Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans - 2015-16 Blue Ribbon's Preview

ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK   
LOCATION   Little Rock, AR 
CONFERENCE   Sun Belt
LAST SEASON
CONFERENCE RECORD 
STARTERS RETURNING/LOST 
NICKNAME   Trojans
COLORS   Maroon, Silver & Black 
HOMECOURT   Stephens Center (5,600) 

COACH   Chris Beard (Texas ’95) 
RECORD AT SCHOOL   First year 
CAREER RECORD   First year 
ASSISTANTS
Wes Flanigan (Auburn ’97) 
Brian Burg (Mount Mercy ’03) 
Mark Adams (Texas Tech ’79) 

WINS (LAST 5 YRS.)   19-15-17-15-13 
RPI (LAST 5 YRS.)   
196-177-174-190-276 
2014-15 FINISH   Lost in Sun Belt  first round.
13-18 (.419) 8-12 (8th) 3/2 


BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS:
BACKCOURT A 
BENCH/DEPTH A-
FRONTCOURT A- 
INTANGIBLES B+


Recruiting has suddenly gotten hairy for Sun Belt coaches. 

New Little Rock coach Chris Beard assembled an impressive recruiting class in short order after taking over for coach Steve Shields in late March. A talented array of transfers and one promising freshman surely eased the anxiety of any Trojans fans skeptical about a Division II coach at Angelo State beating out former Arkansas/NBA players Darrell Walker and Joe Kleine, the latter on Shields’ bench the last eight seasons

Beard landed transfers from Mississippi State, Wake Forest and Florida A&M, and among the junior college transfers are an All-American and the leading scorer on the national championship team.


“Good players make good coaches,” said coach Beard, who spent 10 years working under Bobby Knight and Pat Knight at Texas Tech. “We’ve got a lot of respect for the Sun Belt, so we knew we needed to get as good of players as we could possibly get. ... We certainly used every venue we could [after getting the job late].” 

Beard has a lot of respect for coach Steve Shields, who landed on his feet as a special assistant to Kim Anderson at Missouri after 12 years leading the Trojans. 

“He’s a good coach and a good friend,” Beard said. “This is a funny business.” 

Perhaps the worst thing you could say about the coach Shields era was that it was unspectacular. He set the program’s mark for career wins (192-178) and went to the NCAA Tournament in 2011

Coach Shields’ teams were certain to defend and rebound with purpose and finished first in their division five times. But they were a combined 51-57 in league play the last six seasons. 

Coach Beard went 47-15 the last two seasons after inheriting a program that endured three straight losing seasons. Angelo State won a program-record 28 games last year, and before he knew it, coach Beard was realizing a lifelong dream of coaching a Division I program

“It’s certainly something I’ve always worked for,” he said. “When you get into coaching you dream of having a job where you can coach at the highest level, and I think we have all the resources and the situation here in Little Rock. It starts with this city — the capitol city — it’s one of the better places to live in the whole country.” 

Coach Beard sold Little Rock to players with a variety of destination options, and they’re entering a locker room that coach Shields didn’t leave bare. 

Senior 6-1 guard Josh Hagins (12.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.7 spg) was third-team All-Sun Belt last season. He led the Trojans with 93 assists and a career-high 52 steals, and enters his final season with 1,012 points and 303 assists. 

“Josh Hagins is a talented guard,” Beard said. 

Senior 6-5, 230-pound forward Roger Woods (11.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg) adapted quickly last season, his first year out of junior college. A high-energy player with some skill, Woods made 13 of his 29 3-point attempts (.448), including two at BYU. 

A forward that will consistently stretch the court is 6-9 redshirt junior Mareik Isom (6.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg). He shot 45 percent (36 of 80) to lead the league in 3-point shooting

The experienced frontcourt includes 6-5, 220-pound junior Maurius Hill (6.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg)., who made nine starts as a sophomore. Hill contributed 20 points and nine rebounds against a good ULM team. 

“Roger Woods has had some good moments and he’s a senior,” coach Beard said. “We’re gonna really be relying on him. Maurius Hill had some good moments in the Sun Belt Conference... 
Mareik Isom is a legitimate 6-9 guy that can really shoot the ball. He had a good year. He got conference player of the week late in the season, was really playing his best basketball toward the end of the year.” 

Two redshirt seniors 6-5 forward Stetson Billings (2.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg in 2013-14) and 6-1 guard Kemy Osse (4.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg in 2013-14) — could end up in the rotation. Billings is one of the team’s top athletes, and Osse, who sat last season with a knee injury, has the strength and size (208 pounds) to compete for minutes. 

It looks like a free-for-all for playing time could be shaping up. All of these capable newcomers haven’t arrived on the pretense of spectating. 

Senior 6-3 wing Jermaine Ruttley (17.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.6 spg) is a graduate student immediately eligible after leading Florida A&M in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals last year as a junior. He struggled from 3-point range (33 of 112, .295) but can get to the free-throw line (110 of 162, .679). 

“We were very fortunate to get Jermaine Ruttley from Florida A&M,” coach Beard said. “He was one of the highest recruited guys in that [graduate transfer] venue this summer. I think Jermaine felt like he could make a real impact here at Little Rock, which I agree with him that he can. 
He’s a big, strong guard—a legit 6-3 and 200 pounds. He’s proven at this level, which was a big, big thing for us to get some people that could help us immediately.” 

Wake Forest transfer Daniel Green is another grad transfer eligible right away. The 6-10, 240-pound senior’s time at Wake was marred by injuries—he played in four games last season—but Beard believes he’ll bolster the frontcourt. 

Junior 5-11 point guard Marcus Johnson, Jr. (16.9 ppg, 7.8 apg, 3.2 rpg) was a junior college All-American last season at Hill (Tex.) College. Johnson shot 40.6 percent behind the arc and 79.5 percent at the free-throw line. He was second nationally in assists (279) and his 4.9 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked third. 

“We think he’s gonna be a really good two-year player for us in this league at the point guard spot,” coach Beard said. “He’s very talented. He’s got the ability to run a team with his basketball IQ and passing ability. He’s an unselfish guy, but he’s also talented enough to score the ball if need be. We’ll be relying heavily on Marquis to have a good first year if we’re gonna be competitive.” 

Junior 6-6 wing Jalen Jackson (18.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.9 spg, 2.7 apg) was the leading scorer on Northwest Florida’s NJCAA national championship team last season. He had 19 points and three steals in the title game, and averaged more than 20 points during seven tournament games. Jackson was also fth nationally in steals (101). 

“Jalen’s from West Memphis, Arkansas, so it was just a good get for us to get an Arkansas kid, and also one with some college experience,” coach Beard said. “Jalen’s very talented. He could play a lot of places.” 

Two other JUCO transfers eyeing minutes this season are 6-1 junior Evan Moorman (10.9 ppg) and 6-11 junior Lis Shoshi (9.4 ppg, 9.5 rpg). Moorman was Johnson’s teammate at Hill College, where he blistered the nets while making 107 3-pointers. He shot 52.2 percent behind the arc, which was No. 3 in the nation. Shoshi blocked 51 shots last season at Howard (Tex.) College. 

“Shoshi was the defensive player of the year in his conference,” coach Beard said. “He can play inside and out. ... He played for one of the best junior college coaches in Scott Raines... 
Evan Moorman has a chance to maybe be one of the better shooters that I’ve ever coached. He hit 10 3-point shots in one game in the national tournament. He’s gonna be a big piece for us.” 

Beard is also excited about 6-2 freshman Deondre Burns (24.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.1 apg), who made 61 treys as a senior and scored in excess of 1,300 points during his career 5A Newman Smith (Tex.). He’ll probably be counted on considerably more beginning in 2016-17, when two other transfers will gain eligibility—6-9 sophomore forward Oliver Black (1.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg) and 6-5 senior forward Thomas Brandsma (3.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg). Black, who Beard described as a “huge get,” came from Mississippi State. Brandsma played about 15 minutes per game for Beard’s record-setting Angelo State team last season. 

“He’ll help a lot after sitting out a year,” Beard said. 

The roster also includes 6-5 sophomore guard Ben Marcus, who redshirted in 2014-15. He averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds as a senior at Watson Chapel (Pine Bluff). 

Coach Beard has produced winning records all six seasons he’s been a college head coach, including a year apiece at Fort Scott and Seminole State junior colleges. He guided McMurry University to a 19-10 record during its rst season after moving up to NCAA Division II. 

And he immediately turned around Angelo State, which led the nation in scoring margin (20.3) and finished third in field-goal percentage (.528), fifth in assists (588) and fifth in defensive field-goal percentage (.393) in 2014-15. The Rams were also among the top 15 nationally in rebounds and assists. 

So coach Beard is cautiously optimistic about hitting the ground running in another new league. 

“I know that we’re gonna have to be really good to be competitive in the Sun Belt,” coach Beard said. “But I do think our sta did a good job this spring recruiting, especially under the tough circumstances of getting the job late and trying to get involved with different kids quickly. I think we’ve got some pieces; it’s just gonna be how quickly and how well we can put everything together.” 

The Trojans appear certain to be a dangerous draw come tournament time, and perhaps a quality team months before then. 
Trey Williams








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