On March 13,
2012, Jimmy Tillette was dismissed as head men’s basketball coach of the
Samford Bulldogs. Gone with Tillette were the assistants and staff members who
led Samford basketball, for the most part, since 1997. The program had decent success
under Tillette (NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2000, 2006 OVC
Tournament Finals, 229 wins) for a mid-major with little winning history (Samford
has played basketball since 1901, but is 223 games below .500 when not coached
by John Brady or Tillette). The program’s sad recent years never reached that
previous success (the tragic death of Jim Griffin two weeks before the 2009-‘10
season, three conference moves and six losing records in ten years, 19+ losses for
the last three seasons). Even so, you knew what to expect with Samford
basketball: good student/citizen players, Princeton offense, matchup zone
defense. No longer; Samford has even run out of Merritts—Jeffrey, the third of
three brothers to play at Samford, finished his eligibility with a loss to
Furman in the first round of the 2012 SoCon Tournament. The Merritt brothers started
301 combined games, scored more than 3300 total points, accounted for the University’s
first All-American award, and had at least one brother on the roster every season
since 2002.
On April 4, 2012, Bennie Seltzer—originally from Birmingham, most recently
an assistant to Tom Crean at Indiana—was hired to replace Tillette. Seltzer hired
a completely new staff, most of whom have high-major and pro credentials,
including assistant coaches Scott Padgett (Kentucky, NBA), Yasir Rosemond
(Oregon, international pro), and Jake Headrick (Ole Miss), and DOBO Anthony
Saccoccia (Indiana, Michigan St.). Since Seltzer was hired, six new players
were added to the roster. Those likely to make immediate contributions are Russell
Wilson (Fr. PG, 5-11/170), a lockdown defender who was the Florida 5A Player of
the Year; Clide Geffrard (Fr. F, 6-5/215), the Florida 7A Player of the Year;
Jaylen Beckham (Fr. G, 6-0/160), the #11 PG in the country as a HS sophomore,
but had a “well-travelled” HS career; and Tim Williams (Fr. F/C, 6-8/210), a
two-sport star in HS.
(2)
Returning
Players: Got a few of those too.
Samford returns
approximately 50% of its scoring and rebounding, and 40% of its assists, but returns
a team leader in only two categories (FT% and steals). Samford lost its two
best players to graduation (Merritt) and transfer (Drew Windler, the most
skilled offensive player on the team, left for Belmont). Three starters, with a
combined 75 starts last season, return: Raijon Kelly (So. G, 6-4/175; 2012 SoCon
All-Freshman Team), Tyler Hood (So. F, 6-6/210; 2012 SoCon All-Freshman Team), and
Will Cook (Jr. G, 6-4/185). Gregg Wooten (Jr. G, 6-2/195), the presumptive
starting PG before preseason practice in 2011, returns from a year-long
recovery for an Achilles injury. Connor Miller (So. G, 6-3/170) showed flashes of
skill after returning from a preseason knee injury, and his perfect shooting
day at home against Davidson was a catalyst to the best win of his freshman
season (and, frankly, the best win for Samford in five years). Brandon Hayman
(So. G, 6-3/190) defends well, but is limited offensively. Hood and Kelly are
the two best players on the team that anyone has seen before.
In case you
haven’t noticed, that’s not a towering rotation. It’s possible that length will
be provided by Levi Barnes (Jr. C, 6-10/205), a career bit player behind Windler.
Barnes has played in 17 total games over two years—never more than 19 minutes
in any game—but he’s got some bounce, is a fluid athlete for someone that
gangly, and is a natural shot blocker. At this point, however, his ability to compete
and contribute is totally unproven.
(3)
Schedule:
It’s hard.
Samford, KenPom’s
#271 rated team in 2011-12, has the most difficult pre-conference schedule in
the SoCon. The Bulldogs play in the mainland part of the Battle 4 Atlantis (all
of the beatings, none of the Bahamas). They visit preseason #2 Louisville (2012
Pom # 15), #3 Kentucky (’12 Pom #1), #16 Memphis (’12 Pom #8), and #21
Wisconsin (’12 Pom #5). For the third year of a four year contract, they play
UT-Arlington (’12 Pom #116), who has most of its roster back from a team that
finished 15-1 in conference, won the Southland regular season title, and went
to the NIT (before realigning to the WAC). Other pre-conference games include
Florida Gulf Coast (’12 Pom #170), who some believe may challenge Mercer in the
A-Sun; Bowling Green (’12 Pom #136); Sam Houston State (’12 Pom 293); and Samford’s
former OVC brethren Austin Peay (’12 Pom #219) and UT-Martin (’12 Pom #334). Yes,
they have scheduled only one D1 team worse than SU was last year.
Charleston and
Citadel are Samford’s home-and-home opponents from the South Division, and they
host Georgia Southern in the early SoCon game on December 1—the Eagles likely will
be farther along developmentally than the Bulldogs at that point. Samford also
plays at Davidson (where they have not been competitive since joining the
SoCon). The Bulldogs host three North Division games when the students are out on
JanTerm (Chattanooga, WCU, Appalachian St.), and their weekend road trip to the
mountains is the final week of the regular season, after which they will bus
back home and then turn around and bus back up to Asheville for the tournament
the next week. Very unkind schedule.
(4)
Three
Questions I Want Answered:
Question 1: Are
we better? Samford transitions from a niche, offense-first outlook to a
defense-first philosophy this year, so growing pains are expected. Having said
that, you can win a lot of basketball games by defending well and creating easy
buckets.
Question 2: Are
we good? If Samford is “better,” the next question is whether they are
objectively good. Not likely, but not impossible. And this must be the goal
going forward.
Question 3: Are
we competitive? The SoCon is a decent league and should be better at the top
than last season, but Samford theoretically can be competitive in its division.
This was an objectively bad team last year that played five freshmen heavy
minutes, but was only a Karl Hess blown call away (obvious missed travel late
against Greensboro) from leading the North in late February. If SU can
establish an identity, improve its team defense, and create opportunities for
easy buckets, then it can compete in the North. Hopefully, we can compete for a
division title before such a thing no longer exists.
(5) Final Analysis:
The
pre-conference schedule will be painful. Samford will be more competitive in conference,
but likely will not contend for a bye in the tournament. It’s the start of a
new era in Samford basketball, and this year will be mostly transitional.
By AP from SamfordBulldogs.com
For a full list of the SoCon message boards and bloggers, click here.
By AP from SamfordBulldogs.com
For a full list of the SoCon message boards and bloggers, click here.
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