Tennessee State – Team of the Year in OVC

(St. Louis, MO) – The Ohio Valley Conference divisional races are wide open, but “Team of the Year” in ‘The O’ has to be Tennessee State. The Tigers (18-7, 9-3) have more than tripled their win total from last season and almost doubled the victory total (10 versus 18) of that of the past two years.

There is a wild finish coming in both OVC divisions. Most of the conference teams have three conference games left, but TSU has four. The Tigers, Belmont and Tennessee Tech all have three losses in OVC action. The East Division title could come down to the final game of the season when the Tigers host the Bruins on February 28.

How did the Tigers who have had two winning seasons in the last ten, and a total of ten victories the past two campaigns turn it all around?

They hired the right coach.

When Athletic Director Teresa Phillips made Dana Ford the youngest head coach in Division 1 basketball, she found a hidden gem with a great reputation. Ford who was an assistant under John Cooper at TSU (the last time the Tigers won 20 games), they found a man with wealth of experience for his young age and a man that understood the climate of the Nashville-based university.

Ford had a successful playing career at Illinois State where he was known for his defensive prowess. Despite his relative youth, Ford has coached in the junior college ranks and worked at his alma mater, twice with Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall and of course with TSU.

Ford knows winning. While with Marshall at both Winthrop and Wichita, Ford helped programs reach the NCAA tournament and recruited high-level players. Illinois State’s resurgence under Dan Muller has been fueled in part by Ford recruits into Normal, Illinois. When you are around the Tamms, Illinois native, his intensity and attention to detail are palpable.

Competing with just two players with previous D1 experience last season was painful. TSU managed five victories and a lot of losing scenarios, but two of this year’s top players were sitting on the bench and working towards this successful season.

Leading scorer Keron DeShields was sitting out his transfer season after three successful years at the University of Montana. Second leading scorer and co-assist leader Tajhere McCall was sitting next to him. The Niagra transfer had to sit and watch those defeats knowing he could make a difference. What a difference those two have made.

DeShields leads the team in scoring (17.0), in three-point baskets (41) and is tied with McCall for the most assists (78). McCall is second in scoring (14.7), tied for second in rebounding and leads the Tigers with 129 made free-throws. As important as the numbers can be, it is the experience TSU needed. DeShields played in two NCAA tournaments and both players started numerous games at the D1 level.

Other transfer players that are participating in their second seasons in Nashville are third and fourth leading scorers Wayne Martin (leads the team in rebounding) and Marcus Roper who is probably the best pure three-point shooter on Ford’s team. All four of those players are 6’5 or taller, so Ford has great flexibility with his best players. What they lack in significant size they make up for with overall size and athleticism.

True sophomore Darreon Reddick (Belleville East High School) is a growing entity in Ford’s rotation. He has started all but two of the Tigers first 25 games and leads the team with an .816 percentage from the charity stripe.

Three seniors play significant minutes in this revival year for Tennessee State. Clearly Ford will miss DeShields, Roper and starter Demontez Loman, but with the development of younger players like Reddick and Chicago native Armani Chaney in the fold and a Georgia Tech transfer on the way, Ford has taken the team to almost unparlelled heights and is building a solid foundation for the years to come.

The Tennessee State Tigers are Valley Hoops Insider’s ‘OVC Team of the Year’.

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