Furman Basketball

The madness has already started with Selection Sunday still six days away.

The Chattanooga Mocs clinched their spot in the NCAA men's basketball tournament with a dramatic 64-63 overtime victory against the Furman Paladins in Monday's Southern Conference tournament championship game.

David Jean-Baptiste's heave at the buzzer turned a sure defeat into a moment only possible in March:

ABSOLUTE MADNESS‼️

Chattanooga wins the SoCon and a trip to the NCAA tourney AT THE BUZZER! pic.twitter.com/mQ77OIjOWM

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 8, 2022

While Jean-Baptiste's buzzer-beater was the highlight, it came after dramatic swings that defined the end of the game.

Chattanooga's Silvio De Sousa and Furman's Mike Bothwell traded three-pointers in the final 30 seconds of regulation. That set the stage for the extra period, and A.J. Caldwell tied the game for the Mocs with a triple in the final 30 seconds before Bothwell's layup on the ensuing possession appeared to give the Paladins the victory.

Jean-Baptiste had other ideas.

Bothwell's 24 points weren't enough for Furman, while De Sousa led the way for the victors with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

GREENVILLE, S.C.—Furman basketball will have a new coach charting its course in 2013-14, but it will be a coach who knows the landscape. 

Niko Medved, who served six seasons as an assistant coach under the direction of Larry Davis from 2000-06, becomes the 21st head coach of the Furman basketball program (per Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports), succeeding Jeff Jackson, who stepped down after seven seasons in Greenville after compiling a 85-131 record during that span.

Medved originally served on the Furman coaching staff during the nine-year tenure of Larry Davis and was the Paladins' recruiting coordinator. Davis' tenure at Furman concluded in '06 when he left to join the Cincinnati staff as an assistant under Mick Cronin.

After Davis' departure, Medved was named the Paladins' interim head coach, but then left when Jeff Jackson was hired.

From there, Medved moved on to Minnesota, which is where he started his coaching journey, beginning his career with the Golden Gophers in 1992 as a student manager. Medved would leave Minnesota for two years to become the associate head coach at Division III Macalester College before returning to Furman in 1999.

Medved would first offer an eye for recruiting overseas talent during his initial tenure as a part of the Furman basketball program.

He had a hand in bringing in such foreign talents to the program as Karim Souchu (1999-2003), Guillherme Da Luz (1999-2003), Malaye Ndoye (2004-07) and Moussa Diagne (2004-07).

He helped the Paladins sign what was one of the highest-ranked classes in school history in 2003, which included Minnesota's "Mr. Basketball" and Furman's all-time, three-point field goals made leader, Eric Webb (2004-07).

Webb's classmates also included another highly touted signee Quan Prowell (2004-05), as well as the aforementioned Ndoye and Diagne, helping Furman post the nation's highest-scoring freshman class.

In 2002, he was part of a staff, which helped lead Furman all the way to the championship game of the Southern Conference Tournament for the first time since 1980. The Paladins would lose, 62-57, in the title game, to Davidson. The Paladins were able to reel off wins over Western Carolina (65-61), Georgia Southern (73-70) and the College of Charleston (44-43) to reach the championship game. 

When Medved moved on to Colorado State in '06, he began the task of helping then-head coach Tim Miles put the building blocks together which would eventually lead to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2012 and 2013, as well as postseason appearances in the NIT (2011) and the CBI (2010) in serving as the Rams' recruiting coordinator. 

The at-large selection to the NCAA tournament for the Rams was the first NCAA tournament selection for Colorado State in 22 years.

All told, four of Medved's six seasons in Fort Collins, Colo., saw the Rams make an appearance in the postseason. The Rams posted an 81-47 mark over the past four seasons, and the No. 8 seed ranks as the highest seed ever garnered by a Colorado State team since the field began seeding teams in 1979. 

The Rams finished the season with a program-record 26 wins and were able to get a 84-72 win over Missouri in the opening round, marking the first win for the Rams in the NCAA tournament since defeating Florida, 68-46, in the opening round of the 1989 NCAA tournament.

Medved's Rams would eventually see their season end with a 82-56 loss to eventual national champion Louisville, as the Rams were able to push the Cardinals in the opening half of play before eventually the superior talent of Louisville took over. 

At halftime of the third-round game, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino was interviewed by CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson and called Colorado State one of the most well-coached and talented teams the Cardinals had played all season, citing that his talented Cardinals were in a "fight."

Prior to the matchup in the pregame press conference, Pitino had the following to say about the Rams players Medved was directly responsible for recruiting to Colorado State.

The way I look at a dangerous team and I put that list together, it’s based on how many upperclassmen do they have that have stayed together and how much talent do they have? 

You have a lot of upperclassmen, but they may not be that good. This team is very talented as well as being seniors. I always look at talent and experience coming together, and Colorado State has both." (The Rocky Mountain Collegian, Kyle Grabowski, 3/22/2013)

Medved has had some outstanding talents under his mentorship during the four-year run of success at Colorado State, with senior guard Dorian Green (13.0 PPG, team-leading 124 assists) and Minnesota transfer Colton Iverson (14.2 PPG, 9.8 RPG). Iverson became the first All-America selection for the Rams since 1969, selected as an Honorable Mention First Team selection by The Associated Press. 

Iverson was a first-team All-Mountain West pick and helped the Rams to rank as the nation's top rebounding club. Iverson was top-ranked in the Mountain West and 20th in the nation in rebounding, averaging 9.8 boards per game. His 14 double-doubles were also good enough for 20th in the country in that particular category.

After former head coach Tim Miles left to take the reins of the Nebraska program following last season, Medved was the only coach who remained from Miles' staff in Fort Collins, as he was retained by new head coach Larry Eustachy.

Eustachy, who battled some off-the-court issues over the past few coaching stops, is considered one of the very best in his profession, leading an Iowa State club that featured Marcus Fizer and Jamaal Tinsley to the 2000 Elite Eight before losing to eventual national champion Michigan State. 

Interestingly enough, Medved will have a chance to be part of the resurrection of the Furman basketball program, which has not won a regular-season title since 1991-92 and has just one 20-win season in the past 21 years, as the Paladins posted a 22-11 mark back in 2010-11, qualifying for the CollegeInsider.com tournament. 

The newest member of the Furman basketball coaching tree is married to former Erica Nesselroad, who enjoyed a career as an athlete as a pitcher for the Furman softball program from 2003-06.

Medved has a tall order ahead of him, as he will now be asked to "re-brand" and bring excitement back to a Furman basketball program, which has endured three 20-loss seasons since he left for Minnesota some seven years ago. However, few have been given this rare opportunity—returning to a program that he knows very well. 

GREENVILLE, S.C.—In the wake of the 79-72 loss to Wofford on Saturday, Furman sits at 9-10 overall on the season and 3-5 in Southern Conference play. It's certainly a far cry from where the Paladins found themselves last season, as Furman was sitting pretty at 14-5 overall and 6-2 in Southern Conference play, and were coming off an 86-68 win over Chattanooga.

Though a lot may have changed, expectations for success remain the same, despite the Paladins losing four starters to graduation from that squad that won 20 games for the first time in two decades. Prior to the season, head coach Jeff Jackson talked about this team being as good as the one that won 22 games last season. 

The lone returning starter coming into the campaign was post player Brandon Sebirumbi. Sebirumbi has really started to develop into a leader on the 2011-12 edition of the Furman Paladins. Sebirumbi enters Thursday evening's contest against College of Charleston averaging 17.8 PPG and has scored in double figures in four-straight games, leading the Paladins to a 2-2 record over that stretch. He's the only Paladin player averaging in double figures to this point on the season—averaging 10.6 PPG, Sebirumbi was again at it on Saturday afternoon, as he posted 18 points and five boards in the loss to Wofford on Saturday.

Sebirumbi has had to be kind of the leader in the post for the Paladins this season, who have not gotten the production in the front court that some might have desired coming into the season. Colin Anderson (4.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG) and Chris Toler (3.2 PPG, 2.3 RPG) have been more role players this season for the Paladins, and unlike last season, the Paladins have lacked a second scorer in the post. If you look back to last season, the post scoring was a team strength for the Paladins, as Amu Saaka (15.6 PPG) and Noah States (10.4 PPG) were two of the team's three top scorers last season, and the Jackson's 2011-12 club simply does not have that kind of scoring punch.

The Paladins have gotten some solid play out of their front court players which have come off the bench this season, led by Bryant Irwin (7.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG), Bryson Barnes (7.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG) and Dominic Early (4.1 PPG, 1.7 RPG). Irwin, a transfer from St. Joseph's, was originally touted by Jackson to be the great remedy for losing the player of Saaka's status and was thought to be able to fill some of that scoring void left by Saaka.

Jackson admitted that Irwin wouldn't be a player that was going to replace Saaka's athleticism, but he felt like his ability as a perimeter threat could be the "X-factor" in the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Annual's preseason previews, which highlighted the Paladins for the upcoming season.

Irwin, at least initially, looked like he might live up to some of that preseason billing, but has seen his scoring and minutes decrease over the past couple of weeks. His 26 triples this season rank him second on the team in three-pointers made, and has made him a versatile performer with his ability to step out and hit the perimeter jumper. Going into the Wofford game, Irwin had scored a combined two points in three games since a 10-point performance in the win over The Citadel.

Early has looked good at times for the Paladins in the post this season, with his best performance against The Citadel, scoring a career-high 15 points in the win over them. But Early has been inconsistent. Barnes has given the team a definite boost, but has yet to find the kind of game he had in his first game back after serving an academic suspension, in which he scored a career-high 26 points in helping the Paladins to the impressive 76-63 road win at Western Kentucky back on Dec. 17.

The backcourt has been impressive at times this season for the Paladins, but has had to battle injury issues as of late. Both starting point guard Richard Brown (8.8 PPG, 3.3 APG) and backup Jordan Lloyd (3.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG) have had to miss the last couple of games with back spasms, but both are expected back for Thursday night's game against College of Charleston.

Little used David Brown (2.7 PPG, 0.9 APG), who has done a nice job in holding down the starting responsibilities in the absence of Richard Brown and Lloyd the past couple of games. When it's all said and done, it might be David Brown who turns out to be the Paladins' answer at point guard. Richard Brown has not been as aggressive on the offensive side of things as of late, and when he has been asked to be less of a scorer and more of a distributor, he has not been as effective a player.

Lloyd continues to seem to be on the cusp of really being a breakout player this season for the Paladins. He has yet to show the kind of maturity as of yet, in which he's able to limit turnovers and take good shots within the offense. However, when he comes around, Lloyd has the potential to be the best point guard in the Southern Conference.

The real surprise this season for Furman has been the play of Charlie Reddick, who has simply been sensational for the Paladins. Reddick has really stepped up to become a leader for the Paladins this season. He is a tremendous athlete and is one of the league's best perimeter threats, having knocked down 41 triples this season to lead the team, and ranks fourth in the SoCon in three-pointers made.

Reddick's leadership and improvement can be summed up in two games this season for Furman. First, his three-pointer to beat Western Carolina in the waning seconds showed Reddick to be a fearless floor leader. With Western Carolina having forged a tie (55-55) for the first time all afternoon, it was Reddick, who was 0-for-11 from the field previously in the game, who stepped up and knocked down the game-clinching triple, leaving only 1.8 seconds on the clock for the Catamounts. The shot not only showed Reddick to be a fearless leader, but also a confident player that had shed the tentative personality he had at times in his first season as a Paladin.

The second game in which Reddick showed himself to be a real leader and a player ready to take the role of "go-to-scorer" was in the 64-54 win over Georgia Southern last week. Reddick was simply huge, posting 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to record his first double-double and help the Paladins to the 10-point win. Reddick posted his second-straight double-figure scoring performance in the loss to Wofford, posting 14 points on 4-of-9 from three and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.   

Bobby Austin (7.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG) is another player that has been a leader for Furman, and the redshirt senior is having his best season in an injury-plagued career. Austin had his best career performance in the early-January win over The Citadel by posting a career-high 17 points. Austin might Furman's best on-the-ball defender, and he comes into Thursday's game ranking second on the team with 10 blocked shots this season.

Halfway through Southern Conference play, it's clear this isn't the same Furman team that threatened to make its first postseason appearance in 20 years last season. However, it's a Furman team that could still be a dangerous team come tournament time. The main reason that will keep the Paladins in most every game for the rest of the season is the way they can frustrate teams with their defense. The Paladins are a different team in terms of chemistry and talent this season, and this Paladin team has had to work hard for its nine wins this season. Furman isn't going to find an Amu Saaka or Noah States for the remainder of the season, but the good news is the league is nowhere near as strong as it was a year ago. 

CLINTON, S.C.—Senior forward Al'onzo Coleman posted a game-high 24 points and Presbyterian connected on all 19 of its second-half charity shots, as the Blue Hose posted their first win over the Furman Paladins since February of 1989, with a 75-71 victory on Tuesday night at Templeton Arena.

With the win, PC improved to 5-5 on the season, while Furman had its three-game winning streak snapped, making them 6-5. Coleman connected on 8-of-12 shots from the field and ripped down 11 rebounds to finish off his double-double effort before fouling out with two minutes to play.

Coleman was also 8-of-9 from the charity stripe on a night when the Blue Hose were a near-flawless 26-of-28 from the free throw line.

It appeared PC was going to run away with a double-digit victory, leading 73-63 with three minutes to play. However, the young Paladins would mount a furious rally.

Furman would reel off eight straight points, to cut the Blue Hose lead to 73-71. Dominic Early started the run by making the first of two free throws.

Brandon Sebirumbi grabbed the rebound on Early's missed second free throw and kicked it out to a wide open Jordan Lloyd, missed a three from the top of the key.

The scrappy Sebirumbi got his second rebound in quick succession off the Lloyd miss and made a short lay-up to cut the Blue Hose lead to seven, at 73-66.

It would be the freshman Lloyd that would come up with a huge play on the defensive end on the ensuing possession, as he stole the ball away from Blue Hose guard Pierre Moore and was fouled.

He stepped to the charity stripe and knocked down both of his double-bonus free throws, cutting the Paladin deficit to five, at 73-68.

The Blue Hose would run the clock on the ensuing possession, milking the shot clock down to nearly zero before Josh Johnson's three-pointer from the top of the key came off the back iron, and the ball went out of bounds in the corner off of the Blue Hose.

On the ensuing Paladin possession, Lloyd would knock down maybe the biggest shot of his young Furman career, stroking a three from the top of the key, which brought the Paladins to within a bucket (73-71) with 43 seconds to play.

After another missed shot underneath the basket, Lloyd would grab the rebound for the Paladins. In an effort to hit a streaking Bobby Austin, who was running free 80 feet down the floor, the ball was over-thrown on the attempted run-out pass and the ball went out of play. Turnover for the Paladins.

The Blue Hose took possession of the basketball on their own end with 5.2 seconds remaining, and Furman was forced to foul speedy PC point guard Eric Washington with 2.3 seconds remaining. T

he true freshman showed plenty of composure in stepping to the charity stripe and knocked down both foul shots ease, delivering the four-point, 75-71, PC win.

It was Furman that controlled the opening half, leading by as many as nine points (37-28), before seeing the Blue Hose usurp the momentum of the basketball game in the final four minutes of the opening frame.

PC would end the half with a 5-0 run, cutting Furman's lead to four (37-33) at the break. That run would continue into the second half, eventually reaching 19-5, in the opening five minutes of the second half, as PC would overtake the Paladins to lead 47-42, with 15:14 to play.

From that point, the Paladins would make a run back at the home-standing Blue Hose, with a 10-4 run of their own, regaining the lead, 52-51, on an old fashioned three-point play from Brandon Sebirumbi with 11:47 to play.

But that would be the last lead the Paladins would enjoy for the remainder of the night, as PC would put together a 10-0 run to take control of the game until the furious Furman rally in the waning moments.

Furman enjoyed its best shooting performance of the season, knocking down 52.2% (24-of-45) of its shots for the game and taking relatively good care of the basketball, turning it over just 14 times in the contest against a tenacious PC defense.

Furman, however, was plagued by foul trouble for most of the evening, especially in the front court.

Furman was able to connect on 70.8% (17-of-24) charity shots, while shooting 46.2% (6-of-13) from three-point range in the contest. Furman was out-rebounded by just one, 24-23.

Furman was led by a pair of players in double figures, as Brandon Sebirumbi led the way with a career-high 20 points, marking the second-straight game Furman's leading scorer has also established a new career-high.

Sebirumbi's 20 points eclipsed his previous career standard of 16 points set nearly a year ago to the day, as he posted that total on Dec. 18 of 2010 in a win at North Florida. Sebirumbi connected on 7-of-9 shots from the field and 6-of-8 shots from the charity stripe.

Senior forward Bryson Barnes was the only other Paladin in double figures, posting 10 points and five boards. Barnes has scored in double figures in both his outings this season. His 10-point effort this evening comes on the heels of a career-high 26-point and 11-rebound effort in the 76-63 win at Western Kentucky on Saturday night.

Lloyd just missed double figures, but the freshman guard from Atlanta established a new career-high with nine points on the evening.

PC's Coleman was joined in double figures by senior guard Khalid Mutakabbir, who added 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.

PC held advantages in points in the paint (40-28) and second chance points (12-6). For the game, the Blue Hose connected on 46.7% (23-of-49) from the field, but were just 23.1% (3-of-13) from three-point range.

The Blue Hose made up for that with there performance at the free throw line.

Furman returns to action on Friday afternoon when they visit the Georgia Bulldogs. Tip-off for that contest is set for 7 p.m.

It will be the first meeting between the Paladins and Bulldogs since Nov. of 2001, as the Paladins dropped a 75-62 decision in the season opener in Athens.

The Paladins are 4-21 all-time against the Bulldogs.

Furman Paladins (6-20, 4-13) at The Citadel Bulldogs (18-10, 13-4)

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009 – 7:05 PM EST

The Citadel Bulldogs play host to the Furman Paladins on Thursday night as they attempt to keep pace with Davidson in a battle for first place in the South Division.

The Bulldogs enter the game as one of the hottest teams in the nation, having won 10 straight and 11 of their last 12.

Davidson, winners on Wednesday night against UNC-Greensboro, clinched a tie for the division as they improved to 16-2 in league play. The Citadel needs to win out and hope Davidson drops their remaining two contests in order to catch the Wildcats.

When these two teams met earlier in the season, The Citadel pulled out a five point overtime win, 74-69.

Cameron Wells (22 points, six rebounds), Zach Urbanus (20 points, six assists), and Demetrius nelson (17 points, eight rebounds) led the offense for the Bulldogs.

Furman had four players in double figures led by Jordan Miller and Justin Dehm, each with 17 points.

Statistically, The Citadel dominated the game.

They outshot Furman, 52.9 percent to 37.7 percent and out-rebounded the Paladins, 38-26.

But they had twice as many turnovers as Furman, 18-9, and those extra possessions are what kept the Paladins in the game.

If The Citadel plays the same type of game this time around but reduces their turnovers, they should have no problem handling Furman.

Current line: The Citadel -11.5

Furman has a record of 9-10-1 against the spread with a mark of 7-9 as an underdog.

The Citadel is an outstanding 15-6-1 against the spread with a mark of 2-3-1 as a favorite.

The Citadel needs this game to keep pace with Davidson. They’ll get the win and the home crowd will help them to cover.

Steve’s pick: The Citadel -11.5

Davidson Wildcats (21-4, 14-1) at Furman Paladins (6-18, 4-11)

Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009 – 4:00 PM EST

 

The Davidson Wildcats, fresh off of a 17-point drubbing of Wofford, look to complete their two game road trip with a victory when they visit the Furman Paladins on Saturday afternoon.

The victory over Wofford put the Wildcats back on track after they suffered their first conference loss of the year last weekend to the College of Charleston.

This will be the second meeting of the season between the two schools. Davidson annihilated Furman back in January by a score of 83-43.

Davidson will use their well balanced offense to make life difficult for Furman.

Stephen Curry averages 29.1 ppg and dishes out 6.1 apg while Andrew Lovedale scores

12.2 ppg and averages 8.8 rpg to anchor the front line. Steve Rossiter helps out on the glass to the tune of 6.3 rpg.

Besides unleashing Curry on helpless opponents, Davidson also shoots it from behind the arc quite well as four players convert at better than 37 percent.

For Furman to have a chance, they must control the pace of the game. The Paladins only score 61.2 ppg. That’s a stark contrast to Davidson’s conference leading 80.3 ppg.

Leading scorer Justin Miller (13.4 ppg) will need to double his outpoint in an effort to stay close to Curry.

Since Miller is the only Paladin player to average double figures, Furman must have career games from Justin Dehm (9.7 ppg), Bryson Barnes (7.5 ppg), and Alex Opacic (6.8 ppg).

The Paladins must also be much more accurate with their threes. Connor Nolte leads the team but shoots at only 34.7 percent.

In addition to making shots, Furman must control the back boards in order to limit Davidson’s possessions. Since no player averages more than 4.8 rpg (Barnes), the Paladins will have no choice but to gang rebound.

Current line: Davidson -17.0

 

Davidson is only 11-11-1 against the spread on the season but they’ve been favored by double-digits 18 times this year. In those games, they are 10-8. However, they’ve failed to cover three of the last five after covering four straight.

Furman is 8-10-1 against the spread—6-9 as an underdog—but they’ve covered four straight as an underdog.

If Davidson was good enough to bury Furman at home by 40 points, then winning by more than 17 on the road should be a walk in the park.

Steve’s pick: Davidson -17.0