2 starts, Jorke reached a career high of 10 points in one game. In another, he had 7 points and a career high 4 rebounds.

2022-23 (Team Ehingen Urspring, Estonia U18)

• Early in 2022, Jorke Aav made his first appearances for Estonia in the U18 Baltic Cup, averaging 3 PPG, 2 APG, and 1.5 SPG, helping Estonia earn a Silver Medal.

• In his 2nd year of pro competition, Jorke saw his stats jump to 5 PPG, 1.6 APG, and 1.3 RPG in 15.7 MPG.

2023-24 (Team Ehingen Urspring, Estonia U18)

• In the Summer of 2023, Jorke Aav in the Euro U18 B averaged 11.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 5.2 APG, helping earn a 13th-place finish for Estonia.

• In his 3rd season at Ehingen, Aav improved again, averaging 6 PPG, 2 RPG, and 2.7 APG in 19.2 MPG.

2024-25 (Team Ehingen Urspring, Estonia U20)

• In the Summer of 2024, Aav made 3 appearances on the Estonian U20 team, averaging 4.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 3 APG.

• Jorke Aav had a breakout in Year 4 at Ehingen. Aav averaged 13.4 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 3.3 RPG in 31.1 MPG.

• Aav had one double-double with assists on Oct 20th, 2024, against Orange Academy with 17 points and 11 assists.

2025-26 (VET-Concept Gladiators Trier, Estonia U20)

• Jorke Aav once again appeared for Estonia U20’s roster in the Summer of 2025, averaging 12 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 4.5 APG.

• Jorke also made 2 appearances in the BBL this past season, tallying 2 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists against FC Bayern Munich Basketball.

Film Review:

Film from Arman Jovic on X:

Passing Ability:

The first thing I took away from the film I watched of Jorke Aav is that Jorke might immediately be one of the best and flashiest passers in the Big South Conference. Every pass Jorke throws has something flashy about it. Does this sometimes get him in trouble? Yes. But even when he gets himself in trouble passing the ball, one thing stands out: speed. The ball flies out of Jorke’s hand, and that speed alone will catch Big South defenders sleeping.

In Jorke Aav’s career in Germany, he had a 1.18 Assist/TOV Ratio, which on its own is very nice. What makes it better is that Jorke Aav has consistently improved, going from a negative ratio in his first two seasons to a 1.12 AST/TOV in 23-24. After breaking into a positive AST/TOV Ratio in 23-24, Jorke broke out with a 1.48 in 24-25 and a 1.77 AST/TOV Ratio in the Bundesliga Regionalliga. In that most recent 1.77 AST/TOV ratio season, Jorke Aav had an Assist Ratio of 23.39, which would have been in the Top 20% last season in the Big South.

Jorke Aav will make an immediate impact on this team compared to last year, given how many Longwood players had a ratio above 1.1 AST/TOV. The answer is 2. Jacoi Hutchinson and Elijah Jones were the only players above 1.1, and Jones was in the 35th percentile of guards. Longwood now has 3 with greater than 1.1 in their most recent season, with all 3 having massive scoring and schematic upsides. Jorke Aav will be the oldest of the 3 PG’s for Longwood at 21 years old, with 4 years of National Team and Professional Experience, which alone makes him a massive contender for PG 1.

Tough Shots:

Another thing clear from Jorke Aav’s film was his ability to hit tough shots. He finishes layups through contact, takes midrange floaters, and makes step-back 3s with the shot clock expiring—he makes it look pure. Also, Jorke Aav often creates his own shots in isolation, using dribble moves, a screen, or simply beating his man on the first step.

I think making tough shots will matter at Longwood because of Redd Thompson Jr.’s role last season in Farmville. Jorke Aav had a 3PAr of 64.8% last season and 62.3% for his career. Redd Thompson Jr. posted a 55.7% 3PAr last season at Longwood and 55.3% over his career. Last season, Redd shot 32.4% from three, and Jorke shot 31.5% in Germany Pro B (24-25), with similar 3PT shot choices. Their percentages differed by less than 1%.

2PT Woes:

One of the biggest hurdles for Aav at this level will be finishing at the rim and in the paint. This hurdle is not new for Jorke Aav. He is a career 43% 2PT shooter. Unlike his AST/TOV ratio, this stat has not improved with time. In his most recent season in Germany’s Pro B, Aav averaged 38% from 2-point range. Aav’s best games were with

As much of a hurdle as this has been for Aav, Longwood could be a place to alleviate that struggle. Last season, no Longwood Lancer guard shot less than 46% from 2PT land, and no guard has shot worse than 38% since Jesper Grunlund in 23-24, with a 28.6% on 56 total attempts. Even if Aav doesn’t go past his career average of 43%, Longwood has had success with similarly high percentage guards like Wayln Napper, who averaged 43.7% from 2PT in 22-23.

Final Thoughts:

Jorke Aav might be one of the most intriguing prospects in the Big South. Aav immediately enters as a likely Top 10 passer with, I believe, similar offensive scoring upside if consistency can be found. The clearest play comparison I have for Aav is a player I mentioned earlier in Redd Thompson Jr. Both are average-sized point guards that have incredible scoring potential but lack true consistency, but Aav stands out more than Thompson because of how good a playmaker he is.

A lot of Aav’s role will depend on the many years he will be granted by the NCAA. For this preview, I will give him 1 season just as a simple baseline. For it to be a successful one-season for Jorke, he needs to break into the rotation, something that I believe he will be able to do. All 3 guards at Longwood share the same flaws and strengths: strong playmakers who lack shooting consistency. I think Jorke Aav’s experience in Professional leagues for 4 seasons makes him most prepared for this moment, but I believe he will end up in a Redd Thompson 1st guard off the bench role more than a starting PG.

Without further ado, let’s get right into the breakdown.

Player Bio:

Before transferring to High Point, CJ Brown began his career as a 4-star recruit at South Florida, spending two seasons there under Ben Fletcher and Bryan Hodgson.

2024-25 (Freshman Season):

• During his freshman season at South Florida, Brown averaged 7.2 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 2.3 RPG.

• Joined the Top 10 Freshmen in USF history for Steals (8th), Free Throw Percentage (9th), Free Throws Made (T10), and Assists (10th).

• Earned All AAC Freshman Team Honors and 3 Freshman of the Week Awards.

• Was coached by now HPU Assistant Ben Fletcher after the passing of USF Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim.

2025-26 (Sophomore Season):

• Stayed at USF after entering the transfer portal, returning to play for Bryan Hodgson, who has been hired from Arkansas State.

• During Brown’s sophomore season, Brown averaged 10.9 PPG, 4.7 APG, and 3.9 RPG.

• Brown helped lead USF to the NCAA Tournament, earning an 11 Seed before falling to Louisville in the Round of 64.

Film Review:

Film for GreenLight Media on X:

Playmaking:

The best strength of CJ Brown’s game lies in an area of emphasis for Flynn Clayman and his staff: good playmaking guards who don’t turn the ball over. Last season at USF, CJ Brown had an Assist Percentage of 29.7%, putting him in the 97th percentile, and, even more importantly, an Assist to Turnover Ratio of 2.27, which placed him in the 92nd percentile.

Last season, High Point’s backcourt, with Conrad Martinez and Rob Martin, was very similar in that regard, both when they entered and during their seasons at High Point. In his first two seasons at Arizona, Conrad Martinez had a 28.2% Assist Percentage, and at High Point last season, Conrad had a 23.2% Assist Percentage. In Rob Martin’s 3 seasons at Indiana State and SEMO, Rob Martin had a 27.5% Assist Percentage. During his senior season at High Point, Rob Martin had a 25.6% Assist Percentage. CJ Brown will fit right in an elite playmaking backcourt with Conrad Martinez, and Peach Jam Assist Single Game Record leader Trey Pearson.

Play Style:

One more thing that makes CJ Brown an almost seamless fit into the High Point system is that he already comes from a similar system. Last season at South Florida, 55.4% of plays involving CJ Brown featured a rim attack, both of which were in the 90th percentile in frequency. His 3rd-most-frequent offensive plays were in transition. Two of those 3 were also positive efficiency to the D1 average, those being Attack and Kick and Plays in Transition, with Attack and Kick being 75th percentile in Points Per Play.

Last season, High Point ran most of its offense in transition, ranking 98th percentile in the CBB with a 1.25 PPP, similar to CJ Brown’s 1.23 PPP. High Point does run fewer attack plays, but they are way more efficient and were able to boost Rob Martin’s PPP at the rim by over .1 PPP on more plays. Playing in an offense like High Point should really uncap CJ’s potential offensively, especially with his unreal explosiveness.

CJ Brown should fit seamlessly into the system defensively as well. Last season, while at USF, Brown had a steal percentage of 2%. Rob Martin entered High Point coming off a 1.8% Steal Percentage season and ended up having a 3% Steal Percentage season. Conrad Martinez was 3.1% Steal Percentage player at Arizona and was a 3.6% Steal Percentage player on more minutes at High Point. High Point also had a higher steal rate than South Florida. I would expect CJ Brown to be around 2% at least next season as a Panther.

Explosiveness:

The final part of CJ Brown’s game that just pops off the tape is his probably most glaring attribute, his athleticism. The term “Walking Highlight Tape” gets used a lot in College Basketball. CJ Brown is the true definition of “Walking Highlight Tape”. CJ Brown, since being at Kell High School, has been known for his bounce, with BallisLife among others coming to his games to watch him and his former teammate, Peyton Marshall, tear it up at Kell.

The athleticism isn’t only seen during his high school career. Last season in College Basketball, CJ Brown had a 50% FG on Dunk, 10%+ DRB, 1%+ Block Percentage, with an additional filter of 25% Assist Percentage at a height of 6’2” or less. The only other player to have those same stats is Josiah Lake II at Oregon State. In the past 3 seasons, notable players with the same stat profile are Javon Small from West Virginia, Shadada Wells at McNeese, Devion Smith from Utah,, and, most notably, Jordan Marsh from UNC Asheville.

Shooting Percentages:

The one glaring issue with CJ Brown is his shooting percentages and the pure volume of shots. Last season at USF, Brown was in the 85th percentile for FGA Per 40 Minutes but ranked in the 11th percentile for True Shooting Percentage, the 6th percentile for 2PT Percentage,, and the 24th percentile for 3PT Percentage. Even during his freshman season at USF, despite being a better shooter, he was only a 47% true shooter, shooting 26% from behind the arc.

CJ Brown doesn’t need to be an elite shooter for High Point to succeed; his playmaking alone makes him an amazing addition. With that being said, if CJ can find a more efficient offensive output, even to an average D1 shooting level, CJ Brown immediately becomes one of the best true PG’s in College Basketball.

Final Thoughts:

I am very excited to see what CJ Brown can do in the Big South, especially in Flynn Clayman’s system. Both of High Point’s main point guards last season (Conrad Martinez and Rob Martin) had been superb playmakers in their previous stops and continued to flourish on that end, but both guards took strides as scorers, especially seen in Rob’s late-season resurgence. If Flynn can get CJ Brown open shots and open lanes, and that same jump happens for an uber-athletic guard, it could be a complete game-changer for High Point.

I already think CJ Brown has a very good chance to be on one of the All-Conference lists at season’s end, just based on his last season at USF. Now, CJ reunites with Ben Fletcher, the coach who had CJ shooting at 45.5% from the field and an offensive system that will feed into CJ’s style in transition. If High Point can play as much in transition next season as they did last season, they will get the absolute most from CJ Brown. That most likely ends with CJ Brown earning 1st Team All Big South Honors at season’s end and potentially National Award Watch List attention.

Without further ado, let’s get right into the breakdown.

Player Bio:

Before transferring to Gardner-Webb, DJ Daniel spent 2 seasons at Frostburg State, redshirting as a true freshman before playing as an RS freshman this past season.

2025-26 (RS Freshman Season):

• During Daniel’s RS Freshman season, he started in 23 of the 29 games he played in, averaging 16.7 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 3.1 APG, shooting 38% from behind the arc.

• DJ Daniel earned 2nd Team All-MEC Honors.

DJ Daniel also had the 10th most steals in a single season in Frostburg State history with 59 steals.

Film Review:

Film for DJ Daniel on X:

Offensive Power:

The truly most impressive part about DJ Daniel’s game is how much of an offensive workhorse he was at the Division 2 level. For almost every shooting stat outside of Free Throw Percentage and 3 Point Attempt Rate, Daniel ranked in the 80th percentile or higher in all of Division 2. This includes being in the 90th percentile across all “Ball Handling” attributes, except Turnover Percentage, where he ranks in the 88th percentile.

Daniel truly only takes two kinds of shots: at the rim and above-the-break 3-pointers, ranking in the 94th percentile in At The Rim and 3 Point shots, with over 11 attempts per 40 minutes. There is a reason he takes those shots; he makes them. At the rim last season, Daniel shot 74.8%, putting him in the 88th percentile, with no real drop from the left or right, consistently 10 to 15% above the Division 2 average. That same story comes up with Above the Break 3-pointers, where DJ Daniel shot 39.4%, putting him in the 83rd percentile and near or above D2 averages from both the left and right sides of the court.

If you look at Gardner-Webb’s shooting percentages as a team last year, almost everything was below the league average. The two shots Gardner Webb took the most of were at the Rim and above the Break 3’s. Gardner Webb ranked in the 94th percentile of shots at the Rim with over 21 Attempts Per Game. In Above the Break 3’s Gardner Webb ranked in the 51st percentile, but when you combined the Above the Break 3’s and At the Rim shot numbers, Gardner Webb ranked in the 78th percentile in Attempts Per Game. Adding a player like Daniel should at least slightly bolster those putrid shooting numbers from last season.

Athletic Freak:

The only thing that can’t be quantified by analytics or generic stats but becomes very evident when watching film on DJ Daniel is that he is an ATHLETIC FREAK. Whether it is his ability to jump out of the gym, get multiple steps in front of a defender on his first step, or his ability to close a passing lane in a matter of seconds, it is all very evident on film. The only recent Big South player I can think of who is as athletic as DJ Daniel is truly Mister Dean. Even then, Dean still has issues with both stamina and offensive breakaway athleticism, neither of which is an issue for DJ Daniel.

One of the biggest athletic skills I love about Daniel is his stamina. For some of the non D2 sicko’s out there, Frostburg State is in the MEC conference, which, in my opinion, is one of the hardest conferences to play in, in ALL of College Basketball, for one basic thing. PACE.

Last season in the Big South, Charleston Southern had the highest pace in the conference at 71.9; that would have ranked 4th-slowest in the MEC. DJ Daniel played 30.2 MPG in a system where you are constantly at full go, playing a style of basketball that is controlled chaos. I believe Daniel would have zero problems playing the most minutes in Gardner Webb’s system, as he already played nearly 3 MPG more than the highest player for Gardner Webb last season.

Ball Hawk:

One thing I mentioned during the athletics portion was that Daniel can fill passing lines extremely quickly; analytics also agree with that. Last season at Frostburg State, Daniel had a 98th percentile steal percentage of 3.6% and a 99th percentile steal-to-personal foul rate. Those stats become even more evident when you look at On-Off Statistics. When DJ Daniel was on the court, Frostburg State had a Steal Per 40 Minutes of 8.2, and when DJ Daniel was off the court, that Steals Per 40 Minutes dropped to 6.6. The 1.6 Steals Per 40 Minutes drop ranked DJ Daniel in the 89th percentile of On/Off Steals Per 40. Additionally, DJ Daniel boasted an 85th percentile increase in Team Steal Percentage and a 96th percentile increase in Steals to Personal Foul Rate.

Last season, Gardner-Webb ranked in the 39th percentile in Steals Per Game and in the 32nd percentile in Steal Percentage. Additionally, Gardner-Webb has not had a player with a Steal Percentage above 3% since Nate Johnson in the 2019-20 season. Outside of the top 2 teams from last season (Winthrop and High Point), every single Big South team ranked in the bottom 50% of teams in Turnover Percentage, with 4 of those teams being in the bottom 20%. Having a player like DJ Daniel, who will punish any mistakes, is a game-changer in a league as turnover-prone as the Big South.

Play Style:

The one glaring concern for DJ Daniel’s ability to transfer up comes from multiple parts of his game that I will call “Play Style”. The main 2 issues in the “Play Style” are low assist shot rates and Pace Issues. Last season, Frostburg State as a team had an Assist Percentage of 45.3%, ranking in the 21st percentile. DJ Daniel ranked in the 11th percentile for assisted two-point shots and the 4th percentile for assisted 3-point shots. While Gardner Webb also ranked very low in assisted shots last season, ranking in the 3rd and 16th percentiles for 2- and 3-point shots, I think that will need to change for Gardner Webb to become a contender, as most unassisted shots don’t lead to good shots.

The 2nd issue with the Play Style, and the one that I think poses the BIGGEST issue for DJ Daniel’s potential success at the Division 1 level, comes from Pace of Play. Frostburg State plays at a faster pace than anyone at the Division 1 level, in part because the MEC has many teams following the Jim Crutchfield playstyle. Gardner-Webb ranked among the fastest D1 teams, in the 86th percentile, but played a style with 7 fewer possessions per 40 minutes than Frostburg State. That lack of chaos and high-speed basketball could throw Daniel for a whirl, as it did for former MEC Coach and Crutchfield Disciple Ben Howlett at IU Indy last season.

Final Thoughts:

This might be one of the favorite additions in the conference. DJ Daniel was a complete highlight reel in a very fun D2 conference and is now making the move to D1. Gardner-Webb last year lacked a star; only two players averaged over 10 PPG, and both were at 10.7 PPG, but it had 8 players with more than 6 PPG. Is DJ Daniel that star? I don’t know, but analytically it’s a very good stab at it. DJ Daniel was the 4th-best offensive Win Shares Per 40 Minutes player in one of the top D2 leagues with some of the craziest athleticism.

In the Top 25 Comps for DJ Daniels 25-26 season on CBBAnalytics, it is littered with D1 or better talents: Dallas Dillard, JJ Harper, MJ Iraldi, Qua Grant, Taelon Peter, Zach Phillipkoski, and Ziare Wells. History seems to be on DJ Daniel’s side, at least to be a CUSA-level player and maybe more. I think Gardner-Webb hit the jackpot with this transfer addition. I likely will have this as a Top 10 transfer when the portal comes to a halt, and I think DJ Daniel earns some honors at season’s end.

The one difference is that it is BIGGER and BETTER.

For those who didn’t read our portal previews from last year, or those wanting a recap of what I will provide:

The Scout

The Scout is our version of offseason previews of select Big South transfers and incoming freshmen.

In these previews, I will watch as much available film as I can tolerate, then provide my thoughts, good and bad, about what I see, along with any analytics that are relevant to what I notice.

Then, finally, I will provide my overall thoughts along with player comparisons and recap what I think you can expect from the player in the next season or many seasons.

Player Bio:

Before transferring to Charleston Southern, Anthony Ruffolo spent the past seasons at D2 Cedarville in Ohio.

2023-24 (Freshman Season)

• During his freshman season, Ruffolo played in all 35 games and started in 17 of those games. Ruffolo averaged 9.9 PPG in his freshman season, ranking 3rd on the entire team, while also averaging 3.7 RPG and 2.3 APG.

• Named to the All-G-MAC Academic Team

• Ruffolo also helped Cedarville earn their first NCCAA Title since 2019 and Third in program history.

2024-25 (Sophomore Season)

• During Ruffolo’s sophomore season, he once again ranked 3rd in scoring with 12.3 PPG, but made large leaps in averaging 4.9 RPG and 3 APG.

• Once again named to the All-G-MAC Academic Team, he was also named to the G-MAC All-Tournament Team.

2025-26 (Junior Season)

• During his junior season, Ruffolo led the team in Points Per Game with 16.6 PPG, Steals Per Game with 1.3 SPG, while also averaging 4 RPG and 2.5 APG.

• Named 2nd Team All-G-MAC.

Film Review:

Film from Anthony Ruffolo on X:

Playmaking/Basketball IQ:

Something that becomes evident when you are

watching Anthony Ruffolo on the court is his ability to run an offense. In all 3 seasons at Cedarville, he ranked in the Top 65th percentile or better in Assist Percentage, and during both his freshman and junior seasons, Ruffolo ranked in the 75th percentile or better in turnover percentage.

One of the true areas where Ruffolo excels is in the pick and roll, his ability to find the open man coupled with his ability to finish at the rim but also having the willingness to take 3 point and mid range shots. The combination of those abilities makes it so that you can’t “blitz the ball” on the screen, as he’ll find the screener, you can’t sag off, as he’ll take the 3-pointer or mid-range, and you can’t have a help defender, as he will kick it out to the open shooter.

Last season, all 3 of Charleston Southern’s point guards had an assist rate of 20% or better, and a lot of that was due to Charleston Southern’s offense. Luke Williams is no better example of this. During Luke’s 2 seasons at Maryville, he had assist rates of 12% and 11%, but during his one season at Charleston Southern, he eclipsed 20% for the first time.

Driving Ability:

One of the things I mentioned in the playmaking section was Ruffolo’s ability to drive off the pick-and-roll. The one thing I didn’t mention is that if he doesn’t kick the ball out or pass out of it, Ruffolo is also a very good finisher at the rim. During Ruffolo’s career at Cedarville, he shot over 69% at the rim, which places him in the 81st percentile on over 185 attempts.

During his junior season, Ruffolo really excelled at the rim, shooting 72% at the rim, ranking him in the 87th percentile on relatively average volume, taking around 27% of his shots at the rim, both of which were higher than Charleston Southern’s last season.

Ruffolo should be able to at least slightly affect Charleston Southern’s mediocre shooting percentages at the rim from last season. Last season, Charleston Southern was hovering around D1 average at the rim, shooting around 60%. Ruffolo, during his junior season at Cedarville, shot 72% at the rim. I do believe in seeing something higher than the 60% CSU shot at the rim in 2025-26.

Shot Diet:

One of the most promising things that I liked about Ruffolo, in Charleston Southern’s system, is his shot diet that should transition seamlessly into Coach Nimley’s system. Last season at Cedarville, Ruffolo took 343 shots, 141 of which were above the break three’s, making up 41.1% of his shot diet, and 93 shots at the rim, making up 27.1% of his shot diet. Last season, Charleston Southern as a team took 1835 shots, 688 being above the break 3’s, making up 37.5% of their shot diet, and 510 shots at the rim, making up 27.8% of their diet.

The shot diet numbers at the rim for Charleston Southern come from one big thing: their massive emphasis on playing through their big men. Last year, being Reis Jones and Lase Olalare, along with their cutting guards of A’lahn Sumler and the committee around him. This year, Lase Olalare returns, and once again, Saah Nimley has another committee of guards, including Anthony Ruffolo.

The above-the-break 3-point numbers stem from the same reason as the numbers at the rim. When you play inside the paint, it usually either leads to a shot at the rim, or leads to a double team, which forces a kick-out many times, leading to a 3-pointer above the break in open space. Charleston Southern ranked in the 82nd percentile in Inside Out efficiency, much due to their big men finding open shooters who aren’t afraid to shoot, something Anthony Ruffolo is NOT afraid to do.

Position Size/Athleticism:

The only reason I have concern is his size at the guard position, which comes from his athleticism and size as a guard. Ruffolo is a larger-bodied guard at 6’0 “, 190 lbs, which I think can be a benefit but also a downside in the Big South. I do think his size allows him to guard 1-3 to potentially some 4’s without a massive disadvantage, which is something CSU will need as they won’t have a TON of size like many mid-major teams in this new area. The size also makes him able to play a bit of bully ball against some of the smaller guards in the league, similar to how Colin Hawkins did for Gardner-Webb last season.

The one worry that comes up on film when watching Cedarville and Anthony Ruffolo is that he is not a very fast player. He does have decent quickness, but that top-end speed just is not there on film, and I do think that CAN pose an issue in the Big South against guards like Conrad Martinez and others. The one thing I do think will come to Ruffolo’s benefit is that there aren’t 5 balls on the court, you can place him off-ball on defense, which should lessen those issues.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I am a very big fan of this addition. I don’t think Ruffolo is going to be some All-Conference Level talent, but that’s not what Charleston Southern needs. Charleston Southern played their best basketball last season when everyone just played their roles, and no one tried to play hero ball. Ruffolo fits a role for CSU. He can hit shots, has a solid knack as a playmaker, and is just overall a very well-rounded guard that should be able to provide decent numbers in the minutes he is on the court.

I really think Ruffolo takes a similar role to Luke Williams’ last season. Both were high-volume D2 guards who transferred to D1 for their final seasons of basketball. Both guards were main scorers on mid-level D2 teams who could score from 3-point range and at the rim, the only real difference being that Luke Williams also had a pretty prolific mid-range game. If Ruffolo fits into that Luke Williams role, I think CSU hit another home run with a D2 transfer up and could be poised to take that next step at CSU in Year 3 of Coach Nimley’s tenure.

After the Under 16 timeout, both Longwood and UNCA Asheville quickly answered with 3-pointers from Fats Billups and Kam Taylor, respectively. A flurry of missed shots and offensive rebounds by Longwood followed until UNC Asheville benefited from a held ball, regaining possession. This led to a Julian Clarke 3 on the other end. Longwood responded immediately with another Fats Billups 3. Redd Thompson drove and missed, but Bernard’s follow briefly put Longwood ahead, only for Solomon to reply with an AND-1, restoring Asheville’s 2-point lead.

Following the Under 12 timeout, Longwood’s inbounds pass was stolen by Kam Taylor, with follow-up attempts by Solomon and Mayfield, though the play was ultimately wiped out for offensive goaltending. On their next possession, Longwood capitalized with an Elijah Tucker slam. Shortly after, Solomon broke into double figures with a layup, then quickly added a 3-pointer on the following trip. Justin Wright extended Asheville’s lead with a jump stop and swish, putting them up 6. Momentum continued for Asheville as Justin Wright hit another 3-pointer.

As play resumed after the Under 8 timeout, Longwood missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but Emanuel Richards grabbed the rebound and scored, finally ending Longwood’s field goal drought of more than four minutes. After a charge call on Kam Taylor, Jaylen Benard helped Longwood trim the deficit to 5. A travel by Toyaz Solomon followed, leading to Tucker heading to the free-throw line on the other end. Tucker made both, cutting Asheville’s lead to 3. Kam Taylor was able to briefly extend Asheville’s lead again, but Longwood answered once more before the media timeout.

Following the Under 4 timeout, Asheville got another 3-pointer from Kam Taylor, this time following two free throws from Jacoi Hutchinson. On Asheville’s next trip, Taylor hit another 3, pushing the lead to 6 and giving Taylor 16 points. After a steal by Elijah Jones, Longwood went to the line but only made one of two. UNC Asheville quickly took advantage, with Toyaz Solomon hitting a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 8. Longwood battled back to cut the lead to 4, but tension rose as Kam Taylor went down and left the game for the locker room. The 4-point lead would hold into halftime.

Despite the earlier injury scare, Kam Taylor returned for the 2nd half. However, it was Julian Clarke who opened the scoring for Asheville with a lane drive. Shortly after, Hutchinson went down hard for Longwood, pausing his free throws due to a finger issue. Taylor, unfazed, made two sharp cuts in the lane for consecutive baskets. After Asheville forced two turnovers, Jacoi Hutchinson scored a wide-open layup to tie the game for Longwood.

After the Under 16 timeout in the second half, Kam Taylor added his 21st and 22nd points at the free throw line, but Jaylen Benard tied the game again for Longwood. On the following possession, Toyaz Solomon converted an AND-1, while Elijah Tucker answered with a trip to the line, making just 1 of 2. The teams traded possessions, with Benard missing both free throws before Asheville tipped the rebound out of bounds. Longwood, however, missed its ensuing shot, which sailed over the backboard.

After the Under 12 timeout, Jacoi Hutchinson followed his own miss and scored two to bring Asheville’s lead down to 2. Solomon then split two free throws after a hard foul. On Longwood’s next possession, Hutchinson scored again in the lane. The stretch ended dramatically as Tucker took a massive fall and went down injured.

After Tucker’s injury and a lengthy review that resulted in nothing, Longwood comes down after a UNC Asheville miss and gets two more at the free-throw line. After Justin Wright split two free throws, Jacoi Hutchinson made a layup, forcing Mike Morrell to call a TO, and shortly after, we got a media TO.

After Julian Clarke went one of two at the line, Redd Thompson drove in the lane and got two points, followed by an Asheville miss and then a foul on the other end, sending Richards to the line. Richards converts both, giving Longwood a 7-point lead. Kameron Taylor once again went down with an apparent ankle injury; Thomas took the free throws in place of Taylor, converting 1 of 2.

After a series of what I can only describe as miracles, Elijah Tucker returned to the bench, and Kam Taylor checked back in for Asheville.

Longwood then with two makes after an Asheville 3 cut Longwood’s lead to 1 point. After the Under 4 media, UNC Asheville split one of two at the free-throw line, cutting the Longwood lead to 5.

UNC Asheville challenged an out-of-bounds call and won, but failed to capitalize on the original shot. Kam Taylor got the rebound and got sent to the free-throw line, where he sank one of two, cutting the Lancer lead to 4 points. After a circus shot missed for Longwood, Justin Wright quickly went down the court to cut the lead to two, then another turnover by the Lancers gave Asheville a chance to tie or take the lead, but ended up with a heldball favoring Longwood.

After multiple misses by Longwood and about 3-4 missed fouls, the whistle finally goes off, sending Nziemi to the line, where he split his free throws, only giving Longwood a 3-point lead.

After an Asheville timeout, Kam Taylor hit a big 3-pointer to tie the game. On the next play, Longwood had a great chance, but Thomas blocked the shot, leading to a shot-clock violation for the Lancers. Asheville had a chance to win but missed.

Longwood, with another chance, hits the rim and GOES OFF.

Longwood taps the ball out of bounds on the jump ball, and with Asheville’s first possession, they do NOT convert; Longwood converts on theirs. On the following possession, Asheville gets to the line on a block by Richards, which he was slow to get up from. Wright made both of his at the line.

Longwood would then get sent to the line, where Billups split the pair, giving Longwood a slim, one-point lead. After another review, the refs called a dead-ball tech on Hutchinson, which gave Asheville 2 points AND the ball.

Asheville was able to take advantage of the tech with a Wright jumper that gave Asheville a 3-point lead. Nzimei splits one of two, cutting the lead to 2 before Wright went to the line again, extending it to 4.

After a series of missed shots, free throws, made shots, and fouls, Asheville was able to pull out an 85-82 win.

Post Game Recap:

Mike Morrell on the toughness of his team, “That’s kinda been the story of our year, we’ve had defections due to health and other things but no one feels sorry for us. We’ve won a ton of games in this league the last years. No one felt sorry for us because we didn’t play DJ Patrick tonight, you got to throw the ball up in the air.”

Mike Morrell on winning near his hometown of Elizabethton, “I got a love hate relationship with this place, like a big one. My junior year I lost here in the district tournament in an upset. Here’s a good story for you, I actually had a girlfriend that we bought concert tickets one time and she broke up with me the next week, I think she took those concert tickets… it can be on the moon, I don’t care I want to win.”

A very emotional Elijah Tucker on Ronnie’s impact on him, “It’s meant a lot to me, Longwood changed me in a lot of ways, especially Ronnie… I remember two years ago I got hurt in the Big South tournament, him and our athetlic trainer stayed with me that whole night, in that hospital. He never left my side until he had to go that next day for the conference championship, he is the reason I came back and he’s the reason I wanted to bring a championship to Longwood.”

Same for Brycen Blaine, who hadn’t appeared since Feb 4th at High Point.

After a missed 3 by Winthrop to start the game, Jacob Taylor corked off a 3 of his own, which seemed to find the bottom of the net, which led to CSU taking a 7-1 lead into the Under 16, with Duncomb still on the bike for Winthrop.

After the Under 16, Winthrop finally got going with 2 free throws by Clouet. Kareem Rozier followed with a jumper. Next, a loud pop echoed as Logan Duncomb checked in after Ed Nnamoko’s injury. He almost immediately gave Winthrop the lead at the line with 2 free throws.

A 3 pointer from Kody Clouet put Winthrop with their biggest lead of 5 but CSU with points on back to back to back possessions to take the lead once again for Charleston Southern. CSU was not done with the scoring, though, as next time down, CSU got another one to fall before Logan Duncomb stopped the bleeding with a layup, but that layup seemed to be a bandaid on a gunshot as CSU entered the Under 8 media on a 14-2 run.

That timeout, once again, seemed to just be putting another bandaid on the gunshot as Jaquias Franklin scored on the next two CSU possessions. Winthrop was finally able to stop the bleeding and some momentum after Kody Clouet and Logan Duncomb combined to go on a 9-0 run of their own, before A’lahn Sumler made 1 of 2 to stop the bleeding.

After a foul sent us to the Under 4, Brycen Blaine headed to the line, cashing home both free throws to give CSU a 3-point lead. Ed Nnamoko comes back in after being injured early and gets 2 for Winthrop, followed by 2 more by Daylen Berry, giving Winthrop a lead before Jesse Hafemeister corked off a 3 that swished, giving CSU the lead back, a lead that would enter halftime as a 3-point CSU advantage.

Winthrop began the scoring in the 2nd half with Ed Nnamoko making 1 of 2 at the free throw line, but that was overshadowed by Logan Duncomb having ice on his foot coming out of the tunnel in the 2nd half. CSU then began their 2nd half scoring with a Jesse Hafemeister layup and Luke Williams 3 before Kareem Rozier got two of his own. After a review that led to no changes, Hendawy makes an in-bound layup to cut CSU’s lead to 3, but Nate Brafford with a goaltending AND 1 that would send up to the Under 16, which was converted.

Logan Duncomb returned to the locker room as CSU continued a run before Ed Nnamoko scored on the other end, cutting CSU’s lead to single digits. Winthrop corked a little run, separated by a CSU layup by Reis Jones. After the Under 12, Logan Duncomb returned to the game and immediately scored and helped Winthrop tie it back up at 57, and a Tommy Kamarad 3 gave Winthrop the lead, causing CSU to rip a timeout.

Winthrop continued their run with a Logan Duncomb layup before Luke Williams cut the lane, ending Winthrop’s run, before a Logan Duncomb layup gave CSU a 5-point lead into the Under 8. Coming out of the Under 8, Jacob Taylor had a crucial rebound and layup, but Daylen Berry negated that with a fadeaway on the other end.

After a series of things that you aren’t allowed to do and some turnovers, Luke Williams with a big layup to cut Winthrop’s lead to 2, but a foul on the other end extended it back to 4 with two at the line from Wilson. After two trips to the line on both ends left us at 4, A’lahn Sumler with a massive 3 to cut it to 1, and a Reis Jones layup gave CSU the lead once again, and Hafemeister with an open lane gave CSU a 3-point lead into the Under 4.

CSU continued their run with Sumler making 1 of 2 at the line, then a dunk by Reis Jones, who would later foul out, which sent Duncomb to the line, but when Winthrop seemed dead. Two CSU turnovers let Winthrop TAKE THE LEAD with just over 20 seconds, and after a LONG review, CSU loses the ball, and Winthrop gets fouled, sending them to the line where Rozier made both.

The final shot by CSU did not even happen as Hafemeister stepped out of bounds before getting his shot off, and Clouet iced the game at the line.

Post Game Recap:

Mark Prosser in his opening statement, “I have been amazed by the resolve of this team for months, if you have been following our season, you know we’ve been in difficult venues and difficult situations and during those last two media timeout they don’t blink”

Logan Duncomb when asked about his 106 word statement at Xavier, “You know I think I’ve grown a lot since my time at Xavier, you know that was a challenging time for me and I used that time to grow a lot as a person and as a basketball player, I had to figure myself out. During that time, I feel in love with the game, I want nothing more than to be playing basketball. When I saw when we were down 11, I couldn’t go out like that.”

Mark Prosser on Duncomb’s character, “If you come ever come to our arena we have this thing by our locker room, it says Culture of Joy and it sounds great sometimes, we want our kids to find the joy of playing the game and play because they love it.”

Everyone’s best chance at March glory comes here, Trae Benham, Carlik Jones, DJ Burns and many other had their legacies cemented via this tournament right here.

The bracket is set.

The regular season is done.

Every game is simple, WIN or GO HOME.

Team Previews/Season Recap:

9 Seed: Gardner Webb 3-28 (1-15)

Recap: It has been a season to forget for the Runnin Bulldogs faithful from basically the moment the ball tipped off. In Game #1, they began the game down 23-1 to Minnesota but seemed to look better against Clemson before the true nail in their coffin against North Greenville suffering a loss by double digits. It took until December for Gardner Webb to get their first win, and until Jan 23rd to get their first win over a D1 school.

Despite the awful start to the season, Gardner Webb does seem to be improve playing games way close than they were even at the start of conference play. Gardner Webb lost to High Point by 55 in the Qubein Center in Paul Porter Arena that margin cut massively. Anything can happen in March, maybe GWU can harness a bit of that 2019 magic and make a run.

8 Seed: USC Upstate 13-18 (5-11)

Recap: The story for Upstate’s season was described with their non conference and overtime games, but both of those actually went good Upstate. Their one stumble has been conference play. Upstate began non conference play with a close loss to Cal Baptist before picking up a massive road win at Fresno State. They would later pick up an overtime win against Coastal Carolina, and a win over WCU along with a very close loss to Nebraska.

Conference play began pretty rough losing 3 straight before getting their first conference win, in overtime vs Charleston Southern. Before once again losing 3 straight, then winning 2 of their next 3 including another overtime win against Charleston Southern. Upstate picked up a massive win over Presbyterian before ending their season with another big win over Gardner Webb.

7 Seed: Charleston Southern 15-16 (5-11)

Recap: The story for Charleston Southern has been very similar to USC Upstate, the non conference and Overtime. In the non conference it seemed very possible that the 2nd best team in the conference wasn’t Radford, UNC Asheville or Winthrop but Charleston Southern. CSU had marquee wins over Richmond and ECU and close losses to other mid major contenders.

The start of conference play was much of that same thing, picking up two wins over Gardner Webb and UNC Asheville before narrowly falling to Winthrop. That loss to Winthrop set up a massive game with High Point and Charleston Southern gave them a run for their money taking them to OT, but fell in overtime. That loss was apart of 7 straight losses including 4 in overtime. CSU tallied another loss in overtime, making them 0-5 in games going past regulation but CSU is finally getting healthy right as they need it. CSU could cause some havoc in this thing.

6 Seed: Presbyterian 14-17 (7-9)

Recap: The story for Presbyterian’s season has been consistency. This team has basically been playing the same way all season and most of last season. In their first 4 games, PC only dropped one to Navy including wins over Georgia State and East Tennessee State. Presbyterian would take a few more big wins before entering conference play including hold The Citadel to 41 points and beating Morehead State.

In conference play, Presbyterian was basically always in the game outside of three total non conference games. They also weren’t consistently blowing team out either as only 1 of their 7 wins came from double figures or more and a total of 5 of their games being 1 possession games. Presbyterian is built for excitement in the month where excitement is the theme.

5 Seed: Longwood 16-15 (8-8)

Recap: The story of Longwood’s season has be flashes, there have been flashes on excellence whether it’s beating James Madison, or almost beating Wake Forest but in that same non conference they suffered losses to Delaware State and Maryland Eastern Shore at home which absolutely TANKED their metrics.

Conference was about the same way starting with likely one of the flashiest wins of any team beating Winthrop on day 1 of conference play, then a very nice win over Presbyterian that now pops on the resume. Then the floor started to creep back including losing to USC Upstate but Longwood seems to be trending up after winning of their last 4.

4 Seed: UNC Asheville 14-16 (8-8)

Recap: The story of Asheville’s season, their starting 5 and heartbreakers. The non conference began with 3 of their first 4 losses coming in heartbreaking fashion including a foul in the waning seconds against Tennessee State and a buzzer beater vs Western Carolina. Despite those losses, 4 players were standing out for UNC Asheville. Toyaz Solomon, Kam Taylor, Justin Wright and DJ Patrick.

Once conference play came around, much of the heartbreak followed them including 4, one possession losses compared to only 1, one possession win. As the season has moved on Asheville still has received not much production from their 4 main stars but have seen flashes from Mayfield and Thomas but not enough to move them out of the middle of the conference ending 8-8 in conference play.

3 Seed: Radford 16-15 (9-7)

Recap: The story of Radford’s season, has simply been headlines. It began with the hiring of Zach Chu and the out of the box-ness of that hire. Then headlines shifted to their stellar portal class and their first few wins of the season. After that, the 6 game losing streak, and Dennis Parker Jr breaking the Big South single game scoring record before finding some sense of normalcy ending conference play just under .500.

Once conference play came around, this team found an overdrive gear, including starting conference play at 4-1 before running into a gauntlet of 3 of the best team in the conference. After their gauntlet of HPU, Winthrop and CSU, Radford was able to end conference at 9-7 firmly putting them in the 3 seed.

2 Seed: Winthrop 21-10 (13-3)

Recap: The story of Winthrop season is, a few more possessions. Winthrop has only lost two games by double digits, and both happened to be back to back. Winthrop was the first season to win a game, picking up an 8am game vs Queens before two very close losses to George Mason and Coastal Carolina. Winthrop really burst onto the scene this season with their near win vs Arkansas, then their near win over Nebraska. A buzzer beater over LIU, and a few more non D1 wins put the team over .500 entering conference play.

After a loss to Texas Tech, Longwood was able to pick off a worn down Winthrop team. That loss seemingly sparked a fire for Winthrop as they went on a 12 game winning streak including a win over High Point and two close wins over Radford. That streak would end with a loss to High Point by 2 points, which all but ruined Winthrop regular season title hopes.

1 Seed: High Point 27-4 (15-1)

Recap: The story for High Point has been dominance, in each of their non conference wins, not one came with a margin less than 10. Including their opening win against Furman with two more wins following before High Point stumbled against UAB. High Point picked right back up winning 9 more games only falling to Southern Illinois and App State both on late game heroics by the foes.

Once conference came along it seemed HPU was set to make a massive run tearing through the conference, but HPU showed they can be stopped. Winthrop gave them their lone loss and only lost by 2 on the road, Charleston Southern took them to Overtime, Presbyterian only fell by 3 points. In the end for the THIRD season in a row, High Point has won the regular season title, this time with Flynn Clayman at the helm which included so far tying the record for most wins by a first year coach going 27-4.

Tournament Prediction:

Now this is the part I love, trying to predict the future and predict what will happen in Johnson City (something I somehow did perfectly last season).

Wednesday:

USC Upstate vs Gardner Webb:

The season series for this one was split evenly with both teams taking their home game but falling on the road, but that’s about where the comparison ends between the two. USC Upstate has the better team by a solid margin, the resume just has so much more to point towards as reasons to win this one. Marty Richter gets the Rubber Game and gets his first Big South tournament win.

Friday:

USC Upstate (8-9 Winner) vs High Point:

No matter who wins the 8v9 game, they get the pleasure of facing a runaway train in High Point that just seems to be walking down their opponents at will. In the two games Upstate had with High Point, they won those games by 20 and 25 points. I think High Point blows past that margin but takes their foot off the pedal with 3 games in 3 days but still win pretty comfortably.

Charleston Southern vs Winthrop

The rematch of a game that changed this tournament’s trajectory massively. With Winthrop’s loss two things changed, it officially eliminated Winthrop from contention for the #1 seed but also resulted in the injury of Logan Duncomb and his status very much up in the air. If Duncomb is Out, I think Charleston Southern wins this game and actually makes it to the finals. I will air on the side of caution picking Winthrop as I think Duncomb will do everything possible to play.

Longwood vs UNC Asheville

The 4v5 game is really interesting to look at, it’s a true massive contrast. UNC Asheville is truly carried 3/4 superstars while Longwood doesn’t have that “superstar” talent but has a very solid 6-7 players who can get 8-12 points easily night in and night out. If this game was deeper in the tournament I would favor Longwood as only having stars can only get you for Asheville. With this game being the 1st game, I think depth won’t play as much of a role and Asheville does a 3-0 sweep over Longwood.

Presbyterian vs Radford

The rematch of the most exciting game in the Big South according to KenPom. It’s actually been a while since these teams played, last coming on Jan 31st. That game went to triple overtime coming out in front after going on a 12-1 run to start the half. Presbyterian enters this game on what looks like a skid to most people but I think it’s a bit of momentum with close losses to the top 2 teams. I think PC finally breaks through getting their first Big South semifinal berth after beating Radford.

Saturday:

High Point vs UNC Asheville

The final that many people expected last year comes true, but this time it’s really not as exciting. Last time these two teams played High Point held UNC Asheville to under 50 points, the first time Asheville had been held under 50 in conference play since 2022. High Point just seems to be a level above UNC Asheville with both depth and starting 5, the level up should propel them to the finals.

Winthrop vs Presbyterian

A rematch of the regular season finale this time on a neutral court. The most recent game ended with PC only losing by 4 to Winthrop with PC looking like the better team at times in that game. I do think Winthrop wins this one just simply because they won both of the other games and it just seems that High Point and Winthrop are on a collision course.

CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY:

High Point vs Winthrop

This game has just seemed destined to happen since last season, last season ended in heartbreaking fashion blowing a 15 point lead in the 2nd half to fall to High Point. Winthrop shocking many they beat Winthrop earlier in the season and now most recently with High Point edging out Winthrop in the Qubein Center. For Winthrop it’s simple, this is the best chance Mark Prosser has had since his first season in Rock Hill to make the tournament. For High Point, the goal is to build on last year’s success and capture back to back Big South titles.

This game is truly a 50/50 in my eyes when both teams are fully healthy and we saw that when they faced off in the Qubein Center this season. I look back at both of the BIG MOMENT games of the past 3 games and both of those went the way of High Point, but I also have to admit. It seems like Winthrop has an almost destiny like entity on their side but ultimately, I will go with the boring pick of High Point.

And a little aside, I think either that represents this league will take home a game in the NCAA tournament.

Likely by the end of this day, we will have a good idea of the who will be the 1 and 2 seeds in Johnson City, and potentially the 3 and 9 seeds as well.

As I stated last preview, this will be the final preview before the conference tournament preview which will be coming out the night of the 28th. (or morning of the 29th I haven’t decided to be honest).

Feb 19th Recap:

Winthrop beats USC Upstate 68-64

Winthrop Takeaways:

• Logan Duncomb led the Eagles with 24 points and 16 rebounds while also setting the record for most Free Throw Attempts by a Winthrop Eagles in a single season.

• Kody Clouet joined Duncomb in double figures with 17 points, this was Clouets 5th straight game in double figures.

• Winthrop has now had Back to Back 20 wins seasons, and got their 700th win as a program.

USC Upstate Takeaways:

• Carmelo Adkins lead the Spartans with 21 points, his 4th 20+ point game of the season.

• Karmani Gregory joins Adkins in double figures with 18 points, his 8th game straight with double figures.

• USC Upstate won the turnover battle 14-9 including forcing 9 steals.

High Point beats UNC Asheville 74-48

High Point Takeaways:

• Rob Martin and Terry Anderson led the Panthers with 16 points each, Conrad Martinez joined them in double figures with 12 points.

• Cam’ron Fletcher hauled in a team high 11 rebounds including 5 offensive rebounds while also adding in 6 points off the bench.

• High Point forced UNC Asheville into 16 turnovers, including 11 steals.

UNC Asheville Takeaways:

• DJ Patrick lead UNC Asheville with 15 points, Myles Mayfield joined him in double figures with 11 points.

• UNC Asheville’s big 3 of Solomon, Wright and Taylor were kept quiet only having 20 points on 9-33 shooting along with 12 turnovers.

• Daniel Thomas hauled in a team high 12 rebounds for UNC Asheville.

Presbyterian beats Longwood 72-65

Presbyterian Takeaways:

• Triston Wilson with a new career high of 28 points led the Blue Hose in scoring along with 4 steals.

• Carl Parrish with 15 points and Jonah Pierce with 13 points joined Wilson in double figures, Pierce also had 4 steals.

• Jaylen Peterson fell one point shy of a double double with 9 points and 11 rebounds.

Longwood Takeaways:

• Elijah Tucker led the Lancers with 22 points, along with a tied for team high 6 rebounds.

• Johan Nziemi with 13 points and Jacoi Hutchinson with 10 points joined Tucker in double figures.

• Jaylin Payne with tied on his D1 career high with 8 points, on a perfect 4-4 from the field.

Radford beats Gardner Webb 82-70

Radford Takeaways:

• All 5 Highlanders in double figures led by Dennis Parker Jr with 22 points.

• Del Jones with 14 points, 10 of which coming from the free throw line, he was also 100% at the free throw line.

• Tyson Brown with a double double having 11 points and 14 rebounds.

• Jaylon Johnson missed the game with Flu Like Symptoms

Gardner Webb Takeaways:

• Jacob Hudson lead the Runnin Bulldogs in scoring with 16 points.

• Jacob Hogarth with 12 points and 10 rebounds double double.

• Colin Hawkins, Curtis Williams and DJ Jefferson all joined Hogarth and Hudson with 10 points each.

• Gardner Webb was down 27 points with 6 minutes to go in the game.

Feb 21st Preview:

Winthrop at High Point - 4pm EST

Preview: I billed this game as the game of the weekend in the Carolina’s, simply because it is. The #1 and #2 seeds in the Big South facing off, with massive implications on the line. Mark Prosser has openly said, you need to hang banners at Winthrop. If he wins this one, he likely hangs at least 1 banner. On the other hand, High Point wants revenge after losing in Rock Hill earlier in the season, and obviously they’d love a banner of their own. High Point last home conference loss came in 2024 to USC Upstate, I think their home winning streak continues as they beat Winthrop in a close one.

Score Prediction: High Point 102 - Winthrop 98 (OT)

Longwood at Charleston Southern - 4pm EST

Preview: Another one of the wins that slipped away in the first half of non conference for CSU has to travel to the Buc Dome, this game went to OT in Farmville, and would have likely went to a 2nd if CSU had played better transition defense. CSU comes in with the slight rest advantage after playing on Tuesday beating Gardner Webb, I think CSU continues to roll and picks off a must win vs Longwood.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 83 - Longwood 75

Radford at UNC Asheville - 4:30pm EST

Preview: One of the early non conference shockers, at least in hindsight, was UNC Asheville going to Radford and winning by 19, that now being their only loss outside of the Top 2 seeds. This game will very likely play a massive role in who gets the #3 seed in the Big South tournament. I think this being Asheville’s homecoming does play into this but I do think Radford gets their get back and pulls up a massive road win.

Score Prediction: Radford 76 - UNC Asheville 74

Presbyterian at USC Upstate - 4:30pm EST

Preview: This game just doesn’t have the pop as the others, Presbyterian won the first game by 9 points after a very uninteresting game. I do think Upstate has became better since that first matchup but I also like what I’ve seen from Presbyterian during that time period as well. USC Upstate being at home does move the needle for me but just not enough to pick them to win the game.

Score Prediction: Presbyterian 83 - USC Upstate 80

At the end of the week, we will see if that holds true, but before that both teams have games to preview, along with two other big games that could change the middle of the league.

Johnson City is fast approaching, and it’s DO OR DIE TIME.

PROGRAMMING NOTES: The final Big South Conference Play Preview will be Feb 21st. I will not be providing previews for the 26th and 28th as I prepare conference tournament content.

Feb 14th Recap:

Presbyterian beats UNC Asheville 58-57

Presbyterian Notables:

• Jaylen Peterson led the Blue Hose with 20 points, his 3rd 20 point game of the season.

• Carl Parrish with 13 points, Jonah Pierce with 12 points and Triston Wilson with 10 point joined Peterson in double figures.

• Jonah Pierce also tallied another double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, his 14th double double of the season.

• This was the 21st game of the year where team had 0 bench points and still won the game.

• Triston Wilson reached 100 assists this season, and currently has the 8th most in a single season since Presbyterian’s move to D1 in 2007-08.

UNC Asheville Notables:

• Kameron Taylor led UNC Asheville in scoring with 19 points along with a team high of 5 assists.

• DJ Patrick with 14 points and Justin Wright with 10 points joined Taylor in double figures.

• UNC Asheville’s 4 bench points, along with Presbyterian’s bench point made this the 3rd lowest scoring bench game of the season with a total of 4 points.

High Point beats Gardner Webb 112-87

High Point Notables:

• Rob Martin lead the Panthers with 21 points, his 3rd doing so in the last 4 games.

• 7 Panthers in total joined Rob in double figures, including Cam’ron Fletcher, his first doing so since his return to the team.

• High Point won the rebounding total 44 to 15, including 16 offensive rebounds to Gardner Webb’s 0.

• Chase Johnston passed 400 career made 3PT’s, his current mark of 401 places him currently 27th all time along side former Radford player Doug Day.

Gardner Webb Notables:

• Jacob Hudson led the Runnin Bulldogs with 20 points, marking back to back games in double figures.

• All of Gardner Webb’s starting 5 was in double figures. Talbert with 17 points, Hawkins with 15 points, and both Hogarth and Ferere having 12 points each.

• This was the 2nd game this season in which a team had 0 offensive rebounds, the other being Middle Tennessee State against Liberty.

Radford beats Charleston Southern 90-80

Radford Notables:

• Jaylon Johnson led the Highlanders with 17 points on senior night, his 2nd straight 17 point game and 5th of the last 6 in double figures.

• Del Jones with 14 points along with Dennis Parker and Mari Jordan with 12 points each joined Johnson in double figures.

• Dennis Parker Jr also hauled in 11 rebounds for his 4th of the season.

Charleston Southern Notables:

• A’lahn Sumler led the Bucs in the BIG 3 stats with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, his 2nd straight game with 16 points after returning from injury.

• Nate Brafford and Jacob Taylor with 14 points along with Trent Coleman with 12 points joined Sumler in double figures.

• Jacob Taylor won his 3rd Big South FOTW, joining Phlandrous Fleming as the only Bucs player to do so.

Longwood beats USC Upstate 82-75 (OT):

Longwood Notables:

• Alphonzo Billups led the Lancers with a career high 25 points, his second straight game with 20+ points helping him earn Big South POTW.

• Redd Thompson Jr with 12 points and Elijah Tucker with 11 points joined Billups in double figures.

• Elijah Tucker also gathered 11 rebounds for his 7th double double of the season.

• Tucker also hauled in his 500th career rebound.

USC Upstate Notables:

• Karmani Gregory led USC Upstate with 23 points, his 7th straight game in double figures.

• Mason Bendinger with 19 points and Carmelo Adkins with 13 point joined Gregory in double figures.

• Jafeth Martinez with 4 blocks, moves his season total to 46 which moves him to 6th most in a season at USC Upstate.

• This game marked USC Upstate 3rd OT game of conference play and 4th of the season.

Feb 19th Previews:

USC Upstate at Winthrop - 6:30pm EST

Preview: Both of these teams are entering this game in a very different situation, but both need the same result. A Win. Winthrop enters this game with nations 5th longest winning streak, USC Upstate comes in with 2 losses, the most recent of which coming in OT to Longwood. The only concern for me would be Winthrop looking ahead, but I truly do not see a Prosser looking ahead and losing because of that so I am riding with Winthrop.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 91 - USC Upstate 80

UNC Asheville at High Point - 7pm ET

Preview: The ESPN U game for this week takes us to the Qubein Center to once again see UNC Asheville on the road, this time facing High Point. UNC Asheville comes off a loss to Presbyterian and High Point enters rolling after their only conference loss to Winthrop. While UNC Asheville looks really solid at times, sometimes they can truly have zero spark like they did against Presbyterian. HPU seems to always have some kind of spark with that and being at home, I think HPU wins setting up game of the year in the Big South.

Score Prediction: High Point 89 - UNC Asheville 77

Longwood at Presbyterian - 7pm EST

Preview: Both of these teams entering with very grueling wins over UNC Asheville and USC Upstate respectively. Both teams are pretty evenly matched in my opinion with a slight lean talent wise towards Longwood. I just don’t like when a team with little depth faces a team with a lot of depth. Despite being at home, I think Presbyterian falls to the Lancers.

Score Prediction: Longwood 77 - Presbyterian 72

Gardner Webb at Radford - 7pm EST

Preview: Thought under the congratulate the gag order helped Radford come back to be successful. When Gardner Webb played Radford, Radford only lost by 9 as Gardner Webb. Radford has improved greatly but not enough to sway the results. This time with the game being at Radford, I think Radford wins substantially more.

Score Prediction: Radford 93 - Gardner Webb 77

High Point, Winthrop, and UNC Asheville.

And that gets trimmed to just High Point and Winthrop with the next High Point win or UNC Asheville loss.

Despite that clear hierarchy at the top, the middle of the league continues to be one of the most exciting in the country. Team 3-6 are only separated by 1.5 games and if you count seeds 7 and 8, it’s 3.5 games. ALL VERY MUCH WITHIN REACH.

Let’s break down a massive Thursday night of hoops and preview the lovers day ahead:

Feb 12th Recap:

Winthrop beats Gardner Webb 103-85

Winthrop Notables:

• Kareem Rozier with a CAREER HIGH 33 Points, including going 9-15 from behind the arc.

• Logan Duncomb with another double double, this time with 24 points and 15 rebounds, along with a team high 6 assists.

• Kody Clouet joined Logan and Kareem in double figures with 19 points.

• Winthrop with 11 straight wins, currently the nations 4th longest winning streak.

Gardner Webb Notables:

• Jacob Hogarth led the Runnin Bulldogs with 20 points along with 8 rebounds.

• Jacob Hudson and Colin Hawkins joined Hogarth in double figures, Hudson with 17 points and Hawkins with 13 points.

UNC Asheville beats Longwood 79-74

UNC Asheville Notables:

• Toyaz Solomon led Asheville with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Solomon also joined the 1000 points, 500 rebound, 100 blocks club, the 20th player to do so in Big South history.

• Justin Wright joined Solomon with 24 points, Kam Taylor joined both in double figures with 22 points.

Longwood Notables:

• Alphonzo Billups led Longwood with 20 points, a season high for Billups.

• Elijah Tucker with a 15 points and 11 rebound double double.

• Johan Nziemi with 11 points and Redd Thompson Jr with 10 points joined Tucker and Billups in double figures.

Charleston Southern beats Presbyterian 84-67

Charleston Southern Notables:

• A’lahn Sumler returned from injury and led CSU in scoring with 16 points in just 21 minutes off the bench.

• Lase Olalare with a new career high in points with 13 and career high in assists with 4.

• Jesse Hafemeister with 15 points and Nate Brafford with 11 points joined Sumler and Olalare in double figures.

• Charleston Southern breaks a 8 game losing streaking with this win.

Presbyterian Notables:

• Jonah Pierce with 23 points led Presbyterian in scoring, Carl Parrish joined Pierce in double figures with 14 points.

• Peterson, Pickett and Wilson all with 8 points each, only 6 bench points for the Blue Hose.

High Point beats USC Upstate 95-70

High Point Notables:

• Rob Martin with 27 points led the Panthers in scoring, this is the 3rd time in the last 5 Martin has led the Panthers in scoring.

• Owen Aquino with 12 points and 10 rebounds, along with a tied for team high steals with 4.

• Conrad Martinez with 15 points and Terry Anderson with 14 points joined Martin and Aquino in double figures.

• High Point with 19 steals and 27 total forced turnovers.

USC Upstate Notables:

• Mason Bendinger led USC Upstate with 15 points, his 7th time leading the Spartans in scoring.

• Gregory, Skinner and Adkins all joined Bendinger with 13 points each.

• Jafeth Martinez returned to the team and tallied 12 rebounds and 3 blocks.

• Learic Davis missed another game with a shoulder injury but could be back by Saturday.

Feb 14th Previews:

Presbyterian at UNC Asheville - 2pm EST

Preview: Last time these two teams faced off UNC Asheville almost pulled off one of the most impressive comebacks of the season but fell short at the buzzer. Now UNC Asheville is at home, coming off a massive win on ESPNU but Presbyterian is coming in motivated after their loss. Both of these teams don’t provide a ton off the bench and I think Asheville has the better Starting 5, so I think Asheville gets a big home win.

Score Prediction: UNC Asheville 70 - Presbyterian 66

High Point at Gardner Webb - 2pm EST

Preview: Early in the season, HPU beat Gardner Webb by the largest margin in Big South Conference history, but a decent amount has changed since then. Gardner Webb got their first D1 win and seems much improved, and High Point have been to be at least beatable. While Gardner Webb is much improved and High Point has slipped up at times, I do think High Point wins this one but I think Gardner Webb keeps it close than many expect.

Score Prediction: High Point 94 - Gardner Webb 80

Charleston Southern at Radford - 2:30pm EST

Preview: Charleston Southern has finally snapped their cold spell and now they have to face Radford coming off 1 weeks rest. Last time the two faced off Radford pulled out an 84-75 win in the Buc Dome. In that game CSU shot horribly while Radford shot around there averages. I think CSU finally gets some momentum rolling and picks off Radford on the road.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 86 - Radford 80

USC Upstate at Longwood - 3pm EST

Preview: Longwood and USC Upstate are both coming off losses at home, now Upstate has to travel to play Longwood. Last time Upstate faced Longwood, Upstate won in the Hodge Center in something that I could barely even call basketball. Longwood I think takes this one pretty easily, the were pretty good near the end of the 2nd half and if it weren’t for a circus by Karmani Gregory, Longwood likely wins that game. I see Longwood getting revenge and splitting the season series.

Score Prediction: Longwood 73 - USC Upstate 65

None of the games were decided by more than 9 points, one overtime thriller, and some upset bids being spoiled down the stretch.

We recap the notable moments, along with preview our games for Thursday.

Feb 7th Recap:

Winthrop beats Longwood 79-74

Winthrop Takeaways:

• Tommy Kamarad led the Eagles with 15 points, Duncomb and Clouet with 14 points each and Josh Meo with 10 points join Clouet in double figures.

• Winthrop has won 10 straight, that is currently the 5th longest winning streak.

Longwood Takeaways:

• Johan Nziemi led the Lancers for the 2nd straight game, this time with 13 points, Jacoi Hutchinson joined Nziemi in double figures with 11 points.

• Alphonzo Billups was ejected in the 1st half after receiving two technical fouls, Billups had 8 points in 10 minutes of action.

• 32 fouls is tied for the most in a Longwood game at the D1 level, the other game also happened against Winthrop in which Longwood won 84-74 in 2024.

Presbyterian beats Gardner Webb 68-62

Presbyterian Takeaways:

• Carl Parrish led the Blue Hose with 16 points, Jaylen Peterson with 14 points, Khalon Hudson with 12 points and Triston Wilson with 10 points joined Parrish in double figures.

• Jonah Pierce and Jaylen Peterson both with double digit rebounds, Pierce with14 and Peterson with 10.

• Jonah Pierce was held quiet with only 7 points, only his 3rd game this season with less than 10 points.

Gardner Webb Takeaways:

• Jamias Ferere led the Runnin Bulldogs with 13 points, his 2nd straight game of doing so.

• Jacob Hogarth and Spence Sims joined Ferere in double figures with 12 points each.

USC Upstate beats Charleston Southern 100-94 (OT)

USC Upstate Takeaways:

• Karmani Gregory with a new career high of 29 points, Mason Bendinger with 25 points and Carmelo Adkins join Gregory with 20+ points.

• Breylin Garcia joins the aforementioned player in double figures with 16 points.

• USC Upstate was without Learic Davis (shoulder) and Jafeth Martinez (internal matter)

Charleston Southern Takeaways:

• Jesse Hafemeister led the Bucs with 32 points, a new career at CSU.

• Jacob Taylor joined Hafemeister in setting a new career high with 24 points, Carraway joined those two in double figures with 11 points.

• CSU was down Brycen Blaine, A’lahn Sumler and Luke Williams, all out with injury but not expected to be season ending.

High Point beats Radford 86-77

High Point Takeaways:

• Terry Anderson led the Panthers with 24 points, his 6th game leading the Panthers in conference play.

• Owen Aquino with 17 points, Scotty Washington with 15 points, Rob Martin and Vincent Brady with 13 points each join Anderson in double figures.

• Aquino had 12 rebounds, earning a double double on senior night for High Point.

Radford Takeaways:

• Dennis Parker Jr led the Highlanders with 24 points, Del Jones joins him in double figures with 17 points.

• Parker fell one rebound short of a double double with 9 rebounds.

Feb 12th Previews:

Winthrop at Gardner Webb - 7pm EST

Preview: When this game was played earlier, Gardner Webb actually was leading in the 1st half before eventually falling to Winthrop. This time I don’t think Winthrop lets GWU get in front too much, while Gardner Webb has improved to this point, Winthrop has as well and I think Winthrop is just the more talented roster and home court advantage won’t change the talent gap enough to level out the playing field.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 95 - Gardner Webb 77

UNC Asheville at Longwood - 7pm EST

Preview: The ESPN U Wildcard game takes us to Farmville as UNC Asheville plays Longwood on their white out. UNC Asheville comes in with the rest advantage, but I do believe it is diminished with Longwood having 5 days off before this one. Longwood did lose the first matchup but Longwood has seen a bit of growth since that game something I have not seen from UNC Asheville. I think the white out, along with Longwood’s improved roster gives them the edge.

Score Prediction: Longwood 73 - UNC Asheville 68

Presbyterian at Charleston Southern - 7pm EST

Preview: Coming off a win vs Gardner Webb, ending their 3 game skid, Presbyterian now travels to Charleston Southern who is looking to end their 8 game losing skid. CSU comes off an overtime thriller against USC Upstate, and I saw a lot I liked from CSU in that one. I think CSU finally ends their skid and gets back going the right way with what will be a 3 in the win column.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 87 - Presbyterian 80

High Point at USC Upstate - 7pm EST

Preview: The “last” off the 4 games takes us to the smallest D1 arena as High Point plays against a pretty good USC Upstate team. The first 30-ish minutes of their first matchup was close until High Point pulled away. If Upstate can close up those last 10 minutes of the game, I think they could give High Point troubles. In the end, I do think HPU just has the talent to control this one despite the road trip.

Score Prediction: High Point 93 - USC Upstate 82

Now we move to the first Saturday in 3 weeks where all 4 games are actually being played on Saturday and none of them have been moved around.

Feb 4th Recap:

UNC Asheville beats USC Upstate 76-67

UNC Asheville Notables:

• Kameron Taylor led UNC Asheville in scoring 21 points, along with tying for the lead in assists with 5. Taylor has lead Asheville in 7 of 10 conference games.

• Toyaz Solomon had 15 points and 11 rebounds, along with that same team high 5 assists. This is Solomon’s 6th double double of the season.

• Justin Wright with 13 points and DJ Patrick with 12 points also finished with double figures.

USC Upstate Notables:

• Karmani Gregory led USC Upstate with 22 points, Carmelo Adkins joined Gregory in double digits with 12 points.

• USC Upstate won the turnover battle 12-9.

• Isaiah Skinner had 9 points which is his most in a conference game this season.

Winthrop beats Radford 80-78

Winthrop Notables:

• Logan Duncomb led the Eagles with 18 points and 12 rebounds, but most importantly scored on his own putback to give Winthrop the eventual win.

• Kody Clouet with 17 points, Kareem Rozier with 13 points, and Joshua Meo with 11 points joined Duncomb in double figures.

• With this win, along with other results, Winthrop clinched AT LEAST the 7th seed in the Big South Tournament.

Radford Notables:

• Del Jones led the Highlanders with 21 points, Dennis Parker joined him with 20 points.

• Radford had a buzzer beater waived off at the end of the first half, this one being clearly late on the clock.

Longwood beats Gardner Webb 86-66

Longwood Notables:

• Johan Nziemi had a career high 20 points, which lead the Lancers in scoring.

• Elijah Tucker with 16 points, Jacoi Hutchinson with 15 points and Emanuel Richards with 12 points joined Nziemi in double figures.

• Longwood with 11 steals to only 11 turnovers.

Gardner Webb Notables:

• Freshman Jamias Ferere led Gardner Webb with 16 points, a new career high.

• Colin Hawkins with 11 points, DJ Jefferson with 11 points and Jacob Hogarth with 10 points joined Ferere in double figures.

• 21 losses ties the 2nd most in Gardner Webb’s history in D1 (24 in 2003 is the most)

High Point beats Charleston Southern 80-55

High Point Notables:

• Rob Martin led the Panthers with 22 points, but more notably 8 steals which is the 2nd most in High Point Program History.

• Owen Aquino with 18 points, Conrad Martinez with 13 points and Braden Hausen with 12 points joined Rob Martin in double figures.

• High Point forced 29 turnovers, the 3rd most in program history.

• High Point clinched AT LEAST the 6th seed in the Big South tournament.

Charleston Southern Notables:

• Jesse Hafemeister led Charleston Southern with 21 points, Brycen Blaine joined him in double figures with 18 points.

• Outside of those 2 in double figures, Charleston Southern had 16 points.

• Charleston Southern was missing A’lahn Sumler in this contest.

Feb 6th Previews:

Longwood at Winthrop - 2pm EST

Preview: In week one, one of the biggest noticeable results was Longwood beating Winthrop in Farmville. Now we get that rematch, this time in Rock Hill, SC. One more big thing changed between those two games, travel. Last time Winthrop was coming off a trip from Texas Tech compared to Longwood facing a Non D1, while Coach Prosser didn’t blame the “lag” it was obviously a factor. Without that factor, and being at home for this one, I think Winthrop pulls this one and gets revenge on Longwood.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 87 - Longwood 73

Gardner Webb at Presbyterian - 2pm EST

Preview: Before NIL, these teams would be in opposite places in the standings with GWU trending near the top and PC being the bottom feeder. GWU is now the bottom with PC being middle of the road. I do not like this spot for GWU, momentum seems to be gone once again and now they travel to play a WELL RESTED and HUNGRY Presbyterian team, I am taking the Blue Hose.

Score Prediction: Presbyterian 81 - Gardner Webb 68

Charleston Southern at USC Upstate - 2pm EST

Preview: This game went to overtime in the Buc Dome, now we go to the even smaller GB Hodge Center where CSU hopes to end their 7 game losing skid. Both of these teams entered conference play in their best position in years and now seems like this could be the game that decides the other team in the 8-9 game in Johnson City. I still believe both of these teams can turn it around but I think I’ve seen more from CSU to believe it will happen. Despite that, I think Upstate takes this game with their home court advantage.

Score Prediction: USC Upstate 77 - Charleston Southern 71

Radford at High Point - 7pm EST

Preview: Probably the most exciting game of the Saturday slate, and luckily, it’s the nightcap. The game in Radford, had Radford taking an early hold but eventually High Point winning by 10, that game, after Kody Clouet beat Radford at the buzzer. Now Radford after once again losing to Winthrop at the buzzer plays High Point. I think this game has a similar result, I think Radford might get out early but once again fall to a 2nd half High Point spurt.

Score Prediction: High Point 87 - Radford 80

Now we get to look towards our last Wednesday gameday of the year, but I think it goes out with a BANG.

Jan 31st Recap:

Winthrop beats UNC Asheville 84-71

Winthrop Notables:

• Logan Duncomb lead Winthrop with 26 points and 10 rebounds along with setting the Winthrop record for most free throws attempted with 19 and tying makes with 18.

• Kody Clouet with 19 points and Kareem Rozier with 17 points were the other double figure scorers.

UNC Asheville Notables:

• Kameron Taylor led Asheville with 25 points, his recent performances has gained the attention of NBA twitter scouts.

• Toyaz Solomon with 14 points and Justin Wright with 21 points joined Taylor in double figures, the 8th straight game all 3 have been in double figures.

Radford beats Presbyterian 93-84 (2OT)

Radford Notables:

• Jaylon Johnson led the Highlanders with 23 points, this plus his performance earlier in the week earned him Co Player of the Week.

• Del Jones, Dennis Parker and Lukas Walls all joined Johnson in double figures.

• Radford forced 12 steals, including 11 from their starting 5, while only giving up 9 turnovers total as a team.

Presbyterian Notables:

• Jonah Pierce lead Presbyterian with 28 points and 17 rebounds, 17 rebounds is the 2nd most in a game in Presbyterian’s D1 history. This is also the 2nd 17 rebound game this season for Presbyterian (Jaylen Peterson, 11/5/2025).

• Triston Wilson with a double double having 19 points and 11 assists, along with playing all 50 minutes of game time.

High Point beat Longwood 71-59:

High Point Notables:

• Terry Anderson lead High Point with 22 points, Anderson has lead High Point in scoring for 5 of the 9 Big South conference games.

• 5 Panthers in total were in double figures, including 4 of the 5 starters.

• High Point forced 13 steals and a total of 18 turnovers compared to only 8 turnovers by the Panthers.

Longwood Notables:

• Redd Thompson led the Lancers with 16 points, Johan Nziemi and Emanuel Richards joined him in double figures.

• Longwood won the rebounding battle by 10 including +7 with offensive rebounds.

Feb 4th Previews:

USC Upstate at UNC Asheville - 6:30pm EST

Preview: The 2nd game of the Ingles I-26 Rivalry, this time in Asheville. Last year this game came down the wire due to Upstate mounting a late charge from their defense. Upstate comes in with the rest advantage and coming off a big win over Longwood, as Asheville comes in off a loss to Winthrop. I just see this as a perfect spot for Upstate to get some momentum rolling as they take this one on the road.

Score Prediction: USC Upstate 76 - UNC Asheville 72

Winthrop at Radford - 7pm EST

Preview: The time these two played just a few games ago, it was an all time classic like game with Kody Clouet getting the win at the buzzer. Since then, Winthrop has continued to cruise past their competition and Radford has struggled at time losing to High Point and going to 2OT’s with Presbyterian. Despite being 6-3, Radford is still viewed a middle of pack by the metrics, I personally still haven’t seen enough to think Radford can win these BIG games even at home.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 86 - Radford 79

Longwood at Gardner Webb - 7pm EST

Preview: Well, the break is over for Gardner Webb but they face a Longwood team that has looked beatable as of late. Longwood has lost two straight and almost fell to Charleston Southern. I do still believe Longwood has top tier potential but they undeniably have one of the lowest floor in the Big South. Despite that floor, Gardner Webb has a lower floor and hasn’t show much of a ceiling despite beating USC Upstate. I think Longwood gets right with a win over Gardner Webb heading into Winthrop.

Score Prediction: Longwood 72 - Gardner Webb 66

Charleston Southern at High Point - 7pm EST

Preview: Another rematch of a thriller from earlier in the season, this time one team has continued rolling while the other one has been on a massive skid. Charleston Southern comes in with a week off themselves, which truly I don’t like in this spot. I felt CSU needed that GWU game to shake the skid off but now they are going to the top dog in many peoples eyes in the conference and I just feel this could be bleak for Charleston Southern.

Score Prediction: High Point 93 - Charleston Southern 80

With us hitting the halfway point, that also means I will unfortunately be cutting the recaps of games in the previews to save precious writing time for some postseason content, I will still give shine to the best performances of the previous gameday and recap any BIG milestones players hit the previous gameday.

Best Performances and Major Milestones for Jan 29th:

UNC Asheville beats Gardner Webb 69-50

UNC Asheville Notables:

• DJ Patrick with a game high 16 points, all from the 3PT Line with 1 Free Throw

• Daniel Thomas with his FIRST CAREER Double Double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

• Kameron Taylor’s streak of 20 Points Games ends at 7 as Kameron Taylor went down with an apparent leg injury early in the 2nd half only have 12 points, Taylor returned to the bench WITHOUT a boot on.

Gardner Webb Notables:

• Spence Sims led Gardner Webb with 13 points and 8 rebounds.

Radford beats Charleston Southern 84-75

Radford Notables:

• Del Jones led Radford in scoring with 27 points, tying his career high, including a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line.

• Jaylon Johnson had 18 points and 6 rebounds.

• Dennis Parker Jr had 16 points and 9 rebounds, falling 1 rebound short of a double double.

Charleston Southern Notables:

• A’lahn Sumler with 26 points, his 4th straight with 20+ points.

• Armani Carraway returned from injury, getting his first action since Gardner Webb on 12/31, Carraway had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in 35 minutes of game time.

USC Upstate beats Longwood 65-60:

USC Upstate Notables:

• Karmani Gregory led Upstate with 19 points along with 5 assists and 4 steals, his 12th game this season with 15 or more points.

• Carmelo Adkins had his SECOND Career Double Double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

• Coen Collier with 4 blocks, this single game is tied for 10th all time. This is the 6th game for Upstate with 4 or blocks by a single player this season and Coen Collier’s 2nd 4+ block game this season.

Longwood Notables:

• Elijah Tucker led Longwood with 13 points and 12 rebounds, his 4th double double in the last 5 games.

• Jacoi Hutchinson had 12 points.

High Point beats Presbyterian 84-81:

High Point Notables:

• Rob Martin led High Point with 21 points, his 6th game this season with 20+ points.

• Terry Anderson with 18 points and 6 rebounds.

• Cam’ron Fletcher returned after missing the past 6 games with an “internal matter”, Fletcher had 5 points and 3 rebounds before injuring his wrist in the 2nd half. According to Steven Beck from Prowled Sports, Cam is good to go for their next game at Longwood.

Presbyterian Notables:

• Jonah Pierce and Triston Wilson both led Presbyterian with 25 points.

• Jonah Pierce recorded his 12th double double of the season also hauling in 10 rebounds, his 12 double double’s is the most in the Big South.

• Presbyterian tied their season high in blocks with 7.

Jan 31st (and Feb 2nd) Previews:

UNC Asheville at Winthrop - 12pm EST

Preview: The first of two games that got moved due to YET ANOTHER winter storm, this one being moved up 2 hours, but we don’t mind. This game should be really fun one, Asheville always seems to play their best ball when it matters, and well IT MATTERS. This game could come down to Kam Taylor’s availability and I do lean towards him not playing with the quick turnaround. I do like Winthrop to take this one, especially with being at home and coming off a week of rest.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 89 - UNC Asheville 82

Radford at Presbyterian - 2pm EST

Preview: Radford is now solely in 3rd place in the Big South, but PC and train of other teams are RIGHT on their tail. This game just screams trap game for Radford, having to make a road trip to Presbyterian, looking ahead at a home game vs Winthrop. I am still not convinced they are the 3rd best team but if they win this, I will eat crow on that. Give me Presbyterian to get a win before their week long break.

Score Prediction: Presbyterian 72 - Radford 70

High Point at Longwood - 3pm EST

Preview: High Point is back tied for 1st place in the Big South, and by tip time we will know if this game will be for 1st place or once again just a tie. Last time High Point entered Farmville in 1st place, they lost to Colby Garland at the buzzer. The time before that, lost to Walyn Napper at the buzzer. Will this be 3rd times the charm for High Point? I actually think not. Longwood is coming in EXTREMELY motivated and High Point is coming off a scary game vs Presbyterian, with the slight but still noticeable rest advantage I am taking Longwood.

Score Prediction: Longwood 83 - High Point 80

Gardner Webb at Charleston Southern - Feb 2nd - 6pm EST

Preview: The only game to be moved a full day, takes us to the currently 8th and 9th seeds in the conference. Charleston Southern has been on a MASSIVE skid on 6 straight, but none by more than 9 points. Gardner Webb has been playing their best ball of the season but there is still a clear talent gap. That talent along with CSU being at home gives me the stuff I need to take CSU to win this one.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 74 - Gardner Webb 66

In just around a month from now, we will be finding out who wins Big South Hardware and being halfway through the season we have some clear front runners.

We will be breaking down, who are those front runners, who has the best case, and my prediction of who wins the award.

Freshman of the Year, to DPOY, to POTY, to even Coach of the Year.

Disclaimer: Opinions are mine and mine only, any of the players I name has a case currently to win the award.

Freshman of the Year:

Freshman of the Year Watchlist:

• Gardner Webb - Guard - Spence Sims

• UNC Asheville - Forward - Myles Mayfield

• Charleston Southern - Guard - Jacob Taylor

• Radford - Forward - Frederik Erichsen

• High Point - Forward - Caden Miller

• Presbyterian - Forward - Chidi Chiakwelu

Case Reasoning:

Gardner Webb - Guard - Spence Sims:

Supporting Points:

• Leads the Big South Freshman in MPG and PPG.

• One of the better players on their team.

• 4 Big South Player of the Week Awards

Opposing Points:

• Not an analytical darling, 1% percentile +/- in CBB, 11.0 PER, -0.5 WARP

UNC Asheville - Forward - Myles Mayfield

Supporting Points:

• 2nd most minutes played by a over 140 minutes, leads in RPG, 60% 2PT shooter

• 1 Big South Player of the Week Award

Opposing Points:

• Hasn’t really had a notable game/moment that was good

• Pretty underwhelming player with 24.4 MPG

Charleston Southern - Guard - Jacob Taylor

Supporting Points:

• Has earned the most starts by a freshman this season, 2nd best +/-, 60th percentile RAPM.

• Minutes increased throughout the season.

• 1 Big South Player of the Year Award

Opposing Points:

• Lowest WARP of all Watchlist Players

• Non factor in many games.

Radford - Forward - Frederik Erichsen

Supporting Points:

• 2nd highest PPG, 2nd on Watchlist for RPG, 2nd Highest 2PT% with 73.5% on only 4th most minutes and 0 starts.

• 7th best 2PT shooter of all freshman players.

• 2 Big South Player of the Week Awards

Opposing Points:

• Worst Defensive Wins Shares of all Watchlist Players.

• Had a really forgettable non conference and has only really good for 1/2th the season

High Point - Forward - Caden Miller

Supporting Points:

• Highest 2PT percentage, Best +/-, Highest Win Shares, Highest PER

• Best team success, only freshman on a Top 2 seed

• Two Big South Player of the Week Awards

Opposing Points:

• Non qualifier for most stats on CBBAnalytics

Presbyterian - Forward - Chidi Chiakwelu

Supporting Points:

• Tied PC D1 era record for blocks

• Best freshman defender, Best WARP, 2nd Highest PER

• One Big South Player of the Week

Opposing Points:

• Non qualifier for stats on CBBAnalytics

• Very limited offensive output

• Lowest minutes player out of all Watchlist Players

Prediction: Spence Sims

Reasoning: This case is just very similar to Mister Dean at USC Upstate last season. Sims is putting up really good stats because he is one of the limited options at Gardner Webb and because he’s the PG, he can rack up a ton of stats at will. No other player really has that option.

Sleeper Pick: Frederik Erichsen - Radford

Defensive Player of the Year

Defensive POTY Watchlist:

• High Point - Forward - Owen Aquino

• Charleston Southern - Forward - Reis Jones

• Presbyterian - Forward - Jonah Pierce

• USC Upstate - Forward - Jafeth Martinez

• Longwood - Guard - Alphonzo Billups

Case Reasoning:

High Point - Forward - Owen Aquino

Supporting Points:

• Highest Defensive Win Shares and Defensive Wins Share Per 40 of all Watchlist Players

• 2nd Highest Steal Rate of all Watchlist Players

• Highest PF Efficiency of all Watchlist Players

Opposing Points:

• 11th percentile in Fouls Per Game

Charleston Southern - Forward - Reis Jones

Supporting Points:

• 2nd Highest Watchlist Block Rate

• 2nd Highest Defensive Win Shares Per 40

• Most Blocks in the Big South

Opposing Points:

• Most fouls and fouls per game.

• Negative DRAPM

Presbyterian - Forward - Jonah Pierce

Supporting Points:

• Most Defensive Rebounds in the Big South and Highest Watchlist DRB%.

• 2nd highest Watchlist Defensive Win Shares

• Lowest Fouls Per Game of all Watchlist Big Men

Opposing Points:

• Lowest Block Rate for Watchlist Big Men

• Lowest Hakeem Percentage of all Watchlist Players

USC Upstate - Forward - Jafeth Martinez

Supporting Points:

• 2nd most blocks in the Big South

• Highest Block Rate of Watchlist Players

• Highest Hakeem Percentage of all Watchlist Players

• Highest Blocks Per PF of Watchlist Players

Opposing Points:

• Lowest Steal Rate of all Watchlist Players

• Least minutes player of all Watchlist Players

Longwood - Guard - Alphonzo Billups

Supporting Points:

• Highest Steal Rate of all Watchlist Players

• Highest Hakeem Percentage for any guard with significant playing time in the Big South

• Top 80th percentile shot blocking guard in the nation.

Opposing Points:

• Doesn’t put up the sheer stats that other Watchlist Players have.

• Doesn’t rebound well, even for a guard.

Prediction: Owen Aquino

Reasoning: I truly went back and forth on this one for a while but just ended up picking Owen Aquino. He doesn’t really pop out on the “Big Man” defensive stats, but if you look deeply into the other stats and wins shares, his impact pops off the page. All 5 players I listed are really good and all could very well win the award.

Sleeper Pick: Jafeth Martinez (but really any of these 5 and a few more)

Coach of the Year

Coach of the Year Watchlist:

• Winthrop - Mark Prosser

• High Point - Flynn Clayman

• Charleston Southern - Saah Nimley

• Presbyterian - Quinton Ferrell

Winthrop - Mark Prosser

Case Reasoning: Well, one usually the coach that is the league winner or tied for the win usually wins the award and Winthrop currently has the tiebreaker over High Point, but that’s not the only reason Prosser has a case. When you look at his predecessor in Pat Kelsey, Mark is closing in on the higher KenPom finish and potentially the first tournament berth of his career. I also think we might see High Point voter fatigue (more on that later) which leaves the door open, even if Mark doesn’t win the league for him to win the award.

High Point - Flynn Clayman

Case Reasoning: In year one, Flynn Clayman has kept the house that Alan Huss built chugging right down the track and even took them up a massive step on the defensive end. While the numbers on analytical sites make the defensive changes seem smaller, when you see the film, it’s very evident that High Point cares about defense way more than last season. Along with that, Flynn has High Point with the best overall record in the Big South and tied for the Big South lead. I do see the potential of voter fatigue for High Point because of this being their 3rd straight chance of winning the award and maybe that league record losses it’s luster after a 3rd amazing season.

Charleston Southern - Saah Nimley

Case Reasoning: Year two (.5) for Saah Nimley and this team has made a solid turnaround. Already passing last seasons win total just two games into conference play including two buy game wins over Richmond and East Carolina. If Charleston Southern were to finish the 16-15 as projected by KenPom that would be their best season since 2019 and would finish with their biggest jump in KenPom history. Despite the recent fall in conference play, I think if CSU can find their footing once again they can finish around that 16-15 and Saah Nimley can be a contender for COTY.

Presbyterian - Quinton Ferrell

Case Reasoning: Many people saw the Field of 68’s Anonymous Job Rankings that had Presbyterian in last. Well if you look at the Big South standings, that team that has the worst resources in the conference, isn’t in last place. The job Quinton Ferrell has done at Presbyterian deserves more than just his flowers. Coach Ferrell is on pace for his best season at Presbyterian, which likely ends up being the 2nd best season in school history behind Dustin Kerns in 2019.

Prediction: Presbyterian - Quinton Ferrell

Reasoning: This was probably the hardest award to pick from, all 4 coaches I listed have really good chances of winning this award, and even a few I left off. The reason I picked Coach Ferrell over everyone else comes down to 2-3 things. 1, this job is one of if not the hardest job in the Big South and likely one of the hardest non service academy jobs in the nation and the job he has done is unreal. 2, Coach Ferrell finished 2nd in voting last year with actually more 1st place votes than Alan Huss. 3, it’s far overdue, Coach Ferrell has made PC a real contender for now 3 seasons straight and deserves his flowers.

Sleeper Pick: Charleston Southern - Saah Nimley

Big South Player of the Year:

Big South Player of the Year Watchlist:

• Charleston Southern - Guard - A’lahn Sumler

• Charleston Southern - Guard - Brycen Blaine

• High Point - Forward - Terry Anderson

• Presbyterian - Forward - Jonah Pierce

• Radford - Guard - Dennis Parker Jr

• UNC Asheville - Guard/Forward - Kameron Taylor

• Winthrop - Center - Logan Duncomb

DISCLAIMER: For this award to take away ANY biases, I am using a formula to pick the projected winner.

The categories and weights goes as follows:

• Team Success (1x)

• Big South Player of the Week Awards (1x)

• Non Conference Stats (2x)*

• Conference Play Stats (3x)*

• Best Single Game Performance against D1 (1x)**

• Wins Above Replacement Player (2x)***

• Bonus Categories: Top 5 in PPG, RPG, APG, SPG (Stocks Per Game) +5 for 1st, +4 for 2nd… 1pt for 5th (.5x)

Reasoning for this Metric Formula: This metric formula, at least in my opinion, best reflects what you need to win Big South Player of the Year. Last year showcased, it’s not always the best player on the best team that wins the award, hence why I only rated Team Success at 10%, the same as Big South Player of the Week awards as I believe those CAN factor in but SHOULDN’T decide the award. The things that should reflect that award are represented with higher weights, your stats SHOULD matter, with Conference Play being more important as THAT is what decides your seeding and chance to make the Big Dance and WARP shows if you are TRULY better than your peers.

* based on PRPG!

** based on Game Score

*** based on WARP on CBBAnalytics

The Results:

Prediction: Winthrop - Logan Duncomb

Reasoning: To be honest, the number kind of went how I expected, Logan Duncomb just has been having a historic season. Duncomb is currently on pace for highest PER in the Big South since Chris Clemons in 2018-19 and the highest PER in Winthrop history. Along with that leads the Big South in ORB’s, FG%, FTA and FTM, and Box +/-. It would take someone having an amazing end to conference play to really take this award away from Logan Duncomb in my opinion.

Sleeper Pick: High Point - Terry Anderson or Charleston Southern - A’lahn Sumler