Golden Eagles have 'unfinished business'

The John Brown University men's basketball team has lots of reasons to be excited about the upcoming 2021 season, on the heels of some huge disappointments.

The Golden Eagles -- 28-5 and 17-3 in the Sooner Athletic Conference in 2019-20 and ranked No. 9 in the nation -- qualified for the NAIA Division I Men's National Tournament for the second straight season and were just days away from making the trip to Kansas City, Mo., when the covid-19 pandemic canceled the tournament altogether.

The pandemic ended offseason workouts in the spring and altered the summer schedule and delayed the start of this season, including canceling the famous Toilet Paper Game, which annually draws a sellout crowd at Bill George Arena.

But with seven of its top nine players returning from last year, plus the addition of an injured starter from two years ago, there's a lot of optimism among the Golden Eagles.

"We've got high expectations again," said head coach Jason Beschta, who is entering his seventh season at JBU. "They've been talking from the beginning that we have unfinished business to take care of."

"We were a top 10 team heading into the national tournament, and then to get to turn around and bring all those guys back, we just want to keep it going."

The Golden Eagles, who are ranked No. 13 in the NAIA Coaches Poll, open their season Saturday at 3:45 p.m. against Champion Christian.

John Brown returns two All-SAC First Team and NAIA All-Americans in junior guard Luke Harper and senior Densier Carnes along with a host of other contributors from last year's team.

Harper, a 6-3 guard from Plano, Texas, led the team in scoring at 17.2 points per game and hit 85 of 218 (39 percent) from behind the 3-point line as a sophomore.

"We're bringing him back after a phenomenal year," Beschta said of Harper. "He's a really good, consistent scorer who can score with the ball in his hands and off the ball. He can do a lot of things for us. The great thing is he's one of those types that's always pushing. We had a home game one night and as I'm leaving I see that he's over in Sells (gymnasium) shooting. He's a tireless worker."

Carnes, a 6-6 forward from Atlanta, was second on the team at 15.2 points per game and hit 64 of 150 (42.7 percent) from the long range. His overall field goal percentage was 46.3 percent (149 of 322). Carnes led the Golden Eagles in rebounding at 8.8 per contest and was named the SAC's Defensive Player of the Year.

"The great thing about Densier is that now after a taste of all that last year, he wants more," Beschta said. "He's capable of so much more because he can score against people and guard any position. He's just a special player."

Senior point guard Rokas Grabliauskas (6-4, Kaunas, Lithuania) is a four-year starter for JBU and averaged 10.4 points per game last year. He was an All-SAC Honorable Mention selection last year.

"Rokas is smart and doesn't make a lot of mistakes," Beschta said. "Rokas is versatile and can bring it up and facilitate the offense really well. He had a great year for us last year and we hope he can build on that more."

While Carnes was the SAC's Defensive Player of the Year, Beschta said junior Ira Perrier (6-4, Brighton, England) "anchors our defense."

Perrier started all 33 games last year and averaged 28.4 minutes and 3.9 points. He converted 52 of his 100 field goal attempts. Perrier also averaged 4.5 rebounds and had 61 assists and 37 steals.

"Densier is more flashy defensively, but Ira ... we aren't who we are without Ira," Beschta said. "He covers a lot of mistakes from other people. He's improved again this year with his offensive game. He doesn't have to be scoring. He just has to be a threat. He does a good job of creating for others and getting assists and finding people."

The Golden Eagles are happy to bring back senior forward Brenton Toussaint (6-5, Clarence, La.) after Toussaint missed all of last season recovering from an ACL injury he suffered at the end of the 2018-19 season.

Toussaint averaged 7.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, converting 70.6 percent (101 of 143) from the field during the 2018-19 season.

"Brent was a difference maker before he got hurt," Beschta said. "He's just so powerful as a player. He doesn't have same explosiveness after knee injury, but he's got experience. He'll bring what he's always brought."

Sophomore guard James Beckom (6-3; Cork, Ireland) returns after a strong freshman season, and the Golden Eagles know he'll give great effort.

"You wont find anyone who plays harder," Beschta said. "He just always plays so stinking hard. Playing hard isn't always the end all, you have to also play smart. He has ability to get to the basket better than anybody on our team. Defensively he's another guy that brings us another look. He's going to make plays."

Sophomore Nemanja Obradovic (6-9, St. Gallen, Switzerland) gives the Golden Eagles another threat in the post. He played in all 33 games last year and averaged 4.6 points.

"Big Nemo, we thought he could be a really good player," Beschta said. "His foot work is unbelievable -- amazing footwork, great hands. He's shown to be a really good passer. He's just going to keep getting better and better."

Junior Braden Bayless (6-6, Tulsa, Okla.) and sophomore Nathan Stolz (6-6, College Station, Texas) are returning players and both shoot the ball well, Beschta said. Kobe Robinson (6-3, Pryor Creek, Okla.) is another returning sophomore.

The Golden Eagles expect sophomore transfer D.J. Ellis to be in the mix at a guard position. Ellis averaged 15.8 points, 7.9 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, Ill.

The Golden Eagles also have 10 true and redshirt freshmen: Cade Schroeder (6-3; Mustang, Okla.); Nehemiah Connor (6-4, Fort Worth, Texas); Amos Adeyemo (6-2, McKinney, Texas); Sterling Morphis (6-2, Lincoln, Ark.); Noah Taylor (5-10, Dallas, Texas); Alex Kinsey (6-2, Fayetteville, Ark.); Caleb Ceaser (6-5, Houston, Texas); William Verduin (6-7, Wylie, Texas); Wesley Verduin (6-6, Wylie, Texas); and Caleb McCarty (6-1, Aledo, Texas).

The Golden Eagles were predicted to finish second in the Sooner Athletic Conference by a vote of the conference coaches.

"We should be playing with a lot of confidence," Beschta said. "We've got a lot of reasons to be confident. That's not enough though. We have to come out and earn it each day."