It doesn’t take long when one season ends to begin looking ahead to the next season, and that’s where we find ourselves with Liberty basketball. Here’s an early depth chart breakdown by position of those on the roster:
PG: Cooper Campbell, Eli Herbert
SG: Cobi Campbell, Eli Sancomb
SG/SF: Zander Carter, Matthew Shelton
F: Sean Register, Jr., Dillon Claussen, Drew Grimes, Reece Davidson, Torr Sorensen
F/C: Osmar Garcia-Araujo, RJ Jones, TJ Drain, Brady Kester
One thing we have come to learn in recent years under head coach Ritchie McKay is that he is not beholden to the traditional positions. He has recruited players that can play multiple positions, so take this depth chart with a grain of salt, for the most part. I also expect some of these players listed as backups to others at a position to play alongside the others.
The Flames lose virtually their entire rotation from this past season with all five starters and the top six rotation pieces moving on from a team that won 26 games and a second straight CUSA regular season championship. Zander Carter was the seventh man last season and is the only who returns that played significant minutes. There are several different variations Coach McKay could turn to in the starting lineup and it likely won’t be figured out until the season starts or even into the start of the year.
Troy transfer guard Cooper Campbell will be a key piece for the Flames this upcoming season, as will his brother Cobi Campbell. Cooper shot 39% from three this past season while averaging 12.5 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game for a Troy team that won 22 games, including the Sun Belt regular season and tournament championship. Cooper can play either guard position whether he is running the point or playing off the ball, but expect him to see plenty of action at point. Like his brother, Cobi started 31 games at Troy this past season while averaging 9.0 points per game while shooting 40% from three. He is a lethal shooter and is someone that could start in the backcourt alongside his brother or be the first guard off the bench. Both the Campbell brothers have something that Liberty will lack to begin the season: significant Division I playing experience.
As a true freshman this past season, Zander Carter played in all 34 games for the Flames, averaging 13.1 minutes, 3.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 0.6 steals per game. He has proven that he has the ability to affect the game on the defensive end and could be Liberty’s next elite perimeter defender. He shot 30% from three in his first collegiate season, a number the Flames hope he can build upon moving forward. Carter will be a part of the rotation this coming season and could also earn a starting spot.
For the second time in three seasons, Liberty has gone to the JUCO ranks to bring in a talented forward, this time in Sean Register, Jr. Playing at the same JUCO in Florida that Owen Aquino played at, the 6’7″ Register averaged 24.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 66.3% from the field, 40.6% from three, and 73.8% from the free throw line. While they are different players, compare those numbers to what Aquino averaged at Eastern Florida State College – 14.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists – and you can clearly see that Register should be expected to make an immediate impact. Register can likely be penciled into the starting lineup entering the summer where he can play anywhere from the wing to the post, but will likely man the tradition 4-spot for the Flames.
Liberty has had significant success in recent years bringing in transfers from the Division II level. Such names as Taelon Peter, Jayvon Maughmer, and JJ Harper have moved up a level and immediately found success for the Flames in CUSA. Coach McKay went back to that well this off-season, tapping three D2 move-ups in Dillon Clausssen, Osmar Garcia-Araujo, and Matthew Shelton. All three should be expected to play immediately while also fighting for starting time.
Claussen played at Washburn in Topeka, Kansas who posted a 31-2 overall record and No. 3 national ranking at the Division II level. He led the Ichabods in scoring at 15.6 points per game and was second on the team in rebounding at 6.1 per game. He also ranked seventh nationally in field goal percentage at 62.5%. He has the length to affect the game on both ends of the floor and should factor into the frontcourt rotation with Register and Garcia-Araujo.
Garcia-Araujo is more of a traditional five-man than probably anybody else on the Liberty roster this coming season. Originally from Venezuela, his game is similar to that of Owen Aquino who played for the Flames for a season. Osmar played at Anderson and helped lead the team to a 29-3 overall record and No. 5 national ranking at the D2 level. He averaged 16.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 65.7% from the field and 73.1% from the free throw line.
Shelton is a 6’5 guard from Hillsboro, Virginia who is transferring from the University of Charleston. He looks like he could be in the similar mold to that of the aforementioned Maughmer or Harper in a guy who is skilled offensively but can also step into the role of being a top defender for the Flames. At Charleston, Shelton started all 27 games he played in and averaged 12.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 52.7% from the floor and 34% from three. He could push for a starting spot on the wing.
Eli Sancomb is easily the highest rated recruit in program history, coming in as a borderline top 100 prospect and four-star rated recruit out of Wheeling, West Virginia where he was the top player in the state for each of the past two seasons, leading his high school to consecutive state championships. He has the ability to make an immediate impact for the Flames this season, and he could even push for a starting spot in the backcourt.
RJ Jones is a returner who you could say was the team’s 8th man after Zander Carter. The former Virginia Tech transfer played in 27 games this past season at Liberty, averaging 4.9 minutes, 1.9 points, and 1.1 rebounds per game. He’s someone that could be a factor as part of the rotation in the front court if he has a strong off-season. Drew Grimes and TJ Drain are a pair of rising sophomores who are in the same vain as RJ, a pair that could push for playing time in the frontcourt this season.
Eli Herbert and Reece Davidson are the two other freshmen that Liberty brings in alongside Sancomb. Herbert is a 6’4″ guard who Coach McKay has described as a potentially elite shooter while Davidson is a 6’7″ forward who comes from the same high school coach in Kentucky that produced Kyle Rode.
