MOBILE, Ala. – To define the University of South Alabama men's basketball program's 2019-20 season as a roller coaster ride might be an understatement.

The preseason pick to win the Sun Belt Conference, the Jaguars took nationally-ranked Auburn down to the wire in a one-point loss in front of a record crowd at the Mitchell Center the opening week of the season.  They also reached the championship game of the Gulf Coast Showcase, rallying from an 18-point deficit before eventually falling to La Salle in overtime.

But entering the final month of the regular season, South was 12-11 overall and 5-7 in the league following a defeat at Georgia State.  Instead of chasing a championship, the Jags were in a fight to ensure they would be among the 10 teams to qualify for the conference tournament in March.

That's when the run began.  It started with a 79-69 victory at Georgia Southern two days after falling to the Panthers, and continued the following weekend with a nationally-televised 70-66 win at Troy.  At that point, not only was Josh Ajayi — coming off a 20-point, 10-rebound performance against the Trojans, his eighth double-double of the year — playing at an all-conference level but he was among the handful of candidates in consideration for Sun Belt Player-of-the-Year honors.

The Jaguars' fortunes would continue to rise, but Ajayi would not be so fortunate.

In the days leading up to a Feb. 13 home game against Louisiana, the senior forward suffered an injury in practice.

"During practice, we were scrimmaging and there was a loose ball on the floor.  One of my teammates and I both dove after the ball, but I missed and he ended up landing on my ankle," he explained.  "Thankfully it was just a bad high ankle sprain, I thought it was going to be worse.  It was definitely a frustrating journey, but it was an adversity that I had to overcome.  The biggest thing for me was finding other ways to impact the game."

USA would not only beat the Ragin' Cajuns, but two days later the Jags recovered from a double-digit deficit in the second half to defeat ULM on a last-second basket from freshman KK Curry.  The final road trip of the regular season — which included visits to Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina — was fast approaching and Ajayi's status for those games was uncertain; recovery from a high ankle sprain can take multiple weeks before an individual is capable of performing again.

That wasn't the case for Ajayi, who not only started the Thursday night matchup with the Mountaineers but finished with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting as the Jaguars' winning streak grew to five straight games.  "For me, I just couldn't leave my brothers," he recalled. "This was my senior season, it's all about enhancing the program that you're at. I've grown to love South, this is my family.  I still had something to prove."

"I'm beyond proud of the courage that Josh had to battle back from his ankle injury," said second-year head coach Richie Riley.  "He made unbelievable strides over the last two years in terms of his toughness and overall skill."

He wouldn't quite match those statistics in the Jags' remaining games, but he continued to start and play valuable minutes as South beat Coastal Carolina before returning home to claim a rematch with Troy and extend the streak to seven wins in a row.  Once in a dogfight to make the Sun Belt Tournament field, South was now about to host Texas State for the second seed and a berth in the semifinals of the event.

Prior to the contest, the program recognized seven seniors playing — what the hope was — for the final time at the Mitchell Center.  With graduation looming at the end of the semester, Ajayi's family was unable to be in attendance that night; instead, fellow senior Trhae Mitchell went back to escort Ajayi on the court, with the rest of the senior class — including Herb Magee, Kevin Morris, John Pettway, Don Coleman and Andre Fox — joining before the pair could reach halfcourt.

Nearly two hours later, after Fox scored the final 10 points and the Jags rallied for a 58-54 victory, USA had its first 20-win season since 2008-09 and its longest win streak entering the postseason since 1980.

"That was probably one of the most emotional nights of my career," Ajayi said.  "I told my team that my family couldn't come down; Trhae wanted to walk me out, and all the guys came back to walk me out as well.  That was a really special moment, I had my other family with me.  That was an emotional night, especially after we got the win.  There were a lot of tears after that win.  After the game, I went to the middle of the court and kissed the Jaguar logo."

There was more good news on the way for Ajayi, who despite the injury averaged 14.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while leading the conference after shooting 56.2 percent from the field.  He was chosen first-team all-league in a vote of the Sun Belt's 12 head coaches and selected media members.  It was the second year in a row that he was honored after earning no recognition his first three years with the program.

After taking over the program in March 2018, Riley went to work in an effort to help Ajayi take his game to another level.

"During the interview process, I watched all of the returning guys on film and was very familiar with the personnel," he recalled.  "Josh's potential was something that immediately jumped off the page to me.  His size and agility are as good as I've seen.  We really focused on elevating his overall game.  We wanted him to be a three-level scorer, an elite rebounder, and a great defender.

"His growth as a player the last two years is certainly something he should be proud of."

 "It was his persona, it rubbed off on me.  His requirement for everyone in the program to work, that helped me in my career," said Ajayi.  "Sometimes as a player, you don't push yourself as much and a coach's job is to push you past that point.  All of that came into play."

Unfortunately for Ajayi and the Jaguars, this is where the roller coaster went off the tracks.  Before the team could depart for New Orleans — where it would meet Texas State once again for a berth in the championship game — a meeting was called in the locker room on a day where many other conferences were announcing the cancellation of their tournaments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"On social media we were seeing everything about the virus going around," recalled Ajayi.  "Coach Riley broke the news to us.  We were obviously devastated, you could just tell how the energy changed.  Our Cinderella story was cut short, there were a lot of tears."

"Telling our team that the season was cancelled was as tough of a talk as I've ever had to give," Riley said.  "Our guys had put so much energy and effort in to putting themselves in position to win a championship.  Over the last two months of the season this team made more progress than any team I've ever coached.  It's impossible to explain the disappointment we all felt about the way that it ended.

"This group will always hold a special place in my heart."

Now, Ajayi is just over a month away from earning his degree from South Alabama.  And although he can't play or practice, he continues to prepare for the opportunity to play professionally once the action resumes.

"I actually set up a little home gym on my balcony," he said.  "Every day, I go out there and get a little workout in, I go around campus and run for cardio.  Obviously, I can't go to a gym and get shots up, but there is a basketball hoop at my apartment complex."

One step in the process that most individuals who are looking to play beyond the collegiate level includes finding an individual or group to help represent them.  It can be a daunting process with the number of certified agents available but thanks to assistance from assistant coach Amorrow Morgan, Ajayi has already made his choice as he makes the transition to the professional level.  At the end of last month, he chose One Legacy Sports Management to represent him.

"My assistant coach was actually the one who linked me with the agency," Ajayi explained.  "I had a lot of agencies hitting me up on social media and the phone.  It's really just finding an agency that you can trust, and that you know is going to have your back.  I knew my coach would refer me to someone that had my interests in mind. It was a quick process for me."

Currently living in an off-campus apartment, Ajayi remains in Mobile working toward his degree while the group explores options with National Basketball Association teams in hopes of arranging workouts.  Unfortunately, much like the end of his collegiate career, Ajayi's near future will be dependent on the pandemic.  "I graduate May 9, and my lease is up sometime in July," he said.  "After that I'll just get my things and go to California — that's where I stay with my father — and just keep working out until I figure out where my next chapter is going to be."

The roller coaster ride that was the University of South Alabama men's basketball team's season did not end how the coaches and players would have liked.  But for Josh Ajayi, the hope is that was just a low point on the track as he takes another spin in an effort to find his way to another court in the near future.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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—USA—