Men's Basketball Holds First Official Practice of 2020-21 Campaign

Men's Basketball Holds First Official Practice of 2020-21 Campaign

10/14/2020 4:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- There was a buzz in the air, or in Reed Green Coliseum for that matter, as the 2020-21 Southern Miss men's basketball team took the floor for its first official preseason practice.

The squad went for two hours, complete with individual and five-on-five drills, as well as conditioning before the final meeting.

There are nine newcomers out of the 17 on the roster, featuring five freshmen (Javarzia Belton, Mark Jaakson, Jaron Pierre, Blake Roberts, Kai Steinman), three junior-college prospects (Tae Hardy, Justin Johnson, DeAndre Pinckney) and Tyler Morman, who played at Wyoming last season.

LaDavius Draine enters his senior season with 178 three-pointers, putting him 16 away from Casey Fisher (1984-88) for No. 2 in school history. Tyler Stevenson, who began his career as a walk-on, had the fourth-highest, freshman-to-sophomore scoring improvement in the nation (plus-9.6 ppg) also returns. He has also gained 50 pounds since his first day on campus, which included intense workouts in a barn during the COVID-19 spring shutdown with teammate (and fellow Columbus native) Denijay Harris.

Schedule and ticket information will be announced at a later date.

Quotes from Jay Ladner

On the overall goals of the season
"We are trying to be better than we were last year. I do like our team. Our goal is to win the league, and we will do whatever we can to do that. It's a crazy year, and crazy things can happen. We have a lot of new faces and inexperience at this point, but I couldn't be happier with the way our team has approached every day. They're a joy to be around, good guys and talented basketball players that work their tails off. I truly look forward to come to practice every day, and I'm sure they feel the same way."

On his visions for the team's style
"I think we are closer to the style we'd like to play. We want to be pressure-oriented on both ends. You're going to see two things. First, we definitely look the part. We had some good players last year, but as I've told people this year, we have more of those guys now. We're longer, more athletic and physical. We want to play more of an up-tempo brand of basketball. Last year, we played a lot of guys 36-38 minutes a game, and we had to be very methodical in our style. We're looking to stay on the attack this season, and to borrow an old phrase from our football program, to become the 'Nasty Bunch on the Hardwood.'"

On the newcomers and returners
"Once you see us in person, you won't recognize a lot of our guys. You'll see Tyler Stevenson and Denijay Harris [who redshirted last season]. We hadn't seen them from spring break till July, and it could have gone one of two ways. They could have sat around, but they went back home to Columbus and set up a weight room inside a barn. Their physicality has been impressive. Seeing [junior-college transfers] Justin Johnson, DeAndre Pinckney and Tae Hardy, who have been the more-heralded guys of our recruiting class assimilate so well is something to compliment. They're good guys and good basketball players. We've got better depth and overall talent, and that should happen every year. Jaron Pierre, a freshman from New Orleans, is going to be a good one if he continues to stay the course and lock in. Tyler Morman is a newcomer a lot of people won't recognize. He transferred from Wyoming, and we hope he checks all the boxes for immediate eligiblity from the NCAA. He's a strong and smart basketball player. Mark Jaakson, out of Estonia, can really stretch the floor, and sophomores Artur Konontsuk and Jay Malone have played well. LaDavius Draine struggled to start last year, and some of that was a difficult non-conference schedule as well as us figuring out the point-guard spot to help him out, compared to the previous year where he could just catch and shoot it [from then-guard Tyree Griffin]. We've gotten stronger there this year, and it's already benefited him this fall. I'm really pleased with the entire group."