Paladins try to reverse opening trend

Furman junior captain Bo Layton leads an offensive line that returns all
five starters and four reserves this season. Photo courtesy of Furman

Furman begins the 2019 football season Saturday with a rare home opener, seeking something else that's been rare - a 1-0 start to the season. The Paladins, who are ranked No. 17 in the preseason FCS Coaches poll and No. 19 in the STATS media poll, host Charleston Southern looking for their first season opening win since 2014. Furman, which has turned things around after 0-3 starts each of the past two seasons, has won just one opener since 2010.

Saturday will mark Furman's first opening game at Paladin Stadium since 2015 against an opponent it's never faced before. Charleston Southern, which started football in 1991, is the lone Division I in-state opponent the Paladins had never played. In addition to being an unfamiliar foe, the Buccaneers also have a new head coach in Notre Dame's all-time leading rusher Autry Denson. So for Furman, there's plenty of unknown going into this matchup.

"With openers there's always a level of uncertainty and in this case, even more so," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. "Everything we've seen says there's going to an air raid style offense. They have an experienced quarterback who's a mobile guy.
"They're only two years removed from winning a couple of conference championships. Historically, they've been really good defensively. It will certainly be a challenge for us, but we're excited to finally get to play."

There will be new faces on the Furman sideline as well Saturday, and they will be trying to shut down CSU's air attack. It will be the first game for new cornersbacks coach Rod Ojong and new safeties coach Corico Wright. They're part of a defensive staff led by new coordinator Duane Vaughn. Senior spur Jordan Willis, one of four captains, said Vaughn's new position has changed nothing about his enthusiastic coaching style.

"Coach Vaughn's been a great leader for us. He hasn't changed one bit. He's probably the most energized guy if you see him out on the practice field. ... That's how he's been all four years I've been here," Willis said. "I think some of the leadership we have on defense helps him as well.
"It's a lot easier when you have players pushing other players. ... We try to correct the little things before the coaches can even get to it."

While opportunities against a pair of FBS opponents loom the first two Saturdays in September, the Paladins are well aware of the importance of this August non-conference game. Missing the chance to earn a win against a Colgate team that went undefeated in the regular season last year because of the weather may have very well cost Furman a bid to the FCS playoffs.

Last year's playoff snub, when the Paladins became just the second Southern Conference champion to not receive a postseason invite, gives the team plenty of motivation headed into this season. That combined with the slow starts of the past give even more cause for Furman to take care of business Saturday.

"We've been saying, 'let's leave no doubt and don't leave it (a playoff bid) in somebody else's hands.' The only way to do that is to win the conference and get the automatic bid," Hendrix said. "The other thing is we'd like to start (the season) a little faster than we have. Obviously, we haven't started very well for various reasons the past couple of years."

Hope for a better start could be found in the overall confidence level of the team entering this season. When preseason camp ended, Hendrix described the difference between this year's camp and his first two as "night and day." In addition to experience, he noted the biggest cause for improvement this preseason was the tremendous shape the team showed up in following offseason workouts.

Confidence is especially high in deep experienced positions, such as the offensive line. All five starters return for the Paladins along the line, as well as the top four reserves.

"This is the first year where I feel like we (the offensive line) have the ability to take over," junior left tackle Bo Layton, a captain, said. "We can be that unit that provides leadership on offense. I think on every team, it starts up front.
"I feel great about our receiving corps, our backfield and quarterback situation. We have a lot talented, smart guys that work hard. I think that's going to equate to a lot of success."

Depth chart released: Grainger to start at QB

Furman redshirt freshman Darren Grainger (4) has won the
starting quarterback competition. Photo courtesy of Furman

Darren Grainger has won the starting quarterback competition for Furman and is set to make his second career start Saturday when the Paladins host Charleston Southern. The freshman appeared in four games last season, taking advantage of the new rule allowing players to participate in up to four games and still redshirt.

Furman head coach Clay Hendrix, who announced the decision at Monday's debut of Furman Football Monday, said that Grainger and backup Hamp Sisson each had great camps. Luke Shiflett, a transfer from Middle Tennessee State who was part of the competition early on, is listed on the opening depth chart as a backup to new starting split end Ryan DeLuca.

"It wasn't anything that Hamp didn't do as much as it was Darren just went out and won the spot," Hendrix said. "In today's day of college football, I doubt you're going to get into the season with only one.
"We told them last week and I was really pleased with how both of them responded. I thought both of them upped their game even more."

Grainger won't be the only freshman starter in the Paladins' offensive backfield. Devin Abrams is the first team running back. Abrams overcame an injury last season to appear in three games, and had 45 yards on 12 carries in Furman's blowout win at VMI. True freshman Wayne Anderson Jr., who shined in the preseason, is listed as starting kick returner.

Another true freshman might start Saturday as Evan Jumper is listed with an "or" designation with returning starter Cole Neely at center on the depth chart. The only other starting position with an "or" is right next door as sophomore Bo McKinney and junior Reed Kroeber are competing to make the start at left guard.

The other new starter on offense is sophomore Ryan Miller at tight end. Junior Jake Walker, who came on strong during Furman's stretch run to the Southern Conference championship last season, continues to get back to 100 percent following an ACL tear in February. Hendrix said Walker is making a remarkable comeback.

"I thought there's no way Jake Walker would be where he's at today (in recovering). I don't think he's missed a practice," Hendrix said. "He's a great example of how the early spring practice has worked well for us."

Furman felt good enough about the tight end position this season to send junior Dillon Vann back over to defense and that change has paid off. It seemed safe to assume that the nation's sack leader in 2018, sophomore Adrian Hope, would step into the starting bandit position following the graduation of Chris Washington. But Vann's emergence there has earned him the starting position.

It gives the Paladins a chance to use Hope as they did last season when he piled up 15 sacks and five forced fumbles in 10 games, all coming off the bench. While Vann is the starter, Hendrix said it might be a 50-50 split between the two and Davonta Porter should see action there as well.

"If you get somebody in an obvious passing situation, you'd love to have Adrian Hope in the game. I also won't mind having Dillon Vann in the game," Hendrix said. "Davonta Porter's there now too and he's played a lot of football for us.
"That's the kind of thing that's made us better. It's a job interview every day out there at practice."

Other new starters on defense include sophomore noseguard Taylor Hodge and junior tackle Landon Lawrence up front, and junior strong safety DiMarcus Clay in the backfield.

Clay is the only non-senior starter in the secondary and spur position. Six of the seven reserves on the two-deep at those five positions are freshmen.

All-American Grayson Atkins will handle the kicking, kickoff and punting duties again this season. Amir Trapp will be the punt returner, and senior Evan Vaughn is set to begin his fourth season at snapper. Third-string quarterback Jack Hardin will be the new holder.

Paladins wrap up productive preseason

Furman senior captain Jordan Willis is part of a deep, experienced
group of spurs and bandits. Photo courtesy of Furman

While the season opener is still eight days away, it's officially "game week" for the Furman football team. The last of 18 preseason practices was held Thursday as the Paladins now transition to more of its in-season mode in preparing for next Saturday's game against Charleston Southern.

In his third preseason of coaching the Paladins, Clay Hendrix said this year's was like "night and day" compared to the either of the first two.

"Last year, it took us about four or five games into the season just to learn how to practice. ... Credit to our coaches, organization-wise. They've coached the heck out of these guys," Hendrix said. "We're an older, more confident group and it's kind of shown in how we've practiced.
"Our guys are in phenomenal shape. (Strength training and conditioning director) Andrew Bernardi and his staff have done a phenomenal job with our guys. We've been pretty healthy too."

Outside of two noon scrimmages, all of Furman's practices this August were held in the morning. While that early start helped beat the heat a bit, by the end of Thursday's two-hour practice it was another brutally hot day. That experience could bode well moving forward though.

"You never know until you get out there and play, but our conditioning is one of the things I feel best about," Hendrix said. "I really like how we had our schedule set up this year. It's allowed us to get all our video watched and lift. We've been able to get two really good lifts every week."
"I feel really good about where we are. We're not totally in game-plan wise, but we've got a majority of it in. We've just got to narrow that down."

Much like Hendrix, Duane Vaughn also noticed the marked improvement in this year's preseason. Vaughn, who's been on the staff the longest but is in his first year as defensive coordinator, is especially excited about experience and depth on his side of the ball.

"Our depth has made for competition on a daily basis. We rolled three groups all the way through today. As we turn our attention to Charleston Southern, we'll start paring it down for the ones and twos," Vaughn said. "I've just been really pleased with how we've come out and competed day in and day out. Going against a really good offense (in practice) only makes us better."

Perhaps nowhere is Furman deeper on defense than at the spur and bandit positions, where a familiar face to the defense has returned.

"We were tickled to death to get Dillon Vann back on our side of the ball. Two years ago, he tied for the team lead in interceptions and then we had a need at tight end last year. As a team player, he moved over," Vaughn said. "Obviously, Adrian (Hope) is coming off a really big year and then we slid Devonta Porter to bandit as well. He's done a really good job.
"We've got a mid-year enrollee in Jalen Miller complimenting Jordan (Willis) at the spur along with Dae'one Wilkins, who both played for us last year. So we've just got a lot of experience at those two positions."

Captains selected
Junior offensive tackle Bo Layton, senior offensive tackle Andy Godwin, senior linebacker Donavan Perryman and Willis, a senior, will serve as team captains this season, as selected by their teammates.

Paladins make top 20
Furman is ranked No. 17 in the preseason FCS Coaches poll, and No. 19 in the preseason STATS (media) FCS poll.

Coaches show begins Monday
"Furman Football Monday with Clay Hendrix" is set to debut in three days. At 11 a.m. each Monday during the football season, Hendrix will discuss the Paladins in a press conference type of setting. The show will be live streamed via the Furman Paladins Facebook page. Furman players will also participate as their schedules allow.

Furman QB battle clears a bit at scrimmage

Furman placekicker Grayson Atkins booted a 60-yard field goal
during Saturday's scrimmage. Photo courtesy of Furman

Entering Furman's preseason camp, it appeared there would be a three-way battle for the starting quarterback position. At Saturday's first scrimmage, it appeared that number is now two. Redshirt freshmen Darren Grainger and Hamp Sisson took the majority of snaps Saturday, while transfer Luke Shiflett saw plenty of action - just not at quarterback.

Shiflett, who joined the Paladins this summer after departing Middle Tennessee State, took all of his snaps Saturday at wide receiver. That's a position he played in all 14 games at MTSU last year. While Shiflett has spent more time at quarterback than receiver over the opening week of preseason practice, Furman coach Clay Hendrix said that will probably flip moving forward.

There's a couple of reasons why. Hendrix said the one position he wishes had more depth at this year is receiver. Secondly, the staff has plenty of confidence in Grainger and Sisson, both of whom have the advantage of being in Furman's system for more than a year. Hendrix said they're also confident in sophomore Jack Hardin as the No. 3 quarterback.

"Luke's one of those guys who, every day, just seems to show up. He could play quarterback for us. I just don't know if he can do it this year," Hendrix said following Saturday's scrimmage. "He's also a guy who's never been under center.

"He's a big, athletic kid who's really bright. ... He's got all those things we're looking for. I have no doubt he's going to help our football team."

Grainger and Sisson kept up their strong preseasons Saturday. Most notably on display was Grainger's arm strength and Sisson's reads on tucking and running the ball. Hendrix said compared to last year, when the duo were competing to fill in for an injured Harris Roberts to start this season, the difference is night and day for both.

"It's not even close. We've been tracking all their numbers. We kind of break it up into 7-on-7 numbers versus team rep numbers and they're within two percentage points of each other through seven practices," Hendrix said. "They've both been really solid."

While the quarterbacks were solid and freshman running back Wayne Anderson Jr. shined, Furman's defense "won the day" for the most part. This was particularly true on third-and-short yardage situational drills as the Paladins front swarmed to the ball time and again, and forced a pair of fumbles. Taylor Hodge and Jonah Tibbs had particularly big hits to stuff runs.

Perhaps the biggest blowup of a Furman run play Saturday was courtesy of its newest defensive lineman, Caleb Auer. Auer, who began his Furman career at tight end before moving to offensive tackle, has switched to the other side of the ball for his senior season.

"I looked at him and said, 'did you hear that call?' ... He just kinda smiled at me," Hendrix said. "We felt really good about our depth on the offensive line. I think if you asked him a long time ago, that's (defense) probably where he wanted to be."

Once situational drills were done, the game scrimmage portion of Saturday's practice consisted of five possessions:

Grainger guided the Paladins down near the red zone on the opening possession. It ended when senior cornerback Amir Trapp made a great read and a leaping interception at the goal line.

Sisson got the next rep and that possession ended on the biggest highlight of the day. Junior placekicker Grayson Atkins attempted a field goal from smack dab in the middle of the diamond F. Atkins' 60-yard attempt went right down the middle of the uprights with quite a few yards to spare.

"It was one of those as soon as he hit it, you knew he hit it good," Hendrix said. "He's got such a strong leg."

Hardin's lone rep resulted in the lone touchdown when Anderson scored on a four-yard run. That play was set up when Shiflett caught a pass in traffic over the middle and raced to the left sideline for about a 17-yard gain.

With the staff already knowing what they have in running backs Corey Watkins and Devin Wynn, they really didn't get in the mix for carries Saturday. Anderson took full advantage of the opportunity to show off his quick feet. While the Paladins' defensive front controlled those short-yardage situations, Anderson routinely popped off 5- to 10-yard runs.

"He really showed up today, but he's shown up all fall," Hendrix said.

Anderson and linebacker Josh Agbenou are "the two (freshmen) who have really stood out," according to Hendrix. Other freshmen that Hendrix expects to "help us" this season are offensive linemen Even Jumper and Pearson Toomey, at least one of safeties' Austin Jones and Hugh Ryan, and at least one of cornerbacks' Kam Brinson and Cally Chizik.

Ryan, who had an interception during situational drills Saturday, is one of three Paladins recovering from mono. He helped Dutch Fork win the last three Class 5A state championships.

"I think we can get him out of the red (limited-contact jersey) next week," Hendrix said. "He's won a bunch of games and he's smart, which is a great combination. You always like having guys that are used to winning."

The fourth possession culminated when Atkins missed a 28-yard field goal before connecting on a do-over from the same spot. The final possession ended with the Paladins around midfield as the scrimmage wrapped up.

Overall, Hendrix felt pretty good about what he saw in the two-hour plus practice on a brutally hot afternoon at Paladin Stadium.

"I was pleased with how we started on defense, but our offense started slow," Hendrix said. "It's a double-edged sword. We created some turnovers, which is something we haven't been great at, but we turned it over a few times (on offense). What I do like is that we (defense) created them. We had a couple of good breaks on balls.

"We got a lot of really good situational work done, which we need. ... I don't think we got anybody dinged up. ... I don't think we've got anybody that's ready to play a football game conditioning-wise. We're in good shape, but it's just a little different when you've got to go play, push on somebody and have somebody push on you."

Donnelly introduced as new Furman AD

One day after being introduced as Furman's new athletic director,
Jason Donnelly addressed the football team following its opening
practice of the season Friday. Photo courtesy of Furman.

When Jason Donnelly was introduced as Furman's new athletic director Thursday morning, he said the No. 1 thing that impressed him so far on his visit was breakfast at Tommy's Country Ham House.

So Donnelly really became a Paladin a couple of hours before he officially became one.

Furman President Elizabeth Davis introduced Donnelly to full crowd in the football team meeting room at the Pearce-Horton Complex. Along with the shout out to the Furman Sports Report's sponsor, Donnelly talked about the excitement he has for his new job.

"I can't begin to tell you how excited my family is to be a part of Furman," Donnelly said. "It's been a life-long dream to have an opportunity to be at an institution with this kind of class and dignity. This is what I've been working for my entire career. I'm so fired up to be here.
"I've come to understand that Furman is unique, not only because it upholds the right values and bounds between academics and athletics, but also because of the people who make up the community."

Donnelly, who will begin his duties at Furman on Aug. 12, had worked at Villanova since 2005. Back then, he served as a men's basketball assistant coach and director of basketball operations on Jay Wright's staff. He was later a special assistant to Wright and helped improve a program that captured NCAA championships in 2016 and 2018.

"Furman is getting a hard-working, loyal visionary as its athletics director," Wright said. "His fundraising, leadership and loyalty to all Villanovans has been vital to Villanova's athletics and academic success."

Donnelly was director of athletics development from 2013-15 before leading the Villanova Athletics Fund. In that capacity, he managed fundraising and external support for all 24 Wildcat athletic teams. Since 2015, he helped the school's athletic department raise more than $120 million. That includes three consecutive record-breaking fundraising years that represented a 330 percent increase in money raised.

Donnelly's arrival comes months after Furman's men's basketball team earned a thrilling overtime win at Villanova, which vaulted the Paladins into the top 25 polls for the first time ever. The women's cross country team also finished one spot ahead of Villanova at the 2018 national championship.

"I think he thought, 'well if you can't beat them, join them,' " Davis said with a smile. "It was important for me to find an AD who understands Furman. One who has a real commitment to the kind of student experience we want our students to have, and that's what I found in Jason Donnelly.
"He was a student-athlete, teacher, coach, administrator and fundraiser. He has all the skills that we need in our athletic director."

Davis said one of the things that stood out in the interview process was Donnelly's questions.

"I know that might sound strange, but questions show a real insight," Davis said. "They can let you know how deeply someone has thought about where they're going to be. They were deep, probing questions.
"It was clear that he had done his homework on Furman and was excited to be a part of the Furman family."

Donnelly praised the work put in by his predecessor, Mike Buddie, who left earlier this summer to become AD at Army. During his four years at Furman, the Paladins won 26 Southern Conference championships and finished 73rd out of 294 Division I schools in the latest Learfield Sports' Directors Cup competition. Buddie also secured several financial donations, signed a multi-year deal with Nike, balanced the athletic department's budget for the first time, and led a charge to bring the NCAA men's basketball tournament back to Greenville.

For Donnelly, a New Jersey native, the Furman job also provided an opportunity to make good on a promise to his family. Donnelly's wife Rachel is a native of Bakersville, N.C. The couple have three children ages three to nine.

"Rachel and I have been married for 15 years now. She's only had one goal in mind the entire time we've been married - to live in a community of faith, friendship and love, and to live in the South," Donnelly said. "For us, this is really important. As a husband, I've finally checked that box for her. I can't wait to be down here, where we're literally two hours door-to-door from family.
"We hope that we're a part of the Furman community for a long, long time. We're excited to be entrenched in a campus culture that embodies our values and everything that we're all about."

Paladins second in SoCon preseason polls

Furman left tackle Bo Layton, left, and linebacker Elijah McKoy represented
the Paladins at the Southern Conference's Football Media Day this year.

SPARTANBURG - For the second consecutive year, perhaps the biggest question for the Furman football team is who will be its starting quarterback. For the second consecutive year, that uncertainty hasn't fazed those predicting how the Paladins will fare this fall.

Coming off a share of its Southern Conference-best 14th championship, Furman has been picked to finish second this season by the league's media and coaches. The preseason polls were revealed at this year's SoCon Media Day. Prior to last season, Furman was predicted to finish second by the media and third by the coaches.

"We were sitting here (at Media Day) two years ago and were picked seventh, so it's nice to be (higher) in the discussion," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. "We want to be regarded as one of the better teams. That won't do anything for us. It won't make us a first down or stop anybody, but that's where we want to be."

Things are a little different in this year's starting quarterback battle this year. Unlike last season, those battling to replace Harris Roberts this year have some meaningful in-game collegiate experience. Thanks to last year's new redshirt rule, Darren Grainger and Hamp Sisson were each able to redshirt as freshman while they played in four and two games, respectively.

A new face is in the quarterback mix this year in sophomore transfer Luke Shiflett. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Dalton, Ga. native played wide receiver and punter at Middle Tennessee State last season and participated in all 14 games. In two-plus seasons at Northwest Whitfield High (Class 4A), Shiflett threw for more than 5,000 yards and 52 touchdowns and rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns. As a senior in 2018, he was his region's player of the year in football and basketball.

"We've got a couple of guys who've been in our program now for a year and they can do everything we want them to do. We've added a guy in Shiflett and we will give him a chance to compete," Hendrix said. "I think they've had really good offseasons. It will be an interesting competition.
"We really kind of know what we have, from an ability standpoint. ... I think their supporting cast is considerably better than it has been."

Whoever emerges as the starting quarterback will have plenty of experienced protection up front. The Paladins return all five starting offensive linemen as well as four reserves. Among those returning starters is junior left tackle Bo Layton, who was Furman's lone offensive representative on the preseason All-SoCon first team.

Layton has started in 17 of the 18 games he's played in during his Furman career, including all 10 last season when he logged a unit-high 574 plays. After being just the second SoCon champion ever left out of the FCS playoff field despite a four-game winning streak to end last season, there's plenty of motivation for the Paladins this year. Another motivation is to get off on the right track after starting 0-3 each of the last two seasons.

"We kind of want to pick up where we left off," Layton said. "We've had a thing the past two years where we've gone on a (winning) streak. We just want to keep that one (from last season) alive."

A total of eight starters return on offense, while seven starters are back on defense for Furman. That doesn't include the lone defensive player on the All-SoCon preseason first team - sophomore bandit Adrian Hope. As a freshman in 2018, Hope earned second team AP All-American honors after leading the country with 15 sacks. For the season, he totaled 32 tackles, 16.5 for loss, and five forced fumbles - all after coming off the bench every Saturday.

"Having a guy who can go get you sacks consistently definitely helps the rest of the defense," said junior linebacker Elijah McKoy, who ranked second in the SoCon with 91 tackles last season. "It takes a lot of pressure off people like me when he's drawing double teams."

It will be interesting to see what Furman's defense looks like under the guidance of Duane Vaughn, who was promoted to defensive coordinator after Chad Staggs left for Coastal Carolina. The Paladins piled up 61 sacks over the last two seasons under Staggs.

Along with a new coordinator, there are new faces coaching on the defensive side of the ball as Rod Ojong (cornerbacks) and Corico Wright (safeties) were hired by Hendrix this offseason.

"I think they've made us better in a lot of ways," Hendrix said. "I see losing a good coach as an opportunity to hire a better coach. I've been really pleased with what they've done."

McKoy believes it was important for Vaughn, who's been a Furman assistant since 2011, to get the opportunity to lead the defense.

"With him, we didn't have to completely change defenses. It was important more so because of who Coach Vaughn is," McKoy said. "He's been a position coach at so many different positions, he knows how things need to work. He takes the confusion out of a lot of things and he's an emotional guy. He wants us to be able to play, have fun and let loose. He definitely understands how that affects our performance."

Joining Layton and Hope on the preseason All-SoCon first team was kicker Grayson Atkins. The junior from Boiling Springs already ranks No. 10 on Furman's all-time scoring chart with 144 career points. After missing his first two field goal attempts of the year at Elon, Atkins didn't miss another the rest of the way to take a streak of 11 consecutive makes into this season. Four of those 11 were from at least 50 yards out.

Senior right tackle Andy Godwin, senior wide receiver Thomas Gordon, junior running back Devin Wynn and McKoy earned preseason All-SoCon second team honors.

The Paladins will report to preseason camp on Aug. 1 and open the season 30 days later at home against Charleston Southern.

"I like this football team. I like how we work. We've had a phenomenal offseason and we're fairly healthy starting into the year," Hendrix said. "There's just still a lot of work to do now until we start playing."

Reflecting on Furman's historic hoops season

Furman coach Bob Richey

It's been nearly four months since Furman's record-breaking 2018-19 men's basketball season ended. For those who followed the team all year, the memories of the finale are probably as clear as if it was held just four days ago.

Furman and Wichita State lived up to the mantra of "playing like there's no tomorrow." After 14 lead changes, 12 ties and no lead greater than seven, Wichita State advanced in the NIT Tournament with a 76-70 win. You can read more details about the game in the story I wrote for the Spartanburg Herald here: Wichita State outslugs Furman in NIT.

That story was written against a tight deadline, but a longer deadline - maybe even a four-month one - couldn't have helped a story do that game justice. Quite simply, it was one of the greatest games Timmons Arena has ever held.

"What a game," Furman coach Bob Richey said in the postgame press conference. "That was a big-time college basketball game out there.
"I couldn't be more proud of our team and what they've accomplished. A lot of times in this business it's really easy to lose perspective, but what they've done is incredible."

With a No. 41 ranking in the new NET rankings that were supposedly created to help seed the 68-team NCAA Tournament field, Furman was hoping to return to the Big Dance for the first time since 1980. Instead, it was selected to host an NIT game for the first time in school history: Snubbed Furman excited about NIT No. 3 seed.

Home court was about the only advantage that the Paladins had as a No. 3 seed. In Wichita State, Furman faced a team that had went to the NCAA Tournament each of the prior seven seasons after winning the NIT championship in 2011. After seeing them up close and personal, it became pretty evident that the only thing keeping the Shockers out of this year's NCAA Tournament was an 8-11 start to this "rebuilding" season for Gregg Marshall's team.

Wichita State validated that thought by going on to win by eight at Clemson in round two and by 10 at Indiana in round three. In running their NIT winning streak to eight consecutive game, the Shockers became the first team ever to win three NIT games on the road to advance to the Big Apple. Their run ended in a 71-64 loss to Lipscomb in the semifinals at historic Madison Square Garden.

In his final game as a Paladin, Matt Rafferty capped off an incredible senior season with one of his signature stat lines. Rafferty had team-highs in points (27), rebounds (8), assists (5) and steals (5). Rafferty did all of that while still playing with a thumb injury suffered at the Southern Conference Tournament. After the game, Richey dropped the bombshell that Rafferty was also playing with a torn labrum - an injury he suffered a month-and-a-half earlier at Wofford and aggravated against Wichita.

"They don't make them any tougher than that guy," Richey said.

In a season full of chills, one last collection of goosebumps formed with Rafferty and fellow senior Andrew Brown checked out of the game with one second left. Each section of the sold out crowd - the ones in purple and the ones in black and gold - gave the winningest basketball players in school history a rousing standing ovation.

Matt Rafferty and Andrew Brown embrace
after their final game at Furman.

That crowd was a big part of what made that night - even with the Paladins' loss - so special. The energy the fans provided was a perfect soundtrack to the beautiful basketball performance each team provided. Among those in the crowd were a good number of Wichita State fans, who made the long trip on short notice. (Basketball is taken pretty seriously in the Sunflower State).

For longtime attendees of Furman home basketball games, it had to be a surreal sight. This was a sold out Timmons Arena on a church night for a game that wasn't scheduled until late in the night three days earlier. That could be the best indicator yet of the incredible transformation the program has made over the last five years.

But that transformation is ongoing. After a school record 25-win season this year, Richey is confident that its another step on the journey up - even without Rafferty next season.

"I remember four years ago we won 19 games and Stephen Croone was the Player of the Year in the league. All we heard that whole offseason was, 'they're losing the player of the year. They're going to take a step back,' and all this program did was take a step forward," Richey said. "We won 21 regular season games and a share of the Southern Conference title and then it was 'they're losing Kris Acox. What's going to happen? They're going to be smaller.'
"So then last year, they match the school's win record at 23 games and then it's, 'wow, they're losing their three starting guards and four seniors. This is probably going to be a little bit of a rebuilding team.' And all this group went on to do was win a school record for overall games, wins on the national stage that haven't been done in a very long time. You can go on and on and on about what this team's accomplished.
"This journey the last four years, to be honest, was pretty unexpected. But that's the motivation, the passion and the drive moving forward."

Wins at 2018 Final Four participant Loyola (Ill.) and 2018 national champion Villanova earned Furman quite a bit of national recognition. More publicity came when Jordan Lyons tied the single-game NCAA Division I record for 3-pointers, Rafferty obliterated the school's single-season steals record and the Paladins made the top 25 for the first time ever.

Opposing coaches have noticed too. Even in the moments after his team's huge victory and his 500th career win, Marshall reflected on the Furman program.

The Greenwood native said he grew up watching the likes of Jonathan 'Stitch' Moore and Clyde Mayes play for the Paladins and attended former coach Joe Williams' basketball camps in the mid-70s. He then noted the 1991 NIT team coached by Butch Estes before turning his attention to the present.

"This is a special win because of those circumstances and because we beat a really good team that's very well coached," Marshall said. "I can't sing Coach Richey and the Paladins' praises any more.
"I think what Bob's doing here is very similar to what I saw Coach (Bob) McKillop do when he got things rolling at Davidson."

Coming soon: There's one more basketball story from this season that must be told. It's a story about how the bond of friendship between Matt Rafferty and Andrew Brown got them through hard times off the court and helped make them winners on it.