Liberty will honor the 2020 senior class on senior day Saturday afternoon against Stetson, the final regular season home game of the season.
97 wins. 4 straight 20+ win seasons. 4 Power Five wins. ASUN Championship. NCAA Tournament win.
That’s the current resume for the 2020 Liberty basketball senior class, and one that could be added to in the coming weeks.
Caleb Homesley. Scottie James. Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz. Myo Baxter-Bell.
“These four seniors, I think they are legacy guys,” McKay said. “I think they are guys that should have their jerseys up in the rafters because what they’ve accomplished, the maturation of our program. You will be able to drink from the reservoir of their success for a long time.”
They each have their own story, stories that we have shared in recent weeks (if you missed them go back and check out our recent feature stories on Pacheco-Ortiz, Baxter-Bell, Homesley, feature on James to come before ASUN Tournament). But the story they have written together is the one they will forever be remembered for.
They came together, put their own personal goals aside, for the betterment of the Liberty basketball program. In the time this group has been in the program, the Flames have gone from an after thought in the Big South to a mid-major that is relevant on the national scale.
For the first time in school history Liberty has garnered national attention on a routine basis. The Flames have received votes for the top 25 poll most all of this season and at the end of the year last year. Behind this group, Liberty earned a 12-seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament, and if the Flames are able to punch through into the 2020 Big Dance, a similar seed awaits.
“Before these guys got here, we were a low-major,” McKay stated. “They’ve built a program, because of their person and their ability, that I think will have a long shelf life.”
This is Liberty basketball we’re talking about. Before this group of seniors, the Flames had never had back-to-back 20 win seasons much less 4 in a row. Before this group, the Flames were more likely to lose 20 games. But that’s all changed now, and built off this group’s foundation, McKay and his staff have been able to grab the highest rated recruit in program history in three consecutive classes (Kyle Rode, Isiah Warfield, Brody Peebles).
“It’s going to be a sad day, senior night,” Baxter-Bell said recently. “I’ve been here for five years of my life. It’s finally starting to wind down. I never thought it would come to an end, but it is. It’s going to be sad. But I have changed as a person, that’s the biggest thing. I’ve grown spiritually. The relationships I’ve made here, I think are going to last forever.”
As we prepare to to shut the doors on the Vines Center, it’s fitting that it will be done behind the program’s best ever senior class. But their story’s not over. They still have an ASUN regular season title and tournament title to play for. They still have goals of making another run in the NCAA Tournament.
“(Caleb Homesley), like Myo, Scottie, and Georgie, they’re irreplaceable,” McKay said of his seniors recently. “I’m going to miss them. I dread the last game I get to coach them.”
