Greyhounds duo move on to NAIA powerhouse

White, Finley set to play at Central Baptist next season

asumidsouthsports.com Greyhound sophomores Christian White and Garret Finley have signed with Central Baptist College (CBC) in Conway, Arkansas, for the 2020-21 season.

White, a 6'7' forward from Jacksonville, Arkansas, earned Second Team All-Region honors as a freshman before averaging 8.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game as a sophomore, shooting 53.1% from the field and hitting the only three-pointer he took for his career.

He also holds the singlegame record for blocked shots, registering 6 blocks twice in his Greyhound career.

Finley, a 6'7' forward from Judsonia, Arkansas, averaged 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 48.5% from the field, 39.4% from the three-point line and 81.3% from the free throw line.

The sharp-shooter had high games of 19 points (three times) and 10 rebounds.

The pair helped the Greyhounds to consecutive NJCAA Region 2 Championships and finished their junior college career with an overall record of 47-17.

Central Baptist College is coming off a 22-9 season that saw them go 16-6 in American Midwest Conference play, win the AMC regular season title, post a 15-1 record at home and was selected for their third straight NAIA National Tournament despite not getting to play at the tournament due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Central Baptist College head men's basketball coach Clint Galyean announced White and Finley as two of 10 newcomers for the Mustangs' 2020-21 season, joining Devin Campbell, TaJuan Johnson, T. J. Howard, Blake Bradshaw, DeAndre Barton, Will Washington III, DeAndre Butler and Preston Whitfield as the new men's basketball players for 2020-21, all of them transferring in from different institutions. 'I love the recruiting class we were able to bring in,' said head coach Clint Galyean. 'We lost nine seniors from this past season's championship team, we we neede to bring in guys with experience that can produce right away. We feel like we fortified our talent, while also addressing our need to add depth.'

A look at CBC’s other signees:

• Campbell, a native of North Little Rock, joins CBC from Langston University, an NAIA school in Oklahoma. He last played 28 games at Langston in 2017-18 and averaged 7.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while handing out 24 assists and shooting 40 percent from the floor and 76 percent from the free throw line.

• Johnson was with the Mustangs last season and redshirted. He last played for William Penn University in 2018-19, averaging 11.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in 17 games handing out 49 assists while shooting 46 percent from the floor and 34 percent from deep.

• Howard comes to CBC from Talladega College in Alabama where he played for former CBC head coach Chris Wright. The Mobile, Ala., native played in eight games for Talladega las year, but was a first-team All-Region 22 selection two seasons ago at Coastal Alabama-North, where he averaged 17.5 points and 4.7 rebounds a game on 53 percent shooting from the field and 80 percent at the free throw line.

• Bradshaw, a Conway High School graduate, comes to CBC from Lyon College, where he played during the 2018-19 season.

In his lone season with the Scots, he played in 31 games, averaging 9.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game on 52 percent shooting from the field.

• Barton joins the Mustangs from the University of Pikeville in Kentucky. Last season for the Bears, the Augusta, Ga., native played in 28 games and averaged 8.8 points with 74 assists on 49 percent shooting from the field, 39 percent from three and 77 percent at the free throw line.

• Washington III, a native of Peachtree City, Ga., last played in 2017-18 for South Plains College in Texas where he won an NJCAA National Championship. During that season, he played in 23 games and averaged 6.1 points and 2.3 assists per game on 44 percent shooting from the field and 30 percent from three.

• Butler returns to CBC after a year away at Champion Christian College. The Bebee native was the NCCAA Division II Central Region Player of the Year, a first-team All-Central Region selection and a second-team NCCAA Division II All-America last year for the Tigers after averaging 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

• Whitfield comes to CBC from fellow AMC institution Columbia College. A native of St. Louis, Whitfield last played at Columbia in 2017-18 when he averaged 16.9 points per game on 52 percent from the field and 35 percent from three while also shooting 75 percent at the free throw line.

Galyean added: 'I feel like we have steadily been able to build our program and culture to fit what we hope to accomplish on and off the court. We are looking forward to the season starting.'

The 2020-21 schedule for the Mustangs will be announced in the coming weeks.

Christian White

Garrett Finley