Dissecting the 2012-2013 Schedule

After a summer of speculation and anticipation, the College of Charleston finally announced the 2012-2013 men's basketball schedule. The sports marketing department was quick to tab Coach Wojcik's first season as possibly the greatest home schedule in program history and to everyones credit they may have a point. With the exception of a certain non-DI stinker, there's a whole lot to like about not only the home games but the level of competition throughout the year. Let's take a look at some of the big games. 

November 9: Towson @ TD Arena

If we do make the leap to the greener pastures of the CAA we'll see a lot more of Towson University. This home and season opener could be a nice way to warm up the guys because, if you hadn't heard, the Tigers were pretty bad last year. The CAA doormat has no where to go but up and the Cougars will still be integrating a whole new offensive and defensive scheme under Wojcik. That being said, this should be an easy enough victory with the TD crowd behind the Cougs.

November 15-18: Charleston Classic @ TD Arena

Great, great exposure for the College and the Cougars. Ever since the last time the Cougars played in ESPN's tournament hosted at TD Arena in 2008, the Charleston Classic has steadily increased in prominence. This year's field is pretty stacked with preseason #11 Baylor and the last-second entry of Murray State. The only guaranteed game right now for the Cougars is St. Johns on Thursday the 15th at 5pm. Hosting a Big East team (or two) is a big deal for any mid-major program and the Cougs could definitely make some noise in their own backyard if the Red Storm are looking past Day One's opponent. Coach Wojcik played in this very tournament last year with Tulsa so there should be no excuses if the team fails to impress that weekend. 

November 24: Baylor @ Ferrell Center, Waco TX

Gone are Perry Jones, Quincy Acy and Quincy Miller but Elite Eight teams like the Baylor Bears simply reload rather than rebuild. The incoming 2012 freshman class was good enough to be ranked 5th in the country and 7-footer Isaiah Austin is a name you will hear plenty of this upcoming college basketball season. Here's something that will be a recurring theme with the Cougars this year: a team with a senior point guard and the ability to rebound always has a punchers chance against the big boys. Who knows, maybe we'll get to a championship game against Baylor in the Charleston Classic and play them twice in one season. How's that for mid-major scheduling?!

November 28: Charleston Southern @ North Charleston Coliseum

The Buccaneers were a thorn in our side last year and they're only getting better. Thanks for bailing us out last year Antwaine. 

'13 Recruit Terrance O'Donohue Verbally Commits to CofC

According to ESPN Recruiting Nation: 6'7, 220 lb power forward Terrance O'Donohue has verbally committed to the College of Charleston. O'Donohue is the first player from the class of 2013 to commit to play for Doug Wojcik and the Cougars. He is listed as the 8th best player in the state of Georgia and the 36th best PF in the country. 

Terrance is from Norcross, GA but attends McCallie High School in Chattanooga. He had offers from Murray State and UNC Charlotte as well as interest from Clemson and Vanderbilt. 

Looks like a solid get by Coach Wojcik. Trent will be a senior in 2013-2014 and O'Donohue could learn a lot from a comparable big man. Check out the video highlights below, love his rebounding and ability to run the floor. Also has a nice jumper out to the three point line. 

• Video Highlights

• "O'Donohue a game-changer for McCallie" (Times Free Press)

• From ESPN:

Strengths:
O'Donohue is a smart and skilled power forward that is a match up nightmare. He post up strong and scores in the post with turns shots, drop steps and also has the ability face up and hit the mid range jumpers to 18 feet on a consistent basis which makes him a pick and pop or roll threat. O'Donohue also made some very impressive interior passes when the defense surrounded him in or around the lane. O'Donohue is long with good hands. He rebounds well on both ends and runs the floor well. Defensively he anticipates well in the post which allows O'Donohue to come up with a few timely steals.


Weaknesses:
O'Donohue must continue to build strength and tighten up his body as he continues to hone his overall skills. Also O'Donohue must learn not to leave his feet as much on defense. He goes for shot fakes at times which allows him to pick up fouls. His emotions can hinder his preformance and he will need to add some ball-handling skills to his basketball portfolio if he is to play the wing on the next level.


Bottom Line:
O'Donohue is a skilled forward with a very good basketball IQ. He can score inside and out and is truly a match up problem. He rebounds well on both ends and is an excellent passer for a post player. He must continue to get stronger and develop his skills but has tremendous upside.

Wojcik Adds a Pair of Forwards

In the first player personnel moves of the Doug Wojcik era, the College of Charleston has added a pair of lanky small forwards: Junior College transfer Anthony Thomas from Winston-Salem and Franklin HS senior Theo Johnson from Sacramento. Let's take a look at what each can offer the Cougars next year.

Anthony Thomas
6-7, 195  Forward
14.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 68% FT, 38% 3P
Hutchinson CC

Coming out of Winston-Salem Prep in 2010, Thomas had impressive season averages of 24 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists per game. He was recruited by teams like Buffalo and St. Mary's but eventually signed with Socon rival Appalachian State. In his lone season in Boone, Thomas played sparingly in just 8 games and made his collegiate debut (ironically enough) against Tulsa. The big knock on Thomas coming out of high school (according to ESPN recruiting) was inconsistency. He had "skills to play at a high level but didn't seem to bring it every game".

Concluding the 2010-2011 season, Anthony transferred to Hutchinson CC in Kansas where this past year he led the team with nearly 15 points per game and also contributed 7 rebounds and some timely three point shooting. I would predict he'll be in contention to step into the small forward spot vacated by Antwaine Wiggins. The up-and-down play and turnovers (he led the team with 109 last season) are certainly an issue but it seems like the guy has gotten it together during his year at Hutchinson. Given Wojcik's academic standards, Coach had to see something in this kid that others did not. Detroit, Fresno State and UNCW were also in contention for Thomas' transfer this season.

I'm usually not a fan of bringing in Junior College players, but the team lacks a legitimate playmaker with some length on the wing. Thomas is not a star but he's had a lot of playing time in the past year and can help the team in a couple different ways. He'll be eligible immediately and will be a junior.

Theo Johnson
6'5, 185 forward
14.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 75% FT, 30% 3P
Franklin HS

Seemingly out of nowhere, Wojcik has also plucked Franklin High School small forward Theo Johnson from the left coast. When it comes to Johnson (or most recruits this late in the season) the word that gets tossed around most is "upside". Like most tall and athletic 18-year olds, Johnson is still growing into his body and finding his game. He is however showing a lot of growth and has all the physical tools to play right now. His per game averages and highlight plays had gotten the attention of a number of West Coast teams including Colorado, Fresno State and UC Davis.

Mostly regarded as a shot-blocker and rebounder, Johnson takes a lot of pride in his defense and genuinely enjoys crashing the boards. From the YouTube clips I've watched of game footage, he still needs work on his court awareness and fundamentals but the video above certainly speaks to his potential. He has openly stated that he needs to work on his shooting if he's to play on the perimeter in college, but he is a competent free throw shooter and was able to convert on 60% of his shots from the floor this past season. Besides getting in transition, Theo also has a quick first step and is really fluid moving to the basket and using his length to get by opponents.

He's definitely a project, but Doug Wojcik loves guys who can defend and rebound. Hopefully he can develop Johnson into the type of player CofC needs.

Doug Wojcik Named Head Coach at CofC

Confirmation from ESPN's Andy Katz

We interupt this NCAA Final Four to give you an important announcement regarding CofC basketball. Former Tulsa Golden Hurricanes head coach Doug Wojcik has been named the newest mens basketball coach at the College of Charleston. So much to process right now. Here are the various pros and cons I can accrue from what research I've done so far:

Pros:

• Tubby Smith and Bill Self were also solid Tulsa head coaches who went on to do good things
• Played point guard at Navy alongside David Robinson
• Took Tulsa from two straight 9 win seasons to a respectable 123-78 record as head coach over seven seasons.
• Also has coaching experience at Navy, Notre Dame, Michigan State and UNC
• Each one of his seniors earned their degree at Tulsa
• Turned Tulsa into one of the top defensive teams in the country
• Helped recruit Raymond Felton to UNC and Chris Thomas to Notre Dame

Cons:

• He's been solid, but not spectacular at Tulsa. This was a team that was once a big time mid-major program but they were stalling under Wojcik
• Was one of the top assistants available in 2001 and 2003 but never really lived up to expectations 
• External hire: really hope we don't see an exodus of talent
• NEVER reached the NCAA Tournament as a coach at Tulsa (part of this was due to Calipari's Memphis team dominating the C-USA for so long but the Golden Hurricanes limped to a 10-6 conference record and lost to Marshall in the quarter finals this season)

Press conference scheduled for Wednesday

Cremins Officially Retires as CofC Head Coach

In a press conference held just minutes ago at TD Arena, Coach Cremins announced his official retirement from coaching college basketball. Also at the press conference were President Benson and Athletic Director Joe Hull. The College will conduct a national coaching search, of which interim coach Mark Byington has already been named the first "finalist".

Sad news to say the least, but was this a surprise to any real CofC fans? We all kind of said our goodbyes and sent our well-wishes when Cremins stepped down due to non-life threatening health concerns. The real curveball would have been if Cremins announced today that he would be back at the helm as the CofC mens basketball head coach.

The big takeaway for me is that the coaching search has not yet begun according to Hull and Benson. Which basically brings us right back to the gargantuan argument amongst CofC fans as to who should take up the reigns. There are whispers that Bobby will be an advisor to the program a-la John Kresse. There is also some speculation that the big search is all smoke-and-mirrors and that Byington pretty much has the job locked up. I'll make an assessment when official news comes to fruition. 

Davidson Holds Off Western Carolina in 2OT: Wins SoCon 93-91

What a freaking game. Those of you who stayed up to watch witnessed an absolute nail biter in one of the most dramatic SoCon Championship games in recent memory. Western Carolina jumped out to an early 12-point lead because Davidson was completely incapable of stopping dribble penetration. Then during a stretch spanning the end of the 1st and beginning of the 2nd half, Davidson was able to crawl back. It looked like the aggregate games were starting to get the better of Mutombo and Sumler as both were walking the ball up court, doubling over and bricking shots. So much of the Catamount offense is based on perimeter movement that it was only inevitable that their legs would start to die. Davidson meanwhile pounded the ball inside to Brooks, Cohen and Mann who went beast mode on anyone not name Tawaski King (he had a great game also).

Then with the game firmly in hand, Davidson botched a 10 point lead in the final 2 minutes plus change by turning the ball over off out-of-bounds plays and giving up dumb fouls. To their credit, Cole and Sumler also hit some ridiculous shots to tie the game up. In the both overtimes, the teams traded big shot after big shot. Eventually Mann finally took advantage of WCU's lethargic D and dunked one home to give Davidson their 93rd point. Cole would miss a deep three at the buzzer to seal the Wildcat NCAA Tournament birth.

Really really tough ending for Mutombo (my Tournament MVP) and Sumler. Those guys battled all weekend and never gave up down the stretch tonight against the overwhelming favorite. Both players collapsed to the ground as the buzzer sounded.

More notes from a great game:

• Player of the Year De'Mon Brooks had two isolation attempts to seal the game. Missed them both
• Very uncharacteristic of a McKillop-coached team to give the game away like that in the last two minutes of regulation. 14-2 run by WCU to close out the first 40 minutes
• My boy Michael Czera was big time down the stretch
• Dikembe in the house!
• Best subplot of this game: camera shots of uncomfortable Davidson fans sitting next to Asheville's locals. At more than one time you could see the argyle- wearing, bespectacled Davidson alums looking physically disgusted at the Mucinex boogers sitting next to them  
• Jon Sciambi is my favorite play-by-play man in college basketball. Always happy to cover the mid-majors and always gives the SoCon mad love
• Raise your hand if you knew Tawaski King and Clint Mann had such refined post moves. Liar. 
• Prime example of mental fatigue- WCU's miscommunication on defense leading to all those wide open lanes to the hoop
• Davidson a little too careless with the ball for such an important game
• Somebody please get Davidson's "free throw expert" to come to CofC

And that's all she wrote folks. Davidson is your Southern Conference Men's Basketball Champion

Southern Conference Championship: WCU vs Davidson

Davidson (24-7, 16-12) 

Western Carolina (17-17, 8-10)

US Cellular Center, Asheville, NC

Tipoff at 9pm on ESPN2

Do the Catamounts have one more game in them to complete the Cinderella story? Do the Wildcats go essentially untouched from preseason favorite to postseason champion? You guys all know the story lines in this one. Western Carolina peaked at just the right time and, as they have demonstrated to Wofford and UNCG, they are a force when their shots are falling. Davidson has had little trouble disposing those in their path so far but no team in the conference is as hot as Western Carolina. 

There are two things working in the Catamounts favor: speed and experience. Seniors Mutombo and Cole have been leading the charge in this tournament and Trey Sumler has been playing above the maturity level of most sophomores. The Catamounts also are quick on the perimeter and use a small lineup with Mutombo as the 4 to their advantage.

That leads into Davidson's strengths. Despite the adrenaline and home crowd likely to be present tonight, the Catamounts have played an exhausting 120 minutes of basketball this weekend so far. Out of those 120 minutes their three most important players have played the following: 

-Cole: 38, 34, 38

-Sumler: 39, 39, 40

-Mutombo: 35, 26, 28

Thats a lot of tread on the tires for any team with an NCAA berth on the line. Then add into that the size advantage Davidson has. Brooks and Cohen are All-Socon level forwards going up against that puny WCU front line.

Speed vs size, momentum vs steadfastness. Now stop reading and go enjoy some good basketball.