Perhaps more than any other season it has had in the portal era, offseason roster activity was a significant factor for the Southern men's basketball team.
The Jaguars lost four players to the transfer portal, and also had two seniors complete their eligibility. The result was a large influx of new players that Southern coach Kevin Johnson will try to blend in with his returners by the time the Southwestern Athletic Conference begins conference play in January.
Some of the biggest losses came in the frontcourt, where Southern lost Brentay Noel and Dionjahe Thomas. Noel transferred to UL-Monroe while Thomas moved on to SWAC rival Jackson State. Southern hopes to mitigate those losses with portal moves of its own.
The bigs Southern brought in are 6-foot-10 Malek Abdelgowad and 6-8 Terrance Dixon. Abdelgowad averaged 4.7 points and 5.0 rebounds last season as a starter at Massachusetts, while Dixon came in from Lamar after putting up 2.2 points and 1.6 rebounds.
In preseason workouts, Abdelgowad and Dixon have shown ability but have also had lapses in play.
"We haven't been able to get both of them to be good at the same time," Johnson said. "Both of them show signs, but we need those guys to play well in the middle to replace Brentay and Dionjahe."
Getting that production will be key as Southern tries to replicate its success from last season, when the Jaguars went 20-12 overall and 15-3 in the SWAC. The conference record allowed Southern to win the regular-season title and earn a first-place seeding in the SWAC's postseason tournament.
From there, the Jaguars fizzled in the SWAC tourney, where they lost a first-round game to Grambling in overtime. However, Johnson wouldn't trade the experience.
"There were some really good accomplishments last year, and to hang it all on that last game is almost unfair," Johnson said. "It was still a tremendous year, but this group has got to learn from the mistakes that we made. That's the goal."
Johnson still believes a regular-season championship outshines a tournament title, even one that brings an NCAA Tournament berth with it.
"I'll be honest, if someone told me you can get another regular-season title (this season), but you're not going to win the tournament, I believe I'd take it right now," he said.
At last month's SWAC media day, Southern was picked to finish second behind Bethune-Cookman. The Jaguars also had a first-team preseason all-SWAC selection in senior guard Michael Jacobs.
A 6-2 guard who showed an ability to create shots and find ways to score, Jacobs led Southern last season averaging 11.3 points. Jacobs is one of four returning players who will form the core of the Jaguars lineup.
The other members of that group are a trio of seniors — guards Cam Amboree and Joe Manning and forward DeMariee Jones. Last season, Amboree averaged 7.5 points and was second on the team with 43 3-pointers, while Manning made 31 3-pointers and averaged 6.4 points. Jones scored 7.5 points and was second on the team in rebounds at a 4.6 clip.
Jacobs, who was on hand for the SWAC media day, said the Jaguars' chances for a repeat title are enhanced because of last year's experience.
"We've got a lot of new guys, a couple of returners, as well, but we've been there before and it's going to help us," he said. "We've got a sour taste in our mouth after last year, but we know it's a grind. We know it's a marathon, and we know we've got to take it day by day."