Panther’s Toothsayer: High Point at Radford

📍 Setting the Stage

This one comes with a lot of necessary context.

High Point enters Friday night rested, confident, and still among the top of the mid-major ranks. Radford enters emotionally bruised and physically taxed. 

The Highlanders are coming off a gut-punch loss at Winthrop on a last-second three and now face the league’s most consistent team on a 46-hour turnaround, thanks to weather forcing the game up a day.

Meanwhile, the Panthers haven’t played since Saturday. That’s six full days to heal, scout, and reset after a 20-point conference bounce-back win against a feisty USC Upstate squad.

A lot of this game will come down to conditioning, discipline, and response.

But it will also come down to talent.

Going into the season, there was a lot of talk about these two rosters being the most talented not just in the Big South, but across the mid-major landscape.

High Point is in the middle of a tough stretch of its conference schedule and cannot afford to slip-up if it wants to remain atop the league. Radford, meanwhile, views this as a measuring-stick and get-right game at home, where they’ve been at their best.

🛡️ Opponent Overview — Radford

Radford men’s basketball went into the stock market and laid down serious capital on a collection of unknown commodities.

The Highlanders completely rebooted their program for 2025–26, hiring 32-year-old Zach Chu and replacing nearly the entire roster. Thirteen newcomers. A new system. A new philosophy.

Chu is one of the youngest head coaches in Division I and comes from an analytics-first background shaped by years with Rick Carlisle in the NBA and a recent stop as Chief Strategist at SMU. He had no head-coaching experience at any level, but the Radford brass saw it as a penny stock they couldn’t pass up, hoping to buy in early and cash out in a major way.

The hire generated plenty of media buzz and raised more than a few eyebrows in the coaching community.

The result, as is often the case with high-beta stocks, has been volatility.

Radford sits at 11–10 overall and 4–2 in Big South play: dangerous, but inconsistent. Their ceiling is high. Their floor shows up often.

🧱 Team Identity — What Radford Is

Radford is a contradiction.

They are explosive offensively but fragile defensively. Confident at home, shaky everywhere else. Capable of beating anyone in the league and also capable of giving games away in short stretches.

They want to:

• Play fast

• Shoot a high volume of threes

• Space the floor with long, switchable wings

• Create offensive chaos and live with the math

• Force turnovers and score off them in bunches

They do not want to:

• Defend the three

• Rebound consistently

• Grind games late

Their offense is built on volume and pace. Their defense is a gamble.

At the Dedmon Center, that gamble often works.

🧠 Coaching Context — Chu vs. Clayman

This is a fascinating coaching contrast, but it also comes with notable similarities.

Zach Chu is implementing an NBA-style model at the mid-major level: predictive analytics, positional flexibility, minimal set calls, and “winning in the margins.” His teams are encouraged to make fast decisions and hunt efficient shots, especially threes and rim attempts. They also want to force turnovers, though they can be burned by efficient offenses that take care of the ball.

It’s ambitious. It’s modern. And it’s still a work in progress.

It also mirrors a lot of what High Point does.

Flynn Clayman coaches with structure and depth, but he also wants to force turnovers, hunt threes, and get out and run. His High Point teams are built on spacing, ball movement, and layered defensive discipline.

Both coaches are new to the head-coaching chair. Clayman arrived via the traditional route. Chu took a shortcut. What matters now is how their teams execute on the floor.

🧩 Key Highlanders to Know

⭐ Dennis Parker Jr. (6’6 Jr G/F) — The Alpha

The Big South’s leading scorer at nearly 20 PPG. He can take over a game in five minutes and is coming off a 53-point performance earlier this season. If Radford wins, it starts with him.

HPU Key: Contest without fouling. Make him work for every touch.

⭐ Del Jones (6’3 So G) — The Microwave

Explosive Clemson transfer capable of instant offense. Streaky, but dangerous, especially at home.

HPU Key: Cut off straight-line drives and stay disciplined on closeouts.

⭐ Jaylon Johnson (6’1 Sr G) — The Honeybadger

Veteran floor general and league leader in steals. Drives tempo and creates turnovers.

HPU Key: Strong ball security. No casual passes.

⭐ Tyson Brown (6’9 GS F/C) — The Anchor

Radford’s best rebounder and rim finisher. Their only true physical presence inside.

HPU Key: Own the glass early and wear him down.

📊 Matchup Snapshot

For High Point

• Push tempo late and test Radford’s legs

• Run shooters off the arc

• Dominate the defensive glass

• Attack tired defenders with depth

• Win the efficiency battle

• Win with size

For Radford

• Ride home shooting confidence

• Create early runs

• Hit volume threes

• Force turnovers to ignite transition

• Keep it close into the final eight minutes

🗝️ Keys for High Point

1️⃣ Guard the three without overhelping

2️⃣ Rebound like it’s personal

3️⃣ Make Radford defend full possessions

4️⃣ Lean into bench depth and size advantages

5️⃣ Turn fatigue into separation

🤔 Points for Pondering

• Radford scores nearly eight more points per game at home

• The Highlanders are 9–3 at Dedmon Center and 2–6 elsewhere

• Short rest has historically crushed their defensive efficiency

• High Point has consistently played its cleanest, most efficient basketball following extended breaks this season

• The Panthers have won seven straight against Radford

🔮 Toothsayer’s Take

A lot of people bought into Radford and Chu’s stock early. Plenty of media personalities and outlets latched onto the story and the talent influx.

But that stock has been volatile. Some days it’s soaring. Other days it looks close to filing for Chapter 11.

There’s no doubt Radford has the talent to make this uncomfortable early, especially with home energy and shot-making confidence. They also have a bad taste in their mouth after Kody Clouet’s three ripped out their hearts at the buzzer.

Expect a motivated Highlanders squad that wants to start fast and thrive on momentum swings. Radford will hit shots and throw haymakers.

The combination of short rest, defensive fragility, and High Point’s depth can be the difference if the Panthers stay disciplined, guard the three, and avoid getting blitzed early. If this game is within single digits at the under-12 timeout of the second half, advantage Panthers.

Radford is volatile, and when they’re peaking, they’re hard to beat in the New River Valley.

But High Point is the blue-chip stock of the Big South for a reason.

Prediction:

High Point 88, Radford 82