Shelton State Guard Transfers to Middle Tennessee State

Justin Bufford, the six-foot-seven guard from Shelton State, has announced that he will be moving north to the “Volunteer State” to continue his collegiate basketball career. Bufford, who helped the Buccaneers to a 23-2 overall record and an undefeated 15-0 conference record will now be attending Middle Tennessee State University.

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Bufford might have played one season for Shelton State, but the Montgomery native still made a huge difference for the Bucs during last year’s historic run.

The Bucs made it through most of the regular season, accumulating a 20-0 record before faking to Coastal Alabama - South right before the postseason started.

Shelton State ultimately won the National Junior College Athletic Association’s South District Championship against Wallace Community College - Selma and then made it through several rounds before falling to Chipola College out of Florida.

Bufford, who started all 26 games for the Bucs, shot about 51% from the field and 38.6% from behind the arc throughout the year. From the free-throw line, Bufford averaged 70.4%. Overall, the freshman led the team with 12.5 points per game.

Surely, this is a good pickup for the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State. MTSU finished the 2020-2021 season with only five wins, all of which came in Murfreesboro. The team finished second to last in Conference USA - the team was only better than Florida International University.

After having their game against FIU canceled in the C-USA Tournament, the Blue Raiders lost in the second round to North Texas, ending their season.

Bufford joins only one other player - Tyler Millin, a sophomore forward from Calera High School - from Alabama.