When the final buzzer sounded at Bud Walton Arena on Friday night, UNC Greensboro crossed a big goal off of their program’s list of achievements. For this year’s Spartans, their road win over #14 Arkansas was an accomplishment worth celebrating – but not the ultimate victory they’re hoping for before March is done.
Though their 78-72 win over the Razorbacks was UNCG’s first-ever victory over a ranked team and their first win over a Southeastern Conference opponent, these Spartans aren’t newcomers to success. They won 20 games last year, and their head coach, Mike Jones, was named the Southern Conference’s 2022-23 Coach of the Year. The Spartans did not get to play in the postseason last March, though. After holding his veteran core nearly intact despite the influence of the Transfer Portal, Jones and crew are hoping to keep on taking more big steps forward.
Keyshaun and Kobe Langley are the sons of Keyford Langley, a former UNCG point guard who owns the school’s all-time single-season record for three point percentage from back during his days as a Spartan. Thing is, Keyshaun almost bested his dad’s record last year, and he’s back for another attempt at putting his own name atop the record book.
Once the SoCon Rookie of the Year and now a first team all-conference guard, Keyshun Langley has already out-scored Keyford for his career. Keyshaun finished fourth in the SoCon last year with 90 made triples and second with a 41.9% mark from the land of trey. He led the Spartans in scoring average and tied his brother for the team – and conference – lead in steals, and Keyshaun ranked fifth in the SoCon with a 56.4% Effective Field Goal Percentage. He returns now as a leading contender for conference Player of the Year, and Jones is delighted to have a star like Keyshaun Langley to build around.
“Our guys believe in him, so they’re going to find him,” Jones has said of Keyshaun Langley. “They’re going to get him open and they’re going to find him.” Against the Hogs, Keyshaun played on an injured ankle, but went for 23 points with five assists and four steals anyway. His four first-half triples helped to set the Spartans ahead 38-24 at the half, and proved an insurmountable margin in the end.
Keyshaun is comfortable on or off the ball, and has a tight, confident handle which he uses to dribble into or out of the space which he needs to let fly. Keyshaun is great at shooting off the catch, but really loves to get his rhythm off the bounce, leaning into or fading away from defenders – and putting some of them onto the deck with his moves. With extra-deep range that he’s not shy about showing off, Keyshaun stretches the opposing defense as far from the lane as possible. And when his man closes out aggressively, Keyshaun has developed a quick, reliable rainbow floater. A tenacious and opportunistic on-ball defender, Keyshaun helps his brother to lead a perimeter defense which limited opponents to a 32% rate from three a year ago.
Speaking of defense, Kobe Langley is the SoCon’s returning Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged 8 points and 3 assists while starting 18 games two years ago, but came off the bench almost all of last season to allow departed point guard Dante Treacy to start. No matter his role, Kobe’s playmaking talents and terrific defense remained on display. Not only did he tie his brother for the SoCon lead in steals, Kobe did it in an average of eight fewer minutes per game. An aggressive stopper who loves to press both the opposing ballhandler and any other advantage he sees, Kobe has strong straight line speed, lateral quickness, and exciting, active hands as a playmaker on both ends of the floor.
This year, with Kobe in a larger role, the league’s other teams are going to be run truly ragged. While he’s not the marksman his brother is, Kobe has put in a great deal of work on his jumper this offseason in hopes of being a more consistent offensive threat. Over the course of his four years, Kobe owns a clean 258:129 assist to turnover ratio, and last year he was even better, posting a 2.6:1 mark. Even playing behind Treacy, Kobe finished just five total assists off of the team lead, and his 3.5 helpers per contest ranked fifth in the SoCon. The twins’ father Keyford handed out 124 assists in his senior season; Kobe helped out 111 times last year. Papa Langley might be getting all of his best’s bested this winter, but as it keeps translating into big wins, he may be too proud to care.
In two seasons at Virginia Commonwealth, Mikael Brown-Jones saw the Rams go 41-18, but he averaged just 10 minutes, 3.2 points, and 2.4 boards per game. The talented forward wanted to win, but also to play. Good thing he decided to pick Greensboro after hitting the Portal; and his first season playing between the Great Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge was so nice, he’s back to star in an even bigger role. In his breakout season last year, Brown-Jones posted all sorts of career highs – and did so while starting just two games and averaging 21.2 minutes per contest. With Bas Leyte and three-year starter Mohammed Abdulsalam now gone, Brown-Jones will see all of the paint touches he can handle, and that means SoCon defenses had better brush up on guarding the pick-and-roll. Brown-Jones scored in double figures 17 times last year after doing so just four times in his VCU career. He also led his new conference by shooting 60% from the floor, and he ranked second in the SoCon with a 65.3% True Shooting Percentage. This year, with a larger share of the prime minutes this winter, Jones is expecting an even bigger performance from the Philly product.
One of the biggest reasons for Brown-Jones finishing third on the team in scoring last year was that he knows where he is most effective: within arm’s reach of or above the rim. “Where his bread is buttered is down on that block” Jones told the Marching to Madness Podcast this fall. “He’s got great touch, he’s got great athleticism…He’s put on about 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason, so he’s up to about 240 pounds now, which makes him a real formidable guy in the post.” Brown-Jones shot 71.1% around the hoop last season, with 29 dunks, per Bart Torvik. 114 of his 194 attempts came from close up, but he also made a solid 41.5% on all of his other 2FG tries. This season Brown-Jones is hoping to show a bit more range on his jumper, and take the next step as one of the best scoring bigs in the conference.
Without Abdulsalam and Leyte, Jones is turning to a new pair of veteran post players to keep up the Spartans’ advantage on the glass. Former Coastal Carolina and Utah Valley transfer Tim Ceaser has been a very consistent #3 big at each of his previous stops, but Jones sees untapped potential that he hopes the bouncy veteran can reach in Greensboro. Stuck behind a pair of super-efficient veterans last year, there weren’t a whole lot of minutes available for Ceaser. Still, the long, rangy forward showed off some legitimate skills. Ceaser knocked down 20 triples and wound up shooting 67% around the cup with seven dunks, mostly off of screens and rolls to the rim. In the Wolverines’ up-tempo attack, Ceaser also had some freedom to shoot, so he did. During his two seasons in Orem, Ceaser splashed 34 three’s at a 32% rate. In fact, nearly 75% of his shot attempts last year came away from the rim, and with a sterner drive towards doing damage close to the rack this year, Ceaser’s overall scoring could really take off. An athletic leaper with great timing, Ceaser blocked 56 shots in 63 games at UVU, and will instantly be the best rim protector which the Spartans have had since Hayden Koval followed former coach Wes Miller to the Queen City. If he can work the boards, space the floor, and most of all do his best work around the basket, Ceaser could have a Brown-Jones-esque season to finish off his career.
After a year spent at Division II Winston-Salem State, former NC State big man Jaylon Gibson is back up to the highest level, and Jones hopes that the confidence he played with last season has arrived along with Gibson. A mobile big with good size and strength, Gibson spent two years as a reserve with the Wolfpack before transferring down a rung last fall. There, he injured his right hand in the third week of the season, but still played in every game and managed to lead the Rams in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots. While at NC State, Gibson mostly set screens and occupied the dunker spot on offense – in his sophomore year, 15 of his 31 makes near the rim were throwdowns. He was also highly active on the offensive glass, generating 16 putbacks – good for 27% of his shots around the bucket, per Hoop-Math. Jones needs to see Gibson at his board-grabbing, hammer-dropping best this year, and to help set the tone up front next to Brown-Jones. Though he’s yet to play this season due to injury, Gibson’s arrival in the Greensboro lineup will make for a big boost when he’s able to suit up.
Jones utilized a seven-man rotation for much of last season, but must replace some key pieces and is unlikely to run that short a bench again this year. Joryam Saizonou was the eighth man, but played 11 minutes on average in each of the Spartans’ games after transferring in from St. Bonaventure. The Dutch guard scored in double figures just once, a 14-point effort late in the season against VMI; but Jones is going to need the third year player to add a few more buckets this season. Against the Hogs, Saizonou knocked down five of six foul shots, largely to put the game on ice in a hostile environment. If he’s ready to calmly knock down shots and keep the ball moving, Saizonou’s talents will be much appreciated.
With a need for support scoring, Donovan Atwell is primed to step into a significantly larger role as a sophomore. A solid outside shooter, Atwell has great size and the length to rise up and get his shot even without much space. He knocked down 26 triples in 30 games in his rookie year, and Atwell scored in double figures five times despite playing an average of less than eight minutes per contest. One highly promising indication of Atwell’s potential came in just his eighth career game, as he knocked down four triples for 12 points along with three steals against a very strong Arkansas team. He only made 31% of his outside tries overall as a freshman, but now, Jones needs Atwell to take the next step as a consistent deep threat.
Akrum Ahemed has been around the lands of college hoops and dealt with a variety of injuries, but the New Jersey native has settled into a leadership role on this Spartans team. He started seven games while averaging 20.4 minutes a couple of years ago at Canisius, but saw action in just four games after transferring to Greensboro last year. Now, Jones hopes that Ahemed can show the less-experienced perimeter players how to play tight defense and make heady plays.
| Three Chances to Grow the Resumé |
| @ Texas – December 29 |
| vs Furman – January 3 |
| vs Eastern Kentucky – December 7 |
Jalen Breath and Domas Kauzonas are a pair of young bigs who will be expected to help out, and Breath has made a good start in Gibson’s absence. He’s got nearly as much size as Brown-Jones, and has stepped into a starting role that won’t be easily relinquished. Kauzonas, from Lithuania, finished his prep career in Georgia and saw his first substantive minutes against the Hogs’ talented frontcourt. He’s got international experience playing for Team Lithuania, and Jones likes the potential that his 6’10” freshman offers.
UNC Greensboro won 20 games last season, posted a 14-4 conference record…and lost in the first game of the SoCon Tournament to Wofford on a BJ Mack buzzer-beater. It ended the Spartans’ season, denying them a postseason tournament. UNCG had been on an 11-2 run before losing both their final regular season game and the Wofford game by a point each. With the Langleys and Brown-Jones back to lead the way, Jones feels as though his team is ready to do more than just pull off a big upset.
“We responded. They punched us,” Jones said after the Spartans knocked off Arkansas. “We responded the right way. We responded not by putting our head down and pouting, but just having some resolve.” With a strong, proven perimeter defense and potentially the SoCon’s best 1-2 scoring duo outside and up front, the Spartans are ready to contend for the league title and more.
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