Mercer quickly turns focus to next season
This season certainly didn’t go the way Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman expected, but he said the Bears already have turned their focus to the 2017-18 season.
Mercer finished 15-17 and missed out on the postseason since the 2010-11 season. The 15 wins also matched the Bears’ fewest in Hoffman’s nine years at the helm (the Bears went 15-18 in that 2010-11 season). The 2010-11 and 2016-17 seasons are Hoffman’s only losing seasons with the program.
“Our guys are in the gym already working, hard work and just spending more time at everything that we need to get better at,” Hoffman said. “I’m excited about next season. I’m excited about the guys we have returning. We’ve got a great nucleus, and I believe the future is bright.”
Hoffman’s program loses two seniors off this year’s roster: graduate transfer J.J. N’Ganga, who spent one season with the team, and Andrew Fishler, who was with the program for two seasons. N’Ganga averaged 1.3 points and 8.1 minutes per game, while Fishler averaged 3.0 points and 9.0 minutes.
Next year’s team will have six seniors: guards Ria’n Holland, Jordan Strawberry and Rashad Lewis and forwards Desmond Ringer, Stephon Jelks and Demetre Rivers.
Those players will be backed up by a junior class that includes Cory Kilby, Ryan Johnson and Jaylen Stowe. And the Bears should get a boost from the return of Ethan Stair, who would have been a sophomore this year but missed the season with an injury and took a redshirt.
“I think the experience of all the new guys who came in and the returners, and then with Ethan being hurt and will be back, the culmination of all those variables can be a great thing for us,” Hoffman said. (Stair’s) toughness, along with some of the other guys, we can put a really tremendous rebounding team out on the floor. We can put a really good defensive team, and I think we can put a good offensive team, and the good thing is a lot of those guys are the same pieces. That’s what I like about our team. I like our size and our toughness.”
Hoffman is counting on those factors helping the Bears close out games next season. This year, Mercer lost nine games by two points, and they had another loss by three points.
Eight of Mercer’s 10 Southern Conference losses, including the tournament, were decided by single digits.
“Our league was great, tremendous. We were right there,” Hoffman said. “We weren’t able to finish some games like we needed to, but I’m really excited to see what this team can do.”
This story was originally published March 21, 2017 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Mercer quickly turns focus to next season."