Pantherstooth

🐾 Panther’s Toothsayer: Averett Cougars

Staff

Wed, Nov 5 • Qubein Center • Homecoming / Alumni Weekend

📍 Series & Setting
Averett makes the trip to High Point in a Division III vs. Division I matchup and a brutal scheduling spot for the Cougars. They open their season the night before against St. Mary’s (MD), then travel to the Qubein Center on short rest. It’s also the second straight year Averett plays in High Point’s Homecoming weekend; last season the Panthers won 85–57, but the Cougars fought, defended, and earned respect.

High Point will be a heavy favorite. The Panthers are one of the top mid-majors in the country and just dismantled a talented, well-coached Furman squad. But nothing is automatic. Lower division  teams absolutely can push Division I opponents. Earlier this week Queens struggled with Averett’s ODAC rival Lynchburg this week, and Boise State, a preseason darling, just lost to Division II Hawai‘i Pacific (“the other HPU”).

Add the human element: High Point is coming off a national splash, praise from Jeff Goodman, and early talk of an undefeated run. It’s also not only Homecoming for High Point fans but also a homecoming for the eight Averett players from North Carolina — including High Point native Isaiah Ramazani and Greensboro product Jackson Sellars. They’ll have something to prove.

The trap is obvious: hype, attention, celebration weekend. Every player in Averett’s locker room knows it, and many will take it personally. Nothing should be sharpied in already.

🔍 Overview
Averett enters the season picked 9th in the ODAC — one of Division III’s toughest leagues — and ranked 366th in D3 Datacast (an NPI-style system). This roster is new across the board: transfers, freshmen, and returners figuring out roles and identity.

Head coach David Doino — the winningest coach in program history — calls this a learn-as-you-go team built on:

  • Defensive buy-in
  • Mental toughness
  • Selflessness and role clarity
  • Never letting offense dictate defense

There’s length on the perimeter but not much size inside — the tallest Cougar is 6’6” freshman Carter Cornett. The biggest losses from last season are All-ODAC guard Jamison Graves (transferred to Salisbury) and 1,000-point scorer Jason Sellars II.

⚙️ Team Identity: Defiance, Discipline, and Defensive Tenacity

  • Defiance: Compete through toughness, physicality, and making games ugly.
  • Discipline: The same mindset on every possession — sprint back, contest, rebound, repeat.
  • Defensive Tenacity: Switching, scrapping, gang rebounding to compensate for size.

Offensively, Doino uses structured sets that allow read-based “domino effect” drives and kick-outs, but this roster still needs a reliable scorer to emerge. 

🧩 Key Players

  • Isaiah Ramazani (So., G/W — High Point, NC): Long defender, high-motor wing, will play with extra juice at home.
  • Jackson Sellars (So., G — Greensboro, NC): Brother of last year’s 1,000-point scorer; confident creator, emotional return game.
  • Carter Cornett (Fr., F, 6’6”, 215): Tallest Cougar, plays hard but will be undersized against D-I frontcourts.

The rest of the roster features multiple rangy wings; it’s built to defend, not bang.

📊 By the Numbers
Averett’s profile last season:

  • PPG: 65.8
  • FG%: 42.5%
  • 3PT%: ~32%
  • RPG: 31.3

These are grind-it-out numbers. If this becomes a possession game, Averett can hang. If it becomes a track meet, it won’t.

🧩 Coaching Breakdown: David Doino

  • Winningest coach in program history
  • Defensive-first, high-intensity approach
  • Preaches mental toughness and selflessness
  • Brings alumni back into the program, strong culture builder
  • Will adapt rotations; has used five-in, five-out in the past. Five guard rotations in D1 is uncommon but something Averett could definitely use. That will be something High Point has to adapt to.

Preseason message: young team, roles forming, offense still searching, defense must lead.

🏀 Matchup Outlook vs. High Point
For Averett, this is a matchup challenge at every level:

  • Point of attack: Can anyone on the Cougars hope to stay in front of Rob Martin or Conrad Martinex?
  • Wings: ODAC-level length won’t match the size and athleticism of Cam Fletcher, Terry Anderson, Scotty Washington, and others. In last year’s bout, Kimani Hamilton went off for 25 points, expect the forwards for HPU to feast.
  • Interior: Owen Aquino, Youssouf Singare, Caden Miller bring size and rim pressure Averett has no counter for.
  • Fatigue vs Bench firepower: Averett will be playing on back-to-back nights with travel. They’ll have tired legs to go along with a shorter bench. Last year Braden Hausen had 18 points in 23 minutes against Averett; he’s a candidate to torch them again.

If the Panthers run, rebound, and hunt mismatches, the separation comes fast.

🗝️ Keys for HPU

  • Dominate early: use size, athleticism, and depth; keep the building loud
  • Defensive intensity: no slippage from Furman
  • Turnovers → pace: Averett struggles when forced to run
  • Get everyone involved: spread minutes, stay healthy
  • No mental letdowns: ignore noise, handle business

🔮 Toothsayer’s Take
Averett will play hard, defend, and take pride in being overlooked — especially with so many North Carolina natives. But effort won’t close the gap in size, depth, or skill, particularly on the second night of a back-to-back. High Point just needs to be professional: no oxygen for an upset, use the full roster, and get ready for Jacksonville.

Prediction: High Point 103, Averett 57

, , , , , , ,

Leave a comment