When the clock struck zero around 2:35pm on March 9, 2024 and the High Point Panthers walked off the Qubein Center court, just two wins short of their ultimate goal, uncertainty entered the HPU program for the first time since the season had tipped off nearly four months earlier.
Many questions surrounding the program and the fate of both the coaching staff and roster would need to be answered over the course of the offseason. Like most fans I began to ponder some of the key questions:
1) Would Alan Huss be back?
2) Which players would be returning?
3) Could Alan Huss parlay this year’s success into some big transfer portal signings?
As the early days and weeks went by though, it became more and more obvious that 1) Alan Huss was all in for another year at HPU (who could forget the “we’ll be back” Instagram post?) and 2) for the most part, the guys that brought him so close in 2023-2024 were going to be right beside him as well. Virtually every key contributor from last year’s roster, sans Duke Miles, is returning in 2024-2025.
And then as we entered the meat of the transfer season the answer to #3 also became obvious. Early announcements came in April for guards Bobby Pettiford Jr. (ECU) and Chase Johnston (FGCU). In May, D’Maurian Williams (G, Texas Tech) and Terry Anderson (F, Lamar) announced their intentions to hop on the Huss Bus. Later in the offseason, the Panthers added University of Manitoba forward Simon Hildebrandt to shore up the front court.
So where did all that lead us? Well, to this year’s roster of course. Twenty, yes 2-0, young men set to suit it up for the Panther this season. Quite frankly much of what has driven the expectations around this Panthers team is the talent makeup the roster. So let’s get right into it.
The Panthers bring back 8 returners, 6 transfers and 6 recruits noted as freshmen. With twenty players on the roster, I’m not even going to get into speculation about who starts, plays X number minutes, or anything like that. Let’s just take a look at each group and come back to the full picture at the end.
Returners
The Panthers return eight players, including six key contributors from the prior season. Overall the team returns 74% of scoring, 79% of rebounds and 75% of minutes from last year’s team.
#1 – Kezza Giffa (Guard – Point Guard) 1st Team All-Big South in 2023-2024
What can be said about Kezza that hasn’t already been said by the preseason voters in the Big South? Those voters named Giffa their preseason player of the year, and for good reason. He returns as the leading scorer from last year’s club and is looking to make even more noise as a contributor this season. The shifty lefty from Paris, France spent most of last season rolling and twisting defenders like croissant dough and in the process made his living at the lines, Free Throw and Three Point. He shot 274 free throws last season (and probably earned even more) which was tops in the Big South and 8th in all of Division 1 basketball. He also made 34% of his 3s and became a reliable long-range threat towards season end. The challenge for Kezza this year is 1) avoiding mental lapses that lead to turnovers and 2) becoming even more of a leader on this team. If he can do those things, which he can, this Panther team will be even better and the accolades will follow.
#5 – Kimani Hamilton (Forward) 1st Team All-Big South in 2023-2024
The “five-man” 'Mani Hamilton burst onto the scene last year scoring double digits in 27 of 36 games and averaging 7.2 rebounds a game. The Clinton, MS native was an iron man for Coach Huss playing a team leading 1130 minutes on the season and really was the do-it-all glue guy for this team. His game is multi-faceted with a willingness and ability to post, drive, shoot or pass. According to Huss, Hamilton spent the offseason working on deconstructing and reconstructing his jump shot form, something that is sure to provide him with more consistency from long range. The challenge I think for Mani this season is 1) embrace the role of being the go-to-guy for a bucket and 2) like Kezza, be a vocal leader on this team. Mani’s energy is infectious and really makes him a fun player to watch. He and Kezza could end up being the top two players in the league this season.
#21 – Juslin Bodo Bodo (Forward – mostly 5 spot) Big South Freshman of the Year 2023-2024
No offense to any of the other guys above or below, but the biggest surprise of last season was the play of freshman (now sophomore) Juslin Bodo Bodo. The seven-footer from Cameroon averaged over 7 points a game and grabbed a team leading 347 rebounds. He also averaged nearly two blocks a game and altered many more shots with his strong presence at the rim. In the offseason it appears he has been working on his physique as well as getting better defensively. Oh, and he’s been giving back to both his hometown/home country through his foundation and has an exhibit at the Qubein Children’s museum as well. I think the challenge for Bodo Bodo this year is 1) become more sound defensively and avoid the unnecessary foul and 2) develop his offensive game to become a scoring threat not just from lobs/put backs. It’s not unsual for players to make significant leaps in their freshman to sophomore years. Juslin is already a fan favorite and I anticipate he gives many in the Qubein Center more to smile about this year.
#11 Abdoulaye Thiam (Guard, wing)
The final holdover from the Tubby/GG Smith era, you have to give Abdoulaye a ton of credit for integrating himself seamlessly into Huss’s system last year. Even in the Smith days Thiam was a natural scorer, so it wasn’t shocking when he ended the season fourth on the team in points last year. Despite making slightly less threes in total last year than the year before, he was more efficient, increasing his 3P% to 36.1% and dropping his turnover rate by nearly 33%. Laye has also averaged close to 4 rebounds a game in his time at HPU; a pretty good number for a guard. Even though there may be more competition for minutes on the roster this year, Laye has proven he can be an efficient and effective presence on the court so I look forward to him having a great senior season.
#3 Trae Benham (Guard, wing)
The senior from Concord, NC is appropriately #3 in your gameday program because that is what he does; drains triples. Benham made a team leading 74 threes last season and shot a team best 37% from behind the line. Trae actually ended up #14 out of all players in the country in KenPom offensive efficiency rating. Besides the stats, the thing I liked most about his game last year is that this guy is tough. He gets after it on the defensive end and averaged 4.6 rebounds a game from the guard position. Are you kidding me? There are forwards in the Big South that don’t get those rebounding numbers. For the most part I expect kind of the same out of Benham this season, but at an even better and more efficient rate. Like Kezza and Laye, Trae is senior and I’m hoping we can send him off with a great season.
#7 – Titas Sargiunas
According to Coach Huss one of the most impressive players this offseason has been Titas Sargiunas. The sophomore from Lithuania was able to see significant minutes (11.4 mpg) off the bench last year, particularly during times of injury to starters like Duke Miles, and flashed some bright spots offensively. He shot well from 3, knocking in 32% of his 47 attempts and added 24 two-point buckets mostly on assertive drives to the hoop. I really like his offensive game and look for him to become more effective in a second year under Huss’s system. He’ll need to improve on the defensive end, but that’s not unusual for freshmen making the transition to the college game. Like Bodo, I’m looking forward to that 2nd year leap of out Titas.
Neither of the Liams saw significant action last year. For Carney it was more just a function of his place on the roster as an underclassman and for McChesney it was an ongoing medical issue that kept him away from games. It seems unlikely McChesney, who would otherwise be one of, if not the most, talented players on the roster, will get to play this season. But fingers are crossed for a guy that’s been through a lot and continues to practice/workout and support his teammates and school. Major kudos to him. Carney could see spotty minutes here and there and it will be good to see him get some well-earned game minutes.
If you’ve made it this far, Congratulations. Here is a fun little map of all 20 player's hometowns to break up the monotony.
Transfers/Freshmen
#4 D’Maurian Williams – The grad transfer from Texas Tech originally hails from Phoenix, AZ. He spent two years at Gardner-Webb where he was second-team Big South in his final year under Tim Craft. Bottom line here is that Williams is a tremendous offensive player. He was top-10 and top-3 in three pointers made per game in the Big South his Freshman and Sophomore years. His sophomore year he added 59 two pointers to go with 69 threes, so clearly there is balance in his game. The ultimate question is what will this translate to after being caught in a coaching change and having not seen much court time at Texas Tech last year. I look for Williams to be hungry to get back into the action and be a significant contributor to this HPU season.
#2 Chase Johnston – Another grad transfer on this third stop (Stetson, FGCU) is Chase Johnston. Chase comes in with a reputation as tremendous jump shooter having a career 3P% just below 38%. He is coming off an injury last season at FGCU and looking to get up to speed in Huss’s system but definitely figures to be a significant contributor to this year’s squad. He has a fairly low turnover rate for his career, indicative that he doesn’t make a lot of careless passes. But he does have a high volume percentage, meaning he shoots (and makes)…a lot. So it will be interesting to see how much he lets it fly under Huss’s system. 3 point shooting is to college basketball what pitching is to baseball, you can never have enough! Adding Johnston is the equivalent of adding an elite starting pitcher.
#55 Bobby Pettiford Jr. – Personally this is one that I’m really excited about; having seen Bobby play years ago in the high school ranks around the Triangle and then following his recruitment to Kansas. Pettiford, who is a true point guard, will likely split time with Kezza at the 1 and he brings a different set of tools then Panther fans are used to with Kezza and Duke Miles. Miles and Giffa, though not bad passers, were really score-focus point guards. Pettiford leans more pass-first and had a higher assist rate and lower turnover rate last year at ECU than both Giffa and Miles had at HPU. And that was playing on a less than stellar offensive team in Greenville, NC. Pettiford is not known for his shooting but has a respectable 3 point shot and can be effective with a floater or runner in the paint as well. I’m looking forward to seeing what a guy like Bobby can do surrounded by all the offensive weapons we’ve talked about above.
#0 – Terry Anderson – The senior transfer from Deer Park, TX was second team All-Southland at Lamar last year and really came on strong towards the end of last year, dropping double digit points in 11 of his last 12 games. He’s a forward that has great length and can likely add some tenacity to the Panthers on the defensive side, but he’s really talented on the offensive side as well. He’s a guy that’s not afraid to attack the basket…and finish, or mix it up on the offensive glass. According to Huss at the coach’s show, he is working through an injury and trying to get back to healthy right now. But by season’s end I’d be surprised if he wasn’t a significant contributor to the team’s overall success.
#10 Simon Hildebrandt – A transfer from the great north, Hildebrandt comes in as a stretch forward/center from the University of Manitoba where he averaged over 16 points in nearly 32 minutes a game. He also added 2 made threes a game and 5.5 rebounds showing that he can spread the court and pick up boards. The one area of question for this team is depth in the front court and Hildebrandt could be a guy that provides Huss with options down the stretch.
#19 Josh Ibukunoluwa – The 6’10 Aussie forward comes into Alan Huss’s program at a time when some front court depth is needed. Having seen Josh in person a handful of times I think his game plays much bigger than his listed height and I predict by season’s end, if not earlier, he will be contributing meaningful minutes to this team. I’m really excited about his upside and depending on how fast he picks up Huss’s system we could really see a 1-2 punch in the front court with him and Bodo Bodo.
#15 Braden Hausen – 3 star freshman from Amarillo,Texas is a listed forward and appears to be versatile enough to play any position of the front court. If High Point wasn’t so loaded at the wings and PF spots I could see Hausen getting some potential meaningful minutes this season. Nonetheless I still expect him to get some run this year and make substantial contributions. Hausen chose HPU over some other serious mid-major programs and figures to be a cornerstone piece of Alan Huss’s program in the coming years.
It’s hard to believe but we get to this point and there are still, yes, five more players. Incoming freshmen Birgir Irving (Iceland) and Ivan Matlekovic (Croatia) are the third and fourth Europeans to join Huss’s Panthers. They will look to develop throughout the season and potentially be key contributors down the line. Sophomore transfer Andrew Sineway comes from the JUCO ranks at Palm Beach State. Freshmen guards Mavrick Miller (Memphis, TN) and David Fonville (Jacksonville, FL) wrap up the 20 man roster.
Conclusion
So finally what does this all mean? Well, HPU has more height, and potentially more depth, than last year’s team. When Bodo Bodo got into foul trouble or needed to come out the overall level of play dropped off on the defensive side, so Huss is trying to address that with some of these additions. I also think this team will obviously have a lot of great shooting. This is something the staff clearly prioritized in the portal and hopefully it allows the Panthers to have enough depth and not rely so much on a couple of players for offensive fire power. Finally, I’m just really interested to see how tough this team is. I think this team’s toughness and leadership will ultimately define how far they will go. They have talent. They are selflessness and have great energy. But how tough will be they when some adversity comes there way? Who will step up and be the leader on this team when they need someone to rally the troops or just calm everyone down? Those are in the things I’m most interested in. Hope you enjoyed reading. See you all in the Qubein Center soon!
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