Written by Chris O’Dell
The Harding men’s basketball team capped off another successful season under head coach Jeff Morgan last year. Although the team was picked to finish fifth in the conference last season in the Gulf South Conference preseason poll, the Bisons earned the team’s first-ever national ranking after winning a school-record nine straight games.
The men’s team ended the season last year with an 18-12 record after reaching the GSC semifinals. The Bisons had many doubters after losing forward Matt Hall to graduation the previous year, but they proved many critics wrong.
This season the Bisons have a chance to once again fly under the radar and surprise teams around the conference. The team was chosen third in the latest preseason coaches’ poll and had two players selected to the Preseason All-GSC Team.
Senior guard Trent Morgan and junior forward Kevin Brown will be two veteran leaders the Bisons will lean on if the team is able to beat the likes of Delta State and Arkansas Tech in the GSC West. Tough teams in the East will also await the Bisons, with familiar faces such as Valdosta State and North Alabama chosen as the two top teams in the GSC East.
Despite what could be a lack of respect from other teams around the conference, Harding is off to a quick start in the 2009-2010 season. The team has posted a 4-1 record through its first five games.
The Bisons also have a surprising upset over Division I opponent UALR to add to the team’s resume. Harding upset last season’s Sun Belt Conference Champions 80-77 in early November during an exhibition game at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, Ark. The Bisons had not beaten the UALR Trojans in a regular season or exhibition game since Feb. 1, 1973.
Senior guard Matt Garner, who is off to a hot start this season, said the team doesn’t mind being overlooked around the conference.
“I do feel like we are flying under the radar, and I think that is a position that we like,” Garner said. “We would rather be a team that sneaks up on people rather than the big dog with the big target on our backs all the time.”
The Bisons still have seven games remaining before conference play begins in early January. The team is showing it is capable of surprising many people again this season and possibly even winning the conference.
“The GSC is such a hard conference,” Garner said. “You have to win the tough games against the really good teams at the top, but you have to be mentally tough not to have any slip-ups against some of the weaker teams because any given night any team in the GSC could beat any other.”
The Bisons begin conference play at home against Henderson State University Jan. 9. The game against the Reddies is the first of 12 games in a row against GSC West opponents. The stretch could be key for the Bisons’ season and their chances of competing for the conference championship. Garner said the team must show consistency throughout the season if it has a chance at a conference title.
“We are really working on becoming a team that doesn’t take plays off and always comes out and plays great defense and rebounds,” Garner said. “Some nights you’re going to shoot better than others, but we can always work hard, play defense and rebound.”
The Bisons will play games against the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio and Saint Edward’s University in Austin Friday and Sunday before heading back to Searcy. The Bisons have seven games remaining on the schedule before the conference showdown with Henderson State next month.
Garner said the team, which has an eight-player-deep rotation, must be ready to play each and every game.
“Those eight need to show up and really give it their all every night,” Garner said. “If they don’t, coach [Morgan] may need to mix it up because we have a lot of talented guys sitting on the bench, very eager for an opportunity.”
