Running up that (Chapel) Hill

North Carolina finalized a daunting noncon schedule and Saint Louis got a nice point guard late. Plus, a look at Bob Richey's encore at Furman

Author

Sean Paul
August 10, 2023

It’s shocking and sad to read about the wildfires devastating Hawai’i right now, especially on Maui. We’re thinking about everyone there. A basketball tournament obviously is far from what matters right now, but it’s hard not to wonder about what happens with the 2023 Maui Invitational. Something for another day. Right now, let’s hope people can get to safety.

Onto the rest of Wednesday’s news.

1. UNC’s challenging path to success

North Carolina finished last season 20-13 and missed the 2023 NCAA Tournament. But instead of loading up the 2023-24 non-conference with cupcakes, coach Hubert Davis did the opposite.

This is a bold schedule.

Sure, those first three games should be a breeze, but once the Heels hit the Battle 4 Atlantis — where they’ll face Northern Iowa (perhaps the MVC’s best team this season), the winner of Texas Tech/Villanova, then likely Memphis or Arkansas — this is a monster schedule.

  • Nov. 29 vs. Tennessee

  • Dec. 5 vs. UConn (at MSG)

  • Dec. 11 vs. Kentucky (in Atlanta)

  • Dec. 20 vs. Oklahoma (in Charlotte)

That’s four straight games against the reigning national champion, two potential top-25 caliber teams, and another NCAA Tournament hopeful, all before Christmas.

This is an admirable schedule. Nobody would’ve blamed Davis if he scheduled a bunch of games against sub-200 KenPom teams to boost the overall record.

Instead, he learned from scheduling mistakes in his first season as head coach in 2021-22. It took until February 2022 against Duke for UNC to pick up its first Quad 1 victory of the season. Last season didn’t have many games of note, either, except for PK85. So consider this schedule a series of Quad 1 opportunities that guard against any potential ACC issues and provide a more robust résumé when Selection Sunday rolls around.

2. Meet me in St. Louis

Many teams have either wrapped up foreign tours or are doing that now. And some are still making moves in the transfer portal. Like Saint Louis.

The Billikens hauled in the Portland transfer, who was heading to Cal until the Pac-12 fell apart.

The 6-2 guard averaged 11.0 points, 2.7 assists and efficiently shot 45% from the field and 35% from downtown on healthy volume.

Saint Louis was looking to upgrade its point guard situation after Yuri Collins left for the pros — leaving Sincere Parker and Cian Medley as the only point guard options until landing Meadows. He shouldn’t have much issue making the switch to the Atlantic 10, as he faced comparable teams while at Eastern Washington and Portland.

The Billikens will rely on Meadows to help star scorer Gibson Jimerson get clean looks from the perimeter and become a reliable second-scoring option. The overall roster might not have the same shine as the past few years, but Travis Ford has won at least 20 games in four of the past five seasons and should be in position to do so again.

That wasn’t the lone recruiting news, though.

Chicago State, take a bow.

The Bewleys were the first players to officially join Overtime Elite back in 2021, which has since developed multiple NBA players. And now they’re headed to a program that routinely plays on the road because it doesn’t have a conference. So consider this a massive recruiting win for the Cougars and coach Gerald Gillion.

If the twins are eligible. They committed to Overtime Elite before the NIL legislation was passed — and playing for Overtime Elite while making money was a no-go for the NCAA when it happened. For Chicago State’s sake, let’s see if the NCAA can make an exception.

3. Furman isn’t going away

It took over 30 years for Furman to make the NCAA Tournament again. Can the Paladins make it back-to-back runs to the Big Dance?

The road won’t be easy without Jalen Slawson and Mike Bothwell, but the foundation coach Bob Richey set in place is key. Furman boasts solid player development, even in the portal era. Slawson, Bothwell and other former players Jordan Lyons, Matt Rafferty and Clay Mounce went from playing bench roles as freshmen to becoming all-conference selections later.

That’s where Alex Williams comes in. He averaged 6.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, and shot 35.9 percent from 3 in only 15 minutes last season. But he could be the stretch-4/rebounder Richey covets.

The Paladins also need shooting. Presumptive starting guards JP Pegues (who hit the game-winner against Virginia) and Lee University transfer PJay Smith both need to be consistent shooters. Smith shot over 44% from deep at Lee University, while Pegues hit 33% beyond the arc. Pegues will have a completely different role as a junior, putting an emphasis on scoring instead of distribution. How he handles being THE scoring option will be something to watch.

There isn’t a clear favorite in the Southern Conference, which means Richey’s squad should be able to have a chance at back-to-back berths in the tourney. That’d be a helluva thing for a program coming off a memorable March.

Savage mode

Brooks Savage’s first job as a head coach is at a place he knows well — East Tennessee State, where he was an assistant from 2015-2020. He talks with Terrence Oglesby about why that move made sense, and how the Bucs could be a program to be reckoned with, similar to how they were when Savage was an assistant under Steve Forbes.

Links as you make that Almanac purchase.

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