CEDAR CITY, Utah -- With the dawn of a new season quickly approaching, the Southern Utah University men's basketball team will look to several new faces as it starts this season. When head coach Todd Simon left after a seven-year tenure with the Thunderbirds, SUU opened up a nationwide search for the next coach. This culminated in the hiring of Western Illinois University head coach Rob Jeter. Jeter comes to SUU with a 223-215 record as a head coach, as well as a Horizon League Coach of the Year award.
The team also lost several key contributors from last season, and is looking to rebuild with several new additions through both recruiting and the transfer portal.
The Future
The Thunderbirds are fully embracing the youth movement this season with a roster featuring 10 underclassmen. The leader of this young group is looking to be returning sophomore center Parsa Fallah, who is coming off a season where he averaged 3.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in just 7.9 minutes off the bench. Fallah also had a team-high shooting percentage of 67.9%.
Point guard Braden Housley will also be looked on to lead the team for Jeter. Housley redshirted a season ago but will be expected to play significant minutes this season and be the voice of Coach Jeter on the floor.
The Thunderbirds brought in some veteran leadership in junior forward Jamir Simpson, who averaged 14.6 points and 6 rebounds last season for Wisconsin-Parkside as well as junior Jamari Sibley, a forward with a non-stop motor who pulled down 131 rebounds, including 31 offensive, and had a team-high 34 blocks at UTEP.
"I am looking forward to seeing this young group gain experience and grow as a team. It it very important for us to lay a strong foundation for the future of our program. " Said coach Jeter.
The style
Jeter's focus is on establishing secondary breaks on offense, as well as getting to the free throw line more consistently with a fast, disciplined offense. He is also looking to establish a more defensive presence for the Thunderbirds, a team that ranked 55th in the nation for most points allowed with 74.7.
"It all starts on the perimeter for us. With our point guard play and tough on ball defense. Our bigs inside will need to step up as well, everybody has a role and we just need to find out who is going to fill those roles. We have a very talented team, we will just need to come together as a unit and put it all together." Said Jeter.
First Up
The community will get to see this team on Thursday, Nov 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the America First Event Center when they take on the University of Life Pacific. The season starts on the road on Monday, Nov. 6, against the California State University, Bakersfield Roadrunners at 8 p.m. MST. That game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Author: Aidan Mortensen
Editor: Anden Garfield
FOLLOW US
Stay up to date during the 2023-24 Southern Utah Men's Basketball season by following @SUUBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Basketball page on Facebook.
DONATE
To help support Thunderbird athletics consider making a donation today! To learn more about how you can support click here.
