1988–89 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team

The 1988–89 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team represented the University of South Alabama during the 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jaguars were led by head coach Ronnie Arrow, in the second year of his first stint as head coach. They played their home games at the Mobile Civic Center, and were members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 23–9, 11–3 in Sun Belt play to finish in first place. They won the Sun Belt tournament to earn an automatic bid to the 1989 NCAA tournament as the 11 seed in the Southeast region. In the opening round, the Jaguars upset Alabama before losing to the eventual National champion, Michigan, in the second round.

1988–89 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball
Sun Belt Regular season champions Sun Belt tournament champions
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Division	East Division
Record	23–9 (11–3 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Ronnie Arrow (2nd season)
Home arena	Mitchell Center

1988–89 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
South Alabama †	11	–	3		.786			23	–	9		.719
UNC Charlotte	10	–	4		.714			17	–	12		.586
VCU	9	–	5		.643			13	–	15		.464
UAB	8	–	6		.571			22	–	12		.647
Old Dominion	7	–	7		.500			15	–	13		.536
Jacksonville	5	–	9		.357			14	–	16		.467
Western Kentucky	4	–	10		.286			14	–	15		.483
South Florida	2	–	12		.143			7	–	21		.250
† 1989 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1988–89 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G Jeff Hodge 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Birmingham, Alabama G Junie Lewis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Abington, Pennsylvania F Gabriel Estaba 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — So G Terrance Brodnick 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) — Sr F John Jimmerson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr F Neil Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — So G Derek Turner 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Fr C Phillip Darden 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Jr G Dennis Rhodes 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) — Sr G Darrell Nelson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Jr F James Neal 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Sr F Michael Hurring 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — So F Scott Zimos 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Fr	Head coach Ronnie Arrow (Texas State) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 25, 1988*		vs. Fairfield	W 70–50	1–0	Providence Civic Center  Providence, Rhode Island
Nov 26, 1988*		at Providence	L 88–93 OT	1–1	Providence Civic Center  Providence, Rhode Island
Dec 3, 1988*		Coastal Carolina	W 88–65	2–1	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Dec 7, 1988*		at Marshall	L 110–111	2–2	Cam Henderson Center  Huntington, West Virginia
Dec 10, 1988*		at New Orleans	W 69–64 OT	3–2	Lakefront Arena  New Orleans, Louisiana
Dec 14, 1988*		at No. 12 Florida State	L 82–87	3–3	Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center  Tallahassee, Florida
Dec 22, 1988*		Stephen F. Austin	W 108–69	4–3	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Dec 30, 1988*		at Southwestern Louisiana	W 86–69	5–3	Cajundome  Lafayette, Louisiana
Jan 2, 1989*		vs. Arkansas	L 71–103	5–4	Pine Bluff Convention Center (5,260) Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Jan 8, 1989		Western Kentucky	W 87–74	6–4 (1–0)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Jan 11, 1989*		Alabama State	W 104–84	7–4	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Jan 15, 1989		UNC Charlotte	W 97–83	8–4 (2–0)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Jan 18, 1989		UAB	W 114–84	9–4 (3–0)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Jan 21, 1989		at UNC Charlotte	L 70–72	9–5 (3–1)	Bojangles Coliseum  Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 23, 1989		Jacksonville	W 103–74	10–5 (4–1)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Jan 26, 1989		at Old Dominion	W 82–75	11–5 (5–1)	Norfolk Scope  Norfolk, Virginia
Jan 31, 1989		VCU	W 95–91	12–5 (6–1)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Feb 6, 1989		at VCU	L 81–85	12–6 (6–2)	Richmond Coliseum  Richmond, Virginia
Feb 9, 1989*		at Southern Miss	L 92–94	12–7	Reed Green Coliseum  Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Feb 11, 1989		at UAB	L 91–93	12–8 (6–3)	UAB Arena  Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 13, 1989		South Florida	W 96–70	13–8 (7–3)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Feb 16, 1989		at Western Kentucky	W 96–92 OT	14–8 (8–3)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, Kentucky
Feb 18, 1989*		UMKC	W 91–72	15–8	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Feb 21, 1989		Old Dominion	W 92–81	16–8 (9–3)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Feb 23, 1989		at South Florida	W 96–84	17–8 (10–3)	USF Sun Dome  Tampa, Florida
Feb 25, 1989		at Jacksonville	W 93–78	18–8 (11–3)	Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum  Jacksonville, Florida
Mar 1, 1989*		Nicholls State	W 116–66	19–8	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Sun Belt Conference tournament
Mar 4, 1989*	(1)	vs. (8) South Florida Sun Belt Tournament Quarterfinal	W 70–65	20–8	Charlotte Coliseum  Charlotte, North Carolina
Mar 5, 1989*	(1)	vs. (4) UAB Sun Belt Tournament Semifinal	W 103–84	21–8	Charlotte Coliseum  Charlotte, North Carolina
Mar 6, 1989*	(1)	vs. (6) Jacksonville Sun Belt tournament championship	W 105–59	22–8	Charlotte Coliseum  Charlotte, North Carolina
NCAA tournament
Mar 17, 1989*	(11 SE)	vs. (6 SE) No. 20 Alabama First Round	W 86–84	23–8	Omni Coliseum  Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 19, 1989*	(11 SE)	vs. (3 SE) No. 10 Michigan Second Round	L 82–91	23–9	Omni Coliseum  Atlanta, Georgia
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Central Time.

NBA draft

Main article: 1989 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
2	48	Junie Lewis	Utah Jazz
2	53	Jeff Hodge	Dallas Mavericks