Coaches across the Sun Belt have picked the Southern Miss men’s basketball team to finish fourth this upcoming season.
The Golden Eagles, coming off a record-breaking turnaround in which they won 25 games in 2022-23, are losing three starters in Felipe Haase, DeAndre Pinckney, and Denijay Harris while returning starting guards Austin Crowley and Mo Arnold.
“Every year is different, and we had our back against the wall last season,” Southern Miss head coach Jay Ladner said. “We left a few things unfinished despite winning the Sun Belt Conference regular season title. We lost three starters, but we have a solid group coming back and definitely surprised a few last year but that won’t be the case this year.”
While the fourth-place prediction was not necessarily what Golden Eagle fans wanted to hear, coaches across the Sun Belt did agree on one thing this week at media days – that Austin Crowley is the best player in the conference.
Crowley, a West Point native, was named an All-American and Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year during his first season in Hattiesburg. The Ole Miss transfer led the team in scoring at 16.0 points per game and finished with 63 steals.
“There’s a lot of respect for him around the league based on that award. Austin is such a hardworking player, and I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a player that’s worked as hard as he has,” Ladner said of his star player. “And it’s not for his own individual glory, so to speak. He wants to be the best teammate he can be. It’s nice to see that.”
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When further discussing his team’s lineup going into a new season, Ladner said there are some notable differences between this squad and that of last year. Even with the recent news that seven-footer Lieb Yat will be out for the season with an ACL injury, Ladner is hoping his team’s size will prove more dominant in the paint.
“We’re bigger, a little better defensively, and we have a few solid rim protectors,” Ladner said, while still touting the team’s guard play. “The offensive strengths of the team are in the 1-2-3 positions, but we have some good athletes down low.”
One year after being selected to finish last in the Sun Belt, Southern Miss technically moved up 10 spots in the preseason projections. James Madison was picked to finish first with seven votes, while App State and Old Dominion were picked second and third, respectively. The Golden Eagles were the only team in the top six not to receive a single first place vote.
“Being picked fourth, you know, I guess that’s a step up from being picked 14th last year,” Ladner said. “It’s still not first, so we got some work to do. Again, we’re going to be more concerned about where we are at the end of the season in terms of the standings.”
Ladner, going into his sixth season in Hattiesburg, will look to lead the Golden Eagles to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012. Southern Miss begins the season on Nov. 6 against crosstown opponent William Carey.
Full Sun Belt preseason coaches’ poll
- James Madison (7) – 176
- App State (2) – 159
- Old Dominion (1) – 145
- Southern Miss – 148
- Louisiana (2) – 136
- South Alabama (2) – 129
- Marshall – 119
- Troy – 91
- Arkansas State – 84
- Texas State – 72
- Georgia State – 69
- Coastal Carolina – 59
- Georgia Southern – 42
- ULM – 32
