Going into the final two weeks of the 1999-2000 TAAC season, four schools had a chance to take home the conference title. Samford and Georgia State were expected to contend for the crown, but Troy State and Jacksonville State came as total surprises.

Transfers Detric Golden of TSU and Shernard Long of GSU eventually made the difference, and the two teams tied for the regular season crown. However, when the conference tournament rolled around, both made their exits prior to the title game.

Two familiar foes -- defending conference champion Samford and a Central Florida team beset by injury, managed to get back to the championship game for a second consecutive year. The result was the same, when Samford made its way back to the NCAA Tournament.

The TAAC became a wide open race again, ending the one-sided dominance enjoyed by Samford and the College of Charleston (which left for the Southern Conference in 1998) in past years.

Despite the competitive play, Florida Atlantic lost all 18 regular season TAAC contests, but shocked everyone by defeating heavily favored Stetson in the conference tournament first round -- their first and only Division I victory of the season.

Conference champion

Samford returned to the NCAA Tournament with thrilling victories over Georgia State and UCF in the TAAC Tournament, erasing the disappointment of a season in which they were expected to dominate but fell back into the rest of the pack, suffering bad losses to Jacksonville and Campbell. The Bulldogs were led by the frontcourt combination of senior Reed Rawlings and junior Marc Salyers as well as heady point guard Mario Lopez. They fell to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Biggest disappointment

Injuries to forwards Mario Lovett and Beronti Simms robbed UCF of its two most effective post players before the regular season, handcuffing a promising season for the Golden Knights. Fortunately, transfer Paul Reed was able to step up and help talented shooters D'Quarius Stewart and Jason Thornton get back to the TAAC final. It leaves one to wonder what could have happened if everyone was healthy.

Biggest surprise

Jacksonville State was in contention for the conference crown until the last week of the TAAC season. The infusion of Nebraska transfer Brant Harriman and JUCO transfer Mike McDaniel, coupled with the maturation of sophomore point guard Rashard Willie helped the Gamecocks rebound from a last place finish a season ago.

Player of the Year

Golden was incredible as a leader. The TSU floor general who once thrived at Memphis made his final season of eligibility a good one, leading the Trojans to their first TAAC crown ever. He led the league in scoring and assists, and often took games over in the latter stages, carrying the team in tight contests.

Newcomer of the year

Golden, Long, Harriman, McDaniel, and Reed were all impact transfers, but the choice here is Mercer's Scott Emerson. Emerson was unbelievable in the TAAC Tournament, leading the Bears to an upset of top seed Troy State in the quarterfinals, and led all conference freshmen in scoring and rebounding.

Coach of the year

Troy State's Don Maestri led a team that finished tied for seventh a year ago to the regular season title, effectively using Golden to the best of his ability and using a depth he couldn't enjoy last year due to defections and the death of former forward Nick Cherry. The winningest coach in school history rallied his troops and led them to a fabulous campaign.

The future

JSU is a team on the rise, but the loss of head coach Mark Turgeon, who left for Wichita State, will be difficult to replace. Still, the team's returning nucleus will put them near the top. Rawlings, Lopez, Will Daniel and Boyd Kaiser leave the Samford program, which will put coach Jimmy Tillette's ability to a true test. Kirk Speraw's Golden Knights will be tough if they can return healthy, and Georgia State will again be loaded. It will also be interesting to see how much Golden's departure hurts Troy State and how far Emerson can take Mercer.