2017-18 SFA Men's Basketball Season Preview: Senior Class
11/9/2017 11:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Canete, Charles and Gilmore III big keys to 'Jacks' success
The 2017-18 Stephen F. Austin men's basketball season is set to begin on Saturday afternoon when the 'Jacks travel to Longwood, Va., to tangle with Big South Conference foe Longwood. In preparation for the campaign, SFAJacks.com is taking a class-by-class look at the team on a daily basis leading up to the season opener. The fourth and final part of that series focuses on SFA's three seniors.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - As empty as he felt during the three-hour bus ride from Moscow, Idaho, to Ellensburg, Wash., in the wee hours of the morning on March 16, 2017, Stephen F. Austin head men's basketball coach Kyle Keller's mind was overflowing. It didn't stop racing, not even when the 'Jacks' bus pulled into the Days Inn and Conference Center Ellenburg - deservedly the worst hotel the team stayed in all season according to Keller - to rest up before making the remainder of the drive to Seattle to catch a flight back to Houston.
Every thought he had was directed at one date - Nov. 11, 2017. The date of SFA's 2017-18 season opener.
"I've been thinking about this game at Longwood on Saturday since our team stepped on the bus right after our season ended in Moscow, Idaho, last March 15," reflected second-year SFA head coach Kyle Keller. "What I felt after that game against Idaho in the CIT was just about the worst feeling I have ever had. Right now, I'm just anxious to get that taste out of my mouth."
Keller isn't alone. Hoping many of the returners from last season's squad carry a similar chip on their shoulder, the 'Jacks' second-year head coach has brought in a few new pieces to accentuate the list of positives his returners bring to the table.
In a stark contrast of the situation the 'Jacks found themselves in last season, SFA is one of just 16 NCAA Division I men's basketball teams from around the nation which retain at least 70 percent of its scoring, rebounding and assists from the previous season. The bulk of those numbers come from SFA's three-man senior class - Ivan Canete, Ty Charles and Leon Gilmore III.
When it boils down to in-game experience in an SFA uniform, no man on the 'Jacks' roster is in possession of more than Charles. As a matter of fact, the Kennedale, Texas, product stands a chance at becoming only the fifth man in the history of the program to reach 100 wins in a career as he enters his final collegiate go-around.
His inclusion, however, is hardly a sure thing as getting to 100 career wins would mean the 'Jacks would have to win at least 25 games. Fortunately for Charles - and the other two final-year men who are hoping to push the 'Jacks back to the top of the Southland Conference standings and make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament - SFA has the talent to turn a lofty goal such as that into a reality.
Half of his junior season was derailed by a multitude of maladies, but when Charles was present on the court his presence stabilized the 'Jacks. Thirteen of the 'Jacks' 18 wins last season came when Charles played and in six of the nine games in which he reached double-digits in the scoring column SFA emerged as the victors.
On the team charts in 2015-16, Charles ranks fourth in scoring (9.3 points per game) and third in terms of rebounding (5.0 per game). Only senior Dallas Cameron boasted a higher usage level (30.4 minutes per game) than Charles who played 29.2 minutes per game.
Newcomers in their own right a little over one year ago, both Canete and Gilmore III were two of 'Jacks' biggest pieces throughout the 2016-17 campaign. One of only two players who started each and every one of SFA's 33 games last season, Canete's impact was felt immediately on both offense and defense. A product of Lake Worth, Fla., Canete emerged as the best three-point shooter on the squad by drilling 47 triples by way of his 38.8-percent shooting touch from distance.
Tied for second on the team in scoring with Gilmore III, Canete contributed 10.6 points per game to SFA's efforts on offense and was the team's most accurate shooter from the free throw stripe (79.1-percent, 72-of-91). When stacked up against all Southland Conference players, Canete was the sixth-most accurate free throw shooter in the league and his 1.4 steals per game on the defensive end of the floor led SFA and ranked the then-junior 15th in the Southland in that category.
One of the major hopes for the 'Jacks is that Gilmore III can successfully bridge his play from the tail end of the 2016-17 campaign to the entirety of the 2017-18 season. Four of the final five games of his junior year resulted in in outings of 16 or more points and both of his 20+ point efforts in an SFA uniform came during that stretch.
"One of the things that hurt us last year was lack of experience - that's something you can't coach," said Keller. "Ty was one of the only players on our team with big game experience and everyone else's roles were so different. Now the roles are more clearly defined which bodes well for us."
Only time will tell if the pieces will fit together, but if you ask Keller the timing is right for a run of good fortune.
"Something good is coming for us," Keller finished. "This is a resilient group of young men and right now our team is full of confidence and swagger. I love it."
To purchase season tickets for the 2017-18 SFA men's basketball season, fans can contact the SFA athletics ticket office at 936-468-JACK (5225). The 'Jacks' 2017-18 campaign begins on Saturday, Nov. 11, in Farmville, Va., when SFA takes on Longwood at 2:00 p.m.
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