10 athletic teams, and USA had to drive a stake defensive assignments and routinely bolts ◆ 10 South alabama through the career of arguably the league’s thE JaGuars into passing lanes. He averaged 1.2 steals best player—Bo McCalebb—while outlast- despite playing less than 16 minutes per LOCATIoN Mobile, AL ing New Orleans the night before. No PLAyer Pos Ht Wt Yr HOMETOWN contest. He had five steals twice this season CoNFERENCE Sun Belt (Eastern) South Alabama built a lot of its NCAA 1 Coleman, DeAndre F 6-7 233 Jr. Stone Mountain, GA and had four in the league tournament win RECoRD 26-6 (.812) resume with a three-game tussle against 2 Hayles, Daniel F 6-4 209 Jr. Mobile, AL against New Orleans. CoNFERENCE RECoRD 16-2 (t-1st) 3 Tilford, Domonic G 5-10 171 Jr. Louisville, KY the SEC in November and December. The ◆ NICKNAME Jaguars 5 Merritt, Daon G 5-8 193 Sr. Jamaica, NY COLORS Blue, Red & White Jaguars beat SEC West Division cham- WhEN SOUTH ALABAMA WINS 10 Bennett, Demetric G 6-4 205 Sr. Albany, GA S o u t h a l a b a m a PREVIOUS NCAA TOURNAMENtS 7 pion Mississippi State, should’ve beaten 11 Ross, DeAndrae G 6-2 164 Fr. Panama City, FL A somewhat deliberate pace with oppor- ALL-tImE NCAA RECoRD 1-7 Vanderbilt in Nashville and could’ve beaten tunistic breaks might best suit the Jaguars bESt FINISh Second round, ’89 Ole Miss in Oxford. USA lost 91-88 in 13 Chesser, Eric F 6-5 191 Fr. Naperville, IL COACh Ronnie Arrow (SW Texas State ’69) double overtime at Vanderbilt and 81-78 to 21 Davis, Brandon F 6-6 205 Jr. Birmingham, AL from here. They scored at least 70 points in COACh’S NCAA TOURNAMENtS 3 the Rebels. 22 Ford, B.J. F 6-0 165 Jr. Grand Rapids, MI four of their six losses while scoring less than COACh’S NCAA RECoRD 1-3 Vanderbilt set a school record for vic- 32 Tabet, Charles F 6-8 226 So. Bloomfield Hill, MI 70 in six of their victories. aSSISTANtS: Chuck Taylor (Wayne State ’02) tories and earned its own spot in the Big 33 Tabet, Philip F 6-8 211 So. Bloomfield Hill, MI Not that the Jaguars can’t go up and Mike Floyd (Murray State ’99) Dance by February, and Ole Miss won 21 40 Culpepper, Brent F 6-5 181 Jr. Gardendale, AL down with most anyone. They scored 90 or Andy Helton (Miami, Ohio ’92) games. 42 Ivany, Chip G 5-11 157 So. Pflugerville, TX more in league wins against Florida Atlantic, BLUE RIBBON PRESEaSoN 3rd, Sun Belt Sweeping Western Kentucky, especially 54 Douglas, Ronald C 6-8 225 Jr. Baton Rouge, LA Troy and New Orleans. the win in Bowling Green, was obviously But Arrow’s rotation has basically been HOW THEY GOT hERE crucial in the end. whittled down to seven players, and more averaging 20.1 points and 5.9 rebounds. He’s game (37.3 to 30.8) this season. possessions mean more work for the heavily After clawing up the Sun Belt Conference made 90 three-pointers while shooting bet- Two long-armed juniors, 6-8 Ronald BACKCOURt taxed Bennett and Merritt. Bennett gets the en route to a regular-season title, the Jaguars Douglas and 6-7 Brandon Davis, have com- ter than 41 percent behind the arc, and shot least reprieve, averaging 34.8 minutes per had to bite their nails on Selection Sunday When Arrow returned to Mobile this bined for 77 blocked shots. Douglas blocked 83.4 percent at the foul line (131-157). game for the season. Merritt averages more after getting eliminated on their home court year after scaring Wisconsin in the NCAA six shots against Vanderbilt and Davis Bennett scored 39 points against than 32 minutes as well. by Middle Tennessee in the league tourna- Tournament with his final Texas A&M- Mississippi State, 28 at Ole Miss and 25 blocked six against Jacksonville. ment’s semifinals. Corpus Christi team last spring, it looked Each fouled out against Vanderbilt—they at Vanderbilt. He had 32 in the Sun Belt bEATING THE JaGUARS The loss was a stunner for coach Ronnie like a golden opportunity for him to get the Tournament loss to Middle Tennessee. didn’t get there money’s worth on some of Arrow, who returned to South Alabama program back to the high-water mark he’d Perhaps most impressively, or so former those—but not before helping USA out- Multiple penetrators present prob- this year after building Texas A&M-Corpus made during his first stint. coach John Pelphrey might contend, Bennett rebound the Commodores 42-39. Douglas lems. Middle Tennessee had a couple of Christi from scratch and taking it to the Arrow was at South Alabama when the has aided his team consistently at both ends also had 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting and lead guards in Nigel Johnson and Kevin NCAA Tournament a year ago, where it nar- Jags upset Wimp Sanderson’s Alabama team, of the court this year. 10 rebounds in that one, which is impressive Kanaskie, and wing Demetrus Green can put rowly missed knocking off Wisconsin. then played Michigan even for 38 minutes Merritt (11.5 ppg) is built rock-solid—a considering Vandy has a freshman center in it on the floor, too. The Jaguars were tied with 18 minutes in the 1989 NCAA Tournament. Alabama compressed Vinnie Johnson always comes Australian A.J. Ogilvy, who made the SEC’s MTSU shot 57 free throws in its two left in the semifinal, and Middle Tennessee had Robert Horry, David Benoit and Keith to mind—and has a burst into the lane. The All-Freshman team and is a veteran of inter- victories against South Alabama, which leading scorer Desmond Yates had four fouls Askins, and the Wolverines, who went on to former starter at Richmond averaged 5.6 national play. was 28-of-34 at the line against the Jags in by then. Barely a minute later, MTSU center win the national championship after hold- assists and visited the foul line 148 times this Davis is averaging 10.9 points and 6.3 the Sun Belt Tournament game. Johnson Theryn Hudson picked up his fourth foul. ing on to beat Arrow’s Jags by five, had Glen season in his second year for the Jaguars. rebounds. Douglas averages 6.6 points and and Kanaskie went a combined 22-of-25 in The Blue Raiders had to go to more zone Rice, Rumeal Robinson, Loy Vaught and Throw in Cincinnati transfer Dominic 4.4 boards. that one. defense, and as it turned out, it confounded Terry Mills. Tilford and Arrow’s backcourt is arguably South Alabama’s leading rebounder is the Jags. They didn’t attack it consistently, But Arrow had a dynamic chemistry with better than a certain previous one he had in 6-7, 233-pound DeAndre Coleman, who THE FINAL WoRD missed some good looks from three-point guards Junie Lewis and Jeff Hodge, who hit Mobile. Tilford, a 6-1 junior who spent last played briefly with Tilford at Cincinnati two range and the lack of rhythm seemed to add South Alabama has a go-to guy, a proven the game-winner against Alabama. season lighting it up at New Mexico Junior years ago. He averages 7.8 points and 7.8 a little gravity to their defense. quarterback, a complementary wing who The backcourt tandem Arrow inherited College, is averaging 12.7 points and shoot- rebounds, and collected 18 caroms in a win MTSU ended up at the foul line 34 times, Daon Merritt can fill it up from deep, a blue-collar defend- this year, point guard and ing 37.4 percent from three-point distance against Troy. Coleman had 12 rebounds and making 28 of those, and before you knew it wing Demetric Bennett, is every bit as tal- er, and length and athleticism on the blocks (61-163). He also is shooting 88.4 percent at three steals to help beat Mississippi State. the favored Jags were walking woozily out of ented. Well aware of Lewis and Hodge, or at The player excited to do a lot of the dirty defensively. The Jaguars also have a recent the foul line (84-95). their suddenly silent Mitchell Center know- least Peanut Butter and Jelly, before Arrow work is 6-5 junior swingman Daniel Hayles. run of postseason appearances, and their ing someone else controlled their fate. arrived, Merritt and Bennett decided they A Mobile product who came back home new coach had a near miss in the Big Dance FRoNtCOURt Considering they went 16-2 in the league were going to be Arrow’s “Bread and Butter.” after starting 20 games during two seasons last year, so they shouldn’t be happy just to and swept tournament champion Western Arrow told them the only way to do The Jaguars don’t have much bulk for Jeff Lebo at Auburn, Hayles’ contribu- get the equivalent of a governor’s pardon. Kentucky, the Jaguars didn’t encounter a that was by bringing home the bacon, and inside, but they do have more length than tions often show up better on opponents’ Don’t be surprised if Arrow helps get smooth postseason path. Middle Tennessee indeed they have. Bennett, a 6-4 wing who many mid-majors. Consequently, they out- stat sheets than they do on South Alabama’s.