Liberty Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Flames

Projected Starters for Liberty Basketball

Senior G Chris Parker  (Transfer from DII Henderson State)

Parker averaged 15 points, three rebounds, and two assists at Division II school Henderson State last year. This could be a good pickup for Liberty. As the Flames needed scoring help and Henderson could help somewhat fill that void. As he shot 42% from three last season and 36% from three on his career.

The question for Parker is how well will he transition to D1 basketball. He did put up solid stats last year and he needs to continue his outstanding shooting from beyond the arc. As the Flames could use an extra scoring bonus in the backcourt.

Junior G Darius McGhee

McGhee averaged nine points, four rebounds, and one assists on 43% shooting and 38% from three. This is McGhee’s team now. Coach McKay is going to expect the junior guard to lead the Flames in most aspects of the game. He is going to have to produce stats like one of the best players in the A-Sun if Liberty wants to win the conference for a third straight year.

I think Mcghee can easily average at least 13 points a game this season. With everything Liberty is losing McGhee is going to be the number one option on offense. This means there is going to be a major jump in his stats from last season.

Senior F Elijah Cuffee

Cuffee averaged seven points, two rebounds, and two assists on 40% from the field, and 34% from three. In all honesty, Cuffee had a down junior season compared to his sophomore one. He statistically regressed in almost every shooting category and averaged the same amount of points. The Flames need Cuffee to step up and become the secondary offensive option on this team behind McGhee.

Cuffee was the only guy besides McGhee who returns that played at least 20 mins a game. And I think Cuffee easily can average double-digit points this season especially with getting more looks on offense. If Cuffee has a breakout senior year, Liberty has the potential to have one of the best offenses in the A-Sun.

Sophomore F Kyle Rode

Rode had a solid freshman campaign last season averaging four points, two rebounds, and one assist on 44% shooting and from 36% from three. Rode only shot an average of three shots a game last season. But he is one of the only guys returning that had decent playing time from last year.

I think Rode’s stats definitely go up with more playing time this year. But I wonder how efficient he will be with shooting more touches. If he can continue his solid three-point shooting, I think he can be a solid contributor for the Flames.

Sophomore F Shiloh Robinson

Robinson averaged two points and one rebound on an average of ten minutes a game. At 6’7″ Robinson could have his hands full on defense he is going to have to be playing center. I don’t know how good Robinson will be this year with his limited playing time last year. But we should see a solid jump in his stats with his playing time increasing.

Liberty does not have a true center as the tallest guy on the roster being 6’9″. This means the Flames have to play small for the majority of the season. You can get away with that though in a smaller conference like the Atlantic Sun, but if the Flames make it out of the A-Sun. They will have trouble with size past that.