The 2021-22 ASUN men’s basketball season will have a new look as three new teams join the league in Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, and Central Arkansas. The conference will also move to divisional play with two divisions of six teams each. Liberty will be looking for an unprecedented fourth straight ASUN championship.
It’s never too early to start looking ahead to next season. Here’s an early look at our projected ASUN standings for next season, as well as projected starting lineups.
1. Liberty
G Drake Dobbs
G Darius McGhee
G Keegan McDowell
F Kyle Rode
F Blake Preston
Key Losses: Elijah Cuffee, Chris Parker
Key Newcomers: Brody Peebles, Joseph Venzant
Outlook: The Flames reloaded during their expected rebuilding 2020-21 season and still won the ASUN Championship. As long as Ritchie McKay is the head coach, Liberty should be expected to compete for ASUN championships.
2. Bellarmine
G Juston Betz
G Dylan Penn
G Alec Pfriem
F Pedro Bradshaw
F Nick Thelen
Key Losses: C.J. Fleming, Ethan Claycomb
Key Newcomers: Ben Johnson, Ayden Mudd, Curt Hopf
Outlook: Bellarmine took the ASUN by storm this season, entering the final weekend of the regular season in first place in the conference before falling at home to Liberty. The Knights were upset in the first round of the ASUN Tournament and continue to be ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, but they have proven that they will be successful at this level.
3. Eastern Kentucky
G Cooper Robb
G Curt Lewis
G Devontae Blanton
F Michael Moreno
F Tre King
Key Losses: Peyton Broughton, Cameron Carmical, Cheikh Faye, JacQuess Hobbs, Brandon Knapper, Russhard Cruickshank, Wendell Green, Jr
Key Newcomers: Dashawn Jackson
Outlook: The Colonels finished 22-7 overall and 15-5 in the OVC this past season, the third for head coach A.W. Hamilton. EKU returns four starters as they will look to compete for a championship in the first season in the conference.
4. Lipscomb
G KJ Johnson
G Greg Jones
G Jake Wolfe
F Kaleb Coleman
F Ahsan Asadullah
Key Losses: Romeao Ferguson, Parker Hazen
Key Newcomers: Trae Benham, Grant Asman
Outlook: With Ahsan Asadullah and KJ Johnson, the Bisons will continue to be competitive with the top half of the conference. Lipscomb did under-perform this past season, so questions remain around whether or not they have what it takes to be competing for a conference championship. This coming year is Asadullah’s last season unless he intends on using the extra year of eligibility due to COVID.
5. Stetson
G Chase Johnston
G Rob Perry
G Stephan Swenson
F Josh Smith
F Mahamadou Diawara
Key Losses: Christiaan Jones
Key Newcomers: Luke Brown, Alexander Crawford
Outlook: The Hatters have most of their young roster in tact, returning all key contributors with the exception of Jones. Rob Perry, Mahamadou Diawara, and Chase Johnston are a solid foundation to build upon, and look for Josh Smith to take a large step forward next season.
6. Jacksonville State
G Jalen Finch
G Demaree King
F Juwan Perdue
F Jay Pal
F Amanze Ngumezi
Key Losses: Darian Adams, Kayne Henry, Martin Roub, Brandon Huffman, Marvin Hughes, Khalil Johnson
Key Newcomers: Caleb Byrd, Diamante Brown, Jatrious Smith, Cameron Pope, Tanguy Touze
Outlook: The Gamecocks finished this past season with an 18-9 overall record and 13-6 mark in the Ohio Valley. Head coach Ray Harper is entering his 6th season with the program, and they will have to replace several key pieces from this year’s team.
7. North Alabama
G Jamari Blackmon
G Detalian Brown
G Jonathan Breeland, Jr
F Emanuel Littles
F Mervin James
Key Losses: James Anderson II, Payton Youngblood, CJ Brim
Key Newcomers: Daniel Ortiz, Dallas Howell
Outlook: The Lions return most of their nucleus, led by Blackmon, Littles, and James. They raced out to first place in the conference standings early in the league season before going on a late season losing streak. UNA would recover to make the ASUN Tournament final where they lost to Liberty. One more season for North Alabama being ineligible for the NCAA Tournament.
8. North Florida
G Jose Placer
G Emmanuel Adedoyin
F Dorian James
F Carter Hendricksen
F Josh Endicott
Key Losses: Ryan Burkhardt
Key Newcomers: Max Hrdicka
Outlook: UNF returns virtually their entire roster from a team that finished .500 in conference play. Under coach Matt Driscoll, they will continue to compete to be in the top half of the standings. Hendricksen has first-team all-conference potential.
9. FGCU
G Luis Rolon
G Cyrus Largie
G Caleb Catto
G Matt Halvorsen
F Dakota Rivers
Key Losses: Justus Rainwater, Sam Gagliardi, Jalen Warren, Dom London, Qwanzi Samuels, Eli Abaev
Key Newcomers: Ja’Heim Hudson, Matt Halvorsen, Andre Weir
Outlook: It was a tough 2020-21 season for the Eagles who only played 18 games and 9 conference games. They were able to pick up an upset win over Lipscomb in the ASUN Quarterfinals before falling to North Alabama. This coming season may be a make or break year for head coach Michael Fly.
10. Kennesaw St
G Terrell Burden
G Chris Youngblood
G Spencer Rodgers
F Brandon Stroud
F Alex Peterson
Key Losses: Jamie Lewis, Glenn Robinson II, Antonio Spencer
Key Newcomers: Isaiah Reddish, Demond Robinson
Outlook: The Owls finally picked up an ASUN win after going nearly two full seasons without a conference win. Behind Rodgers and Youngblood, Kennesaw State will look to move up a few spots in the standings under third-year head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim.
11. Central Arkansas
G Collin Cooper
G Masai Olowokere
G Jaxson Baker
F Eddy Kayouloud
F SK Shittu
Key Losses: Khaleem Bennett, Rylan Bergersen, DeAndre Jones, Jared Chatham
Key Newcomers: Dreshaun Doyne
Outlook: The Bears finished this past season at 5-19 overall and 4-12 in the Southland Conference behind first year head coach Anthony Boone. UCA has finished with a winning record just one time since joining Division I for the 2006-2007 season.
12. Jacksonville
G Mo Arnold
G Tyrel Morgan
G George Pridgett
F Zameron Boozer
F Cameron Boozer
Key Losses: Dontarius James, Tyreese Davis, Derrick Flowers, Kevion Nolan, Corey Romich, Trey Sides, Diante Wood, Bryce Workman
Key Newcomers: Tyrel Morgan, George Pridgett, Jr, Matthew Lentz
Outlook: Your guess is as good as mine as to Jacksonville’s lineup next season as they have had 10 players enter the transfer portal and head coach Tony Jasick is out after 7 seasons. Six-year Florida assistant Jordan Mincy was named Jacksonville’s new head coach on Thursday.
