Following their defeat in last year’s NCAA Tournament, the Lander Bearcats men’s basketball team knew they had something to prove. The loss came to the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters, head coach Omar Wattad’s first stop before leading the Bearcats. It was at this moment that Wattad and the Bearcats put their heads down and got to work.
“We focused on getting better defensively at the point of attack,” said Wattad. “Touching the paint and drawing more fouls was another major focal point for us.”
As of January 21, the Bearcats are 14-2 overall with a 6-0 record in Peach Belt Conference play, earning them the no. 17 ranking in the latest National Association of Basketball Coach’s poll. With recent wins over Georgia College, who was ranked no. 25 in the NABC poll earlier in the season, as well as conference foe and fifth-ranked North Georgia, that ranking is set to rise. According to Wattad, the versatility and depth of his squad are what makes them so dangerous.
“People talk about ‘next man up’ all the time, but we can actually live that,” said Wattad. “It’s a headache sometimes trying to get the right rotations, but that’s a good problem to have.”
A good problem indeed, as the Bearcats currently have seven players averaging at least eight points per game. Three of those players include Inady Legiste, Phillip Burwell, and Torrin Andrews, who were all acquired via the transfer portal last season.
Legiste, the 6-foot-7 forward, was selected to the South Atlantic Conference all-conference team last season at Tusculum, and currently leads the Bearcats in points per game with 13.3 and rebounds per game with 6.1. Burwell was also an all-conference player last season as well while playing for PBC rival Georgia Southwestern State. Andrews, the pickup out of the JUCO circuit, has been a sharpshooter for the Bearcats this season, shooting a blistering 47 percent from three point range. To Wattad, the team would not be the same without those additions.
“They’re skilled, locked-in and competitive. They fit right in,” said Wattad. “And the returners accepting them has been vital as well.”
The pastures weren’t always greener in Greenwood, however. When Wattad first took over the Bearcats, the team was coming off a 7-9, COVID-ridden season, leaving Wattad with a huge task of flipping the culture of the program. He’s done just that, leading the Bearcats to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2014-15 season in 2023. According to Wattad, his time under Josh Schertz at Lincoln Memorial, who is now the head coach at Indiana State, has contributed greatly to his success thus far.
“He showed me what building a program looks like,” said Wattad. “I’ve learned so much about the game from that guy.”
Looking ahead, the job is nowhere near finished for the Bearcats, with more than 10 conference games remaining on the schedule. If you ask Wattad, however, his team is ready.
“We’re becoming the hunted, not doing the hunting,” said Wattad. “We’re as hungry as ever.”
