Newberry picked to finish eighth in preseason poll
NEWBERRY, S.C. (Newberry College) – The Newberry College men’s basketball team was picked eighth in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Poll, the conference announced Wednesday (November 4).
Despite losing three of their starting five from last season, the Newberry College men’s basketball team enters the 2020-21 season with plenty of experience. The Wolves finished last season 14-15 overall and 10-12 in the South Atlantic Conference.
Gone from the starting lineup is AJ Sales, who led the SAC in rebounds per game last year, Luke Gibson, who was second in the conference in three-point percentage and was the SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, as well as Marshall Lange. However, the Wolves do return two of their starters from last season with QuanDaveon McCollum, who finished 11th in the conference in rebounds per game, and TJ Brown, who was second on the team in scoring. Also returning is Marcus Ford, who was the team’s spark off the bench, playing in every game and edging Gibson to lead the conference in three-point shooting percentage. Jalen Johnson and Callen Low also return after serving as key players off the bench last season, averaging almost 14 minutes per game.
Robin Bedford, Tai Giger, and Kyle Tierney did not see much time last season, but the coaching staff expects great things from them this season. The Wolves also brought in eight new players this year, including six freshmen and two transfers. The coaching staff feels confident that freshmen Malakhi Stermlow, Luke Seals, Logan Bott, Zach Shumate, Ma’Lik Joseph, and Wesley Brown will all be good players during their time at Newberry. The staff also expects a couple of those freshmen to play significant minutes this season. The Wolves also added some size to their roster with transfers Jason Cudd and Damajae Hicks Hicks is a 6’9 center who played and Caldwell Community College as a freshman. Cudd is a 7’1 center who played his sophomore season at Olney Central Community College and played his freshman year at the University of South Carolina.
“I am excited about coaching this group. We have solid returners that played big roles for us last year in Marcus Ford, TJ Brown, Dayy Dayy McCollum, Callan Low, and Jalen Johnson, said head coach Jason Taylor. “We have returners that didn’t play much last season that we expect great thigs from this year like Robin Bedford, Tai Giger, and Kyle Tierney. We have two transfers in Jason Cudd and Damajae Hicks that we expect great things from.”
“Jason, who after recovering from Covid is still working his way back conditioning wise. He could make a huge immediate impact for us. He gives us size unlike few teams have as well as he’s a great communicator defensively, and he has a nice skill set. I am very confident that a couple of our freshmen will play consistently this season and play consistently well for us. We also have other guys on our roster that are working extremely hard, getting better every single day, and will be good players for us during their time here.”
The Wolves open their season November 21st as they travel to Harrogate, Tenn. to take on preseason favorite and #3 ranked Lincoln Memorial.
