Longwood is in NCAA Tournament. Midlands alum Walyn Napper is a big reason why

There were plenty of thoughts going through Walyn Napper’s mind in the seconds after the Big South championship game, as he and his Longwood teammates prepared to cut down the nets.

Longwood defeated UNC Asheville, 85-59, on March to win the Big South title and clinch a spot in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Napper, the senior guard, played a big role and scored 10 points, dished out 11 assists, grabbed seven rebounds and had two steals in the title game. The former Ridge View High standout was named MVP for the tournament.

“I finally made it. This is one of those moments you always dreamed about as a kid, especially coming from Columbia, South Carolina,” Napper told The State this week. “I was thinking about how blessed I was to be able to do it for my family and my community back home. I thought about Ridge View team and the younger kids. I want to be a leader … and I want to show people you can do anything you put your mind to.”

Back in the Big Dance

It is Longwood’s second NCAA Tournament appearance, with the other coming in 2022. But that season, Longwood was Big South champion and won the title on its home floor. This year, the Lancers entered the BSC Tournament as a fifth seed, narrowly avoiding a play-in game, and were 6-10 in conference play.

Longwood knocked off regular-season champion High Point, 80-79 (OT) in the semifinals before beating runner-up UNC Asheville in the title game. The Lancers are likely to be a No. 16 seed when the NCAA Tournament selections are announced Sunday. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Longwood facing defending national champion Connecticut in the first round.

“We are blessed to be in this moment. We are going to work hard in practice and enjoy the selection show,” said Napper, who leads the team in scoring (14.6) and assists (4.6). “We won’t shy away from the moment, knowing we are supposed to be there. We are going to try and make history.”

The team was greeted with a mini parade when it arrived back to Longwood, which is in Farmville, Virginia, a town of just over 7,000 people. Napper said he has been bombarded by congratulatory messages from those around the Longwood community and from friends around Columbia. Napper compared winning this year’s Big South Tournament with winning the first state title at Ridge View because not many people expected it.

In the days after the championship, Napper also has a few moments to reflect on his college journey, which included four schools in five years ending with the final two seasons at Longwood.

Napper helped Ridge View to a pair of state basketball championships and had 1,500 yards receiving during his senior year playing football. He chose basketball over football and signed with Central Florida Junior College out of high school.

Napper was a junior college All-American at Central Florida JC but was looking for a new home when the program folded after the season. He ended up in Kansas at Dodge City College, where he averaged 20 points and eight assists.

The 6-foot-1 Napper signed with Southern Miss and led the team in assists in 2021-22 but put his name in the transfer portal after the season.

Landing at Longwood

Napper said he considered other schools but only visited Longwood. He committed to the Lancers on April 24, 2022. Longwood coach Griff Aldrich was familiar with Napper from his high school days. He recruited Russell Jones, who played at rival Westwood, but the two were AAU teammates on Team South Carolina.

“When Wayln came up here, we challenged him and asked him what do you want out of these two years?” Aldrich told The State. “We try to be a structured and disciplined program and if a kid doesn’t want that it isn’t a good fit. We were his fourth college in four years.

“He told us he wanted to change, he wanted to be different and grow, more as a person. That was a huge piece for us.”

Aldrich raved about Napper’s transformation, especially off the court. He points to his grades having improved dramatically; Napper had all A’s this semester and a 3.5 GPA last year.

Still, the end result wasn’t without some issues, Napper and Aldrich said. The two butted heads on several occasions during last year’s 20-12 season. Napper averaged 9.4 points and led the team in assists with 3.5 per game.

Aldrich admitted he and Napper have different personalities, so it took a while to work out the kinks together. Those early struggles have become distant memories.

“I hit a rough patch last year but me and Coach Griff created a bond. I stuck it out with him and he stuck it out with me. He helped me grow in many ways and he was a mentor to me,” Napper said.

The two shared some public and emotional moments over the final few weeks. Aldrich, who admitted he isn’t much of a crier, broke down in tears during the team’s Senior Night on March 2 against High Point. Napper hit the winning shot in that game with 0.6 seconds left for a 74-72 victory.

A week later, near after Napper came out late in the Big South title game, the two had a special moment where Aldrich gave him a big bear hug for a few seconds.

““He has transformed probably more than any player I have ever coached. He and I had so many difficulties our first year,” Aldrich said. “We were stuck in our ways. This year we had our moments but it was fighting to understand each other to be successful.

“... There have been many moments (early in the season) where I thought, ‘God, it would be really cool if you honored Walyn for how hard he has worked to grow.’ And to see him lead his team the way he did for three straight days, he was the model of consistency and leadership during that tournament. And to see him honored as the MVP, I thought it was providential. As a coach, you want to see your guys grow and transform and no doubt he will be one of the blessings of my coaching career.”

Where is Longwood?

The university, about 65 miles south of Richmond, was founded in 1839 as Farmville Female Seminary and is the third-oldest college in Virginia.

Enrollment at Longwood is 5,096. The basketball program was started in 1976 and it was Division III until it became Division II in 1980. The school made three NCAA Division II tournament appearances.

In 2004,the school started making the transition to Division I and became a full-fledged member in 2007. Longwood joined the Big South in July 2012.

Longwood’s most famous basketball alum is Jerome Kersey, for whom the school’s basketball court is named. Kersey played 17 seasons in the NBA and won a championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 1989.