At guard, 5-8 155-pounds, from Collins Hill HS, Lawrenceville, GA, #5, Saah Nimley
(Charleston Southern Head Coach, Barclay) Radebaugh saw Nimley play at the Peach State tournament in Aiken in the summer of 2010 and came away convinced that maybe size didn't matter after all.
"It was on a back court late in the afternoon," Radebaugh said. "He scored 37 points, dominated the game, blocked a shot to preserve the win. After that, we fell in love with him and really attacked him in recruiting."
Nimley had early interest from Jacksonville and Elon, and had offers from CSU and Gardner-Webb, finally choosing the Bucs. He impressed in preseason while sophomore guard Sheldon Strickland missed three weeks with a knee injury, and is one of three newcomers starting for Radebaugh, including 6-5 freshman Cedrick Bowen and 6-5 junior Mathiang Muo.
Nimley is a big reason Radebaugh's blend of newcomers and veterans such as Kelvin Martin and Jeremy Sexton have come together as quickly as they have.
"Saah is a unique individual," he said. "He's a very serious-minded young man and one those guys people are willing to follow."
Nimley, who was born in Monrovia, Liberia, gets that mindset from his mother. She brought Saah and his older sister to America when Nimley was just 2 years old.
"She came over because she wanted to make sure my sister and I went to college," Nimley said.
This week will mark a milestone in Nimley's basketball education, as the Bucs face crosstown rival The Citadel (2-6) and College of Charleston in consecutive games, both on the road. It's the first time CSU has played the Bulldogs and Cougars in back-to-back games since 2007-08.
