Wofford’s Men’s Basketball Season Starts Tonight. Here’s What To Watch For:

In two of the three seasons the Wofford men’s basketball program has called the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium home, the Terriers took the court on opening night in front of sell-out crowds.

In 2017, the Terriers hosted the South Carolina Gamecocks, fresh off of their Final Four run. The next year, North Carolina Tar Heels came to town. As a relative old-timer like myself – I can remember NAIA days and games in Andrews Field House – a home game against UNC was almost a surreal experience. But it will be an even more surreal—and different—atmosphere when Wofford takes on Toccoa Falls this Wednesday for its home opener:

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the stands in the JRIS will be empty through at least November and December.  Games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Wofford Digital Radio Network, and the possibility of in-person attendance starting in January will be reevaluated in the weeks ahead.

Still – perhaps as much as in 2017 and 2018, and maybe to an even greater extent – there is a sense of celebration: We are set to have a basketball season!

Having gone without Southern Conference football this fall – not to mention all the other ways the pandemic has upended life as we knew it before – it feels good to have a Terrier team to follow, whether we can be there in person or not.  And, as I see it, there’s plenty of reason to be excited about the upcoming season.

In some ways, it feels like the true start of the Jay McAuley era.

My sense is that, leading up to last season, many Wofford fans were still on a bit of a high from the previous team’s success: Fletcher Magee breaking the 3-point record, the team’s undefeated sweep of the SoCon, the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win, and the chatter in some corners focusing on Mike Young’s new gig in the ACC.

Meanwhile, four of last season’s starters had played significant minutes during the historic 2018-2019 run in Young’s last year as head coach. The fifth starter, Trevor Stumpe, redshirted in 2019 but had been a key contributor the year before. With the graduation of Magee and Cameron Jackson, as well as the departure of Keve Aluma, who followed Young to Virginia Tech, everyone understood that a second consecutive SoCon championship would be a tall order. It looked to be a year of transition, even as the team was led by a group of veterans from the Mike Young era.

In reality, of course, last year’s team was very much McAuley’s team. He and his staff get credit for leading the program to a solid 19-win season that ended with an appearance in the conference tournament title game.

2019-2020 was a season where the Terriers faced some serious personnel challenges. In particular, the loss of Aluma left Wofford’s frontcourt thin, to say the least, with little margin for error in terms of injury, in-game fatigue, or foul trouble.

The staff designed a four-guard lineup and fast-paced offensive attack that, while limited when shots weren’t falling, produced some thrilling wins: beating UNC for the second time in Chapel Hill (I was there, in old Carmichael Auditorium: a fabulous time!), a dominating win at home against Furman, an excellent performance in the tournament that sent Furman (who’d had its best season in a good long time) home, the last-second thriller against UT-Chattanooga to send Wofford to the tournament championship.

Even in the midst of a seven-game losing streak that had to have been demoralizing for all involved, it seemed to me that McAuley’s players hung together, worked hard, and kept believing in one another – as evidenced by the strong finish in Asheville. McAuley and his team were tested, to say the least, and finished the season with plenty for everyone to feel good about.

Still, this season feels like a new chapter for Wofford basketball. Key players have moved on, including last season’s leading scorer, Nathan Hoover, and big man Chevy Goodwin, who took the graduate transfer route to Southern Cal. Nine of the 15 players on this year’s team were recruited by McAuley and his assistant coaches. Storm Murphy is the only returning player who was a starter on the 2018-2019 championship team.

So what to expect? More than any season in recent memory, it’s truly hard to say. And that’s one of the reasons I’m really excited.

Here are some questions to ask as we watch this year:

How Will Storm Murphy Expand His Game? Will He Even Need To?

Starting Guard Storm Murphy, a senior and preseason all-conference pick, will be counted on for leadership and likely an expanded role as a scorer. In his first two seasons at point guard, the clear objective was to figure out ways to get shots for Magee, Jackson, and Hoover. Last season, he took and made more shots, averaging nearly 12 points a game. Still, Hoover was the clear go-to guy. It’ll be interesting to see if Murphy can look to score more while still managing ball-handling duties and getting teammates involved in the offense. He’s shown an ability to get into the lane and score – the winning shot against UTC in Asheville last year comes to mind – and we may see him attack defenses more aggressively this season.

Tray Hollowell, Sixth Man No More?

Tray Hollowell, a senior, will have the opportunity to step up as a team leader and go-to scorer. He’s had a bit of an up-and-down career, but at times has been outstanding. Hollowell is strong and athletic and has terrific range as a shooter. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him emerge as a major force in league play.

How Will Ryan Larson Continue To Grow?

Ryan Larson, admired for his fearless defensive play and ability to draw charges, was generally quiet on offense during his first two seasons. But he’s shown ability to hit shots, and the team may need him to look to score more in his junior year.

Is Messiah Jones Ready To Take Command?

In the frontcourt, the loss of Chevy Goodwin hurts. He brought a special combination of height, quickness, and good hands. The good news is that Wofford should have more options overall in the paint this year.

First of all, there’s Messiah Jones. Highly regarded as a recruit out of nationally respected Simeon High School, in Chicago, Jones redshirted as a freshman in 2018-2019. He played a key role last season, backing up Goodwin at center. At 6-6, Jones is a little undersized as a post player – but he more than makes up for it with strength, quickness, and an unusual ability to attack the rim from different angles. He somewhat reminiscent of the great Noah Dahlman. To say that Jones has tremendous potential is, to me, understatement.

How Will the Loss of Isaiah Bigelow Affect The Team?

Reports are that Isaiah Bigelow is likely out for the year with an ACL injury. If so, it’s a major blow. Bigelow redshirted as a true freshman before playing significant minutes as a backup last season. At 6-7, with a silky smooth jump shot, he helped both on the wing and in the paint and at times appeared to possess as much raw talents as anyone on the team. A breakout season in 2020-2021 seemed like a strong possibility. It’s got to be a huge disappointment for Bigelow, and we hope for a full recovery and good times ahead.

Will Appelgren’s Role Expand?

David Appelgren, the 7-1 center from Sweden, played sparingly last season, sometimes due to injury and sometimes due to inexperience. He’s had time to add strength and adjust to the speed of Division I college basketball. As seven-foot players are a rarity for Wofford Basketball, Appelgren’s size will be a valuable asset to the team this season. We’re all hoping Appelgren continues to grow into his potential.

Who Are These New Guys?

By all accounts, Wofford’s recruiting in recent years has been on the upswing. The program’s success over the past decade has brought name recognition and credibility. And the opening of the new arena has almost certainly provided a real boost. It can be difficult to know how recruiting classes in the Southern Conference measure up. In the ACC and other major conferences, recruits can be compared based on national rankings and head-to-head matchups in tournaments and all-star games, and a handful of incoming players each year are clearly elite prospects. By comparison, Southern Conference recruits tend to be somewhat under the radar. And it’s not clear to me how often league coaches are in direct competition to land the same players – the way, say, Duke and UNC and Kentucky are all courting, or have at least thoroughly vetted, the top few dozen high school players each year.

All that said, there’s an air of excitement about the young talent in the Wofford program. A trio of freshmen – Morgan Safford, Max Klesmit and Keaton Turner – will all vie for playing time on the perimeter.

The Wofford athletic department recently posted a nice video to Twitter (by the way, the men’s basketball Twitter feed is very much worth following) in which McAuley praises Safford, who redshirted last season, as “a guy who will…fill the stat sheet.”

Turner is known for his quickness and shooting ability. As for Klesmit, when he signed with the program last fall, the coach said, “(W)e expect Max to step right in and be that next great Wofford guard.” High praise, to be sure, as McAuley has been around a few great Wofford guards.

At post, Messiah Jones will have lots of help with some new faces. Freshmen Sam Godwin and Nick Pringle, both in the 6-8/6-9 range, are by all accounts tough, athletic, and versatile. And BJ Mack, a 6-8 transfer from University of South Florida brings strength – he weighs in at 250 pounds – and experience at the Division I level.

How Will COVID-19 (Further) Impact the Season?

In preseason coaches and media polls, Wofford was picked to finish in the Southern Conference. UNC-Greensboro, Furman, and ETSU are expected to the lead the league. A wildcard for every team in college basketball this season will be COVID-19. An outbreak could limit practice routines or sideline key players for multiple games, while a serious spike in cases may yet derail the season as currently scheduled.

In any case, with six newcomers looking to contribute and a coaching staff settling into just its second season, there are plenty of unknowns with this edition of Wofford basketball. There’s also the refreshing sense of a new chapter unfolding. I’m looking forward to watching.