TAAC report | NCAA Tournament report

SportsLine.com report
March 16, 2000

A Glance at 2001

Next year should be very interesting for Samford, which will be trying to three-peat as TAAC champions. Samford is expected to run the same sets, but it probably won't be the same ol' Bulldogs that fans have seen the past few years.

For starters, Mario Lopez, practically a four-year starter at the point, will be gone, as will mainstays Reed Rawlings and Will Daniel, who each scored more than 1,000 points and grabbed more than 500 rebounds for their career.

In replacing Lopez, Tillette will probably turn to transfer Cornell Felton, who sat out this season after coming over from Akron.

Tillette will be hard-pressed to keep the Bulldogs atop the ever-improving TAAC, but he will have the benefit of having Salyers, the probable preseason Player of the Year.

The Coach

Tillette was rewarded with a seven-year contract extension late in the regular season, and will look to become the first coach in Samford's Division I history to record four straight winning seasons, something John Brady would likely have done if he had not taken the helm at LSU. After seasons under Richard Williamson at Mississippi State and Perry Clark at Tulane, the 49-year old Tillette has carved out his own niche as a successful coach.

Who'll Be Back

Salyers will return as Samford's top post threat, likely to be joined by Gabe Skypala (6-foot-9) to form a tall frontline combination. Corey Green, a junior redshirt this season, will join Derrick Jones in the backcourt, trying to fill the role Will Daniel held this past year -- shooter, defender.

Chris Weaver is a capable ball-handler and may get a shot at the point if Felton doesn't win the job. Either way, Weaver will see a lot of minutes. Frontcourt depth will be provided by Sebastian Sachse and Joey Howard, neither of whom saw extensive action this year ... and 6-foot-5 swingman Eddie Harper, a Laurel, Miss., native who selected the Bulldogs over Southeastern Louisiana.

Redshirt freshman Will Gardner and incoming freshman Tyson Dorsey will join the mix in the backcourt. Dorsey, from Brantford, Ontario, selected Samford over Princeton, Siena, and Central Connecticut State, and is considered the team's top recruit.

Who's Gone

Rawlings, Lopez, and Daniel were mainstays in the Samford lineup, helping bring the team to its current level of prominence. Each is an expert in Tillette's system, and their savvy and leadership will be missed.