GREENWOOD – Lander men's basketball coach Jeff Burkhamer said back in October, several weeks before the first game of this season, that Dwight Tolbert had a chance to be the best player in the Peach Belt Conference.
One might not expect such high praise for someone who had not even played college basketball since March 2009.
But he was that confident in Tolbert. He knew Tolbert well enough. He was an All Peach Belt Conference player as a junior at Armstrong Atlantic State University during the 2008-09 season when Burkhamer was his coach.
While Burkhamer left Armstrong to become coach of the Bearcats, Tolbert sat out two seasons honing his skills in summer leagues and pickup games.
Last year, Burkhamer signed Tolbert for a second time in their careers, allowing him to play his senior year at Lander. The 6-foot-5 wing is rewarding his two-time coach with a fantastic season that continues this week as the Bearcats compete in the PBC Tournament.
Tolbert currently ranks second in the Peach Belt and seventh in the country with 22.1 points per game, while being ranked in the PBC in several other categories. He leads the Bearcats in rebounds per game (6.8), steals (50) and blocked shots (29), and is even second on the team in assists (52).
During an emotional Senior Day last Saturday, minutes after Tolbert scored 30 points in a key PBC victory over UNC Pembroke, Burkhamer made another prediction.
"I don't think there is any question he ought to be Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year and a Division II All-American," Burkhamer announced to the Horne Arena crowd during a ceremony honoring Lander's four seniors (Jermel Kennedy, Darion Canty and Dennis Rumph are the other three).
On Tuesday, the first prediction came true when the league office announced that Tolbert was selected the Peach Belt Conference men's basketball Player of the Year.
"I think it is a special honor for a special player," Burkhamer said of the Tifton, Ga., native. "Obviously, it is a nice honor for our program and kind of helps us take that step to the next level."
Burkhamer told the players of Tolbert's honor on Tuesday.
"Coach told us at the end of practice. They were very happy for me, and I was happy for myself," Tolbert said.
Being named to the All-American team is a realistic possibility in the coming weeks. But, for now, Tolbert is busy leading the Bearcats into the PBC Tournament where they face Columbus State Friday evening in the quarterfinals in Columbus.
Leading the Bearcats is something that Burkhamer believed Tolbert could do despite being out of college basketball for two years. That is why Burkhamer signed him.
"Having coached him at Armstrong, he and I already had a bond," the coach said. "We thought during the time that he was out of basketball that this would be a good opportunity for him to come and showcase his skills and maybe give him a chance to go play somewhere (professionally) once he was done here at Lander.
"Because we knew each other, I knew how he played and he knew how I coached, that made a lot easier sell to get him to come here and play."
Tolbert wasted no time proving his worth, posting a double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds) in the season-opener against Allen University, scoring 22 at Young Harris, and 31 at Francis Marion before the end of November.
"No, I really wasn't (surprised)," Burkhamer said of Tolbert's immediate impact. "I knew the type player Dwight was. I knew once he got into shape, he had a chance to be the best player in the league.
"I think after about the first month of the season, he was the best player throughout the rest of the year. I am really happy and proud of him. I am glad that the other coaches saw it the same way that we did, that he was the best player in the Peach Belt Conference."
Tolbert is the second Lander player to earn PBC Player of the Year honors, following Marshall Dibble, who earned the honor in 1995-96.
"It actually feels great to come here after sitting out three years," Tolbert said. "I was just coming in to do my job and what I could for the team. I don't know that I expected it to go this well."
Tolbert isn't the only reason why the Bearcats are having one of their better seasons in the past decade. They are 18-8 overall, 11-7 in the Peach Belt, and their 14-1 home record is the best in program history.
Point guard Corey Wright made third team All Peach Belt, averaging 13.1 points per game as well as 8.2 assists which ranks him fourth in the country. The dazzling point guard from Harlem, N.Y., had 16 assists in one game, and had a spectacular game-winning shot versus Augusta State last week.
David Pruett, Wright's junior classmate, is averaging nearly 14 points per game and is one of the most respected 3-point shooters in the conference. Post players Kennedy, Rumph, Canty and Darius Carrier are averaging a combined 26 points per game.
"My teammates help a whole lot," Tolbert said. "David can really shoot the ball. Corey is so quick as small as he is. They play a very important role on the team, everybody does."
"I think guys, as the year went, understood and accepted roles," Burkhamer said. "We know that Dwight is our go-to guy, but yet those other guys have important roles with the team. Corey has to run the show and get guys shots, we have to get David shots, Jermel and Dennis have things they have to do in the post.
"Canty is a guy that people forget about. He makes key shots and offensive rebounds. We have different guys doing different things, but I think everybody knows Dwight is the go-to guy to take the big shots in big moments of the game."
Tolbert scored a season-high 34 points against Young Harris this season, one of five 30-plus games. But a couple of his signature games occurred more recently when he scored 24 points in the second half against Francis Marion in a come-from-behind Homecoming win, and had a fabulous return trip to Armstrong where he scored 22 points in a win over the Pirates.
"He took over both games against Francis Marion, he took over the game at Erskine, he took over the game at Armstrong," Burkhamer said. "I think Dwight has a pretty good feel for how the game is going and when he needs to take the next step.
"He has such great demeanor on the floor. You can never tell when things are going good or bad for him. I think he has a pretty good understanding of the game to know if it's time for him to go make a play. I think that's something he relishes. I think he likes that role."
Tolbert has always succeeded.
As a senior at Tift County High School, he was honorable mention All-State, averaging 16 points and eight rebounds per game to help the Blue Devils finish 28-1, with their only loss being in the 2004 state championship game.
As a college freshman, Tolbert averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game for Jones County Community College in Mississippi.
Tolbert helped Chattahoochee Valley Community College to a 20-win season as a sophomore, with 13.6 points per game.
Tolbert led Armstrong to a 23-7 record and an NCAA Tournament berth when he averaged 15.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 2008-09.
Sitting out the next two years seemed to make surprisingly little difference in Tolbert's game.
This year, Tolbert is first in the Peach Belt in three-pointers made and three-point field goal percentage; second in points per game, points scored, and field goals made; third in minutes played; and fourth in steals, and defensive rebounds. He has connected on 49.6 of his field goal attempts, including 43.1 percent from behind the three-point arc.
"He just worked, played his way into shape, and once he got into shape he kept getting better," Burkhamer said. "Those shots that were short early in the year were starting to go through, and his confidence got higher. He was starting to really play well and taking over games when we needed him to."
Burkhamer said playing professional basketball is Tolbert's ultimate goal, and a realistic one.
"He is a guy that just loves basketball. He plays all the time. He works out all the time. It's something that drives him. He wants a chance to play at that next level. Because of that, he stayed in really good shape and worked at his game, and when he came in (to Lander) he was ready."
"Being named Conference Player of the Year, being in the top five in the nation in scoring, being able to play both inside and out, his chances have gone way up. Making the All-American team would also be a boost. That's what Dwight and I have talked about before he came here that he would get an opportunity to play (professionally) and maybe go out and make some money."
But Tolbert has already played his final game at Horne Arena, and that realization hit Burkhamer hard on Saturday.
"Senior Night is an emotional night," the coach said Tuesday. "You get attached to these guys. They are part of your family. You spend a lot of time with them. Dwight was the toughest one because I knew him longer than any of the other guys. I was glad he came back and had faith in me."
Burkhamer was straight to the point with the microphone on Saturday afternoon.
"I love Dwight Tolbert and appreciate what he has given Lander and our basketball program," he said while honoring the team's seniors. "Dwight Tolbert has provided the next step to build this program into a nationally-recognized and respected club. I am going to miss seeing Dwight play. I will miss coaching him. But most of all, I will miss him."
