It’s been three years since the Lincoln Memorial University men’s basketball team has been atop the mountain, but thanks to a 20-game win streak to open the season, the Railsplitters have reached the summit again.
It became official Tuesday with the release of the NABC Coaches’ poll that ranks LMU as the top team in NCAA Division II.
“You get ranked No. 1, Iwas shocked when it happened once before,” LMU coach Josh Schertz said. “Now to have it happen twice is doubly surprising. We’ve been fortunate through the years to have some good streaks, but we told our guys our goal is still the same, to be the best team we can be at the end of the year and see how that stacks up.”
The last time the Railsplitters (20-0, 14-0 South Atlantic Conference) were No. 1 was Jan. 10, 2012. LMU kept the ranking for one week after a loss to Anderson.
With a big rivalry game against Carson-Newman (10-10, 8-6) on Wednesday and a contest againstNewberry (14-6, 8-6) on Saturday, both at Tex Turner Arena, LMU senior guard Lorenza Ross knows there’s no time to celebrate the ranking.
“It’s not hard to focus on one game at a time,” Ross said. “We have a great coach that has instilled it in our heads that we can’t look ahead at any games. Each game is a big game. This (the C-N game) is a big-time game. There’s a lot of tradition, a lot of great players and two great coaches.”
Schertz has built a program known for playmaking forwards and postplayers who play above the rim. Vincent Bailey, an All-American last season, was the most recent of a long line of star frontcourt players, starting with D’Mario Curry in 2011. Desmond Johnson came next. All three play professionally in Europe.
But this season, the guards have stepped to the forefront. Ross is averaging 13 points and nearly six assists per game and sophomore Luquon Choice, in his first year as a starter, averages 15.8 points per game.
Choice said he isn’t used to being on a team with this level of success.
“It’s the first time I’ve been ranked No. 1 in anything in college or high school,” Choice said. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I knew that me and Lorenza would have to step up and be a factor in scoring. With the weapons around me, Ifelt I could have this kind of year.”
Schertz knew he would have to adapt his offense, but even he didn’t know if he could replace Bailey’s 22.6 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
But with the emergence of Ross and Choice and defenses focusing on them, LMU’s young interior players have had opportunities that Bailey did not.
“Where I’ve been pleasantly surprised is that we’ve got guys with totally new roles,” Schertz said. “Could Lorenza handle an extended role? Could Luquon turn into a 30-minutes-a-game guy and be productive? Those guys have been able to handle the extra burden and, to me, that was the biggest question mark coming into the year. For the first 20 games, the answers have been pretty good.”
Adam Greene is a freelance contributor.
Courtesy of: Knoxville News Sentinel