Summer School: Liberty
A look at other Big South programs because how else are we going to pass the time?
Last Year: 21–14 (14–4), 3rd Big South
Ritchie McKay’s Flames came roaring into the Big South Tournament last year and were certainly among the favorites in Rock Hill. That excitement quickly turned to disappointment as Liberty lost their first game in the tournament to Radford 56–52.
Despite the conference slip up, last year was about as solid of a baseline McKay could have asked for. Liberty made it to the postseason for the first time since 2013 beating both Norfolk State and Samford in the CIT, before losing to UMBC in the quarterfinals. This year they certainly have the pieces to go farther.
While Liberty will miss John Dawson and recent transfer Brock Gardner, both combined for about 14.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. But McKay has plenty of horses in the stable and is bringing in, arguably, the Big South’s top recruiting class. A list that includes two guys, Elijah Cuffee and Brendan Newton, who were high on Longwood’s list. Cuffee and his family are actually very close to Coach Gee on a personal level.
At first glance you would think Liberty is an inexperience squad with one senior and three contributing juniors, but the sophomore contributors on this roster have logged plenty of miles already. Ryan Kemrite, the lone senior is once again expected to lead the way after averaging 13.3 points per game last year. Caleb Homesley should be a more of an impact player as well, after taking a medical redshirt last year. He averaged nearly 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists per game in his abbreviated season last year.
What makes Liberty special is their commitment to the pack line defense. The Flames are stingy, disciplined, and wear teams down during the grind of the regular season. Liberty is also tremendous efficient at protecting the basketball and scoring. We’ll see if that changes a bit with Dawson gone and the ball in Homesley’s hands more, as he averaged 2.1 turnovers per game in his brief stint last year.
Liberty is the slowest paced team in the Big South, which should come as no surprise. They were also the WORST offensive rebounding team in the country last year. The tempo thing usually plays into the Flames favor, but it also creates offensive challenges when they come up against other defensively efficient teams like Winthrop and UNC Asheville. Simply put, the Flames didn’t have the offensive talent to win halfcourt battles against those teams. Can another year under the belt of Myo Baxter-Bell, Jorge Pacheco-Ortiz, and Homesley’s presence change that? Also how much can one or two of their four freshman additions contribute immediately?
The Flames will no doubt be picked in the top two or three of the conference this year and should come into Big South play with a solid record. Liberty welcomes three non-Division I opponents to Lynchburg, along with UNC Greensboro, Howard, and Maryland Eastern-Shore. They’ll likely only have two true road games against Wake Forest and Georgia State. The schedule could get beefed up a little at the Paradise Jam where the Flames will open with Mercer and then could face higher caliber teams like Houston, Colorado, and even Wake Forest again. Their non-conference slate will close with a four team tournament in New Orleans where they’ll face Fort Wayne and then either Louisiana Tech or Alabama State.
