Furman basketball with coach Jeff JacksonYear / Overall / SoCon2006-07 / 15-16 / 8-10 (3rd SoCon South)2007-08 / 7-23 / 6-14 (5th SoCon South)2008-09 / 6-24 / 4-16 (5th SoCon South)2009-10 / 13-17 / 7-11 (5th SoCon South)2010-11 / 9-3 / 2-0Totals: 50-83 / 27-51
Jeff Jackson’s plan is finally coming together at Furman.
The Paladins’ fifth-year basketball coach had lost twice as many Southern Conference games as he’d won during his first four seasons in Greenville, S.C., but he’s undefeated in the SoCon so far this season and has pushed the Paladins from the ranks of underdogs to favorites.
“We’re mature and we’ve got seniors, and this is the first time since my first season, when we inherited that group, that we have seniors who play a major part in the program,” Jackson said. “I think that’s really been a positive thing for our team.”
Furman is 2-0 in the South Division of the SoCon and 9-3 overall, including a 16-point home win over South Carolina and a 15-point victory at Middle Tennessee. Its losses have come at Kent State in overtime, at Penn State and at Central Florida.
The Paladins are no longer pushovers.
“A win over South Carolina is a big win,” said College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins, whose team faces Furman on Thursday. “That sent signals to all the rest of the conference that Furman is possibly the most improved team in our conference.”
The key components to Furman’s success so far have been experience and depth. There are 12 upperclassmen on the roster, and nine players average more than 11 minutes per game. That’s a luxury for Jackson compared to previous years when his main rotation featured six or seven players.
“We have great depth and I’m knocking on wood – which means I’m knocking on my head – that it’s maintained,” Jackson said. “We can absorb an injury, we can absorb foul situations, and as long as we can do that, I think things look up for us.”
Furman has finished fifth out of six teams in the SoCon South the last three years. Now it is tied for first and players said the rest of campus is starting to take notice that basketball doesn’t have to be the undercard to football.
“Students are all excited, we have a lot more support this year from our fan base and you can feel the excitement around campus,” said senior Amu Saaka, who leads Furman with an average of 15.7 points per game. “Professors are into it.
“It makes it that much more fun to play here.”
Fun is one thing, a winning season is something different, and the Paladins haven’t won a SoCon tournament championship in 30 years.
“We want to make a statement by winning a championship,” senior Jordan Miller said. “We want the respect we feel we deserve, and seniors want to be remembered by.”