CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Lee University senior point guard Elmar Kuli-Zade was the seventh-leading scorer in the Southern States Athletic Conference this basketball season. He was third in assists, and his team finished second in the regular season.
His own coach concedes that the 5-foot-9 Kuli-Zade “would probably be the last guy you’d take for a pickup game if you just walked in the gym and looked around.”
Yet the former Tennessee Temple University standout from Nashville’s Hillsboro High School was voted the SSAC player of the year.
“The other coaches know how much he means to our team,” Lee coach Tommy Brown said as the Flames prepared to leave for Kansas City, Mo., and the NAIA Division I national tournament.
“He’s probably the toughest player I’ve ever coached. He’s certainly the toughest pound for pound,” said Brown, noting that 150 is “stretching it” as Kuli-Zade’s weight.
“And he’s as good a coach on the floor as I’ve ever seen. He’s a tremendous leader.”
If Kuli-Zade gets a couple of fouls close together and has to sit out for a while, the Lee offense sputters, Brown acknowledged. But overall the Flames are burning at high efficiency, now adjusted to a midseason offensive style change.
“We ran the dribble-drive offense Memphis made famous last year, but now we’re running more of a screen-type offense,” Brown said. “We’re also doing more pressing this year. We’re probably more athletic; we just don’t shoot quite as well.
“There’s no Brad Harris, no Kellen Pickel, no Freddie Williams. Last year we made over 200 3s.”
Kuli-Zade picks his spots well for 3s, having made 74 in 155 tries (.477). He leads Lee (26-7) with 14.12 points and 4.03 assists a game. Versatile forward Paco Diaw is averaging 10.4 points and 7.8 rebounds, while Stephen McClellan and Josh Nofflet each is scoring 10.3 points per game and Harold Griffin is contributing 8.6 points and 7.2 rebounds a game.
The Flames have shot 48.3 percent from the field in averaging 78.42 points a game while holding foes to 65.97 points on 37.4 percent shooting.
Lee, which reached the final eight in the 32-team field last year, opens at 3:15 p.m. EDT Thursday against Columbia (Mo.) College. The Flames moved up to 13th in the national rankings after blasting then No. 14 Auburn-Montgomery (now 17th) for the second time in a month in the SSAC tournament final.
“I think we’re playing our best ball of the year,” Kuli-Zade said. “And we feel we’re deeper than most teams, so we can play hard the whole time.”
Always playing hard has long been a Kuli-Zade trait, according to Lee assistant coach Josh Templeton. He recruited the wispy Hillsboro guard to Temple when his father was still the Crusaders’ coach.
“We watched him play in the district tournament,” Templeton said. “He was the district player of the year. They were 30-4 and I think he averaged about 17 points a game. He led them in points and assists.
“I guess some people thought he was too small to count, but my dad didn’t mind having a small point guard. After my dad left (Temple) and Elmar decided to leave, it was like a who’s who of the NAIA trying to get him. He’s just tougher than everybody else. He’s the toughest kid I’ve ever been around, and his motor never stops.”
Said Brown: “He could’ve played at any level. He’s that tough. I think he’s the best point guard in the country.”