The Liberty Flames’ season came to an end in the ASUN Tournament semifinals with a loss to Bellarmine. The season didn’t end as the team or fans envisioned, as most were expecting a fourth straight conference title. Still, the program finished atop the ASUN’s East Division and won 20 games for the sixth straight season.
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 three straight ASUN championship teams, most expected the Flames to be able to make it four straight and reach the NCAA Tournament once again. The Flames were the preseason favorites in the ASUN, and behind reigning ASUN Player of the Year Darius McGhee, Liberty entered the season looking for an unprecedented four-peat.
Many probably underestimated the loss of Elijah Cuffee and Chris Parker, who opted to not utilize their COVID year to come back for one more season of eligibility. Also, Liberty would go on to face several teams that were able to benefit from the COVID season as well as the transfer portal.
In his opening preseason press conference, head coach Ritchie McKay alluded to the youth on his roster. The Flames returned just a handful of players with meaningful minutes from previous years. McGhee, Keegan McDowell, Kyle Rode, Shiloh Robinson, and Blake Preston would be counted on from day one to provide leadership. Liberty would rely on true freshmen and sophomores who had played limited minutes in their first year in the program.
The Flames limped out to a 1-3 start to the season, losing three straight away from home – at LSU and against Iona and Manhattan in Orlando as part of the ASUN-MAAC Challenge. From that point, the team would be facing an uphill battle to fight to meet expectations from both inside and outside of the program while fighting for daily improvement.
Liberty would improve throughout the year, picking up marquee wins in the non-conference slate including a home win over Missouri and knocking off East Carolina and Northern Iowa on neutral floors before the calendar turned to January and conference play began.
Drake Dobbs was expected to be a primary role player and contend for a starting spot. The sophomore from Minnesota was the only true point guard on the roster with any previous experience in the program and he had shown some promise as a freshman. Unfortunately, his game did not develop at the pace the team needed and he saw his role and playing time dwindle throughout the non-conference, ultimately leading to his decision to transfer.
With Dobbs out of the program and DJ Moore not quite ready to provide the minutes at point guard, those duties were passed off to McGhee who was asked to do more than a McKay coached team has ever asked an individual player to do since his return to the Mountain. And deliver he would.
McGhee turned in one of the best individual seasons a Liberty player ever had. He set the Division I program record for most points in a season while moving into the top five of the program’s all-time scoring list. McGhee would also claim his title as the greatest three-point shooter in school history, destroying both the single season three-point record and career three-point title. He was able to score 20 points just about nightly, and frequently surpassed the 30-point plateau while setting the Liberty Arena and program records for points in a single game as he would claim a second straight Player of the Year award.
We saw the emergence of Shiloh Robinson’s offensive game before it sputtered down the stretch of the season. Keegan McDowell provided a veteran presence and ability to be a deadly catch and shoot threat from the perimeter. Kyle Rode continued to develop as team leader while also carving out his role on the floor. Joseph Venzant and Isiah Warfield emerged as the next pair of perimeter defenders that will be able to lock down the opposing player’s top scorer on a nightly occurrence.
Liberty would race out to a 5-0 start in conference play, winning four of those games by double figures. Part of that run in January, came amid a COVID pause for the program where games were postponed and pushed back to February leading to a grueling final month of the season.
In late January, the Flames ASUN newcomer Jacksonville State to Lynchburg in a matchup of the last two remaining unbeatens in conference play. This game would ultimately determine who would have home court throughout the conference tournament and who would be the ASUN’s representative in the NCAA Tournament. As Bellarmine won the conference tournament, a Liberty win over the Gamecocks in late January would have been the only change the Flames would have needed to have secured the auto-bid provided everything else played out the same way. JSU would control the game that night, three years to the day of Liberty’s last loss at home as the 45-game home win streak came to an end.
The Flames still had chances to control its own destiny to the regular season title down the stretch, but losses at Jacksonville and North Florida in consecutive games would be too much to overcome. Liberty also lost in overtime to FGCU in the final week of the regular season.
WHO IS LEAVING?
Darius McGhee and Keegan McDowell are expected to move on from the program despite having a year of eligibility remaining due to the COVID pandemic. Both should have a opportunities to play professionally. The pair started nearly every game for the Flames this past season and ended as the team’s top two leading scorers and three-point shooters.
There could be additional attrition to the roster for next season as is typically the case in men’s basketball offseasons.
WHO IS COMING IN?
Two 6’7″ forwards will join the program for next year,a s Ben Southerland and Zach Cleveland signed with the Flames back in November. They each have the ability and potential to make an impact at forward for Liberty as true freshmen.
Colin Porter, a 5’11” guard from Kentucky, has elected to reclassify and will join the program next season, similar to current freshman DJ Moore. In a perfect scenario, Porter would be able to redshirt
Liberty is currently full in its scholarship commitments for next season, pending any roster attrition. If there is someone that elects to move on, the Flames could opt to bring in a transfer to help bolster the team next year.
WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT IN 2022-23?
There will be a lot of question marks for Liberty next year. Nobody will be able to replace Darius McGhee and his production from this past season, but who will help pick up that slack? Who will be the go to scorer when the team needs a bucket? Will someone step up as the team’s point guard or will it be another point guard by committee situation?
Kyle Rode, Shiloh Robinson, and Joseph Venzant are returning starters and will have a big role on the team once again next season. Isiah Warfield should also be expected to continue to see an increase in his role, and with him, Robinson, and Venzant, the Flames have the potential to have one of the program’s best defensive squads we have seen in recent years. Brody Peebles, Blake Preston, and DJ Moore will all be able to step up their production and role for the Flames next season.
It will be the last go around for Liberty in the ASUN, and the Flames will be looking to go out with a bang and win the program’s fourth conference title in five years.
