COLUMN: Four MTSU Players on the Hardwood I’m excited to see in 2023

10/15/2023 5:30:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball

With CUSA Tipoff this week, there’s no time better to dive into Blue Raider and Lady Raider basketball

By: Sam Doughton, MTSU Athletics Staff Writer

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Growing up on Tobacco Road, there's still nothing that gets me excited quite like the return of college basketball. And with the release of the preseason polls in Conference USA this past week, tipoffs in the Glass House will be here before you know it!

The standard for the Lady Raiders, as always, are sky high in 2023-24, with MTSU picked as the unanimous favorite to finish atop the Conference USA standings at season's end, with Savannah Wheeler also earning preseason CUSA Player of the Year honors. The Blue Raiders, however, will also enter 2023 with great expectations, being picked as co-favorites with Liberty in the preseason poll released this week out of the CUSA office.

It sets the stage for several months of can't miss action inside the Glass House, but also for Monday's CUSA Basketball Tipoff, which GoBlueRaiders.com will cover from the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. We'll hear from Rick Insell and Nick McDevitt, who will be accompanied by Courtney Whitson and Justin Bufford for all the media day festivities in the Rocket City.

They'll be plenty to cover from availabilities for both MTSU and the eight other schools in Conference USA tomorrow. Hearing from Whitson and Bufford, two of the best "team-first" athletes I've ever had the pleasure of writing about, about how their teams are gelling with a plethora of newcomers this year in Murfreesboro will be something to keep an eye on.

This Sunday, however, I wanted to make sure I took the time to mention four players, one returning player and one newcomer from each MTSU roster, that I'm excited to see on the court in game action in the coming weeks. The Lady Raiders will take on UT Southern in an exhibition on October 27 for their first action of the fall, while the Blue Raiders' season opener in the Glass House against Northern Kentucky on November 6.

Ta'Mia Scott, Sophomore Guard, Clarksville, Tenn.

Scott entered the Lady Raiders' program last year as a much-hyped in-state pick-up for Rick Insell's staff. A two-time All-State player at the AAA level, Scott averaged over 20 points a game as both a junior and senior at Clarksville Northwest HS and looked to be next in a long line of in-state stars that Insell has brought to Murfreesboro.

Tight rotations among the MTSU starters, as well as the return of Alexis Whittington, who chose to use her fifth year of eligibility, left Scott with limited opportunities for much of 2022-23, averaging 2.1 points per game across her 25 appearances last season. But it was clear that the coaching staff remained invested in Scott, with Insell going out of his way during a press conference at the Conference USA Tournament to mention he thought Scott would've been an All-Freshman level player had she been on another roster in league play that year, both speaking to his own roster's depth as well as Scott's own skill.

That investment was further demonstrated when Scott was named the fourth representative for MTSU at USA Basketball's 3x Nationals, where Scott looked right at home alongside entrenched starters Whitson, Jalynn Gregory and Savannah Wheeler in Colorado Springs. The wide-open half court setup allowed Scott to show off why that investment was being rewarded, as Scott's dribble-drive game and one-on-one defensive skills (where Scott's six-foot height certainly helps) were put to use well in the 3x3 format.

I'm very curious to see how that experience, plus the work Scott has put in the gym this summer, will translate into the five-on-five game, particularly now that MTSU has some more playing time available on the wings. If Scott's slashing ability can translate, she and Gregory would make quite a one-two punch with different types of offensive threats on the perimeter this season.

O'Zhell Jackson, Junior Guard, Bronx, N.Y.

A junior college pick up from Coahoma Community College, Jackson's stat line from his NJCAA All-Region season in 2022-23 almost boggles the mind to even write them out. Jackson averaged 13.6 points per game, 11.6 rebounds per game, 5.1 assists per game and 2.1 blocks per game, all while playing primarily on the wing, where Jackson will likely play for the Blue Raiders.

Listed as a 6-foot-8 guard, Jackson possesses the trait that many of Nick McDevitt's players have on defense: the ability to guard 2-through-4 on the defensive end, allowing for lots of switches in man-to-man defense. His role on that end of the court is fairly clear.

What I'm most excited to see, however, is how Jackson is utilized on the offense, where I think his passing ability could prove to be a secret weapon early in the season for the Blue Raiders. Getting 5.1 assists per game is hard for most point guards, let alone a wing that's not likely to take the ball up court.

And while Jackson won't be relied on as a outside shooter (shooting under 20 percent from outside at Coahoma), his rebounding ability and two-point field goal percentages are both stellar, making him quite the second chance threat on the offensive glass. If MTSU reaches the top of CUSA this season, I suspect Jackson might be a major reason why.

Iullia Grabovskaia, Sophomore Center, Rostov-on-Don, Russia

The latest of the Lady Raiders' pickups in their international pipeline, Grabovskaia immediately stands out simply due to her stature. Standing tall at six-foot-five, Grabovskaia will hold a height advantage on almost any center or forward she'll face this season, let alone in Conference USA.

The demands and expectations of Rick Insell and his staff are high and finding the level of perfection needed in running plays in Insell's offense as well as in guarding physical forwards in the modern college game will be challenges for Grabovskaia to face early on in her Lady Raider career.

But it's not hard to imagine a world where Anastasiia Boldyreva's continued development of her inside-out game provides a certain challenge for opposing teams offensively, only for Grabovskaia to sub in for Boldyreva and be just as difficult to defend in the post. And it's not too much harder to imagine the type of terror that opposing teams will have in figuring out how to guard both of them if they're on the court together.

It's an intriguing potential future for the Lady Raiders not just in 2023, but beyond, so I won't worry too much about this coming to fruition quickly. Boldyreva certainly benefited from getting time to adjust to the college game throughout her freshman season. But if the physicality and the game knowledge show up early for Grabovskaia? There's going to be even more fun evenings in the Glass House for Lady Raider fans.

Tre Green, Sophomore Guard, Baltimore, Md.

Speaking with Joseph Sullivan of NashvilleHoops.Blog, Nick McDevitt had an all-timer of a quote about Green heading into this season: "People who were season ticket holders might say, who's that?'' said McDevitt. "Is he a freshman? A JUCO transfer? He was here last year, he just didn't get into games. I think he'll be the first guy off the bench.''

Green was indeed a part of the Blue Raiders last season, averaging 0.8 points and 0.8 rebounds in eight games as a freshman. But in a veteran heavy roster last year, Green could not break through a crowded rotation as he got adjusted to the speed of the college game.

Watching practices this year, it's apparent that Green has caught up with the speed of the game, particularly in off-ball defense. The athletic ability for Green was always there, with McDevitt noting at one point that Green was a fairly good lockdown defender one-on-one during practice a season ago on the scout team. And offensively, Green might possess the smoothest jumper on the team, with his ability to elevate above many of the contests that will come his way on the perimeter.

In a season where Green will likely be one of the key bench players early on, that athletic shooting and defense combination will be a huge weapon to have on the second unit. And with how much the bench plays for McDevitt, I think Green is primed to surprise many folks in Conference USA this season.

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If you want to check out those players in the Murphy Center this winter, season tickets are on sale now at the MT Athletics Ticket Office. Full details can be found HERE.