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Mercer returns just three players after a 19-win season, relying on Brady Shoulders and 12 newcomers to overcome major scoring and defensive losses.
Written By
Written By
Mercer went 19-13 last season and tied for second in the Southern Conference at 11-7. The Bears were 14-1 at Hawkins Arena, and the only home loss came to Chattanooga by four. They led the league at 82.7 points a game. Then they lost a quarterfinal to Western Carolina in Asheville, 77-73, after losing at Western Carolina a week and a half earlier. Ryan Ridder won five more games than in his first season, and almost all of that roster is gone.
The league's coaches picked Mercer seventh with 47 points, behind newcomer Tennessee Tech. Brady Shoulders, a junior guard and forward, made the preseason all-conference team. He is the Bears' only pick, and one of three players left from last year's roster.
Twelve players are gone. Together they scored 2,126 of Mercer's 2,646 points, about 80 percent.
Baraka Okojie was the offense. In 31 games he averaged 19.7 points, second in the SoCon, and 5.3 assists, first in the league. He scored in double figures every game, scored 20 or more 14 times, and twice scored 29. He led the country in free throws made per game at 7.2. He made the NABC All-District second team. He transferred to George Mason.
Armani Mighty was the defense. The 6-foot-10 center averaged 13.2 points and 10.6 rebounds and shot 64.5 percent. He led the league with 54 blocks. He was the SoCon's co-defensive player of the year and a second-team all-conference pick. He transferred to Pitt.
Zaire Williams started all 32 games and averaged 13.1 points. He led the team with 71 threes and shot 36.0 percent from deep. He signed to play professionally with Oviedo in Spain. Kyle Cuffe Jr. averaged 7.3 points off the bench and in 14 starts. He transferred to St. John's. Connor Serven, a 6-foot-8 forward, averaged 6.4 points and 3.9 rebounds. He signed with the Kordall Steelers in Luxembourg.
Tristan Gross averaged 4.2 points and shot 43.5 percent from three. He transferred to Radford. Jaydon Cole (3.6 points in seven games) went to Coastal Georgia, an NAIA school. Braeden Carlsen (3.0 points in eight games) went to Mars Hill. Pero Zubac, a 6-foot-10 freshman, played seven games and entered the portal with no confirmed destination. Bendji Pierre (3.5 points) and TJ Grant were seniors. Alex Koch and NJ Nganga are also off the roster.
That is the top three scorers, the league's best shot blocker, and the bench. Mercer has to replace about four of every five points it scored.
Shoulders is the leader now. The 6-foot-6 junior from Eddyville, Kentucky, started all 29 games he played. He averaged 9.3 points and 6.8 rebounds, second on the team in rebounding. He led the Bears with 49 steals and was second with 55 assists. He scored a career-high 21 at ETSU and had six steals in the opener at Tennessee. He scored in double figures 14 times. He has started 53 of 62 games in two seasons. He does a little of everything, and Mercer needs all of it.
Quinton Perkins II is the shooter. The 6-foot-2 senior from Dallas started 16 of 28 games and averaged 8.9 points. He made 40.8 percent of his threes and 85.7 percent of his free throws. He scored 21 against Samford on 7-of-9 shooting. Over his last six games he made 16 of 24 threes. He came to Mercer from Indian Hills Community College a year ago.
Petras Padegimas is the third holdover. The 6-foot-8 forward from Lithuania played 25 games for Dayton as a freshman, including two in the NCAA Tournament. He has missed the last two seasons at Mercer with injuries. Any minutes he gives the Bears are a bonus.
Ridder added 12 players. The roster lists 15 players, and 10 of them are guards.
Shane Cherry is the most interesting. The 5-foot-11 sophomore from Knoxville averaged 19.2 points at Tallahassee State, a junior college, and led the team in steals. He scored 20 or more 14 times and scored 36 in his final game. KJ LaMonte, a 6-foot-3 junior, was a second-team NJCAA All-American at Indian Hills. He averaged 11.7 points and led his league at 84.9 percent at the line. He started his career at New Mexico Highlands.
Two Division II guards can shoot. Dawson Barr, a 6-foot-4 senior, averaged 13.4 points at Embry-Riddle and made 43.8 percent of his threes. Derek Goodman, a 6-foot-4 junior, averaged 15.8 points at Ohio Dominican and made first-team all-conference.
The frontcourt was rebuilt for size. Keelan Steele, a 6-foot-10 senior from Ontario, started 23 games at Maine. He averaged 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds, shot 60.5 percent, and blocked 23 shots. Makoi Mabor Makoi, a 6-foot-11 junior from South Sudan, played 33 games off the bench at UNC Wilmington and averaged 1.5 points and 2.6 rebounds. Dimitrije Kovacevic, a 6-foot-8 forward from Bosnia and Herzegovina, redshirted at Wake Forest. Sawyer Mayhugh, a 6-foot-9 junior, is the third Indian Hills player on the roster.
The rest are depth. Manos Koveos, a 5-foot-10 senior from Greece, comes from Georgia State. Ryder Cate comes from Clarendon College. Josh Jackson, from Houston County High School in Warner Robins, and Harrison Lyttle, from IMG Academy, are freshmen.
Ridder's teams play fast. Mercer scored 82.7 points a game and got to the line often, mostly because Okojie lived there. Nobody on this roster has done that at the Division I level.
The guards will decide the season. Cherry, LaMonte, Barr, and Goodman all scored at least 11 points a game at their last stops, but none of it came against Division I teams. Perkins is the only guard who has played big minutes in the SoCon. Someone in that group has to become the player other teams plan for. If two or three of them can score, Mercer can win games by committee. If not, Shoulders and Perkins will see a lot of double teams.
The frontcourt is the bigger worry. Mighty blocked 54 shots and grabbed 10.6 rebounds a game. Steele is the only new big with real Division I production, and he averaged 4.5 rebounds at Maine. Shoulders will have to keep crashing the glass from the wing.
The nonconference schedule is tough. Mercer opens at home against Reinhardt on Nov. 2. Then it plays five straight road games: at Virginia Tech on Nov. 5, at Davidson on Nov. 7, at Georgia Southern on Nov. 10, at West Virginia on Nov. 12, and at Presbyterian on Nov. 18. Charleston Southern visits on Nov. 21. The Bears play at Florida Atlantic on Nov. 24 and at Georgia State on Dec. 1.
League play opens at home against Wofford on Dec. 5. Then it is back on the road at Arizona State on Dec. 8 and at New Mexico on Dec. 15. Mercer plays at Chattanooga on Dec. 19 and at Tennessee Tech on Dec. 22. ETSU visits on Dec. 30.
Western Carolina, the team that ended last season, comes to Macon on Jan. 6. Mercer plays in Cullowhee on Jan. 18. Furman hosts the Bears on Jan. 16 and visits Feb. 6. VMI comes in on Jan. 20, and Mercer plays at VMI on Feb. 11. UNCG visits Jan. 23 and hosts the Bears Feb. 13. The regular season ends with Tennessee Tech and Chattanooga at home, then at Samford on Feb. 24 and at The Citadel on Feb. 27. Hawkins Arena gets 13 home games.
Seventh feels low for a program that just won 19 games and lost once at home. It also makes sense. Mercer lost its two best players, its third scorer, and nine others. The coaches are betting that 12 new players will not come together quickly.
Ridder has rebuilt before, and he did it well a year ago. Shoulders and Perkins give him a base. If Cherry or one of the other guards becomes a real scorer and Steele can hold up inside, Mercer is a top-four team again. If the new guards spend December figuring out roles, the road trips to Virginia Tech and West Virginia will be long nights, and that Western Carolina loss will still be the last thing people remember.
