After the fear of a heart attack, Ladner is heading into the new season with new optimism

Jay Ladner suffered a serious accident heart attack in February, he was sidelined for the remainder of Southern Miss’ 2023-24 season – leaving assistant Juan Cardona to take over head coaching duties. Ladner is back with a new perspective and optimism for the new version of Golden Eagle basketball.

Southern Miss faltered in the home stretch after a wave of injuries piled up in addition to Ladner’s absence. They finished the season with four of their last five losses and were eliminated in the first game of the Sun Belt Conference tournament by Texas State. While the pressure is on to improve in the 2024-25 season, the Black and Gold’s bench boss is approaching it with a new mindset.

“I’m very blessed to be coaching at all – especially at this level,” Ladner told the media on Tuesday. “It forces you to put things in perspective and redirects some things. To be honest, I try not to be such a control freak. It directs a lot of priorities to home.”

The sixth-year head coach says he will rely more heavily on his coaching staff compared to years past, but the benefit of having a core group of veterans on the field will also be of great benefit.

Chief among the returnees is the dynamic Puerto Rican duo of Andre Curbelo, recently named to the preseason All-Sun Belt third team, and Neftali Alvarez, who missed last season with an ankle injury. The powerhouse pair is expected to command Southern Miss’ backfield along with Miami transfer Christian Watson, Division II transfer John Wade III and returnee Cobie Montgomery.

Upfront, the likes of 6-foot-1 Tegra Izay and Denijay Harris, who returns to Hattiesburg after a year at Arkansas, will provide a defensive presence.

“We have an experienced team and it’s been a pleasure working with them – but the balls haven’t started flying yet, the guys haven’t started sitting on the bench yet,” Ladner said. “So if we can stay mentally and physically healthy, I look forward to our team and the battles we will have every night in the Sun Belt.”

In addition to Watson and Wade, other transfers like DeAntoni Gordon from Arkansas-Little Rock and Dalyn Brandon from Winston-Salem State will provide Ladner and Cardona with options for a fast, fluid attack.

“I think we’re probably at our best when we’re out of position. We have a squad full of people who can do that,” concluded Ladner. “We still need to do some fine-tuning. We will play big at times and smaller at times, depending on who is on the floor.”

Southern Miss will face New Orleans on October 22nd and Jackson State on October 28th before officially opening the season against Bowling Green on November 4th at Reed Green Coliseum.