After a poor season last year, 3-13 conference record and 8-24 record overall, five players from the 2013-2014 roster transferred to new schools, four graduated and one was dismissed from the team. Of these ten players four out of five of them were starters last season.
With such a large turnover, head coach Jayson Gee said they had “basically a whole new team” this year. However, he’s confident the change is for the better.
“The turnover’s going to make us stronger because we’ve increased our talent level,” said Gee.
Finishing in sixth place in the North Division of the Big South Conference last year did not give them automatic entry into the quarterfinals of the postseason tournament. The last four teams of each division—North versus South—faced off in the first round where Longwood lost to the South Division’s No. 3 seed Gardner Webb University.
One of the four voted team captains, sophomore forward Damarion Geter said he was excited to see what happens this season and “ready to improve on last season.”
In order to improve, two players are expected to make an impact on the team after both were redshirted during last season due to an NCAA transfer rule.
Captain senior guard Quincy Taylor, a transfer from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, started for most of his sophomore year prior to a knee injury, is anticipated to have an effect on the court.
“Quincy Taylor, who sat out last year and learned our system and worked extremely hard to become the lead point guard. He’s had a great summer of training and he’s got a great attitude,” Gee said. “I expect him to be one of the better point guards in the Big South Conference.”
Also, junior forward/center Lotanna Nwogbo, a transfer from Tulane University, has the ability make an impression.
“He sat out last year, got a chance to learn the system as well, and has become a dominant force inside as the preseason goes. My plan and hope is that he can continue that once we start playing games this weekend,” said Gee.
Aside from these two previously redshirted players, five other players return from next year including last season’s regular starter, junior guard Leron Fisher. Also, Geter and sophomore guard Darrion Allen return after earning a few starts and a lot of minutes last year.
“Where they [Fisher, Geter and Allen] really bring us an advantage is that they’ve got a whole year under their belt in our system, which is a productive thing,” said Gee.
With the new players, Gee said the team’s depth has improved, along with their talent and athleticism, allowing them to play his style of basketball involving “pace, pressure, [and] attack,” characteristics to define them.
“I think that it’s important in any organization that you develop a culture or an identity,” said Gee. “Our identity is playing defense, playing hard, [and] playing tough.”
These qualities will be important in their performance in their upcoming exhibition game against Division III school, Hampden Sydney College, on Saturday, Nov. 8.
Hampden Sydney has earned eight Div. III NCAA Tournament appearances in the past 15 years, one of which was in 2013. Last season they finished as runner-ups in their conference tournament.
“They own this town and deservedly so with all the championships they’ve won and the great success they’ve had… we’re not just playing against their players. We’re playing against a confidence and a lot of success,” said Gee.
With the new season comes a new opportunity to gain respect, which is a goal for the team, according to Gee.
“I believe we’ve established some relevancy. This season’s about the second stage and that is we’ve got to garner some respect,” said Gee. “The way you garner some respect is we [have] to win some more games and we’re focused on doing everything we can to make that happen.”
In describing how he thinks the season will be, the fourth captain Tyler Akers, senior guard, said it would be exciting and different from previous seasons, summarizing Gee’s thoughts as well.
“We’ve got a great team, great chemistry, a lot of athletes, a lot of leadership, pretty deep, and we’re really just looking forward to getting it going.”
