GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's basketball team will tip off the 2023-2024 campaign this Friday night when they host Lander University for a 6 p.m. Southeast Region contest at Pioneer Arena.
Head coach J.T. Burton returns four lettermen from last year's 16-11 squad which finished runner-up in the South Atlantic Conference Mountain Division and advanced to the semifinal of the SAC Tournament.
Burton, who is coaching in his sixth season in Greeneville, has a dozen talented newcomers including and six players on the roster who are new to the TU program which has posted five consecutive winning seasons.
This year's schedule may be one of the toughest yet for the Pioneers and Coach Burton as TU will play seven games against teams who advanced to last year's NCAA Division II Tournament including four in a row to start the season beginning with Lander on Friday.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Senior guard Connor Jordan is TU's top returning scorer as he averaged 12.3 points per game including 15.5 ppg in his last three outings to earn a spot on the SAC All-Tournament team. He led the team at the free throw line where he shot 87.8 percent which is the fifth-best in a Tusculum single-season. He shot 50.4 percent from the floor and 36.1 percent from three-point territory. The Morristown, Tennessee native led the Pioneers with his 32 steals averaging 1.19 thefts per contest.
Returning for Tusculum is 6-8 forward Jacob Hobbs as he is coming off a season where he averaged 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in his 25 outings. The Elizabethtown, Kentucky graduate student shot 53 percent from field including 29-of-50 (58%) for his last 15 games. Hobbs, who played his first two seasons at Division I Lipscomb University, recorded 15 blocked shots and 23 steals and posted a respectable 70 percent from the charity stripe for the Pioneers.
Senior guard Kobe Funderburk (Charlotte, N.C.) will provide depth from the perimeter for the Pioneers. He is shooting 42.2 percent from three-point territory for his career and averaged 5.1 points and connected on 24 three-pointers in his 18 outings last season which included a pair of 20-point outings.
Junior point guard KJ Crump (Clarksville, Tenn.) appeared in all 27 contests last season where he made 16 starts. He averaged 5.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game and led TU with his 67 total assists (2.48 apg). He shot 71 percent from the free throw line and tied for second on the club with 25 steals.
Not new to the program, but seeing their first varsity action of their career will be: Jackson Owens (Prosperity, S.C.), TJ Printup (Adairsville, Ga.), Bryce Jackson (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Naji Hall (Raleigh, N.C.), Michael Richerson (Louisville, Ky.) and Cade Huff (Knoxville, Tenn.).
Owens, a 6-5 sophomore forward, averaged 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds at Mid-Carolina High School. He was a two-time All-Conference choice and was named his team's most valuable player.
Printup, a 6-6 redshirt freshman forward, was a three-time All-Region and All-County selection at Adairsville High School. He was the two-time County Player of the Year and was an All-State standout his senior season. He posted 1,500 career points and averaged a school record 27.5 points per game in his final prep campaign.
Jackson, a 6-3 redshirt freshman guard, garnered All-District and All-Region distinction at Stewart's Creek High School. He averaged 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game and was the program's first 1,000-point scorer as he finished with 1,200 career points.
Hall, a 6-0 sophomore guard, is in his third season with the program following his playing days at Moravian Prep. He helped Moravian to a conference championship in 2019 and was named his team's Most Improved Player.
Richerson, a 5-11 sophomore guard who was named Offensive Player of the Year at North Bullitt High School. He was named the KHSAA District Tournament Most Valuable Player and helped his team to a District championship.
Huff, a 6-6, 195-pound senior forward, had a stellar high school career at Hardin Valley Academy.
One of the newcomers to watch this season for the Pioneers is 6-9, 230-pound forward Akeem Odusipe. Odusipe, who is a native of Lagos, Nigeria, played his prep basketball at Catholic High School in Knoxville and joins the TU program after spending the first three seasons at Division I programs Vanderbilt and Kent State. He played in 11 games including eight SEC contests in his lone season at Vanderbilt. He appeared in 39 games with 31 starts in his two seasons at Kent State where KSU combined for a 51-18 record including 31-7 in Mid-American Conference play.
Ray'Quan Taylor, a 6-9 forward from Montgomery, Alabama, played last season at Tallahassee Community College. He appeared in 31 contests where he averaged 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. He also played one season at UT Rio Grande Valley following his prep career at George Washington Carver High School in Montgomery.
Gemari Marshall, a 6-2 junior guard from Jackson, Mississippi, comes to Tusculum after playing last season at Itawamba Community College. While at the Fulton, Mississippi junior college, he averaged 11.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 51 percent from the field including 42 percent from beyond the arc and 84 percent at the charity stripe. He also averaged 4.6 assists per game and posted 10 or more points on 15 occasions. Marshall was a four-time All-Conference selection at Forest Hill High School in Jackson where he averaged 30.0 points per game.
The tallest player on this year's roster is 6-10 center Travis Pourciau. He played last season at Delta College where he logged 28 games with 12 starts. He totaled 196 points, 170 rebounds and 26 blocked shots while shooting 52 percent from the floor. He played his prep hoops at Coranado High School in his native Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Josiah Morris, a 6-6 sophomore guard from Mt. Washington, Kentucky, joins the Pioneer program after spending the last two seasons at Division I UT Martin. In his freshman season with the Skyhawks, he averaged 2.6 points and 1.0 rebounds and played in 233 minutes. Prior to UT Martin, he played with the Central Kentucky Home School Program in Taylorsville, Kentucky and averaged 15.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. His Spartans team ranked No. 1 in the state for a second straight year along with a No. 7 ranking in the Midwest Region and 17th nationally. He also played two seasons at Bullitt East High School where he helped the Chargers to 33 wins.
Freshman forward Joey Robertson was a three-time All-State and All-County selection at Orange Beach (Ala.) High School. The 6-7, 200-pound rookie recorded 1,420 points in his career and averaged 21.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in his senior season.
SCOUTING LANDER
The Lander Bearcats are coming off a 22-10 campaign which saw LU advance to the finals of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA II Southeast Regional.
The Bearcats led the Peach Belt in scoring defense (69.9 ppg), scoring margin (+11.2) and three-pointers made per game (11.2). They return three of their top five scorers from last season including Preseason All-PBC guard Jacob Cooper, who led the team with his 13.0 points per game.
New to Lander this season, but not a stranger to the Pioneers is 6-7 forward Inady Legiste, who played the previous three seasons at Tusculum. He totaled 861 career points and 465 rebounds in his 74 games in Greeneville where he recorded 14 career double-doubles. Last year, he was named to the All-SAC first team and was a D2CCA All-Southeast Region second team choice.
UP NEXT
The Pioneers will be on the road at USC Aiken on Wednesday (Nov. 15) before returning home to face UNC Pembroke next Saturday (Nov. 18).
