Weekly Recap: High Point Hoops Sweeps Wild Week in Qubein Center

Whewww…. take a minute and catch your breath. Yes, college basketball is back. Not just on your TV and in the sports talk world, but on the corner of East Lexington Avenue and University Parkway in High Point, NC as well. For five of the past seven nights a High Point Panthers basketball team has taken the court in the friendly confines of the Qubein Center; and for all five, they left the court victorious.

That’s right. Three wins for Coach Alan Huss’s men’s program and two wins for Coach Banbury’s squad stuffed the past week with about as exciting of an opening week of college basketball as I can remember for High Point University. The environment and atmosphere surrounding both programs have grown leaps and bounds and is only improving with each passing game. It’s amazing to see the tremendous crowds that came out this past week to support the Panthers.

Having said that, such a busy week last week kept me from posting rapid reactions or game summaries. But…it did give me time to digest, reflect and see the bigger picture. So, to recap this past week I’m going to keep it simple. One thing we learned from each game, and one thing we might have missed. With that being said, let’s relive the magical past seven days…

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

MBB: Coppin State W 93-51

What We Learned: Chase Johnston can shoot the basketball. Like really, shoot the basketball. Much of the preseason hype for High Point surrounded preseason Big South POY favorites Kezza Giffa and Kimani Hamilton so of course it was the fifth-year journeyman that stole the show on opening night. He did so in a BIG way, hitting 9 of 11 threes in route to a career-high 31 points and a 224 KenPom offensive rating, a number that I simply find unconscionable. If Johnston continues to find a consistent stroke for the Panthers, he might find himself on some of those end of season lists along with his teammates.

You Might Have Missed: Lost in the sauce of an unconscious offensive performance was Juslin Bodo Bodo’s game leading 13 rebounds. Nobody else on the court that night even had 5 total rebounds to their name. In fact, through three games Bodo Bodo has had double digits rebounds every night and per KenPom is currently ranked 22nd in the nation in Defensive Rebounding rate and 40th in the nation in offensive rebounding rate, 1st and 2nd respectively for all Big South players. While High Point as a team is not rebounding as well offensively compared to last year; they are actually improving on the defensive rebounding side and that is owed, in large part, to the often-thankless efforts of the big fella down low. Thank You, Juslin!

Thursday, November 7

WBB: Guilford W 100-47

What We Learned: When healthy, this is the deepest and arguably most talented team that Chelsea Banbury has assembled at High Point. The lady Panthers not only played all 14 available players on the roster, but EVERY player SCORED. That’s wild. I honestly cannot remember ever seeing that in a college basketball game. Eight players hit 3-pointers, five scored in double figures, thirteen grabbed a board and all fourteen played at least 10 minutes. I don’t care who your opponent is, that’s an amazing team effort.

You Might Have Missed: 0. Yes, in the wake of a hundred-point night the most impressive number of the evening might have been zero, as in the combined number of turnovers committed by Nakyah Terrell, Anna Hager, Nevaeh Zavala and Aaliyah Collins. The quartet committed a combined 18 turnovers just three nights earlier in a season opening loss to Elon and while Guilford is not Elon, it certainly exhibits what this offense is capable of when they take care of the basketball.

Saturday, November 9

MBB: Jackson State W 80-71

What We Learned: D’Maurian Williams can play basketball. Like really, play basketball. He led the team’s offensive effort tallying 22 points and 8 assists while going 9-9 from the line. This game wasn’t pretty at times in the 2nd half, but having a senior with D’Maurian’s leadership abilities is a huge plus for Huss’s squad. And quite honestly, this is the awesome part of this team; on any given night there are five, six, seven or more guys that could go off and completely change the outcome of the game.

You Might Have Missed: Something Alan Huss hasn’t done yet: pick up a technical foul. There were a lot of under the radar picks for this game; the collegiate debut of freshman Josh Ibukunoluwa or the continued performance by Abdoulaye Thiam as the most efficient 6th-man in the nation came to mind. But I’m going to give a special shoutout to coach on this one. Through 3 regular season games and 2 exhibitions he has yet to pick up that elusive first “T” that we all came to know and love last season. Quite frankly there were moments in this game where I wouldn’t have blamed him. But he's seemingly replaced at least a little Bob Knight with Jimmy Buffett and so far, so good between Huss and the zebras.

Sunday, November 10

WBB: Davidson W 56-53

What We Learned: This is one TOUGH group of High Point Panthers. Last year the High Point women’s basketball team went down to Davidson, NC and got shellacked, 77-40. So on Sunday when it became apparent they would be without starting PG Nakyah Terrell against the highly-rated Wildcats, the casual observer would have expected the same result from a year ago. But not this group. No Way. The Panthers rode a seven-player rotation and 18 points from Aaliyah Collins to a 56-53 victory. It was a game in which High Point went pound for pound with the Wildcats forcing 20 turnovers and marginalizing any rebounding advantage their opponent could hope for. It was the toughest, grittiest and quite frankly downright FUN forty minutes of basketball I’ve witnessed from Banbury’s program. It’s fun to see this group having fun and playing for each other.

You Might Have Missed: Shak Baskerville has elevated her game to a completely new level. Collins stole the show and “Future-Big-South-Player-of-the-Year” Dom Nesland looked the part of a veteran, but it was Shak Baskerville, the 6th woman of the bench, who quietly made the biggest impact. She came in and tallied 8 points and 10 boards, not the least of which was a clutch offensive rebound with less than a minute that sealed the deal for the Panthers. I’ve enjoyed watching her play more aggressively on both sides this year and really impose her will at times on opponents. It’s been great to see.

Tuesday, November 12

MBB: NC Central W 76-60

What We Learned: We’re still living in Kezza’s world. That’s right, the high-flying Frenchman is still an absolute dude on the court and his team leaned on him in this one. Tallying 24 points in a highly efficient 9 of 13 night from the floor, he led the way in a workman-like performance for the Panthers who pretty much controlled this one from tip to tip.

You Might Have Missed: Despite what the rankings or metrics may say about the Eagles in any given year, NC Central is a strong basketball program coached by a very talented and experienced guy in LeVelle Moton. But more importantly, under Moton, the Eagles have been particularly good at 1) three-point defense and 2) forcing turnovers. Last year the Eagles were 6th in the NATION in three-point defense and were top 50 this season coming into Tuesday night’s game. They also ranked in the top 50 according to KenPom in defensive turnover rate; meaning they force opponents into a significant number of turnovers. But for the most part, the Panthers dealt pretty well with both. It wasn’t a particularly great shooting night, but it was still a good one, 6-15 from three-point land. But the Panthers limited themselves to only 7 turnovers and won the turnover battle. So, this High Point team is not only improving but finding different ways to win on any night. A sure positive sign for Coach Huss’s squad.