Busting Brackets
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Sun Belt Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

By Joey Loose

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; The Georgia State Panthers bench surrounds Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (22) after their victory over the Baylor Bears in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena.Georgia State defeated Baylor 57-56 on Hunter's three point basket with 2.8 second left in the game. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; The Georgia State Panthers bench surrounds Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (22) after their victory over the Baylor Bears in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena.Georgia State defeated Baylor 57-56 on Hunter's three point basket with 2.8 second left in the game. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sun Belt Basketball UT Arlington Mavericks guard Erick Neal Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Sun Belt Basketball UT Arlington Mavericks guard Erick Neal Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

17. Erick Neal

A 5’11 point guard from Dallas, Neal moved to nearby Arlington, spending his entire four-year career at UT Arlington. He joined the Mavericks back in 2014 and would become the starting point guard by his sophomore season. The program would win a considerable amount of games during those seasons and Neal put up impressive numbers for a Sun Belt point guard.

After modest gains as a freshman, Neal would average 12.7 points and 6.2 assists a game in year two, a season where the Mavericks won 24 games. Boasting similar numbers as a junior, he’d lead UT Arlington to a 26-win campaign and a regular season title, though the Mavericks settled for an NIT run that included a pair of victories. As a senior, Neal had at least 10 assists in his first six games and would average 16.7 points and 6.7 assists in by far his best season. Unfortunately, the Mavericks would fall short of the Big Dance again, though they had a third-straight 20-win season.

Not only was Neal the Sun Belt’s leader in assists for those three straight seasons, but he was among the national leaders as well. He’d also lead the Sun Belt in steals as a senior and earn three straight All-Sun Belt honors. At the same time, UT Arlington was clearly winning a ton of games even if they fell short a few times in the conference tournament. The bottom line is that Neal was a great point guard and a major contributor to the Mavericks’ most recent run of success.