The Southern Miss Basketball Report: Roster Breakdown, Notes and More

The Southern Miss Basketball Report: Roster Breakdown, Notes and More

11/1/2024 1:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

HATTIESBURG – The 60^th season of Southern Miss men's basketball at Reed Green Coliseum is just days from getting underway. Sixth-year head coach Jay Ladner also makes his triumphant return to the bench after suffering a major heart attack last February. The Golden Eagles are just two years removed from winning the Sun Belt regular season title and own a 26-3 mark at The Greenhouse over the last two seasons.

This preseason report includes a roster breakdown, schedule breakdown, and season notes. Southern Miss officially opens the season on Monday as it hosts Bowling Green in the MAC-SBC Challenge.

The '24-25 Golden Eagles in Jersey Order
Alfred Worrell Jr. spent his last two seasons at John A. Logan College and Paris Junior College. The D.C. native spent last season at John A. Logan where he averaged 12.1 points per game across 27 contests. He logged 10-plus points in 14 games and scored a season-high 37 points against Three Rivers CC. The sharp-shooting guard hit at least five three-pointers in three games and made 10 in a two-game stretch where he scored 37 and 29 points.

DeAntoni Gordon is arguably one of the most experienced players on the Southern Miss roster as the graduate transfer has appeared in 91 collegiate games. Gordon spent the last three seasons at Little Rock where he was an All-Ohio Valley player in 2022-23. During that season, the Mobile, Ala., native averaged 13.7 points per contest. He led the team in scoring, free throw percentage, minutes and blocks. Last season for the Trojans, Gordon started all 32 games and was third on the squad in scoring at 11.2 points per game. The LeFlore High School product started his career at Wichita State before transferring to Northwest Mississippi.

Brewer Carruth forged a path similar to Ladner's in the sense that he's a Mississippi High School basketball product. Carruth prepped at Parklane Academy where he was a standout football player as well. The McComb native is a 2024 MAIS 5A State Champion and was named 6A and 5A All-State on the hardwood. Carruth was a MAIS All-Star, MAIS Most Outstanding Senior Athlete and a Dandy Dozen.

Jett Montgomery is no stranger to Southern Miss as his dad, Mark, was a standout wide receiver for the Golden Eagles back in the 90's. Montgomery comes to Hattiesburg after a standout prep career at Independence High School in Tennessee. While at Independence, he guided the program to a Tennessee State Championship as a senior and broke the all-time career steals record in the process.

Christian Watson has reached the pinnacle of collegiate basketball while at Miami (Fla.) when he was a member of Hurricanes' 2022-23 Final Four team. Watson appeared in 24 games for Miami last season and earned his first career start in an ACC contest at North Carolina. He scored a season-high 14 points in a December contest against North Florida and dished out seven assists against Stonehill. While prepping at St. John's College, Watson was a McDonald's All-America nominee and consensus four-star recruit. He was rated the as the top recruit in Washington, D.C. by ESPN, 247Sports, and Rivals.

John Wade III has played at nearly every level of college basketball and aims to break back into the Division I ranks at Southern Miss. Wade III played at Stanislaus State (DII) last season where he averaged 12.3 points per game in 27 contests – 19 of those were starts. Wade III has also played at Cal State Northridge (DI) and Contra Costa College (JUCO). The Oakland, Calif. native played his high school ball at American Canyon and graduated in 2018 with honors.

Cobie Montgomery returns to Southern Miss as one of its best returning shooters. The redshirt senior appeared in 32 games last season and shot 34.1 percent from deep. The Louisville, Ky. native hit a career-high five three-pointers against Marshall and connected on at least three three-pointers in six games. Montgomery grabbed 36 offensive rebounds to finish third on the team in that category.

Andre Curbelo only appeared in 12 games for Southern Miss last season, but the Puerto Rican certainly made his presence known. The guard recorded the second triple-double in program history in a 13-point, 11-assists, and 10-rebound performance against Georgia State. Another stellar performance was churned out in Southern Miss' ranked win over #19 JMU when he went for 15 points and nine assists. He scored 13-plus points in eight of his 12 games and has 20-plus points in three of them, including a season-high 25 against South Alabama on the road.

Neftali Alvarez enters his third season at Southern Miss after missing all of last season due to a nagging lower-body injury that plagued him at the end of the '22-23 campaign. Alvarez is known for his tenacious defense and flashy ball handling skills, but his presence in the locker room has played a vital role for the Golden Eagles. The seventh-year senior has averaged 11.6 points per game over his career and is just shy of 300 career assists at 295. Alvarez's best game as a Golden Eagle was in a crucial win over Georgia Southern where he went for 19 points and four steals.

Denijay Harris is another veteran player for Southern Miss as he enters his sixth season of collegiate basketball. Harris makes his return to the Golden Eagle bench after testing the waters at Arkansas last season. Through two exhibition games, Harris has shown that he can put up dominant numbers and carry a heavy load for Southern Miss. During the '22-23 season, Harris averaged 8.9 points per game and averaged 5.7 boards per game. He produced four double-doubles that year, including three down the stretch as Southern Miss chased a regular season title.

Trey Alfonso is in his fourth season with the Golden Eagles and has appeared in 30 games during his career. He came off the bench in 12 games last season and played a career-high five minutes in Southern Miss' win over Western Michigan. Alfonso also drained a pair of free throws against Ole Miss. The Chalmette, La. native is one of seven graduates on the team and earned his degree in three years.

Christian Reid joins the program as a scholarship player after a standout prep career at Mater Lakes Academy in Florida. Reid was a First Team All-State player as a senior and helped Mater Lakes to a state title. The 6-foot-4 guard is a native of North Miami Beach, Fla.

Jeffery Armstrong leads the current Southern Miss roster in total games played as he's appeared in 94 games since he made his debut in '20-21. Armstrong logged a career-high 31 points last season and hit a career-high five three-pointers. Armstrong enjoyed a breakout game at Coastal Carolina last season where he went for 10 points and hit a pair of triples. The Rainsville, Ala. native guarantees Ladner solid defensive minutes as he's known for a gritty playing style.

Tegra Izay's interior presence didn't go unnoticed last season as the 7-footer played in 31 games for the Golden Eagles. This season, though, Izay will have a different look as he's lost nearly 35 pounds in the offseason. The Montral, Canada native averaged 15.9 minutes a game last season and scored around 4.5 points per game. Izay had 10-plus rebounds in three games, including 14 against eventual Southland Conference champions McNeese. Izay was second on the team in blocked shots with 29 and will factor into being a key piece of Southern Miss' post play this season.

Jose Benitez is in his second year with Southern Miss after transferring from Francis Marion. Benitez is a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and prepped at Miami Prep with Juan Cardona. Benitez appeared in 15 games last season, primarily at the point guard spot. He scored eight points in a win over Xavier (La.) and logged a season-high 19 minutes in that game. At Francis Marion, Benitez averaged 9.1 points across 19 games.

Dalyn Brandon will redshirt for Southern Miss this season after transferring from Winston-Salem State. Brandon is a native of Baltimore, Md. and played his high school ball at Archbishop Curley. The senior guard averaged 29 points per game at Alleganey College, where he played his first two seasons.

Lieb Yat enters his second season with Southern Miss, but his first fully healthy. Yat sat out last season while recovering from a knee injury. The Melbourne, Australia native is another 7-footer on the Southern Miss roster and transferred to the Golden Eagles from Seminole State College. Yat played his freshman season at Dawson CC where in averaged 7.0 points per game.

60 Years at Reed Green Coliseum
The '24-25 season is a special one at Reed Green Coliseum as it marks the 60^th season of basketball at The Greenhouse. The historic venue was officially dedicated on Dec. 11, 1965, during a game against Alabama. Since then, Southern Miss has won 522 games at the Coliseum. Last done in '22-23, the Golden Eagles have gone undefeated at home during three seasons. They also went undefeated during the '13-14 season but had to vacate all wins due to NCAA violations. Since its doors opened in 1965, Southern Miss has welcomed 2,665,572 fans through its doors and had a record crowd of 8,961 against Missouri-St. Louis on Nov. 28, 1981.

Seven Ranked Wins
Before Southern Miss toppled James Madison last season, the program had just six ranked wins in the 100-plus year history. The historic seventh win came in a 81-71 win over the Dukes, who were ranked No. 19 on Jan. 6, 2024. The win was another testament to the Reed Green faithful as it was the 20^th home win since the start of the '22-23 season. It was the third ranked win at home and first since defeating #22 UCF during the '10-11 season.

In-Season Tournaments
Not as warm as last season's multi-team event (MTE), but still just as competitive. Southern Miss is headed to Montana for this season's MTE that is being hosted by Montana State. The Golden Eagles will play the Bobcats and Abilene Christian in late November. Since Ladner took over, Southern Miss is 4-6 in MTE events and won the 2022 Cancun Challenge. Overall, Southern Miss as a program is 98-81 in such events.

Sun Belt Conference & Preseason Honors
Southern Miss enters year three in the Sun Belt and has made some noise over the first two seasons. The Golden Eagles were picked 13th in the inaugural '22-23 season and ended up regular season champions. They went 14-4 in conference play and slayed Louisiana 82-71 in front of a sold-out crowd at Reed Green Coliseum which solidified its title. The achievement was then locked up with a massive road win at Texas State in the regular season finale. Last season, Southern Miss was picked fourth in the preseason poll and finished in sixth with a 9-9 record. This season, Southern Miss was picked to finish fifth in the league and Andre Curbelo was tabbed a Preseason Third Team All-Sun Belt player.

What Holes Need to be Filled
Southern Miss lost a hefty amount of production due to graduation last season and have plenty of holes that the new-look roster need to fill. Most notably, the Golden Eagles only return 25.4 percent of its scoring and lost top-scorer Austin Crowley to graduation. They return less than 30 percent in the following categories (percent returning): field goals (27.9), three-point field goals (25.9), free throws (21.6), rebounding (26.6), assists (25.3), blocked shots (22.1), steals (22.7), minutes (28.8) and starts (18.1). Curbelo returns as the top-scorer after averaging 13.6 points per game, but that was only in 12 games played. Montgomery is the top returnee amongst those that played in at least 20 games as he averaged 7.0 across 32 contests.

Year Six with Jay Ladner
Jay Ladner enters his six at his alma mater and has amassed 65 wins since taking over the Golden Eagles in 2019. Ladner also returns to the bench full-time for the first time since suffering a heart attack last season. He was on the Southern Miss bench at the Sun Belt Tournament but turned the head duties over to Juan Cardona for that game. Since joining the Sun Belt, Ladner has guided Southern Miss to a 23-13 mark in conference action and a 26-3 record at home during that time. The Hattiesburg native ranks sixth all-time in wins at Southern Miss and is 24 shy of tying Fred Lewis (1957-62).

Schedule Notes
Southern Miss has two first-time opponents with Bowling Green and Abilene Christian on the schedule this season. The Golden Eagles will renew a storied rivalry with Tulane in mid-December and play in-state foe Ole Miss for the second consecutive season. The Golden Eagles will travel to App State for the first time since 1991 and for the first time as Sun Belt opponents. Tulane leads the way on Southern Miss' schedule in terms of total games played as the two have met 81 times. The series is 44-37 in favor of the Green Wave.

Southern Miss opens the season on Monday, Nov. 4 against Bowling Green at Reed Green Coliseum. The 7 p.m. contest will be aired on ESPN+ and be the first game of the MAC-SBC Challenge. All Sun Belt schools will travel to a to-be-determined MAC school on Feb. 8.

Single game and season tickets are available via SouthernMissTickets.com, calling 1-800-844-TICK or visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office during normal business hours.

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