Keaton Faughn & Gage Johnson

Contributing writer & Sports Editor

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With the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, the Murray State men’s basketball team said goodbye to one of its strongest backcourts in program history, leaving one burning question: who will fill Ja Morant and Shaq Buchanan’s shoes?

The backcourt tandem leaves the Racers with 37.5 ppg, 11.7 apg and 3.6 spg to account for. However, to Head Coach Matt McMahon, a promising group of new and returning guards such as sophomore Tevin Brown and senior Jaiveon Eaves will be able to do just that.

“We don’t make it about who we have to replace,” McMahon said. “It’s about this is our players, this is our team, how do we build this group into the best team we can be. Two years ago we lose Stark, the best player in our league, also lose Miller, who was the best forward in our league, and we didn’t spend the offseason [saying] ‘how do you replace those guys.’ We said ‘hey, we’ve got Ja and Shaq back; let’s build our team around those two guys.’ We’ll have the same approach to this year’s team.”

McMahon is looking to the players that are returning this season for inspiration, players like Brown, Eaves, Darnell Cowart and KJ Williams are just some of those that could have an even bigger impact on the court than last season.  McMahon wants to use these players and build the best team around them that he can.

Among the returning guards expected to take a major leap this year is Brown. After sitting out a year due to a leg injury, Brown was the third option behind Morant and Buchanan, averaging 11.8 ppg. McMahon was also pleased at Brown’s ability to play defense at a high level at the guard position.

For his efforts last season, Brown was named to the 2019 Preseason All-OVC First Team. Coming into this year, McMahon thinks Brown’s work in the offseason has prepared him to take on a larger role.

“Without a doubt Tevin Brown has really separated himself from a consistency standpoint,” McMahon said. “He really impressed me last year, not just [with] his 12 points a game, but he was fantastic at the defensive end of the floor for us and was really a key piece to why our perimeter defense was so good. On top of that, he’s such a smart player—got a great basketball IQ—and he doesn’t make many mistakes out there on the court.”     

Being a returning player, Brown says that he’s been focusing on showing the new guys on board what needs to be done by being a more outspoken leader.

After transferring from John A. Logan College, Eaves joined the Racers in the 2018-19 season seeing about 10 mpg. After shedding 25 pounds, McMahon thinks Eaves is capable of having a much bigger role with this year’s squad.

“Jaiveon Eaves has had a tremendous offseason,” McMahon said. “He’s gone from one of the worst on the team to one of the top 2 on the team [in body fat percentage], and it’s a great credit to him and the time and work he’s invested in that, so I’d like to see him take a big jump this season.”

With Brown’s ability to create plays off the dribble improving during the offseason and Eaves’ relentless work over the summer, the returning Racer guards look to make big contributions this season.

Junior guard Brion Whitley also returns to the Racers, but will begin the year with a leg injury and no set timetable for a return.

The returning guards will be joined by redshirt freshman DaQuan Smith, freshmen Chico Carter Jr., Noah Kamba, Rod Thomas and junior guard Jason Holliday who transferred from Bossier Parish Community College.

Chico Carter Jr. is from South Carolina, graduating from Cardinal Newman High School where he averaged 21.8 ppg.  

Kamba averaged 16 ppg and 13 apg at Dexter Southfield School in Brookline, Massachusetts.  

Thomas was a superstar in his own right while at Paducah Tilghman High School in Paducah, Kentucky, averaging 15.2 ppg and 4.2 rpg scoring over 1,600 points during his high school career.  

Holliday comes to the Racers after playing at Bossier Parish Community College, and during his sophomore season averaged 16.8 ppg and 7.6 rpg. 

Redshirt freshman DaQuan Smith dealt with an injury for the majority of last year, seeing only 13 minutes of playing time and scoring only three points. Before joining the Racers, Smith helped lead Holly Springs High School to a second-place finish in Mississippi’s 2A tournament, scoring 26.3 points per game as well as hauling in 7.3 rebounds for his senior season.  

Ultimately, this newfound depth for the Racers will be extremely helpful in their hunt for a third-straight OVC Championship.

“I feel like we definitely have a deeper team this year,” Brown said. “We have people that have been here that know what it takes and then we have people here that are coming in and being shown what it takes.”

As far as dividing up playing time between players, McMahon says it’s a good problem to have, but that the players ultimately determine who plays, and he is confident that it will work itself out.

“Guys just need to stay focused on getting better each day and build relationships with our team,” McMahon said.