Why Tennessee State basketball coach Brian Collins called OVC preseason poll 'a guessing game'

Why Tennessee State basketball coach Brian Collins called OVC preseason poll ‘a guessing game’

Posted by Admin October 16, 2024 Basketball

What used to be a mundane task for college basketball coaches − making preseason predictions − has become almost impossible in the transfer portal era, according to Tennessee State men’s basketball coach Brian “Penny” Collins.

With so many new players entering programs each season coaches can no longer look back on the previous season to base their expectations.

TSU was picked by the Ohio Valley Conference coaches to finish fourth in the 2024-25 season Wednesday at basketball media day, which took place virtually.

“It’s a whole new league every year; it’s just a guessing game,” Collins said. “Little Rock is picked No. 1 and they’ve only got two starters back from last year’s team, which is more than most of the rest of us. Since they’ve got two you’ve got to pick them No. 1. That’s how crazy it is. Nobody knows how this thing is going to go.”

Collins, heading into his seventh season, has only one player − Knute Wood − back from last season’s team, which finished fifth in the OVC (18-15, 10-8), along with 12 newcomers. Wood, a sophomore guard, did not start last season but played in 25 games and averaged 2.3 points.

“Knute is my lone returner who has been with me three years,” Collins said. “Him, Justus Jackson and Khalil London were all named team captains and that says a lot about what they’ve done in the preseason and how our team respects them.”

Jackson is a guard who began his career at Hawaii then played last season at UT Martin. He started in UT Martin’s first game against TSU last season and had nine points and three rebounds in the Skyhawks’ 91-75 victory.

London is a guard who transferred from College of Charleston. He saw action in every game but one for the Cougars and scored a career-high 14 points against Hampton.

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Collins said this year’s team has more size and length than last year with nine of the newcomers being 6-foot-6 or taller. That includes Josh Ogundele, a 7-foot transfer from Middle Tennessee State who played at Iowa earlier in his career, JC Brooks, a 6-10 freshman from Alberta, Canada, and Ahmir Langlais, a 6-9 graduate student from USC Upstate.

The rest of the teams in the OVC prediction, in order: Western Illinois, Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Morehead State, Eastern Illinois, Southeast Missouri, Southern Indiana, Lindenwood, UT Martin and Tennessee Tech.

Tennessee State women’s basketball team picked 10th in OVC

The Tennessee State women’s basketball team, under first-year coach Candice Dupree, was picked to finish 10th in the OVC. The Tigers were eighth last season with an 11-19, 7-11 record.

Dupree, a seven-time WNBA All-Star, came from the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs where she was an assistant coach. She is installing a more up-tempo style of play, which is different from what the Tigers used last season.

“Adjusting to the system that I want to implement has not been easy for them, but they’ve responded well,” Dupree said. “We will not be pressing full court defensively for 40 minutes. We’ve done a lot with regard to shooting and being able to knock down the three.”

Senior guard Seniah Parker, a three-year starter, returns for TSU after averaging 9.9 points and 5.4 rebounds last season along with senior forward Lyric Cole, who transferred from Austin Peay in 2022 and been a two-year starter.

The OVC women’s basketball predictions included, in order, Southern Indiana, UT Martin, Eastern Illinois, Tennessee Tech, Little Rock, Western Illinois, Lindenwood, SIUE, Morehead State and Southeast Missouri.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.