SoCon Dork Tour- Davidson vs. Duke

Hello! John at MocsMania has invited yours truly (dorp) and my fellow Davidson fanatic graveline to be guest posters on the blog this season. In the past, we've posted highlights of our "SoCon Dork Tour" on Davidsoncats.com. Hopefully you'll find our contributions here entertaining, and thanks for reading! 

Dorp's seat location - with the Crazies.

To properly prepare for the game, we joined some fellow Wildcats at Tobacco Road Sports Cafe, which is beyond the outfield fence at the Durham Bulls ballpark. Graveline's hobby outside of hoops season is getting autographs of minor league players. The bartender at Tobacco Road was a former ballplayer, and there was some disappointment that graveline didn't bring the guy's card with him. 

El Toro Cream Ale

After an assortment of happy hour food, we headed over to the Duke Campus. We found a parking spot, encountered two Davidson townies, and discussed what we were about to witness. After a long walk, we were in familiar territory, standing outside of Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was at this point that I reminisced about the now named Taishoff Aquatic Pavilion, where the Wildcat men's swimming & diving teams defeated the Blue Devils in 1997 and 1999.

Graveline finds the will call process a little frustrating, but we eventually enter the arenar and find our seats. Due to the limited ticket situation, graveline and I aren't sitting together. I'm in with the Crazies, in the back row across from the Duke bench. Graveline is somewhere in the upper deck behind me.

There wasn't any room in the Crazies section, so I found a few Wildcats and went to the other side.



Better.

Ok, a few words about these "Crazies". They do what they need to do- make noise and look crazy for the cameras. Based on the dozen or so in front of me, I'm not sure how much they know about their team. They are well-educated on the chants and cheers they perform. But aside from yelling when the Devils score and booing when a call goes against them, I wasn't all that impressed with their hoops knowledge. It's a good thing the Duke players had their names on the backs of their jerseys, or these guys in front of me wouldn't have known Hood from Cook. Again, just my personal impression. It seems the whole Cameron Indoor Stadium schtick needs some refreshing. Ah yes, the message taped on the mascot's forehead. "Where's David's daughter?" Material more suited for these guys.

I like the warmups. Hope to see these at a Davidson equipment yardsale in a few years.

Tyler starts the game with a three. Duke comes back and takes an early lead. Just before the under 12 timeout, the refs noticed an unacceptable foul differential (5 Duke, 1 Davidson at 13:20).
11:51  FOUL by Jake Belford (P1T2)11:51  TIMEOUT MEDIA
11:51  FOUL by Jake Belford (P2T3)
11:50  FOUL by Chris Czerapowicz (P2T4)
11:50  REBOUND (DEF) by Chris Czerapowicz
11:35  MISSED 3 PTR by Tyler Kalinoski
11:28  FOUL by Andrew Mcauliffe (P1T5)
With the issue corrected, Duke extends the lead to 20 at the half. 

From the homefront, the score wasn't any better.

The second half brought more of the same. It didn't feel like a run (although the play-by-play may indicate otherwise), just a gradual separation that led to the ultimate 34 point difference.  I remember Duke missing about four shots.  111-77 was the final. 

This sums it up well.

Conclusion- The Wildcats are going to beat the hell out of some SoCon teams this year. I haven't read the recap or message boards, but I walked out of there with some honest optimism. Brooks and Droney played great, with the leadership you'd expect from seniors. Underclassmen for the most part didn't seem intimidated by the hostile setting. Looking forward to the revenge game on Monday vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

(Some recurring items we'll try to include in the blog)

Wardrobe:
Dorp- Black "Feed the Swede" shirt (he's still hungry), with recently purchased Davidson jacket.
Graveline- Red Davidson shirt, with grey Davidson sweatshirt with dark blue (!) lettering.

Dance Team:  Are these girls Duke students?  One of them looked like she was 12. Let's move on.

Next week:  Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Monday.  ECU at UNCG on Tuesday. Virginia at Davidson on Saturday.

SoCon & Mocs Out of Conference Opponents- 11/9

All Times Eastern

SoCon

The Citadel vs. Army/Air Force (All Military Classic)

Mocs D-1 Out of Conference Opponents

Eastern Kentucky at Kennesaw State (Kennesaw Invitational) 5:30
Mid-Continent College at Morehead State 7:00
Grand Canyon at San Diego (USD Classic) 9:00

SoCon & Mocs OOC Opponents Scores- 11/8

SoCon

Chattanooga 119, Covenant 56
Georgia 72, Wofford 52
VMI 82, The Citadel 71
Duke 111, Davidson 77
UNCG 82, High Point 74
Western Carolina 77, Wittenberg 55
Elon 114, Washington & Lee 64
Furman 66, Sewanee 49
Georgia Southern 110, Columbia International 74
Samford 79, Martin Methodist 62

Mocs D1 OOC Opponents

Eastern Kentucky 83, FIU 61
Xavier 83, Gardner-Webb 59
George Washington 76, Radford 54
Purdue 77, Northern Kentucky 76
Youngstown State, Kennesaw State 57
Loyola Marymount 78, Grand Canyon 75
Rhode Island 97, Maine 77
Georgia 72, Wofford 52
UAB 76, Columbus State 56
UCLA 72, Drexel 67

Chattanooga 119, Covenant 56

It's hard to know exactly what to take away from this game. After all, Covenant is a DIII team. But the Scots were within four of Kennesaw State (a team the Mocs play in McKenzie in about eleven days), and wound up losing by 29 to them. It is true that the Owls were playing in an exhibition game and the Mocs game was a game that counted, so maybe the Mocs took it a little more seriously than the Owls.

But the Mocs won by 63 points. That is substantially more than Kennesaw State won by. Is that a fair comparison? Maybe. Maybe not.

Regardless, the Mocs Chaos forced 34 turnovers, which was great. They held the Scots to 27.8% shooting froom the floor. If they can play that well defensively, obviously, very few teams will have success against them. Only one player, Nate Frierson, scored in double figures for the Scots.

The Mocs were far from perfect in terms of turnovers, committing 17. They outrebounded the Scots, but actually lost in terms of OR%. That's not good against a team like Covenant. Those are two areas that desperately need improvement.

The Mocs three point shooting also left a little bit to be desired. They made only 6 of 19 from long range. That is not over 35%, which is goal that Will Wade has stated. Martynas Bareika made three. Alex Bran made two. Eric Robertson made one.

The Mocs needed to improve their free throw shooting as well. They shot 78.4% from the free throw line for the game. With the additional fouls expected to be called this year, the Mocs need to be sure that they shoot well from there. Gee McGhee made 7 of 7 from the line. If he can improve his free throw shooting and three point shooting, then he will be an almost unstoppable force. He scored 19 points to lead all scorers. He had five rebounds, seven assists and three steals. He had a very good game, and continued to show his development.

TJ Williams did a nice job in his first game. He had eleven rebounds and six points. He had an impressive game as a freshman. He played 22 minutes. Z Mason scored 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocks. Lance Stokes scored 13 points with five steals and five rebounds. Greg Pryor looked very good, scoring fourteen points with four steals and four assists. If Pryor is the answer at point guard, this team could be pretty good.

Casey Jones fouled out, which was a bit disappointing. That being said, he still looks like he is about the make another step forward in his development.

I think there is a lot of postives to take away from tonight. Can the Mocs carry over those positives into Radford on Monday night? We'll have to wait and see. That is a big step up in competition. Hopefully, the Mocs will be ready.

Four Factors: Covenant

eFG%
Mocs- 60.0%
Scots- 31.5%
Advantage- Mocs

TO%
Mocs- 15.7%
Scots- 33.6%
Advantage- Mocs

OR%
Mocs- 45.9%
Scots- 25.6%
Advantage- Mocs

FTRate
Mocs- 49.3%
Scots- 55.6%
Advantage- Scots

Steals
Mocs- 19
Scots- 5
Advantage- Mocs

Possessions (target of 67): 105

Note: Possessions is based on a formula presented by Basketball Reference of FGA + (.44 * FTA) + Turnovers.

SoCon & Mocs Out of Conference Opponents Schedule- 11/8

All Times Eastern

SoCon

The Citadel at VMI (All Military Classic) 3:00 (ESPNU)
Covenant at Chattanooga 5:30
Appalachian State at North Carolina State 7:00 (ESPN3)
Davidson at Duke 7:00 (ESPNU)
Wofford at Georgia 7:00
High Point at UNCG 7:00
Wittenberg at Western Carolina 7:00
Sewanee at Furman 7:30
Washington & Lee at Elon 7:30
Columbia International at Georgia Southern 7:30
Martin Methodist at Samford 8:00

Mocs  D-1 Out of Conference Opponents

FIU vs. Eastern Kentucky (Kennesaw Invitational) 5:00
Radford at George Washington 7:00
Northern Kentucky at Purdue 7:00 (ESPN3)
Gardner-Webb at Xavier 7:00
Wofford at Georgia 7:00
Maine at Rhode Island 7:30
Youngstown State at Kennesaw State (Kennesaw Invitational) 7:30
Grand Canyon vs. Loyola Marymount (USD Classic) 7:30
Columbus State at UAB 8:00
IUPUI at Utah Valley 9:05
Pacific at Nevada 10:05
Drexel at UCLA 12:00 (Pac 12 Networks)

Daily Dribbles- 11/8/13

--It's opening day! It's opening day! For those SoCon basketball lovers in us all, it's a pretty solid day
too. You can watch The Citadel-VMI at 3:30 on ESPNU, pay for the video over on GoMocs for the Covenant-Chattanooga at 5:30, watch Davidson-Duke on ESPNU at 7:00, and watch Appalachian State-North Carolina State at 7:00 on ESPN3 (meaning you can have Davidson-Duke on your TV and Appalachian State-NCSU on your computer). Of course, your team may be playing somewhere in there too, which may inhibit some of your watching. But a tripleheader of SoCon basketball? After eight months off from SoCon basketball? Yes, please.

--The Mocs Chaos system has been intriguing to many outside observers this offseason. As they try to figure out what it really means, there is a decent explanation on GoMocs at the moment. Check it out.

--Qadree Smith committed to UNCG yesterday. He is a three star prospect and the #6 player out of Virginia. This is a great get for UNCG. At this point, it's nice to see teams staying in the SoCon getting some solid recruits. This is great for the Spartans and for the SoCon.

Covenant Preview: Let Chaos Reign

The Mocs will open the 2013-14 season with a new coach, a new lower bowl of the arena, a new philosophy and new optimism among the fan base. People will be gathering to watch the Mocs trying to instill their new brand of Chaos to the college basketball world.

Sure it will only begin with the DIII Covenant Scots. But every beginning is a big one.

The Scots lost at Kennesaw State in an exhibition 95-66. They trailed by just four 43-39 with 15:53 left in the game, though. These are both exhibition games for the Scots, before they get into their true schedule against other DIII opponents.

Against Kennesaw State, nobody played more than 26 minutes. Colton McGriff played those 26 minutes. He shot just 1 of 7 from three point range, but scored 14 points. He also collected six rebounds. McGriff scored 11.3 points per game a year ago, the only player in double figures a year ago. He is the tallest (and heaviest) player on the Scots roster at 6-6, 215 pounds. He's a junior. That makes him the team elder- there are no seniors on the Scots roster.

Chris Boyd is also 6-6. He was the other Scot in double digits against the Owls. He scored 11 points, but collected just three rebounds. Nate Frierson lead the team in assists with five.  He averaged 1.8 assists per game a year ago, the highest average of any returning player.

Kennesaw State outrebounded Covenant 50-35, and held them to 33.9% from the floor and 22.2% from three point range. The Owls shot 51.4% from the floor.

So what does all this mean for the Mocs? The Mocs are not exceptionally big with TJ Williams at 6-8 and Z Mason at 6-6 their two biggest players. But they are playing the Scots, who are also not big. That means that the Mocs should have a big advantage on the boards. The Mocs need to bring that effort on the glass and dominate that. If they dominate the offensive glass (as they should in this game, and is also one of the key points of Chaos), then the Mocs should win with relative ease.

Mason and Williams (in his first collegiate game) should be able to get into the game and be very good. That will help Williams with his confidence moving forward. Gee McGhee also ought to be very good. McGhee is an excellent player that I believe is slightly underrated by most people around the SoCon. I think McGhee could wind up being 1st team All SoCon by the end of the year.

I'm curious about what the Mocs do in this game. Do they put the system on full display heading into Radford on Monday? Or do they hold something back to not put it on film? I'm just interested in how they play this game. The Mocs SHOULD be able to handle this one with relative ease. Of course, you always have to show up and play the games.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--The Mocs will dominate the offensive glass.
--Coach Will Wade won't believe in keeping anything off film in this one, and Chaos will be on full display.
--Early on, the energy of the new season and the Chaos system will lead to an explosive early lead.
--The second half will be played a little more nonchalantly and the Mocs will coast.
--Mocs 91, Covenant 72. Covenant will outplay the Mocs in the second half, leaving plenty for the Mocs to work on. The Mocs will definitely be showing some flaws and some reasons to be concerned in the second half, but the first half will leave many Moc fans excited about the future. The scoring and stats will be balanced. I'll go out on a limb and say Williams will wind up the player of the game as long as he does not put too much pressure on himself and plays within himself. That probably won't continue, but just a hunch. Lance Stokes and Casey Jones will also shine with their length and athleticism. Eric Robertson will add several threes. Mason will even knock down at least one three.

SoCon Monster Game of the Week: Davidson at Duke

OMG! JABARI PARKER!

At least, that is one of the main storylines heading into the contest between Duke and Davidson. The Blue Devils are the ACC favorite, and one of the more popular choices to win the national title. Davidson is replacing Jake Cohen (and several other major contributors) and looking to outplay the expectations and win the SoCon. Yes- despite what Scanning the SoCon says about Davidson being the favorite, the actual media and coaches picked Elon and picked Davidson to finish second. Davidson can go a long way to dispelling that prediction by beating Duke in Cameron Indoor. Duke can prove little nationally, but can establish that they are a national title contender by putting on a nice show against Davidson.

Davidson will turn now to De'Mon Brooks, the preseason favorite to win SoCon Player of the Year. Brooks is also the reigning SoCon Player of the Year, beating out Cohen a year ago. Cohen had won the award the previous year. How will Brooks perform without his running mate this year? We'll have to wait and find out. He is one of the best post players in the SoCon, and could prove where he belongs in the national discussion with a good showing at Duke.

My favorite player all year last year on Davidson was Chris Czerapowicz (someone tell me if I spelled his name wrong- I just did that without looking it up, which I am pretty proud of). He is a very effective shooter, and a solid three point shooter.

I am most interested in seeing Brian Sullivan. Sullivan is a 5-11 point guard and a transfer from Miami, OH. The reviews so far have been rave. Everyone seems to think he will be one of the top point guards (if not THE top point guard) in the SoCon immediately. If that is true, then this team becomes even better. Sullivan is a lights out shooter and quick. He was All Freshman in the MAC as a freshman two years ago, before transferring and sitting out last year.

Jabari Parker made the cover of Sports Illustrated two years ago and was declared the best player since LeBron James. Of course, he was rated by many as the #3 recruit in the country coming out of high school, but this class was loaded. Parker is a 6-8 forward, and I can't wait to see him. It's possible he'll be matched up with Brooks quite a bit. If they are matched up, that will be a tremendous one on one match-up.

Don't worry college basketball fans. There is still a Plumlee at Duke. He is a redshirt sophomore and has not played much due to injury during his first two years. He is more than likely a bench player, but still- a Plumlee plays for Duke.

Rodney Hood is the transfer from Mississippi State. He is just a redshirt sophomore. He averaged nearly eleven poitns per game for the Bulldogs, and is expected to be one of the stars for this team. Last year, Coach K often called him the team's best player, but he was sitting out due to the transfer.

PREDICTION

I'm not completely sold on Duke as a national title contender yet. But I'm not completely sold that Davidson is ready to walk into Cameron Indoor Stadium and come out with a win. While I think this team is the best in the SoCon, I don't think that they will be at their best in the opener, because of the new pieces. I think Davidson sticks around and stays in it, but Duke comes up with the win in the end. Duke 79, Davidson 67.

Special SoCon Monster Game of the Week: The Citadel at VMI

With two teams that will be members of the SoCon in a year squaring off in their first game this
season, I could not resist doing a game preview. To me, this is the game I am most interested in this week. I know Davidson-Duke won the vote, and I will also write a preview of that game, but this game I found deeply intriguing.

The Citadel stunned VMI in Charleston a year ago, and has actually looked pretty good in the All Military Classic in the past. They beat VMI last year in round one, before falling in the championship. In 2011-12, they lost to VMI by three in the first round, before beating Army in the third place game. That was two pretty lousy years of Bulldog basketball on the whole. VMI has finished second and third in this tournament. (Army has finished fourth both years, while Air Force has won it both years.)

The Bulldogs are now without PJ Horgan due to injury and Mike Grosselle due to graduation. It appears CJ Bray is still playing basketball, though it appears he will not be around for this one (though my research can not verify that beyond a shadow of a doubt).

Marshall Harris III is the Bulldogs point guard. He commits far too many turnovers in the past, but is one of the leaders in assists in the whole country. Raemond Robinson shot 43% from three point range a year ago.

Matt Van Scyoc is the Bulldogs most important player. He is the player that is expected to breakout this year and replace Groselle productivity-wise. If the Bulldogs are a breakout team this year, Van Scyoc is likely to be one of the SoCon's biggest stars. He had an effective field goal percentage of nearly 54%. He can score, rebound and even play some defense. In some years, he may have won the SoCon Freshman of the Year. Last year, there were too many solid freshman in the SoCon for him to win it, but he was on the short list.

We all know how fast VMI plays and how they try to force turnovers. DJ Covington is the Keydets best player. As a big man, he averaged 15.0 points and nearly eight rebounds per game a year ago. It's odd for the Keydets best player to be a big man, given their guard-oriented system. That being said, Covington has been very successful so it is hard to question the success.

Rodney Glasgow may be the Keydets most important player, even if Covington is the best player. Glasgow is the point guard that makes the entire system go. He averaged in double figures, while getting nearly five assists per contest.

They have many solid three point shooters. This is the Keydets strength- full court pressure, wildly fast paced offense and hitting down open three point shots. There are six new freshman on the roster, and that is something else that has marked this system- heavy and ready reliance on freshman.

PREDICTION

The Keydets and the Bulldogs will play a close game. Why? Because it seems to be how it goes in this All Military Classic between these two teams. Can the Bulldogs pull off the upset in Lexington? Unlikely. The Keydets are likely to force Harris into too many turnovers. That being said, look for Van Scyoc to have a huge game and put his name onto early lists for Player of the Week consideratoin. In the end, Covington will be too much for the Bulldogs to handle without Grosselle or Horgan, and Glasgow will knock down a couple of critical threes. VMI 98, The Citadel 91.

Daily Dribbles- 11/7/13

--Jay Canty from Appalachian State was suspended for the first nine games, making him the third player this week to make this article for being out. The third player that received votes in the Scanning the SoCon Awards Edition that will be out the first game. To go along with Jack Isenbarger from Elon and Trey Sumler from Western Carolina, we are three fifths of the way to a really nice starting five that won't be playing in the first game. This certainly does not help Jason Capel in his quest to keep his head coaching position for the Appalachian State Mountaineers, but he will still be around for the entire SoCon schedule (unless the suspension lasts longer than nine games), so this is not a major blow to their chance to get to the NCAA Tournament.

--Here's the top ten players in the SoCon according to Mid Major Madness. It's been out for a while. It's not a perfect list (especially in the rankings), but this is not really a bad list of the ten best players in the SoCon, if you ignore the number next to their name.

--Anyone think Wofford could upset Georgia? I think it wouldn't be a total shocker if they did. The Bulldogs are not a great SEC team, and Wofford returns five starters. They are one of the top defensive teams in the SoCon, and could provide a challenge to Georgia's offense, who is trying to rebuild. Can Wofford score? It's the question that will plague the Terriers all year long.

Chattanooga's Top Rated Players Provide Hope

I've been saying for months that the biggest reason to believe in this Mocs team is not just the new coaching staff (Will Wade is doing a marvelous job) or the new system (Chaos will work wonders when fully implemented with the right players, whether that is this year or not), but that the Mocs have two of the top ten players in the conference in Gee McGhee and Z Mason. Throw in how much better Casey Jones played at the end of the year and how well I think he fits into the Chaos system, and I could easily see the Mocs having three of the top twelve or fifteen players in the conference.

Any team with three of the top fifteen in a sport like basketball can contend in that conference race. That's been my stance on why the Mocs could be better.

Of course, the thing giving me pause is that without a true, experienced point guard, maybe there would be struggles. When they implement this Chaos system, will McGhee and Mason still fit as well as I hope they will? Will they continue to improve at the rate they did last year? It's possible that my hopes are too high because of those things. Also, in the Chaos system, it is important to have a deep team, and I don't think (with all the injuries and transfers) that this is a particularly deep team.

So there's that.

But, I looked at this preseason Top Ten SoCon players as determined by Mid-Major Madness. Gee McGhee checked in at number eight and Z Mason checked in at number one. Even if you ignore those numbers, this is a relatively unbiased site proclaiming what I've been saying- McGhee and Mason are two of the top ten players in the SoCon.

Again, if you have that kind of talent, there is a chance to contend in the SoCon right away.

Like I said yesterday, we shouldn't be hung up on wins and losses this year. I do think Mason could be Player of the Year in the SoCon this year and I also think that McGhee could be a Player of the Year in the SoCon in the future. So they provide me a lot of hope.

I am eager to see these guys in action Friday night against Covenant and see what they can do. I am eager to see Chaos at work. This is going to be a lot of fun. The ride (whether or not wins come this year) is going to be a lot of fun.

GO MOCS!

Daily Dribbles- 11/6

--Jack Isenbarger is injured and may miss a little bit of time. Probably not much, as it appears that he
would have played in the exhibition on Monday if it had been an important game. Still, injuries have to be a major concern this early in the year for a team like the Phoenix, hoping to make real damage in the SoCon.

--Other than that, Elon's exhibition game was not uneventful. Christian Hairston had a monster dunk. Haiston may wind up being the type of player that helps guide the Phoenix to the SoCon title, moreso than any of the players currently on their roster. That play is very athletic- not many SoCon players can make plays like that.

--Always good to read about solid recruits to other SoCon teams- particularly the ones that are sticking around after this year. This one is UNCG's.

--I know that few people outside of the military academies like the All Military Classic as much as I do. I find it to be an enjoybale yearly event. Apparently, ESPN feels the same, because they are putting the first day on ESPNU this year. This is a chance for two of our SoCon teams in 2014-15 to make an early impression. Of course, they play on Friday afternoon. Look for a special preview of The Citadel-VMI on Wednesday evening/Thursday morning.

--The other game preview not involving the Mocs that will be getting coverage this week is Davidson at Duke, the game voted on to be the Game of the Week by the Scanning the SoCon crowd. I'll have the preview up on Thursday evening/Friday morning, to go along with the Covenant at Chattanooga preview.

From the Russ Bus to the Wade Wave

The Russ Bus. In 2009, Russ Huesman was hired to be the head football coach at Chattanooga. He instantly began a campaign to "Restore the Glory."

Immediately, the Mocs program went from years of winning one and two games to winning six games in his first season. The fan base all jumped onboad the "Russ Bus." It referred to people who were true believers in what Huesman was doing to tun around Chattanooga football and make it respectable again.

Of course, then the Mocs proceeded to never be able to get over the six win plateau over the next three years, and some people were beginning to grumble a bit. This year, though, the Mocs sit at 7-2 and first place in the SoCon. There is a wave of school spirit going around, and an energy that has not existed in a while.

On top of that, the Mocs have hired Jim Foster, a Hall of Fame coach, to be their women's basketball coach. The women's program is experiencing a bump in interest, even being ranked #16 by one preseason magazine. 

I think it's safe to say that the Mocs are experiencing a wave of enthusiasm in their athletic department that is at one of its highest points in recent memory.

It is with that as the backdrop that Will Wade begins his coaching career for the Mocs. That is part of the excitement that has been built up around the program.

I do believe that most people believe that it is going to take at least one year for Wade to coach the team to SoCon title contention. I basically believe that as well. I believe something more in line with 15-17 wins is most likely for this club. But I don't think that really matters for many people. What they want is to have some reason to believe that good things are coming for the Mocs. That's where Wade comes in.

Right now, we are all believers. We all believe that Wade's strategey will work. We all are ready to jump on the Wade Wave and ride it all the way- as far as we can possibly go. We all believe that Wade can "Restore the Glory" to Chattanooga Mocs basketball. We're all believers.

That's why what everyone says is mostly true. It doesn't matter how many wins the Mocs get this year. I'm not sure if I have any real expectations. I have more excitement about this season and the coming seasons than I have in a while because of the excitement of starting on a new journey and on a new ride.

We all want wins. I want wins for a very selfish reason- it's more fun to write about wins than losses on this blog. But the fact is, we need to take a longer view here. I think next year the team can easily contend for a SoCon title.

We're all riding the Wade Wave right now. Chaos is coming. It may not show up this year, but there is little doubt in my mind that by the end of his second and third year we will all be rewarded for being Moc fans. So don't jump off the Wade Wave this year- no matter if this season produces four wins or 28 wins.

We're all on this wave together.

GO MOCS!

VMI Preview: Keydets Try To Make Splash in Big South Year Before SoCon Re-Entry

The Keydets enter their final season in the Big South Conference coming off a semi-final loss in the BS Tournament to regular season champion Charleston Southern. It was the fifth time in the last seven years that VMI has won at least one BS Tournament game, while having reached the Championship game three times. After receiving another contract extension following last year, Coach Duggar Baucom will try to have similar success before re-joining the Southern Conference next year.

VMI finished last year 14-17 overall and 8-8 in conference play. They finished second in the BS North Division before beating Longwood in their opener in the BS tourney. It is expected that VMI will return with the fast-paced high octane offense that Duggar Baucom installed seven years ago. VMI returns two Seniors who have considerable experience. DJ Covington (6’9”, C, Virginia Beach, VA) returns for his final year as a pre-season Big South Conference First Team selection. Last year, Covington averaged 15.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, and led the Big South with 93 blocks, while winning the Conference Defensive Player of the Year award. Covington is a big man who has been able to be effective despite the fast paced and guard oriented system run at VMI. He figures to be the key contributor this year. Coach Baucom’s plan is to get the ball to Covington on every possession and run the offense through the big man. This will be interesting to watch because VMI has not had a post player capable of being the feature in the current offensive system. The man responsible for leading that system is Senior guard Rodney Glasgow (5’10”, PG, Brooklyn, NY). Glasgow returns for his final year having started throughout all four years at the Institute. A quick lefty guard who can get into the lane, Glasgow averaged 11.7 ppg, 4.75 apg, and shot 38% 3pfg. Glasgow led the conference in assist to turnover ratio.

While VMI will see six new Freshman join the program, the biggest addition will be the return of R-So forward Jordan Weethee (6’6”, F, Greensboro, NC). Weethee missed all last year after tearing his ACL in the off-season. Weethee played in 33 games as a freshman and averaged nearly 7.0 ppg. However, it was his performance during the Big South Conference tournament two years ago that made his absence more unsettling last year. During the run to the Championship game in 2012, Weethee shot 9-13 from behind the arc, including five makes in the quarterfinal win over Coastal Carolina. Weethee will likely be the main threat from behind the arc. Weethee should provide Convington more space in the lane if he can continue to shoot the ball as he did as a Freshman. Brian Brown (5’11”, SG, Kings Mountain, NC) and Phillip Anglade (6’5”, F, Long Island NY) are likely to fill out the starting lineup. However, Coach Baucom has been known to shuffle the starting lineup.

The Keydets will again rely heavily on the 3-point shot. Tim Marshall (6’3”, SG, Virginia Beach, VA) and Brian Brown provide two more threats from behind the arc. The Keydets welcome six new Freshman. Baucom has been a very solid recruiter given the different type of student experience that VMI offers. Baucom has not hesitated to use Freshman and most will likely see significant minutes as they rotate through the high paced offense.

VMI has one of the tougher non-conference schedules in recent memory. They will host the All-Military Classic (Army v. Air Force, Citadel at VMI; winners play) on November 8-9 at Cameron Hall. VMI will travel to play three ACC teams (Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Clemson) as well as East Carolina. Wright State will play at VMI this year after hosting VMI last year. The tough schedule should prepare VMI for the conference slate. Duggar Baucom has always had his team playing its best basketball late in the conference schedule and during the conference tournament. VMI will try to win the BS in its final year to earn its first NCAA tournament berth since 1977.

I predict that VMI’s performance and record will mirror the previous years’ outcomes. The Keydets usually start off slow, pick up speed during the middle of conference play, and are a team many do not want to play come tournament time. My prediction is that VMI will finish 16-13 overall and 9-7 in the conference. Covington and Glasgow will challenge for first team all-conference honors. The Keydets have to figure out how to run their offense through the post and improve their defense against quick guards, who last year got into the lane too easily. They will continue to score points in bunches, but will have to improve their defense to compete for a post-season bid.

Rah Virginia Mil!

Daily Dribbles- 11/5/13

--Trey Sumler has been suspended for at least the opening game of the year for Western Carolina. here.
Read the story about the case and the situation

--There's a new SoCon blog- AppHoops.com. There appears to be a new feature on there called Monday's Musings, where they look ahead to the week that is ahead. Here's what he has to say about the week.

--A nice summary at exhibition results from SoCon teams (and future OOC opponents for UNCG).

--It's the SoCon....a year early. That's what makes VMI-The Citadel so entertaining. Be sure to check out the VMI preview (and the updates on the Keydets throughout the year) that is up on MocsMania today. The Citadel and VMI will hook up in Virginia this weekend. Should be an entertaining game.

Scanning the SoCon: Week One

Welcome to Scanning the SoCon. Each week. We've scoured the internet hunting down fans from around the SoCon. There are people from school newspapers, message boards and bloggers. We've come together once again to try to provide a weekly comprehensive look around the SoCon. This is our third year of Scanning the SoCon. Hopefully, it will be the best year yet.

SCHEDULE

Friday

The Citadel at VMI (All Military Classic) (ESPNU)

Covenant at Chattanooga

Appalachian State at North Carolina State (Global Sports Shootout) (ESPN3)

Davidson at Duke (ESPNU)

Wofford at Georgia

High Point at UNCG

Wittenberg at Western Carolina

Sewanee at Furman

Washington & Lee at Elon

Columbia International at Georgia Southern

Martin Methodist at Samford

 

Saturday

Army/Air Force vs. The Citadel (All Military Classic) (ESPN3)

 

Sunday

Elon at Marist

 

GAME OF THE WEEK VOTING

Davidson at Duke- 6

The Citadel at VMI
Wofford at Georgia

QUESTIONS

 
1)      Who is your preseason SoCon Player of the Year?

Appalachian State- I’ll go a different route and say Trey Sumler of WCU. His leadership can lead the Cats to a top three finish and can be the guy to a run in the SoCon Tournament.

Chattanooga- De’Mon Brooks, Davidson. Brooks is the best player in the conference. While I think there are contenders to Brooks’ throne, I don’t see how you can pick anyone but him to start the season.

Davidson- De’Mon Brooks, Davidson. I think he’s the best player on the best team. He’s won the conference tournament MVP twice and has been the POY already. He comes into the season with 1263 points and 574 rebounds.

Elon- Lucas Troutman, Elon.

Georgia Southern- De’Mon Brooks, Davidson. Brooks gets the award based on the theory that the award is his until somebody takes it from him. With Jake Cohen gone, this is the year where Brooks could put up big numbers and run away with the award. But with that being said, due to the high number of very good players in the SoCon this year, Brooks will have to earn this award, if he does in fact win it at the end of the year. In my opinion, Tim Williams starts the season right on Brooks’ heels.

Samford- Trey Sumler, Western Carolina. He’s a scoring machine and scoring machines win player of the year.

The Citadel- De’Mon Brooks, Davidson. He should have a chance to improve his numbers from last season with Cohen gone.

UNCG- De’Mon Brooks, Davidson. For Davidson to be successful, they will need Brooks to be at the top of his game most night. I think that will happen.

Western Carolina- Trey Sumler, Western Carolina. A redshirt senior guard, Sumler played nearly 38 minutes per game last season, averaging 18.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Trey scored in double figures 29 times, 14 times with 20 or more points to lead the SoCon. He ended the season on an eleven game double figure streak and was top ten in five SoCon stat categories.

2)  What team do you think will be the biggest disappointment?

Appalachian State- Elon. They are picked to win the conference by the coaches and media over Davidson. I don’t think they can win it as Beaumont, Isenbarger and Troutman are all kind of the same player and don’t have a record of consistency.

Chattanooga- At this point, I’m leaning towards Elon, even though I picked them to finish second. I think there is a chance that they will not finish anywhere near that high. Elon is senior-laden, but I would argue that talent-wise, they are not way ahead of the rest of the SoCon. They have never dealt with expectations like this. It is a lot to put on a program to say, “NCAA Tournament or Bust,” and that is exactly the pressure that the Elon fans have been applying to this team. Can they survive and win the SoCon? I just think the pressure gets to them and they don’t live up to expectations.

Davidson- I’m going with Elon as the biggest disappointment. Seven of the coaches picked them to win the conference. I think they’ll be second or third. Not bad at all, but for a team picked to win and returning all five starters, anything short of a title is going to sting.

Elon- Appalachian State.

Georgia Southern- Due to the fact they return less than any of the other ranked preseason teams, I’m going to have to go with Davidson. Simply put, they have the most question marks. Fair or not, with their level of expectations, Davidson could have what most teams would consider a good year but still be considered a disappointment to them.

Samford- Elon-Since everyone is picking them to be on top, anything less than a conference championship has to be a disappointment.

The Citadel- Elon. In my opinion, no team in the league employed the bump-and-grind style of defense to greater effect more than Elon. If officials actually start calling fouls (not a given, of course, particularly with SoCon officials involved), Elon will have to adjust, and I’m not sure it can do so and remain a title contender. I suspect Will Wade’s attempt to institute “Chaos” at UTC may prove to be problematic (at least this year) for the same reason, but UTC doesn’t have major expectations in 2013-14. I’m also less than convinced that Appalachian State is a team that can finish in the 4^th-5^th range of the league, but that’s mainly because I am less than convincd when it comes to Jason Capel.

UNCG- App State. I’ve always thought their coaching was suspect and I still do. Of all the teams predicted to finish in the top four, the Mountaineers seem like the least solid pick. Davidson, Elon and Western Carolina all return more talent and senior leadership. So I’m picking ASU, not so much because I think they will fail, but because I don’t think the other three will disappoint.

Western Carolina- Elon. The Phoenix is the team with the most expectations, the team that has he bullseye on the their back, the team with the most to lose based on preseason rankings. Anything less than a regular season championship, a tournament championship and the SoCon’s bid to the dance in March will be considered a failure in the minds of Elon fans, as well as the basketball team. That’s a lot of pressure for a team to carry this seasons that’s never been in this situation before. Early season out of conference losses could deflate this teams ego to the point they finish middle of the pack.

 
3)      What team do you think will be the biggest surprise?

Appalachian State- Chattanooga should be that team. Chaos could reign in the SoCon as there’s a lack of quality point guards which will lead to lots of turnovers and quick points.

Chattanooga- I’m beginning to really think UNCG has a chance to do some things this year, but the team that has the best chance to outplay their preseason rank is Samford. In fact, the more I sit around and look at the conference preseason, the more I think Samford and Davidson may be the two teams most likely to win the SoCon. Williams and Kelly are two of the top players in the SoCon. They are going to be a very tough out.

Davidson- I’ll go with Wofford as the biggest surprise. I’m picking them fifth, just one spot higher than the coaches did. They have excellent coaching and some fine players. I like their chances to grab a bye for the tournament.

Elon- Wofford.

 

Georgia Southern- I think Georgia Southern has the chance to surprise some people this year. New head coach Mark Byington is big on guard play and that is where GSU is most talented and has one of the best players nobody is talking about in Jelani Hewitt. I don’t think GSU can finish any better than 5^th in the conference but I could see them finishing better than the 9^th-11^th that most are predicting.

Samford- UTC. Chattanooga return its top 3 scorers. Shulman didn't leave the cupboard bare and it appears to have made a competent hire. Picked in the bottom half of the league--the chances of exceeding expectations are there. Credit for this opinion also goes to SUDog03 and AP.

The Citadel- Samford. Michael Bradley may turn out to be a non-factor, but if he isn’t, and he works well with Tim Williams, look out. Samford could win the league (provided it finds another outside shooter to replace Geffrard).

UNCG- I think Samford has the right combination of coaching and talent to really challenge the top of the league this year. With Kelly and Williams, they are a tough match-up for most teams.

Western Carolina- Samford. The Bulldogs are a program on the rise. Second year head coach Bennie Seltzer has four very talented players returning including Tim Williams, last season’s freshman of the year. The Bulldogs also brought in an impressive recruiting class, adding transfer Michael Bradley that adds size upfront, along with two outstanding freshmen in Jordan Capps and Isiah Williams.

4)  Give a storyline for the SoCon you are interested in following this year.

Appalachian State- The last dance of Davidson, Elon, App State and Georgia Southern. This season will meet in Asheville. Next year they will travel to New Orleans, Baltimore and Brooklyn for their conference tournaments. Davidson and Elon are expected to be up there with App State as a dark horse

Chattanooga- I think the new coaches are very interesting. What life do they bring to their programs at Furman, Georgia Southern and Chattanooga? It will be very interesting to see how all three teams perform and develop this year as the season progresses. Because I have never been one to keep things short and sweet, I will add another storyline. Everyone is interested in the leaving and coming programs, and I am too, but I am curious about if there will be a team left to defend their SoCon title next year. Will someone other than Davidson, Elon, Georgia Southern and Appalachian State win the SoCon? On another interesting note, can Mercer or ETSU win the Atlantic Sun and can VMI win the Big South? If VMI wins the Big South, Mercer or ETSU win the Atlantic Sun and some staying team wins the SoCon, the SoCon would have three champions in their conference next year. That’s what I’ll be hoping for.

Davidson- The big storyline all year long will be the addition of ETSU, Mercer and VMI and the departure of ASU, Davidson, Elon and GSU.

Elon- The four departing teams from the Southern Conference after this season: Davidson (leaving for the Atlantic 10 Conference), Elon (leaving for the Colonial Athletic Association), Appalachian State (leaving for the Sun Belt Conference) and Georgia Southern (also leaving for the Sun Belt Conference).

Georgia Southern- I think the biggest story of the SoCon as the season starts is how fans of most teams have a reason to be excited coming into the season. The past couple of years, it’s been Davidson’s league and everybody else was just a sideshow. That should change this year, as I think Elon, Davidson, Western Carolina and Samford all have a legitimate chance at winning the conference this year and several other teams are good enough to play a spoiler role to one of those four teams. Then you have UTC, Furman and GSU, who all have a new head coach this year which always intrigues and rejuvenates a fan base. The SoCon should be exciting from start to finish this year.

Samford- The storyline: I believe the storyline will be transition. With the departure of Davidson, primarily, who steps up to fill the void? Will Chattanooga return to prominence? Will Western Carolina or Samford make a move? Will Mercer and/or ETSU have an immediate impact when they arrive? If Elon and Davidson fill preseason predictions, these questions loom louder. If they do not, then perhaps the perception becomes that the torch has already started to pass and the question becomes what impact will ETSU and Mercer have on things.

The Citadel- The biggest storyline is the league office’s continued failure to provide needed exposure (in other words, a regular TV presence) for its schools. Going forward, John Iamarino better have an answer for that or the SoCon will drift further down the D1 conference rankings.

UNCG- Can Davidson overcome their graduation losses? The Wildcats always seem to plug holds and move on. The question is if they can plug three major holes left by three major contributors (Cohen, Cochran, Kuhlman) and still dominate the league. On paper, it looks like they’ve come back to the rest of the field, but they’ve still got that McKillop guy on their sidelines. Either way, it should be interesting to see how well they play.

Western Carolina- I think the biggest early storyline in not only the SoCon, but college basketball as a whole will be the Rule 10, Article 4- a rule officials have been mandated to enforce this season. Under the rule, a player will not be able to keep a hand on, continually touching (jabbing or extending an arm or forearm), put two hands on, or use an armbar to impede the ball handler. There will be no judgment on these plays, but it will be called automatically. The purpose of this rule is to help create more offense, therefore higher scores. The possible unintended consequence could be that many starters will be on the bench starting the second half of the game, after numerous quick fouls in the first quarter, resulting in even lower scoring. I think a team like Western Carolina will have difficulty adjusting to enforcement of this rule.

 

Daily Dribbes-11/4/13

--It's time. Time for your daily source of news in the SoCon. From now until the end of the season, there will be something every morning about SoCon basketball posted at 5 AM Eastern. Check back daily.

--New to the blog this year- The Dork Tour, a column about basketball, beer, jokes and stories by a couple of Davidson fans as they travel to SoCon games. Should be a whole lot of fun. Check it out....

--Another new feature for Mocs fans- each day at 10:00 AM, a list of Mocs D-1 out of conference opponents games for that day will be on the blog, along with every SoCon game happening that day. Each night, scores will be posted on each of those games. It will help us to better analyze the Mocs past and future opponents.

--All eleven SoCon opponents play on Friday night. Six teams play non-D1 teams. Five play D1 teams. Ouch. The first game on the schedule is Friday afternoon when The Citadel heads to VMI to play in the All Military Classic. That's at 3:30 PM on ESPNU. ESPNU is Home of the SoCon on Friday. The Citadel plays VMI and then Duke plays Davidson in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Should be a fun day on The U.

Scanning the SoCon- The Preseason Awards Edition

Each week, Scanning the SoCon takes a look at the SoCon, presenting power rankings, a player of the week, a game of the week and answers questions that are pertinent to the current state of the SoCon. This week, it is divided into two parts- one with the power rankings, preseason All SoCon teams and Player of the Year, and the other with all the questions and such.

POWER RANKINGS

1) Davidson 96 (6 first place votes)
2) Elon 88 (2)
3) Western Carolina 83 (1)
4) Samford 69
5) Appalachian State 59
6) Wofford 55
7) Chattanooga 51
8) UNCG 34
9) Georgia Southern 27
10) Furman 21
11) The Citadel 11

All-SoCon First Team

Trey Sumler, Western Carolina (9 votes)
DeMon Brooks, Davidson (8 votes)
Z Mason, Chattanooga (8 votes)
Tim Williams, Samford (8 votes)
Lucas Troutman, Elon (5 votes)

Others Receiving Votes: Jay Canty, Appalachian State (2 votes), Karl Cochran, Wofford (2 votes), Raijon Kelly, Samford (2 votes), Gee McGhee, Chattanooga (1 vote)

Player of the Year

DeMon Brooks, Davidson- 5 votes
Trey Sumler, Western Carolina- 3 votes
Lucas Troutman, Elon- 1 vote

Samford Preview: A Dangerous Team

By Cujo

 

The Samford Bulldogs enter the 2013-2014 season with a lot of fresh faces and guarded optimism. Samford returns 4 starters from last season's young squad (the veterans are juniors), as well as significant contributors Russell Wilson and Brandon Hayman. Head Coach Bennie Seltzer added a talented host of freshmen, as well as big-man transfer Michael Bradley. The one consistency carried over from last season is that the Bulldogs will be young and there will be freshmen seeing playing time right away. The big question is whether the Bulldogs can win consistently and find success on the road. The big difference from last season may be the luxury of depth.

Returning players expected to provide significant contribution:

The question of who to discuss first for the Bulldogs is a toss-up between preseason All-Conference guard, Raijon Kelly, or SoCon Freshman of the Year (12-13) and Preseason All-Conference forward, Tim Williams. Deferring to seniority, we will start with Raijon Kelly.

Kelly (junior, guard/forward) burst onto the scene as a freshman in the 2011-2012 season under then head coach Jimmy Tillette in the Samford version of the Princeton offense. Kelly was an All-Freshman team selection that year. Kelly didn't miss a beat when Head Coach Bennie Seltzer took over in 2012-2013 and changed the style from the Princeton and a steady diet of matchup and 1-3-1 zone to a more up-tempo offense and physical man-to-man defense. It didn't take long for Kelly to adjust and become a noteworthy scoring threat who could create his own shots as well as dish out assists for others. The comment that stood out from the coaching staff last season was that they did not think Kelly had come close to tapping or realizing his potential.

Tim Williams (sophomore, forward) was expected to be the cream of Seltzer's first recruiting class and he did not disappoint. Williams, a natural forward, averaged 14.2 ppg and 7.1 rpg playing in the center position due to the Bulldogs unexpected absence of a true center in 2012-2013. He proved to be silky smooth around the basket, scoring with inside moves, fall away jumpers and a deceptively quick dribble drives down the lane for crowd-pleasing dunks. Outside of Chattanooga, there was probably little debate whether he was best Freshman in the SoCon last season. This season, with the addition of Michael Bradley, Williams is expected to move to his natural four position. Bulldog fans are anxious to see what Williams can do with a big man playing the five and Williams in his natural position. The combination of Williams and Bradley hopefully will present matchup problems for SoCon opponents and improve the Bulldogs rebounding on both end of the court.

Conner Miller (junior, guard) is a rock steady guard whose contribution last season was not reflected in the stat line, but was evident to any student of the game who saw him in action. He played big minutes and did the little things that are the difference between winning and losing. He's a smart, hard-nosed player who is also capable of going off from outside the arc.

Tyler Hood (junior, forward) was sidelined early last season with an injury that kept him out of the lineup for several critical weeks in the middle of the year. Hood, like Miller, is a smart, hard-nosed player. The term blue-collar is thrown around too much in sports, but it comes to mind when discussing Tyler's game. He can score around the rim against bigger defenders and can also step out and knock down the three. He is the kind of player who wants the ball in his hands with the game on the line and he expects to deliver.

Russell Wilson (sophomore, guard) was as a fan favorite as a freshman. For Samford fans, he is best described as a tenacious defender. From opposing guards' perspective, however, he might be the most irritating player in the SoCon. His defensive game is relentless--like water torture. He has boundless energy, he is quick as a cat with a seemingly laser focus on shutting his opponent down. As the season progressed, Wilson started doing things off the dribble that would fill a highlight reel. Wilson has made great strides in the off-season, both in his skill level and his leadership. Look for Wilson to break into the starting lineup as the Bulldogs' point guard.

Brandon Hayman (junior, guard/forward) is an extremely athletic player with a knack for scoring around the basket. Though undersized, he seems to find a way to make things happen on both ends of the court. He has an uncanny ability to lose his defenders and pick up easy buckets around the rim. His athleticism and lack of concern for his body make him a tenacious defender and a weapon off the bench.

Transfer newcomers expected to contribute this year:

Mike Bradley is a 6'10" center who started out at Connecticut. "Big Mike" is expected to make an immediate impact and take over the five spot. The only concern about Big Mike is whether he can put the injury bug behind him. So far, so good. Coming out of high school, Big Mike was a McDonald's All-American nominee. It will be interesting to see what a true center does for Seltzer's style of play.

Chris Longoria is a 6’4” guard who transferred from Bingham University to Samford in January. He redshirted in 2012-2013. It is not presently clear whether Longoria will be eligible to play before January.

Incoming Freshmen:

 

Seltzer and his staff had what appears to be a banner recruiting class on paper.

Jordan Capps is expected to see playing time right away. This 6'6" guard/forward has reportedly impressed since arriving on campus. According to the official Samford athletic website, Capps was ranked by ESPN as the 18th-rated player in Georgia. He earned all-state honors as a senior at Peachtree Ridge High School where he averaged 14.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest. His athleticism and rebounding are his best assets. He has good length, runs the floor well and possesses the ability to finish above the rim not only on the break, but also in the half court. He also can knock open shots from behind the arc.

Isaiah Williams is another name that has been mentioned as a freshman who can play now. Williams is a 6'1" guard who is expected to be a big-time scoring threat who can do it all--scores when needed and dishes out passes that lead to baskets.

Brandon Roberts is a 6'1" guard. He may need a year to develop before being completely ready for the next level, but he is another highly rated recruit who is expected to factor into the Bulldogs future. He is a great ball-handler with exceptional court vision, who can score in bunches. He is a very consistent 3-point shooter. He was an All-state performer at West Morgan High School (Alabama) averaging an impressive 32.5 points per game. He was chosen to play in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game. He was rated as the No. 3 prospect in the state of Alabama by Future150.com.

Nnamdi Enechionyia is a 6'6" Guard/Forward. Enechionyia also may need another more to break into the rotation, but he too factors into Samford's future. He averaged 15.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a senior at St. James School in Hagerstown, Md. He has a natural ability to shoot from anywhere on the court.

Emeka Ikezu is a 6'9" Forward/Center from Greensboro, N.C. He comes to Samford by way of Hargrave Military Academy. Like Roberts and Enechionyia, he may need some time to develop, but the Bulldogs are expecting big things from him. Ikezu is originally from Nigeria. He is an impressive athlete, who is very active on both ends of the court.

Nathaniel “Biggie” Henderson is a late signee, who may not see playing time this year, but is expected to provide a lift off the bench and a healthy dose of perspective. http://samfordsports.com/news/2013/10/8/MBB_1008133930.aspx?path=mbball From the Samford official website: Biggie’s favorite number is 5, his favorite foods are chicken nuggets and French fries, and he loves the color red. His favorite movie is "Good Burger", and he enjoys watching movies, playing video games, and watching Lebron James and the Miami Heat. Henderson is thrilled to join the team and very excited to meet all of his new Samford teammates!”

The Schedule:

From a fans standpoint, the non-conference home schedule leaves something to be desired. The much anticipated return game with Kentucky (2 for 1) did not materialize. Apparently the fine print in the contract said "Kentucky State", not University of Kentucky. The out of conference schedule includes (among others) Indiana, Florida Gulf Coast, ETSU and Marquette away and Austin Peay at home.

The conference schedule pits Samford against the top three teams in the SoCon preseason poll five times. Three of those five games are at home. The odd game is a home game against Davidson with no return game. In addition to its lone game against Davidson, Samford plays Georgia Southern and the Citadel once each. Both of those games are on the road.

Best Case/Worst Case Scenario:

The best case scenario is for the Bulldogs is to stay healthy, gel in the out of conference schedule and get meaningful minutes from some of the newcomers. The biggest question is whether they can find success on the road and play with consistency. Samford should have the luxury of a deeper bench than last year and be more athletic, which should give Seltzer more options to play the style of basketball he promised when he arrived--up-tempo, aggressive man-to-man defense that creates points off of turnovers. If the cards fall right and the Dogs find some early success on the road, Samford could have a shot at a 20 win season and double digit wins in conference play.

The worst case scenario for the Bulldogs young lineup is that inconsistency and road woes carry over from last season. It will also be imperative for the Bulldogs to avoid injuries along the front line. If Samford is forced to play some of the young players before they are ready, .500 could be optimistic.

Overview/Prediction:

There is a lot of optimism on the team and among the faithful. Seltzer and company have brought in basketball players who on paper at least possess athleticism and skill in numbers arguably never seen before at Samford. If this young team can get some success on the road in the early season and develop before heading into conference play, the Bulldogs can make some noise and perhaps challenge for a top four seed going into the tournament. Even though a young team, Samford has a core group of sophomores and juniors who have logged significant minutes. Throw in some bright young talent out to prove themselves and the recipe could be there for a top four finish.

As long as the likes of Kelly, Williams and Bradley stay health, Samford could be a team to contend with in the SoCon tournament. If the team develops before the conference schedule kicks in, the Alabama Bulldogs could get 10 or 11 conference wins. The big question is consistency.