Offseason Review: Lennie Acuff Looks to Keep Samford Rolling
The Bucky McMillan era is over, but Samford's new head coach Lennie Acuff is looking to keep the Bulldogs rolling. Can Samford remain at the top of the Southern Conference?
The Bucky McMillan era has officially come to an end at Samford. After going 99-52 across five seasons, reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2024 while finishing 29-6, and reaching the NIT last year, Texas A&M nabbed McMillan as their next head coach.
While Samford fans were certainly heartbroken, the Samford Bulldogs’ administration made an incredible hire in Lennie Acuff from Lipscomb. Acuff is a Huntsville, Alabama native and he spent 23 seasons as the head coach of Division II Alabama-Huntsville where he amassed a 454-223 record. He made the jump to Division I as he took over the reigns of Lipscomb in 2019. Over the last three seasons in particular, he’s led the Bisons to three 20+ win records, including a 25-10 record last season when they punched their ticket to the big dance.
As is tradition with most coaching changes, the majority of the roster from last season’s Samford team is no longer with the team. Acuff has brought in some intriguing talent to keep the momentum going in Birmingham. Let’s check out the roster changes:
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Roster Turnover
Samford has lost the following players from their previous season’s roster:
Rylan Jones (Ineligible)
10.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.7 steals
Brody Boyer (Ineligible)
1.6 points (12 games/5.4 minutes)
Collin Holloway (Ineligible)
8 points, 5 rebounds, 1.9 assists
Jaden Brownell (Senior) - USC
14 points, 4 rebounds, 1.1 assists
Trey Fort (Senior) - Michigan State
14.6 points, 4 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Julian Brown (Senior) - Unsigned
5.1 points, 1.8 rebounds
Hamed Olayinka (Senior) - FIU
3.9 points, 2.5 rebounds
Brody Davis (Senior) - Unsigned
DNP
Owen Larocca (Senior) - Unsigned
DNP
Lukas Walls (Junior) - Radford
5.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 steals
Riley Allenspach (Junior) - George Mason
7.8 points, 3 rebounds
Josh Holloway (Junior) - Texas A&M
7.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals
Isaiah West (Junior) - Belmont
2.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals
The talent on Samford’s roster last season was strong as there are three players headed to a power conference team, while others going to the A10, Missouri Valley Conference, Conference USA, and Big South. With the coaching change of Bucky McMillan heading to Texas A&M, it was to be expected that most of the roster would be leaving, so we won’t spend too much time talking about the losses.
Returning Players
The Samford Bulldogs are returning just four players:
Zion Wilburn (Sophomore)
1.3 points, 0.9 rebounds (26 games/5.9 minutes)
Caleb Harrison (Redshirt Freshman)
DNP
Joshua Hughes (Walk-on Senior)
0.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists (2 games)
Corey Brown (Walk-on Sophomore)
Acuff isn’t returning much from McMillan’s old roster. Joshua Hughes and Corey Brown were both walk-ons last year, so their roles will most likely remain the same. Caleb Harrison (6’9) redshirt last season, but he had an incredible amount of strong offers coming out of Huntsville High School including: Belmont, Richmond, Davidson, Chattanooga, Lipscomb, Troy, etc. With minimal depth with size, I’d expect to see Harrison earning a role in the rotation this season.
Zion Wilburn (6’5) appeared in 26 games last season while averaging 5.9 minutes per game. He dropped seven points with two assists and one rebound, against The Citadel for his best game of the season. Coming out of high school he was listed as a three-star recruit and ranked 277th in the nation. He held offers from Louisiana Tech, San Francisco, Montana, UC Santa Barbara, and others. You can review his highlights here.
Roster Additions
Lennie Acuff has added the following players to Samford’s roster:
Jadin Booth (Senior) - Florida Southern (DII)
21 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.8 steals
DaJion Humphrey (Senior) - Bowling Green
5.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1 steal
Jaxon Pollard (Senior) - Queens
8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Keaton Norris (Senior) - Wright State
7.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.2 steals
Dylan Faulkner (Junior) - Lipscomb
10.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.7 blocks
Cade Norris (Sophomore) - Illinois State
1.1 points, 1.2 rebounds
Kam Martin (Sophomore) - Long Beach State
8.4 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Judson Bjornstad (Sophomore) - Union (DIII)
9 points, 5 rebounds, 1.5 assists
Zach Lamey (Sophomore)
0.5 points, 0.3 rebounds (11 games/2 minutes)
Isaiah Campbell-Finch (Freshman)
JD Gossett (Freshman)
Cooper Davenport (Freshman)
Guards
Jadin Booth (6’2)
Jadin Booth was one of the most highly anticipated recruits outside of Division I basketball. He’s spent the last four seasons at Florida Southern where he was named a first team All-American in Division II. The 6’2 guard averaged 21 points, 5.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.8 steals while shooting 43.9% overall and 38.6% from beyond the arc. Against the NCAA Division II National Champions, Nova Southeastern, Booth finished with 40, 17, and 29 points across three games. In his 40 points game, he shot 8-12 from three point.
Booth is about electric as it gets. He’s a lights out shooter from all over the court. He can create opportunities for his teams and serve as a primary ball handler, while also playing strong on-ball defense. I love how crafty he is on offense while carving up defenders on the way to the rim or for a step back shot. There is a reason that he was getting looked at by schools like Ole Miss and Creighton. However, Lennie Acuff was able to win him over and Booth will have an opportunity to finish his college basketball career on a high-note as the go-to player for the Samford Bulldogs.
Keaton Norris (6’3)
After spending three seasons at Wright State, Norris entered the transfer portal and was brought in by the Bulldogs. Last season he finished shooting 44.4% overall and a remarkable 44.8% from beyond the arc on 3.3 attempts per game. In conference, that jumped to 46.6% which was 2nd in the Horizon league. He rarely takes bad shots as his effective field goal percentage was 58.9% overall which was 121nd in all of college basketball and 60.5% in conference which was fourth. Norris also is a strong ball handler as he finished with a 22.7% assist rate which was 301st in the country.
Norris played in a very interesting role last season in which he’d have several games where he shot just 2-3 times, but in others ten or more. Per KenPom, he was used in just 15.2% of possessions, despite being the team’s primary ball handler.
With the Bulldogs, he’ll team up with Jadin Booth as a one-two punch for facilitating ball-movement. With another player like Booth that can create offense, I’d love to see Norris’ offensive statistics take another step forward.
DaJion Humphrey (6’4)
Humphrey spent his first two seasons with Holy Cross before transferring to Bowling Green for the last two years. Now, he’s finishing out his college career in Alabama. His two seasons at Bowling Green were nearly identical from a metric perspective. He shot 37.9% overall and 38.9% from three-point while appearing in 20 games and starting in 12. The 6’4 guard isn’t much of a facilitator on offense, but he’s a solid defender. He had five steals in two games last year, which gave him a 2% steal percentage. On the boards, he’s a pretty strong player despite his size as he averaged 5.3 rebounds over the last six games.
I don’t foresee him starting, unless Acuff wants to bring Keaton Norris off the bench, but regardless he’ll provide some meaningful 25-30 minutes per game.
Cade Norris (6’4)
In his freshman season, Cade Norris appeared in 17 games and averaged 7.7 minutes per game for Illinois State. He shot 50% overall (14 shots) and 40% from beyond the arc (five shots). Now, he’ll join his brother Keaton with the Samford Bulldogs.
Coming out of high school, he was recruited by Lennie Acuff at Lipscomb, so the connection runs deep. He had also received offers from Winthrop, Ball State, and Wright State. He was a lights out shooter for Hilliard Bradley High School where he averaged 17.4 points as a senior and 20.2 points as a junior.
Cade should be able to crack the rotation and start to gain valuable experience as a sophomore.
Kam Martin (6’4)
Martin had a strong freshman campaign for Long Beach State last season. He appeared in 32 games while starting in 24. He shot 39.8% overall and 34.6% from deep on 3.3 attempts per game. He ended his season on a slump over his last six games or else his metrics would look even better. Excluding those six games, he averaged 8.9 points while shooting 42.3% overall and 41.3% from beyond the arc.
There were signs that he can get to the line at a high rate. Despite that slump, he got to the line 21 times across those six games and knocked down 17 free throws. He finished the season with a 43.5% free throw rate in the Big West which was 13th in conference.
Martin has a high season and with some more pieces around him at Samford, he’ll be ready to take flight.
Isaiah Compbell-Finch (6’0)
Per 247 Sports, Isaiah Campbell-Finch is listed as a three-star recruit and 260th in the nation. Overall, he was ranked as the 32nd best point guard in his call. The 6’0 guard had quite a few offers from highly regarded non-power conference schools including Dayton, South Florida, Charleston, Dayton, and more.
He is lightning quick and I love how crafty he is on offense. He can use his athleticism to carve to the paint as he’s a strong finisher, but he can also take a step back to create his own shot in the mid-range. There are a lot of guards on this roster, however, I’d be shocked if we didn’t see him contributing in his freshman season with Samford.
Cooper Davenport (5’11)
Cooper Davenport is the son of Samford Hall of Famer Joey Davenport. His father played for the Bulldogs from 1992 to 1996 where he averaged 16 points, 2.4 assists, and 2 rebounds. Now, his son will follow his father’s path to the Bulldogs. Davenport was a lights out shooter for Henderson County High School in Henderson, Kentucky as he became a three-point specialist. He finished with over 1,500 points throughout his high school career.
JD Gossett (6’5)
The Huntsville, Alabama ties for the Samford Bulldogs continues with the incoming 6’5 freshman JD Gossett. Gossett originally committed to Lennie Acuff when he was with Lipscomb, so following his move to Samford Gossett followed suit. He averaged 15.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and four assists in his senior season at Huntsville High School while finishing as a Mr. Basketball Alabama finalist. He’s prolific on offense. The wing can carve up defenders to spin to the rim and he shot over 60% from the floor last season.
Forwards
Jaxon Pollard (6’7)
Pollard started his career at Salt Lake Community College where he finished his sophomore season averaged 8.2 points, six rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 45.5% overall from the floor and 33.3% from beyond the arc. He then transferred to Queens where he spent the last two seasons. The 6’7 forward nearly reproduced his last season averages in JUCO as he finished averaging eight points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists while shooting 50.5% overall and 39.7% from three-point on 1.9 attempts per game.
Pollard is going to provide the bulldogs with some important wing minutes. He averaged 17.4 minutes last season, in which his stats across the board become even more impressive given the playing time. I’d expect those rotation minutes to increase more toward 25 a game with Samford or more, and you’d hope the averages follow the trend with an increased output.
He finished with a 12.9% offensive rebounding percentage and a 17.8% defensive rebounding percentage. He’s strong on the boards and he’s a valuable offensive weapon. In conference, he shot 45.8% from three-point and 56.4% from inside the arc. Samford fans are going to enjoy Pollard this season.
Dylan Faulkner (6’9)
I caught a few Lipscomb games last season and I can confirm that Faulkner has a high ceiling. The Sophomore appeared in 15 games before going down with an injury in the last half of the season. During that stretch, the 6’9 forward was shooting 60.8% from the field while averaging 10.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, two assists, and 1.7 blocks per game. In the four conference games he appeared in, he was shooting a ridiculous 79.2% from the floor. While he’s not a three point threat, he’ll be able to size up as the center position for the Bulldogs this season.
He’s not just an offensive threat, but also a prolific shot blocker. He finished with a 10.6% block percentage which jumped to 12.1% in those four conference games. Through that four game stretch, he was averaging two blocks per game. It gets even better as he can also facilitate offensive plays. He rounded out the year with a 24.2 assist rate and a 32.9 assist rate in conference which is extremely impressive for a player of his size and position.
There is a lot to love about Faulkner and now that he’s followed his head coach to Samford, he’s poised to take another huge step forward this season.
Judson Bjornstad (6’8)
Bjornstad spent his freshman season at Union, a Division II school. He started in 29 games while shooting 39.7% overall and 27.7% from beyond the arc. While his overall three point shooting percentage doesn’t scream a strong shooter, his average skyrocketed to 42.4% from the beginning of February through the rest of the season.
For 6’8, he also has a nice ability to dish out assists. His season high was five, while he finished with four in another two games. On the glass, he finished averaging five rebounds while averaging almost 1.4 offensive rebounds per game.
Considering the overall lack of size on the Bulldogs’ roster, you should expect to see Bjornstad earn a solid role in the rotation this season.
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Expectations
Bucky McMillan built up the Samford program throughout his tenure including four 20+ win seasons in a row. Lennie Acuff is looking to keep that momentum going and with his track record at Lipscomb. This roster on paper looks like it should be able to finish in the top five in the Southern Conference. Let’s look at what a potential starting five could look like:
Jadin Booth
Keaton Norris
Jaxon Pollard
Judson Bjornstad
Dylan Faulkner
Acuff has a lot of guards on this roster that he could swap in and out of the starting lineup if he would like. At Lipscomb, he was accustomed to running with some smaller lineups, but he usually had staples that could play well in the paint like Jacob Ognacevic and Dylan Faulkner. On this team, Faulkner will size up as the starting center. As we discussed in the roster overview, he’s going to be a break-out watch this season as he is a prolific scorer in the paint and a monster on defense.
There is no doubt that Jadin Booth will be starting. He is a lights out scorer and he can facilitate an offense with his play making. You’ll also want Keaton Norris starting as he was a three-point specialist at Wright State and he brings in some strong experience. Where there could be some shakeup is at the three and four. In my opinion, you’ll want to start Jaxon Pollard. You could bump Bjornstad to the bench and move Pollard to the four. Then you could slide in one of either DaJion Humphrey or Kam Martin. You’ll be running a small lineup, but McMillan has done that with Samford and Acuff has done that with Lipscomb, so I wouldn’t be shocked if those cards are on the table.
On the bench, you’d have some mix of Bjornstad, Humphrey, Martin, Cade Norris, Caleb Harrison, Zion Wilburn, and Isaiah Campbell-Finch. I believe that JD Gossett could be in the mix as well depending on whether or not he redshirts.
Overall, I like the makeup of this team. I’m a bit concerned about their height issues. Faulkner is a prolific defender, but he’s still only 6’9. If he goes down with an injury, they will lack a true presence in the paint. While others like Caleb Harrison and Bjornstad could step up, I think that they’ll get hurt in the paint when Faulkner isn’t on the floor.
On the offense, I believe this team is going to score a lot of points. They have some high octane offensive players and with someone like Faulkner in the paint, you can score from both inside and outside. I’m excited to see Keaton Norris get an expanded opportunity and I think both Caleb Harrison and Isaiah Campbell-Finch could both make impacts in their first eligible seasons.
This is a transition season, however, it won’t be one that will result in a below .500 record. I believe this team should easily be able to win 18-20 games again and finish in the top four or five of the Southern Conference while potentially even nabbing a postseason bid to either the NIT or CBI. The key to this season is to keep the momentum going for Acuff. If he can pick up right where McMillan left off, we’ll be having Samford right back in the NCAA Tournament.