Expectations high again for Emory Basketball
High academic standards are unquestioned at Emory University. High standards are also expected for the school’s basketball team.
The Eagles, who play at the non-scholarship NCAA Division III, have been to the national tournament in 11 of the past 12 seasons, including a stretch of 10 consecutive seasons. They have won 345 games over the past 20 seasons.
Emory finished 23-6 last season — its ninth 20-win season under coach Jason Zimmerman — and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Championships. It spent some time ranked No. 1 and finished No. 5 in the final rankings.
Expectations are high again this year. Emory has 12 players returning from last year’s team and will start the season ranked No. 3 in the country, the program’s highest preseason ranking.
“We take great pride in trying to chase excellence,” said Zimmerman, now in his 19th season as head coach. “With that comes the pressure to continue chasing that and to be able to do it. The real story behind it is we have really good players, we have a really good staff and we have great continuity with that.”
Emory has an exhibition game at home at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Augusta and opens the regular season Saturday at Piedmont. The Eagles won’t play a home game until they host Bates, Maryville and Hampden-Sydney in the Emory Holiday Classic, Dec. 29-30, at the Woodruff PE Center Arena.
Emory graduated three players, didn’t lose anyone in the portal and didn’t bring in new transfers. Two of the starters they return are preseason All-American selections — Jair Knight and Ben Pearce — and each has a chance to break the school scoring record.
Knight, a 6-foot-2 senior from Elyria, Ohio, was a D3 All-American and first-team All-Region choice last year. He led the team in scoring (18.6 points) and averaged 6.8 rebounds. His 550 points was the fifth-most in a single season in team history.
Pearce, a 6-1 guard from Tuckahoe, New York, averaged 16.7 points, 5.4 assists and shot 36.9% on 3-pointers last year.He became the fastest player in program history to reach 1,000 career points and was named second-team All-Region.
“Having those two guys back is a tremendous foundation for us,” Zimmerman said.
Others expected to contribute include senior John Coppolino IV, juniors A.J. Harris and 6-foot-9 Ethan Fauss, and sophomore Mario Awasum. Harris averaged 13.7 points and 5.2 rebounds last season.
Emory’s high academic standards can be challenging at times, and Zimmerman often wonders if he’s the 60-watt bulb in a room full of 100-watt players. But he was a player and an assistant coach at Davidson, where grades mean more than merely a GPA. That background has helped him become a great fit for Emory.
“Coach (Bob McKillop of Davidson) gives me a hard time all the time. He says, ‘I still don’t know how we got you into school,’” Zimmerman said. “And now I coach guys at Emory, and I go into the locker room many times and say, ‘Listen, you guys are all way smarter than me. We’re not going to debate that. But let’s figure out how we’re going to guard this ball screen.”
Emory competes in the University Athletic Association alongside New York University, which lost in the D3 final last year, and Washington University in St. Louis, which lost to NYU in the national semifinals. Washington is ranked No. 5 and Chicago is No. 11 in the preseason rankings. It projects another challenging conference race, but Zimmerman is ready to see what awaits.
“I got into coach to help young people grow and play these games, and you still get anxious,” Zimmerman said. “I’ve been pushing basketball for 30 years, and I still get butterflies. You know, are we ready? Here it comes. Let’s go play.”
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
