Furman Basketball: 2022-23 season preview for the Paladins

Projected starting lineup

PG – Mike Bothwell (Senior)

Last year’s leading scorer returns, eager to avenge that March moment that saw Jean-Baptiste hit that buzzer-beater after his tough layup with four seconds left. That is what most will remember of that season. But Bothwell had a fantastic overall year for Furman. He earned All-SOCON honors and led the team in scoring for the second straight year (15.7 PPG). He’s a natural scorer who excels at getting to his sweet spots and knocking down shots off the dribble as well as having the capability of making contested triples off a catch-and-shoot.

Bothwell made over 55% of his two-point attempts and made a solid 36.2% of his three-pointers. He’s exciting to watch with the ball in his hands and his three assists per game showed that he can create for others off the bounce. The most underrated part of Bothwell’s game is his ability to draw contact and get to the line and being one of the only sources of that kind of production on the team. Furman was ranked 340th as a team in free throw rate but Bothwell was one of only two other players on the team to get to the line more than three times per game.

Bothwell is one of the undisputed leaders on this team and is an early season favorite to win SOCON Player of the Year, especially if he sees an increase in his scoring production.

Shooting Guard – Joe Anderson (Junior)

Anderson was a small role-playing contributor on last season’s squad and will be asked to expand his role this season. He’s a three-point specialist that made an astonishing 46.9% of his three-point attempts. He’ll be asked to shoot much more than the 77 attempts he had last year. The departures of starting guards Hunter and Garrison leave a massive hole in a vital aspect of the Furman offense: three-point shooting.

Between the two of them, they attempted 426 threes and made an exceptional 41% of them. I expect to see Anderson’s volume increase way above his original 2.8 attempts per game and will be called upon to be one of the key marksmen on a team that leans on that element of the game more than any in the sport.

Per 100 possessions, Anderson was attempting 11.7 threes, which all but guarantees he will be firing away in his new role that will possibly see him taking over Garrison’s spot in the starting lineup.

Small Forward – Marcus Foster (Junior)

Foster initially started last season coming off of the bench but eventually found his way into the starting lineup as a small ball four. I have Foster as a “three” in this lineup but can definitely see time as the second-biggest starter on the floor.

At 8.5 points per game, Foster can score if needed. He made 50% of his two-point buckets and a reliable 35.8% of his triples. But where he fits in as a key player is his ability to play sound team defense and offensive rebound. Foster led the team in offensive rebounds per game at 1.5. It may seem like a small attribute but for a team that shoots this many three-pointers, it’s vital to have good offensive rebounders bail you out of bad shooting nights. Foster’s 1.5 offensive boards per game will certainly increase given the uptick in his offensive rebound percentage. By the end of the year, he was grabbing 7.9% of Furman’s missed shots which leads the team among all eligible players per college basketball reference.

Power Forward- Jalen Slawson (Senior)

The reigning SOCON Defensive Player of the Year is listed here as a PF even though he started most games last season as a small ball center at 6-7. While Bothwell might be the best offensive weapon on the team, Slawson is certainly the most important due to the amount of offense that runs through him to get others involved.

Last year, Slawson finished second on the team in scoring (14.5 PPG) but first in assists per game (3.7 APG). Out of all the top ten teams in assist rate, Slawson is one of only two big men (Lafayette’s Neal Quinn being the other) to lead their teams in assists per game.

Much of the offense revolves around him with post-entry passes that allow him to isolate against forwards 15 feet away from the basket while other players move away from the ball to get open for inside-out three-pointers. He’s also a great screener in a spread ball-screen who rolls well to the basket as well as pops out on the perimeter. His three-point shooting wasn’t reliable (30%) but he is a confident shooter who still took 139 tries. He does, however, have a fundamentally sound shot and makes over 80% of his free throw attempts which signals a potential positive three-point regression.

Most importantly though, he is the defensive anchor. He has a high block and steal rate with a combined 6.6 of them per 100 possessions. He’s a solid helpside rim protector and a smart defensive player.

Center – Garrett Hien (Junior)

The 6-9 junior forward saw some starts early last season but came off the bench for 29 of their 33 games. Hien’s per-game stat line won’t wow anyone (5.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists) but he does provide plenty of value on the defensive end and as a screener in the spread ball screen. His facilitation also improved as the year went along and by season’s end, he was dishing out 5.7 assists per 100 possessions, the third-highest assist rate on the team.

It’s uncertain if he will be the starting center this year or if Slawson will be the starting center and the Paladins playing small ball (very possible). I plug Hien here because he is the second most experienced forward on the team and has some starts already under his belt including the big November win at Louisville. Whether he starts a majority of games or not, it still won’t change his role as a screener, roller, secondary facilitator, and good team defender in the Paladins’ multitude of defensive looks.