Samford Men’s Basketball Preview: Part I
To quote the legendary Bruce Buffer, “It’s time!” Yes Bruce, it’s basketball time, or around this city, it’s Bucky Ball time. Year four of the Bucky McMillan era is just a week away from the season opener against the #3 Purdue Boilermakers. Before we talk about this year, a quick recap of last season. The reigning SoCon media Coach of the Year, McMillan has brought energy and life into Samford basketball and last season this team exceeded expectations.
Samford finished last season with a 21-11 overall record and a 15-3 Southern Conference record. The Bulldogs shared the SoCon regular season title with the mighty Furman Paladins, but were bounced in the first round of the SoCon Tournament by the 7 seed Chattanooga. Still, a massive stride forward. Over the last two seasons, Samford is 25-11 in conference play. Before Bucky’s arrival, the last time Samford finished with an above .500 conference record was 2007. That was in the Ohio Valley Conference. He has now done that in consecutive seasons.
In the year before Bucky took over, Samford was ranked 321st in the country per KenPom. Samford finished last season ranked at 136th. To make that jump in just three years is insane and that is the Bucky Ball effect.
Image courtesy of Samford Athletics
What might unfold this season? Well this Samford team should be very good again albeit with some question marks. Let’s start with who is not here anymore, the Bulldogs top two leading scorers are gone. PG Ques Glover transferred to BYU and now to Kansas State (BYU’s NIL package did not materialize), C Logan Dye has graduated and is playing professionally in Finland. G Bubba Parham has also graduated and he started 31 of 32 games. Another contributor in backup PG Jaron Rillie transferred to Northern Colorado for a starting role that he was not going to get at Samford.
Glover missed a good part of last season with a knee injury but still finished as the team’s leading scorer. However, some could argue that Glover leaving is addition by subtraction. Ques had a negative assist-turnover ratio last season and also had the highest usage rate on the team over the last two seasons, finishing over 30% of Samford’s offensive possessions. Without Glover, this Samford team will have to be more of a balanced unit and likely will not rely as much on isolations. The pieces that Bucky brought in this offseason show that to be the case. McMillan brought in five transfers along with three very skilled freshman recruits.
While Glover and Dye may be gone, star F Jermaine Marshall is back. G/F AJ Staton-McCray is back. Contributors F Nathan Johnson and F Achor Achor return as well. This team has the potential to match last year’s success, but we will just have to see how the new pieces mesh with the returning group. Let’s get into my projected starters and other rotation pieces that will help Samford in their quest to repeat last season’s success.
Projected Starters
Guard - Rylan Jones (Graduate, Utah State transfer)
Jones played the last two years at Utah State after starting out at Utah. He started 10 games last season before missing the rest of the season due to injury. Jones won Mr. Basketball in Utah in back-to-back seasons. He has played a lot of basketball and is a veteran player who can excel on and off the ball. In the 2021-2022 season, Jones averaged 4.5 assists per game which was the most by a Utah State point guard in 15 years.
Guard - Garrett Hicks (Graduate, Alabama A&M transfer)
Hicks is another experienced guard who started 103 of 104 games at AAMU in four seasons. He led the Bulldogs last year in points per game while shooting 42.5% from three. Samford saw Hicks up close last season when he finished with 14 points up in Huntsville. I see a lot of Bubba Parham in Hicks as he can create his own shot while also being an off-ball knock down shooter. Hicks will be an exciting player to watch.
Guard - AJ Staton-McCray (Junior)
If I had to pick one guy, AJ Staton-McCray can be the X-factor for this team. After playing in just three games in ‘21-’22, Staton-McCray missed just one last season. On the offensive end, he is comfortable with the ball in his hands and is able to get to the rim consistently. On defense, his long wingspan helps him guard any ball handler. AJ led the SoCon in steals per game with 1.8 and his steal percentage per KenPom was top five in conference play.
Forward - Jermaine Marshall (Senior)
The lone Samford member on the Preseason All-SoCon team is the unquestioned star and leader for this team. The improvement Marshall has made in his three-point shooting is remarkable. In the 2021-2022 season, Marshall shot 29% from deep. Last season, he shot 38% overall and 42% in SoCon play, which ranked second in the entire league. He is also one of the best rebounders in the conference and is ultra intense on the defensive end. This is his team.
Image courtesy of Samford Athletics
Forward - Achor Achor (Junior)
The preseason talk of Achor Achor has me intrigued and skeptical at the same time. In talking with Bucky McMillan, he mentioned to me that Achor has improved immensely from last season in every facet. The game has slowed down and will be a true stretch five. Last season, you could tell that the game was moving fast as he also got into foul trouble quickly. Per KenPom, Achor committed 7.8 fouls per 40 minutes as he only averaged 14.4 minutes per game. If Achor can limit the fouls and be everything Bucky says he can be, watch out.
Stay tuned for part two coming on Wednesday where we will get into the team’s reserves and go over the schedule for the upcoming season.
