NCAA Tournament Alert! 2025 High Point Panthers (Lineup, Stats, More)

2025 North Carolina Sports Network
NCAA Tournament Alert!
High Point University (Big South Champion)

By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network

School: High Point University

Location: High Point, N.C.

NCAA DI Member Since: 1999-2000

Conference: Big South

Big South Member Since: 1999-2000

Big South Ranking Among 31 Leagues (KenPom): 17th (2025), 18th (2024), 22nd (2023), 24th (2022), 28th (2021), 30th (2020)

NCAA Tournament Bids: 1 (2025)

Conference Titles: 1 (2025)

Conference 1st-Place Finishes: 6 (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2024, 2025)

Head Coach: Alan Huss (46 years old, 2nd season at High Point)

As A Player: Creighton (1997-2001)

Record At High Point (through March 19): 56-14 (.800) in 1+ seasons

Previous HC Experience: none at NCAA level

College AC Experience: New Mexico (2014-17), Creighton (2017-23)

Assistant Under: Craig Neal, Greg McDermott

2023-24 Record: 27-9, 13-3 (1st in 9-team Big South)

2024-25 Preseason Prediction (Coaches/Media): 1st in 9-team Big South

2024-25 Record (through March 19): 29-5, 14-2 Big South (RS champion)

2024-25 Ranking (KenPom): #83 nationally (1st in Big South)

Upcoming Schedule: NCAA Tournament 1st Round (March 20 or 21)

After more than 25 years as a Division One program, High Point finally has secured its first official conference championship and first NCAA Tournament bid.

Amazingly, under a first-time college head coach, the Panthers have won two straight Big South regular-season titles. Then, last week, they followed up that tremendous accomplishment with the program’s first Big South Tournament crown.

Last season, the Panthers shocked the college basketball world by finishing atop the Big South standings after being picked to finish seventh in the nine-team league. They even hosted the league tournament but ultimately fell short of the Big Dance after being upset — by one point, in overtime — in the event’s semifinals.

The initial task of the Panthers’ second-year leader, long-time Creighton assistant Alan Huss, was to try to lift them out of their league’s bottom tier, where they had spent much of the previous four seasons.

That goal clearly has been accomplished, both last year and this year.

“We have some very strict analytical guidelines that we try to follow,” Huss told the North Carolina Sports Network. “We try to recruit efficient players or players we feel like can be efficient within what we do. Aside from pace, that is probably the most important factor for success in our offense, their ability to be efficient, along with the ability or a willingness to be unselfish.”

Entering the NCAA Tournament, High Point is 29-5 overall, after finishing 14-2 in the Big South. For the second year in a row, the Panthers also rank among the most offensively efficient teams in the entire nation.

Especially given the Panthers’ modest basketball history, relatively new head coach and massive roster turnover, these back-to-back campaigns rank among the most remarkable turnarounds in college basketball.

The Panthers’ only previous peak historically came under former coach Scott Cherry, a backup guard on UNC’s 1993 national championship team. From 2013-16, with the help of elite forward John Brown (who’s still playing professionally overseas), Cherry led High Point to four consecutive first-place finishes in the Big South.

Since that stretch, and through the hirings/departures of High Point legend Tubby Smith (a Panthers player in the early 1970s and a national championship coach at Kentucky in 1998) and his son GG Smith, the Panthers hadn’t finished higher than fifth in the Big South, which is now a nine-team league.

Now, finally, they’re living their ultimate March Madness dreams.

Impressively, in an era when some successful mid-major squads see three, four or even all five starters depart via the transfer portal, High Point lost only one, point guard Duke Miles (Oklahoma), from last year’s regular-season champs.

The continued development of senior guard Kezza Giffa (2025 first-team All-Big South), junior forward Kimani Hamilton (first-team) and 7-0 sophomore center Juslin Bodo Bodo (second-team and Defensive Player of the Year), along with offseason additions led by Texas Tech transfer D’Maurian Williams (a former Gardner-Webb star and another second-team all-conference selection), have combined to give Huss a history-making second season.

The only lingering question now is this: Will this be the year when the Panthers finally grab that eternally elusive first NCAA Tournament victory, too?

2024-25 High Point Panthers
(29-5, 14-2 Big South; through March 19)

STARTERS (stats = updated 2024-25 numbers)

G Kezza Giffa*, Sr. (6-2/175) — 2023 Daytona State CC transfer (starter)
28 mpg, 15 ppg, 3 rpg, 44% FG, 86% FT, 31% threes, 81/56 ATO, 1 block, 12 steals

G Chase Johnston, Gr. (6-3/180) — 2024 Florida Golf Coast transfer (starter)
22 mpg, 7 ppg, 2 rpg, 44% FG, 50% FT, 44% threes, 31/19 ATO, 0 blocks, 38 steals

G D’Maurian Williams, Gr. (6-3/209) — 2024 Texas Tech transfer (backup)
27 mpg, 14 ppg, 3 rpg, 47% FG, 82% FT, 40% threes, 71/40 ATO, 3 blocks, 24 steals

F Kimani Hamilton*, Jr. (6-8/225) — 2023 Mississippi State transfer (backup)
24 mpg, 13 ppg, 5 rpg, 52% FG, 72% FT, 33% threes, 77/63 ATO, 15 blocks, 33 steals

C Juslin Bodo Bodo*, So. (7-0/255) — 2023 HS signee (Southern Cal Academy)
22 mpg, 5 ppg, 8 rpg, 64% FG, 54% FT, 0 threes, 5/24 ATO, 48 blocks, 20 steals

KEY RESERVES (stats = updated 2024-25 numbers)

G Bobby Pettiford, Sr. (6-0/195) — 2024 East Carolina transfer (starter)
22 mpg, 9 ppg, 2 rpg, 59% FG, 88% FT, 42% threes, 99/37 ATO, 1 blocks, 30 steals

G Trae Benham*, Sr. (6-4/203) — 2023 Lipscomb transfer (starter)
15 mpg, 4 ppg, 2 rpg, 41% FG, 78% FT, 37% threes, 9/11 ATO, 2 blocks, 11 steals

F Simon Hildebrandt, Jr. (6-9/238) — 2024 Manitoba transfer (2-year starter)
14 mpg, 6 ppg, 3 rpg, 47% FG, 74% FT, 33% threes, 10/25 ATO, 5 blocks, 4 steals

G Abdoulaye Thiam, Jr. (6-4/191) — 2022 Minnesota transfer (backup)
14 mpg, 6 ppg, 1 rpg, 50% FG, 81% FT, 33% threes, 13/19 ATO, 1 block, 11 steals

F Terry Anderson, Sr. (6-6/202) — 2024 Lamar transfer (2-year starter)
14 mpg, 5 ppg, 3 rpg, 54% FG, 58% FT, 33% threes, 24/18 ATO, 3 blocks, 14 steals

F Josh Ibukunoluwa, Fr. (6-10/219) — 2024 international signee (Australia)
10 mpg, 3 ppg, 3 rpg, 57% FG, 73% FT, 17% threes, 9/8 ATO, 13 blocks, 7 steals

Departures from 2023-24: F Pavlo Dziuba (Sr./transfer/Eastern Washington), F Denzel Hines (Fr./transfer/Coastal Carolina), G Duke Miles* (Sr./transfer/Oklahoma), F Cade Potter (So./transfer/Cal Poly Humboldt), G Justin Taylor (So./transfer/Coffeyville CC)

*—2023-24 starter (started at least 50% of the Panthers’ games last season)

High Point Panthers
10-Year Snapshot

Season: Overall, League (Place), Postseason

2023-24: 27-9, 13-3 Big South (1st*), CBI Runner-Up (Alan Huss)
2022-23: 14-17, 6-12 Big South (8th), no postseason (GG Smith)
2021-22: 14-18, 7-9 Big South (7th), no postseason (Tubby/GG Smith)
2020-21: 9-15, 6-11 Big South (8th), no postseason (Tubby Smith)
2019-20: 9-23, 6-12 Big South (10th), no postseason (Tubby Smith)
2018-19: 16-15, 9-7 Big South (5th), no postseason (Tubby Smith)
2017-18: 14-16, 9-9 Big South (5th), no postseason (Scott Cherry)
2016-17: 15-16, 9-9 Big South (5th), no postseason (Scott Cherry)
2015-16: 21-11, 13-5 Big South (1st*), NIT 1st Round (Scott Cherry)
2014-15: 23-10, 13-5 Big South (1st*), CIT 2nd Round (Scott Cherry)

*—conference champion (regular-season and/or tournament)

NOTE: Please visit the North Carolina Sports Network’s 2024-25 profiles and 10-year snapshots (links below) for all 19 Division One men’s basketball programs in North Carolina and all 18 Atlantic Coast Conference programs.

Appalachian State Mountaineers, Sun Belt Conference

Boston College Eagles, Atlantic Coast Conference

California Golden Bears, Atlantic Coast Conference

Campbell Camels, Coastal Athletic Association

Charlotte 49ers, American Athletic Conference

Clemson Tigers, Atlantic Coast Conference

Duke Blue Devils, Atlantic Coast Conference

East Carolina Pirates, American Athletic Conference

Elon Phoenix, Coastal Athletic Association

Florida State Seminoles, Atlantic Coast Conference

Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs, Big South Conference

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Atlantic Coast Conference