MT Hoops: Class of 2017 preview

College football has officially arrived and Middle Tennessee fans and college football fans alike have been chomping at the bit for some pigskin action.

While we're just as excited as the masses, it is worth noting that the start of college hoops is just around the corner as well. The Blue Raiders basketball squad, fresh off another exciting season and run in the NCAA Tournament, will get their season rolling in November.

Head coach Kermit Davis is known for stockpiling talent with each recruiting class - the type of talent that fits his system and mindset to a T.

And while there were key departures from last years squad, the 2017 signee class included some dandy's.

Let's take a look at the Blue Raider class of 2017.

With the departures of forwards JaCorey Williams and Reggie Upshaw, MT definitely needed a boost at the power forward position.

TJ Massenburg, a Snellville, Georiga native, fits the bill for Kermit Davis.

Checking in at 6'8" and 220 pounds, Massenburg is a 3-star prospect out of Shiloh High who was a wanted man by many programs across America. According to Rivals, Massenburg garnered official offers from East Carolina, East Tennessee State, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Southern, James Madison, North Carolina Wilmington, South Alabama, Temple, Tennessee Tech and Towson.

It was an official visit to Murfreesboro that put the Blue Raiders above the pack when it came to Massenburg, who took a visit to MT in September and committed less than a month later on October 2nd.

Massenburg was solid throughout his high school career, averaging double-doubles in both his junior and senior years at Shiloh. His senior season saw his stats climb to impressive heights as he poured in 17 points a game to go along with 11 rebounds per game.

Coach Davis has been on the record touting Massenburg's ability to knock down shots from the perimeter, but his shot blocking prowess (six blocks per game as a senior in high school) may be what gets him on the floor sooner than others.

We've established that Massenburg hopped on board the Blue Raider express in October. Just a few days later, SG Therren Shelton-Szmidt followed suit and pledged to coach Davis.

Known mostly as a prep star for Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Shelton-Szmidt is originally from Ontario, Canada.

Shelton-Szmidt has the look of a basketball player. He is a lanky athlete who is pegged to be around 6'5" and 175 pounds. As a junior at Hamilton Heights he averaged 17 points and six rebounds per outing. For his senior season he upped his points per game average to 18.6.

It's worth mentioning that Shelton-Szmidt wasn't playing sisters of the poor. Hamilton Heights is a highly revered academy that faces top notch competition year in and year out.

As far as his game goes, Shelton-Szmidt can really stroke it from downtown and that is one of the main reasons Kermit wanted him so badly. He can make you pay if you leave him open, but is savvy enough to move the ball and create shots for himself in tight spaces.

On the recruiting trail, Middle Tennessee bested the likes of Appalachian State, Binghamton, Duquesne, Green Bay, Old Dominion and St. Bonaventure for Shelton-Szmidt's services.

Hawthorne is another recruit that committed to Middle Tennessee in October. In fact, Hawthorne pledged to MT the very same day that T.J. Massenburg committed to Kermit Davis.

Hawthorne is a defensive stud from a Southwest Mississippi Community College.

Kermit Davis loves guys with size and length and Hawthorne has this in spades. He is listed at 6'7" and 195 pounds, but certainly has the frame to pack on more weight with help from a strength program.

Hawthorne is an efficient shooter who shot 46 percent from the field as a freshman. His length allows him to block shots as well. During that freshman campaign, Hawthorne averaged 1.4 blocks a game, impressive for a small forward.

On the floor, Hawthorne can be a dead-eye shooter, at times, from beyond the arc, but is more known to be a prolific driver who can get buckets in the paint. In other words, he will carve you up from 3-point range if you let him, but his ace-in-the-hole is his ability in the paint.

When it came to recruiting, Hawthorne also had plenty of suitors after him. He chose MT over Iona, North Carolina Wilmington, Robert Morris, Southern Miss, UT-Chattanooga and Troy, among others.

The class of 2017 really needed a point guard, and Donovan Sims was one who made waves at the local high school level.

Hailing from one of the states best programs (Blackman High), Sims checks in at 6-foot and 165 pounds, and is a slithery guard who has performed versus quality high school competition.

Sims stats were not really gaudy his junior year but he was a team player. His statistics took a leap from junior to season year, especially in the points per game category. For his senior campaign he averaged 10 points, five rebounds and five assists per game.

While he is a smaller guard, Sims certainly plays like Goliath. He will stick his nose in on the block and collect a few rebounds every game. He is also a crafty defender. During his senior campaign, Sims averaged 1.5 steals a game.

Sims is perhaps best known as a player who possesses good leadership qualities. If you talk to anyone around the Blackman program, they'll tell you that Sims was the backbone for Blackman.

Kermit and crew were all over Sims early and it paid off as he committed way back in January of 2016. His recruitment was never in doubt. Even when schools like ETSU tried to get in the mix, he remained loyal to MT.

With multiple departures coming at the SG position, it was important to Kermit Davis to add an additional guard to this class. That's when David Simmons entered into the fold.

Simmons was another guy that opted to take the junior or community college route out of high school. After being a finalist for the coveted Mr. Basketball honors in Kentucky, Simmons settled in nicely at Tallahassee Community College in Florida.

As a freshman in junior college, Simmons was the Panhandle Conference Freshman of the Year after bursting onto the scene. During that campaign, Simmons shot 51 percent from the field and chipped in 14 points a game, while also notching 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

Simmons followed up his electric freshman campaign with more of the same in year two, averaging 12.9 points and 6.1 rebounds en route to his second consecutive First Team All-Panhandle Conference selection.

At times Simmons can be a microwave from deep, drilling flurries of long-range shots. He can really get on a roll and light you up. His do-it-all mentality is what made him stand out to the Blue Raider coaching staff, however. Simmons will fight for boards, play solid defense, and get his teammates involved throughout the course of the game.