Bored and excited for the season to start and began thinking about where our different teams over the last several seasons stack up and figured I'd do a fun hypothetical ranking and see what others think. This is tough as Coach Richey's tenure has been very successful with many talented teams.
Criteria and methodology- I'm not just ranking these teams based on their pure accomplishments as that would be relatively straightforward and boring. I am ranking them with this thought in mind, all 7 of Coach Richey's teams are going to be playing X(a random team). In what order would I put them in terms of confidence to win.
7. 2023-2024 (17-16)
As i stated in the criteria I am not just ranking these teams based on records as sometimes a team is better or worse than their record reflects. However I do think I have to put the team with the worst record last as they're the only team that stood out and looked different than every team on this list. I think one could argue this team had more talent than multiple other teams on this list but it simply didn't come together on the court. A staple of Coach Richey's teams has been their chemistry and connectedness. The ball seems to move freely on its own and you felt that the sense of togetherness that is often lacking with modern Cbb teams. With this team however, they often didn't give off that sense. This isn't to say they were playing selfish just that there wasn't the same connection that made other Furman teams a better whole than the sum of the parts. Whether this was because of NIL or just the fact that every so often any program is going to have down years and teams that just don't mesh, this team only had glimpses of looking like a team that could win a Socon Championship. JP is without a doubt one of the best players to play for coach Richey and Marcus Foster's year to year improvement was incredible. Carter Whitt and Alex Williams were very talented offensive players but it again felt like whoever was having a good night would need to singlehandedly will the team to victory as opposed to other Furman teams where the ball would naturally find someone for a good shot.
6. 2017-2018 (23-10)
At number 6 I have Coach Richey's first team as head coach. This was a very experienced team that immediately set the bar high for what Furman basketball was going to be like under coach Richey. Starting 3 seniors and 2 juniors this team quickly excelled at Coach Richey's spaced out style of offense. The reason this team is as low as 6 is they simply didnt have as much talent and offensive firepower as the other teams on this list. Devin Sibley was the leading scorer and go to player but he just wasn't as explosive or efficient has the other number 1 options on this list. Matt Rafferty had a tremendous season but I don't think even coach Richey knew how effective of an offensive player Matt was and how much the offense could be run through him. Alex Hunter, Clay Mounce, and Jordan Lyons were all on this team but they made huge jumps after this season.
5. 2020-2021 (16-9)
This team on paper was loaded with paper. I think a lot fans probably forget how dominant Noah Gurley was looking by the end of this season due to his disappointing stint at Alabama. His mix of shooting, post skills, and overall athleticism was a treat to watch. Clay was in his senior season and we all remember how spectacular he could look at times, but how he could also disappear on occasion. Alex, Mike Bothwell and Jalen Slawson had all come into their own by this point. The bench was made up of lots of young very raw talent. This roster makeup combined with covid making this year extremely strange, makes the theme of this team make total sense, inconsistency. The loss in the first round of the Socon tournament to VMI was one of the toughest losses as a fan to handle over the last few seasons. That loss however really incapsulated this team. They could look so good at times like the first half on the road at Alabam where we looked like we could beat anyone in the country. Other times though we just looked like a mess that was totally lost. Personally I think this team probably didnt have the same leadership as other teams as Jordan Lyons, the clear team leader from the year before was gone but Mike, Alex and Slaw hadnt grabbed the reigns yet.
4. 2019-2020 (25-7)
This team went into the year with a bit of uncertainty. Even though only 2 rotation players in Andrew Brown and Matt Rafferty graduated, Rafferty simply did so much for the team the previous year there were large shoes to fill. Jordan Lyons was clearly going to be the go to guy and the engine behind this team but other people were going to have to get better, and that is exactly what they did. Slawson made the biggest improvement between one year of any player under Bob Richey. His freshman year he had more fouls than points, his sophomore year he was a consistent starter and impact player. Mike Bothwell also got a lot better and went from a guard that could give consistent bench minutes to a true deadly offensive weapon. It was this year that Mike became known as a clutch player coach Richey could give the ball to late in the game with total trust. Noah also became much more consistent. This team had an extremely strong top 6 with Alex, Jordan, Mike, Clay, Slaw, and Noah. The issue as depth. Tre clark got minutes as a lock down defender but hurt the offensive spacing due to a lack of shooting. This team had a disappointing first round loss in the Socon tournament to Wofford. This team also gave up second half leads to Auburn and Alabama. This team was very good but not as strong as the top 3 on this list.
3. 2021-2022 (22-12)
The team that will always be known for losing on "the shot" to Chatanooga in the Socon final. This team was special. They showed their talent early on with the upset defeat of Louisville. One of the things that makes coach Richey great is his player development. That development doesnt always have to take place between a players Freshman and sophomore year. Alex Hunter came back for a 5th "covid year" and clearly was a level better. Alex and Conley Garrison were one of the best pure 3 point shooting backcourts of any college team Ive ever seen. Alex, Mike and Slaw were a nightmare three headed monster for any defense to face. Garrett Hein as well as young Jp and Marcus filled out a really strong rotation.
2. 2018-2019 (25-8)
This was the Furman team that started to get Furman national attention as they beat two reigning final four teams in Loyola chicago and Villanova. Furman was ranked 23rd in the country at one point. This team was lead by Matt Rafferty who in my opinion had the best individual season of any player under Bob Richey. He did everything, he could score out of the post but was an unbelievable passer when facing double teams. He was also an outstanding rebounder and defender. Jordan Lyons was a great number 2 options. Sharp shooting Andrew Brown and young Clay, Noah, Alex, and Mike filled out a very strong top 7. This was the best defensive team on this list. Unfortunately the Socon was absolutely loaded this season with Wofford ETSU and UNCG all having great teams making it tough for Furman to have a strong enough record to get an at large bid, followed by an unfortunate loss in Socon semifinals followed by a great first round game against Wichita state in the NIT tournament.
1. 2022-2023 (28-8)
I think the number one team on this list is no surprise to anyone. The Furman team to break the curse making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1980 followed by the epic win against UVA in the first round. This team was stacked. Mike and Slaw were 2 of the best mid major players in the country, and Jp was a tremendous third option as he showed being the socon tournament MVP. Marcus foster and Garret Hein continued to improve filling out the starting five. Alex Williams, Ben Vanderwal, Carter whitt and Tyrese Hughey filled out a good enough bench to support such a loaded starting 5. This team isnt number one just cause of the postseason success, they are altogether the best Bob Richey team.
If you read all this... wow. Hope you found this trip through memory lane interesting. Let me know if you have any comments, disagreements.
Criteria and methodology- I'm not just ranking these teams based on their pure accomplishments as that would be relatively straightforward and boring. I am ranking them with this thought in mind, all 7 of Coach Richey's teams are going to be playing X(a random team). In what order would I put them in terms of confidence to win.
7. 2023-2024 (17-16)
As i stated in the criteria I am not just ranking these teams based on records as sometimes a team is better or worse than their record reflects. However I do think I have to put the team with the worst record last as they're the only team that stood out and looked different than every team on this list. I think one could argue this team had more talent than multiple other teams on this list but it simply didn't come together on the court. A staple of Coach Richey's teams has been their chemistry and connectedness. The ball seems to move freely on its own and you felt that the sense of togetherness that is often lacking with modern Cbb teams. With this team however, they often didn't give off that sense. This isn't to say they were playing selfish just that there wasn't the same connection that made other Furman teams a better whole than the sum of the parts. Whether this was because of NIL or just the fact that every so often any program is going to have down years and teams that just don't mesh, this team only had glimpses of looking like a team that could win a Socon Championship. JP is without a doubt one of the best players to play for coach Richey and Marcus Foster's year to year improvement was incredible. Carter Whitt and Alex Williams were very talented offensive players but it again felt like whoever was having a good night would need to singlehandedly will the team to victory as opposed to other Furman teams where the ball would naturally find someone for a good shot.
6. 2017-2018 (23-10)
At number 6 I have Coach Richey's first team as head coach. This was a very experienced team that immediately set the bar high for what Furman basketball was going to be like under coach Richey. Starting 3 seniors and 2 juniors this team quickly excelled at Coach Richey's spaced out style of offense. The reason this team is as low as 6 is they simply didnt have as much talent and offensive firepower as the other teams on this list. Devin Sibley was the leading scorer and go to player but he just wasn't as explosive or efficient has the other number 1 options on this list. Matt Rafferty had a tremendous season but I don't think even coach Richey knew how effective of an offensive player Matt was and how much the offense could be run through him. Alex Hunter, Clay Mounce, and Jordan Lyons were all on this team but they made huge jumps after this season.
5. 2020-2021 (16-9)
This team on paper was loaded with paper. I think a lot fans probably forget how dominant Noah Gurley was looking by the end of this season due to his disappointing stint at Alabama. His mix of shooting, post skills, and overall athleticism was a treat to watch. Clay was in his senior season and we all remember how spectacular he could look at times, but how he could also disappear on occasion. Alex, Mike Bothwell and Jalen Slawson had all come into their own by this point. The bench was made up of lots of young very raw talent. This roster makeup combined with covid making this year extremely strange, makes the theme of this team make total sense, inconsistency. The loss in the first round of the Socon tournament to VMI was one of the toughest losses as a fan to handle over the last few seasons. That loss however really incapsulated this team. They could look so good at times like the first half on the road at Alabam where we looked like we could beat anyone in the country. Other times though we just looked like a mess that was totally lost. Personally I think this team probably didnt have the same leadership as other teams as Jordan Lyons, the clear team leader from the year before was gone but Mike, Alex and Slaw hadnt grabbed the reigns yet.
4. 2019-2020 (25-7)
This team went into the year with a bit of uncertainty. Even though only 2 rotation players in Andrew Brown and Matt Rafferty graduated, Rafferty simply did so much for the team the previous year there were large shoes to fill. Jordan Lyons was clearly going to be the go to guy and the engine behind this team but other people were going to have to get better, and that is exactly what they did. Slawson made the biggest improvement between one year of any player under Bob Richey. His freshman year he had more fouls than points, his sophomore year he was a consistent starter and impact player. Mike Bothwell also got a lot better and went from a guard that could give consistent bench minutes to a true deadly offensive weapon. It was this year that Mike became known as a clutch player coach Richey could give the ball to late in the game with total trust. Noah also became much more consistent. This team had an extremely strong top 6 with Alex, Jordan, Mike, Clay, Slaw, and Noah. The issue as depth. Tre clark got minutes as a lock down defender but hurt the offensive spacing due to a lack of shooting. This team had a disappointing first round loss in the Socon tournament to Wofford. This team also gave up second half leads to Auburn and Alabama. This team was very good but not as strong as the top 3 on this list.
3. 2021-2022 (22-12)
The team that will always be known for losing on "the shot" to Chatanooga in the Socon final. This team was special. They showed their talent early on with the upset defeat of Louisville. One of the things that makes coach Richey great is his player development. That development doesnt always have to take place between a players Freshman and sophomore year. Alex Hunter came back for a 5th "covid year" and clearly was a level better. Alex and Conley Garrison were one of the best pure 3 point shooting backcourts of any college team Ive ever seen. Alex, Mike and Slaw were a nightmare three headed monster for any defense to face. Garrett Hein as well as young Jp and Marcus filled out a really strong rotation.
2. 2018-2019 (25-8)
This was the Furman team that started to get Furman national attention as they beat two reigning final four teams in Loyola chicago and Villanova. Furman was ranked 23rd in the country at one point. This team was lead by Matt Rafferty who in my opinion had the best individual season of any player under Bob Richey. He did everything, he could score out of the post but was an unbelievable passer when facing double teams. He was also an outstanding rebounder and defender. Jordan Lyons was a great number 2 options. Sharp shooting Andrew Brown and young Clay, Noah, Alex, and Mike filled out a very strong top 7. This was the best defensive team on this list. Unfortunately the Socon was absolutely loaded this season with Wofford ETSU and UNCG all having great teams making it tough for Furman to have a strong enough record to get an at large bid, followed by an unfortunate loss in Socon semifinals followed by a great first round game against Wichita state in the NIT tournament.
1. 2022-2023 (28-8)
I think the number one team on this list is no surprise to anyone. The Furman team to break the curse making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1980 followed by the epic win against UVA in the first round. This team was stacked. Mike and Slaw were 2 of the best mid major players in the country, and Jp was a tremendous third option as he showed being the socon tournament MVP. Marcus foster and Garret Hein continued to improve filling out the starting five. Alex Williams, Ben Vanderwal, Carter whitt and Tyrese Hughey filled out a good enough bench to support such a loaded starting 5. This team isnt number one just cause of the postseason success, they are altogether the best Bob Richey team.
If you read all this... wow. Hope you found this trip through memory lane interesting. Let me know if you have any comments, disagreements.
