In a homecoming for the ages, Langston Hall returns to Mercer as assistant coach

A few months ago, likely unbeknownst to even the biggest Macon sports buffs, a Bibb County homecoming of epic proportions was in the works. 

It all started back in January, when former Mercer basketball star Langston Hall was in Greece.

The point guard, who sits atop multiple categories in the Mercer record books and near the top in almost all of them, was considering his career. He’d become a Mercer legend when he helped the Bears topple the Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA in 2014, then played several solid seasons across Europe in Italy, Germany, Croatia and other countries.

Hall knew the next step was coaching, now that his playing days were wrapping up  — and he knew the perfect place to start.

“I called (Mercer head coach Ryan) Ridder, let him know I was interested,” the former Bears point guard said. “Then in March it picked up, it started looking like this was possible, and then it happened here in June. I’m just so glad I got to come back. I’m lucky to be here.”

Hall will join Mercer as an assistant coach just a year after Ridder took over for former coach Greg Gary, who took over for all-time Mercer great Bob Hoffman, to help with Ridder’s new regime — although for Hall, almost everything about Mercer will be unfamiliar, thanks in part to changes Ridder helped bring about.

The Bears are in the Southern Conference instead of the A-Sun, for starters. The university itself also has grown since Hall departed, as its student body has increased by about 1,000 since the Chamblee native became a Bear in 2010, according to Mercer census counts.

The city of Macon has grown by leaps and bounds, too.

“That is crazy. I told my wife that. The way it’s changed since 2014, when I left, to now? There’s so much more downtown like restaurants, there’s so much more at Mercer, too,” Hall said. “All that stuff where Amici was, I think that used to be a storage facility or something. It’s really incredible and I think it shows how connected Macon and Mercer are, too, both growing at the same time this way.”

The Bears had just gotten a football team when Hall was leaving in 2014. The squad has since played Alabama, made the FCS playoffs twice and won a Southern Conference championship.

“I think that is a huge deal, because people see that and it puts you more on the map. Like, when people saw us beat Duke, I remember applications (for Mercer) jumped like crazy,” Hall said. “So people see the football team, too, and they say, ‘Oh you’re playing Alabama? Who’s this?’ It really helps you grow.”

As impressive as Mercer’s growth has been, though, the coach will be focused on hoops — and not just teaching the players, either.

“I have to learn how to coach, since I’ve been a player my whole life,” Hall said, smiling. “Everyone says it’s like a family, but it really is. They’re helping me a lot with stuff that doesn’t come as naturally, breaking down video, this and that. They’re helping me grow really fast, and it’s been a lot of fun.”

Mercer went 14-19 last season with a 6-12 conference record, but there were signs of hope throughout an up-and-down campaign to start Ridder’s tenure. Several transfer players performed well, and while the Bears will now have to replace some of those spots, Mercer has signed plenty of players over the summer in an attempt to retool.

The transfer portal era is another change Hall will need to get accustomed to, but it’s not one he anticipates being a problem.

“It might be different, but you tell them the same things as a coach: you have to be a team. Individual statistics are great, but that’s not how you get the job done,” Hall said. “We have to have a really close-knit relationship, you have to be brothers, because things are going to get bad during the season. That’s just how it goes. 

“If things get hard, and you don’t sacrifice for your brother, it won’t work. With transfers, people are going to move on if they play well, other guys will transfer down if they’re not getting playing time. You have to really disregard all that, because we’re still trying to build a family here.”

The players can take Hall’s word for it — after all, none of them will be wearing his number 21 because Mercer retired it in 2019. A banner hangs on the wall in the arena commemorating his time as a Bear, as do plenty of other banners denoting Mercer’s conference championships, NCAA tournament appearances and CIT tournament victory that Hall helped secure.

“It does help that I have the experience, I think that gives it some legitimacy, like, ‘Oh, he’s telling me this because he played the game.’ Every coach on our staff played college basketball, so that helps,” Hall said. “We didn’t beat Duke because somebody was being selfish. We got that far as a team, so I think building it the same way will be really important.”

There will be other valuable coaching lessons to be learned, as well. Hall spent 10 years playing in Europe at the top of the key, a position where certain unique skills are a must-have.

“Communicating with people,” Hall said of the most critical thing he’ll carry with him from his time in leagues overseas. “As the point guard of a team in Greece, I kind of had to be the guy in the middle. Some American players weren’t happy with how something was going, they would come to me to communicate with the Greek players, and vice versa.

“You have to communicate with everyone while it’s going on, and spending that much time with players from all over the place helped me learn how to communicate by any means necessary.”

While he might not be teaching any Mercer players any foreign languages, Hall said the bond between players will strengthen as they talk more on and off the court. He’s also excited for rivalries similar to those he had during his time as a Bear, when Mercer feuded with conference foes like Florida Gulf Coast — which had its own March Madness run in 2013, one year before Mercer defeated the Blue Devils — and Stetson. 

“I’ve never experienced it first-hand, but I know the SoCon is one of those real big mid-major conferences,” Hall said. “It’s good basketball, and I know these guys feel the way I did about our rivals when they play those teams, when they play a conference rival.”

As Hall learns, the players will learn with him. The former point guard just hopes he can help Ridder and the staff bring the Bears back to the top of their game.

We know it’s a good conference, and we know we can compete. We want to catch up to the Furmans, the Woffords, the (Chattanoogas),” Hall said. “I’m looking forward to seeing that in person and hopefully learning and getting Mercer to that level.”