Without further ado, let’s break down the game of Longwood’s new guard, Chaise Smith.

Player Bio:

Chaise Smith comes off 4 seasons at Washington HS in Washington, NC, during which he broke multiple records.

HS Career (4 Seasons at Washington HS)

• #9 PG and #31 Overall Recruit on PhenomHoops

• Holds the Record for Most Career Points and assists at Washington HS; the previous points record was held by Dominique Wilkins.

• Averaged 21.4 PPG, 8 APG, and 5.5 RPG in his Senior Season.

• Played in the North Carolina East/West Game and Carolina’s Classic All-Star Game.

• Had his Jersey #1 Retired by Washington HS.

• Held offers from Radford, Charleston, High Point, and Shaw (D2) before committing to Presbyterian.

Film Review:

Film from HoopFarmMixTapez on YouTube:

Hollywood:

The nickname for Chaise Smith is very fitting: Hollywood. The spotlight followed Chaise throughout his high school career. Chaise Smith was one of the main stars in his area since his freshman season, when he averaged 15 PPG and finished 2nd on Washington in scoring. Chaise Smith was able to take another step up, leading Washington in both his sophomore and junior seasons with nearly 20 PPG in both seasons. During Smith’s senior season, when he partnered with Shimere Garris, Smith finished 2nd in points, with Garris and both players averaging 20 PPG.

Garris’s being at Washington also gave Chaise Smith another ability. The ability to show that he can be the director of the offense. During Chaise Smith’s senior season, he finished 4th among all seniors in NC for Assist Per Game, according to MaxPreps, with 7.5 APG. That 4th position places him between two of the top PG prospects in Mid Major hoops, with Dionte Neal (UNCG Signee) finishing higher than Smith with 8.4 APG but above Top 300 247 Recruit Kobe Edwards (Charleston Signee) with 6.8 APG.

Defensive Stud:

The thing that sets Chaise Smith apart from some of the guards in his class is defense. Chaise Smith not only plays really good defense, but he also plays it with the same intensity he brings on the offensive end. Smith ended up leading Washington in Steals and finished 2nd on the team in Blocks, 1st among guards. That defensive ability wasn’t just showcased in his senior season. During his entire career, according to MaxPreps, Smith averaged 2.4 SPG and 1.1 BLP, including 2.1 BPG in his Junior Season, totaling 61 blocks in that single season.

It is rare to see a 6’2 guard like Smith do the amount of this he does, especially as an incoming freshman. Last season in D1, 3 freshman guards, 6-4 or shorter, averaged Steal and Block Percentages of 2% or higher. Those guards were Armelo Boone (WKU). Jabez Jenkins (Belmont) and Chris Komin (Northern Arizona). While I would expect a reduction in Smith’s stats with the move to the D1 level, athleticism will follow you anywhere, and it’ll be the factor of speed that would catch Smith off guard the most.

Record Breaker:

The one thing I haven’t mentioned is the biggest thing that has followed Chaise Smith throughout his career: the term “Record Holder”. No matter the record, being the record holder requires one thing. For you to do something that hasn’t ever been done before. On Feb 18th, Chaise Smith broke the previous record for a leading scorer at Washington HS with 1940 points and set the career assist record as well. One player Chaise Smith had to pass along the way was NBA legend Dominique Wilkins.

Something that both Dominique Wilkins and Chaise Smith share is having their jersey retired by Washington. When Chaise Smith signed to play for Presbyterian, it was announced that his #1 would be retired and placed at the front of the gym where Washington plays. That Beaufort County area has been a hotbed for talent in the past too. Obviously Dominique Wilkins went to Washington, but Bam Adebayo played at Northside, and former Wake Forest star Alvis Rodgers also played at Washington.

Role Shift:

The only thing that I believe could hold Chaise Smith back is if he doesn’t adjust to the inevitable early role shift. Very rarely does a freshman come onto a team as experienced together as Presbyterian and immediately becomes the #1 guy. That likely means Chaise Smith will have to change roles from being the #1 guy in some capacity for the first time in at least 3 seasons. That change in roles can sometimes really cause a player trouble, especially if it’s something they haven’t had to do recently, if at all. In Year 1, it is paramount for any freshman to learn the game, and those who struggle with it will struggle for most of their careers.

That ability to take a back seat for a while and learn the game will do wonders for Chaise Smith. Smith enters a backcourt with a D2 All-Conference level player in EJ Smith, an All-Big South level guard in Carl Parrish, and three really solid returners in Erik Taylor, Amare Anderson, and JD Bowden. Along with entering a system that has proven capable of developing guards like Kory Mincy and Rayshon Harrison. If that ability to change roles is there for Chaise Smith, then his talent will do the rest. In my opinion, the talent is already there for Chaise Smith; it is a matter of learning the game at this level compared to HS.

Final Thoughts:

If I had to pick one player to liken Chaise Smith to, it would be Kory Mincy. I think both guards are very solid, elite-level scorers who play with a special level of intensity. I also think their careers could very well align. Mincy, much like Smith, entered with a very solid group in front of him at the PG spot, and Mincy was forced to work his way up. Smith enters a backcourt with established PC players along with a solid D2 transfer up in EJ Smith. Mincy was able to learn from those in front of him, earning now a spot at South Carolina. If Smith can take stuff from EJ Smith and crew, he can follow in those same steps.

For this addition, I am looking at it more as a longer-term move, since I don’t know how much action Smith will get in a very talented backcourt. I do think Chaise Smith could very well end up on a Big South freshman team, just off pure talent, given the time he will see on the court. The longer term is where I see the true promise in Chaise Smith. To do the things Chaise Smith has already done takes a ton of talent and hard work. Obviously, the college game is a completely different animal, but if that holds true for Chaise Smith, Presbyterian might have struck gold.

Without further ado, let’s break down the game of Longwood’s new center, Domas Kauzonas.

Player Bio:

Before transferring to Longwood, Domas Kauzonas spent all 3 seasons playing at UNC Greensboro.

2025-26 (Junior Season):

• Appeared in 33 games, starting in 6 games, averaging 2.9 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 10 MPG.

• Had double digits in UNCG’s opening 2 games with 10 points against Kansas State and 12 points against Elon.

2023-24 (Freshman Season):

• Appeared in 23 games, averaging 2.5 PPG and 2 RPG in 7.6 MPG.

• Scored his career high of 18 points, alongside 9 rebounds and 3 assists against Virginia Lynchburg on 12/21.

2024-25 (Sophomore Season):

• Appeared in 13 games, averaging 1.8 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 6.3 MPG.

2021 (Lithuania U18):

• Played in 4 games for the Lithuania U18 National Team, averaging 4.5 PPG and 2.3 RPG.

• Had a tournament-high 9 points and 7 rebounds in Lithuania’s Final Game

Film Review:

Film from Domas Kauzonas on X:

Play Style:

The best way to describe Domas Kauzonas’ play style is the classic old school big man. Domas isn’t a floor-spacing 5 that forces the defense to guard the arc and leaves the paint open. Domas is a true 5 who lives in the paint and at the rim, both offensively and defensively. Domas ended up ranking in the Top 350 in both 2PT Rim Attempt Rate and 2PT Paint Attempt Rate last season at UNCG. Kauzonas also feeds off 2nd Chance Attempts since 23% of his points came off 2nd Chance Attempts last season, bolstered by his Top 350 Offensive Rebound Percentage.

If you remember the 2024 Big South Champion Longwood Lancers, then Domas Kauzonas will remind you of Szymon Zapala. The one differentiating factor is that Domas has the ability to take a few steps away from the rim, unlike Zapala, who took 88.4% of his shots at the rim. The Top 3 most common play types are shared between the 2 big men: Post Up takes the majority, with over 30 plays per 100, followed by Big Cut and Roll, and Rebound and Scramble, both with over 20 plays per 100. The one thing that has plagued Kauzonas has been a lack of playing time, much like Zapala. Neither has played more than 10 MPG per season before making the move to Farmville.

Continuity:

One of the biggest parts of the Domas Kauzonas is someone he brings along. While I don’t think Kauzonas came to Longwood with the intention of rejoining with Brett Gilbert from UNCG, that is what happened. Gilbert had spent the past 4 seasons at UNCG, and one of the first commits during his time there was Domas Kauzonas, who came in Nov. 2022. Gilbert also provides Big South development experience, having been at Radford and helped develop former Big South Player of the Year Carlik Jones, along with stars like Donovan Atwell and Kenyon Giles.

The player that benefits the most from this is Kauzonas. Being with the same player development coach for all 4 years of college is an absolute rarity given the movement of both players and coaches. With that, time and time again, the best development curves have been seen in players who were in the same systems for season after season. Of the past 12 All Big South Forwards and Big Men, 11 had been in the same system for more than 1 season prior; the only one not having been was Owen Aquino. While not the same entire system, having the same player development guy gives Longwood a leg up from a clean slate.

Paint Protector:

The biggest asset of Kauzonas on the defensive end is his ability to limit shooting in the paint. During all 3 seasons at UNCG, he posted at least average “In the Paint” defensive shooting averages while on the court, ranking in the 49th percentile in his freshman season. In his sophomore season, Kauzonas had a 100th percentile mark on limited attempts, but a 59th percentile mark at the rim as well. In Kauzonas’ junior season, he had his most impressive season to date, holding opponents to 33% and ranking in the 97th percentile across 54 attempts. Kauzonas’ presence alone limited attempts in the paint by 3%, going from 10% of shot attempts when he is on the floor defensively to 13% when He is off the floor defensively.

Last season, Longwood allowed opponents to shoot 49.5% inside the paint, ranking them in the 3rd percentile in Division 1. That percentage wouldn’t have been that much of an issue if they didn’t allow above D1 average attempts, but the Lancers ended up allowing 0.7% more than D1 average. Kauzonas’ ability to limit teams’ shooting in that area, or at least what was displayed at UNCG, should fill a massive need for Longwood in the paint.

Experience:

The biggest knock on Domas Kauzonas is his lack of experience. In his 3 seasons of college basketball, Kauzonas hasn’t played a season with more than 10 MPG. Kauzonas has only gone more than 20 minutes three times in his career, once in his freshman season against Virginia Lynchburg and twice last season against Kansas State and Elon. If the experience doesn’t cause an issue, Longwood could have gotten a steal. Considering that those 3 games also do happen to be his 3 best games on paper so far in his career.

Despite the overall lack of playing time achieved at UNCG by Kauzonas, this is a position Longwood has been in before. Longwood’s last two big men, Elijah Tucker and Szymon Zapala, both came in with a lack of experience. Tucker had played only 7 games at Xavier due to injury, and Zapala had played a total of 205 minutes when coming in from VCU. Despite the lack of minutes played, both turned out to be very important pieces for successful Longwood rosters.

Final Thoughts:

The best comparison for this addition is another Longwood player I have mentioned throughout the article: Szymon Zapala. Both are European big men who come in with a little lacking on the experience end but have shown out in the times they’ve been able to play. Kauzonas comes in with more experience than Zapala, but at a lower level. If Longwood can get that same 9 points, 6 rebounds, and general impact for their team, then Longwood made an amazing addition.

This addition is the definition of filling a role. Longwood needed a big man to fill the void from Tucker and Nziemi running out of eligibility and Payne transferring away from Longwood. Kauzonas, I believe, provides a veteran big-man presence to a pretty young overall roster, with Kauzonas being 1 of 3 total seniors and the only upperclassman big man in the frontcourt. I don’t think Domas Kauzonas ends up on any All-Big South teams at season’s end, but I could see him having a similar impact to Szymon Zapala with about 10 PPG and 6 RPG in 20-25 MPG.

Without further ado, let’s break down the game of High Point’s new big man, Filip Brankovic.

Player Bio:

Before transferring to High Point, Brankovic spent 1 season at UTRGV. Before his time in the NCAA, Brankovic spent multiple seasons in both the BNXT and ABA U19 Leagues. Brankovic also appeared for Serbia’s U16 and U20 teams.

2025-26 (Junior Season/UTRGV):

• In his lone season of NCAA action to date, Brankovic averaged 13 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 1.9 APG across 32 starts for the Vaqueros.

• Earned 2nd Team All-Conference in the Southland Conference last season.

2019-20 to 2024-25 Pre-NCAA Career (Crvena Zvezda U19, PrismaWorx, Donar Groningen, Serbia National Team)

• Across 3 seasons of BNXT play at both PrismaWorx (22-23, 23-24) and Donar Groningen (24-25), Brankovic averaged over 10 PPG across all 3 seasons with highs in PPG of 12.3 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 2023-24.

• In 2020-21 at Crvena Zvezda, in the Adidas Next Generation Tournament averaged 14.4 PPG and 6.3 RPG across 7 games. Brankovic also played for Crvena in 2019-20, averaging 10.3 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 4 games.

• During the 2019-20 U16 EuroBasket competition, Brankovic averaged 8.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 2.1 APG in 7 games.

• During the 2023-24 U20 EuroBasket competition, Brankovic averaged 10.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 1.3 APG, helping Serbia earn 5th place.

Film Review:

Film for Layup Hoops on X:

Efficiency Demon:

When watching Filip Brankovic, one thing is very evident: he is a very talented offensive player. That talent becomes even clearer when you look at HOW efficient Brankovic was last season at UTRGV. Last season at UTRGV, Brankovic was a Top 200 player in 2PT percentage with 62.4% and a Top 150 player at the rim shooting 69.3% at the rim. Brankovic also had a 70th percentile Effective FG Percentage with 58.2%.

One of the best things about Brankovic for High Point was that his efficiency became even better during conference play last season. During Southland Conference play last season, Brankovic was a Top 100 player in 2PT Percentage, shooting 64.8%, having a 2.4% increase. Brankovic did see a 1.4% drop at the rim, still ending up as a Top 200 player at the rim. The place where Brankovic really saw an improvement was the mid-range, having a 10.8% increase and being a Top 90 player in the mid-range.

Stretches the Floor:

Another ability Brankovic possesses that will be utilized by Flynn Clayman and his staff is Brankovic’s ability to shoot the three and overall stretch the floor. Last season at UTRGV, Brankovic took over 100 shots from behind the arc, ranking in the 64th percentile of 3PAr, taking 3.3 attempts per game. It’s one thing to shoot a ton of 3-pointers, but it’s another thing to make them, which is something Brankovic was also very good at doing, shooting 33.7% from 3 last season, ranking in the 66th percentile of all big men in CBB in 3PT Percentage.

This ability has been something Brankovic has possessed for a long time, as during his time overseas, he was also a very solid stretch big man. Before coming over to play at UTRGV, Brankovic played in Belgium’s BNXT league, which has produced other elite big man stars like Thijs De Ridder (Virginia) and Noam Yaacov (Utah). In BNXT, Brankovic shot over 40% from 3 across 3 seasons with over 200 attempts across the 3 seasons. Brankovic also shot 35% from Serbia during U20 EuroBasket competition in July of 2023.

High Point last season had a big man who was very able to stretch the floor when needed: Owen Aquino. One paper said it didn’t seem like Aquino did much to stretch the floor for High Point, with only a 16.3% 3PAr, but even that was in the top half of D1 forwards last season. During conference play, that ability was massive for High Point; from 1.4 attempts per game from beyond the arc in conference play, Aquino shot over 48%. The ability undoubtedly helped HPU to shoot 67.5% at the rim during conference play, placing them in the 91st percentile of D1 teams and 43.9% in the paint, ranking them in the 65th percentile.

Plug and Play:

One of the most underrated aspects of Filip Brankovic is his ability to adapt and be an almost “plug and play” big man. Last season, Brankovic played 6 Play Styles over 8 Plays Per 100 Possessions. Those 6 plays were: Rebound and Scramble, Big Pick and Roll, Cutter, Pick and Pop, Post Up, Inside Out. Of those 6 Play Styles, Brankovic ranked in the Top 50% of all big men in all 6 for efficiency and in the top 75% of big men in 2 of those 6, being Big Pick and Roll and Inside Out. Big Pick and Roll was his most common play, with 12.3 Plays Per 100 being Big Pick and Roll, with an efficiency of 1.27 Points Per Possession, ranking him in the 77th percentile.

That ability to plug and play will make a massive impact at High Point, especially considering the areas where Brankovic excelled are where High Point excels. Owen Aquino, last season at High Point, had a very similar offensive play style, having >10 plays per 100 in Big Cut and Roll, Inside Out, and Post Up plays along with Transition. High Point as a team saw massive success, ranking in the 75th percentile of Points Per Possession in Big Cut and Roll plays along with being in the Top 50th percentile of Post Up and Inside Out plays.

Rebounding:

The biggest flaw when looking at Brankovic’s game comes from his ability to rebound. Last season as UTRGV’s main big man playing 100% of his minutes as their center, Brankovic had an 8.2% Offensive Rebounding Percentage and a 13.4% Defensive Rebounding Percentage. Last year, High Point’s big men had 8.3%, 10.1%, and 12.3% Offensive Rebounding Percentages and Defensive Rebounding Percentages of 16.6%, 16.3%, and 14.3%. Owen Aquino, who was High Point’s primary 5 last season, had 8.3% and 16.3%, which allowed him to stay in the 50th percentile for both stats, being in the 55th percentile for Offensive and 59th percentile for Defensive. Brankovic was only above the 50th percentile for Offensive Rebounding Percentage, ranking in the 53rd percentile and the 32nd percentile for Defensive.

When you dive deeper into the stats and the players around Brankovic at both UTRGV and now at High Point, you see light at the end of the tunnel. Last season at UTRGV, Brankovic played with two elite rebounding guards in Marvin McGee and Koree Cotton. Last season, Marvin McGhee III had a Defensive Rebounding Percentage of 16.3%, ranking in the 92nd percentile for guards, and Cotton had an even better 17.7%, ranking in the 95th percentile. This season at High Point, he is surrounded by elite rebounders in Jason Rivera Torres, Caden Miller, Isaac Garrett, Frankquon Sherman, among others. Suppose he can rebound at an elite level, great. If not, HPU should be just fine.

Final Thoughts:

Filip Brankovic has a pretty easy player comparison to make, and that is to last year’s big man in Owen Aquino. Both players are 6’8” big men who primarily played the center position, with similar play styles, and both even came from very solid coaches/programs, with Owen Aquino coming from Ritchie McKay at Liberty and Brankovic coming from Khalil Fennell at UTRGV. The only real differences being their rebounding abilities, which I truly don’t believe are that far off. The other difference is defensively, where Brankovic was by no means a bad defensive player, ending the season as a positive defensive player at UTRGV.

I really don’t know where to expect Brankovic to be in the roster because there is so much talent this season. High Point has another proven big man in Isaac Garrett and a very solid player in Caden Miller coming off a solid freshman season, all competing for minutes. I do think Garrett and Brankovic will take up the majority of those minutes, with Caden also pulling a decent amount. I think you can expect a similar season to Aquino, with slightly lower statistical numbers but similar adjusted stats and likely at least some Big South postseason honors.

Without further ado, let’s break down the game of Gardner-Webb’s new transfer center, Ginuwine Tropnas.

Player Bio:

Before making the move to Boiling Springs, Tropnas spent 3 seasons in college basketball. He spent two seasons at Lake Region State College before transferring to Lincoln (PA) for his Junior Season.

2023-24 (Lake Region State - JUCO - Freshman Season)

• Across 31 games, Tropnas nearly averaged a double-double with 9.9 PPG and 8.5 RPG.

• Ranked 3rd in Region 13 for Blocks with 59.

• Finished 1st in Region 13 in Defensive Rebounds (193) and 2nd in Total Rebounds (265)

2024-25 (Lake Region State - Sophomore Season)

• In his second season at Lake Region State, Tropnas saw his stats increase to 13.8 PPG and 8.8 RPG, along with a 10% increase in Field Goal Percentage.

• Finished 4th in Blocks with 46, also set the Lake Region State Record with 105 total blocks.

• Earned 2nd Team All-Mon-Dak Honors

2025-26 (Lincoln PA - D2 - Junior Season)

• In 30 games at Lincoln, 15 of which were starts, Tropnas averaged 6.1 PPG and 5.1 RPG in just over 22 MPG.

• Tropnas finished 2nd in Blocks (45) and Rebounds (154).

Film Review:

Highlights from Sophomore JUCO Season, Video from Ginuwine Tropnas on X:

Rebound Monster:

The first thing that becomes evident when watching Tropnas’ game is he’s a very specialized player. One of the things Tropnas can do is rebound at an elite level. In both seasons at Lake Region State, Tropnas averaged 8.5 RPG and 8.8 RPG on 24.6 MPG and 26.7 MPG. When you put those numbers into per-40-minute numbers, it’s 13.9 Reb/Per 40 and 13.2 Reb/Per 40 Minutes. During his lone season at the D2 level, Tropnas averaged 5.1 RPG in over 22 MPG, for per-40 stats, 9.2 Reb/Per 40 Minutes. If Tropnas can keep similar per-40 numbers to his past 3 seasons, he will be in the Top 1/3rd of Rebounders in D1 basketball and considered elite at the Big South level.

Rebounding was probably the biggest area Gardner Webb needed to address in the portal this season. Last season, Gardner Webb ranked in the 8th percentile for Offensive Rebounds and the 10th percentile for Defensive Rebounds. Those issues compounded into even larger issues; Gardner Webb ranked in the 6th percentile for 2nd Chance PPG and ranked in the 4th percentile for 2nd Chance PPG Against. When Tropnas was on the court at Lincoln, Lincoln ranked in the 97th percentile in ORB Percentage and the 53rd percentile in On/Off DRB Percentage, contributing +0.3 % when on the floor.

Paint Protector:

The second glaring strength for Tropnas comes from his ability to just stop teams from scoring in the paint. During his 3 seasons of basketball at both the JUCO and D2 levels, Tropnas has combined for 150 blocks, including a Lake Region State career record of 105. That ability to swat shots comes through in so many other facets of analytics too. Tropnas has a Block Percentage of 7.1%, placing him in the 93rd percentile, and a Hakeem Percentage of 9.1%, placing him in the 94th percentile.

Last season in D1 basketball, the middle-of-the-pack 2PT Percentage was 51.7%. Ginuwine Tropnas held his D2 competition to 46.7% from inside the arc when he was on the floor. That 46.7% ballooned to 51.9% when Tropnas was off the floor, resulting in Tropnas being a Top 90th percentile On/Off 2PT FG Defender. That ability to affect shooting was even larger in the paint, where teams shot 33.2% when Tropnas was on the floor, which was in the 97th percentile.

Specialized:

The abilities to rebound and disrupt shots are undeniable for Tropnas. The one thing that limits Tropnas is the thing that makes him SO GOOD. Tropnas is very specialized; in every “Shooting” stat on CBB Analytics, Tropnas ranks in the bottom 25th percentile. One of those stats includes Free Throw Percentage, which Tropnas finished shooting 55.7%. That shooting percentage alone wouldn’t be bad, if not for his Free Throw Rate being a sky-high 70.8%, ranking in the 95th percentile of D2 last season.

The same reason he has these issues is why you feel fine with these issues if you are Gardner Webb. During this offseason, Gardner Webb has added two elite but specialized centers with Brave Rutsindura and Ginuwine Tropnas. Tropnas is probably Top 5 in the Big South in his ability to rebound and block shots, and if you are Gardner Webb, that’s what you need. Gardner Webb had a 15th-percentile BPG, with sub-10th-percentile Offensive and Defensive Rebounds Per 40 Minutes. Tropnas will surely improve those numbers alongside Rutsindura.

Final Thoughts:

For the basis alone of filling a much-needed hole in Gardner Webb’s roster and providing a boost to last year’s roster level. The fit is what really sells this addition to me; Tropnas joins another very similar big man, Brave Rutsindura, in that frontcourt. Both are very experienced big men with similar profiles, ages, and playing styles. I think both players will truly thrive from each other’s ability to just swap into the game and have little to no changes needed.

Tropnas is a very hard player to compare to because he’s so specialized, but overall he does remind me a bit of Lase Olalare during his SO and Early JR seasons. Very solid defense big men that were limited on the offensive end. Lase saw a massive breakout as a Junior during conference play; Tropnas has shown offensive potential at the JUCO level. Whether the offense improves or stays where it was last season, Tropnas makes a massive impact on this Gardner Webb team.

There will be NO guard breakdowns (except for one for Presbyterian).

That is because the 2nd half will be a breakdown of the league’s wings and big men, compared to the first half’s breakdown of wings and guards.

Without further ado, let’s break down the game of Charleston Southern’s new transfer wing, Riley Brooks.

Player Bio:

Before transferring to Charleston Southern, Brooks spent 3 seasons across 2 schools, beginning at D2 Northern Michigan before spending his past two seasons at Carthage in his home state of Wisconsin.

2023-24 (Freshman Season at Northern Michigan)

• Playing 28 games including 10 starts as a true freshman, averaging 7.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 0.9 APG across 22.4 MPG.

• Was a part of a GLIAC Championship and appeared in the NCAA Tournament.

• Brooks led Northern Michigan in FT Percentage with 90.9% and shot 38% from 3.

2024-25 (Sophomore Season at Carthage College)

• Appeared and started in all 28 games, averaging 15.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.1 APG across 33.6 MPG.

• Earned All CCIW First Team Selection Honors

• Brooks led Carthage in scoring while being 4th in rebounding and 4th in steals.

2025-26 (Junior Season at Carthage College)

• Appeared and started in 26 games, averaging 17.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.1 APG across 29.7 MPG.

• Earned All-CCIW First Team Selection Honors and scored his 1000th career point.

• Brooks once again led Carthage in scoring and ranked 7th in the CCIW, while finishing 2nd on his team in rebounding, FT% and 3PT% with over 20 attempts.

Film Review:

Film from Riley Brooks on X:

Elite Coaches:

The first thing I notice when I look at Riley Brooks is that he has played under elite-level coaches at both Northern Michigan and Carthage College. Beginning at Northern Michigan as a freshman, Brooks played under now-current Northern Illinois coach Matt Majkrzak. Then transferring to Carthage to play 2 seasons for Steve Djurickovic, former Carthage star and son of Top 30 D3 Wins coach Bosko Djurickovic.

Despite holding multiple Division One offers from high-level schools like Toledo and Indiana State and being a Top 300 recruit, Brooks took a different route than most, going to Division Two, Northern Michigan. That choice would end up paying off as in Brooks’ freshman season, he appeared in 28 games, averaging 7.5 PPG. The season also paid off in a bigger way as Brooks made his first NCAA Tournament, going 22-11 before falling in the First Round to Ferris State.

After his freshman season at Northern Michigan, Brooks went from one elite basketball mind in Matt Majkrzak to another elite mind in Steve Djurickovic at Carthage College. During that 1st season at Carthage, it could not have been much better. Brooks averaged 15.8 PPG, helping Carthage go 21-7 and have their most conference wins in program history, eventually culminating in Carthage’s first NCAA Tournament Berth since 2010. Then, in the following season averaged 17.5 PPG, leading to a transfer to the Division 1 level.

Two things were common during his two stays at Northern Michigan and Carthage College: being around elite coaches and being around winning. During Brooks’ 3 seasons in college basketball, his teams have gone 61-26, with two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Brooks’ ability to learn from elite coaches and win while doing so should translate immediately to the highest level at which he has played.

3 Level Scorer:

One of the most fascinating parts of Brooks’ offensive skill set is his ability to score from almost anywhere. Last season at Carthage, Brooks took 22% of his shots from the mid-range, which ranked in the 90th percentile for his position in D3 basketball. Brooks only took just over 13% of his shots at the rim, which placed him in the 20th percentile. That lack of shots isn’t because he can’t make them, though; Brooks shot 68.2% at the rim, which ranked him in the 79th percentile. Across all 5 shooting regions on CBB Analytics, Brooks ranks in the 50th percentile in all 5 and ranks in the Top 1/3rd in 4 of the 5 regions.

His season prior at Carthage, much of the same just with slightly less efficiency. Brooks ended up in the Top 50th percentile in 3 of the 5 regions and ranked as low as the 39th percentile across all 5 regions. You could even see this elite-level scoring when he was at Northern Michigan. During his true freshman season, Brooks shot 36.9% from behind the arc and 89.5% from the free throw line, ranking him in the 95th percentile.

Last season across all of D1 basketball, 34 players between the heights of 6’4” and 6’8” shot above 50% At The Rim, 45% on Mid Range/Long 2’s, and 35% from Behind The Arc with 100 Attempts from 2 and 100 from 3. That list includes 31 players at or above an All-Big South level, including two of the hottest names in CBB, Milan Momcilovic, and NBA Draftees like Bennett Stirtz and Cameron Carr. The Big South has had only 9 players match those levels, and 7 of those 9 played at an All-Big South level last season.

Transfer Up?:

The biggest question when a player transfers up from any level is, well, Will They Transfer Up? That concern has a ton of merit; the average D3 team would lose to most, if not all, Division 1 teams. When a player succeeds at a lower level and makes the next move, it is sometimes far from seamless. It has happened time and time again where an All-Conference D2/D3/NAIA or JUCO player jumps up to the D1 level and just never seems to find their footing. Of the 11 D3 to D1 transfers last season, 5 played in over 300 minutes throughout the season.

Despite this being a lottery ticket based on last season, I don’t see Brooks having much trouble transferring up. Last season, one of the best transfers was Toby Harris, who went to Iona. Harris also happens to be the Brooks top comparable player during the 24-25 season. Alongside that comparison, one hits closer to home for CSU, with Jesse Hafemeister having the 4th- and 5th-most comparable seasons in the Landmark Conference to Brooks’s in the CCIW.

Final Thoughts:

The comparison for this transfer is very easy. It is an almost 1-for-1, at least analytically, to what Charleston Southern had with Hafemeister last season. Both players are similarly sized, Division 3 Transfer Wing/Taller Guards, with similar stats. During Jesse Hafemeister’s 3 seasons at Catholic, Hafemeister had 80.9%, 79.3%, and 79.1% comparable shooting numbers to Brooks in Carthage’s 25-26 season. When you look at the full player profile, it becomes even clearer with comparisons of 86%, 85.2%, and 83%.

Last season, Jesse Hafemeister averaged 12.7 PPG and 5.3 RPG with 39% 3PT shooting, including 29 points against North Florida, 32 against USC Upstate, and 28 against UNC Asheville. Truly, I could see a very similar season for Brooks, if not better. Brooks comes from a league that produces multiple D1 transfers to teams like Illinois State, and the league was ranked 5th in the 23-24 Landmark Conference, which was ranked 16th. Ultimately, I expect Brooks to make a buzz for an All-Big South Mention, but unlike Hafemeister last season, I do think Brooks gets at least an Honorable Mention.

DISCLAIMER:

For Simplicity’s Sake: The only players I am counting as “Freshman” for the purpose of this article are players coming from Tradition HS or Prep Routes.

NOT COUNTING: Returning or Transfer RS Freshman or European Professional Freshman.

Preseason Rankings:

One of the easiest ways to see how good the next crop of Big South freshmen will be is by checking their recruiting rankings. Out of the 17 incoming freshmen in the Big South, 9 of those 17 are in the Top 50 of their state in Class of 2026 rankings, led by the BEST-ranked freshman in Big South history, Trey Pearson, who currently sits just inside the Top 150 on 247Sports. 6 of the 9 Big South schools added a freshman ranked in the Top 50 of their state. Two of the three teams that didn’t either had a Top 50 State Ranked 2026 commit, reclass to play in 2025, or had a Top 2025 freshman redshirt last season.

Of those 9 Top 50 state-ranked recruits, 3 are headed to the same school, that being UNC Asheville, which brings in both Logan Johnson and Ian Bailey from the State of North Carolina and Quinton Mansfield from Georgia. The ability of schools like UNC Asheville to land top freshmen comes down to ONE BIG thing: playing time. Mike Morrell put it pretty simply at Big South Media Day last season, “They (High Majors) have 15 scholarships… I know a lot of kids who have zero chance to play on some rosters; what are you in it for?” It’s clear that Mansfield, Johnson and Bailey all are in it to compete from the jump.

The other Big South school with multiple Top 50 ranked players gets both of their players from the New England; that team is Gardner Webb. Jeremy Luther brings him yet another Putnam Science Academy player, David Gaymon, who joins him, along with Chinedu Okpara from Wilbraham & Monson. Gaymon comes in ranked 30th and Okpara comes in 45th. That New England region has been a massive source for Gardner Webb’s best talent in history, with Gaymon and Okpara poised to potentially be the next NE star in Boiling Springs.

Then there is the Panther in the room with Trey Pearson. The highest-ranked recruit in Big South history and the first-ever 4-star recruit in Big South history. In HPU’s Top 5 recruits, you have 2 current/former P5 players, a starter for most of last season at HPU, and then the previous highest recruit in Big South history. Who is that former highest recruit in Big South history? Well, only one of the best players in Big South history and HPU great, John Brown.

Elite Level Talent:

One of the clearest strengths of this Big South class comes from the talent they played against during their high school and prep careers. 3 of the 17 incoming freshmen are coming from Top 100 programs nationally with CSU’s Marquise Leslie, UNC Asheville’s Quinton Mansfield, and Presbyterian’s Langston Hackworth. Marquise Leslie comes from 21st-ranked Alexander HS, while Mansfield comes from Gainesville, Georgia (63rd), and Hackworth comes from Andrew Jackson in Florida (69th). Alongside those 3 from the HS Top 100, The Big South has 6 players from Top 100 Prep Schools, 2 going to Gardner-Webb and 1 to each of Longwood, Presbyterian, Radford, and USC Upstate.

If you want to find elite talent in the Big South, one of the best hotbeds has been the State of Georgia, and that is reflected with 2 of the 3 players from Top 100 HS’s in Marquise Leslie and Quinton Mansfield. Marquise Leslie follows in a line of Georgia players who have committed to Charleston Southern, many of whom come from equally elite High Schools. Jacob Taylor was an All-Freshman Team member last season after coming from nationally ranked Wheeler HS; one of the greatest players in CSU history, Ta’je Kelly, played for 36th-ranked Grayson HS. That success hasn’t been limited to CSU either; Winthrop and others have had success with Georgia HS stars, including players Elijah Tucker, KJ Doucet, and Tommy Kamarad.

One of the biggest prep standouts was actually one of the latest commits, Elijah Thomas, who committed to Longwood. Elijah Thomas comes in from Winston-Salem Christian Academy, where he got to play in the elite Grind Session circuit the past season. Elijah Thomas ended up making the most out of the opportunity with 22 points against West Oaks and averaged 4.8 PPG across the entire season. That ability helped Thomas garner offers from Arizona State, Jacksonville and LIU before eventually choosing Longwood to call home.

National Team Experience:

Something that you see very rarely in incoming freshmen is having experience playing for their national teams. In the Big South this season, two of the incoming freshmen have national team experience. The most recent experience of the two is Will Dopfer, an incoming freshman for Longwood, who played just this spring in the Albert Schweitzer Tournament for Germany’s U-18 team. The other freshman is Alexandros Alexakis from High Point, who has played for Greece’s U18 and U20 teams.

As I mentioned earlier, Dopfer played just this fall in the Albert Schweitzer Tournament for Germany. During that tournament, Dopfer played in 6 of 7 games, averaging 16 MPG, 6.2 PPG, and 3.8 RPG. Dopfer had a positive +/- across all 6 of his games, including a +7 in the title game vs. Slovenia, and reached highs of 9 points against Turkey and 9 rebounds against Japan. After their win over Slovenia, Dopfer and Germany capped off a perfect 7-0 record and won the tournament.

While Will Dopfer might have the most recent international experience, Alexandros Alexakis has the most extensive resume of international experience. Alexakis played for the Greek National Team at both the 2023 FIBA U16 European Championship and the 2024 U18 EuroBasket. In the 2023 U16 European Championship, Alexakis was the 3rd leading scorer for the entire event, tied with Arkansas Commit Miikka Muurinen. In the U18 EuroBasket, Alexakis came off the bench and had standout games against Denmark, scoring 10 points and grabbing 6 rebounds, and in the 9th-place game, scoring 6 points and grabbing 5 rebounds.

Final Thoughts:

This incoming freshman class has a ton of promise. Whether it’s the highest-ranked Big South commit ever, the multiple Top 100-level HS and Prep players, the national team players, or even some of the other amazing stars that weren’t mentioned. This doesn’t include the likes of Kaleb Evans from Winthrop and Abu Yarmah from Longwood, both of whom are Top RS freshmen in the conference. The one limiting factor for many players’ freshman seasons will be playing time, as the Big South brought in 7 fewer freshmen than last season.

By March of 2031, this class will likely have exhausted all their eligibility. With the 17 players in this freshman class, I think there is a real possibility that this has nearly a 70% hit rate on All Conference Level Players/Players who moved up a league. I also believe this has a high likelihood of 3-4 really high-level professional players, with I think at least one NBA-bound, at least to the G League but likely to the Big Show.

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