Behind Enemy Lines: SFA at Longwood Q&A with LancersBlog

IT'S BASKETBALL SEASON! The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks open tonight in Manhatten, Kansas a day before the Lumberjacks do the same in Farmville, Virginia.

SFA men's head coach Kyle Keller and his crew will face off with Longwood for the second straight year after narrowly defeating the Lancers in William R. Johnson Coliseum in November 2016. Now, a year later, it's round two.

We caught up with Parks Smith from LancersBlog.com, a fan community for fans of Longwood and he was kind enough to share some Lancers perspective. In our first "Behind Enemy Lines" edition of the season, let's head out to Farmville and let Parks take it from here:

There was promise last year of an improved team, starting with the near upset of SFA in Nacogdoches and then a 3-0 beginning in conference play. What held back Longwood in 2016-17 from finishing in some of the close losses?

Smith: Injuries, plain and simple. Before the season even started last year we lost our starting point guard and center to ACL tears. When we came to SFA last year we had about 7-8 healthy scholarship players, which was adequate enough for some semblance of a rotation. By the beginning of January, we were down six healthy players and NO point guard. Isaiah Walton took over at the point, he's a natural wing, and did a hell of a job. But's it's just impossible to win basketball games with 6 players, especially without a skilled ball-handler. Looking back, it's kind of a miracle that we started conference play 0-3.

A year removed from the last matchup between these two, what are the biggest differences in this version of Longwood and the one a year ago?

Smith: Everything. I'll get into the players a little later, but this team has a different sense of attitude around them and they really play for each other. There aren't any knuckleheads on this team and the culture that they have built is extremely positive and something that should have happened a long time ago. But to answer your question, the biggest change is attitude and roster depth.

What is the trajectory of the Longwood program and do you see them headed in the direction of success in the mid-major ranks?

Smith: Well, I mean, we have nowhere to go but up! I think Coach Gee has learned a lot over the past four years and he's faced a lot of adversity from things that were, kind of, out of his hands. I think now there has been a renewed focused recruiting local talent who fit the school and the culture that the coaches are trying to build. There was no basketball "program" before Gee got here, just a basketball team. Now it feels like a family with the fans, team, coaches, etc. When Gee first came on board he tried to jump-start the program with some big name transfers and that really bit us in the butt. Those days are over now and it's all about culture. 

Tell us about a couple players on the current roster that most have never heard of who you see as potential breakthrough stars in 2017-18?

Smith: If you're talking about scoring then we have two gunners in BK Ashe and Isaiah Walton. Zay is back at his natural wing position and he went for 15 points and 5 boards down in Nacogdoches last year. BK is a transfer from Mount St. Mary's who was an all-NEC performer there and averaged about 14 points per game two years ago. If those two guys are going at the same time then they can definitely combine for 50-plus points on any given night.

The frontcourt rotation is a total mystery, but the guy with the most upside is Jahleem Montague. He's one of the guys who tore his ACL last year, but he's extremely long and athletic and can be a game changer in the Big South. The rest of the frontcourt will be a combo of 7 guys ranging from super senior Damarion Geter to former Lamar transfer Boaz Williams. 

What is the fan base like in Farmville and do you expect them to turn out for this game?

Smith: Man... this is a loaded question... I'd love for Farmville to have the basketball culture of other awesome, rural mid-majors. Not dissimilar from SFA or Murray State or something along those lines. But we're just not there yet. I expect the student side to be sold out, but good basketball is the only thing that is going to get them to stand and start making some noise. There are some games where you walk into the gym and it's just electric, usually when we play Radford and Liberty, but then there are others where it's kind of deflated.

The community of Farmville itself has no idea who Stephen F. Austin is, so it's hard to educate them on the fact we have a premier mid-major program coming to town this week. With all that being said, the athletic department has done a great job promoting this game and I would expect it to be close to a sellout, probably like 1,500-1,800 people.

What is your prediction for Saturday?

Smith: I'm hoping SFA is as sloppy as they were last year. We can't bank on that, but as a broader mid-major fan I'm not totally sold on Keller. Both teams a bit banged up and both rotations are a mystery. I'll even say that Longwood's style of play is a mystery. If SFA can get out to a double-digit lead early and subdue the crowd then we'll lose like 80-65 or something like that. The other scenarios are a sloppy low scoring game like last year or a shootout. Who knows?

I'll say SFA 73-67, based on pretty much nothing.