Coach Robert Moreland has one of the most prolific offenses in college basketball but it does not have an awesome nickname like Phi Slamma Jamma. He didn’t care about that as he loves his guys.  He is blessed to have a slew of players who can flat out score.  If he had a few more that could guard someone especially on the perimeter this team may have made a move in the SWAC.  

Leading the way for the Tigers was sophomore sensation Harry ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly.  No player in the country fits his nickname and the style of basketball his coach wants to play as well as this ‘Wild boy’ from Jackson Mississippi.   After all part of Moreland’s philosophy is to pepper the basket with as many shots as his kids can get off and then live with the carnage.  Kelly put up some ridiculous numbers and may be the best scorer most of you have never heard of.  Kelly can do it all.  Machine Gun is an inside out player who can post up or hit threes.  Kelly can run and shoot and really hits the boards hard for a small forward.  As a matter of fact Kelly is almost as proud of his rebounding as his incredible ability to score points in large quantities.  At six foot seven this lanky but muscular wing does not always run the court for easy baskets.  He can post up and loves getting second chance easy putbacks.  His defense is way better than he is given credit as he averaged almost two steals a game.  He even averaged almost two assists a game which is contrary to his ball hogging reputation. Speaking of that rep which has seemingly taken a life of his own let’s address this.  Machine Gun’s only weakness is that this kid has never met a shot he does not like.  The fans love it but the talking heads and sportswriters are always on this kid for being a ball hog.  No worries because the one guy who is on his side is Moreland.  Moreland responded to the criticism by having a press conference where he told the world that this kid was not only a one of a kid talent but one of the hardest working and most unselfish players on the team.  Sure he has a green light from his coach but that is because Moreland trusts his judgement on (and off) the court.  When a guy averages almost 20 points a game and has the nickname Machine Gun (the rumor that he comes to the arena with a tommy gun is not true) then his reputation will precede him.  All this had done has given him motivation to get better and if he continues on the pace he did this year by his senior year he might lead the country in scoring.  He is that good and yes that motivated.  This kid has an engine that does not stop and will continue to put up ridiculous numbers for the Tigers.

As good as Kelly is and he is that good the best player on the team is Senior big man Bennie Swain.  At least he has the best reputation on the team and after his stellar career down in Space City has a great shot of becoming a great pro.  That is as long as he recovers from the knee injury he suffered midway through the season.  But knowing this kid he will do whatever it takes to work his way back into the player he was before the injury.  He showed he is willing to work and with stand the pain as he struggled to get back this year and help his teammates down the stretch when realistically they were out of contention.  But as this kid tells it he was not going to sit on the bench in his last year in Houston and not do everything he could to get his team to the Big Dance as this kid is all about winning.  He did not come all the way from Tuscaloosa Alabama (yeah the home of the Crimson Tide) to watch as his team went drearily into the night in his last year in Houston.  You see Swain remembers those days not so long ago when he dominated NAIA competition on the way to leading his Tigers to an elite eight when he was a freshman.  All throughout his career here Swain has put up great numbers but all he has had in mind is getting this team the respect it deserves.  This year was no different as he was averaging over 17 points and 10 boards a game when he went down against of all team Alabama State just around the corner from his Tuscaloosa in Montgomery in front of dozens of family and friends from his hometown.  He came back after five games (four of them Tiger losses) deciding to forego surgery and play out his final year. This six foot nine athletic big man could not get up and down the court like he did before and he was nowhere near as mobile but he limped his way to a terrific story that someday will be a tall tale in this part of Texas.  He didn’t necessarily carry the Tigers the last nine games but his presence was sure felt as TSU beat every team in the SWAC at least once in the last ten of course nine of which were after his return.  Yes that is a true story.  Mythic?  Perhaps but the the truth.   His averages slipped down to 15.8 and 9 for the year but he still blocked shots and most importantly defended the rim and other centers in this big man’s league with the same ferocity and gusto he has before.   

Woody Sauldsberry is one of a kind.  There is no mold for these one of a kind types of players.  A powerfully build player who loves to mix it up Sauldsberry is not afraid of anyone and is most definitely not afraid to speak his mind.  This Louisiana born kid went to High School in Compton California where he was a star.  Instead of going to a California school with all of it’s diversity this proud black man decided to go face the beast that is racism deep in the Heart of Texas.  Of course, going to a HBCU on the outskirts of Houston is not exactly the streets of Laredo but it will do for his purpose.  Sauldsberry had seen the effects of racism up close and personnel and he was going to wear the badge of freedom on his uniform.  But with standing up for what you believe in comes a price.  And the price Sauldsberry would continue to pay was being under the microscope of the Man or as we like to put it the people who make the rules.  He had already missed the first three games of the season due to some off season events in Kentucky when the suspension came his way.  He never really got up to full playing speed until near the end of the year.  Oh, but when he did.  Sauldsberry is one of the best forwards in all of college basketball when on the court.  He boards like a machine and runs the court like a wing.  His corner jump shots (though ugly) are legendary.  The one thing that he is not is a consistent shooter.  He barely shot 35 percent from the floor in this high volume offense and the fact he missed so many games could not have helped.  Still, if this kid is going to play at the next level he needs to be able to shoot a little better and stay away from 18 footers as well as big white guys who get under his skin. Both of these will be hard to pass up as once you get the taste of that fruit you just can’t pass up the apple.  

A pair of sophomores stepped up big on the front line especially with all of the games being missed by the two senior studs.  Fred West and Ron Cavenall are compliments to each other and really play together well.  Coach Moreland had them on the court at the same time often because of that chemistry and knowing they are going to be the starters soon.  West is a solid score and board big man who at six nine is consistent as they come.  He averaged almost ten points and six boards coming off the bench for most of the year.  He still averaged over 20 minutes a game as he did get several starts with the games missed.  West is as solid as they come on the blocks and he can also block a shot.  His defense was almost as good as his offense and he will for sure be starting at one forward for the Tigers (unless for some reason Sauldsberry returns and even then West should get the start).  Cavenall took a huge step in his evolution as a player.  The seven foot one true center has that one gift you cannot teach, size, but he does not have much else at this time and Moreland is not counting on him for more than what he did this year which was come in and eat up space for some minutes and maybe block a few shots.   This duo is a huge part of the future of Texas Southern basketball and they showed such promise this season especially in the absence of Sauldsberry and Swain for that ugly stretch.  

The back court for the Tigers had their ups and downs.  Senior Freddy Maura is the incumbent at the two and can shoot.  He is a bit small for what Moreland wants. Fellow senior Herb Hart got a bunch of minutes and played well but Moreland will be looking elsewhere to keep up with the terrific athletes of the SWAC.  Moreland gave everybody a chance to take the reins of this team with nobody really standing out.  Maura was a legend on the NAIA teams but Moreland wanted more quickness. Junior Gaylord Davis was the starter at the point but got hurt and Moreland had to look elsewhere.  Davis did come back but ended the year as a backup as Moreland gave others a shot.  Junior Marcello Singleton is a solid quarterback but nowhere near as dynamic as Davis and will almost assuredly lose the job to his fellow third year player.  Fellow junior Freddie Blue and Lester Brooks also got some playing time and can play but neither is going to beat out Davis. 

The Texas Southern Tigers played one hack of a schedule and hung tough throughout and proved they were not pretenders in the SWAC.  Coach Robert Moreland loses a couple of senior studs at the post (both missed some games this year) but has been grooming a solid pair to take over and almost everyone else is back.  Scoring machine Harry Kelly leads a motivated bunch that can score and board and should be contenders this season.  Playing in Houston you better get up and down the court and score in bushels just to have a chance at getting some recognition with Phi Slamma Jamma running the most infamous fraternity in college basketball just next door.  These aren’t exactly the Lambda Lambda Lambda’s but like Mr. Dangerfield they do need to earn some respect.  One thing for sure is they will be one of the top scoring teams in the country once again as Moreland loves to push the ball up the court and get as many shots off as possible (when you are watching a SWAC game sometimes it feels like watching a video game with as many shots that go up).  TSU will have to play some defense this year and they will have to win some of the close games they lost this season.  Maybe most importantly they need to figure out a way to become the baddest cats in the SWAC because in the SWAC it all about the felines!