Southern Overview

First up is Furman and that dynamic scoring duo in Selvy and Floyd, the former who finished third in the country last season.  Coach Lyles Alley has by far the most talented and experienced roster in the league and this team will score in bunches.  Besides the scoring, Alley has some inside players who are solid and as tough as they get in these parts.  Juniors Jonathan Moore and Clyde Mayes don’t get the hype of the senior duo but they dominate the boards and might be more important to this team’s success.  The weakness here is the lack of athleticism on the wing and team speed and in today’s game those are huge issues.  Furman should ride into the sunset as league champs but that is by far not a done deal especially with the program Driesell built laying in wait. 

Driesell has left for greener pastures (or so he thought) but new coach Bob McKillop has inherited a roster filled with almost as much experience and talent as the team from Greenville South Carolina down. Senior big men Mike Maloy and Fred Hetzel and swing man Dick Snyder lead a team capable of winning this league if they like Furman can get a bit more athletic and quicker on the perimeter.  Either team can win this thing but they are not alone at the top. 

Marshall has bounced around often but have decided to stay for one more year in the SoCon before they continue their vagabond ways.  Coach Cam Henderson has a heck of a trio to hang his hat on with seniors Charlie Slack, Leo Byrd and Hal Greer.  Slack is one of the best board men in the country and Byrd is a terrific scorer who can fill it from anywhere.  Greer is the best all-around player in the conference who doesn’t get the recognition of Selvy but is a more complete player. Greer could probably score 20 a night ala the Corbin Comet if he was a bit more unselfish (and if there were enough basketballs to go around for this team). He has one of the prettiest jump shots in the country but he does have to help out inside as Marshall is lacking there.  Marshall could surprise and Slack could be the key as there are plenty of offensive players on this roster but must stop somebody if they are going to be as good as they can be. 

Speaking of scoring, the Virginia Military Institute team surprisingly can really light up.  Unlike other military academies, VMI pushes the ball up the court and will try to outscore teams instead of slowing it down and relying on defense.  They shocked the league last year by upsetting both Furman and Davidson in the conference tourney and got the ticket to the Big Dance for this league.  They do not play much defense here but with junior Ron Carter, sophomore Gay Elmore and company this team will score but they have nowhere near the roster of the big three in the SoCon. 

That can be said for all of the rest of the programs here as well such as Western Carolina who will rely on senior studs Greg Wittman, Henry Logan and Mel ‘the Road Warrior’ Gibson to compete but do not have much else.  This trio might just be enough as though you haven’t heard of them they are damn good players. 

Their rival Appalachian State is similar as they rely on senior Belus Smawley for much of their offense but do not have much else and could have a long year.  East Tennessee State has a shot with some nice senior leadership in seniors Tom Chilton and Harley ‘Skeeter’ Swift but unless Coach Madison Brooks brought in an all-world freshman class the Buccaneers will be stuck in the middle of the pack this year. 

The Citadel (not like Ohio State as that is actually their name) is another academy but they do things as traditional as they come in South Carolina and the Bulldogs just do not have the talent to do anything but try to stay out of the basement this year.  The newbies are led by recent D-2 powerhouse Chattanooga.  This Tennessee powerhouse have a few stud carryover from those days (Wayne Golden, William Gordon) better known at the WG’s who have adapted fairly well to D-1 and Coach Ron Shumate’s team surprised with a 4th place finish in their first year in the SoCon and could do even better this year. 

Speaking of new teams, the most recent addition to D-1 and the SoCon are College of Charleston and North Carolina-Greensboro.  C of C behind legendary John Kresse have a great reputation for defense and winning in the NAIA but how that carries over in D-1 is yet to be seen.  UNCG could play in about 4 different leagues but ended up here as the 11th team.  Nobody wanted to go to 11 but with Marshall leaving after this year it made sense to add the North Carolina upstarts before some other league grabbed them.  If UNCG does not finish in the bottom three here it would be a miracle as they are about as wet behind the ears as any program in the country in D-1. 

The SoCon has more history than you think for a low level mid-major but look to regain some glory this season with 11 teams battling it out for the golden ring.  There is talent here but nowhere near what is was and unless there is some wunderkid who can shoot 30 footers like they were layups coming up in the ranks the SoCon will never get the recognition it once had!