Hodge: St. Andrews basketball teams were competitive, showed improvement this season

The St. Andrews Knights men’s and women’s basketball teams may not have won many games in their 2023-24 seasons. But the competitiveness and fight made for some eye-glued-to-the-court action and even a couple of upsets that caused thunderous reactions inside the gymnasium.

But after failing to finish within the top 10 to qualify for the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament, both groups head into their offseasons looking for further development next year.

The Lady Knights finished with a 6-17 record and went 5-17 in AAC play. The overall mark was a three-win improvement from the 2022-23 season and was the team’s best record since an 11-16 finish in the 2019-20 season.

After what looked to be a special year with a 3-1 start, with the one loss being an 87-85 overtime result at Bluefield, first-year head coach Vinnie Granato stepped down from his role, which led to multiple interim coaches before Randall Johnson — an assistant coach for the Knights’ men’s basketball team — settled into the role for the rest of the season. After Granato left, the Lady Knights went 3-16 and ended on a four-game losing streak.

”It was a situation where they had appointed a couple other people to do it,” Johnson said. “I’m about consistency. So, I saw the girls, and they had one coach one game, then they had a different coach, and then they had a third coach. They had four different people before I even decided to do it. And we just happened to be going on a road trip to Pikeville; nobody else could go. So, the athletic director (Elizabeth Burris) asked me to do it; I said yes, I would do it. I said, ‘I’ll do it for the rest of the season.’ And she said that’s fine.”

The good news, though, is that St. Andrews women’s basketball is only losing one senior — Hailey Crozier (1.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists per game this past season). If nobody ends up transferring, the team will notably return A.J. Price (18.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.9 steals), All-AAC Second Team honoree Ashley Starks (18.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.5 steals), AAC All-Defensive player Emily Cruz (13.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists), Samantha Tougher (6.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals) and Madison Larrimore (5.4 points, 9.3 rebounds).

“That makes it even more intriguing for the next coach, whoever it may be, because I think they’re destined for great things,” Johnson said. “But I’m also helping them as well. I will sign a girl on Wednesday; it’ll be the first signee. So, I’m helping the program still until they actually get somebody in.”

The 2023-24 St. Andrews men’s basketball team won its most games since the 2019-20 season, when the Knights were 8-27, after going 5-21 with a 3-21 AAC record.

St. Andrews started 2-0 with wins against Morris and Regent but proceeded to go on a four-game losing streak before snapping it against Milligan; the Knights lost their next 14 games but won two of their final six games.

“From number zero to number 32, they’re all special,” St. Andrews men’s basketball coach Randy Hernandez said on his players after a loss against Union on Feb. 17. “There’s no difference for me. Parents sometimes want to visualize about how the outcome is going to be. My job is to make them good mentors. Sometimes, we forget why certain kids choose a university, and that’s the outcome. My job is to make them grow; the hardship makes you grow. So, as any other coach, we want to win first, but we also want to be good mentors to our kids. That’s what matters to me. Obviously, I want to win. But I think we lose the focus of that sometimes, as a human being. Me and Coach (Randall) Johnson; we are human. And sometimes, when you think you’re not affecting us or the team, you actually are.”

Going into next season, St. Andrews will be down at least four players, with seniors Garrett McRae (9.8 points, 2.3 rebounds) and Karldon Kelley-Williams (2.7 points, 1.4 rebounds), forward Quwan Barnes (9.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals) and center Allan Taylor (8.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.2 blocks) graduating. But, barring any players that transfer out, the Knights will get back key contributors Jalen Mcafee-Marion (14.3 points, 3.0 rebounds) and Sincere Clark (5.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.2 blocks) next year as the team inches closer to getting its first winning season since moving from the NCAA Division II to the NAIA in 2012.

Brandon Hodge is the sports editor for The Laurinburg Exchange. He can be reached at 910-506-3171 or by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BrandonHSports.