Liberty returns two starters from last year’s team and just four primary contributors from last year’s team, so trying to determine who Ritchie McKay and the Flames would roll out there as the starting lineup to begin the season has been difficult.
Sophomore Kyle Rode seemed to be the next most obvious choice to start alongside the returning starters, Elijah Cuffee and Darius McGhee. Grad transfer Chris Parker, sophomore Shiloh Robinson, redshirt-sophomore Blake Preston, and true freshmen Drake Dobbs and Micaiah Abii were also names that could have been included in the starting lineup.
Shortly before tip-off against Purdue in the Space Coast Challenge for the season opener, Liberty’s starting lineup was revealed:
Point guard: #1 Chris Parker (senior 6-1, 170)
Guard: #2 Darius McGhee (junior 5-9, 150)
Wing: #10 Elijah Cuffee (senior 6-4, 200)
Wing: #22 Kyle Rode (sophomore 6-7, 220)
Forward: #24 Micaiah Abii (freshman 6-7, 220)
Parker joins the program from Division II Henderson State University where he averaged 15.3 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game while playing 31.4 minutes per game in his 31 games played. He has a collegiate career high with 27 points as he takes over the starting point guard spot left vacated by Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz, the all-time winningest player in Liberty program history.
McGhee returns after starting all 34 games a season ago and leading the team in minutes played as a sophomore. The preseason all-ASUN selection averaged 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 38.6% from three point range.
Cuffee is Liberty’s most experienced player, with 107 games played and 88 starts under his belt. Alongside McGhee, he also started all 34 games last year while averaging 7.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. Cuffee was named the ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Rode makes his sixth career start in a Liberty uniform after logging five as a true freshman last season. He averaged 4.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists last year, but in the games he started those numbers increased to 6.4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.
Abii is a true freshman from Frisco, Texas who has made a big impression during preseason. He was a two-star rated recruit and named first-team All-District and first-team All-Area for Liberty High School in Texas.
