Southern Conference 2003-04 Recap
The 2003-2004 basketball season for the Southern conference began with a conference realignment that separated rivals between Chattanooga and Charleston and ETSU and Davidson. For 2004-2005, it is possible that none of these traditional Southern Conference powerhouses finish in the top five. Charleston was hit by graduation hard last season after finishing 19-11. Chattanooga lost head coach Jeff Lebo to Auburn. East Tennessee State loses two primary players and Davidson returns a lot of talent but finished just 17-12 last season.
In 2003-2004, the league was centered all around diminutive star Tim Smith, who led ETSU to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. And in that appearance, Smith almost led ETSU to a huge first round upset of Cincinnati. The regular season featured a surprise team in Elon, which battled back from a horrendous start to finish tied for third in its first season in the conference. Appalachian State was the major disappointment, finishing sixth in the North Division despite significant preseason hype.
Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals
#1N East Tennessee State 94 #4S Furman 84
Tim Smith picked up right where he left off from last season’s SoCon Tournament. The 2003 MVP scored a team-high 24 points and had 4 steals to lead ETSU to a 94-84 victory over Furman.
#2S Davidson 68 #3N Elon 61
Elon, who finished the season strong, looked like it would become the Cinderella of the SoCon tournament. Having rallied late in the season to secure the 3 seed in the North, the Phoenix then moved past The Citadel and appears to have Davidson’s number in their Quarterfinal contest. But a late rally by Davidson squashed Elon’s hopes.
#2N Chattanooga 89 #3S Charleston 79
Although it won’t go in the books as an upset, very few people in North Charleston expected the College of Charleston to be going home in the Quarterfinals of the 2004 SoCon Tournament, the first time since 2001 in which they did not make the semi-finals.
Chattanooga, down seven at the break, outscored the Cougars 54-36 in the second half, and they did so with a three-point barrage. The two teams combined for 25 three-pointers,
#1S Georgia Southern 82 #5S Wofford 69
A very tough Georgia Southern defense held Wofford in check.
Semi-Finals
No. 1N East Tennessee State 96 No. 2S Davidson 84
Tim Smith proved once again that he is a big game player and ETSU overcame both foul and injury problems to advance to the SoCon Championship game with a 96-84 victory over Davidson. Smith tied a career-high with 29 points and finished with 9 assists and 5 steals.
No. 2N Tennessee Chattanooga 90 No. 1S Georgia Southern 87 (OT)
You might as well call Chattanooga the “Comeback Kids.” One night after rallying from 14 down to beat College of Charleston, the Mocs found themselves down 27-8 early on against Georgia Southern, yet they were able to come back and send the game in overtime. Ashley Champion scored 8 of his 20 points in the extra session to push his team to victory and a rematch with ETSU in the SoCon Championship game.
No. 1N East Tennessee State 78 No. 2N Chattanooga 62 Championship games have a tendency to bring out the best in a player. They say that “Big time players make big time plays in big time games,” and that is what makes a champion.”
Introducing Tim Smith.
For the second year in a row, the sophomore guard from ETSU was voted the SoCon Tournament MVP as he led the Buccaneers back to the NCAA Tournament by helping to defeat Chattanooga 78-62. Smith finished the game with 25 points and 6 rebounds, and on the tournament averaged 25.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 3.3 steals per game. Smith was voted Tournament MVP on every ballot that was turned in.
NCAA Tournament
13th seed ETSU – The diminutive Tim Smith (5-foot-9) scored 26 points in winning over a neutral crowd in an 80-77 first-round loss to Cincinnati. It was the second year in a row that ETSU narrowly missed scoring a huge upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2003, Smith missed a three-pointer in the waning seconds that would have put the Bucs ahead of No. 2 seed Wake Forest.
SoCon Post-Season Awards
Coaches
East Tennessee State’s Zakee Wadood was voted as the SoCon 2003-2004 Player of the Year according to the coaches. Wadood averages 14.8 points a game and a league-high 7.8 rebounds and 2.83 steals. This is Wadood’s third selection to the All-Conference team, and the first ETSU player to win POY since Dimeco Childress in 2001-2002.
Joining Wadood on the All-Conference team include teammates Tim Smith and Jerald Fields, Georgia Southern’s Frank Bennett and Terry Williams, Thomas Mobley (Charleston), Kevin Martin (Western Carolina), Brendan Winters (Davidson), Ashley Champion (Chattanooga), and Maleye Ndoye (Furman).
First-year head coach Murry Bartow was voted as the leagues Coach of the Year. Bartow took over for Ed DeChellis, who left for Penn State before the beginning of last season. Bartow led the Buccaneers to a 24-5 regular season record, 15-1 in conference, and the 2003-2004 regular season SoCon championship.
Furman placed three players on the SoCon All-Freshman team including Freshman of the Year, Quan Prowell. Prowell is second amongst freshman scorers at 10.1 points per game. Prowell is joined by teammates Moussa Diagne and Robby Bostain, Elon’s Matt Nowlin, and from The Citadel, J’mel Everhart.
Media
For once, the coaches and media were on the same page, as the Southern Conference Sports Media Association voted ETSU’s Zakee Wadood as the 2003-2004 SoCon Player of the Year. Wadood, Tim Smith (ETSU), Kevin Martin (WC), Brendan Winters (Dav), and Ashley Champion (UTC) make up the 1st Team All-Conference. Amongst the top 10 players, the only difference between the media had from the coaches was the inclusion of Elon’s Jackson Atoyebi instead of Terry Williams from Georgia Southern.
The media also voted Quan Prowell (Furman) and Murry Bartow (ETSU) as Freshman and Coach of the Year respectively.
Team by Team Recaps
ETSU (27-5, 15-1)
With Smith back, the Bucs are very dangerous. The do lose Zakee Wadood and Jerald Fields, both of whom served as diversions to Smith’s attack.
Team MVP: Tim Smith
Top Scorer: Tim Smith, 16.4
Top Rebounder: Zakee Wadood, 7.8
Top Assists: Tim Smith, 4.4
Chattanooga (19-11, 10-6)
Gone is Jeff Lebo, the talented coach of Chattanooga, who took a position at Auburn. Lebo had been on the top of the many potential coaching lists for some time, so it is no surprise that he is gone. In his place is the energetic Jeff Shulman. He’ll need former role players Mindaugas Katelynas and Chris Brown to step up.
Team MVP: Ashley Champion
Top Scorer: Ashley Champion, 18.4
Top Rebounder: Ashley Champion, 7.0
Top Assists: Ray Trowell, 4.8
Elon University (7-9, 12-18)
With four starters returning to a team that finished strong, the Phoenix feel like they can compete with the upper division.
Team MVP: Jackson Atoyebi,
Top Scorer: Jackson Atoyebi, 15.9
Top Rebounder: Jackson Atoyebi, 7.7
Top Assists: Montell Watson, 3.5
UNC Greensboro (11-16, 7-9)
Ronnie Burrell returns as the star for UNC Greensboro. The rising star scored 20 or more points in seven games last season and leads the Spartans into the 2004-2005 season.
Team MVP: Ronnie Burrell
Top Scorer: Jay Joseph
Top Rebounder: Ronnie Burrell
Top Assists: Ronnie Taylor, 5.2
Western Carolina (13-15, 6-10)
No team suffered a greater loss in the Southern Conference than when the Sacremento Kings nabbed Kevin Martin and his 25 ppg average in the first round of the NBA draft. Perhaps a more balanced attack will lead to a better finish than fifth this season.
Team MVP: Kevin Martin
Top Scorer: Kevin Martin, 25.2
Top Rebounder: David Berghoefer, 7.5
Top Assists: Greg Taylor 2.7
Appalachian State (9-20, 4-12)
ASU lost 10 games last season by eight points or less. But the return of four starters gives the team hope that it can improve on that record.
Team MVP: Noah Brown
Top Scorer: Noah Brown, 13.1
Top Rebounder: Derek Thomas, 5.2
Top Assists: Corwin Davis 3.1
Georgia Southern (21-8, 11-5)
Frank Bennett is no longer around to be the inside presence for Georgia Southern, who has won three out of the last four South Division titles. The team will look to its outstanding guard tandem of Elton Nesbitt and Terry Williams to lead the way.
Team MVP: Frank Bennett
Top Scorer: Frank Bennett, 15.4
Top Rebounder: Jean Francois, 6.7
Top Assists: Terry Williams 5.4
College of Charleston (20-9, 11-5)
This team has found a way to pick up 20 wins in 11 consecutive seasons. Despite losing a lot to graduation, it will be no surprise if guard Tony Mitchell leads this team to another excellent record.
Team MVP: Thomas Mobley
Top Scorer: Thomas Mobley, 15.4
Top Rebounder: Mike Benton, 6.7
Top Assists: Tony Mitchell 4.0
Davidson (16-12, 11-5)
Three of the four returning starters for Davidson averaged in double figures last season. This trio could lead the Wildcats to another South Division championship.
Team MVP: Brendan Winters
Top Scorer: Brendan Winters, 18.2
Top Rebounder: Logan Kosmalski, 7.2
Top Assists: Kenny Grant 3.3
Furman (16-12, 8-8)
This club will look to its youth to bring it to the next level. Nearly 50 percent of Furman’s scoring last season came from its freshmen class.
Team MVP: Maleye Ndoye
Top Scorer: Maleye Ndoye, 15.5
Top Rebounder: Nick Sanders, 6.1
Top Assists: Tony Carter, 3.7
Wofford (9-20, 4-12)
Another team built on youth last season, Wofford returns its top seven scorers.
Team MVP: Howard Wilkerson
Top Scorer: Howard Wilkerson, 13.5
Top Rebounder: Howard Wilkerson, 7.5
Top Assists: Greg Taylor, 2.7
The Citadel (6-22, 2-14)
Despite a woeful 2003-2004, The Citadel has much to look forward to in the new year. Its roster is made up of more than 60 percent freshmen and sophomores.
Team MVP: Max Mombollet
Top Scorer: Dante Terry, 11.3
Top Rebounder: J’mel Everhart, 7.0
Top Assists: Kevin Hammack, 4.5
