INDIANAPOLIS – Trevecca Nazarene’s bid for its first men’s basketball tournament title was an entertaining ride as a senior-laden core carried the Trojans through 2015-16.
Unfortunately, the tough defeat in the championship game to Kentucky Wesleyan meant the Trojans and head coach Sam Harris will start somewhat from scratch in more ways than one.
Harris, now in his 24th season at the helm, welcomes a class of 10 new players to the roster, including eight freshmen.
TNU was picked to finish fifth in this year’s G-MAC Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour. Trevecca Nazarene finds itself in a similar situation as Ohio Valley and Alderson Broaddus coming into this year, needing to replace virtually all scoring output due to graduation.
Eight seniors, including 2015-16 G-MAC Player of the Year Byron Sanford, have moved on as Harris gets ready for the new season. But other big-time contributing names like Matt Gamberoni, Jalen Palm, Mac Walden, Slay Chol, Devonte’ Neal, Chris Elliott and Tyell Corlew, have all moved on.
The loss of Sanford was a big one. As a triple-double threat from 2013-16, he finished as the conference's second all-time leading scorer and first in steals and assists and third in rebounds. Gamberoni was a force on the interior, Palm was a heady and smart playmaker with a great assist-to-turnover ratio, Walden could make it rain from the outside (62 three-pointers made last year) and Tyrell Corlew could also shoot from deep as a slasher.
Harris and the Trojans finished last year at 16-15 and TNU led the league in three-point shooting.
“We’ve got some good looking freshmen; how they mature in everyday routine activities in terms of skill development may determine how we finish,” Harris said.
With last year’s eight seniors gone, the senior leadership role now rests on guard/forward Percy Blade (Western Kentucky transfer), and he’s a good one. For Blade’s impact to be felt on the floor, he will need to avoid the injury bug.
His junior season still resulted in being one of the team’s top five scorers and he finished third on the squad in rebounds. He is also pursuing his graduate degree this season in organizational leadership.
“Percy is key,” Harris said. “When he was healthy last year, we were 13-4. He was our glue guy. He did all the little things that allowed his teammates to do their thing on the floor within our system. I think this year he’s going to take on more added responsibility; his leadership skills will make us better.”
Junior Jacob Williams played in 29 games last season and was an all-freshman team pick in the league two years ago. His role could emerge as an upperclassman on the young roster.
Sophomore Donovan Donaldson should also be entrusted more with the keys to the offense as one of the few returners.
Watching the development of the newcomers will be exciting – it’s a sure thing that some will make their mark as contributors from the opening tip.
Harris is hoping to take a similar approach to the Cedarville model, a team that began last season with young players, but really matured and became a dangerous team to contend with down the stretch.