BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford Athletics Student-Athlete Spotlight series, presented by Coca-Cola, returns this week with sophomore guard A.J Staton-McCray of the men's basketball team.
A 6-5 guard from Delray Beach, Fla. Staton-McCray was a member of Coach Bucky McMillan's first-year squad in 2020-21. He noted that Coach McMillan's determination to grow the Samford Men's Basketball Program into something special stuck out to him.
"He's going to make this school into a powerhouse school," Staton-McCray said when asked what Coach McMillan told him when they met. "He said he's going to make another Gonzaga. He told me you're going to push it forward and play fast for a lot of points. You'll be able to utilize my talents on offensive and defensive ends of the court and stuff like that. That's what really got my mind going. He said we're going to be a big family community."
Coach McMillan has been a man of his word three years into his tenure with the Bulldogs. Samford added 15 wins from McMillan's first year to his second, finishing 21-11 in 2021-22 and starting 7-0 in Southern Conference play for the first time in program history this season.
"It's been great," Staton-McCray said regarding the turnaround that's taken place over the last two seasons. "It's been great seeing my teammates the second year turn this whole program around; just congratulating them on the sideline and giving my two cents when I can. This year has been a great experience as well, coming from a six-game grade losing streak and just turning it around in conference. It's just been amazing for sure."
Staton-McCray's career at Samford has seen its up and downs. He earned SoCon All-Freshman Teams honors during his first season in 2020-21, but an ACL tear three games into the following season sidelined him for the remainder of the year. In year three Staton-McCray has worked his way back to being a valuable piece in Coach McMillan's gameplan, noting that he's getting closer to being 100 percent every day.
"I'm for sure not thinking about it as much anymore," Staton-McCray said about his knee injury. "I'm just playing the game; not worried about my knee as much and just trying to do as much as I can just to impact the game."
Impact the game is exactly what Staton-McCray has done this season. Seven games into SoCon play, he ranks second in the conference in field-goal percentage in conference games at 60 percent. He's averaging 10.8 points per game against league opponents and 1.3 steals, proving his value on both ends of the court.
"That's what most of my game is about; making an impact on both sides, especially the defensive end," Staton-McCray said. "Just knowing that you can lock someone up or just die trying too, just knowing it's going to hurt him in the long run keeps getting him tired, it's going to help your offense."
Staton-McCray has come up huge in two of the Bulldog's biggest conference wins of the year, scoring a season-high 17 points in a 70-68 road win at UNCG on Jan. 7 and tallying 12 points and eight rebounds in a 75-74 comeback win over Chattanooga on Jan. 14 where the Bulldogs erased a 19-point second-half deficit. He noted that the team is really starting to click at the right time and players have taken greatly to their roles.
"We've been dealing with a few injuries here and there; sicknesses and stuff like that. But we're all coming together as a team, knowing our roles, and just knowing what it takes to win at this point. We're seeing the results of it we just got to keep pushing and keep going forward."
The Bulldogs will look to remain unblemished in SoCon play on Saturday, Jan. 21 when they host Western Carolina at 5:00 p.m. from the Pete Hanna Center.
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