2017–18 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team

The 2017–18 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team represented the University of South Alabama during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jaguars were led by fifth-year head coach Matthew Graves and played their home games at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Alabama as members in the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 14–18, 7–11 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They lost in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament to Troy.

2017–18 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball
ConferenceSun Belt Conference
Record14–18 (7–11 Sun Belt)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Darnell Archey
  • Russ Willemsen
  • Brock Morris
Home arenaMitchell Center
Seasons
2017–18 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Louisiana 16 2   .889 27 7   .794
Georgia State 12 6   .667 24 11   .686
Georgia Southern 11 7   .611 21 12   .636
Texas–Arlington 10 8   .556 21 13   .618
Louisiana–Monroe 9 9   .500 16 16   .500
Troy 9 9   .500 16 17   .485
Appalachian State 9 9   .500 15 18   .455
Coastal Carolina 8 10   .444 14 18   .438
South Alabama 7 11   .389 14 18   .438
Texas State 7 11   .389 15 18   .455
Arkansas State 6 12   .333 11 21   .344
Little Rock 4 14   .222 7 25   .219
2018 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner

On March 8, South Alabama fired head coach Matthew Graves.[1] He finished at South Alabama with a five-year record of 65–96.

On March 15, South Alabama hired Nicholls State head coach Richie Riley as their new head coach.[2]

Previous season

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The Jaguars finished the 2016–17 season 14–18, 7–11 in Sun Belt play to finish in ninth place. They lost to Coastal Carolina in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament.

Off-season

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Departures

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Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Georgi Boyanov F 6'7" 205 Senior Bulgaria Graduated.
Ken Williams G 6'3" 198 Senior Houston, TX Graduated.
Nick Stover F 6'6" 198 Senior Los Angeles, CA Graduated.
Dan MuepoKelly F 6'7" 236 Senior Fontana, CA Graduated.
Nikola Marijan F 7'1" 242 Sophomore Serbia Transferred to Tampa.

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Rodrick Sikes 14 G 6'1" 170 Junior Ocean Springs, MS Junior college transferred from Southwest Mississippi CC.
R.J. Kelly F 6'7" 195 Sophomore Powder Springs, GA Transferred from Savannah State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Kelly will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Rozelle Nix 34 F 6'11" 300 Senior Cincinnati, OH Graduate transfer from Pittsburgh. Under NCAA transfer rules, Nix will play immediately in the 2017–18 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.

Incoming recruits

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Joe Thompson
F
Kenner, Louisiana Alfred Bonnabel High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A   ESPN grade: NR
A.J. Caldwell
G
Sarasota, Florida Riverview High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    RivalsN/A   247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 75
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

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2017–18 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F R.J. Kelly   6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 183 lb (83 kg) RS So Savannah State Powder Springs, GA
F 0 Joe Thompson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 211 lb (96 kg) Fr Bonnabel HS Kenner, LA
G 1 Herb McGee 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Riverside Academy Reserve, LA
F 3 Kevin Morris 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 265 lb (120 kg) So Dothan HS Dothan, AL
G 4 A.J. Caldwell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Riverview HS Sarasota, FL
G 5 Dederick Lee 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 162 lb (73 kg) Sr Indian Hills CC Clarksville, AR
G 11 John Pettway 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr Keith HS Safford, AL
G 13 Devin Epps 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 167 lb (76 kg) RS Sr Oakland HS Murfreesboro, TN
G 14 Rodrick Sikes 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Jr St. Martin HS Ocean Springs, MS
G 21 Nick Davis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Sr Alabama State Mount Vernon, AL
G 25 Jordan Andrews 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS So Youngstown State Abita Springs, LA
G 30 Ethan Haslam 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 182 lb (83 kg) RS So Academy at the Lakes Lithia, FL
F 33 Josh Ajayi 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 244 lb (111 kg) RS So San Gabriel Academy El Monte, CA
F 34 Rozelle Nix 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 300 lb (136 kg) GS Pittsburgh Cincinnati, OH
F 42 Trhae Mitchell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 189 lb (86 kg) RS So Pebblebrook HS Austell, GA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 24, 2017*
7:30 pm
at Spring Hill W 77–55 
Arthur Outlaw Recreational Center 
Mobile, AL
Nov 3, 2017*
7:35 pm
North Alabama L 80–82 
Mitchell Center (2,146)
Mobile, AL
Regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
8:00 pm, FCS
at Texas Tech
Hall of Fame Tip Off
L 50–75  0–1
United Supermarkets Arena (8,865)
Lubbock, TX
Nov 13, 2017*
7:05 pm
Mobile W 71–49  1–1
Mitchell Center (1,990)
Mobile, AL
Nov 16, 2017*
6:00 pm
at La Salle
Hall of Fame Tip Off Classic
L 73–81  1–2
Tom Gola Arena (1,488)
Philadelphia, PA
Nov 18, 2017*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
vs. Maine
Hall of Fame Tip Off Springfield Bracket
W 68–46  2–2
Mohegan Sun Arena 
Uncasville, CT
Nov 19, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
vs. Saint Peter’s
Hall of Fame Tip Off Springfield Bracket
W 54–49  3–2
Mohegan Sun Arena 
Uncasville, CT
Nov 22, 2017*
7:05 pm
Stetson L 77–81 OT 3–3
Mitchell Center (1,737)
Mobile, AL
Nov 26, 2017*
3:05 pm
New Orleans W 55–52  4–3
Mitchell Center (1,548)
Mobile, AL
Nov 29, 2017*
7:05 pm
Southern Miss W 69–58  5–3
Mitchell Center (2,353)
Mobile, AL
Dec 2, 2017*
6:00 pm
at FIU L 58–87  5–4
FIU Arena (653)
Miami, FL
Dec 10, 2017*
2:00 pm, FSMW
at SIU Edwardsville L 75–76  5–5
Vadalabene Center (1,155)
Edwardsville, IL
Dec 16, 2017*
3:05 pm
Eastern Illinois W 63–52  6–5
Mitchell Center (1,901)
Mobile, AL
Dec 21, 2017*
12:00 pm
at Tulane L 73–77  6–6
Devlin Fieldhouse (1,187)
New Orleans, LA
Dec 29, 2017
7:05 pm
Georgia State W 86–64  7–6
(1–0)
Mitchell Center (1,788)
Mobile, AL
Dec 31, 2017
3:05 pm
at Georgia Southern W 69–67  8–6
(2–0)
Mitchell Center (1,612)
Mobile, AL
Jan 4, 2018
7:30 pm
at Texas State L 69–72  8–7
(2–1)
Strahan Coliseum (1,407)
San Marcos, TX
Jan 6, 2018
4:15 pm
at Texas–Arlington L 67–91  8–8
(2–2)
College Park Center (1,914)
Arlington, TX
Jan 9, 2018*
7:05 pm
Trinity Baptist W 99–34  9–8
Mitchell Center (1,924)
Mobile, AL
Jan 13, 2018
3:05 pm
Troy L 64–79  9–9
(2–3)
Mitchell Center (3,014)
Mobile, AL
Jan 18, 2018
7:05 pm
Coastal Carolina W 60–57  10–9
(3–3)
Mitchell Center (2,098)
Mobile, AL
Jan 20, 2018
3:05 pm
Appalachian State W 83–77  11–9
(4–3)
Mitchell Center (3,877)
Mobile, AL
Jan 25, 2018
7:15 pm
at Louisiana L 57–76  11–10
(4–4)
Cajundome (5,036)
Lafayette, LA
Jan 27, 2018
2:00 pm
at Louisiana–Monroe L 74–83  11–11
(4–5)
Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,635)
Monroe, LA
Feb 3, 2018
4:15 pm, ESPN3
at Troy L 63–80  11–12
(4–6)
Trojan Arena (3,266)
Troy, AL
Feb 8, 2018
7:05 pm
Little Rock W 73–56  12–12
(5–6)
Mitchell Center (1,541)
Mobile, AL
Feb 10, 2018
3:05 pm
Arkansas State W 87–67  13–12
(6–6)
Mitchell Center (1,983)
Mobile, AL
Feb 15, 2018
6:30 pm, ESPN3
at Appalachian State W 77–66  14–12
(7–6)
Holmes Center (w)
Boone, NC
Feb 17, 2018
2:30 pm
at Coastal Carolina L 70–72  14–13
(7–7)
HTC Center (1,311)
Conway, SC
Feb 22, 2018
7:05 pm
Louisiana–Monroe L 62–66  14–14
(7–8)
Mitchell Center (2,011)
Mobile, AL
Feb 24, 2018
7:05 pm
Louisiana L 71–88  14–15
(7–9)
Mitchell Center (1,946)
Mobile, AL
Mar 1, 2018
6:30 pm
at Georgia Southern L 74–81  14–16
(7–10)
Hanner Fieldhouse (1,526)
Statesboro, GA
Mar 3, 2018
1:15 pm, ESPN3
at Georgia State L 75–90  14–17
(7–11)
GSU Sports Arena (1,649)
Atlanta, GA
Sun Belt tournament
Mar 7, 2018
5:00 pm, ESPN3
(10) vs. (7) Troy
First round
L 62–69  14–18
Lakefront Arena (986)
New Orleans, LA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "South Alabama head basketball coach Matthew Graves fired". WKRG-TV. March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  2. ^ "Nicholls State's Richie Riley hired as South Alabama's head coach". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.