ESPN Men's Basketball

Updated: October 21, 2009, 12:14 PM ET

Team preview: Jackson State

Blue Ribbon Yearbook previews the 2009-10 season, exclusively on Insider

Comment Email Share

Blue Ribbon Yearbook

Editor's Note: ESPN Insider has teamed with Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook to provide a comprehensive look at all 334 Division I teams. To order the complete 2009-10 edition of Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, visit at www.blueribbonyearbook.com or call 1-877-807-4857.
(Information in this team report is as of Oct. 1.)

COACH AND PROGRAM

It's really pretty simple, the way Tevester Anderson sees it.

Jackson State finished second the SWAC last season, and while defending champion Alabama State lost most of its firepower, the Tigers return most of their biggest guns, including the consensus choice as the conference's best player.

Ergo, Jackson State is the clear favorite to win the league. Nothing complicated about that logic.

Hey, it's basketball, not brain surgery.

"We should be," Anderson said when asked if his team would be the SWAC frontrunner. "We will be. Anytime you can bring three or four guys who started for you back, and you were one of the top two or three teams last year, there's no reason you shouldn't be back there this year."

In fact, there are several clear reasons the Tigers are likely to seize the crown. They begin with Grant Maxey, whose multiple skills make him a match-up nightmare for SWAC defenses. Working out of the power forward spot, the 6-7 senior left his imprint all over the court for the Tigers, ranking among the league leaders in scoring -- he's the SWAC's top returning scorer at 16.4 points per game -- rebounding (6.7 per game) and assists (2.3 per game), plus steals, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage and blocked shots.

"He's so athletic, he could play two or three positions," Anderson said. "We've played him at the four position more out of necessity, but he's really more of a wing guy. He can shoot from deep, he runs the floor extremely well and he has really good hands. ... This kid runs, jumps, defends well. He has really great balance. And each year he's gotten better."

Which should be a scary thought for the rest of the SWAC. But not as scary as this thought: This season, Anderson will showcase Maxey even more.

"We need to run a lot more for him than we have in the past because this is his senior year and he's earned that," Anderson said. "He needs to get more touches and be more involved in the offense than he has been. This year, we have a couple of inside guys who are bigger and stronger than what we've had since we've been here, and I think he's going to be a big beneficiary of those big guys.

"He's played so much inside for us, and now he can move out on the floor and show what kind of skills he really has as a perimeter player [.333, 42-of-126 3PT]."

Just how effective those big guys turn out to be will play a major role in Maxey's production, which in turn will go a long way toward determining Jackson State's success this season. Which makes newcomers Gertavian Blake and Raymond Gregory two of the most important players on the Tigers' roster.

PLAYERS

Blake, a 6-10, 260-pound banger from Southern Union (Ala.) State, heads into fall practice as the man to beat for the center position, where he clogs up the middle and blocks shots. Not far behind is Gregory, a sturdy 6-10, 250-plus-pound freshman from Stone Mountain, Ga., who could also spend some time at power forward, allowing Maxey to move to his more natural position of small forward and giving the Tigers a potentially formidable front line. Maxey will open the season at power forward, but if Gregory develops into a consistent inside force, that could change.

"If Raymond Gregory comes along and Blake plays like we think he can, we could play Maxey at small forward some or even at [off guard] if we have to. So we could go 6-10, 6-10 up front, and Grant is 6-7. At times, if we want to, we can put a really big lineup on the court."

And battling those two behemoths for playing time up front is more size, though not much experience. The only returnee is physical 6-9 sophomore Oliver Jefferson (0.5 ppg, 0.5 rpg), who played a total of seven minutes all season. And Anderson is high on 6-8 freshman Davon Jones, who sat out last season as a redshirt.

Of course, the biggest of them all is not likely to see the court this season. In his quest for big men, Anderson brought in a giant -- 7-2, 260-pound freshman Jamarious Sykes, who averaged a double-double and six blocked shots per game as a senior in Port Gibson, Miss. Because Sykes is raw, Anderson plans to redshirt him to unveil next season.

"Our future is pretty bright, and he's part of that," Anderson said. "The last three or four years we've played a tough schedule of big conference opponents. So if we're going to play a schedule like that, we'd better get bigger and stronger so we can compete. Eventually, we're going to beat some of those guys, because we're recruiting the kind of players who can compete against the big boys."

Back among the smaller men, Rod Melvin (4.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg) returns to give the Tigers a strong hand on the rudder at point guard. The 6-1 sophomore was chosen the SWAC's Freshman of the Year last season after averaging 3.4 assists per game and posting a solid 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.

"We hope to play a little more up-tempo this year, more of a style that suits his talent," Anderson said. "We played a little slower last year than I would have liked to play. This time, we're going to play a little faster so he can really push the ball up the floor."

Even so, Melvin will be pushed just to keep his starting job, thanks to the addition of 6-1 freshman Christian Williams, who put up eye-popping numbers while setting scoring records at Sierra High School in Manteca, Calif.

Williams averaged 26.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while making 44 percent of his three-pointers, and his new coach is thrilled about his potential.

"Rod was freshman of the year last year, and we think Christian is just as good," Anderson said. "They're pretty similar players. Christian is a point guard who can also play shooting guard, so we can play those two guys together if we need to."

Phillip Williams (1.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg), a 6-1 sophomore, is in danger of being shoved out of the rotation after an uninspiring 2008-09 season as Melvin's backup. But an in-triguing option at the point is versatile 6-6 junior Jenirro Bush, a transfer from Arkansas-Fort Smith who could also see time at both wing positions and perhaps even at power forward.

Thinking big as always, Anderson loves the idea of an oversized point guard with his big front line.

"He's a decent point guard, and if he plays there, he can cause some difficult matchups," Anderson said, chuckling at the very thought.

More likely, though, Bush will battle for minutes at the off guard or small forward spots, where the Tigers have some firepower returning.

At small forward, 6-5 senior Garrison Johnson (10.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg) is a double-figure scorer who provides experience. Anderson also sees scoring potential in 6-7 junior Tyrone Hanson, a well-traveled New Yorker who played prep school ball in Maine, began his college career at Nevada and spent last season averaging 12 points and five rebounds per game for Arkansas-Fort Smith. Now in Mississippi, Hanson is expected to make a strong run at a starting job.

Depending on how Christian Williams and Bush fit into the mix, depth at the wing spots could come from athletic 6-5 junior De'Suan Dixon (3.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg), a slasher who can take defenders off the dribble, and 6-0 junior Kyle Swanier (0.2 ppg, 0.2 rpg), who played little last season but has a reputation as an accurate shooter. Speedy 6-5 junior Chris Hyche (3.3 ppg, 1.1 rpg) is likely to be redshirted to "save him for another year," Anderson said.

Then there's junior Cason Burk (1.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg), who found himself thrown into the battles inside last season despite being generously listed at 6-5 with a background as a point and wing guard coming out of high school. Now that the Tigers have some big bodies to play down low, Burk will shift back to the perimeter and will try to work his way into a regular shift at one of the backcourt spots.

"Cason Burk was our unsung hero last year," Anderson said. "He's a 6-3, 6-4 guy who had to play as the backup center, and he did a really good job. We wouldn't have won 18 games without him being productive.

"He's one of my favorite players, but he's got to find somewhere to get his minutes. He can play in the post for us, but we've got post men now, so we'll where he fits in."

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

If bigger is better, Jackson State will take a giant leap forward this season. The three new big bodies inside -- Blake, Gregory and Jones -- could have a huge impact on this season's team, freeing Maxey to better utilize his outside skills while still using his size to hit the boards.

And rebounding, Anderson said, is a high priority for the Tigers.

"We weren't an outstanding rebounding team last year," Anderson said. "We gave teams too many second-chance baskets. We're in a position now to be a better rebounding team and a better defensive team because we're bigger and stronger."

The outside game is solid, thanks to returning SWAC Freshman of the Year honoree Melvin and proven scorer Johnson, not to mention a couple of talented recruits.

Of course, the key to everything is Maxey, a first-team all-conference choice who has already caught the eyes of NBA scouts. If his progress continues as it has in the past, he'll be the SWAC's most dynamic force, and, given some help, the kind of player who can carry his team to a title.

For the most comprehensive previews available on all 330 Division I teams, order the "Bible"of college basketball, the 2009-10 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, at www.blueribbonyearbook.com or call 1-877-807-4857.