Men’s basketball looks for redemption this season

MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Oct. 24, 2019) –  The wait for basketball season is almost over as the Milligan College men's basketball team is back in action this weekend Saturday, Oct. 26, at the University of the Cumberlands.

Last year, the men finished 22-7 overall and 16-6 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. The Buffs finished in third place and were one win away from returning to the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship which they have attended twice in the last five years.

Head coach Bill Robinson is entering his 11th season at the helm of the Buffs and is in high anticipation of what his team is going to bring this season.

Last year's squad

The Buffs graduated five members from last season and all five played an important role on the team. Among the graduates was the AAC player of the year for the 2018-19 season and All-American Aaron Levarity. Levarity led Milligan last season with 19.3 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. Levarity recorded 23 double-doubles which was 10 more than anyone else in the AAC.

In addition to Levarity, the Buffs lost seniors Will Buckner, Nic Chambers, Alex Jones and Chase Phillips.

"Will Buckner will be missed both on and off the court. He made road trips fun and always was a positive influence for everyone. Nic Chambers and Alex Jones were great teammates that will be hard to replace. Those three helped create good chemistry on the team," Robinson says.

Key returners

Milligan is returning four of their five starters from last year in seniors Desean Green, Mike Featherston, Tyler Nichols and Jacob Cawood. Nichols and Featherston are of the returners who were recognized on All-Conference teams last year. Nichols was a part of the All-Conference second team and Featherston was a member on the All-Defensive team.

Nichols was the team's second leading scorer, averaging 13.3 points per game and had the second most assists for Milligan last year with 62. Cawood put up consistently good numbers last year for the Buffs with a free throw average of .735 and the second highest three-point shooting average of .383.

Green averaged the most minutes played last year and led the team in assists with 101 and was fifth in the AAC in assists per game with 3.37. Featherston had 101 defensive rebounds and was second on the team with 29 blocks.

"These guys are our core," Robinson says. "If they can make the plays like they've been doing in practice and stay healthy we should see a lot of good things this season."

Senior Bo Pless will be looked upon as well as a returner who will make a big impact. "Bo has been practicing and shooting really well," Robinson comments. Last year Pless came into games in crucial situations and was beneficial for the Buffs across all areas of play. Last year he scored a career high of 18 points against Bluefield and was 4-7 in three-point attempts in that game.

New faces for the Buffs

The Buffs added four freshmen in the 2019 signing class. Among the newcomers, Matt Cole and Micah Paulk are expected to make an early impact for the Buffs.

Cole, from Orlando, Florida, is a 6-6 forward who Robinson says will be helpful in different positions throughout the year for the team.

Paulk, from Atlanta, Georgia, will be interchangeable this year Robinson says between a point guard and a shooting guard.

NAIA and AAC standings

Milligan is expected to be competitive this season as they are receiving votes in the initial NAIA top 25 poll. Union enters the poll at No. 9 and Montreat enters at No. 18.

In the preseason AAC coaches' poll, Milligan is picked to finish third behind Union, who is picked to finish first after winning their sixth consecutive conference title, and Montreat, who is picked to finish second.  Bryan is looked to finish fourth and Bluefield is expected to finish fifth, rounding up the top five for the AAC.

On the schedule for Milligan

This will be the fourth year in a row that Milligan opens the season with a road trip to the Cumberlands. The Buffs will return to Steve Lacy Fieldhouse for their home opener and AAC opener on Wednesday, Nov. 6, hosting Bluefield College at 7:30 p.m.

Overall Milligan will host 13 home games and travel to 17 road games that includes three exhibition games against NCAA Division I programs. The three Division I schools that the Buffs will face are Elon (Nov. 8), ETSU (Dec. 15) and Mercer (Dec. 28).

Milligan dives into conference play early, playing three of the top five teams in the conference in November. Milligan hosts Montreat on Nov. 20, and then the Buffs travel to Union on Nov. 26. Their last conference game will be on Saturday, Feb. 22, against St. Andrews with the AAC tournament beginning Feb. 26.

"Our goal is to make it to nationals in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but before we get there our goal needs to be to win the conference," Robinson says. "The preseason votes are all based on last year, but we are looking to build off last season and prove ourselves this year."