The rebuilding task will indeed belong to Spivery, whose job is secure for at least another year, if not longer. He just finished the first season in a four-year contract extension, Athletic Director Greg LaFleur confirmed, and will head into year No. 2 of the deal next fall.
Even if Southern wanted to part ways with Spivery, its cash-starved athletics department probably couldn’t afford to buy him out and pay another coach.
As grim as this season was, finding a way out of the ditch could prove to be even tougher.
The Jaguars lose three seniors in guards Chris Davis, Steffon Wiley and Geri Guillory — and their absence will be significant.
Together, they played 31 percent of the team’s minutes and made up a whopping 59 percent of the team’s scoring.
Davis himself scored 24 percent of Southern’s points by himself, all but carrying the Jaguars toward the finish
In other words, Southern must find a scorer to replace Davis and a steady point guard to replace Wiley.
Two forwards, Julius Ingram and Douglas Scott, will likely assume a leadership role next season, and hard-working post player Barry Honoré could help ease the transition if his scoring and rebounding numbers go up.
Another frontcourt teammate, Derrick Richardson, should return from a knee injury, and lanky swingman Lester Johnson, who redshirted this season, will be available off the bench.
Still, Southern will need a dynamic scorer.
Spivery said he’s received commitments from two high school players; if they both sign, Southern will have three more scholarships to give.
“We’ve got to get some immediate help at the point guard position. We need another scorer — someone who can score and shoot the ball. And we need another post player,” Spivery said. “I think we’re going to have to look at the junior college ranks for that. So we need to get some immediate depth at the junior college level.”
http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/41269977.html?index=14&c=y
This is truly sad.
:lol:
