SOCON basketball update...

[IE]

NORTH DIVISION

APPALACHIAN STATE (5-3, 2-0)
Best effort: The Mountaineers closed within five points of Wake Forest with 14:08 to play, only to have the Demon Deacons rebuild a 14-point lead. ASU got within six in the final minute.
Telling stat: Senior D.J. Thompson doesn?t have to carry the team by himself. He?s accounted for 22.2 percent of ASU?s scoring.
Coach Houston Fancher?s Christmas wish: A couple of bench players to prove they belong in the rotation.
Conference outlook: With five returning starters and arguably the best player in the conference, the Mountaineers are poised to make it a great year to be Yosef.

UTC (4-4, 0-0)
Best effort: The Mocs were down 28 points to Kentucky on Dec. 5 but rallied back within nine with four minutes to play. Kentucky won 79-63.
Telling stat: Only eight teams in the nation shoot more from beyond the 3-point line. The Mocs have taken 48.2 percent of their shots from outside the arc.
Coach John Shulman?s Christmas wish: To get consistent production from post players. Nicchaeus Doaks has been fine inside, but four other post players have whiffed, especially Khalil Hartwell, who was described as "a beast" before the season.
Conference outlook: The Mocs could finish anywhere from first to fourth in the North Division, depending on how well opponents defend Keddric Mays and how the Mocs play in the post.

ELON (1-6, 0-1)
Best effort: So far, the Phoenix have played without any good efforts. The only option here is the 85-72 win over NAIA member Montreat.
Telling stat: The Phoenix?s scoring margin is minus-19.7 points per game, 410-548 overall.
Coach Ernie Nestor?s Christmas wish: This list could be longer than Dennis the Menace?s list.
Nestor?s starts with a victory.
Conference outlook: Senior Chris Chalko?s 6.7 ppg average is half what it was last year. The future remains bleak until he gets going.

UNC GREENSBORO (3-6, 2-1)
Best effort: The Spartans won at Furman (in double overtime) 91-86 with 30 points and 15 rebounds from Kyle Hines.
Telling stat: Hines is one rebound away from averaging a double-double on the season with his 21.4 points per game.
Coach Mike Dement?s Christmas wish: A distinct third option behind Hines and Ricky Hickman. Kevin Oleksiak could be that guy.
Conference outlook: UNCG has all five starters back. The Spartans will go as far as Hines can carry them.

WESTERN CAROLINA (4-3, 1-0)
Best effort: The Catamounts opened their conference season with an 81-75 win at Wofford behind 20 points from freshman Jake Robinson.
Telling stat: Point guard Kyle Greathouse has 26 assists and six turnovers.
Coach Larry Hunter?s Christmas wish: A winning season. The Catamounts haven?t had one since 1996-97.
Conference outlook: The Catamounts are the biggest unknown in the league. They?ll win more than four SoCon games like last year.

SOUTH DIVISION

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (3-6, 0-1)
Best effort: The Cougars trailed by one at halftime, then crushed UNC-Wilmington 91-70.
Telling stat: The Cougars are 10 th in the league with a rebounding margin of minus-4. Coach Bobby Cremins? Christmas wish: For suspended forward Josh Jackson to become a man of character and integrity.
Conference outlook: The Cougars have the best athleticism and the most well-known coach in the league. It should all mesh by March.

DAVIDSON (7-3, 2-0)
Best effort: The Wildcats drubbed Charlotte 79-51 and doubled up the 49 ers 40-20 in the second half.
Telling stat: Freshman Stephen Curry, son of longtime NBA standout Dell Curry, is second in the league with 19.2 points per game.
Coach Bob McKillop?s Christmas wish: For time to slow down so all the new players can mesh on the floor.
Conference outlook: Davidson is off to a good start and should earn one of five first-round league tournament byes.

FURMAN (5-4, 0-1)
Best effort: The Paladins won at Vanderbilt 70-62 for one of two SoCon wins over major-conference teams.
Telling stat: Six players have led the Paladins in scoring in nine games.
Coach Jeff Jackson?s Christmas wish: For his career at Furman to start better than his 21-60 record at New Hampshire.
Conference outlook: Larry Davis left the cupboard full of enough talent and experience for Jackson to contend for the division?s top spot.

GEORGIA SOUTHERN (5-3, 0-0)
Best effort: The Eagles beat Northern Illinois 72-70 on a neutral court in Iowa.
Telling stat: Georgia Southern has hit only 30.6 percent of its 3-point attempts.
Coach Jeff Price?s Christmas wish: For 2006 SoCon player of the year Elton Nesbitt to have one more year of eligibility. But his is used up.
Conference outlook: Not good if the Eagles don?t pick up the pace on the floor and on the scoreboard.

THE CITADEL (2-8, 0-1)
Best effort: Getting South Carolina to play on The Citadel?s campus. USC won 74-59.
Telling stat: The Bulldogs are shooting 57.7 percent from the foul line.
Coach Ed Conroy?s Christmas wish: More talent. More talent.
More talent.
Conference outlook: Same as always ? grim. But the Bulldogs will pull some upsets along the way.

WOFFORD (4-6, 0-2)
Best effort: A 91-90 win at Cincinnati, led by 27 points from Eric Marshall.
Telling stat: The Terriers are 1-5 without point guard Drew Gibson (hamstring) and have lost five straight games.
Coach Mike Young?s Christmas wish: For Cook?s Pest Control to exterminate the injury bug.
Conference outlook: This is supposed to be the year the Terriers turn it around. But not without Gibson.

 

[loophole]

More lineup tinkering for slumping Cougars
Thursday, December 14, 2006




Marcus Hammond is back in the starting lineup, and beleaguered big man Josh Jackson is a few passing grades away from returning to the College of Charleston basketball team.

The Cougars end their nine-day exam break today, when Chattanooga comes to John Kresse Arena for a 7 p.m. Southern Conference contest. Charleston hasn't played since a 67-55 loss at South Carolina on Dec. 5, which saddled the College (3-6, 0-1 SoCon) with its first four-game skid since it dropped five straight in 1979.

"We lost the first battle, and we have a pretty good feeling as to why we lost the first battle," said Charleston coach Bobby Cremins. "We tried to take advantage of the exam break by looking at our personnel and seeing what we can do on the court."

That means another change in the starting lineup for tonight's matchup against the Mocs (4-4, 0-0). Hammond, a 6-3 sophomore, started six games for the Cougars before giving way to freshman Tony White Jr. after an 0-for-5 shooting performance at Kentucky. While White averaged 8.0 points over his two starts, Cremins was basically shoehorning a point guard into a shooting guard's role.

After the loss to Appalachian State on Dec. 2, Cremins put senior Dontaye Draper back at the point. In Hammond the Cougars have a player with traditional two-guard size, but one who's shooting just 9-of-41 (22 percent) on the season.

"I just want to see him play with more confidence," Cremins said of Hammond. "We need to take some pressure off Tony.

He's real valuable to us coming off the bench."

Jackson, a 6-8 junior forward who started 24 games last year and was named third-team All-SoCon in the preseason, has been suspended indefinitely since he sulked after being pulled out of a game against Middle Tennessee in the Paradise Jam on Nov. 20.

But if Jackson is academically eligible following the current exam period, Cremins said he'll allow him to come back. Grades are expected to be posted Tuesday, which means Jackson could also miss Monday's game against Coastal Carolina at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

"Should Josh make it," Cremins said, "I hope he's learned a lot about himself through this experience."

Regardless, Cremins has no regrets over the suspension. "The only thing I've second-guessed myself on is scheduling, and missing some classes," he said. "That will never happen again."

 

[IE]

pts look inviting in this game Loop, but probably will pass...

 

[loophole]

hard to bet on any team coming off a long layoff (deacons served up a reminder last night) and most of the value in the under has already been sucked out of the number this morning.

 

[loophole]

Cremins? testing persists at C of C


Bobby Cremins transitioned back into the publicity part of coaching with ease during the summer and fall.

It hasn?t been as smooth with a whistle around his neck, however.

"It?s a bit of a challenge right now," said Cremins, who came out of a six-year retirement to lead the College of Charleston men?s basketball program. "This is what I wanted, what I needed. We?re doing some things I did at (Georgia) Tech but a lot of new things, too.

"We?re still experimenting. The question is, when do you stop experimenting?" Cremins will get to evaluate his latest tweaks when his team hosts the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Kresse Arena tonight at 7. The Cougars last played at South Carolina on Dec. 5, allowing Cremins eight days to continue jumbling his old system with the relatively new players.

"This break has helped us," said senior guard Dontaye Draper, the focal point of Charleston?s offense. "Once we got some practice time, Coach got it figured out."

The plan ? get the ball to Draper ? seems simple in theory. He averaged 18.5 points per game last season as a shooting guard for former Cougars coach Tom Herrion and was selected as the Southern Conference?s player of the year in the preseason.

The problem with that plan is that the Cougars entered the season without an experienced point guard. So Cremins decided to put Draper in that position.

"We want Dontaye to be involved a lot," Cremins said. "The question is, on the ball or off the ball? That?s been an intriguing process."

Draper, who averages 17.4 points per game, has retained his scoring touch, but the Cougars are 3-6 as he tries to balance changing spots at seemingly every other substitution.

"We?re all still learning right now," forward David Lawrence said. "What?s good is that (Cremins ) takes in what we say. He?s trying to find a way for all five of us to play together."

UTC coach John Shulman noticed Charleston?s struggles as he dissected Cougars game tape. He also saw similarities to Cremins? old Yellow Jackets teams that featured standout point guards Stephon Marbury and Kenny Anderson.

"He?s putting the ball in Draper?s hands and letting a good guard go make plays," Shulman said. "That?s what (Cremins) used to do. There is a lot of ball-screen action, but not as much as Georgia Tech.

"I don?t know if it?s because of Cremins, or Josh Jackson being out, but they haven?t attacked inside much."

That?s another change with Cremins in charge of the Cougars ? discipline. Cremins has suspended Jackson, "for his attitude," as Draper put it, for the last four games and possibly tonight.

Last year, two Charleston players were arrested after a late-night fight on King Street in the heart of downtown Charleston. Charges were not filed, and lineups never changed either.

"Coach is a big off-the-court guy," Draper said. "He doesn?t play games. If you?ve messed up, you?ve messed up.

"It?s his way or the highway when it comes to stuff like that."

And that plan likely will never change.