Luther stays positive as GWU’s season ends: “Things are going to get better”

Jeremy Luther was able to celebrate magic of March with Gardner-Webb’s Big South tournament win over USC Upstate. Runnin’ Bulldogs coach believes he will have more reasons to be positive next season, even after 4-29 record this year. (Photo by Big South Conference)

By Jacob Conley (@gwujake)

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Any March magic Gardner-Webb had entering the Big South tournament was used up in a memorable opening-round win over USC Upstate.

The quarterfinal matchup with top-seeded High Point was always going to be a challenge. The Panthers jumped out to a 13-0 lead and never looked back, winning by an 81-59 final margin. The loss ends GWU’s season with a 4-29 record, the worst mark for the Runnin’ Bulldogs in their Division I history. The previous low was during the transitional season of 2002 with five wins.

Gardner-Webb coach Jeremy Luther, who has been upbeat for much of the season, remained so in his postgame press conference.

“Everybody who just focuses on wins and losses is the real loser,” Luther said. “This season has been about so much more. We have grown as a team. We have gotten better, particularly the second half of the season. I have said this before, and people don’t believe me, that this has been one of the most rewarding years of my coaching career. There has been no pointing fingers, no fighting. We actually had a dance-off at the hotel last night. I lost. You don’t normally see that kind of spirit on a team that has four wins.”

Luther has also been vocal all season about the financial inequities in the college basketball world due to NIL and other factors. The Runnin’ Bulldogs did not opt into the House settlement, and currently have no NIL fund through the school. Meanwhile, High Point has an endowment of approximately $240 million and a successful NIL fund through the university.

“They can recruit better than us,” Luther said of High Point. “They should win and they were expected to win. If they didn’t, then shame on them. Things are going to get better, though. We have a president and an AD that get what we are trying to do. Things are going to change, and we can compete for kids like Jose Perez, Jaheam Cornwall and Kareem Reid again. So I am excited about the future. We just have to convince everyone to come back. We had the freshman of the year (Spence Sims) and should have had another on the all-freshman team. Then you have Jacob Hudson and (Jacob) Hogarth, who are sophomores. We could have a really good group next season and compete for a title in the next year or two. If I didn’t think we could, I would tell you. I shoot straight from the hip.”

Luther is not the only one excited about the future.

“We are better than what our 4-29 record showed this year,” Jacob Hogarth said. “I think we were a better team in the second half of the season. We have a lot of talent and we started to come together as a team. I think there are a lot of reasons to be excited for next season.”