Coach Kelly has an incredible group of wings from which to choose, all of whom loved to score.  The ring leader of the circus is junior James “Fly” Williams.  Or at the very least the star acrobat!  This kid flies so high he would make the Wallenda Brothers jealous?  Williams is more of an entertainer than anything else.  Straight from the streets of Brooklyn, Fly loves to get the crowd going.  A street ball legend down at Rucker Park who picked up his moniker from watching Curtis ‘Super Fly’ Mayfield (though of course it fits the way he plays and behaves to the nth degree) Kelly’s assistant Leonard Hamilton ‘somehow’ convinced him to come play in Tennessee.  How big of an event was it when Williams decided to take the last train to Clarksville?  Well let’s just say they met him at the station with half the town in attendance and had a sky-writer spell out his name.  Since the day he has arrived there have been many who have questioned the kid’s style of play as well as his unique recruitment and background (especially about who he hangs with and does in NYC).  But none question his game.  He can launch them from downtown as well as being able to get to the hoop and throw it down.  He averaged almost twenty points a game and that was with having to share the ball with his partners in crime.  His antics sometimes get in the way of his playing ability but man do the fans love the Fly.  And yes he is all of that.  Gifted with incredible handles with either hand Williams flies by opponents on the way to the basket or just pulls up and buries a jump shot that is virtually unguardable.  He is not about to lead the team in assists though he handles the ball often but for a guy this skinny he is not afraid to mix it up in the paint.  As he says where he comes from in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn ‘at least he doesn’t have to bring a knife to defend himself in the key.’  Williams plays with a chip on his shoulder developed from his days on the streets having to defend himself when he was a 140 pound kid getting the crap kicked out of him on a regular basic (just look at his teeth or lack thereof) but he can also light up the night when he saunders into a room with his crazy energy.  He did miss a few games for his antics when Coach Kelly had to sit him down and he also got ejected from a couple more games for extracurriculars such as kicking a ball into the rafters.  But the fans of Clarksville love him.  “Fly is open.  Let’s go Peay!”  will hopefully be chanted at the Dunn center (the gymnasium they had to build to seat all the fans coming to see the Fly play) for at least one more spectacular season.  You never know with this kid as the Pros are calling on a regular basis.  Just don’t answer Fly.  Get this team to the promised-land that you got oh so close to but haven’t achieved.  And on the way get the recognition you deserve. 

Senior Guard Howard Wright and Junior Danny Odum were to be in charge of getting these guys the ball.  Plans are made to be broken.  Wright is more of a scorer than a distributor but loves the fast paced game the Governors play.  Odum came from New York with Williams and is the same kind of street ball player.  Odum is not as worried about scoring however as he is a distributor and solid defender as he showed in his first two years here but that has changed rather quickly when he decided to transfer to Fairfield after some kind of error with his records.  Coach Kelly will put Wright in at point because he really had nowhere else to put him with the Fly and company around at the wings.  Wright is a good ballhandler but he is not a point.  He likes to score too much as before the Fly got here, Wright was the main man in Clarksville.  Wright will hopefully adjusted and is a calming influence on this team especially with all of the antics going on around him.  But he has got to learn to pass the ball once in a while.  Speaking of passing, Junior Norman ‘General’ Jackson got some minutes and is the most natural ball distributor on the team.  Still, he does not score at all and Kelly has brought in some real talent in the back court in a stellar freshman class.  But, strangely, there are not a bunch of point guards coming into Clarksville so Kelly better have something up his sleeve. 

Up front, the Governors do not quite have the juice to match up with the beef of the Ohio Valley.  But man they try!  Senior Tom Morgan is an undersized yet solid post player who at one point a few years back was without question the BMOC in Clarksville.  A good rebounder who is at times way over matched physically, Morgan usually gave up way too many inches in the paint.  He also might be a better pitcher than a basketball player and actually moonlighted when the baseball season started.  

This team loves its Howards so much they might make Mr. Cosell there announcer!  Howie Wright and two junior post studs make this a Howardlovefest in Clarksville.  Otis Howard and Howard Jackson are two of the primary post options for the Governors.  The Fly would not be able to do what he does without these two guys getting the job done underneath. The six foot seven Jackson with a pro body to match his demeanor gives the Govs the kind of presence it needs up front to complement the great wings.  He can score when needed but was best on the boards and guarding big men. Kelly had one Howard from Kentucky but the other Howard up front is from right up the road in Oak Ridge. Otis Howard is Mr. Consistent for the Governors.  He is a great presence underneath and the team’s best rebounder and defender on the centers of this league. This Oak Ridge boy (the country group was actually named for the Nuclear Power Plant built there) is a little undersized at six seven but is a strong 220 and has a complete game.  He averaged over 12 points a game and was the only consistent inside scorer the Govs had.  Howard was the only Gov to not only start but to play in every game and his consistency and presence on the court cannot be underrated.  He is the glue to this team and maybe it’s MVP.  With all the great wings on the roster and the crazy injuries, Kelly counted on Howard to hold things together down low and he does not disappoint.

There is an entire crew of veteran players who will be in support roles this year.  Most of them have produced in the past but those says are long gone unless this new group of Govs are nowhere near ready for D-1.  Seniors Doug Stamper, Jim Breshears and Kenny Geralds are three terrific wings in that boat.  Geralds was once dubbed Mr. Outside to Morgan’s Mr. Inside for a season. The kid can obviously shoot but he is not big enough or athletic enough for the new players coming into the OVC at wing. And the other two aren’t mince meat either but have the same issues defensively.  One kid who does not have a problem with athleticism is junior Percy Howard.  The 6’4 Howard can jump through the roof and can finish with anyone but his ballhandling is almost non-existent.  He might get a chance if something happens and he is a heck of a guy to have around in practice as he will keep those starters on their toes. There were some weird rumors the Vols were trying to get him to transfer to catch passes for Peyton this fall but Percy loves Clarksville too much.  Senior Tommy Head and juniors Greg Kinman and Ralph Garner provide some size on the bench.  Head is 6’7 and has a mean streak while Garner goes 6’8 and is the opposite.  Kinman is the best of the bunch but way too skinny at 6’9.  L.M. Ellis is a senior big man who has not played much since he got here but he was the first African-American athlete for the Governors and in the Ohio Valley for that matter. Senior Howard Gorrell is probably the best true point guard on the roster but is slow as molasses and coming off a knee injury. 

The Austin Peay Governors have some phenomenal offensive talent.  Most of it though is located in the wing area. The Governors can score with just about anybody as they showed all year with a tough out of conference schedule The Govs were only one of a handful of teams to average over 90 points a game on the season.  The next step is turning this incredible showtime of an offense into a consistent winner.  And that means defense! They also gave up more than 91 points a game as they had exactly a two point average point spread average so as you can see they lost some tight games.  Coach Kelly does not want to continue to lose close games because you cannot stop anyone or because you have issues matching up with the size of some of these big time programs who routinely rotate in seven footers.  The Govs lineup does not feature anyone over six seven.  Even in the Ohio Valley their nemesis from over the Kentucky border starts two guys six ten or above and losing three games to the hated Racers last year hurts especially when you have the most offensive talent in the OVC. But offense never won them much but some big-time notoriety. At least when it counted. Before the season started one specific talking head announced over the radio that he would ‘stand on his head’ if the Govs could finish five hundred with their lack of height and out of control style. And no true point guard.  Those things are all true and perhaps Mr.Patrick is right but man are these Govs going to be fun to watch.