Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
OUTLOOK: In the Southwestern Athletic Conference a lot changed in the off-
season. Conference champion Mississippi Valley State lost its head coach and
a bulk of its roster. Texas Southern brought on former Indiana and UAB head
coach Mike Davis on an interim basis. Grambling State hired a new coach in
Joseph Price, who was an assistant at Lamar and played at Notre Dame. All the
turbulence has meant the conference is very much up for grabs among a number
of teams trying to make an impact.
Jackson State may be in the best position to unseat MVSU with the return of
four starters including SWAC Freshman of the Year Kelsey Howard. It would be
a quick turnaround for the Tigers, who finished ninth in the SWAC last season.
However, if Howard continues to grow and the other returning players do as
well, the Tigers will be dangerous. Prairie View A&M also figures to be right
in the thick of things with all five starters returning from a team that was
second in scoring last season. Southern also can't be ignored after the
Jaguars were one of only two teams to have an overall record above .500
last season (17-14), while finishing second in the conference (13-5). Alcorn
State has size in the backcourt and will return productive scorer Marquiz
Baker, who missed much of last season with a foot injury.
The rest of the conference looks poised to have a tough season with just a
few teams having enough to have an outside shot at competing for the
conference title. Arkansas-Pine Bluff could be a surprise thanks to its strong
frontcourt led by Mitchell Anderson and Daniel Broughton, but losing
guard Savalace Townsend will be tough to overcome. Davis has the experience
Texas Southern wants and an emerging star in Omar Strong to build around, but
it remains to be seen how long he will hold the job.
It will be a long drop for MSVSU with coach Sean Woods gone to Morehead
State and all five of its starters gone. That leaves Chico Potts, one of
Woods' assistant, without much to work with. Grambling State will also have
a new man patrolling the bench in Price. He has an immensely daunting task
ahead of him as he must turn around a team that went just 4-24 last season.
Demarquelle Tabb is a very good all-around player but Alabama A&M doesn't
have much surrounding him. As for Alabama State, losing four starters from a
team that finished seventh in the conference is not exactly a recipe for
success.
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Southern
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Southern 2. Prairie View A&M 3. Jackson State
4. Alcorn State 5. Texas Southern 6. Arkansas-Pine Bluff 7. Alabama A&M 8.
Alabama State 9. Mississippi Valley State 10. Grambling State
TEAM BY TEAM ANALYSIS:
SOUTHERN: Talk about a turnaround. The Jaguars' 17 wins last season matched
the total Southern had in the previous three seasons combined. It was also
the first time the Jaguars had a record above .500 since 2006. All that
success was fueled from the backcourt. That will again be the focus this
season for head coach Roman Banks with the talented trio of Derick Beltran,
Jameel Grace and Michael Celestin all back. Beltran (13.2 ppg. 3.5 rpg) is
the best scorer after leading the team last season. Grace (9.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg,
4.2 apg) is a more rounded player and was solid at running the offense with
a team-high in assists. Celestine (8.5 ppg) added a solid scoring threat off
the bench but may see his time on the court increase this season. If the
Jaguars are going to be serious about winning the conference they will need
a big boost in production in the frontcourt. Quinton Doggett was the team's
lone inside player last season and led the team in rebounding, but is gone.
That is bad news for a team that ranked seventh in the conference on the
boards (33.2 pg) last season and has no player returning that averaged more
than Grace's 4.4 boards per game. The puts a lot of pressure on 6-9 center
Madut Bol (3.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg), who played in 31 games last season but averaged
only 11.8 minutes per game.
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M: Head coach Byron Rimm really needs to get his team to
improve in its offensive efficiency if the Panthers hope to earn the SWAC's
automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Prairie View A&M was seventh in the
conference in field goal percentage (39.3) and a distant last in free throw
percentage (54.1). Leaving that many points at the line didn't really
cripple the Panthers, who finished second in scoring (63.0), but it certainly
didn't help a team that went 10-8 in conference play and lost three of its
final seven games by three points or less. What Rimm doesn't need to worry
about is experience, as all five of the starters from last season's team are
back. Jourdan DeMuynck (10.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg) was the lead scorer off the bench
on a team that had four different players average at least 8.4 points per
game. Ryan Gesiakowski (9.5 ppg), Louis Monks (9.6 ppg) and Demondre Chapman
(8.4 ppg) were the other steady scorers, while Jules Montgomery (5.8 ppg, 6.3
rpg) was the most effective on the glass. Montgomery's contributions on the
boards led a team that was the top rebounding squad in the SWAC (39.5 pg) a
season ago.
JACKSON STATE: A 7-24 overall record and a tie for eighth place in the
conference standings is certainly not what Tevester Anderson was hoping for
last season. It was the first time since 2002 that the Tigers failed to
finish with at least 10 wins and the first time since 2008 without a record
above .500. Anderson and company may be able to turn that around immediately
this season with the return of skilled sophomore Kelsey Howard. The 6-3
guard was phenomenal even in a weak season for Jackson State, averaging 14.6
points per game. However the Tigers can't just give the ball to Howard if they
want to contend. Players like Christian Williams (11.0 ppg) and Willie Readus
(5.7 ppg) will need to step up to provide other scoring options to fill the
hole left by leading scorer Jenirro Bush (15.5 ppg). Where the Tigers really
need a huge step up in production is in ball movement and rebounding. Jackson
State was eighth in the conference on the boards (33.0 pg) and last in assists
(8.3pg). In fact, Jackson State averaged fewer assists than all but one team
in the nation a season ago. Forwards Readus (4.0 rpg), Davon Jones (3.1 rpg)
and Sydney Coleman (3.8 rpg) will all be called on to improve the production
on the boards, while Williams, a senior (2.4 apg), is the best choice to
improve the offense's ability to move the ball.
ALCORN STATE: It's tough to call a 10-win team a success but in comparison
to the last few seasons, the Braves' 10-22 overall mark was certainly an
improvement. Before last season Alcorn State had not reached a double digit
win total since 2007 and had just 19 wins total in the last four seasons.
The relative success of last season was accomplished even though the Braves
took a huge hit early in the season in losing Marquis Baker. The 6-2 guard
averaged 14.7 points per game but was lost in the third game of the season
with a foot injury. Baker averaged 15.9 points per game during the previous
season and when healthy, gives Alcorn State one of the best offensive players
in the conference. Baker joins an already physically imposing backcourt that
is anchored by 6-4 Anthony Nieves and 6-5 Twann Oakley. Nieves (10.9 ppg,
3.6 rpg) was the team's leading scorer with Baker sidelined and showed real
flashes of brilliance despite playing in only 14 games. Oakley (10.5 ppg,
2.9 rpg) is also a capable scorer although he missed the last few games of
the season for the Braves. What remains to be seen, and what could push
Alcorn State over the edge, is what kind of production it will get up front.
Lead rebounder Ian Francis (6.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg) is back to anchor the Braves
inside, but even with Francis returning Alcorn State needs a better effort on
the boards, where it ranked last in the SWAC (29.1 pg) last season.
TEXAS SOUTHERN: Mike Davis has inherited a pretty good team at Texas
Southern even if it is on an interim basis. The Tigers finished third in the
SWAC last season with a 12-6 mark against conference competition and return
three players from that squad. However this season the team faces a postseason
ban handed down by the NCAA earlier this month. Most importantly among those
returning starters is Omar Strong. The 5-9 senior guard drives the offense
with his ability to create scoring opportunities for himself. Strong led the
team in scoring last season (!3.3 ppg) on a squad devoid of multiple scoring
threats. Fred Sturdivant (9.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg) is the second option to strong
and is a solid performer in the paint, something that is hard to find in the
SWAC. Sturdivant finishes well around the rim, connecting on 50.9 percent of
his field goal attempts to lead a Texas Southern squad that led the SWAC
(.413) in the category. Aaron Clayborn (4.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg) brings experience to
the squad with his 26 starts last season, the most among any returning player
on the roster. However, it is more likely players like Dexter Ellington (6.4
ppg) and Madarious Gibbs (6.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg) will make larger impacts whether
off the bench or in the starting lineup. Lawrence Johnson-Danner (5.6 ppg) is
also a candidate to see his court time expand.
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF: Last season was another step in the right direction for
the Golden Lions, who made an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2010. After that
berth the Golden Lions went just 7-24, but last season was an improvement
with the squad finishing 11-22 overall and an even 9-9 record in the
conference. The Golden Lions were especially strong down the stretch with the
squad winning nine of its final 12 games. With an end to the season like that,
the future looks bright for George Ivory and company. The Golden Lions are one
of the only teams in the conference where the frontcourt is a strength.
Mitchell Anderson (11.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and Daniel Broughton (10.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg)
can both fill it up and are aggressive on the glass on both sides. The Golden
Lions will be even better up front with the return of Terrell Kennedy, who
scored 9.1 points and brought in 4.3 rebounds per game as a reserve in
2011, but missed all of last season. The backcourt will need to quickly
replace SWAC Defensive Player of the Year Savalace Townsend, who is a very
tough loss, considering he also led the team in scoring last season. Lazabian
Jackson (9.8 ppg, 3.0 apg) is the best returning guard and will be called on
to help ease the loss.
ALABAMA A&M: It has been eight seasons since Alabama A&M has won a
conference title and that drought doesn't look like it will end any time
soon. The Bulldogs are a young team that won just seven games last season,
which was the worst total for the program since joining the SWAC in 1999. If
the Bulldogs are going to make a surprise run at the top of the conference
they will need a ton from Demarquelle Tabb. The junior swingman (10.6 ppg,
7.6 rpg) was ranked in the top 10 in five categories last season. He is an
athletic player that can score and clean the glass effectively, while going
in and out. After Tabb, the Bulldogs will rely on Jeremy Crutcher to run the
point and act as a second scoring option. Crutcher (9.6 ppg, 3.9 apg) is the
third-leading returning scorer and led the team in assists per game. Jerome
Hunter (3.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg) at 6-10 is a more traditional big man and will need
to produce especially with the expectation that he will see more time on the
court. It will be difficult for the Bulldogs to repeat the offensive
performance they had last season where they ranked second in the SWAC in
scoring (63.0 ppg), as the loss of top scorer Casey Cantey (13.5 ppg) will be
hard to replace.
ALABAMA STATE: In eight seasons under Lewis Jackson the Hornets have made a
pair of NCAA Tournament berths, but last season was far from that level of
success. The Hornets went just 12-19, the second lowest winning percentage
(.387) of Jackson's tenure. Jackson will have a tough time turning things
around with four starters from last season's team gone, including lead scorer
Kenderek Washington (14.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg). Philip Crawford (10.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
is the only returning starter and will be looked to carry the team while a
number of reserves get used to increased playing time. Stephawn Brown (4.4
ppg, 4.1 rpg) is most likely to fit in immediately after he played in 31
games, including 16 starts last season, and other than Crawford, averaged the
most minutes per game. Ryan Watts (6.1 ppg) also played in 31 games last
season. Watts could step in to fill the distributor role left behind by Jeff
Middlebrooks (4.4 apg) as no player on the roster averaged more than one
assist per game. Even with the lack of experience on the team a change might
be what the Hornets need after they ranked ninth in the conference in field
goal percentage (37.8) and eighth in scoring (59.4 ppg) a year ago.
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE: The Delta Devils are in for a crushing wake-up
call, at least on paper, this season. After ripping off 17 straight wins in
SWAC play and then taking home the conference tournament title as well, the
Devils lost head coach Sean Woods and all five of their starters. Those are
some devastating losses for a team that is coming off its most wins (21)
since 1996 and its first winning season since 2008. Chico Potts was given
the job of mopping up and getting a group of largely untested players to a
competitive level. Luke Pajkovic (2.8 ppg) might just be the best player
returning after playing in 32 games last season, although just 8.3 minutes per
game. It speaks to just how much this team will have to start over as those
are both the highest marks of any player returning. Blake Ralling (1.0 ppg)
also appeared in 24 games, but played even less with 4.9 minutes on average.
GRAMBLING STATE: Joseph Price is being tasked with cleaning up the mess at
Grambling this season. The Tigers finished last in the SWAC with a record of
4-14 in conference play and a 4-24 mark overall. Understandably the Tigers
were at the bottom of the conference in a number of categories including
scoring (54.0 ppg, 10th), field goal percentage (35.7, 10th), assists (8.6
apg, ninth) and rebounds (32.4 pg, ninth). Those numbers don't look like
they're going to improve since Quincy Roberts (22.8 ppg), who was phenomenal
in just 21 games, decided to enter the NBA Draft rather than return. So Price
will more than likely turn to center Peter Roberson (7.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg). The
seven-footer could be a force in a league short on dominant frontcourt players
and gives the Tigers an anchor on the inside both offensively and defensively.
Bryant Purvis (3.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg), a 6-7 forward, is the other returning
starter and could pair nicely in the frontcourt with Roberson. The Tigers are
short on effective frontcourt players and will need a lot out of freshman Will
Hornsby who played his high school ball in nearby Slidell and chose Grambling
State over Vermont.
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