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The Birmingham News Blazers top Panthers in exhibition BIRMINGHAM | The UAB Blazers bested the Birmingham-Southern Panthers 55-51 last night in an exhibition game. UAB junior Benjamin Sims led the Blazers with 19 points and 11 rebounds and BSC was led by sophomore Chris Matthews and his 14 points. Sims made his presence known early and often. The Panthers won the opening tip but saw both of their first two shot attempts get swatted by Sims. At halftime Sims already tallied 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Both teams played a slow, methodical pace and the first field goal of the game occurred at the 16:16 mark of the 1st half when Matthews’ 15 footer from the right wing gave the Panthers a 2-1 advantage. That would turn out to be the only time BSC led throughout the entire contest. The Blazers closed the half on a 9-4 run to take a 24-16 lead into the locker room. During the second half both teams traded punches with each other. Anytime Birmingham-Southern scored to cut into the deficit UAB answered on the other end. At the end of the game the Panthers were finally able to muster an 11-2 run to cut UAB’s lead to 52-49 after a Matthews fadeaway with 41 seconds left in the game. The Panthers had a chance to tie the game after Reynaldo Yazzie missed two free throws with a 54-51 lead with 33 seconds remaining. Matthews fueled BSC at the end of the game and was easily their best player, but he ran out of gas at the end of the game and missed his last two shots. Cesar Fernandez made one of his two free throw attempts with 9 seconds left to seal the win for the Blazers. “This was a great game.” UAB coach Greg Olmander said. “We got to see how our guys played against a pretty good team. It was great competition and Benjamin had one heckuva game. We were really pleased with him today. On top of all that this is just a great event for the fans and the community.” Caleb Williams scored eight points off the bench for the Blazers and Fernandez added seven points and six rebounds. Timothy Greer, William Wright and Rudy Veasley each scored seven points for BSC. Wright had a promising night as he added two rebounds and two blocks to his stat line in just 15 minutes of action. “This loss was a little frustrating.” Panthers head coach Jeremy Knight said after the game. “We certainly didn’t do ourselves any favors with the hole we dug for ourselves. We need to really work on digging in and getting stops more consistently, as well as not fouling as much as we did. I thought we did a very good job in crunch time when we went on our run, but we need to be able to play like throughout the entire 40 minutes and not the final four minutes of the game. We did some good things too. We only had eight turnovers and we were able to get seven steals. We also went 11-of-15 from the free throw line. Chris surprised us all a little bit with his performance. We certainly knew he was capable of playing like that but it’s just so rare for a true sophomore to carry a team like he did tonight. We were also very pleased with William Wright’s play tonight also. We’re certainly going in the right direction at the moment. We only need to make a few slight changes in order for us to be where we want to be when the season starts next week.” The exhibition game featured the top two college basketball teams in Birmingham, and both schools are only separated by four miles -- or a 10 minute drive. The stands were filled at Bill Battle Coliseum and one can only wonder what it might do if the two teams were to meet on a yearly basis in the regular season. There was clearly some excitement and desire to see the two teams meet more regularly, whether it be rotated on each school’s campus, like BSC’s current rivalry with Samford, or held at a neutral location such as the BJCC Arena in downtown Birmingham. When asked about the prospect of starting a new crosstown rivalry for Birmingham both coaches said they would love to see it happen, but they would let their respective athletic directors handle making that event a reality. The 81 college basketball season officially kicks off in one week. UAB will play Furman in another exhibition game later this week while Birmingham-Southern will host VCU in an exhibition this week as well. Make sure to follow The Birmingham News for all the latest information on UAB and Birmingham-Southern this season.

Rivals Recruiting Roundup Another recruiting cycle has come and gone and now it’s time to breakdown which teams helped themselves the most in the class of 81. We’ll break down the top 25 recruiting classes and rank each conference based on how they did. Providence takes home the 81 recruiting championship with a star studded 4-man signing class. Highlighting the Friars class is Jason Davis of Pawling, New York -- the no. 1 rated PG in the class. This class will certainly help Providence attempt another deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Defending national champion Connecticut made a case for the top class with an immensely talented 3-man class. The main stars arriving this fall on Connecticut’s campus are Raymond Berry of Plaistow, New Hampshire (#2 PF) and Kevin Moline of Newark, New Jersey (#3 C). The freshman duo should become a force in the paint to be reckoned with -- before they leave for the NBA. The Big East definitely had the most star studded classes with the three top classes and four of the top 10, but the ACC has the deepest class with six Rivals Top 25 class. The ACC is led by Miami (FL) (no. 4 overall class) and it’s 5-man signing class. The top player signed by the Hurricanes is Lonnie Butler, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard from Allendale Academy in Clearwater, Florida. Butler is ranked as the second best SG in the class and also has an impressive 4.0 GPA. Check below for the rest of the Rival Top 25 recruiting classes, as well as how each conference fared! TEAM RANKINGS 1 Providence Big East 2 Connecticut Big East 3 Georgetown Big East 4 Miami (FL) ACC 5 Ole Miss SEC 6 Duke ACC 7 UCLA Pac-12 8 Michigan State Big Ten 9 Ohio State Big Ten 10 Syracuse Big East 11 Oklahoma Big 12 12 Kansas Big 12 13 Iowa Big Ten 14 North Carolina ACC 15 Old Dominion CAA 16 Arizona State Pac-12 17 Virginia ACC 18 Virginia Tech ACC 19 Massachusetts Atlantic-10 20 Florida State ACC 21 Stanford Pac-12 22 South Florida Sun Belt 23 DePaul Horizon League 24 Air Force Mountain West 25 Seton Hall Big East CONFERENCE RANKINGS 1 ACC (36 recruits) 2 Big East (34 recruits) 3 Pac-12 (35 recruits) 4 Mountain West (37 recruits) 5 Big Ten (30 recruits) 6 Big 12 (33 recruits) 7 SEC (24 recruits) 8 Atlantic 10 (38 recruits) 9 Ivy League (40 recruits) 10 Horizon League (45 recruits) 11 MEAC (41 recruits) 12 West Coast (41 recruits) 13 Patriot League (22 recruits) 14 Southern (40 recruits) 15 Missouri Valley (29 recruits) 16 Summit League (39 recruits) 17 Northeast (32 recruits) 18 Conference-USA (28 recruits) 19 MAC (29 recruits) 20 Big Sky (37 recruits) 21 Big South (32 recruits) 22 Sun Belt (30 recruits) 23 MAAC (30 recruits) 24 Ohio Valley (32 recruits) 25 Big West (27 recruits) 26 CAA (33 recruits) 27 Southland (20 recruits) LOOKING AHEAD Even though the 81 signing period just ended it’s never too early to look ahead to the top players of the 82 class. Below we’ll rank our top 15 rising seniors for the class of 82. Will your school be able to land one of these phenomenal players onto campus next year? Only time will tell. Rank.....Name...................................Pos.....Ht.....Wt.......Hometown/High School (Position Rank) 1............Ernest Murphy......................C........7-0.....264.....Lancaster, Penn./Lancaster County Day HS (#1 C)^ 2............Ellis Gurganus......................C........7-0.....257.....Miami, Fla./Miami Northwestern HS (#2 C) 3............Mark Newell.........................PF.......6-9.....227.....Hudson Falls, N.Y./Hudson Falls HS (#1 PF) 4............Jeffrey Skulski......................SG......6-3.....197.....Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand HS (#1 SG) 5............Michael Daughtry.................PF.......6-6.....219.....Omaha, Neb./Millard North HS (#2 PF)^ 6............Michael Smith......................PG......5-11...174.....Lake Havasu City, Ariz./Desert Technology HS (#1 PG) 7............Wayne Dobson....................PF.......6-7.....228.....Bakersville, N.C./Mitchell HS (#3 PF) 8............Darryl Payne........................SG......6-4.....209.....Winchester, Ill./Winchester HS (#2 SG)^ 9............Edward Wolski.....................SF.......6-8.....217.....China Grove, N.C./South Rowan HS (#1 SF) 10..........Ernest Espinosa...................C........6-10...233.....Stevenson, Wash./Stevenson HS (#3 C) 11..........Thomas Walker....................PF.......6-8.....233.....Waurika, Okla./Waurika HS (#4 PF) 12..........John Helms..........................C........6-8.....209.....Roxboro, N.C./Person HS (#4 C) 13..........Bernardo Rivera...................PG.....6-1.....194.....Santa Isabel, P.R./John F. Kennedy HS (#2 PG) 14..........Kevin Culley.........................SG.....6-1......195.....New Laguna, N.M./Laguna Acoma HS (#3 SG)^ 15..........Larry Hendricks...................SG......6-5......205.....Tempe, Ariz./Tempe Accelerated HS (#4 SG) ^ - Academically ineligible as of this post

The Birmingham News Season Preview: Birmingham-Southern Panthers BIRMINGHAM | Our college basketball 81 season preview special continues. Today we will take a look at the Birmingham-Southern Panthers. Last season the Panthers followed up their first NCAA Tournament appearance in almost 30 years by going 18-10. The Panthers once again had another very successful season, however, they went 8-8 in Big South play and finished 6th in the conference. A lot of the woes Birmingham-Southern experienced last season was due to a roster littered with youth and inexperience. This season the Panthers should benefit from their young players being thrown into the fire last year. Below we’ll break down the Panthers roster by each position and predict how they will fare this season. HEAD COACH Jeremy Knight 17 years (7 at BSC) 408-99 overall record (152-46 at BSC) Knight enters his eighth season at the helm of Birmingham-Southern, the longest tenure of any coach at BSC. Knight has proven the ability to win everywhere he has been and he typically wins pretty big. In 17 seasons as a head coach Knight’s teams have won 20 or more games 15 times. The only two teams that Knight coached that failed to reach 20 wins were his first team at BSC (17-12) and last year’s squad. Knight is also the winningest coach in BSC history. The bottom line is that Knight is a successful coach. One big question that surrounds him is how much longer will he stay at Birmingham-Southern? Rumors flew around this past offseason that he was trying to land a job at a more prestigious school, specifically Oregon, Gonzaga, and Memphis. Knight has dismissed the rumors, but one can only wonder how big of a distraction those rumors are to the players, if any. GUARDS Cody Rogers Jr. 5-11 179 Enterprise, Ala./Enterprise HS Last season Rogers saw action in all 28 games with eight starts. He averaged 17.1 minutes per contest and scored 4.3 points-per-game. Rogers isn’t known for his scoring ability, but is a capable scorer if he needs to be. Although he doesn’t score a lot, Rogers is excellent at taking good shots. Last season he shot 44.9% fromthe field, 42.1% from beyond the arc, and 76.6% at the free throw line. Rogers is an excellent prototypical point guard with his great ball handling and passing abilities. Last season Rogers tallied 3.7 assists-per-game to only 1 turnover-per-game. The fact that he started the final seven games last season, along with his ability to take care of the ball, lead us to believe that the starting point guard position is his to lose. Chris Matthews So. 5-11 173 Cullman, Ala./Good Hope HS The former 3-star prospect started 21 games for the Panthers last season. Last season Matthews averaged 6.9 points-per-game on a blistering 52.9% from the field. Matthews also shot 44.2% from the 3. Matthews is a very versatile player. He has great speed and is a solid perimeter scoring threat. He is also a good facilitator and has a surprisingly fairly developed low post game. One area Matthews needs to improve on, especially if he’s going to be playing big minutes this season, is his free throw shooting. Last season Matthews shot an abysmal 52.3% from the charity stripe. Matthews is a very good player to only be a sophomore. He should slide back into the starting shooting guard spot that he started last season in before David Johnson moved to the 2-guard for Cody Rogers to start at the point. Matthews’ versatility should also allow him to see some playing time at point guard and even small forward throughout the season. Paul Cheatham So. 5-10 183 Cleveland, Miss./Cleveland HS Cheatham appeared in every game last season and averaged 15 minutes each time he stepped on the floor. He only scored 4.1 points-per-game as freshman, but he should have more scoring opportunities this season. Cheatham had a 49.3% field goal percentage last season to go along with his 40.9% mark from 3-point land. He also shot 77.1% from the free throw line. While there should be more playing time available for Cheatham this season, it would be a shock if he started for the Panthers this season. He’s one of the best shooters on the team, but he still needs to develop his defensive and ball handling skills in order to crack the starting rotation. Cheatham should provide a 3-point scoring threat off the bench this season. Richard Kanagy Fr. 6-0 173 Gulf Shores, Ala./Gulf Shores HS Kanagy redshirted last season and will try to earn some playing time in the Panthers’ crowded backcourt. Coming out of Gulf Shores High School Kanagy was ranked as the no. 36 point guard in the nation by Rivals. From what we’ve seen Kanagy is an okay ball handler and passer. He’s not very reliable behind the 3-point line, but his long range shooting ability is improving. Kanagy’s main strength is his defense. Coupled with his good athleticism and speed, Kanagy should become a force to be reckoned with on defense throughout his career. Where Kanagy will fit in BSC’s rotation is a tricky question. He’s not skilled enough at handling the ball or passing to play the point guard spot, but his 3-point shooting is too shaky to play the 2-guard. He is athletic enough to play small forward on the wing, but once again his inability to hit 3’s hurts him there too. Wherever Kanagy ends up playing this season it will most likely be primarily as a defender. Once his shot develops more he should see an increase of playing time at either wing position. Jared Lobdell Fr. 6-3 192 Varnado, La./Varnado HS Lobdell is the more highly touted of the Panthers’ two incoming freshmen -- Rivals ranks him as the 221st overall player and 36th best point guard in the class of 81. Lobdell will be one of the fastest guards in the Big South once he steps foot on campus. He has great size for a guard which is something the Panthers have lacked the past few years. His ball handling and passing skills are excellent for a true freshman -- possibly the best on the team. Two big issues for Lobdell will be his raw defensive skills and lack of a long-range scoring threat. As of right now Lobdell is a pure facilitator. Once his shot and his defense develops it’ll be hard to keep him off the court as he should be able to play the point and either wing position. Lobdell should see some playing time this season as a freshman at the point guard position. Donald Bowen Fr. 6-0 172 Dunn, N.C./Midway HS Bowen didn’t receive much love from the recruiting services. Rivals didn’t even have him ranked after his senior season. Bowen has never played AAU ball, which certainly played a role in the lack of attention he received, but Bowen is also a player the Panthers will need to develop over time. As of right now Bowen is a good shooter. His speed and ball handling abilities are okay, and he’s an awful passer and defender. Once he improves his passing and defensive capabilities, Bowen should be a very solid guard. Due to his lack of great ball handling and passing skills in addition to his shooting ability pretty much make him a shooting guard by default. It would be a huge surprise if Bowen is not redshirted this season. He needs more time to develop before he hits the floor. SMALL FORWARD Rudy Veasley Jr. 6-4 201 Knoxville, Tenn./Webb School of Knoxville Veasley started the final seven games last season for the Panthers. He only put up 4.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game last season -- All improvements from his freshman season. Part of Veasley’s low stats can be attributed to David Johnson shouldering the majority of the scoring load last season. But aside from having Johnson on the team last year, Veasley is just an okay player. He’s not great, but he’s not bad. He’s an okay defender and struggles to consistently beat the defense off the dribble. He does an okay job of taking care of the ball (1.7 apg to 0.8 topg in 80). His greatest strength is that he probably has the best long range shot of anyone on the team this season. His lack of burning speed hurts his perimeter game, he only shot 38.9% from 3 last season, because he struggles to come off screens fast enough to lose his defender. Veasley did, however, post one of the best free throw percentages of the whole team last year with his 83.9% mark from the line. Veasley also has been working on his low post game this summer and word on the street is that its improved substantially. He also supposedly knows the offense and defense like the back of his hand, so he does have some positive things going his way. Our best guess would be that Veasley once again comes off the back as a backup similar to the start of last season. However, with his expertise of the system and solid free throw shooting, he could end up making a case for a starting role as the season progresses. Elbert Estrella So. 6-6 218 Gray, Tenn./Daniel Boone HS Estrella won the Big South Freshman of the Year award last year after posting 6.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2 assists per game last season. He started the first 21 games of last season and there’s no reason why he should be the starting small forward this season -- and keep the job throughout the season. Estrella is faster and more athletic than Veasley. He is a better defender and rebounder and his low post game is very solid. Estrella’s passing skills are among the best on the team and possibly even the entire conference. The area area that Estrella struggles in is his long range shooting game. Supposedly he has been working on it over the summer and it’s developing, but he’s several steps behind Veasley on the ability to knock down the 3. Estrella has never been confused for someone with a great work ethic and you could clearly tell there were times during games last season where he was just going through the motions. Coming out of high school Estrella was a two star prospect and the no. 25 small forward according to Rivals. His lack of work ethic is how he fell from a high major player to Birmingham-Southern, which is great for BSC. In order for Estrella to have a shot at a professional career he’ll need to step up his effort quite a bit. The starting small forward position is his to lose. Hopefully he’ll work a little harder this season and keep it throughout the entire season. POSTS Timothy Greer Sr. 6-10 230 Grove Hill, Ala./Clarke County HS Greer, the lone senior, should be the focal point of the Panthers’ offense this season. Last year as a junior Greer averaged 9.7 points and 4.8 rebounds in just 18.6 minutes per game. Greer started the final seven games of the season as part of Knight’s last season switch up. The senior has one of the best low post games in the Big South Conference and should get a lot of touches in the paint. Greer is also one of the most complete post players in the conference as well due to his outstanding rebounding and defensive capabilities. The Clarke County High School product was brought into BSC to be a bench option, but now it is his time to take over. Greer will be the starting power forward throughout the season no questions. Robert Loar Jr. 6-10 219 Prescott, Wis./Wallace State CC-Hanceville (Ala.) Loar is the only returning player that started all 28 games last season. In his first season with the Panthers after transferring from Wallace State Community College in Hanceville averaged 10.4 points and 7 rebounds a game, good enough to earn him Honorable Mention All-Big South recognition. Loar will once again be the starting center and along with Greer should form the most formidable low post combination in the Big South Conference. Loar is an excellent rebounder and is very skilled with his back to the basket. His defense is solid but is said to be improving as well. Don’t be surprised if Loar performs at a 1st Team All-Big South level. William Big So. 6-6 224 Baldwin Park, Calif./North Park Continuation HS The West Coast sophomore should see a fairly large increase in minutes from last season, when he only spent 7.5 minutes on the floor each game. Big brings a thick, strong body into the post. He’s solid at just about every facet of his game, but he’s not great at any one thing. The Panthers coaching staff seem really high on him and note that he’s still developing. Big probably would have benefited greatly from a redshirt season, but NCAA rules allow each team to only redshirt one player. Last season he scored 1.6 points per game and pulled down an average of 2.4 rebounds -- not too shabby considering he only played seven minutes a game. With Greer taking the starting four spot so Big will be the backup power forward. Big has all of the makings to be the next great post player for Knight, but only time will tell if he will reach that potential. William Wright So. 6-10 223 Louisville, Ala./Dixie Academy Wright flashed a lot of potential as a freshman last season. There wasn’t quite the logjam at the center position as there was at power forward, so Wright got to play more minutes last season than Big did -- 11.6 minutes every night. Wright is an excellent rebounder and his low post game is not lacking either. The coaching staff say that Wright’s defense is also continuing to improve. As of right now Wright is the better of the Panthers’ two young post players, however, his ceiling is not as high as Big’s. Last season Wright averaged 1.3 points and 3 rebounds. He had more assists than turnovers as well. One of the great strengths in Wright’s game is his free throw shooting. Last season he shot 77.3% from the line which is excellent for a big guy. Wright should receive plenty of minutes once again this season and it will be fun to watch the post combo of Big and Wright throughout the upcoming years. PROJECTED LINEUP: PG: Cody Rogers (Jr.) SG: Chris Matthews (So.) SF: Elbert Estrella (So.) PF: Timothy Greer (Sr.) C: Robert Loar (Jr.) BENCH: 6: William Big (So.) 7: William Wright (So.) 8: Paul Cheatham (So.) 9: Jared Lobdell (Fr.) 10: Rudy Veasley (Jr.) 11: Richard Kanagy (Fr.) 12: Donald Bowen (Fr.) FINAL VERDICT: The Panthers will once again have a young lineup, albeit more experienced, but young nonetheless. However, this season youth should not be a huge factor. The returning sophomores gained invaluable experience last season and the incoming freshmen are good also. Birmingham-Southern should be able to compete with Radford, Mississippi Valley State, Alabama A&M, and Alabama State for the Big South crown. Our gut feeling is that the veteran laden rosters of the other top tier teams might be too much for the Panthers. Birmingham-Southern is certainly capable of winning the conference, but it will definitely have its work cut out for it. The Panthers will have a winning conference record this season and the nonconference schedule is certainly manageable as well. Our prediction for the 81 season is that the Panthers will win somewhere in the 18-21 game mark and finish in the top four of the Big South. Unfortunately, we don’t foresee an invitation for postseason play.

Birmingham-Southern Athletics Press Release Panthers Release Complete Schedule BIRMINGHAM | Birmingham-Southern head coach Jeremy Knight has released the Panthers’ full schedule for the upcoming 81 season. The highlight of the Panthers’ non-conference schedule is a home date against SEC for Auburn. This season will also see the crosstown rivalry with Samford return to Bill Battle Coliseum. The schedule includes five road games before Big South play starts. Throughout the season the Panthers will play eight regular season games against teams that either won their conference regular season championship or their conference tournament. “We’re pretty excited about the upcoming season.” Knight said of the schedule. “I believe we have put together a great non-conference schedule. We have some tough road games and two huge home games in Auburn and Samford. We’re extremely grateful for Auburn agreeing to come here to play us. It should be a great game and give us some great exposure as well. The Big South schedule is going to be brutal once again. Every team in this league is capable of winning on any night. Alabama A&M and Alabama State bring back a lot of players from their successful teams last season, but we also have a lot of good players coming back and we’re trying to make another run at the Big South Championship and getting back to the NCAA Tournament.” Birmingham-Southern’s complete schedule is listed below. Opponent..............................80 Record........Other UAB (Exhibition).....................23-7..................C-USA Champs/NIT 1st Round VCU (Exhibition).....................6-21 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff............18-10................OVC Champs New Orleans...........................16-12 at Wisconsin-Green Bay.........10-17 Ball State................................17-10................MAC Champs at Georgia State.....................19-10 Santa Clara.............................6-21 at Northern Illinois...................7-20 Auburn....................................6-21 at The Citadel.........................19-9..................Southern Champs Samford..................................9-20 Liberty.....................................17-12 High Point...............................5-22 at Alabama A&M.....................17-14................Big South Tournament Champs/NCAA 1st Round UNC-Asheville........................8-20 at Coastal Carolina.................3-24 at Radford...............................13-14 Alabama State........................20-9..................Big South Co-Champs/NIT 1st Round at Mississippi Valley State......24-6..................Big South Co-Champs/NIT 2nd Round at Charleston Southern..........10-17 Mississippi Valley State..........24-6..................Big South Co-Champs/NIT 2nd Round at Alabama State....................20-9..................Big South Co-Champs/NIT 1st Round at UNC-Asheville....................8-20 Winthrop.................................17-11 VMI.........................................18-9..................Senior Night at High Point...........................5-22 ***Big South Tournament (Hosted by team that finishes 1st)

Birmingham-Southern Athletics Press Release Panthers Add Two Signees BIRMINGHAM | Birmingham-Southern head coach Jeremy Knight announced the signing of two high school seniors this morning. The Panthers added two guards in Jared Lobdell of Varnado, Louisiana and Donald Bowen of Dunn, N.C. “I’m really excited about adding Jared and Donald to the team.” Knight said. “Both are great young men who excel in the classroom and on the court.” Name.......................Pos....Ht......Wt......Hometown/High School (Overall Rank/Position Rank) Donald Bowen.........PG.....6-0.....172.....Dunn, N.C./Midway HS During his senior season Bowen averaged 32.9 ppg and shot 58% from beyond the arc. Bowen’s 58 3-point percentage is higher than his field goal percentage (54.9%). Bowen is unranked by Rivals. Says Knight: “Donald is going to be great for us. We really feel like we found a diamond in the rough with him. He wasn’t highly rated coming out of high school but we believe he can be a very good player for us. He has great speed for a player his age and is practically automatic from the 3-point line. We’ll look for him to really provide a spark for us off the bench. He is a capable point guard but will primarily be a 2-guard for us. He’s a guy that if you need a 3 you want the ball in his hand. We’re very excited to add Donald to our family here at BSC.” Name.......................Pos....Ht......Wt......Hometown/High School (Overall Rank/Position Rank) Jared Lobdell...........PG......6-3....192.....Varnado, La./Varnado HS (#221/#36 PG) During his senior season Lobdell averaged 24 ppg in just 19 minutes per game. He shot 69.8% from the field and 53.6% from 3. Lodbell also averaged 6 assists per game this past season also. Rivals listed Lobdell as the 221st overall prospect and the 36th point guard. Says Knight: “Jared is a fantastic player. He certainly comes in as highly ranked player and we’ll look for him to add to our deep roster. He has great size for a point guard. He’s extremely fast -- possibly the fastest guard I’ve signed, and his ball handling and passing ability is extremely well developed. Jared will see some minutes as a backup point guard starting off. Once his jump shot becomes more consistent he can be more of a combo guard and play the 2 some also. He also has the potential to play small forward for us a year or two down the road. I’m very excited about Jared joining our family.” The two-man class for 81 gives Birmingham-Southern a full roster of 12 scholarship players.

It's similar. Hoops Dynasty is a college basketball game and instead of using players throughout history it generates players each season much like a college sports video game would and the coaches can recruit those players. When you first start playing HD you have to start at a Division III school and work your way up. In my opinion its a lot of fun and I really enjoy it.

80 NBA DRAFT RECAP ROUND 1 PK.....TEAM...................................PLAYER........................POS.....YR......HT.....WT.....COLLEGE 1........Phoenix Suns.......................Mark Mitchell.................SG........Jr.......6-5....211.....Michigan State 2........Milwaukee Bucks.................Guillermo Zepeda..........C...........Sr......6-9....240.....Providence 3........Toronto Raptors...................David Bogan..................PG.........Jr......6-1....177.....California 4........New York Knicks..................William Glenn................PF..........So....6-10..223.....California 5........Cleveland Cavaliers.............Paul Sawyer..................PG.........Jr......6-2....195.....California 6........Brooklyn Nets.......................William Scheiber...........SG.........Jr......6-2....187.....LSU 7........Chicago Bulls.......................Glenn Shelton...............SG.........Jr......6-2....202.....Miami (FL) 8........Indiana Pacers.....................Gustavo Russo.............PF..........So....6-8....221......Illinois 9........Charlotte Hornets.................Carl Grubbs..................SF..........So....6-3....204......Miami (FL) 10......Portland Trail Blazers...........Walter Job....................PF..........Jr......6-6....219......Kansas 11......Miami Heat...........................Matt Perrodin................SF..........Jr......6-3....198......Ole Miss 12......Los Angeles Clippers...........Jonny Baker..................PF..........So....6-5....200......Seton Hall 13......Minnesota Timberwolves.....Wayne Dunham............C............Sr.....6-8....231......Texas Southern 14......Detroit Pistons.....................Ardian Zody...................PF..........So....6-8....233......Colorado 15......Houston Rockets.................George Edington...........PF..........Sr.....6-7....208......Utah 16......Atlanta Hawks.....................Dwayne Spencer...........SG.........Jr......5-10..167......Ole Miss 17......Memphis Grizzlies...............Randolph Moe...............PF.........Sr......6-8....218......Providence 18......Orlando Magic.....................Ralph Eberle.................C...........Sr......6-10..220......Ole Miss 19......Boston Celtics.....................Walter Betancourt..........PF.........Jr......6-10...232......California 20......Philadelphia 76ers..............Clyde Lecroy..................SF.........Sr......6-6....201......California 21......Dallas Mavericks................Charles Carter................SF.........Jr......6-5....197......LSU 22......Utah Jazz...........................John Spencer.................PF..........Jr.....6-4....192......Illinois 23......Denver Nuggets.................Edward Foster................SF.........So....6-5....207......Virginia Tech 24......San Antonio Spurs.............Joseph Prewett..............SF.........Sr.....6-8....230......Iowa 25......Los Angeles Lakers...........Frank Malik.....................PF.........Sr.....6-4....201......Penn State 26......New Orleans Pelicans.......Eric Sharper....................C...........Jr.....6-10..243......Duke 27......Oklahoma City Thunder.....Stanley Dotson...............SF.........Jr.....6-1....191......UCLA 28......Golden State Warriors.......James Price....................PG.......Sr.....5-9....160......California 29......Sacramento Kings.............Anthony Burton...............PG.......Jr......6-0....176......Duke 30......Washington Wizards.........Ivan Kulinski....................C..........Sr.....6-10..229......Michigan State ROUND 2 PK.....TEAM...................................PLAYER........................POS.....YR......HT.....WT.....COLLEGE 31......Phoenix Suns.......................Jeffrey Juhl....................PF........Jr.........6-7....220....Utah 32......Milwaukee Bucks.................Dennis Brown................C..........Jr.........7-1....251....Syracuse 33......Toronto Raptors...................William Christian............PF........Sr.........6-5....205....Wake Forest 34......New York Knicks..................Loren Blair.....................PF.........Jr.........6-7....216....Miami (FL) 35......Cleveland Cavaliers.............Jarald Dodd...................SG.......Sr.........6-2....199....Oklahoma 36......Brooklyn Nets.......................Jimmie Razo.................C..........Jr..........6-10..241....Florida 37......Chicago Bulls.......................Emery Campbell............SF........Sr.........6-7....216....Northwestern 38......Indiana Pacers.....................Carey Pope....................PG.......Sr.........6-3....191....Colorado 39......Charlotte Hornets.................James Walczak..............C..........Sr.........6-8....233....Minnesota 40......Portland Trail Blazers...........James Armbruster..........SG........Jr.........6-1....178....Kansas 41......Miami Heat...........................Marcelo Costa................SG........Jr.........6-4....200....Providence 42......Los Angeles Clippers...........Robert Chamberlain........C..........Sr........6-9....212....Cincinnati 43......Minnesota Timberwolves.....Vance Williams................SG........Sr........6-0....194....Ohio State 44......Detroit Pistons.....................Timothy Sherman............PF.........Sr........6-10...222....Miami (FL) 45......Houston Rockets.................Tyler Heredia...................C..........Sr........7-1.....253....Duke 46......Atlanta Hawks.....................Nelson Williams...............PG........Sr........5-10...167....Tennessee 47......Memphis Grizzlies...............Daniel Shaw....................C...........Sr........6-9.....240....Albany 48......Orlando Magic.....................Robert Glaude.................C...........Sr.......6-10...216....Northwestern 49......Boston Celtics.....................Brent Smith......................PF.........Sr.......6-9.....238....Missouri 50......Philadelphia 76ers..............Todd Sansom...................SG........Jr........6-1.....199....Connecticut 51......Dallas Mavericks................Jeffrey Cochrane..............SF.........Sr.......6-7.....210....Ole Miss 52......Utah Jazz...........................Gregory Lederer...............C...........Jr.......6-9.....227....Air Force 53......Denver Nuggets.................Richard Filip.....................PF..........Jr.......6-8.....222....Connecticut 54......San Antonio Spurs.............Garf Swatloski..................PF..........Sr......6-5.....222....Michigan 55......Los Angeles Lakers...........Todd Fenton......................SG........Sr.......6-4....213....Wisconsin 56......New Orleans Pelicans.......James Morris....................PG........Sr.......6-2....180....Providence 57......Oklahoma City Thunder.....Patrick Dupont..................PG........Jr.......5-11...183....Kansas 58......Golden State Warriors.......Dwayne Weir.....................SF.........Jr.......6-3....196....LSU 59......Sacramento Kings.............Paul Goto..........................PG........Sr......6-2.....191....Michigan State 60......Washington Wizards..........Daniel Baptista.................PF.........Sr......6-7.....233....Vanderbilt

80 DIVISION I NATIONAL AWARDS AP Player of the Year Charles Parkerson.............SG.....Jr.....Connecticut 22.6 ppg, 3.3 apg AP Defensive Player of the Year Charles Wallace.................C.....Sr.....Connecticut 4.0 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.8 bpg AP Freshman of the Year William Doering..................PF.....Fr.....Oregon State 9.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg AP Coach of the Year Brian Cowitz.......................Connecticut 35-0, NCAA Championship, Big East Tournament Championship, Big East Championship 4th AP Coach of the Year Award FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICA PG..David Bogan..............Jr.....California (14.5 ppg, 5.4 apg) SG..Charles Parkerson.....Jr.....Connecticut (22.6 ppg, 3.3 apg) SF...Jerry Gaspar..............Sr.....Loyola (MD) (18.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg) PF...Edwin Meade.............Sr.....Arizona State (23.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg) C.....Ralph Buchanan........Sr.....Loyola (MD) (20.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg) SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICA PG..Paul Sawyer...............Jr.....California (18.8 ppg, 2.6 apg) SG..Mark Mitchell..............Jr.....Michigan State (17.3 ppg, 3.3 apg) SF...Joseph Forrest...........Sr.....Albany (11.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg) PF...Jose Salazar...............Jr.....American (17.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg) C.....Robert Chamberlain...Sr....Cincinnati (15.1 ppg, 8.7 rpg) THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICA PG..Walter Lowery.............Jr.....Loyola (MD) (22.7 ppg, 2.2 apg) SG..Dwayne Spencer........Jr.....Ole Miss (19.8 ppg, 2.0 apg) SF...Joseph Prewett...........Sr....Iowa (11.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg) PF...Edward Singer............Sr....George Washington (21.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg) C.....William Jarboe...........Sr.....Prairie View A&M (15.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg) HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICA Kelly Barbeau (PG, Albany) Joe Rutland (PG, Prairie View A&M) Jon Juhasz (PG, Howard) Todd Sansom (SG, Connecticut) William Brown (SG, Wake Forest) Vance Williams (SG, Ohio State) Stanley Dotson (SF, UCLA) Merle Norris (SF, Southeast Missouri State) Donald Gusman (SF, Stanford) Gard Swatloski (PF, Michigan) Philip West (PF, Bethune-Cookman) Frank Malik (PF, Penn State) Charles Anthony (C, DePaul) Eric Sharper (C, Duke) Ivan Kulinski (C, Michigan State)

For those interested, here is the postseason recap from season 80. BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT (@ Itta Bena, Miss.) FIRST ROUND [4] Birmingham-Southern def. [5] Charleston Southern [3] Winthrop def. [6] High Point [5] UNC-Asheville def. [4] Radford [3] Alabama A&M def. [6] Coastal Carolina SECOND ROUND [1] Liberty def. [4] Birmingham-Southern [2] Alabama Sate def. [3] Winthrop [1] Mississippi Valley State def. [5] UNC-Asheville [3] Alabama A&M def. [2] VMI SEMIFINALS [1] Liberty def. [2] Alabama State [3] Alabama A&M def. [1] Mississippi Valley State CHAMPIONSHIP GAME [3] Alabama A&M def. [1] Liberty DIVISION III NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MIDWEST [1] Dallas def. Concordia-Moorhead [9] Vassar College def. [8] Hampden-Sydney [5] Williamette def. [12] Muhlenberg College [13] Thomas College def. [4] Oglethorpe [6] Upper Iowa def. [11] Wisconsin-Stout [3] California Tech def. [14] Thiel College [7] Endicott College def. [10] Richard Stockton [2] Chowan College def. [15] Widener EAST [1] Palm Beach Atlantic def. [16] Rhode Island [8] John Carroll def. [9] New England [12] Clark def. [5] Dominican [4] Wisconsin-Stevens Point def. [13] Olivet College [6] Greensboro College def. [11] City College of New York [3] Howard Payne def. [14] Colby College [10] Anderson def. [7] Penn State-Behrend [2] Centre College def. [15] Hamilton College SOUTH [1] Averett def. [16] Albertus Magnus [9] Colorado College def. [8] Heidelberg [12] Mount St. Vincent def. [5] Catholic [13] Loras College def. [4] Southwestern [6] Bethany College def. [11] Neumann College [14] Becker College def. [3] Lewis and Clark [10] La Grange College def. [7] Montclair State [2] Wisconsin Lutheran def. [15] Grinnell College WEST [1] Christopher Newport def. [16] Wilkes [8] Menlo College def. [9] Cazenovia College [5] Union College def. [12] Penn State-Berks [4] Yeshiva def. [13] Marymount [11] Texas-Tyler def. [6] Potsdam [14] Shenandoah def. [3] Augustana College [7] Sewanee def. [10] Hunter College [2] Westminster (MO) def. [15] Johnson State SECOND ROUND MIDWEST [1] Dallas def. [9] Vassar College [5] Williamette def. [13] Thomas College [3] California Tech def. [6] Upper Iowa [2] Chowan College def. [7] Endicott College EAST [1] Palm Beach Atlantic def. [8] John Carroll [4] Wisconsin-Stevens Point def. [12] Clark [3] Howard Payne def. [6] Greensboro College [2] Centre College def. [10] Anderson SOUTH [1] Averett def. [9] Colorado College [12] Mount St. Vincent def. [13] Loras College [14] Becker College def. [6] Bethany College [2] Wisconsin Lutheran def. [10] La Grange College WEST [1] Christopher Newport def. [8] Menlo College [5] Union College def. [4] Yeshiva [14] Shenandoah def. [11] Texas-Tyler [2] Westminster (MO) def. [7] Sewanee SWEET SIXTEEN MIDWEST [1] Dallas def. [5] Williamette [2] Chowan College def. [3] California Tech EAST [1] Palm Beach Atlantic def. [4] Wisconsin-Stevens Point [2] Centre College def. [3] Howard Payne SOUTH [1] Averett def. [12] Mount St. Vincent [2] Wisconsin Lutheran def. [14] Becker College WEST [1] Christopher Newport def. [5] Union College [2] Westminster (MO) def. [14] Shenandoah ELITE EIGHT MIDWEST [1] Dallas def. [2] Chowan College EAST [2] Centre College def. [1] Palm Beach Atlantic SOUTH [2] Wisconsin Lutheran def. [1] Averett WEST [2] Westminster (MO) def. [1] Christopher Newport FINAL FOUR [2] Centre College def. [1] Dallas [2] Wisconsin Lutheran def. [2] Westminster (MO) CHAMPIONSHIP GAME [2] Centre College def. [2] Wisconsin Lutheran DIVISION II NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MIDWEST [1] Cal State-San Bernardino def. [16] Findlay [8] Armstrong Atlantic def. [9] West Texas A&M [5] Southern Indiana def. [12] Chaminade [4] Merrimack College def. [13] Ouachita Baptist [11] Ashland def. [6] Western Oregon [3] Western State def. [14] Indianapolis [10] Abilene Christian def. [7] Bowie State [2] Green Mountain def. [15] Florida Southern EAST [1] Wisconsin-Parkside def. [16] Minnesota State-Moorhead [8] Philadelphia def. [9] Rollins College [5] Washington Adventist def. [12] Cal State-Los Angeles [13] Midwestern State def. [4] Seattle [11] North Dakota State def. [6] LIU-CW Post [3] San Francisco State def. [14] Alaska-Fairbanks [7] Eastern New Mexico def. [10] Mansfield [15] Delta State def. [2] Grand Valley State SOUTH [1] UNC-Pembroke def. [16] Mount Olive [8] Lewis def. [9] West Alabama [12] Adams State def. [5] Cal Poly-Pomona [4] Angelo State def. [13] Southern Connecticut State [6] LeMoyne-Owen def. [11] Arkansas-Monticello [14] Northeastern State def. [3] Tusculum College [7] Quincy def. [10] California-Davis [2] Northwest Nazarene def. [15] Central Oklahoma WEST [1] Tarleton State def. [16] California-San Diego [9] Catawba College def. [8] Arkansas Tech [5] Oakland City def. [12] Grand Canyon [4] Mercyhurst College def. [13] West Virginia Wesleyan [6] Limestone College def. [11] Metro State [3] Wayne State (MI) def. [14] Fairmont State [7] Virginia Union def. [10] Montana State-Billings [2] California State-Chico def. [15] St. Michael’s SECOND ROUND MIDWEST [1] Cal State-San Bernardino def. [8] Armstrong Atlantic [5] Southern Indiana def. [4] Merrimack College [11] Ashland def. [3] Western State [10] Abilene Christian def. [2] Green Mountain EAST [1] Wisconsin-Parkside def. [8] Philadelphia [5] Washington Adventist def. [13] Midwestern State [11] North Dakota State def. [3] San Francisco State [15] Delta State def. [7] Eastern New Mexico SOUTH [1] UNC-Pembroke def. [8] Lewis [4] Angelo State def. [12] Adams State [14] Northeastern State def. [6] LeMoyne-Owen [7] Quincy def. [2] Northwest Nazarene WEST [1] Tarleton State def. [9] Catawba College [4] Mercyhurst College def. [5] Oakland City [6] Limestone College def. [3] Wayne State (MI) [7] Virginia Union def. [2] Cal State-Chico SWEET SIXTEEN MIDWEST [5] Southern Indiana def. [1] Cal State-San Bernardino [10] Abilene Christian def. [11] Ashland EAST [5] Washington Adventist def. [1] Wisconsin-Parkside [11] North Dakota State def. [15] Delta State SOUTH [1] UNC-Pembroke def. [4] Angelo State [7] Quincy def. [14] Northeastern State WEST [1] Tarleton State def. [4] Mercyhurst College [6] Limestone College def. [7] Virginia Union ELITE EIGHT MIDWEST [5] Southern Indiana def. [10] Abilene Christian EAST [11] North Dakota State def. [5] Washington Adventist SOUTH [7] Quincy def. [1] UNC-Pembroke WEST [1] Tarleton State def. [6] Limestone College FINAL FOUR [11] North Dakota State def. [5] Southern Indiana [1] Tarleton State def. [7] Quincy CHAMPIONSHIP GAME [11] North Dakota State def. [1] Tarleton State DIVISION I NIT FIRST ROUND [1] St. John’s def. [8] Michigan [5] Oklahoma State def. [4] South Carolina [6] UMBC def. [3] UAB [2] Princeton def. [7] Colorado State [1] Temple def. [8] Kansas State [4] Monmouth def. [5] Alabama State [3] Pittsburgh def. [6] Florida State [2] Texas A&M def. [7] Stanford [1] Cincinnati def. [8] North Carolina [5] Houston def. [4] BYU [3] Alabama def. [6] DePaul [2] Missouri def. [7] American [1] Clemson def. [8] UNLV [5] Mississippi State def. [4] Louisiana-Lafayette [3] Mississippi Valley State def. [6] Robert Morris [2] Baylor def. [7] Buffalo SECOND ROUND [5] Oklahoma State def. [1] St. John’s [2] Princeton def. [6] UMBC [4] Monmouth def. [1] Temple [3] Pittsburgh def. [2] Texas A&M [1] Cincinnati def. [5] Houston [3] Alabama def. [2] Missouri [5] Mississippi State def. [1] Clemson [2] Baylor def. [3] Mississippi Valley State THIRD ROUND [5] Oklahoma State def. [2] Princeton [3] Pittsburgh def. [4] Monmouth [3] Alabama def. [1] Cincinnati [2] Baylor def. [5] Mississippi State SEMIFINALS (@ New York, N.Y.) [5] Oklahoma State def. [3] Pittsburgh [3] Alabama def. [2] Baylor CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (@ New York, N.Y.) [3] Alabama def. [5] Oklahoma State DIVISION I NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MIDWEST [1] Connecticut def. [16] Cal State-Northridge [9] Iowa State def. [8] Arizona [5] Ohio State def. [12] Farleigh Dickinson [13] Texas Southern def. [4] Kentucky [6] Minnesota def. [11] San Diego State [3] Miami (FL) def. [14] Columbia [7] Syracuse def. [10] Massachusetts [2] Kansas def. [15] Texas A&M-Corpus Christi EAST [1] California def. [16] Bradley [8] Rutgers def. [9] Indiana [5] Boston College def. [12] Yale [4] Xavier def. [13] UNC-Greensboro [6] Michigan State def. [11] Air Force [3] Ole Miss def. [14] George Mason [7] Texas def. [10] Howard [2] Seton Hall def. [15] South Florida SOUTH [1] Iowa def. [16] Boise State [9] Albany def. [8] St. Louis [5] Colorado def. [12] Denver [4] LSU def. [13] Central Florida [6] Oregon State def. [11] Wisconsin [3] Providence def. [14] Prairie View A&M [7] Penn State def. [10] Harvard [2] Duke def. [15] Alabama A&M WEST [1] Florida def. [16] Centenary [9] Washington def. [8] Wake Forest [5] Utah def. [12] Detroit [4] Northwestern def. [13] New Hampshire [6] Tennessee def. [11] Virginia Tech [3] UCLA def. [14] Miami (OH) [7] Georgetown def. [10] Illinois [2] Oklahoma def. [15] Murray State SECOND ROUND MIDWEST [1] Connecticut def. [9] Iowa State [5] Ohio State def. [13] Texas Southern [3] Miami (FL) def. [6] Minnesota [2] Kansas def. [7] Syracuse EAST [1] California def. [8] Rutgers [4] Xavier def. [5] Boston College [3] Ole Miss def. [6] Michigan State [2] Seton Hall def. [7] Texas SOUTH [1] Iowa def. [9] Albany [5] Colorado def. [4] LSU [3] Providence def. [6] Oregon State [2] Duke def. [7] Penn State WEST [1] Florida def. [9] Washington [5] Utah def. [4] Northwestern [3] UCLA def. [6] Tennessee [2] Oklahoma def. [7] Georgetown SWEET SIXTEEN MIDWEST (@ Chicago, Ill.) [1] Connecticut def. [5] Ohio State [3] Miami (FL) def. [2] Kansas EAST (@ Philadelphia, Penn.) [1] California def. [4] Xavier [3] Ole Miss def. [2] Seton Hall SOUTH (@ San Antonio, Texas) [1] Iowa def. [5] Colorado [3] Providence def. [2] Duke WEST (@ Denver, Colo.) [1] Florida def. [5] Utah [3] UCLA def. [2] Oklahoma ELITE EIGHT MIDWEST (@ Chicago, Ill.) [1] Connecticut def. [3] Miami (FL) EAST (@ Philadelphia, Penn.) [1] California def. [3] Ole Miss SOUTH (@ San Antonio, Texas) [1] Iowa def. [3] Providence WEST (@ Denver, Colo.) [3] UCLA def. [1] Florida FINAL FOUR (@ Indianapolis, Ind.) [1] Connecticut def. [1] California [3] UCLA def. [1] Iowa CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (@ Indianapolis, Ind.) [1] Connecticut def. [3] UCLA

The Birmingham News Knight, Panthers Look to Move Forward BIRMINGHAM | The 80 college basketball season ended last week when top seed Connecticut defeated UCLA for its 4th national championship. However, for the Birmingham-Southern Panthers and coach Jeremy Knight the season ended several weeks before the national championship game. The last time the Panthers took the court they fell to Liberty in the 2nd round of the Big South Tournament, 69-59. “Every year one of our goals is to win the Big South and make it to the Big Dance,” Knight said, “so it is frustrating that our season ended earlier than we expected. Looking back last year’s team was by far the youngest team we’ve had since I’ve been here. Maybe the youngest team I’ve had in my entire coaching career. At times I just think about our inexperience and think its a miracle that we even won 18 games.” Last season’s squad that Knight referenced featured 6 freshmen and 3 sophomores, which made up 75 percent of the Panthers’ roster. Among the 9 underclassmen on the roster, only 2 players had played in a BSC uniform and together they totaled 365 minutes entering last season. “No matter how talented you are, you can only do so much without the experience that comes from playing at this level for a year or two. Last season hopefully was a blessing in disguise as it gave several of our younger guys an opportunity to play big minutes and grow. Hopefully that carries over into this season and we’ll have a very deep team.” The Panthers should be deep this season with 10 players returning from last year’s squad. However, it will be an immense, if not impossible, task to fill the shoes David Johnson left behind. Johnson, a dangerous combo guard, finished the season averaging 18 points and 4 assists a game. He also shot 50 percent from the field and 46.1 percent from beyond the arc. For the second consecutive season Johnson led the Big South in scoring and was named 1st Team All-Big South, but he fell just short of repeating as the Big South Player of the Year. “There’s just no way you can replace a guy like [Johnson]. He was a very special player and one of the best to come through here. He also excelled as a leader and in the classroom. I hate his senior season had to go the way it did, but it is what it is and he was a true leader throughout it all.” The Panthers will once again be young this season, but they will be experienced this time around. Six of the underclass from last season played at least 15 minutes a game last season, and three of them played 20-plus minutes. Last season the Panthers experienced the growing pains that accompany youth. This season the Panthers will look to reap the benefits from the struggles of last season’s youth with a more experienced roster this season as they chase their top goal: winning the Big South.

So a while back I started a dynasty report using DDS:CB3. Needless to say, that quickly died out due to changing to a Mac (and not being able to play CB3 anymore) and not having any free time due to work and school. Anyways, I’ve been itching to get back into posting a dynasty story. The issue is I can still no longer play CB3. However, I have been playing Hoops Dynasty over at whatifsports.com and decided that I could write about that. I’m preparing to start my 18th season in this world so I figured I would use my first post to catch the audience up on everything that has happened in my career so far. Also, just because I like the name, I’m going to use Jeremy Knight as my coach’s name and call this The Jeremy Knight Experience again. Maybe I will add 2.0 to the title to not cause too much confusion. Anyways, here are my season-by-season results since I started. NOTE: Seasons in HD start at 1 and go up, so I’ll be using whatever the current season is instead of an actual year in my stories. For example, I’m about to start season 81 so I’ll refer to or use 81 in stories instead of 2014, 2015, etc. I started my career at East Texas Baptist University, a Division III school in Marshall, Texas. I experienced unbelievable success from the start and had a pretty successful run. Season.......Overall.........Conference.......Place.....Post Season 64................34-1..............16-0...................1st..........NCAA CHAMPIONS 65................24-5..............16-0...................1st..........NCAA 1st Round 66................27-3..............16-0...................1st..........NCAA 1st Round 67................28-4..............16-0...................1st..........NCAA Sweet Sixteen 68................26-5..............15-1...................1st..........NCAA 2nd Round 69................20-9..............12-4...................2nd 70................24-6..............14-2...................2nd........NCAA 1st Round 71................24-7..............13-3...................2nd........NCAA Elite Eight 72................27-3..............16-0...................1st.........NCAA 1st Round 73................21-9..............13-3...................2nd........NIT 1st Round During my tenure at ETBU I won 6 American Southwest Conference championships (64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 72) and 5 ASC Tournament championships (64, 68, 70, 71, 72). Eight trips to the NCAA Tournament and a national championship during my first season (I’ll be the first to admit that it wasn’t with my players) but I am very proud of my Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight runs. Before I arrived at ETBU they only had 1 Sweet Sixteen appearance and no Elite Eight appearances. After the 73 season, an exit from the NIT much earlier than I participated, I was kind of just tired of the D3 level. I yearned for the bigger recruiting budgets and the better players that Division I offered. I left ETBU to go to Birmingham-Southern in the Big South Conference to attempt to rebuild their program. Here is my career at BSC to this point. Season.......Overall.........Conference.......Place.....Post Season 74................17-12............10-6...................3rd 75................22-6..............11-5...................1st 76................22-6..............13-3...................1st 77................23-5..............13-3...................3rd 78................24-6..............12-4...................3rd 79................28-2..............16-0...................1st..........NCAA 1st Round 80................18-10............8-8.....................6th I am still at Birmingham-Southern and preparing for season 81. This dynasty story will cover my attempt to move up the ranks and become a successful head coach at a high-major school.

Liberty Flames Weekly Recap Blossom Receives Another Award Liberty big man Chris Blossom earned his second Big South Freshman of the Week honor this season after averaging 18 points and 7.5 rebounds. Blossom also scored a career-high 25 points in a road win against the Cal State-Northridge Matadors. Blossom currently leads the Flames in scoring with 15.6 points per game, which is also ranks fifth among all players in the Big South Conference. Liberty (2-3) at Maryland-Eastern Shore (1-4) This was a brutal game for the Flames. Four minutes into the game and Liberty already had five turnovers. At the half the Flames trailed 46-18 after shooting 38.9 percent from the field with 14 turnovers compared to UMES’s 58.8 field goal percentage and just two turnovers. Chris Blossom was held in check with just four points and two quick fouls in the first half. Liberty outscored the Hawks 40-27 in the second half, but never seriously threatened to make a run for the lead. The final score was Maryland-Eastern Shore 73, Liberty 58. The final turnover count was 21 for Liberty to 13 for UMES, which helped fuel the Flames second half run. Liberty also finished the evening shooting 53.3 percent from the floor compared to 51.6 percent for the Hawks. Blossom led the team with 18 points and 10 rebounds, his first career double-double and Derek Beck added 17 points off 8-of-10 shooting in just 18 minutes of action. ---IN OTHER BIG SOUTH NEWS--- Later on in the evening after the Flames loss to UMES, fellow Big South member Charleston Southern knocked off Big Ten member Ohio State with a 79-59 victory. Granted, this isn’t the same Ohio State from a decade or two ago, but it still is impressive that the low-major program was able to dominate a high-major member by 20 points. Perhaps voters knew what they were doing when they elected the Buccaneers as the preseason favorite to win the Big South. Liberty (2-4) at Eastern Illinois (3-2) Chris Blossom got off to a fast start in this game, drawing a foul while lowering the hammer on the first possession of the game. During the first three minutes of action Blossom scored two points, had two rebounds, and even got a steal to energize a frustrated Flames squad. However, Liberty would not be able to keep the energy up and played a very sluggish first half against the Panthers. Brett Herbert drained a three at the buzzer to send send the Flames into the half with 27-24 lead. Liberty only made eight shots in the first half, but they were aggressive in getting to the rim and drawing fouls on Eastern Illinois. Liberty got to the free throw line 16 times in the first half, but only converted 10 shots. The sluggish but effective play during the first half for the Flames was nowhere to be seen in the second. Liberty only managed to get to the free throw line seven times and only made two of the attempts. A combination of turnovers, fouls, poor shots, and a non-aggressive playing style during the second half doomed the Flames. With 6:47 left in the game Liberty trailed by nine, 46-37, but would never get closer to taking the lead before falling to the final score of Eastern Illinois 70, Liberty 51. For the game Liberty committed 22 turnovers and shot 12-23 (52.2%) from the free throw line. The Flames also shot just 14.3 percent (1-for-7) from beyond the arc. Derek Beck was the leading scorer with 16 points and four rebounds in addition to three turnovers. Blossom scored 12 points with six rebounds before fouling out after playing 21 minutes. Ben Griffin added eight points for Liberty. Looking Ahead Liberty (2-5) will continue its long road trip non-conference schedule next week when it heads to New York to play Marist (4-4) on December 14 in its only game next week. Throughout the non-conference schedule the Flames inability to take care of the basketball has really hurt them. Chris Blossom has “blossomed” into a star of sorts for Liberty. The freshman is by far the Flames best player and a huge key to their success. However, his inability to play under control and not foul so often has really hurt him as far as playing time on the court and the team. When Blossom is on the floor the Flames appear to be able to hold their own with the majority of the teams they’ve played this season, even with all of the turnovers. During games when Blossom has stayed out of foul trouble he is capable of dominating the game, like he did against Cal State-Northridge. Clearly the key for the Flames moving forward is keeping Blossom out of foul trouble, and if they can cut down on a turnover or 10, they could potentially make some noise in the Big South as the season progresses. Make sure to visit the page next week recapping the happenings of Liberty men’s basketball on and off the court. Don’t forget to check out the other weekly recap sections for each member of the Big South Conference. Stay up to date on the happenings of the Big South Conference and its affiliated members throughout the season here at The Big South Scoop.

NOVEMBER ROUNDUP Liberty Flames (2-3) TEAM STATS PPG.....1st.....74.2 APG.....10th...10.2 RPG.....2nd....31.4 BPG.....4th.....2.2 SPG.....8th.....6.2 FG%....1st.....54.0% 3%......7th.....37.5% FT%....10th....67.9% TO.......9th.....19.2 TOP PERFORMERS Chris Blossom........15.6 ppg...(5th in Big South) Dwayen Carr...........6.6 rpg Tyler McColpin........2.4 apg Tyler McColpin........1.4 spg Brett Herbert.........1.7 A/TO Derek Beck............72.4 FG%...(2nd in Big South) BIG SOUTH STANDINGS 1.....High Point......................4-1 1.....Winthrop........................4-1 1.....Presbyterian...................4-1 4.....UNC-Asheville.................3-2 4.....Longwood.......................3-2 6.....Gardner-Webb.................2-3 6.....Charleston Southern.........2-3 6.....Campbell.........................2-3 6.....Liberty............................2-3 6.....Coastal Carolina...............2-3 11...Radford...........................1-4 AP TOP 25 POLL 1.....Maryland....................8-0 2.....UCLA.........................6-0 3.....Georgetown................8-0 4.....Duke.........................6-1 5.....Michigan....................6-2 6.....Mississippi State.........7-0 7.....Connecticut...............5-0 8.....Michigan State...........6-2 9.....Pittsburgh.................6-2 10...Florida......................4-2 11...Indiana.....................5-1 12...Gonzaga...................4-0 13...Cincinnati..................5-2 14...Arkansas...................5-1 15...Massachusetts...........6-1 16...Purdue.....................6-0 17...Oklahoma State........5-1 18...St. Bonaventure........6-2 19...Kansas.....................4-2 20...Oregon....................3-3 21...Virginia....................5-2 22...California.................4-2 23...USC.........................5-2 24...LSU.........................5-2 25...Alabama...................4-3

Blossom’s Big Night Powers Flames To Win NORTHRIDGE, CALIF. | Chris Blossom scored a career-high 25 points and pulled down eight rebounds in just 25 minutes to propel the Liberty Flames to a 90-81 road victory against the Cal State-Northridge Matadors. “Chris was just incredible tonight.” Liberty coach Jeremy Knight said after the game. “I told him in the locker room that this will be a night he’ll remember forever. I just want there to be many more nights like this for him to remember with it.” Fueled by Blossom’s career night the Flames (2-3) jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead and never let up throughout the game. During the under 12:00 media timeout Liberty led the Matadors 20-9. “Everything was just clicking tonight.” Knight said. “Our shots were falling. They struggled to make shots and when they missed we made sure we got the rebound to end their possession.’ The Flames destroyed the Matadors on the boards 36-17. Liberty once again committed a plethora of turnovers, 21, but everything else was going in the Flames favor. “I don’t want to dismiss the turnovers, but when you outrebound your opponent by 20 and shoot 62 percent from the floor you can overcome those mistakes.” Blossom and Derek Carr both converted and-one attempts to give the Flames a 43-28 lead that they would carry into the half. Liberty had to withstand a Cal State-Northridge comeback that cut the Flames lead to four, 70-66. The Flames responded with a Russell Sneed steal that turned into a Tony Marshall dunk on the other end to give Liberty a six point lead with 5:53 left in the game. When the lead was once again cut to four, 83-79, it was Blossom who stepped up with monstrous dunk followed by a steal that led to him being fouled and shooting two to seal the game. “Tonight was just a special night. Our guys continued to play hard, like they have in every game so far, and tonight we were able to play some solid defense and took good shots on offense. We still have to get better, but tonight we proved even when we turn the ball over we can overcome those setbacks by playing hard and smart on both ends of the floor. Tyler McColpin finish with 11 points, including four points off of free throws down the stretch. Ben Griffin scored nine points and Carr added seven points and nine rebounds. The Flames now must prepare for a quick turnaround for a game on the opposite coast against Maryland-Eastern Shore (1-4) on December 3rd.

Flames Comeback Falls Short WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. | A furious comeback attempt in the second half fell just short of a victory as the Liberty Flames lost to host Monmouth, 74-66. The Flames (1-3) were faced with a 19-point deficit at the half, scrapped their way back into the game throughout the second half. “I thought we did a good job of playing hard and never giving up,” Liberty coach Jeremy Knight said, “but we just can’t put ourselves in a position where we’re constantly having to fight back down 10, 15, or 20.” Forward Lee Ray hit a 14-foot jumper with 4:35 left in the game to cut the Hawks lead to 62-58. On the ensuing possession Damian Keith stole a pass, but ultimately could not get control of the ball as he dribbled the ball out of bounds for the under 4:00 media timeout. Out of the timeout, Monmouth big man Eikki Tuulari nailed a 17-foot jumped and Tyler Lyles stole the following inbound pass to set up Samuel Drayton for a dunk that pushed the Hawks lead to 66-58 with 3:39 left. “We did a good job cutting the lead down to four. When you dig yourself into a deep hole like we did, your margin for error is slim to nonexistent and we ended up making a carless error that really killed any momentum we had at a comeback.” A Chris Blossom dunk with 58 seconds left in the game cut the lead to four once again, 68-64, but Monmouth hit all of its free throws down the stretch the ice the game for the Hawks. Turnovers were once again an issue for the Flames with 18 for the game. Guards Clement Angner and Tyler McColpin each had four turnovers and Dwayne Carr had five. “Our guards definitely have to do a much better job taking care of the basketball. It’s been something we’ve struggled with in every game. I believe we’re either last or second-to-last in the conference in turnovers per game. If we can cut down our turnovers it will help immensely in the outcomes of these close games.” Liberty also shot 35.4 percent from the floor in the first half. The Flames were able to score 21 second chance points in the second half to up their shooting percentage to 47.3 for the game. “Our shots weren’t really falling at all in the first half, especially compared to the 65.4 percent they shot in the opening half. In the second half we really didn’t shoot much better from our initial shot attempts, guys were just hustling and fighting for offensive rebounds and that’s how we scored most of our points to get us back into the game.” Ben Griffin finished the game as the leading scorer for Liberty with 15 points and seven rebounds. Four of Griffin’s rebounds were offensive rebounds. Blossom chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds. Carr scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Monmouth’s Tuulari tortured the Flames defense for 23 points and seven rebounds. “We lost the game tonight, but we never stopped playing hard. I’ll take a team that never gives up and plays hard any day of the week. As long as we continue to play hard and correct some mistakes here and there, the wins will start coming.” Liberty will now prepare for a cross country trip to play the Cal State-Northridge Matadors (2-2) on November 20th.

Flames Handle Riverside for Knight’s First Win LYNCHBURG | The Liberty Flames made plays when it needed to while picking up its first win of the season with a 79-70 victory over California-Riverside (2-1). The win is also the first in Flames coach Jeremy Knight’s career. “It’s just amazing.” Knight said when asked to describe the feeling of his first victory. “It’s so great to finally get a win after playing so hard and coming up short the last two games.” Turnover continued to plague to Flames (1-2) as they committed 18 of them. However, this time Liberty forced 16 turnovers while shooting 55.1 percent from the floor. “The biggest difference between this game and the last is that we were able to force them into turnovers, me made our free throws and finished layups.” A Tony Marshall putback at the 8:52 mark of the first half gave the Flames a 17-16 lead, their first lead in a game this season. The Flames held on to the lead until Jasper Robertson hit a three to give Riverside a 49-48 lead. Clement Angner answered on the following possession with a three of his own, to give Liberty a 51-49 lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the game. “It was nice to come out and execute our game plan.” Knight said. “We actually lead the majority of the game which is a testament to all of these guys. It seemed like we would have several stretches where a different player would step up and make a play. It was a total team effort tonight.” Derek Beck led Liberty with 16 points off 7-of-7 shooting from the field. Chris Blossom continued his solid play of late, chipping in 11 points and three rebounds. Dwayne Carr finished with 10 points and six rebounds, three of which were offensive. Angner, Tyler McColpin, and Ben Griffin each scored eight points. Griffin also recorded seven rebounds. McColpin had the most complete game for the Flames with five assists and five steals to go along with his eight points. “I don’t want to single one guy out because everyone stepped up and did their job tonight, but Tyler really did do a lot of great things for us tonight. He scored a few points, made some big steals, and when he did make mistakes he did a good job of moving on to the next play instead of letting his mistakes get to him. He also did a good job of making his free throws down the stretch to seal the win. The whole team did a good job of that.” “This was a great game for us. We’re taking steps in the right direction.” Liberty will hit the road for its next game and try to use its first win as a springboard to more success when they play Monmouth (1-2) on November 26th.

Turnovers Doom Liberty Again PORTLAND, ORE. | For the second consecutive game the Liberty Flames had an absurd amount of turnovers, this time in a 87-69 loss against the Portland Pilots (2-0). The Flames (0-2) committed 20 turnovers after having 19 three days ago in the season opener. “Turnovers have definitely been the story of our short season so far.” said Liberty coach Jeremy Knight. “You make it very hard on yourself to win when you give up 20 turnovers and only force four.” The Flames started off in a big hole, down 22-8 just seven minutes into the game. However, over the next seven minutes the Flames began a furious comeback, limiting the Pilots to one shot possessions. At the 6:18 mark in the first half Tony Marshall hit a three to cut the deficit to 31-21. Tyler McColpin stole the ensuing inbound pass (Portland’s only turnover of the half) and passed the ball to Clement Angner who made both free throws after being fouled to cut the lead to 31-23. Two minutes later Ben Griffin made a free throw to finish off his and-one to trim the Portland lead to 31-26. On the following possession Angner went to the line to shoot two. After making the first Angner missed the second and Dereck Beck missed his putback attempt that would make the Flames deficit two. “We spent a lot of energy to go on that run and get back in the game. It’s hard to make routine plays like free throws and putbacks when you have to spend all your energy and effort playing catch up.” Liberty never got closer and the Pilots took a 40-33 lead into the half. Portland began to pull away at the start of the second half, but Chris Blossom scored seven quick points to pull the Flames within seven at 47-40. Blossom finished the game with 23 points and four rebounds in 19 minutes. “Chris definitely played one heck of a game. We need to continue to get this kind of production out of him every night while we work with him on his foul issues.” Blossom’s effort ultimately ended in vain as the second half seemingly turned into a series of steals followed by oops on the other end. The Flames struggles was epitomize in a series of possessions where Portland’s Michael Selden, who scored a game high 27 points with seven assists and three steals, hit a three, stole the following inbound pass and set up Roy Crews for a monster oop. The ensuing inbound pass was picked off by Jason Wilder and thrown down with authority, swinging the game from a 56-44 Portland lead to 63-44. “Selden is just an incredible athlete.” Knight said of Portland’s best player. “We didn’t help ourselves at all with all of the turnovers and shooting 25 percent from three. We also let them shoot 56.9 percent from the floor. Not a very good combination when you’re going against a player like him.” Top performers for Liberty were Beck with 12 points and seven rebound (four offensive), and Griffin with 10 points. Dwayne Carr and Marshall each scored nine points. “I thought we actually played fairly well for the most part tonight, especially when we made that run in the first half. Again, it’s just really hard to be successful when you turn the ball over 20 times a game. We need to make changes and improve, but they’re not big changes or improvements we need to make. We just need to do the little things better here and there and we’ll come out on top.” Coach Knight and Liberty will continue to seek their first win of the season when they host California-Riverside (2-0) November 23rd.

Turnovers Prove Costly in Knight’s First Game LYNCHBURG | The Jeremy Knight era of Liberty basketball opened tonight with a 72-67 loss against visiting Drake. Nineteen Flames turnovers ultimately proved to be too much for Knight’s squad to overcome. “We turned the ball over way too much, especially in the first half.” Knight said in reference to his teams 16 first half turnovers. “It seemed like every time we came down the court during the first half we were passing the ball into the stands or over guy’s heads. “However, I will say that I am proud of our guys for fighting back and only committing 3 turnovers in the second half.” The amount of turnovers was just one of many things that led to Liberty finding itself in a 40-26 hole at the half. Freshman center Chris Blossom picked up his second foul just two and a half minutes into the game, forcing the Flames to play with just two post players. As a result, Drake scored 24 points in the paint during the first half. “Having to pull Chris so early due to foul trouble definitely hurt us in the first half.” said Knight. “It forced us to play smaller than I would have liked throughout the half and they pounded us inside too.” Despite all of the inefficiencies and struggles in the first half, Liberty put together a strong second half. During the second half it was the Flames that forced the Bulldogs into multiple turnovers and one shot possessions. A steal and dunk by Dwayne Carr at the 4:44 mark cut the Drake lead to six, 62-56. During the following Bulldogs possession Jeremy Battier was able to grab a defensive rebound and Lee Ray was fouled attacking the basket, sending him to the line to shoot two and cut the lead to four with 3:57 left in the game. Ray missed both free throws and Drake upped the lead to nine and sealed the victory. One potentially bright spot was Blossom, who finished with eight points and two rebounds in 11 minutes of action. All of his foul issues aside, in the last minute alone Blossom threw down a thunderous dunk, drew a foul attacking the basket, and grabbed a rebound and hit Clement Angner for a buzzer beating three for the final deficit of five. “Chris definitely did some good things during the game, and he definitely did some bad, freshman things. We’ll continue to work with him and develop him throughout the season. He’s definitely got a lot of potential.” The Flames finished the game shooting 52.9% from the floor, but only made 64.7% of their free throws (11-of-17). “Making our free throws is something we’re going to have to put more work into. To win games you have to make your layups and your free throws. We missed six of them tonight and lost by five. You can do the math.” Senior Ben Griffin led the team with 12 points and five rebounds. Tony Marshall and Carr each scored 10 points. Marshall added four rebounds while Carr pulled down five, four of which were offensive rebounds. “We definitely shot ourselves in the foot repeatedly tonight, and we have some things we need to correct this week in practice.’ said Knight, “however, I’m going to look at this game positively. The way we played in the second half was extremely positive and shows the level this team is capable of playing at throughout the season.” The Flames (0-1) will have two days to work on correcting issues before playing at Portland on November 19th.

The votes are in and have been counted. Without further ado here is the Coaches Poll for the 2024 Big South Conference Preseason Standings (with last seasons record in parenthesis) 1 Charleston Southern (15-14) 2 Radford (12-16) 3 High Point (22-12) 4 Presbyterian (14-15) 5 Gardner-Webb (18-13) 6 Longwood (12-17) 7 Campbell (11-17) 8 UNC-Asheville (8-19) 9 Winthrop (23-8) 10 Liberty (13-15) 11 Coastal Carolina (11-18) ********** “Coach Knight, the preseason conference standings were released today. We were picked to finish 10th. You’re going to be expected to comment on it today at your press conference.” Coach Henderson told me as he laid the standings on my desk. “Thank you, coach.” I said as I looked through the preseason standings. ********** “Nobody wants to be picked to finished second-to-last.” I said as I addressed reporters about the standings. The whole press conference thing was beginning to become easier for me. “However, it shows that not much is thought of us. It gives us the perfect opportunity to surprise some people and hopefully change some minds about our program. Last season we had the No. 6 ranked defense in the Big South to go along with the No. 7 offense. If we continue to give up only 65 points a game we’ll be fine but we have to find a way to score more than 63 points a game.” “Which team were you most surprised with their ranking in the preseason poll?” “I’m a little surprised Gardner-Webb was picked fifth. They had the third-ranked offense and defense last season and they’re going to start five seniors this season. They’ll be a tough out every game.” “Speaking of starters Coach Knight, have you determined who your starters are heading into the first game?” “We have an idea as a staff right now which five guys will give us the best chance to compete and be successful, however that is an ongoing process and we are continually evaluating all of our guys in order to put together the best five starters we can. If we were to play Drake today our starting five would most likely be Brett Herbert, Tyler McColpin, Lee Ray, Derek Black, and Chris Blossom. Thank you for your time and questions today.”

Big South Scoop Liberty Releases Schedule, Awards Scholarships Liberty released it’s schedule for the 2024 season today. Jeremy Knight’s first season attempting to rebuild the Flames basketball team mainly occur on the road, with just 3 home non-conference games this season. You can check out the full schedule below. 11/16......Drake 11/19......@ Portland 11/23......UC-Riverside 11/26......@ Monmouth 11/30......@ Cal State-Northridge 12/3........@ Maryland-Eastern Shore 12/7........@ Eastern Illinois 12/14......@ Marist 12/21......UNC-Greensboro 12/27......Coastal Carolina* 12/30......@ Radford* 1/3..........High Point* 1/6..........@ Presbyterian* 1/8..........Longwood* 1/10........Charleston Southern* 1/13........@ Winthrop* 1/17........@ Campbell* 1/20........UNC-Asheville* 1/24........@ Gardner-Webb* 1/29........Radford* 2/3..........@ Coastal Carolina* 2/5..........@ High Point* 2/10........Presbyterian* 2/12........@ Charleston Southern* 2/14........Winthrop* 2/17........@ Longwood* 2/24........@ UNC-Asheville* * - Denotes Big South Conference game In addition to releasing its schedule today, Liberty also announced that Coach Knight has rewarded all senior walk-ons with a scholarship for this season. The following players received scholarships today: guards Brett Herbert, Clement Angner, and centers Ben Griffin and Derek Beck. Personally, I think this is a great PR move for Knight. Those senior walk-ons deserve it for everything they’ve gone through the past few years. Good move by Knight. Let’s just see how things play out on the court now. Remember, stay connected with the Big South Scoop for everything about the Big South Conference and all its affiliate members.

Liberty Athletics Press Release Flames Add Five to Men’s Basketball Team With the conclusion of the spring signing period, Coach Jeremy Knight announced the addition of four new members to the Liberty Flames men’s basketball team. In addition to the two signees from the early signing period, Coach Knight was able to go out and bring in two additional players, his first signees at Liberty. In addition to the four recruits, Coach Knight was also able to add one transfer to the roster. Gary Brooks PG 5-8 157 Columbus, Ohio/Brookhaven HS Brooks was ranked as the 1,154th overall prospect and the 245th point guard by Rivals. At Brookhaven High School Brooks averaged 12.3 points per game with 4.9 assists. Brooks also averaged an impressive 6.1 rebounds a game. “Gary is a great shooter and has very good ball handling skills.” Knight said, “I was pleased when I found out he would stay with us after the coaching change. I look forward into developing him into our future star point guard.” Chris Blossom C 6-8 238 Damascus, Va./Holston HS Blossom was ranked as the 1,304th overall prospect and 222nd center by Rivals. During his senior season at Holston High School Blossom averaged 13.9 points per game and 3.6 rebounds per game. “Chris brings some immediate help into our front court. He will be able to come in and immediately make an impact for our team. Like Gary, I am glad he chose to stay committed to Liberty.” Damian Keith PG 6-1 199 Salem, Va./Danville CC Keith will go down as the first official signee of the Jeremy Knight era. Keith was ranked as the 397th overall prospect and the 81st overall point guard by Rivals. Keith averaged 14.6 points per game and 3.8 assists per game last season at Danville Community College. “Damian comes in with excellent shooting and ball handling ability. He also has room to develop into a very good defender. With these skills he should have no trouble finding a spot for himself in a crowded backcourt.” Lee Ray SF 6-3 203 Bassett, Va./Danville CC Ray joins his Danville teammate Keith in joining the Liberty program. Ray was ranked the 508th overall prospect and the 101st small forward in the 2023 class. Last season Ray averaged 15.6 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game. “I’m very excited about the addition of Lee Ray. He brings us another option at the wing to use and his prior relationship with Damian will be a boost to our team chemistry.” Clyde Willis C 6-10 273 Lancaster, Va./Butler The last addition to Knight’s team is Willis, who is transferring from Butler. Willis will have to sit out the 2024 season and will have one season of eligibility remaining for the 2025 season. Last season at Butler Willis played in 29 games with 3 starts. He averaged 14.9 minutes per game and scored 126 points in total last season. Willis also shot 46.9% from the field and 82.9% from the line. Willis originally signed with Virginia Tech out of Lancaster High School, when he was ranked the 678th overall prospect by Rivals. At Virginia Tech he redshirted his first season and played in 29 games with 2 starts his second season. That season Willis averaged 5.2 points in 21.7 minutes and shot 49.2% from the field and 75% from the line. Willis decided to transfer to Butler after the 2021 season. “We’re extremely happy to add Clyde to our team. When he becomes eligible he will immediately fill a big hole we will once again have in our front court. I wish we could get Clyde for more than one season, but we look forward to the impact he will make on the program, whether it is in practice this season or on the court next season. We’re glad that we can be the program that Clyde can finally call home.” “I am very pleased with the class we brought in,” Knight said, “however, our work is far from being over. It’s time for us to get out and hit the road recruiting once again in order to bring some depth and stability to the roster. I look forward to having another great class this time next year.”

The day following my introductory press conference I was headed to my new office for my first staff meeting. I was a little bummed that I wouldn’t even be able to bring in at least one of my guys. I also wasn’t thrilled about having to spend my first season, in a major rebuilding job nonetheless, with three guys I knew absolutely nothing about. On the bright side, at least they know the program and players and can probably help with my transition into the program. I just need to survive them for one year and they’re all done. **** I walked into my office and saw my three assistants. Wow, I thought to myself. How old are these guys?? My first assistant, Jamaal Henderson, was a 53-year old who had spent his entire coaching career at Liberty as an assistant. Surprisingly, he actually had quite a bit of knowledge and experience in recruiting so I decided to let him be in charge of recruiting. Next was 65-year old Derek Parks, who also just happened to have spent his entire career at Liberty too. His resumé wasn’t anywhere near as impressive as Henderson. I decided he would be tasked with scouting. I also decided he would most likely be looking for a new home next season as well. Finally, there was 61-year old Chris Sola who actually started his career at Rhode Island before moving to Liberty for the previous six season. I chose to put him in charge of player development. The jury was still out on him as to whether or not I would keep him around after the season. Finally, we were able to sit down as a staff and go over the personnel returning to the team “How many scholarships do we have to work with?” I asked. “Well,” Coach Henderson began, “we currently have two high school kids that have signed letters of intent for next season. Currently on our roster we have one player under scholarship.” “One?” I asked. Surely he misspoke. “One.” Henderson confirmed. “ONE!?” I shouted half in disbelief and half in anger. “How does that happen??” “We’ve had an extremely difficulty time recruiting here in the previous years. Being a Christian school with strict rules, difficult admission requirements, in addition to our lack of success on the court recently, very few people have been interested in coming here.” Henderson clarified. “And you somehow got two kids to sign this season? Dang. Before we figure out what direction we need to go in as far as recruiting goes, let’s discuss our current personnel. Coach Sola.” “Yes sir. For point guards we have Jeremy Battier. He’s a redshirt freshman and played 4 minutes in 1 game this season. He is our only player on scholarship at the moment. He’s a great shooter and a decent handler and free throw shooter. His passing is awful and his defense in nonexistent. “Next is Brett Herbert. Good perimeter and free throw shooter. Okay handler and a poor passer and defender. Last season he played in 26 games but only averages 2.3 minutes. “Our last point guard is Clement Angner, a junior. Good perimeter and free throw shooter. Below average handler and poor passer and defender. Averaged 13.5 minutes per game last season in 28 games with 1 start. Averaged 3.2 points per game and shot 45.7% from the field and 90.5% from the free throw line. “Shooting guards. Collis Butler, sophomore. Great shot from beyond the arc and the line. Below average handling ability. Poor passer and defender. Started all 28 games last season averaging 5.8 points in 24.8 minutes. Shot 44.4% from the field and 83.3% from the line. Arguably our best player. Academically ineligible for the season.” “Our best player in ineligible this season. Great.” I chimed in. “Tyler McColpin, junior. Best outside shooter on the team. Has improved his ability to create off the dribble. His vision and ability to create makes his teammates better. Has a killer crossover. Started 27 of 28 games last season. Averaged 4.9 points in 26 minutes. Shot 44.6% percent from the field and 80.0% from the line. “Russell Sneed, freshman. Aggressive at getting to the rim and finishing or getting two fouls shots. Played 28 games last season. Averaged 3.9 points in 11.1 minutes. Shot 40.3% from the field, 91.1% from the line, and 38.9% from 3. “Next we have our small forwards. First up is Dwayne Carr, sophomore. Good free throw shooters and rebounder. Inconsistent on the offensive end. If he’s not making shots he loses confidence in himself. Played in 6 games last season. “Tony Marshall, sophomore. Good shooting mechanics but a slow release really hurts him. Good at getting to the line and converting. Played in 2 games last season. “We don’t have any power forwards left on the roster.” Wow, I thought to myself in my head. This rebuilding job may be a lot tougher than I thought. “As far as centers go, we have Ben Griffin, junior. Played in all 28 games last season. Averaged 5.5 points in 14 minutes. Shot 53.5% from the field. Rebounds very well. Very poor free throw shooter. “Finally, we have Derek Beck, junior. Played in 8 games last season. Averaged 2.4 points in 3.4 minutes. Shot 56.3% from the field. He really fights hard for rebounds and gets on the floor for loose balls. Sometimes seems lost on the floor on the offensive end.” I took a few minutes to take in everything as each player was listed on a white board with notes jotted by their names. “We have two starters returning. One of which is ineligible for the season. We have one player currently on our roster under scholarship. We have two post players. I think this next season we need to stay close to home and really mine Virginia and get some young guys in here, as well as some JUCO guys that can play right away. We REALLY need to focus on getting some post players this upcoming season. Guys, we’ve definitely got our work cut out for us. Let’s get to work.”

This is it, I thought to myself as I stared at myself in a mirror in a bathroom. I looked pretty sharped with my solid black suit and vibrant red tie. My Liberty pin fastened to my coat really stood out and popped. I made sure that I nailed down the appearance part for my introductory press conference. Now I just had to nail down the speech and interview part of my press conference. This would be a huge first step to developing a connection with the fan base and building fan support for the program. ***** “I would now like to introduce you to Jeremy Knight, the new men’s basketball coach for Liberty.” said Mario Robertson from a podium, beckoning me from a behind a black curtain set up to the right of the stage. I stepped out from behind the curtain to a light applause. The lights in the arena seemed to be the brightest lights I’ve ever faced. I confidently stepped up to the stage and delivered a solid, firm handshake to Mr. Robertson as we posed for a picture together. Mr. Robertson finally retreated to his seat set up on the left side of the stage while I positioned myself behind the podium. I was finally able to examine and take in the crowd. About four or five reports were present with a photographer and a film crew from the local news station. The rest of the small crowd was made up primarily of alumni and boosters. Calling the crowd small might be a generous statement. I took a sip from my bottle of water and faced the crowd for my first press conference. “First off, I would like to thank Mr. Robertson for believing in me and giving me my first opportunity to be a head coach.” Off to a good start, I thought in my head. “Also, I would like to thank all of my former bosses, administrators, co-workers, and players who all have played a role in helping develop me into the coach I am today. I could not be here today without the impacts each and every one of them made on me. I could not be any happier than I am today -- the head coach for the Liberty Flames men’s basketball team. It’s always been a dream of mine to one day be a head coach. That dream doesn’t come true today, rather, it begins today. I don’t want to just be a head coach. I want to be a successful head coach. I want to win championships. I want to play in the postseason. I want to develop all-conference players. I want to help the student-athletes develop as champions in the classroom and off the court. I want to build a program that the students and community can be proud of. I dare to dream that we can accomplish those things here at this fine university. I dare to dream that we can turn that into a reality. It will take a lot of hard work and patience. I’m hungry to deliver on the trust Mr. Robertson has placed on me. I know the school and the fans are hungry for success. I believe that together, we can satisfy our hunger. It starts today, and I can’t wait to get to work.” Mr. Robertson stood up from his seat and walked back to the podium to let the (few) reporters know they were now able to ask questions. “Coach Knight, now that you’re in Lynchburg what is the first thing you plan on doing?” “Well, personally, I would like to find a place to live. That’s going to be an ongoing process throughout the next week or so. Professionally, I plan on meeting with all of the remaining players and staff to try to get a feel on where the team is and what is needed in terms of recruiting. I would like to bring in a few players during the spring signing period and move on from there. I will also be developing a post season workout schedule for the players.” “What can we expect to see from the Flames on the court during your tenure?” “I believe that to be successful first you have to be very sound defensively. I want our defense to apply pressure on the opposition. I’m not planning on running a full court press defense the entire game, we will some but not regularly. Instead, I want our players constantly applying pressure on the ball -- being up in their guy’s stuff and making it hard for the opposing offense to function. I want our defense to be solid -- boxing out and limiting teams to one shot per possession. Offensively, I would like for us to get turnovers or rebounds and get out and run in transition quick. Ideally the perfect shot for us would be a layup or dunk off of a fast break or in the transition game. If we don’t get that look then we’ll go 4-out 1-in motion.” “What are you looking for in players you bring into your program?” “Well, starting with the point guard position, I’m looking for a guy that primarily is a facilitator. Ball handling and passing are more important in that position than a scorer, however, it’s not a bad thing to have a guy who can facilitate and score. At the 2-guard we’re looking for a big, fast player that can score from the perimeter. We’ll also look for a similar build from our small forwards. We want our power forwards to be big and have an inside presence. The ability to spread the defense and hit some outside shots is definitely a plus. As far as centers go we want the traditional big guy that posts up on the block and either finishes with a layup or dunk, or kicks out to an open shooter for a three. With every position we value defense and free throw shooting.” ****** About an hour later the press conference ends and Mario Robertson meets with me in one of the tunnels of the Vine Center. “Good job, coach.” he tells me. “Thank you Mr. Robertson. Real quick, I just wanted to ask about hiring my staff.” “Well, you won’t be hiring any staff this season. I promised the staff from last season that they would be carried over into this season. Once the season is over, feel free to make any changes you see fit for next season. Good luck, coach.” Mario said as he patted me on the back and walked off. Great, I thought to myself.

Big South Scoop Why Jeremy Knight? Liberty has announced the hiring of it’s new men’s basketball coach, Jeremy Knight who will be introduced at a press conference later this week. While the news is exciting that the school is going in a new direction with a young coach (34 years of age), Knight’s lack of experience at winning programs raises some concern. Yes, Knight does have experience in the big boy conferences, but he doesn’t have winning experience. Let’s examine his career path so far: Knight first got into coaching in 2014 when he spent two seasons on Tony Barbee’s staff at Auburn as a graduate assistant. In Knight’s two seasons with the Tigers, who can barely be considered a high major program, they never had a winning season (14-15 being the best of the two years). Auburn amassed a total overall record of 25-32 while Knight was there and a 11-21 mark in SEC play. 11-21. In a conference where the only legitimate basketball powers were Kentucky and Florida. The Tigers never finished higher than 10th in the SEC and failed to make postseason play. After Auburn, Knight spend the next season as the third assistant on Scott Drew’s staff at Baylor. Coming off a 18-10 season that saw a berth in the NCAA Tournament, Baylor finished 2016 with a 7-21 overall record and 4-14 in Big 12 play, which was good enough for a 10th place finish in the Big 12. Knight decided one season at Baylor was enough and jumped to Matt Painter’s program at Texas. The previous season before Knight’s arrival the Longhorns garnered over 20 wins en route to a run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. Knight’s first season in Austin ended with a 14-15 record, 8-10 in the Big 12. However, the Longhorns were able to get an invite to the CBI where they would be outed in the first round by upstart North Alabama, 65-52. The following season Frank Martin joined Painter’s staff after getting the axe at South Carolina. However, Texas continued to struggle and finished the season 13-15 (7-11) with no postseason invitation. Knight’s third season at Texas finally brought his first winning season in college athletics. The Longhorns went 17-12 (9-9) and received a bid for the NIT, where the lost to Georgia State 63-62. Knight’s three seasons in Austin compiled a total record of 44-42 and 24-30 in Big 12 play with first round exits in the CBI and NIT. But hey, he got to hang out with Matt Painter and Frank Martin for a few years. In 2020 Knight jumped to mid-major powerhouse Gonzaga, again as a third assistant for coach Mark Few. Knight actually experienced success during his time in Spokane. The Bulldogs went 21-11 (12-6) and finished 2nd in the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga earned an invite to the NCAA Tournament and fell to Pittsburgh in the second round, 55-43. While at Gonzaga Knight worked with WCC Freshman of the Year Tyrone Correa and point guard DeMario Dickerson who was selected 23rd overall by the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Draft that spring. Knight experienced the most successful season of his career with the Bulldogs, but the season ultimately fell short of Gonzaga standards. The next season Knight made a career jump by becoming the second assistant on Larry Krystkowiak’s staff at Arizona State. Knight’s only season with the Sun Devils ended with a 14-15 record and a 9-7 mark in Pac-12 play, good enough for a 4th place finish. Arizona State did make the NIT where they were bounced in the first round by Virginia Military Institute 65-53. The Gonzaga squad Knight was on staff for the previous season finished the season with a 68-65 victory over Kansas in the NCAA Tournament championship game. Finally, Knight joined Joe Kleine’s staff at Tennessee-Martin in 2022 as the first assistant. The first season was mildly successful, 16-13 (9-9) with a 75-73 loss to Western Michigan in the first round of the CBI. Knight’s first season in Martin wasn’t quite as successful as fans had become acquainted to recently. 2023 was a train wreck of a season for the Skyhawks. UT-Martin went 9-18 (6-12) and finished 10th in the Ohio Valley Conference. No postseason bid snapped Knight’s streak of four years with postseason play. The entire staff was either fired or failed to have their contract renewed (the language involved with Knight’s situation). That now brings us to here. Knight is getting ready to take over a Liberty program that can hardly be described as decent throughout recent history. Maybe it’s a perfect match since both parties are so accustomed to losing. Personally, I felt like Liberty would target and hire a top assistant from a successful low- or mid-major program who knows what it takes to be successful at a small school like Liberty. Instead, they went with an unproven guy that has no head coaching experience or success at a high level, but has certainly been around his share of "big name" coaches (Drew, Painter, Martin, Few). After his departure from Auburn and Texas, both programs were back in the NCAA Tournament within 3-5 years. While Knight’s time with the programs may not have had as big of an impact on their futility as it seems, it certainly is odd that his previous teams seem to do better after he leaves -- just look at Gonzaga from above. It’s an interesting hire to say the least. It has been a long time since Liberty had something to brag about in men’s hoops. As for Coach Knight, he better figure out what it takes to win and fast, or else he’ll be doing something he’s pretty used to so far in his career -- looking for another job. Remember, stay connected with the Big South Scoop for all the latest news and rumors involving the Big South Conference and its affiliated members.

---Liberty Athletics Press Release--- Knight Tabbed to Be Flames Next Coach Jeremy Knight has agreed in principle to become the next head coach for the Liberty Flames men’s basketball team. Knight has spent the past 10 seasons as an assistant at several where he built an impressive resume and gained a wide depth of experience. Past stops as an assistant for Knight include Auburn, Baylor, Texas, Gonzaga, and Arizona State. This will be Knight’s first time as the head coach of a program. Most recently Knight spent the past two seasons as the top assistant at Tennessee-Martin under head coach Joe Kleine. While at UT-Martin Knight helped lead the Skyhawks to the College Basketball Invitational postseason tournament. Throughout his career Knight has also been a part of teams with postseason play in the National Invitation Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. Knight takes over a Flames team that finished last season with a 13-15 overall record and a 7-11 record in Big South play. “We are very excited about Coach Knight and his vision for the Liberty men’s basketball program.” said Liberty athletics director Mario Robertson. “We look forward to the direction Coach Knight plans on taking the program to.” Knight will be formally introduced to the public and media Saturday afternoon during a press conference at the Vine Center.