As you've likely heard, we don't have any live-action contests to cover at LetsGoPeay.com right now. What we do have is free time; oodles and oodles of free time. Enough free time to swap oodles of emails with various people who would know to create a snapshot of the 10 best players in Austin Peay men's basketball history. As with any list like this, there were some tough cuts—and with the history of Austin Peay hoops, there were many who deserved mention.

Tom Morgan played in an era closer to the peach baskets than 2020. He put up eye-popping numbers (the first 1,000-point scorer to also pull down 1,000 rebounds, he did it nearly 60 years before Chris Horton) and had his number retired, but it's tough to evaluate someone who played before the game was integrated or experienced the three-point line, the wider lane and every other change over the last seven decades. Jim Beshears and Kenny Geralds (Mr. Outside to Morgan's Mr. Inside) deserve mention alongside Morgan in that same vein.

Derek Wright was as pure a point guard as has come through Austin Peay, marshalling the Govs to two Ohio Valley Conference regular-season titles and one OVC Tournament championship. He departed Austin Peay as the all-time leader in steals and remains third in career assists.

Jermaine Savage was once considered by no less an authority than Bubba Wells to be the most important player to that era's Austin Peay teams. A stalwart defender and self-made scorer, Savage made it a point to take on the opposition's top scorer and shut him down, succeeding more often than not, while still racking up 1,345 career points.

Wesley Channels earned it the old-fashioned way, first as a supporting player for Wright, Drake Reed and others during his first two seasons before taking on a larger role in the second half of his career. The two-time All-OVC choice remains tied with Howard Wright for eighth all-time in scoring at an even 1,700 career points.

Joe Sibbitt was far ahead of his time as a three-point specialist. Despite playing in the mid-to-late 1990s, when the medium was still in its relative youth, Sibbitt remains the all-time leader in threes made (319) and attempted (830), en route to more than 1,200 career points as a Gov.

Josh Lewis authored "The Block," a signature moment in Austin Peay history which Lewis used to hold Murray State at bay in the waning seconds of the 2003 OVC Tournament semifinal and propelling that Governor squad to a title the following day, with Lewis earning MVP honors. Lewis was Chris Horton before Chris Horton, excelling at blocking shots and rebounding for some of the best teams in program history while posting a program-record 62.6 percent mark from the floor for his career.

Reggie Crenshaw remains one of seven Govs to garner multiple All-Tournament nods in OVC play, and one of 10 to reach 1,000 career points and 700 career rebounds. Crenshaw was a complete player, and remains the only Gov with more than 150 career blocks and 150 career steals.

Lawrence Mitchell is one of four Govs—Fly, Bubba and Beshears—with multiple 40-point games to his credit. In two seasons, he garnered two All-OVC nods, 1,012 career points and a spot in Austin Peay lore as part of the team that defeated Illinois in the 1987 NCAA Tournament—Mitchell's 27 points the following game against Providence remains the all-time record for single-game scoring in the NCAA Tournament by a Gov.

Sam Drummer needs a mention for his one season in Clarksville, where he posted 16.7 points per game and became the second-highest scoring freshman in Austin Peay history before Terry Taylor and Jordyn Adams showed up. Drummer transferred to Georgia Tech following his one year as a Gov. Calvin Garrett was Drummer's teammate as a freshman and stayed in Clarksville for his sophomore year before leaving for Oral Roberts—he garnered an All-OVC need his second year.

Howard Jackson averaged a double-double for two seasons before a fall at his summer job seriously injured him and cut his Austin Peay career short. He led the Govs in scoring his first season at 19 points per game before Fly Williams' freshman year allowed Jackson to focus more on his board work; he averaged 11 points and 11 boards as a sophomore.