Senators loaded with potential as 2022-23 season gets set to begin
MORRISTOWN, TN – Walters State men's basketball coach Bill Carlyle enters his 46th season as head coach of the Senators with a team that has potential to be very successful.
The Senators squad is made up of five players, three starters, from last season's team and 13 new players.
"I think it's really going to be fun," Carlyle said about the upcoming season. "I'm really excited for it. I think, so far, it's really been a good group to work with. This is a really nice and fun bunch. They seem to get along really well."
The team is highlighted by their guard play as Carlyle has a good group of players that he feels comfortable putting out on the floor.
"I would feel comfortable with any of those guards," Carlyle said. "I want to be able to put fresh guards in and play them all. They all can play. I could start any of those guys, as long as I had a point guard, and feel good."
The Senators return two guards from last year's team in Ty Hurst and Izaiha Bredwood. Hurst started 27 games last season, averaging 8.5 points per game. Bredwood played in all 31 games and averaged 4.5 points per game.
"Ty played very well for us last year, so we expect him to play," Carlyle said. "Right now, we are starting him at two but I wouldn't hesitate to put him at the three. He brings a lot of energy and works really hard. He's the kind of kid you want to spark people and get them going.
"Bredwood works his tail off. No one works harder than him. He can scoot and is able to play well."
As for new players at the guard position, Carlyle has been impressed by the play of Elijah Davis at the point guard position. Davis transferred from Mississippi Valley State where he played in 22 games last season, starting 21, and averaged 4.4 points and 3.3 assists per game. Davis played against teams such as Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and UConn.
For Carlyle, Davis brings to that point guard position skill that he has not had in a while.
"He's really a tough, good point guard," Carlyle said. "He's strong and mean as a copperhead. Got to love that type of point guard. He's given us a point guard that we haven't had in awhile. I'm really excited about him. I think people are going to enjoy watching him play."
Another guard that Carlyle expects to play some important minutes is Saevion Brown. Brown is a 6-5 guard from Toronto, Canada. Carlyle said that he is a "really, really nice looking guard." Carlyle said he can play the three if needed but is a two.
Rounding out the guard play is Jay Hickman and Micah Simpson. Hickman is a transfer from Mars Hill. He played in 12 games for the Lions. Carlyle said that he will be a 3-point threat for the Senators this season and will see a lot of playing time.
Simpson is a freshman from Morristown who joins Carlyle's team after a wildly successful high school career. Simpson broke the Morristown East record for points in a career with 2,245 points.
"Micah is a scorer," Carlyle said. "You get him the ball and he'll score. He knows how to score. He's working on his defense and is getting better on it. He's doing very well right now."
Down low in the paint, Carlyle returns two starters in Destin Barker and Riley Cooper. Barker is back for a third season for the Senators. Last season, Barker averaged 6.4 points per game and tallied 152 rebounds in 23 games. Cooper started in 28 games and averaged 8 points per game and tallied 169 rebounds.
"Destin has started for us ever since he's been here," Carlyle said. "If we can get him healthy, he'll figure big for us. Since the day he's been here, he's been great.
"Riley played very well for us last year. He shoots the ball well and is a big post. Riley is certainly a starter all the way for us."
As for the new players, Michael Houge leads the way. Houge is a transfer from Mars Hill where he averaged six points and three rebounds per game.
"He's probably a D-I player," Carlyle said. "He's big and strong. He's mobile. He's always there down low. He will play big for us. He'll play some four and three for us. We're really fortunate to have him."
Another player that has impressed Carlyle early on is a 6-9 freshman from Florida, Jaylen Wharton. Carlyle says he is really mobile and will play him at the four and even at the three and five at times.
Rounding out the post players are Malachi Hale, Bakari Johnson, Jair Horton and Gum Majak.
Hale is from Dobyns-Bennett and Carlyle said can shoot the ball very well. Johnson is another kid that can play multiple positions, as well as Horton. Both, Carlyle said, can shoot the ball well from outside.
Majak is a player that returns to Walters State after a year away. In 2020-21, Majek averaged 3.6 points per game before he went down with a season-ending injury that year.
Rounding out the roster for Carlyle is Ijesuoefe Iyamu, who returns from last season, Dustin Richmond, Wade Pelfrey and Daveonne Warfield.
In terms of play style, Carlyle wants to play fast but smart.
"I want us to run it but to play with intelligence," Carlyle said. "I want to be able to run the basketball and get it down there quick, but I don't want to get down there and jack a shot. I want us to get the best shot we can get."
Defensively, Carlyle says they'll play man-to-man and mix in a couple zones, as well. They'll have a few presses as well to throw at opponents.
The season for Carlyle opens on Wednesday as the Senators take on Tusculum JV at home at 7:30 p.m. Then, over the weekend, Walters State will host the Senators Tip Off Classic where they will play Gaston College on Friday at 6 p.m. and Caldwell Community College at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Caldwell went to the national tournament last season.
The Senators open up conference play on Nov. 12 against Dyersburg. They will then play Cleveland and Columbia before going to the Chris Morrison State Farm Classic at Mineral Area Community College over Thanksgiving.
"The league will be really tough," Carlyle said. "It's not going to be easy. We'll play good teams to start, too. Gaston is really strong and then we have Caldwell. This first half of the season, we'll find out if we can play. It's pretty stacked."
Despite that tough start to the season, Carlyle feels his team is playing well and likes where they are at right now.
"We play above the rim and slammer jammer and play hard," Carlyle said. "We're going to shoot it quicker than we have because we have really good shooters. It's going to be really fun."
Walters State kicks off play on Wednesday at home against Tusculum JV. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.
If you are not able to attend a game this season, all home games will be streamed at https://www.wsccathletics.com/information/Gamestream. You can also find the link on our website underneath the Fan Zone tab.
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics