Murray State Basketball: An early look into a potential 2021-22 mid-major Cinderella

Backcourt Newcomers

With both KJ Williams and Tevin Brown both slated to return McMahon’s greatest challenge this offseason was filling the gaps in the supporting cast left by the departures of a handful of transfers and one key cog who opted to leave Murray State and test the professional waters.

The most notable players leaving are Chico Carter Jr. and Demond Robinson – both of whom opted to transfer out, with Carter Jr. heading to South Carolina and Robinson to Kennesaw State – as well as Devin Gilmore, who announced his plans in March to go professional after four illustrious years with the Racers.  After Williams and Brown, that trio comprised the Racers’ next leading scorers, with Robinson and Gilmore ranking third and fourth in rebounds per game, and the former leading the team in blocks.

Despite those losses, however, the Racers might be even better next season, courtesy of a slew of incoming transfers that should provide even more scoring options than what was available to Murray State last season – and should replace Carter Jr., Robinson, and Gilmore without little issue.  All five have played at different and interchangeable positions at their previous stops at college, meaning McMahon and the Racers will have a flexible – and potentially deep – lineup in 2021-22.

At least two of the newcomers will provide key time in the backcourt, where Carter Jr. thrived at shooting guard while Justice Hill and Dionte Bostick – both of whom are slated to return – shared time at point guard.  With DaQuan Smith – who started eight games last season and primarily played at shooting guard – also set to come back, the Racers should be primed to roll out at least five different players who could regularly see time in the backcourt.

Carter Collins should be the most impactful from the start, having transferred from a Davidson team that was ranked second in the NIT.  The starting point guard for the Wildcats, Collins averaged multiple career-best marks this past season, including in points (10.9), assists (2.7), rebounds (3.8), field goal percentage (45.8%), and three-point percentage (38.5%).

Collins was one of the most disciplined point guards in the country last season, maintaining a 2.10 assist-to-turnover ratio – something that should bode well for a Murray State team that averaged 13.3 turnovers and ranked 156th in the country.

Providing further depth in the backcourt will be Trae Hannibal, a 6-3 guard from South Carolina that ranked sixth in scoring (6.0), seventh in total minutes played (333:20), third in total assists (40), and first in both free-throw percentage (34-40, 85.0%).  Despite not shooting much, Hannibal maintained two of the best shooting clips on the team in FG% (39-89, 43.8%) and 3PT% (7-13, 53.8%).

Additionally, despite his 6-3 stature, Hannibal saw substantial playing time down the stretch at small forward, an area where Murray State desperately needs depth, considering Brown played nearly 90% of the minutes allocated to small forward over the closing stretch of the 2020-21 season.

While the Racers are rich with depth in the backcourt, the exits of Gilmore and Robinson left Murray State with few options in the frontcourt.  KJ Williams, the team’s leading scorer, dominates most of the time at center, while Gilmore, Robinson, Nicholas McMullen, and Jackson Sivills shared time at power forward and backing Williams up.

With the latter two returning after solid freshman campaigns, McMahon and his staff needed to find proven scorers who could start immediately and provide an offensive boost – and in turn, are now bringing in three transfers that can all alternate between power forward and center.

Jordan Skipper-Brown headlines the trio, coming off a stellar two-year stint at Eastern Illinois where he started in 12 games in a senior campaign where he was sidelined halfway through due to COVID-19 protocol.  Behind a 10.2 point average and a team-best 5.6 mark in rebounding, Skipper-Brown regularly impressed, including pouring in 14 points in the Panthers’ season-opening tilt at Wisconsin, as well as three double-double rebounding performances on the year.  Skipper-Brown’s 62% FG mark ranks as the fourth-best single-season FG% in school history.