HPU men’s basketball gets ready for the 2017-18 season
By Collin Giuliani
Last season, High Point finished 15-16, which was the first time the team had a losing record since the 2011/12 season, and lost in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament to Gardner-Webb. This year, the Panthers are looking to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, and will look to do it with a young roster. Guard Austin White and forward Jordan Whitehead are the only two seniors on this year’s roster, making this the smallest senior class since the 2011/12 team, which consisted of seniors Shay Shine and Nick Barbour. Along with the 2011/12 senior class, the 2017-18 senior class is tied for the smallest senior class since Scott Cherry became head coach of the Panthers in 2009.
HPU lost three seniors from last year’s team, losing guard Anthony Lindauer, and forwards Miles Bowman Jr. and Tarique Thompson. Together, these three seniors accounted for roughly 50 percent of the team’s scoring last season. Bowman was the only Panther to receive all-conference honors last season, making it onto the Big South Second Team. Bowman led the team in points per game (14.1), rebounds per game (8.2), and blocks (20). Additionally, Bowman shot over 90 percent from the free throw line, which led the conference, becoming the first HPU player to ever lead the conference in free throw percentage. Lindauer led the Panthers in 3-pointers last season, and finished his career with the sixth most 3-pointers made in program history (167), and the second most games played in program history (123). Thompson played in all 31 games for HPU last season, and averaged 10 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game.
Despite the senior losses, the Panthers return many of their key contributors from last season. Junior guard Andre Fox returns after averaging 12.7 points per game last season, which was eighth in the conference among returning players, and finished with the fifth highest free throw percentage in the conference among returning players. Along with his offensive presence, Fox offers a strong defensive presence, as last season, Fox had the second most blocks per game of any guard in the conference, only behind Darrion Allen of Longwood.
Guard Jamal Wright returns after making an immediate impact as a freshman last season. Wright started 29 games last year, and became the first freshman to ever start on Opening Day since Scott Cherry became head coach in 2009. Wright finished second in the conference in assists per game, only behind LaQuincy Rideau of Gardner-Webb, and the Panthers went 5-0 when Wright recorded six or more assists in a game. By averaging 3.6 assists per game, it was the highest assists per game total since Scott Cherry became head coach, and the sixth highest total in the Division I era (since 1999). If Wright leads the Panthers in assists per game this year, he could become the first player in the Division I era to ever lead the team in this category in his first two seasons.
Other returners include junior forward Ricky Madison, who finished eighth in the conference in rebounds per game last season with 5.9, and senior guard Austin White, who started 22 games last season.
There are three true freshmen on this year’s roster, making this the sixth consecutive season where HPU has exactly three true freshmen on the roster. Forward Justyn Mutts from Millville, New Jersey, averaged 12.4 points per game, 7 rebounds per game, and 3.5 blocks per game during his senior season at St. Augustine Prep. Mutts chose HPU after receiving more than 20 offers, including seven offers from Atlantic 10 schools. Guard Denny Slay from Woodbridge, Virginia, averaged 12.4 points per game during his senior season at St. Stephen’s and St. Agne’s School, and shot 49 percent from 2-point range during his three seasons of high school basketball. Forward Caden Sanchez from Columbus, Ohio, averaged 13.4 points per game during his senior season at St. Francis DeSales High School, and lead his team to the district championship during his junior year.
Additionally, there are three transfers on this year’s roster who are eligible to play this year. Sophomore guard Brandon Kamga played the 2015/16 season at Northeastern, averaging 3 points per game, and played for Cameroon’s national basketball team during the summer of 2016. Junior center Sam Berlin last played at St. Thomas Aquinas, a Division II school, and helped lead the school to their first ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Berlin, who is 6 feet, 10 inches tall, is the second tallest junior in school history, only behind Cruz Daniels during the 2008/09 season, and is the sixth tallest player in school history. Berlin is the first player to be listed as a center on the roster since Cruz Daniels, and is the first player recruited by Scott Cherry to do this. Sophomore guard Jahaad Proctor spent the 2015/16 season at Iona, leading the Gaels to the NCAA Tournament by averaging 5.1 points per game and 15.2 minutes per game off of the bench. During the 2015/16 season, Proctor was the youngest player on Iona’s roster, and shot over 60 percent from the field in the final 13 games of the season.
HPU is picked to finish sixth in the Big South, according to the preseason poll, as UNC Asheville enters the season as the preseason favorite. UNC Asheville finished second in the conference last season, and finished with double digit wins in conference play for the 10th consecutive season. Three players on the Bulldogs received all-conference honors, and UNC Asheville was the only team to have multiple players receive Preseason First Team All-Conference honors this season (forward Ahmad Thomas and guard MaCio Teague). This is the first time since the 2012/13 season that HPU is ranked outside the top five in the preseason poll, and this is tied for the lowest placement in the preseason poll since the 2003/04 season, when they were picked to finish seventh.
The Big South Tournament will begin on February 27 with the first round, and will conclude on March 4. The top six teams in the conference receive an automatic bye into the quarterfinals, with the first round matchups between the four teams outside the top six taking place at the higher seed. The quarterfinals and semifinals will take place at the home of the number one seed in the conference, while the finals will take place at the highest remaining seed.