After the conclusion of the last basketball season, Coach Bill Robinson and his staff had a dilemma. They were losing most of their roster to graduation or the transfer portal. They had to fill out their roster for the current 2023-24 season and they brought 11 new players to the team. Many of these players were transfers who had their stops at other schools and were looking for their chance.
One of these players was Follie Bogan. Bogan is a grad student from Brookhaven, Mississippi, who had previous stops at Lees-McRae College and Southwest Mississippi Community College.
Since Bogan’s arrival in the fall, he has made a big impact on the floor. So far this season he has been a three-time Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) conference player of the week, named to the Bevo Francis top 100 watch list, and is currently the leading scorer in the conference with 25.9 points per game.
Bogan’s high level of play has put him in a position to be classified as one of the best players in the country and bring notoriety to Milligan in basketball the school hasn’t seen in years. Even though he is a newcomer to Milligan and East Tennessee as a whole he has the pride and love for Milligan to bring the school to places it has never seen. He values the small, family environment that encompasses Milligan which ultimately led to his decision to commit here.
“I previously made two decisions in that I wasn’t sure I was going to get what I wanted out of basketball and school,” he says. “I wanted to go somewhere that I was going to get to play a lot and I would get to show what I could do on and off the court. Most importantly, I wanted to go somewhere the coaching staff believed in me and Milligan checked all of those boxes.”
Bogan was considering many other colleges when he had the option to continue his academic and basketball career, but it was the warm reception that he received on his visit that pushed Milligan over the edge.
“On my visit, we played pick-up and Coach Alex (Milligan assistant coach Alex Biggerstaff) showed me around and I got along with the guys pretty well. However, during the pick-up session, I couldn’t meet Coach Robinson, because his Achilles was torn at the time. He wasn’t even supposed to be on campus at the time, but when I went downstairs I unexpectedly met him I was surprised at how much he knew about me outside of basketball and how much film he had watched on me. He explained to me how much they wanted and needed me and I felt right at home.”
Outside of basketball, Bogan has felt a part of the Milligan community and feels like he’s a Buff at heart. He commented that his favorite part of Milligan has been the people he interacts with every day.
“I love everything, but the people I’ve met have been my favorite part. Everyone I’ve met has been genuinely good people. That includes my teammates, coaches, the staff, and the undergraduates as well. Everyone I’ve met has welcomed me with open arms.”
Despite feeling at home in Milligan, his true home in Mississippi is almost a 10-hour drive away. With being so far away from home and every sense of familiarity an understandable adjustment period was needed for the 23-year-old. He explained he had trouble finding himself outside of basketball and filling in his free time when he initially arrived on campus.
“I went through an adjustment period. The biggest adjustment was being so far away from home and transitioning from an undergraduate to a graduate student,” h recalls. “When I was an undergraduate I was more social because there were more people in the same boat as me. I’m still social now, but I’m older than a lot of other people so I had to be alone often at first. But I’ve been able to come out of my shell lately.”
Bogan credits his success so far to Coach Robinson allowing him to play freely and believing in him unconditionally. However, he isn’t satisfied with where he or the team has gotten this year.
“It feels good to have these accolades so far, but it’s not enough for me. I want to keep this play consistent throughout the season. It’s brought a lot of attention to me and Milligan which is great, but hopefully that can translate into more wins. Our ultimate goal is to win a conference championship.”
Bogan’s goals this year are to be considered an All-American, win AAC Player of the Year, and help bring a conference championship to Milligan. Ultimately, he wants to leave a lasting legacy on and off the court and be one of the greatest players to attend Milligan.
After college, he intends on using his master’s in sports management to begin a career in coaching after pursuing a bro basketball career.
Feature photo courtesy of Milligan Sports Information Office.