The Liberty Flames’ season came to an end in the Round of 64 with a nine-point loss to Oklahoma State. Despite the loss, the season was another successful one for head coach Ritchie McKay and the Flames.
The Flames only lost one game by double digits, the season opener against Purdue, and strung together a 12-game winning streak heading into the NCAA Tournament. For a team comprised by many first-year contributors in the program, Liberty once again exceeded expectations.
What happened to this Liberty team? Who will be back? What can be expected next season? Let’s take a look.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Coming off two ASUN championship teams who won 59 games over those two seasons, Liberty had to replace four iconic seniors in Caleb Homesley, Scottie James, Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz, and Myo Baxter-Bell. All four have since signed professional basketball contracts.
In the preseason, the Flames were slotted to finish second in this season’s ASUN race, but even that preseason selection was probably generous and given based on the past two year’s success. Outside of Darius McGhee and Elijah Cuffee, McKay had to find pieces to round out the roster. Having sophomores Kyle Rode and Shiloh Robinson in the fold helped, but they played very small roles on the team during their freshman season.
Once the COVID pandemic set in, the NCAA shut down all in-person recruiting, making it very difficult for Liberty’s coaching staff to find plug and play transfers to help bridge the one-year gap the team was facing in bringing in the next group of talented players. McKay was able to find a diamond in the rough in Division II transfer Chris Parker, and went very unorthodox in bringing back Keegan McDowell after he originally elected to transfer prior to the start of the 2019-20 season.
In Parker, McKay found the point guard he needed to help ease the loss of Pacheco-Ortiz. In many games, he was a critical piece that the Flames wouldn’t have won the game without. Parker ended the season as the second leading scorer on the team at 10.3 points per game while also leading the team with 98 assists as he started all except for one game.
McDowell became the team’s 6th man and was an important piece off the bench. He averaged nearly 21 minutes per game, while shooting 40% from behind the three-point line. His veteran presence and knowledge of the system, proved valuable to this year’s team.
Blake Preston was a pleasant surprise, as the redshirt-sophomore became one of the better big men in the ASUN. He led the conference with 61.3% shooting from the field and was a threat to get a double-double during much of the conference season. He struggled to finish at times in his first year of legitimate playing time, but he proved that he is capable to lead the Flames in the middle in the post-Scottie James and Myo Baxter-Bell era.
Of the four incoming freshmen, Drake Dobbs proved the most reliable during his first season on the court. He provided a steady hand off the bench at point guard as he was able to spell Parker and Darius McGhee as needed. The 6’3″ product of Eden Prairie, Minnesota looks to be the heir apparent at point guard entering next season.
WHO IS LEAVING?
Elijah Cuffee and Chris Parker both have an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID pandemic, but like most seniors across college basketball, will seek professional opportunities. Cuffee departs as the winningest player in school history while Parker, alonside McGhee, formed arguably the best backcourt in the ASUN.
Reserve Marten Maide announced his intentions earlier this week to leave the program and seek additional playing time elsewhere.
Aside from those, it remains to be seen if Liberty will get hit by the transfer bug that has hammered the college basketball landscape and can only be answered in the coming weeks.
WHO IS COMING IN?
Liberty welcomes in two highly anticipated freshmen in Joseph Venzant and Brody Peebles. The 6’3″ Venzant is a similar player to Cuffee who could come in and be an immediate impact player on the defensive end of the floor. The 6’2″ Peebles is a scoring guard who can also handle it and should have an opportunity to make an immediate impact as well.
While the Flames hold those two signees, it would not come as a surprise for McKay to hit the transfer market. Right now, it is not clear on who their primary targets will be but adding additional size can always be beneficial.
WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT IN 2021-22?
With ASUN Player of the Year and Tournament MVP Darius McGhee leading the group of returnees, we can expect the Flames to be the preseason favorite for a four-peat in the ASUN. Next year’s version of the Flames returns a lot more production than what was returned this season.
Kyle Rode and Blake Preston also return as starters and should make an even greater impact in their second season in the starting lineup. Keegan McDowell, Shiloh Robinson, and Drake Dobbs provide experience and should see increased roles.
The Flames have a strong core to build around and other pieces in the program which could emerge while also adding another piece or two before the season begins.
