MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama head men's basketball coach Richie Riley announced that Michael Flowers will join the program after signing a grant-in-aid with the school on Wednesday.

Flowers, a 6-foot-1 guard who hails from Southfield, Mich., is the eighth individual to sign with the Jaguars this year.  Kayo Goncalves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Terrence Lewis (Milwaukee, Wis.) also joined the program earlier this spring, while a group of five individuals including Andrew Anderson (Millington, Tenn.), Zondrick Garrett (Oxford, Ala.), David Walker (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Jamal West (Baltimore, Md.) and Caleb White (Metairie, La.) were added last fall.

"Mike is exactly what we look for in a point guard.  He plays with incredible pace, possesses great vision and is a natural leader," Riley said.  "He has shown he can both score and facilitate against high-level competition.  We are thankful to have Mike in our family."

Last season, Flowers recorded averages of 17 points and 2.9 rebounds per contest at Western Michigan, adding 104 assists and 23 steals while shooting 36.8 percent from beyond the three-point arc and 84.4 percent at the foul line as he became the 43rd member of the program's 1,000-point club.  After ending the season ranked sixth in the Mid-American Conference in scoring, sixth in free-throw percentage, ninth in assists and 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2) he was named honorable mention all-league.  Flowers scored in double digits in 29 of 32 outings, highlighted by three contests with 30-plus points including a career-best 35 points in the first round of the MAC Tournament at Toledo.  He was selected the MAC West Player of the Week after a 34-point performance at Milwaukee on Nov. 9 that saw him hit three-pointers to send the game to overtime, double OT and triple OT.

One of two Broncos to play and start in all 32 games during the 2018-19 season, Flowers averaged 15.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per outing while totaling 104 assists and 28 steals.  He scored 20 or more points on 12 occasions that winter — his 501 points were the fifth-highest total in a season by a sophomore in the school's record books — as Flowers was twice named the MAC West Player of the Week including after posting a then-career-high 31 points at No.5 Michigan.  As a freshman, he recorded 3.4 points per game in 23 appearances which included scoring 10 points in 16 minutes at South Carolina.

Flowers was a first-team all-state selection following his junior year at Southfield A&T High, when he averaged 25 points, six rebounds and two steals per contest, and he was selected fourth-team all-state the next year after recording 23 points, five rebounds and six assists per outing.  He played in the Top 20 Senior All-Star Game and was also a first-team all-county honoree during his prep career.

South posted a 20-11 record last season — the program's first campaign with 20 victories since 2008-09 — highlighted by an eight-game win streak to end the year.  The Jaguars earned the second seed at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic before South could play a game in the event.

Photo provided by bradpuckettphotography.com

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