GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum Pioneers tip off the 2021-22 campaign this weekend when the Black & Orange travels to Morrow, Georgia for the South Atlantic Conference / Peach Belt Conference Challenge. The Pioneers will open the season Friday against USC Aiken, followed by a Saturday match-up against host Clayton State University.
TU head coach J.T. Burton returns nine lettermen, including four starters from last year's 14-6 squad who advanced to the SAC Tournament semifinal for a second straight year before punching its ticket for the NCAA Division II postseason for the third time in school history and first postseason bid since 2009. The Pioneers recorded their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory and advanced to the semifinal round of the Southeast Regional for the first time in program history.
Coach Burton has orchestrated three consecutive winning seasons and has improved his winning percentage each year. The Pioneers have also logged three straight top-four finishes in the league as the Pioneers placed third with 12-4 SAC worksheet.
Leading the charge for the Pioneers is 2021 SAC Player of the Year Trenton Gibson. The 6-4, 200-pound guard from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, led the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and minutes as TU won eight of its last 10 contests. Gibson, a two-time All-Conference pick and the 2019 SAC Freshman of the Year, was the only player in the league to be ranked in the top-three in points per game (18.8 ppg – 3rd in SAC), rebounds per game (8.2 rpg – 3rd in SAC) and assists per game (5.0 apg – 3rd in SAC / 36th in NCAA II). He also topped the league with his 35.6 minutes per game average.
Gibson scored in double figures in 19 of his 20 outings including nine games with 20 or more points and was named to the SAC All-Tournament Team and the NCAA Southeast Regional All-Tournament Team. His 1,190 career points are the 20th-most in program history and is the only player in the 110-year history of TU men's basketball with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists in a career.
Gibson earned his Bachelor's degree from Tusculum in just three years where he graduated with summa cum laude honors. The 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team selection is enrolled in graduate school and working on his masters degree.
Senior guard James West IV is back after garnering All-SAC honorable mention laurels in his first season after transferring from NCAA Division I Mount St. Mary's. West averaged 14.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per contests in his 13 games including 12 starts. He missed seven games in January due to injury, but returned to close out February on a sizzling clip, averaging 21.6 points per game. He averaged 2.9 three-pointers made per game and shot 85 percent from the free throw line.
The program's all-time blocked shots leader is back in graduate student Brandon Mitchell. The 6-9, 195-pound center from Virginia Beach, Virginia averaged 7.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in his 20 outings last year in the post. Defensively, he recorded 1.75 rejections per game (2nd in SAC / 15th in NCAA II). Mitchell enters his final Tusculum campaign with 724 points, 618 rebounds (8th in TU history) and Tusculum record 171 blocked shots. He graduated from Tusculum last May and is enrolled in graduate school at TU.
Sophomore forward Inady Legiste is coming off a sensational rookie season where he averaged 9.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game (18th in SAC), while leading the Pioneers with his .514 field goal percentage (10th in SAC). The 2021 SAC All-Freshman Team standout also finished third in the conference with 1.25 blocked shots per game. The 6-7, 235-pound Ft. Lauderdale, Florida native appeared in all 20 games for Tusculum as he posted eight games in double figure scoring including 20 points and 12 rebounds in a one-point road win at Anderson, earning him SAC Player of the Week plaudits.
Junior forward Justin Mitchell also returns after averaging 7.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. The 6-5, 199-pounder from Lexington, Kentucky, accounted for six games with 10 or more points including 18 markers in a SAC Quarterfinal win over Catawba.
Joshua Scott, a 6-5, 205-pound junior forward from Pompano Beach, Florida, appeared in 19 games last year as he notched 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per outing. The 2020 SAC All-Freshman Team choice recorded seven games in double-figure scoring including a dozen markers in the NCAA Tournament win over 23rd-ranked Carson-Newman.
Junior guard Zack Dixon also returns for the Pioneers as the 6-2, 180-pound Charlotte, North Carolina native appeared in 19 games with a pair of starts. Dixon averaged 3.4 points and made 14 of his 17 free throws (82.4%).
Also back for the Pioneers are Kobe Funderburk (So., Charlotte, N.C.) and Makai Olden (Jr., Morristown, Tenn.). Funderburk shot a SAC-leading 51.9 percent from three-point territory as he played in 14 games as a true freshman. Olden made 14 appearances off the bench while totaling 13 points and 14 rebounds.
"We are in a good spot as we return a majority of our team from last season including the SAC Player of the Year in Trenton Gibson, which is always a plus," said Coach Burton. "But we have the other pieces around him, guys who have been in the program for two or three years now and the base of them are returning. We have also added three or four different pieces and I'm looking forward to the season."
Tusculum has nine newcomers on the varsity roster with five transfers and four freshmen.
Seasoned veteran William Vedder (Washington, D.C.) brings a wealth of championship experience with him from Virginia State University. In his three seasons with the Trojans, the 6-8, 230-pound graduate student was a member of three CIAA North Division title teams, including the 2019 CIAA Championship and three trips to the NCAA II Tournament. His teams posted a combined 72-19 overall record, including 43-7 in league play. Vedder appeared in 87 games including 28 outings during the 2019-20 campaign where he averaged 8.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. He accounted for 13 games in double figures in his final season at VSU.
NCAA Division I transfer Jacob Hobbs is slated to be a weapon in the paint as well as on the perimeter for the Pioneers. The 6-7, 215-pounder from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, played in 38 games at Lipscomb University. Last year, he played in 13 contests where he shot 47.1 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three-point territory. He appeared in 25 outings in his freshman season at the Nashville school. He was a three-time KHSAA All-District selection at Central Hardin High School where he averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds per game.
Junior Jalen Crowder, a 6-5, 180-pound native of Asheville, North Carolina, played the last two seasons at Caldwell Tech. He earned NJCAA All-Region honors as he posted 14.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in his freshman season and 10.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest last year while leading the team to an impressive 29-4 record. Crowder played his prep career at AC Reynolds in Asheville where he was a two-time All-Conference selection.
Mason Bierster comes to Tusculum from Johnson University in Knoxville where he played in 21 games and was a member of last year's NCCAA Division II National Championship team. He averaged 5.8 points per game and shot 52.4 percent from the floor last season. The 6-8, 195-pound forward played his prep hoops at Horizon Christian Academy where he was a 2019 All-State selection and a two-time All-Region honoree. In 2019 he averaged 19.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per contest.
John Savage, a sophomore from Tampa, Florida, originally signed with Bethune-Cookman University but their season was canceled due to COVID last year. He graduated from Braulio Alonso High School where he posted 16.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.1 steals per contest as his prep team made three State Playoff appearances.
True freshman KJ Crump has been impressive during the preseason after an All-Star career at University Heights Academy in Kentucky. The 5-7, 150-pound guard from Clarksville, Tennessee, played his prep career at the Hopkinsville school where he was named to the KHSAA All-State team. He posted 1,600 points in his career while leading University Heights to three District titles and a pair of trips to the Kentucky Sweet 16.
Freshman guard Cal Reed (Huntersville, N.C.) was a two-time team MVP at Lake Norman High School where he was the school's all-time leader in assists (476) and steals (200). In 2020, his 7.3 assists per game average was ranked 56th in the entire country. He was a two-time South Fork All-Conference pick and finished his career with 825 points and his 87 career three-pointers were the third-most in program history.
Jeremy Miller, a 6-6, 190-pound freshman from Oak Ridge, Tennessee average 19 points and 5.0 rebounds at Oak Ridge High School. Miller was a 2021 All-Region honoree who led the Wildcats to three District crowns and advanced to the State Tournament semifinal.
Harper Neal, a 6-5, 185-pound freshman from Kingston, Tennessee, was a TSSAA All-State selection at Roane County High School. The three-time All-Region choice scored 1,784 points during his prep career as led Roane County to the TSSAA State Tournament.
Following this weekend, the Pioneers will open conference play next week when they host Carson-Newman at Pioneer Arena. The two teams met on three occasions last season as TU went 2-1 in those games. The Pioneers defeated C-N in the regular-season meeting in Greeneville, but lost on a last-second tip-in in the SAC Semifinal, also at Pioneer Arena. Tusculum won the rubber-match in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament as TU won in overtime in Harrogate, Tennessee.
The Pioneers will play a 26-game regular-season schedule this year including 24 conference games which features 12 home games at Pioneer Arena. Tusculum went 8-1 in Greeneville last year.
