THE BOARD: Jacksonville State Basketball

The number

19.5 — That's how many points per game Mostapha El Moutaouakkil averaged in his one season at Jacksonville State. The CUSA Newcomer of the Year and First-Team All-Conference selection scored 20 or more in each of his last six games. He's gone. So is Jaye Nash, who took his 4.0 assists per game to UConn. So is Emondrek Erkins-Ford, who signed with Western Kentucky. So are eight seniors who exhausted eligibility. Ray Harper enters his 11th year in Jacksonville with a 600-win career and a roster that needs to be rebuilt from the studs — again.

The fit

This is what Harper does. Every year. The portal giveth, the portal taketh away, and Harper goes back to the well.

Jacksonville State went 15-17 in 2025-26 and finished sixth in Conference USA at 10-10 — slightly above the seventh-place preseason projection. The defense was legitimate: 68.4 points allowed per game, 58th nationally in defensive rating. The offense was below average at 72.7 points per game. JSU could guard. It just couldn't score enough to matter.

El Moutaouakkil masked that problem for stretches. He arrived from Louisiana via Indian River State and immediately became the best player on the floor most nights — 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, six double-doubles, 26 games in double figures. He was the conference's Newcomer of the Year for a reason. But he was a senior, and his eligibility path — two years at the JUCO level, one at Louisiana, one at JSU — almost certainly means he's done. That's 19.5 points per game that walked out the door.

Nash's departure to UConn hurts differently. He led the team in assists at 4.0 per game and was the primary ball-handler for most of the season. When a mid-major point guard gets a call from Dan Hurley, he takes it. But it leaves Harper without a proven floor general.

The structural problem underneath all of this is NIL. Jacksonville State's NIL operation lags behind others in the conference, and that gap shows up in the roster every April. Harper develops players. Better-funded programs recruit them out of the portal. Pierre to SMU. Nash to UConn. Erkins-Ford to WKU — Harper's former program, now an in-conference rival. It's a cycle that coaching alone can't fully offset.

And then there's the Jacoby Hill loss. The 6-4 guard from Central-Phenix City started 30 of 32 games as a true freshman, led the team in minutes at 30.5 per game and averaged 10.0 PPG on 51.4% shooting. He entered the portal and committed to Kennesaw State — the team that won the CUSA tournament. That's the best returning player on the roster leaving for a conference rival. The NIL gap in action.

Iaroslav Niagu, the 7-0 senior from Russia, gives Harper a rim protector who averaged 5.1 RPG and 1.2 BPG. Bencao Vungo showed flashes in his eight healthy games — 6.4 RPG in limited action before an injury shut him down. Jordan Vick, the three-star who chose JSU over Florida, Vanderbilt, Illinois, Pitt and Wake Forest, should be ready for a bigger role as a sophomore.

Harper has added three portal transfers so far: Grant Gondrezick II, a 6-0 guard from Long Beach State who shot 41.5% from three; Ma'Shy Hill, a 6-8, 250-pound forward from Abilene Christian who brings physical frontcourt presence; and Daniel Tobiloba, a 7-0 center from UC Riverside. That's a start, but this roster needs more — significantly more — before October.

The departures

Graduated / Exhausted eligibility:

• Mostapha El Moutaouakkil — 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG. CUSA Newcomer of the Year. First-Team All-CUSA. Six double-doubles. Scored 20-plus in each of his last six games.
• AC Bryant — 11.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG. Shot 39.1% from three. Started 27 of 31 games.
• Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. — 5.0 PPG in 29 games. Previously at Tennessee State.
• Jamar Franklin — 6.2 PPG in 26 games. Previously at South Alabama and Georgia Southern.
• Thomas Tut — 2.2 PPG in 14 games.
• Aitor Anabitarte — 2.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG. 64.7% FG in limited minutes.
• Toby Nnadozie — 1.9 PPG in 24 games. Former MEAC Defensive Player of the Year at Coppin State.
• Aidan Driggers — 0.6 PPG in 7 games.

Transfer portal:

• Jaye Nash (UConn) — 5.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.0 SPG. Led the team in assists. Started 15 of 32 games.
• Emondrek Erkins-Ford (Western Kentucky) — 8.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG. Shot 52.9% from the field. Started 8 of 32 games.
• Jacoby Hill (Kennesaw State) — 10.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.7 APG. Started 30 of 32 games as a true freshman. Led the team in minutes (30.5 MPG). Shot 51.4% from the field.

Previously departed (after 2024-25):

• Quel'Ron House — Left JSU after his freshman year (8.4 PPG, 3.0 APG, CUSA All-Freshman Team). Averaged 15.2 PPG at Southern Illinois in 2025-26 and earned All-MVC Second Team honors. Currently back in the portal.

The arrivals

Harper has four portal additions so far — a guard, a forward and a center.

Transfer portal:

• Grant Gondrezick II (Long Beach State, previously Detroit Mercy) — G, 6-0, 180 lbs. Sophomore. Averaged 8.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG and 1.7 APG in 21 games at Detroit Mercy in 2024-25. Shot 41.5% from three and 75.9% from the line. Career-high 22 points at Eastern Michigan. From Benton Harbor, Mich. Signed May 18.
• Ma'Shy Hill (Abilene Christian) — F, 6-8, 250 lbs. Junior. 2.7 PPG, 1.5 RPG in 33 games. 61.9% FG. Two-time Honors Academic All-WAC. Physical frontcourt presence from Austin, Texas. Signed May 19.
• Daniel Tobiloba (UC Riverside, previously South Florida) — C, 7-0, 238 lbs. Junior. Limited minutes at both stops — 0.3 PPG in 8 games at UC Riverside, nine games at South Florida. From Lagos, Nigeria. A developmental project with elite size. Signed May 21.

Chris Lockett Jr. (Jacksonville University / Boise State) — G, 6-4: A former four-star ESPN recruit and Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year out of Isidore Newman in New Orleans — where he was Arch Manning’s high school teammate. Lockett averaged 9.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists at Jacksonville University in 2025-26, including a 25-point game against Eastern Kentucky. He played his first college season at Boise State, where he appeared in 24 games and earned Academic All-Mountain West honors. He has three years of eligibility remaining and gives Harper a backcourt piece with size, pedigree and production. Signed May 22.

Returners:

• Iaroslav Niagu — F, 7-0, 215. Rising senior. 4.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.2 BPG. Rim protector from Krasnodar, Russia. Previously at Charlotte.
• Bencao Vungo — G/F, 6-5, 207. Rising senior. 4.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG in 8 games before a season-ending injury. From Baltimore via East Carolina.
• Jordan Vick — G. Rising sophomore. Three-star recruit who chose JSU over Florida, Vanderbilt, Illinois, Pitt and Wake Forest. Limited minutes as a freshman.
• Connor Loy — G, 5-11, 180. Rising sophomore. Walk-on from Columbia, Ky.

The targets

Three portal additions aren't enough. Harper lost his top three scorers, his best passer, his best returning player in Hill and eight seniors. The roster as currently constructed has four returning players and three portal signings — eight scholarship players. He needs at least five or six more before the fall.

The priorities are clear: a lead guard (partially addressed by Lockett) who can run the offense, a scorer who can carry the load the way El Moutaouakkil did and more frontcourt depth beyond Niagu and Tobiloba. Gondrezick can shoot, but at 6-0 he's a combo guard, not a primary ball-handler at the CUSA level. Hill brings size but was a role player at Abilene Christian. The roster needs a portal addition — or two — who can score in the mid-teens from Day 1.

The NIL gap makes this harder. Harper can offer minutes, development and a proven track record of sending players to bigger programs. That pitch has worked — 600 career wins, two NCAA Tournament appearances, a program that consistently competes above its resource level. But when better-funded programs come calling, the pitch only goes so far.

The portal window is still open. Harper has historically added players late into the summer. This roster is a work in progress.

Sources: JSU Athletics; Conference USA; Sports-Reference; ESPN; VerbalCommits; WKU Athletics; UConn Blog; Anniston Star; Mid-Major Basketball.