2017-18
MEN’S BASKETBALL
MEN’S BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2017-18
W
hen Spring Hill College (SHC) men’s basketball head coach Aaron Niven looks at the upcoming 2017-18 season, he is excited about the prospects for his team. “We finally have a balanced roster as far as classes go,” he says. “We have four seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and four freshmen, counting red shirts, and that’s what you want as far as experience. You want the older guys to be the older guys and pass along their knowledge and experience to the younger guys who are learning and growing. Now it’s up to us as coaches to develop that culture of leadership and that’s a good problem to have. Our upperclassmen have to learn how to be leaders.” Niven says this edition of the Badgers will not change their approach to the game on offense or defense. “We are still going to get up and down the court with our Motion system,” he says. “We need to create points out of transition [from defense to offense] and we need to hit our shots early [in the game]. Especially early in the season, we need to work the system as much as possible because the Motion system requires experience and being in sync with your teammates.” Niven sees the experience of his returning players as a strength when it comes to his style of play. “We need to push our transition game and get early buckets,” he says. “We aren’t going to change a whole lot this year – just do things better.” Senior Walter Massey of Eight Mile, Ala., is a Preseason All-Conference selection in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and will be a key factor in the success of the Badgers this year. “Walter is where it starts for us,” says Niven. “He’s going to have a good year. He’s just too talented of a player not to have a good year.” Perhaps the most experienced returning player for Spring Hill is senior guard Matevz Rojc of Ljubljana-Smartno, Slovenia. “You don’t find many players with the experience of Matt,” said Niven. “He’s a solid player who gives us solid minutes when he’s on the court and I expect no less from him this year.” On the perimeter, shooting guard Jack Morrissey of Evanston, Ill., returns and Niven admits to wanting to see more points from his senior sharpshooter. “Jack has got to shoot more,” says Niven. “If you can score 30 points at Kentucky State like he did last year then you can score anywhere and we need you to shoot.” Senior guard Deandre Lacy of Greenwood, Miss., is another strong player who proved himself in 2016-17. Next, Niven focuses on junior forward Brandon Fischer of Buford, Ga. “Brandon’s experience around the basket will help us immensely this season,” Niven says. On the inside, Niven is anxious to see how junior forward Chase Shellman from Louisville, Ky., comes out of the blocks. “Chase just needs to be Chase and do what he does,” he says.
“Get the rebounds, make the passes, and score when needed. He has to attack the glass this year. He worked very hard on his shooting during the off-season and it’s starting to show in our practices.” Junior guard Jared Holland out of Baker High School in Mobile is another experienced weapon for the Badgers who can shoot and score when needed. Spring Hill also benefited from a strong recruiting season with the addition of transfer junior guards Daniel Keeler of Tampa, Fla., and Dwight Harris of Americus, Ga.Sophomore guards Gresyn Rogers of Casa Grande, Ariz., and William Loyd of Baton Rouge, La., are proven scorers that Niven sees being major contributors for SHC this winter. “We have four guys returning who each put a least one 30-point game in the books last year and not many teams can say that. Gresyn and Will are men who can put points in the basket for us.” At the top of the key, Niven needs sophomore guard Andrew Dotson of Arlington, Texas, to step into a decision-making role. “Andrew is a talented passer,” Niven says. “We need him to be smart with the ball.” Joining Dotson will be red shirt freshman Adnan Bajrami of Houston, Texas, “Adnan is a high energy player and we needed that at times last year,” said Niven. “He will need to focus that energy for us.” Sophomore Quinn Sutton of Arlington, Texas, and freshman Jeffery Pharr from New Braunfels, Texas, both benefited from red-shirt seasons last year and look to play important roles this year. Red shirt freshman forward Ryan Littel will see action early in the year and Niven is impressed with his work ethic. “Ryan dropped weight this summer and has gotten stronger and even more athletic,” he says. “We just have to get him more experience on the court.” Freshman forward Brent Smith of St. Louis, Mo., will also look to gain experience as the year progresses. “This year we are balanced between big men and guards and we have multiple players who can move between positions,” says Niven. “Also, in the past two years we were forced to start three freshmen while this we might start one. That’s a major improvement.” Niven is even happy with his travel-heavy schedule. “It’s a tough early stretch in December,” he says. “But that’s just the way the schedule fell this year and we have to deal with it. That said, we start out in Memphis against two teams that we have struggled against in Shorter and Union at LeMoyne-Owen College’s gym, but we have played well and won in that building the past two years. I think that’s a positive. ”Overall, Niven is confident in his Badger team. “We have a good team – the best team I’ve had in my time at Spring Hill,” he says. “It will be a fun team to watch made up of great young men who are good players. I want our fans to have high expectations for this team, because I have high expectations for them.”
GENERAL FACTS:
COACHING STAFF Aaron Niven – Head Coach, 5th Season
Niven joined SHC as the Badger head coach in 2013 after spending the previous six seasons as the assistant basketball coach at John Brown University (JBU) in Siloam Springs, Ark., where he helped build the JBU men’s program into one of the top programs in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC). During his time at JBU, Niven was instrumental in signing six SAC All-Conference selections, two SAC Freshman of the Year winners, a 2nd team NAIA All-America selection, three NAIA honorable mention All-America winners and a Capital One Academic All-America Award recipient. During the 2012-13 season, Niven helped John Brown achieve its highest ranking (No. 3) in program history and notched a program-record 28 victories as the Golden Eagles captured their first-ever SAC regular season championship. The 2013 JBU senior class compiled a 100-35 (.741) career record – the highest four-year win total in program history. Under Golden Eagles head coach Clark Sheehy, Niven built a 133-66 (.668) cumulative record. Prior to his time at John Brown, Niven served the men’s assistant basketball coach at Southern Arkansas University (SAU) in Magnolia, Ark., from 2000-2007 where he signed All-Gulf South Conference (GSC) performers Kenny Langhorne and Brandon Williams. Before SAU, Niven spent two years (1998-2000) working as men’s assistant coach at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (UAFS) under former head men’s basketball coach of the University of Nebraska Doc Sadler. Niven, a native of Rogers, Ark., played two seasons at Arkansas Tech where he was part of an NAIA Final Four team during the 1994-95 season. He then transferred to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1998 before completing his Masters of Education in 2000. He is a third generation head coach, following in the footsteps of his father Bill Niven, head coach of girls’ basketball at Decatur High School (Ark.). Niven and his wife, Shannon, have a daughter, Madalyn, and two sons, Will and Boston.
Brian Murphy – Assistant Coach, 6th season
Born in Mobile, Brian Murphy grew up in Pelham and graduated from John Carroll Catholic High School in Birmingham in 2005. He played at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn., as a freshman and transferred to Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa as sophomore. Brian graduated with B.B.A. in Management in 2010 from the University of West Alabama in Livingston.
COACHING STAFF:
Seth Ramey – Graduate Assistant Coach, 1st season
A native of Hartselle, Ala., Seth joined the Badgers in August 2017. He graduated from Spanish Fort (Ala.) High School in 2013 where he was a three-year letterman in basketball. He attended Faulkner State Community College as a men’s basketball student manager for two years and was a part of the 2015 Alabama Community College State Championship and 2015 Southern Division Championship teams with a trip to the National JUCO Tournament. Seth earned his Associates of Science (General Studies) in 2015 and transferred to the University of South Alabama (USA) where he was a student manager for two years under head coach Matthew Graves. He graduated in 2017 from USA with a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management.
Makis Harris Student Manager
Institution: Spring Hill College City/State/Zip: Mobile, AL 36608 Founded: 1830 Enrollment: 1,200 Nickname: Badgers School Colors: Purple, white Home Facility: Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center Capacity: 1,500 Affiliation: NCAA Division II Conference: Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Division: West President: Christopher Puto, PhD Athletic Director: Jim Hall Alma Mater: Grinnell College, 1995 Compliance: Chad LeBlanc Faculty Athletic Representative: Dr. Steve Almquist Athletic Department Phone: 251-380-3485 Athletic Department Fax: 251-460-2196 Sports Information Director: Jim Stennett Alma Mater: Mississippi State, 1990 SID Phone: (251) 380-4468 SID Email: jstennett@shc.edu Athletic Web Site: www.shcbadgers.com Facebook: SHCBADGERS Twitter: SHCBADGERS Instagram: SHCBADGERS
Angie Kazek Student Manager
Head Coach: Aaron Niven Alma Mater: Arkansas, 1998 Record at school/years: 36-77/4 seasons Career record/years: 36-77/4 seasons Assistant Coach: Brian Murphy Graduate Assistant Coach: Seth Ramey Office Phone: (251) 380-4460 Head Athletic Trainer: Dani Ellis, ATC Office Phone: 251-380-3493
TEAM INFORMATION:
Overall Record Last Year: 10-18 Conference/Finish: 9-8/2nd of 7 (SIAC West) Starters returning/lost: 5/0
Student Managers: Brett Amenedola, Tyler Rowell and Alfonza Ward
www.shcbadgers.com
2017-18 ROSTER No. Player
Pos.
Class Ht.
Exp. Hometown/Previous School(s)
1 2 3 4 5 10 11 12 14 15 20 21 22 23 24 25 30
G G PG FWD FWD G/F G G G G G/F F/C G/F G G/F FWD FWD
R-So. Sr. Jr. Jr. Fr. Sr. R-Fr. Jr. So. Sr. R-So. Jr. Sr. Jr. So. R-Fr. R-Fr.
RS 2L 2L 2L HS 2L HS JC 1L 1L 1L 1L 2L JC 1L RS RS
Andrew Dotson Jack Morrissey Jared Holland Chase Shellman Brent Smith Matevz Rojc Adnan Bajrami Daniel Keeler Gresyn Rogers Deandre Lacy Quinn Sutton Brandon Fischer Walter Massey Dwight Harris William Loyd Jeffery Pharr Ryan Littel
2016-17 RESULTS Date
Opponent
6-3 6-1 5-10 6-6 6-7 6-6 6-3 6-2 6-5 6-3 6-5 6-7 6-5 6-0 6-5 6-7 6-8
Site
Arlington, Texas/Arlington Martin HS/New Hampshire Evanston, Ill./Loyola Academy Mobile, Ala./Baker HS Louisville, Ky./DeSales HS St. Louis, Mo./Saint Louis University HS Ljubljana-Smartno, Slovenia/Gimnazija Bezigrad HS Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes HS Tampa, Fla./Chamberlain HS/Hillsborough CC Casa Grande, Ariz./Casa Grande Union HS Greenwood, Miss./Greenwood HS/Bishop State CC Arlington, Texas/Mansfield Timberview HS Buford, Ga./Shenendehowa HS/LeMoyne College (N.Y.) Eight Mile, Ala./Leflore HS Americus, Ga./Americus-Sumter HS/Chattanooga Tech Baton Rouge, La./Madison Preparatory Academy New Braunfels, Texas/Canyon HS Enterprise, Ala./Enterprise HS
Result
Nov. 3 at Jacksonville State University (Exhibition) Jacksonville, Ala. L; 62-72 SIAC-GSC Challenge; Jackson, Tenn., November 11-12, 2016 Jackson, Tenn. L; 53-66 Nov. 11 at Union University Nov. 12 vs. Shorter University Jackson, Tenn. L; 60-84 Nov. 14 University of Mobile Home L; 55-56 Nov. 17 Loyola University (La.) Home L; 69-70 Nov. 19 at University of West Alabama Livingston, Ala. L; 56-63 Nov. 22 at University of West Florida Pensacola, Fla. L; 56-74 Nov. 26 at Mississippi College Clinton, Miss. L; 66-72 Nov. 28 University of West Alabama Home L; 61-65 Nov. 30 University of West Florida Home L; 75-86 Dec. 10 at University of Mobile Univ. of Mobile W; 74-64 Dec. 17 Williams Baptist College Home L; 53-88 Dec. 19 at University of South Alabama (Exhibition) USA Mitchell Center L; 50-71 Dec. 28 at Nicholls State University (Exhibition) Thibodaux, La. L; 64-88 Jan. 2 *Paine College Home W; 99-90 (OT) *at Fort Valley State University Fort Valley, Ga. W; vac. by FVSU Jan. 5 *at Albany State University Albany, Ga. W; 66-65 Jan. 7 Jan. 12 *at Tuskegee University Tuskegee, Ala. L; 67-85 Jan. 14 *Benedict College Home L; 72-88 Jan. 16 *Claflin University Home L; 54-67 Jan. 19 *Clark Atlanta University Home L; 70-73 Jan. 21 *Morehouse College Home W; 69-62 Jan. 26 *at Miles College Fairfield, Ala. L; 87-91 (OT) Jan. 28 *at Lane College Jackson, Tenn. L; 57-64 Jan. 30 *LeMoyne-Owen College Home W; 87-82 Feb. 4 *Central State University Home W; 78-54 Feb. 6 *Kentucky State University Home L; 77-81 Feb. 16 *at LeMoyne-Owen College Memphis, Tenn. W; 88-77 Wilberforce, Ohio L; 58-62 Feb. 18 *at Central State University Frankfort, Ky. W; 91-78 Feb. 20 *at Kentucky State University Feb. 23 *Lane College Home W; 64-60
*SIAC game
2016-17 SIAC FINAL STANDINGS Team
SIAC
Overall
Claflin
12-5
17-10
Benedict
12-5
17-12
East Division Clark Atlanta Morehouse
Fort Valley State Albany State Paine
West Division Lane
Spring Hill*
12-5 10-7 7-9
4-13 2-16 14-3
18-10 13-18 10-19 4-23
17-10
9-8
17-13
8-8
9-18
LeMoyne-Owen 8-9 Miles
21-12
10-19
Kentucky State
7-10
10-17
Central State
7-10
11-18
Tuskegee
6-10
8-19
*Not eligible for the SIAC Tournament during reclassification process.
2017-18 ROSTER
1
2
3
4
5
10
11
12
14
15
20
21
22
23
Andrew Dotson R-Sophomore
Daniel Keeler Junior
Jack Morrissey Senior
Gresyn Rogers Sophomore
Jared Holland Junior
Deandre Lacy Senior
Chase Shellman Junior
Quinn Sutton R-Sophomore
Brent Smith Freshman
Brandon Fischer Junior
24
William Loyd Sophomore
25
Jeffery Pharr R-Freshman
30
Ryan Littel R-Freshman
www.shcbadgers.com
Matevz Rojc Senior
Walter Massey Senior
Adnan Bajrami R-Freshman
Dwight Harris Junior
2017-18 SCHEDULE Date
Opponent
Site
Time
Nov. 5
at Samford University (Exhibition)
Birmingham, Ala.
7 p.m.
Nov. 10
vs. Union University (Tenn.)
Memphis, Tenn.
5:30 p.m.
SIAC/GSC Challenge; Memphis, Tenn.; Nov. 10-11 Nov. 11 Nov. 16 Nov. 17 Nov. 21 Nov. 24 Nov. 27 Nov. 30 Dec. 2 Dec. 8 Dec. 10 Dec. 13 Dec. 16 Dec. 18 Dec. 30 Jan. 1 Jan. 4 Jan. 6 Jan. 13 Jan. 15 Jan. 20 Jan. 22 Jan. 24 Jan. 27 Jan. 29 Feb. 3 Feb. 5 Feb. 12 Feb. 19 Feb. 21
vs. Shorter University Pensacola Christian College at Nicholls State University (Exhibition) University of West Florida at University of New Orleans (Exhibition) at University of Mobile *at Miles College *at Tuskegee University at Loyola University (La.) at University of West Florida Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) *at Claflin University *at Benedict College *Clark Atlanta University *Morehouse College *at Albany State University *at Fort Valley State University *at Lane College *at LeMoyne-Owen College *Kentucky State University *Central State University University of Mobile *Tuskegee University *Miles College *at Kentucky State University *at Central State University *Paine College *LeMoyne-Owen College *Lane College
*SIAC game
www.shcbadgers.com
Memphis, Tenn. Home Thibodaux, La. Home New Orleans, La. Univ. of Mobile Fairfield, Ala. Tuskegee, Ala. New Orleans, La. Pensacola, Fla. Home Orangeburg, S.C. Columbia, S.C. Home Home Albany, Ga. Fort Valley, Ga. Jackson, Tenn. Memphis, Tenn. Home Home Home Home Home Frankfort, Ky. Wilberforce, Ohio Home Home Home
2 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:05 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 3 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 8 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 3:30 p.m. (EST) 7:30 p.m. (EST) 4 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. (EST) 3 p.m. (EST) 4 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 4 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 4 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. (EST) 7:30 p.m. (EST ) 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.