The Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball program represents intercollegiate men's basketball at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

. The school competes in the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

in Division I of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

and plays their home games at Reed Green Coliseum, which has a capacity of 8,095.

History

From its first season (1912–13), when Coach R. G. Slay led the team to a 3–0 record, the men's basketball team has enjoyed its share of success. Coach A. B. Dille took over coaching duties the following year. The Golden Eagles have appeared in the NAIA National

Tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

four times in a row ( 1952,

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

and

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

). Southern Miss had a 2–4 record in the NAIA Tournament. Over the years, the Golden Eagles have had three NCAA teams (1990, 1991, 2012). The program has also had an NIT Championship team with its run in the 1987 postseason tournament. In all the Eagles have earned ten NIT bids: 1981, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2013 and 2014. They also earned a CIT bid in 2010 and a CBI bid in 2019. The team has had six players drafted including

Clarence Weatherspoon Clarence Weatherspoon, Sr. (born September 8, 1970) is a former American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) born in Crawford, Mississippi. He is currently the assistant coach for Jones County JC. Previousl ...

. Southern Miss has won three conference championships in basketball including the 2023 outright regular-season title.

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

Southern Miss Golden Eagles have appeared in three NCAA tournaments. They have an overall 0–3 record in tournament games. Darrin Chancellor holds the Southern Miss single-tournament scoring record with 24 points in 1991.

NIT results

The Golden Eagles have appeared in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT) 11 times. Their combined record is 11–10 and they were NIT Champions in 1987.

CIT

The Golden Eagles have appeared in the

CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) was an American men's college basketball postseason tournament founded by Collegeinsider.com. The tournament was oriented toward schools that did not get selected for the NCAA Division I men's ...

(CIT) one time. Their record is 0–1.

CBI

The Golden Eagles have appeared in the

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI s ...

(CBI) one time. Their record is 0–1

NAIA tournament results

The Golden Eagles have appeared in the NAIA Tournament four times. Their combined record is 2–4.

Notable alumni

* Joe Dawson '82 – former professional basketball player, 1992

Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP The Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP, or Israeli Basketball Super League MVP, is an annual basketball award that is presented to the most valuable player in a given season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier lev ...

Randolph Keys Randolph Keys (born April 19, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player who played five National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons in his career for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers and Milwauke ...

'88 – former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

basketball player, 1st Round draft pick (retired) *

Wendell Ladner Wendell Ladner (October 6, 1948 – June 24, 1975) was an American professional basketball player most notable for his playing time in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1970 to 1975. Ladner was born in Necaise Crossing, Hancock Co ...

'70 – former ABA player (deceased) * Don Maestri '68 – men's basketball head coach

Troy University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accredi ...

* Kelly McCarty '98 – former professional basketball player *

Elvin Mims Elvin Mims (born December 23, 1979) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the London Lightning of the NBL Canada. He has previously played in multiple leagues in the United States and in Iceland as well as Canada. Prio ...

'02 – PBL, USBL, NBL player, 6x champion *

'92 – former NBA basketball player

References

Remember the ABA – Wendell Ladner

External links

* {{collegebasketball-team-stub