By Sean Hamilton
HPU Athletics Staff Writer

Over the course of the last three years, the High Point University Panthers men's basketball team has reached an all time high for success.  Leading into the 2015-16 season, the Purple and White have captured three consecutive Big South regular season titles. 

The current group of seniors have been present for the whole ride, and are a huge reason that the Panthers are chosen by the Big South coaches as the favorite to win the conference again.

Senior guard Adam Weary is no secret weapon in HPU's arsenal.  Sure, 2014 Big South Player of the Year Player John Brown gets many of the headlines (and deservingly so), but teammates Lorenzo Cugini, Hashiin McIntyre, and Adam Weary also are a huge part of the Panthers' formula for success.

"We have a great chance to win the Big South this year.  Honestly, this is my last and only chance," Weary said. "That's all I care about. I just want to go to the NCAA Tournament.  That's the highest achievement.  That is the peak, and I don't care how we get there - I just want to get there."

If you want to see what kind of impact Adam Weary has had on the Panthers over the last few years, look no further than box scores.  The Memphis, Tenn., native has averaged a double digit scoring average during his HPU career (10.4 ppg).  He has a highlight reel full of clutch baskets, including a pair of game winning plays against Winthrop.  He was on the front end of the highlight ally-oop jam from John Brown at Coastal Carolina this past February, which drew all forms of national media attention from blogs and Twitter commentators.

Coaches in the Big South have also taken notice of this, and Weary has been chosen as a member of the preseason All-Big South Second Team for 2015-16.

But one thing that people might not know about Weary, is that he's played the last two seasons with nagging injuries.

After being selected to the Big South All-Freshman Team in 2012-13 and helping lead HPU to their first regular season title, Weary had to miss seven games the following season due to a severe ankle sprain.  Weary also played hurt on an injured ankle regularly in 2014-15, but continued to average nearly 10 points and 23 minutes per game.

"I had some surgeries earlier this year and I'm starting to feel great now," Weary said. "Hopefully I am done with that. I am just ready to get the season started. I'm due for a fully healthy season."

Weary is no stranger to extraordinarily talented teams.  In high school, Weary's team at Ridgeway High School was one of the top ranked teams in the nation.  Every member of his sophomore varsity team went on to play Division I basketball, and he even led the team to a 31-2 record and the No. 1 ranking in Tennesee in 2011-12.

When asked about his three year career for Purple and White, Weary said that of all of the achievements of the team in the last few years, his freshman season was his favorite.

"During my freshman season, we started off terrible. We started the regular season 2-9," Weary said. "We ended up turning it around and I think that season was big because it really set the tone for the program. It was looking bad, but we were resilient enough to turn it around when it was almost at rock bottom."

A business administration major, Weary is great friends with senior point guard Haiishen McIntyre and often discusses with him what life after HPU will entail.

"He's a business administration major as well, and we like to do a lot of brainstorming," Weary said. "As far as after graduation, I would love to have my own business and set my own hours.  I want to get out of bed in the morning and do something I enjoy,"

Weary has high expectations for himself and his team this year.  But he also knows regardless of result, he will never forget what he and his fellow seniors have accomplished in their careers for HPU.

"Every year we have won the regular season title, and the program had never won the regular season title until my freshman year.  I had so much fun in Hawai'i last season and that was big for us to win that tournament.  When we won the regular season title at home against Campbell during my sophomore year, it was incredible to see the fans run onto the court.  There have been a lot of great memories."

Weary can accomplish much in terms of individual accolades in 2015-16. With 912 career points, he has an excellent chance to become the next Division I HPU player to eclipse the 1,000 point milestone. Weary also ranks ninth all-time at HPU in career assists (207) and can move into the top-5 by the end of the season.

But Weary would gladly trade those accomplishments in for an NCAA Tournament berth in 2015-16. And with an experienced roster and talented group of freshmen suiting up for the Panthers this season, that goal is very much a reality.

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