Takeaways from Maroon Madness 2012

1) It's a shame Canyon Barry is redshirting his freshman year

After the trip to Canada this summer Coach Wojcik had jovially voiced his displeasure that Canyon, the "genius" Barry, had decided to redshirt his true freshman year. After last night Cougar fans got to see why. Barry is a much more finished product than some people gave him credit for. He's long, athletic and coordinated and won the dunk contest with the most creative and entertaining jam of the night. In addition to his physical tools, Canyon is also in the Honors College and studying physics. That course load along with the time commitment of basketball might explain taking on an extra year. 

2) It may not have been the added weight that held Trent back last year, the ankle could be to blame

Looking as burly as ever, Trent seemed much more capable of playing above the rim this year. He was quicker on his feet and was able to still get up for some athletic rebounds and dunks. A lot of us thought that the added muscle Trent put on between his freshman and sophomore years sacrificed his agility for strength. But after surgery Wiedeman has been receiving nothing but praise from onlookers.

3) The jury is still out on Willis

We didn't see any Rookie of the Year-type injury comeback out of Mr. Hall during the scrimmage but he also didn't look out of rhythm. Speaking of rhythm, he also kept it together during Gangnam Style unlike some. 

What to Watch For Tonight at Maroon Madness

The Cougar-faithful will finally get their first look at Doug Wojcik's team tonight at TD Arena as Maroon Madness officially kicks off the college basketball season here in Chucktown. In addition to the contests and team dance skits, there will be a little bit of 5-on-5 basketball being played on Kresse Court for the first time in months. Don't expect the coaching staff to ride players hard in these loose scrimmages, but you can anticipate the game to be competitive and visually entertaining. Here's what I'll be looking for:

• How do Trent, Willis and Anthony Stitt look coming off of injury? Reports are that Wiedeman has some quickness and explosiveness back following ankle surgery this past spring. Stitt should be recovered from that broken hand and Willis Hall gets to show us how he's doing after that nasty ACL tear that caused him to redshirt his entire junior year. 

• The newcomers. We'll get a look at not only freshmen Theo Johnson and Canyon Barry, but also transfers Anthony Thomas and David Wishon. Barry and Wishon are both redshirting this year so this might be our only chance to see them play on the court with the rest of the team. Thomas meanwhile will likely be the starting small forward on opening day. Will be interesting to see what kind of role he plays for the team stepping right into the spot Antwaine Wiggins occupied for so long.

• What the hell is this offense and defense gonna look like? Pick-and-roll? Man-to-man or zone D? High post and low post between Baru and Wiedeman? Where does the talented backcourt of Lawrence and Stitt fit into Wojcik's big man friendly system? I'm not expecting any complex play calling tonight but we may see a few hints as to what style this team will employ.

• The dunk contest and three point shootout. Say what you will about Jordan Scott and James Carlton, but they were the two best pre-game dunkers at CofC before transferring this summer. My money is on freshman Theo Johnson to win out but Adjehi or even Trevonte Dixon might have a shot. As for the three point contest, Lawrence and Sundberg should be the favorites but I don't think anyone will be rivaling Goudelock's scores in that event any time soon. 

Sunday Morning Links

• On Thursday the Southern Conference released the results of the preseason coaches poll. Charleston was tabbed to finish second to Davidson in the South Division and UNCG was picked to finish atop the North. Lawrence and Wiedeman made the Preseason All-Conference team and De'Mon Brooks was picked to be Player of the Year. No real surprises here [SoconSports]

• Speaking of Lawrence, our friends over at CBSSports picked the Cougar captain as one of the 50 best point guards in the country and one of 30 under-the-radar players this season. Also on the under-the-radar list are the SoCon's Eric Ferguson, De'Mon Brooks and Jake Cohen. [Top 50 PGs | Top Under-the-Radar Players]

• Team Previews continue over at Mocs Mania. Good stuff from our blogger friends [ Elon | Furman | Samford | Davidson | UNCG ]

• Yesterday the Cougars took on Eastern Carolina in a "secret" scrimmage. At the time I'm writing this I don't know much since fans and media are strictly forbidden from attending such elusive spectacles [Other secret scrimmages]

• Don't forget Maroon Madness tomorrow night, 6:30 at TD Arena for our first look at the 2012-2013 mens and womens teams [CofCSports]

Scanning the SoCon Returns for a Second Season

One of the must-read columns for fans of any Southern Conference basketball program last year was the "Scanning the SoCon" series over at Mocs Mania. The weekly series collected bloggers covering four schools (Davidson, Chattanooga, Citadel and UNC Greensboro) and would preview the week ahead including must-see matchups, team reviews, previews and power rankings.

Well, good news for you SoCon fanatics out there, Scanning the SoCon is back for the 2012-2013 season and bigger than ever. This year there will be a blogger representing all twelve Southern Conference teams including yours truly representing the Cougars. Here's the rundown:

Appalachian State- Yosef's Cabin
Chattanooga- Mocs Mania
College of Charleston- King Kresse
Davidson- Davidson Cats Message Board
Elon- Elon Pendulum Student Newspaper
Furman- The UFFP Message Board
Georgia Southern- GSU Fans Message Board
Samford- Samford Bulldogs Message Board
The Citadel- The Sports Arsenal
UNC-Greensboro- UNCG Basketball Fan
Western Carolina- Catamount Sports Blog
Wofford- Terrier Fans Message Board

Before the season even begins, every day a new blogger will preview their teams upcoming season. We started today with Elon and will conclude on November 3rd with Chattanooga (Cougars will be posted November 2nd). Immediately after that we will host the first of three roundtable discussions in which all twelve bloggers will go over predictions, potential story lines going into the season, awards candidates, games to watch and other fun stuff. And it doesn't even stop there! Just like last season, every Monday the standard Scanning the SoCon column will be posted. That will consist of four selected bloggers reviewing the week and previewing the next, answering a few questions about their team and talking the usual amount of trash.

It all results in A LOT of frequent Southern Conference basketball coverage and a ton of different voices and opinions. The Scanning the SoCon series provides coverage of the conference unlike anything you get from national media outlets. It's all Southern Conference hoops, all the time and I'm so excited to be representing the Cougars in this endeavor. I'll be posting links to the weekly series as well as copying what coverage I contribute to Mocs Mania here directly onto King Kresse. So check back frequently and feel free to email me or comment on the posts with anything you'd like to hear discussed. Thanks for reading and GO COUGARS!

Sunday Morning Links: CofC Moves to (negotiate with) CAA!

It may not have been the end result we expected, but Friday's Board of Trustees meeting at Randolph Hall resulted in a move to grant President Benson and Joe Hull freedom to negotiate terms with the Colonial Athletic Association. The decision was mostly judged favorable, but those in dissent certainly made their concerns known. 

• President Benson's letter that was sent to CofC alumni, students and other stakeholders shortly after the decision was reached. [CofC]
• Chopper Johnson (he of the very well-written "Should I stay or Should I go now?" article) comments on the BOT's decision [CisternYard]
• CofC beat writer was at the BOT meeting and provides his thoughts. Also of note, former Coach and awesome blog namesake John Kresse believes the CAA is a "premier conference" and Charleston is a "perfect fit" [Post and Courier]
• ESPN's Andy Katz calls CofC a "quality addition" [Andy Katz]
• CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager wants to move forward with negotiations as quickly as possible. CofC will most likely be bargaining for help with those exit fees. [SB Nation]
• According to Matt Norlander, the SoCon is losing a "pillar member" and the CAA is getting a team that will consistently finish in the top half of the standings [CBS Sports]
• Good article by Jeff Eisenberg saying that the opposing decisions by Davidson and CofC can only be judged a few years down the road but both could end up being the right move by their respective institutions [Yahoo! Sports]

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• In non-CAA news, CofC Sports' one-on-one interviews continued with Anthony Stitt, who we haven't heard from since last season. He'll be the starting point guard on opening day and is excited to take on a leadership role in his sophomore season [CofC Sports]
• Maroon Madness, presented by Charleston City Paper, is scheduled for October 29th. I'm going with two dark horse candidates to win the dunk and three-point contests. Freshman Theo Johnson in the dunk and Matty Sunshine in the three-ball [Charleston City Paper]
• This week's edition of Inside the Lines caught up with Coaches Wojcik and Adair [CofCSports]

Rounding out the Rotation: A Look at the Key Reserves

"Hopefully we'll be able to keep everybody healthy, but we should be a lot deeper this year so I'm really really excited" - Andrew Lawrence

If the losses of Willis Hall and Anthony Stitt taught us anything last year, it was that depth is an absolute priority for a team to sustain winning through conference and postseason play. In Hall's absence we got a chance to see Adjehi Baru play significant minutes right out of the gate as a freshman. When Anthony Stitt (a freshman sensation in his own right) went down with a broken hand, Nori Johnson stepped up out of nowhere and provided a huge scoring boost at the tail end of the season.

This roster was built by Cremins to provide a solid seven player rotation and not much more. That was made painfully apparent when guys like James Carlton, Jordan Scott and TD Dixon looked lost at times and showed little impact in limited minutes. Now with Coach Wojcik at the helm, the guys sitting on the pine will be asked to take on a much larger role and allow guys like Lawrence and Wiedeman to get rest in close games. The hope is that well-rested starters will be less prone to injury and still have plenty left in the tank heading into March.

Let's take a look at five players who are likely to see reserve minutes this year. Based on prior experience or expectation, these five have the potential to be x-factors on the 2012-2013 team. Not only that, but given this team's injury history, any one of them could end up in the starting lineup.


So much more after the break...

Sunday Morning Links: First Practice and SoCon Previews Abound

College basketball season is officially under way across the nation as teams were allowed to hold official practices beginning Friday, October 12. With regular season openers less than a month away, a number of league and team previews are also available across the interwebs.

• CofCSports caught up with Coach Wojcik, Andrew Lawrence and Trent Wiedeman after the first practice. The big takeaway from all three: an emphasis on rebounding and defense this year. Even more interesting was how both Trent and Andrew stressed the importance of having Willis Hall back and how that affects the team's toughness and expectations. [CofCSports]

• CBS college basketball blogger Matt Norlander believes the Davidson Wildcats have a great shot at not only winning the Southern Conference, but also making a run in the Big Dance. In regard to the Cougars, Norlander writes that the core of Stitt, Lawrence, Hall, Wiedeman and Baru has the best shot at overtaking Davidson. Other highlights: Eric Ferguson's NBA Draft prospects and Trevis Simpson's unbelievable volume shooting. [CBSSports]

• Yahoo Sports also predicts Davidson to be the crown jewel of the conference and Charleston to fall to a close second in the South Division. Starting to see a trend here? [Yahoo Sports]

• Nooga.com takes a look at the major questions facing each SoCon basketball program heading into the season. The South Division preview is in Part 2. [Part 1] [Part 2]

• ESPN has been taking a look at the non-conference schedules of teams in conferences that people give a crap about. As you can guess, ESPN didn't waste time analyzing the Southern Conference, but they did preview those teams in the CAA (I'm just saying is all) [ESPN]

• From the same story, Louisville's matchup against CofC at TD Arena was not amongst the Card's "toughest" games, but at least the Charleston Classic was named one of the biggest challenges for teams like Baylor, Murray State and Colorado. [Big East Non-Conference]

Sunday Morning Links

• Here's a real nice feature on junior transfer Anthony Thomas. Touches on his path from high school to App State, to Hutchinson CC to now being plugged into the Cougars starting lineup. His goal this season is to be SoCon Defensive Player of the Year and to be one of the most versatile players on the floor for CofC. [CofCSports]

• Another story about the high expectations for Andrew Lawrence after his Olympic experience this summer [HoopsFix.com]

• New women's basketball coach Natasha Adair has the Lady Cougars doing some pretty intense preseason workout and bonding exercises. Weekly 6:00 am Folly Beach and Cooper River Bridge runs are the norm under the new regime which has been christened with the motto: "The NEW STANDARD....is UNCOMFORTABLE" [Folly Beach Photo Gallery | Bridge Run | Video of Workout]

• CofC Sports and CofC Video have teamed up to create a new ESPN SportsCenter-style program called "Inside the Lines" that highlights Cougar sports performances over the past week. Viewers are encouraged to interact with the show through Twitter and the show will regularly feature athlete and coach interviews. Seems like a pretty neat idea, even if Jeff McCarragher's monopoly over all CofC sports media grows with each episode [Inside the Lines]