Clarksville, TN – The 2024-25 Austin Peay State University (APSU) basketball roster has been established.
The 94th roster in program history and second under APSU head coach Corey Gipson welcomes six veteran newcomers and a pair of freshmen to Clarksville ahead of the Governors’ upcoming campaign.
“As a staff, we are very confident that we have assembled a group of young men that will exemplify The total Gov Concept,” said Gipson. “They all possess an intense level of hunger and edge that will continue to accelerate the program.”
The six veteran newcomers have combined for 17 seasons, 418 career games played, 303 starts, 4,764 points, 1,795 rebounds, 796 assists, and 8,558 career minutes across their careers, which span across the Division I, Division II, and JUCO ranks of collegiate basketball.
LJ Thomas | North Carolina State | Junior Guard
Thomas comes to Clarksville after two years at North Carolina State where he made 42 appearances off the Wolfpack’s bench. He averaged 2.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 8.9 minutes per night during his career in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Plant City, Florida native made his collegiate debut against the Governors, November 2022 in a five-minute performance. He then tallied his first of two freshman double-figure scoring performances in a 12-point, two-rebound, two-assist game against Florida International and set a career-high with 14 points against Furman later during the Wolfpack’s nonconference slate.
Thomas was a four-star recruit by ESPN and the No. 138 overall prospect by 247Sports.com coming out of Bull City Prep in Durham, North Carolina. He averaged 18.5 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game during his senior season, while helping lead his team to the Phenom Hoop State Championship.
Thomas at Camp Jewell House Academy in Conyers, Georgia during his junior prep season, leading the Panthers to a 28-4 record and earning All-Region honors. He spent his sophomore season at Columbia High School in Decatur, Georgia where he averaged 18.0 points and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 42.0 percent from the perimeter and earning HoopSeen’s AAAAA Sophomore of the Year honors in 2018-19.
Me’Kell Burries | Lincoln Memorial | Redshirt Senior Guard
Burries comes to Clarksville after spending the last four years at Division II Lincoln Memorial where he was a Third Team All-South Atlantic Conference selection after averaging 13.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 46.6 and 41.5 percent from the field and three-point range, respectively.
Burries started 41-of-83 games during his three playing seasons in Harrogate, Tennessee, including 36-of-56 during his redshirt sophomore and redshirt junior seasons.
The Newport, Kentucky native enters his first season in Clarksville with 19 20-point scoring performances, including eight – and two 30-point nights – last season. Burries scored a career-high 37 points against Alabama Huntsville, which also featured a career-best 14 field goals and nine three-pointers on 13 attempts from beyond the perimeter.
Burries was a two-star recruit by VerbalCommits.com and the No. 32 guard in Kentucky coming out of Newport High School after averaging 21.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game during his senior season. During that senior season, he also led the Wildcats to their first 36th District Championship since 1985 and went on to participate in the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches East-West All-Start Basketball game.
Darius Dawson | Missouri Southern, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Francis Marion, Marion Military Institute | Senior Guard/Forward
Dawson comes to Clarksville from Missouri Southern, where he was a Second Team All-Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association selection last season after averaging 14.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game across 29 appearances for the Lions.
The Sumter, South Carolina native scored 20-plus points six times during his junior season in which he also shot 53.9 and 43.4 percent from the field and three-point range, respectively.
Before arriving at Missouri Southern, Dawson spent the 2022-23 season at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where he averaged 13.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game across 26 appearances and as many starts, earning Second Team All-Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges recognition. He also spent a season at Division II Francis Marion, where he led the Patriots with 97 rebounds and finished second on the team in scoring 115 points across 14 appearances.
Dawson began his collegiate career at Marion Military Institute in 2019-20 where he started 27-of-28 games and averaged 12.3 points per game on 55.7 and 46.9 percent shooting from the field and three-point range, respectively.
Dawson prepped at West Florence High School and averaged 10.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game during his senior season, earning High School Report’s AAAA All-State Team honors.
Takeo Carpenter | Moberly Area Community College / Allegany Community College | Junior Guard
Carpenter is one of two incoming players who come to Clarksville from Moberly Area Community College (Akili Evans). He started all 34 games for the Greyhounds last season, averaging 13.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists per game, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 37.6 and 76.3 percent from the perimeter and the charity stripe, respectively, and earning NJCAA Division I Third Team All-American honors.
Prior to arriving in Moberly, Missouri, Carpenter averaged 17.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.7 across 24 games at Allegany Community College, leading the Trojans to a 24-10 mark and trip to the 2023 NJCAA East District Championship Finals and was tabbed a NJCAA All-American Honorable Mention.
Quan Lax | Freed-Hardeman | Redshirt Junior Guard
A 2023-24 NAIA National Champion, First Team All-American, and three-time Mid-South Conference Champion out of Freed-Hardeman, Lax led the Lions with 13.4 points per game and paced the Mid-South Conference with 123 assists per game across 33 starts in the FHU’s backcourt.
The Bolivar, Tennessee native also shot the ball at an effective clip, sporting a 50.2 field-goal percentage, 37.4 three-point percentage, and 75.7 percent mark from the charity stripe. Efficient with the rock, Lax finished the season with a 2.08 assist-turnover ratio during his redshirt sophomore season and had at least six dimes seven times.
During his first playing season, Lax started 21-of-31 games and averaged 10.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game to help lead Freed Hardeman to a MSC Tournament Title following a 20-point performance in the MSC Championship game.
Akili Evans | Moberly Area Community College, Georgia Highlands Community College, Sacramento State | Junior Guard/Forward
Evans was the first addition to this year’s signing class, having joined the team on National Signing Day in early November. The 6-5 wing comes to Clarksville from Moberly Area Community College, where he averaged 10.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the Greyhounds last season in 27 appearances.
Before his collegiate career at Sacramento State – where he scored 18 points across four appearances – Evans prepped at Lee Academy Prep in Lee, Maine where he averaged 22.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game and was ranked the No. 2 recruit in Maine. He also was an All-Naugatuck Valley League and All-State recipient at Holy Cross High School in Waterbury, Connecticut while averaging 35.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
Tate McCubbin | Battle High School | Freshman Guard/Forward
One of the APSU Govs’ two freshman additions, McCubbin averaged 16.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.0 blocks per game during his senior season under head coach Ben Pallardy, earning Class 6 District 7 Player of the Year and First Team All-District honors.
McCubbin scored a season-high 29 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds – his sixth double-double of the season – in the finale against Jefferson City.
Terrell Gaines | Liberty High School | Freshman Guard
A Class 3 All-State Team out of Liberty High School in Mountain View, Missouri, Terrell Gaines broke LHS’ career scoring record in late January of his senior season with his 2,188th-career point.
Gaines helped lead LHS to the Class 3 District 10 Championship game following a 36-point performance in a 59-50 victory against Licking High School in the District Semifinals game.
