Offseason Review: The Lipscomb Bisons Look like Atlantic Sun Contenders
The Lipscomb Bisons are a veteran heavy team with an eye on one thing...winning the Atlantic Sun Conference and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
Since transitioning to Division I, the Lipscomb Bisons have been one of the most consistent teams among the mid-major ranks. They’ve amassed a 359-325 record, finished with a sub .500 record just once in their first season in the A-Sun in 2003-2004, and finishing with over 20 wins in six out of 21 seasons. In the Atlantic Sun, they’ve finished with double-digit wins 12 out of 21 seasons.
Unfortunately, since the A-Sun is typically a one-bid league, the Bisons have made the NCAA Tournament just once, in the 2018 tournament, but they’ve been so close in many others. In the 2018-2019 season, they finished 29-8 on the season and 14-2 in conference however they lost to Liberty in the A-Sun Tournament Championship 74-68. The Bisons went on to play in the NIT that season, making it to the finals in Madison Square Garden and finishing as the runner-up to 2-seed Texas.
Following that season, Casey Alexander drove up the road to Belmont following Rick Bird’s retirement. Lennie Acuff took over, had a quick two-year rebuild, and has the Bisons on the right track again. In year three, he finished 20-13 overall, 11-7 in conference. Last season, they finished 20-12 and 11-5 in conference. Unfortunately, they lost some key pieces to injuries last season that included star Jacob Ognacevic who was out the entire season and fellow star Derrin Boyd went down with a torn ACL on February 10th. Combined, Ognacevic (averaged 17.7 the year prior) and Boyd (17.6 prior to injury) averaged 35.3 points. Had both been healthy, this could have easily been a dark horse Cinderella team in the NCAA Tournament.
However, despite losing both Derrin Boyd and AJ McGinnis to the transfer portal, Acuff has returned some significant talent and added some key pieces in the transfer portal. He doesn’t have a single incoming freshman as this veteran heavy team has their eyes on one thing. Winning the Atlantic Sun and going to the NCAA Tournament. Lets review who the Bisons have on their roster entering the 2024 season.
Roster Overview:
Lets recap who the Bisons have returning on their roster:
Joe Anderson (Senior)
8.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.9 steals
Will Pruitt (Senior)
15.1 points, 6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals
Jacob Ognacevic (Senior)
Injured last season.
17.7 points, 4.4 rebounds in 2022-2023
Grant Asman (Junior)
4.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1 assist
Logan Suber (Sophomore)
Redshirt
Tylan Houck (Sophomore)
3 points, 1.8 rebounds
Dylan Faulkner (Sophomore)
6.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 blocks
The Bisons have added the following players from the transfer portal:
Gyasi Powell (Senior) - Jacksonville
9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists
Ross Candelino (Junior) - Wisconsin
0.8 points, 0.6 rebounds (5 games, 1 minute)
Kellan Boylan (Junior) - Air Force
7.2 points, 5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals
Miles White (Junior) - Rockhurts College (DII)
12.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists
Charlie Williams (Junior) - William & Mary
6.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists
The Bisons have lost the following players:
Hank Hutcheson (Senior) - Team Exit
2 points, 1.1 rebounds
Cody Head (Sophomore) - Arkansas State
8.1 points, 2.5 rebounds
Paxton Davidson (Sophomore) - The Citadel
1.8 points, 1.6 rebounds
Derrin Boyd (Senior) - College of Charleston
17.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists
TJ Johnson (Sophomore) - VMI
3.8 points, 1.7 rebounds
AJ McGinnis (Senior) - Wichita State
13.2 points, 2.3 rebounds
Jason Montgomery (Ineligible)
4.4 points, 0.7 rebounds
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Looking at their loses, Derrin Boyd is heartbreaking. After two years at Lipscomb, he’s headed to join Chris Mack at the College of Charleston where he’ll look to keep the momentum going for the Cougars. Last year, the 6’3 guard shot an incredible 52.6% overall and 44% from 3pt while averaging 17.6 points. Boyd is an absolute machine and if he can recover from his torn ACL then he’s going to be one of the best mid-major players in college basketball.
AJ McGinnis and Cody Head are both tough losses as well. McGinnis spent the last two seasons in Nashville after transferring from Cincinnati. He’ll now be headed to his fourth school at Wichita State after coming off a career best season. The Senior shot 46.1% overall and 39.7% from beyond the arc. Head was a budding star as a freshman and really stepped up when Boyd went down with his injury. He shot 53.2% from the floor and 35.2% from 3pt while averaging 9.3 points while Boyd was out. He’s headed to the rising Arkansas State team where he’ll look to leap even further.
In terms of their additions, the Bisons didn’t bring in a single freshman, however, they are bringing in five transfers to fill some of the holes they lost in the rotation. Gyasi Powell has been a key figure for the last couple of seasons for Jacksonville. Last season, he shot 34.8% overall and 32.5% from 3pt. In the season prior, he shot 43.7% and 41.2% from beyond the arc while posting 9.4 points, 4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. He posted some solid lines last season, including 20 points against Kennesaw State, 19 points, 4 rebounds against Queens. He finished with double-digit points in 12 out of 33 games for the Dolphins. Acuff is adding a solid and consistent player to his rotation here.
Keelan Boylan is going to be a perfect addition to the roster. Last season, he averaged 7.2 points, 5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game on 48.3% shooting overall, 41.9% from 3pt. Against Wyoming, he dropped 32 points on 11-16 shooting and a ridiculous 9-14 from 3pt. For comparison, he took 62 threes on the season, so he shot 22% of them in just one game. He had a bit of foul trouble, averaging nearly three a game, fouling out two, and finishing with three or more fouls in 17 games. Last season was his first full season with Air Force as he appeared in just 6 games, averaging 1.3 minutes in his freshman campaign. He’ll be looking to develop even further with the Bisons in the Atlantic Sun.
Charlie Williams is another incoming junior coming off his career best season thus far. At William & Mary, Williams shot 42.2% from the floor and 37% from 3pt across 25 games. At 6’10 he provides some great depth down low while also being able to stretch the floor and knock down some outside shots. He had a great stretch of eight games last season against UMBC, Norfolk, Richmond, Old Dominion, Virginia-Lynchburg, Pepperdine, Navy, and Elon where he averaged 12.5 points, four rebounds, and three assists. He’s still young, so he has plenty of time to grow and working with Jacob Ognacevic is going to help elevate his game even further.
Ross Candelino has had an interesting path so far. As a freshman, he walked on at Wisconsin, averaging 0.8 points and 0.6 rebounds across five games. He then redshirt his sophomore year and now has transferred to Lipscomb. When he walked on at Wisconsin, he did have one D-I offer from American (he actually initially committed there) and he averaged 14.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists as a senior in high school. I doubt he breaks much in the rotation this season, but he could be someone to watch in the coming years. Plus he gives the bench life, I encourage you to look up some of his videos from his freshman year, their incredible.
Miles White had some solid numbers at Division II Rockhurst, averaging 12.6 points while shooting a pretty impressive 45.1% from the floor and 44.2% from 3pt. At 6’2, he provides some depth at where they already have Will Pruitt, Gyasi Powell, and Kellan Boylan. It’ll be interesting to see how Acuff pieces together this rotation, but White can be lethal from downtown. He attempted 147 threes on that 44.2% shooting.
Now, lets get to the secret sauce that has the Lipscomb Bisons looking like a team to watch this season, the returners. They always say that the best players you need to recruit are the ones on your team and Acuff has done just that. Returning both Jacob Ognacevic and Will Pruitt for one last rodeo is an ideal situation (imagine if Derrin Boyd and AJ McGinnis had stayed…my goodness this could’ve been a top 25 team at some point).
Will Pruitt is a local Nashville product (Mt. Juliet) who’s spent all four years at Lipscomb. He’s slowly gotten better and better as the years have went on, but last season he set career highs. He averaged 15.1 points, 6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on an incredible 50.5% shooting overall and 43.4% from 3pt. When Derrin Boyd went down with a torn ACL on February 10th, Pruitt took over the scoring to finish the season 4-1. Counting the ASun Tournament, he finished the season averaging 20.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, three assists, and 1.5 steals per game while Boyd was out. This includes a 30 point performance against Austin Peay and a 23 point, 10 rebound performance against Eastern Kentucky. Pruitt has never shot below 44.5% overall on a season, so this is an absolute scoring machine for Acuff’s offense.
Jacob Ognacevic started his career off at Valparaiso, but transferred to Lipscomb in 2021. He appeared in 32 games, starting nine while averaging 19 minutes per game. He still averaged 11.2 points, four rebounds per game despite the minimal minutes (compared to that of a starter). In the 2022-2023 season, he took another step forward with a starting position. He averaged 17.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game on 60.7% shooting overall across 33 games (26.6 minutes per game). At 6’8, he’s not as strong of a shot blocker as you’d think as he has just 25 career blocks, but he can grab you boards and he is as impressive of a finisher inside as you can find. Tagging up with Pruitt, this is going to be the go-to duo for the Bisons this season.
Joe Anderson transferred in last season from Furman after spending his first three seasons appearing in 72 games, starting just two. In his first season with the Bisons, he carved out an important role in the starting lineup, starting in all 32 games he appeared in. The 6’0 guard is a menace on defense. Last season, he averaged 1.9 steals per game, raking up an least one steal in 31 out of 32 games on the season and three or more steals in ten games. Offensively, when he’s on, he’s on. Against Northern Alabama, he posted 18 points, six assists, and three steals on 7-7 shooting, 4-4 from 3pt. Against Wofford, he scored 24 points on 8-13 shooting. On the season, he finished shooting 49.8% from the floor and 40% from deep.
Grant Asman, Dylan Faulkner, and Rylan Houck are all returning after providing important roles in the rotation last season. As a true freshman last season, Dylan Faulkner averaged 6.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game in just 13.1 minutes per game (29 games). The 6’9 freshman had some monster games, including a five block performance against Austin Peay to go with 15 points and seven rebounds, and two four-block performances against Tennessee State and Alabama A&M. There’s a lot to like about Faulkner on both the offensive and defensive ends. He shot 61.2% on the season, so combined with his shot blocking strengths, he’ll be a perfect fit on this team.
Grant Asman is another big man for this team. At 6’11, the Junior has the ability to alter shots as well. During his freshman season, he averaged one block per game (across seven games), however, that’s dipped down to 0.5 per game last season. Offensively, he averaged 4.5 points per game while shooting 46.2% overall and 30.4% from deep throughout 29 games (seven starts, 15.1 minutes per game). His best game of the season came against Central Arkansas where he posted 16 points on 6-9 shooting, 3-4 from 3pt, six rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal. Teaming up with Ognacevic, Charlie Williams, and Faulkner, the Bisons have a ton of options at the four and five spots.
Rylan Houck was also a true freshman last season. The 6’5 forward appeared in 29 games, averaging 10.2 minutes per game, three points, 1.8 rebounds, while shooting 57.1% overall and 50% from 3pt (3-6 on the season). His playing time was rather sporadic, but his best game of the season came against North Florida with an 11 point and two rebound performance on 4-6 shooting, 1-1 from 3pt in just 11 minutes. With the veterans on the team, it’ll be hard for him to breakthrough this season, but he’ll be a fun one to watch develop throughout another season.
Preseason Expectations
Oh what could’ve been had Derrin Boyd and AJ McGinnis stayed with the team to tag up with Ognacevic and Pruitt. They would’ve had the potential to run away with the Atlantic Sun. However, despite losing those two, I still believe this is a top three team in the league with a ceiling of winning the conference.
Offensively, as mentioned, they are returning Will Pruitt and Jacob Ognacevic. They’ll be the main two pieces of firepower, while Joe Anderson, Gyasi Powell, Miles White and Kellan Boylan will be able to support knocking down shots. Charlie Williams & Dylan Faulkner will both be additional pieces down low. The impressive part of the Lipscomb system is, last season just two players shot below 40% overall (as a team, they shot 49.3% on the season, 8th in the country) and neither remained with the team. Incoming, Gyasi is the only player (that saw playing time) that shot below that mark as well. This is a team that controls the offensive tempo and waits for the right shot. This doesn’t seem likely to change.
Defensively, they can rack up the steals and blocks. Dylan Faulkner averaged 1.2 blocks a game last season, while Boylan, Pruitt, and Anderson all averaged over one steal per game. They have great depth down low between Ognacevic, Faulkner, newcomer Charlie Williams, and Grant Asman. Being able to lock it down defensively while taking pride in your shot selection is a recipe for success.
Their non-conference schedule is strong with Duquesne, Arkansas, Wofford, Belmont, Western Kentucky, Kentucky, Jackson State, Alabama A&M, Chattanooga, SEMO, Truett McConnell, Middle Tennessee and Asbury. The strengths here are obviously two SEC schools, then arch-rival Belmont of the Missouri Valley, Duquesne which is a dark horse in the Atlantic 10 this season, Western Kentucky, Chattanooga, and Middle Tennessee. This won’t secure an at-large bid to the big dance (the two non-DI games hurt), but it will be good enough to secure a bid to the NIT in the event the Bisons do not win the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.
Personally, I have Lipscomb as the preseason favorites to win the Atlantic Sun. They are deep, they have the offense, the defense, and they are overall a veteran team. With Ognacevic back, and some hungry seniors, the Bisons will be looking to do what they could’ve done last season barring injuries. There’s a lot to like about this team and you should have your eyes on them in the upcoming season.
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