From One Rivalry to the Next: Cougs Travel to Davidson

Davidson (4-9, 0-0)

College of Charleston (6-7, 0-0)

Belk Arena

Tipoff at 2pm on CSS and MyTV Charleston

Wrapping up the out-of-conference schedule and kicking off 2014, the Cougars will face another familiar opponent on New Years Day as they head up I-77 to face the Davidson Wildcats. While the Citadel game is always built up as a regional rivalry, the real rivalry in the SoCon the past eight years was CofC-Davidson. Both teams were consistently atop the SoCon year in and year out with Coach McKillop, Steph Curry and Davy carrying the banner for the Southern Conference. Now, like the Cougars, the Cats are leaving the quiet local conference for a huge upgrade - the Atlantic 10. Hoping to continue a solid mid-major rivalry, both schools locked in over the offseason to continue to play one another once a year for the next few seasons. 

The names may be unfamiliar to most Cougar fans outside of SoCon Preseason Player of the Year De'Mon Brooks but as long as McKillop is on the sideline you can rest assured that this team will run like a well oiled machine. This will be one of the tougher games the Cougars play in 2014. Davidson has had Wojcik's number so far, defeating the Cougars not once, not twice, but three times last season including the SoCon Championship. It helps that this game is on the road where the Cougars have a sterling record in Wojcik's tenure, but the Wildcats are tuned in for one last tear through the SoCon and they'll look to take care of CofC for old times sake.

Are the Wildcats any good?

Don't let the record fool you. The Wildcats have played an even tougher schedule than CofC and have an OT win over Charlotte, an OT loss to #14 UNC and most recently a single digit loss at #8 Wichita State. The Shockers were the fifth ranked team Davidson has already played this season (UVA, Duke and New Mexico the others). Davidson struggled early putting together all the new pieces with Player of the Year Jake Cohen and fellow senior starters JP Kuhlman and Nik Cochran gone. An injury to De'Mon Brooks caused the slide to continue but in the last two games Davy has really turned it on. In Chapel Hill they pushed the Tar Heels to overtime and inside one of the toughest arenas to play at in the country they got the best from Wichita State. So yea, they're pretty good.

What do they do well?

For the past quarter-century and for likely many years to come Bob McKillop has/will have his players play smart, disciplined and effective. The "motion" offense they run catches a lot of flack from opponents who view it as a cop-out for setting moving screens and other ticky tack fouls but Davidson usually runs it to perfection. They never have the best athletes or players with last names you can pronounce but the Wildcats under McKillop will not beat themselves and you don't want to come down to the wire with them in the final minutes.

What do they struggle with?

Not necessarily a "struggle" to any other team in the country but Davidson's NCAA-leading team free throw percentage has dipped to 68.4% so...there's that. But seriously, not unlike the Cougars, the Wildcats have faced issues that come with integrating newcomers and former role players into consistent pillars of the team. They have struggled getting to the line and getting shots to fall. Also uncharacteristically they are not hitting their threes (barely 30% as a team), gosh I wonder what that's like. 

Matchup to watch for?

Canyon Barry is the type of player you could see playing for Davidson. He's smart both on and off the court, has a feel for the game, versatility as a lengthy and fluid player. I'd like to see how he matches up with these guys after watching the Cougars take on the Wildcats three times from the bench during his redshirt season. I don't think the Cougars can win with everybody chipping in their usual numbers. CofC needs an exemplary performance from at least one player and Canyon, despite his recent struggles, seems like a likely candidate. 

X-Factor

Nori Johnson. You can read my recap of the Citadel game or watch Wojcik's postgame presser to hear either of us gush over the switch that turned on when Nori started raining threes in the second half. It alleviates pressure on the rest of the team and allows each player to slide more into roles they are comfortable in. Whether that be Canyon coming in as a bench contributor, Baru facing less double teams or Stitt having more driving lanes it all depends on making shots from the outside. Like the game Sunday, this will be Nori and Willis' last time playing Davidson; I'd like to see them both leave it all on the floor once again. 

Cougs Shutout Citadel for 8:53, Nori Johnson Sparks 72-48 Win

Final Score: College of Charleston 72, The Citadel 48

Top Performers:

Willis Hall 18 pts, 13 rebs

Nori Johnson 12 pts (4-7 3pt), first points of the season

Anthony Stitt 15 pts, 5 assts, 7 rebs, 2 stls

In the final crosstown rivalry match of their careers, seniors Willis Hall and sparingly used Nori Johnson set the tone early in each half en route to a dominating 24-point victory over the Citadel. The Cougars held the Bulldogs scoreless for nearly 9 minutes to start the game behind another solid team defensive performance. Yet the Cougars again struggled to put together consistent offense with another re-tooled starting five that featured Canyon Barry and Anthony Thomas on the wings. The College scored just 11 points in the opening shutout at McAlister before a mini surge by the Bulldogs cut it to a two possession game a few times late in the first half. 

Continuing to leave a trail of destruction through the month of December, Willis Hall had yet another dominant game with grown man double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. His work on the offensive glass as well as some timely 3-balls bailed the CofC offense out of some now sadly expected scoring droughts. He almost had a double-double going into halftime with I think a 9 and 8 stat line.

In the second half it was all about Nori Johnson. The senior sharp-shooter who has struggled to get consistent minutes behind a freshman-heavy backcourt got some extra burn with Chealey experiencing some discomfort in his knee and promptly reminded us of what he is capable of. The team is so desperate for a consistent three-point shooter and Nori proved that he can fill that role coming off the bench. He hit three straight from outside and one more for good measure to be the Cougars' third leading scorer this afternoon after being unable to find the bottom of the net all season. Nori spoke after the game about "hitting the reset button" after an academically challenging fall semester of his senior year (I do not remember that time fondly) and stressed the confidence and level-headedness he felt going into the final stretch of his college career. 

Once the outside shots start falling it really opens everything up for the Cougar offense. Things start clicking faster, Stitt and Thomas start getting to the rim and the team just kicks into a different gear. If Nori can fill the role of scorer off the bench not just as the freshmen continue to struggle, but as the season goes on we may view this game as an epiphany of sorts.

More notes from this afternoon's game:

• Anthony Stitt also deserves credit for a very solid floor game. He was driving to the basket more than I've seen him do all year and his stat line of 15, 7 and 5 might be the most well-rounded game of his career. His outside shooting is still hit or miss but if it's not falling I'd love to see him play more like he did today. You could argue that this was one of the first games of his career when he has been the sole point guard in the lineup - usually he would share the starting 5 with Andrew Lawrence or Joe Chealey. As always his defense was also of a lockdown variety.
• Speaking of defense, Matt Van Scyoc, Citadel's leading scorer and a thorn in the side of CofC last season was held to just 2 field goal attempts and four points in 33 minutes of action. Wojcik didn't hold back when those numbers were brought up postgame, saying that shutting down Van Scyoc was a major part of today's game plan and the focus of Anthony Thomas and Canyon Barry. Wojcik also said that Van Scyoc's comments in the P&C about wanting to give the Cougars "a little something" were pre-game bulletin board material. 
• Despite being hounded by Citadel's defense every time he received an entry pass, Adjehi had another solid game with 11 points and 8 boards. He would have had a very good game if he hadn't missed some easy shots right at the rim (he was 4 for 11 on the night) but he did give us the highlight of the night with a flush from an Anthony Stitt inbounds pass. 
• Another quiet game by the freshmen class in this one. Canyon Barry, back in the starting lineup, missed a number of open shots and looked as if he was forcing some takes inside. He did play solid defense and make 5-6 from the charity stripe. Joe Chealey was a non-factor. Coming off the bench he picked up two fouls in less than a minute of play and was held out the rest of the game to alleviate some stress on a sore knee. 
• The #FreeJBC movement got back on track as young Johnathan had the would-be highlight of the year when he took off Space Jam finale style from somewhere way outside the basket and attempted to crunch one on a Citadel guard. As has been the case most of the season, the rim was Cook's biggest enemy and we were all denied another JBC highlight. 
• We got our first look at Glenn Pierre this game. To the surprise of myself and many others who thought the freshman big man was redshirting this year, he came in midway through the 2nd half and quickly got a bucket by banking a hook shot off the glass. I still plan on getting to the bottom of this mystery (can you redshirt one semester?) but Pierre looked very tall (he's 6'11), skinny and a little more composed than I would have guessed in his 2 minutes of action.

El Cid Preview: Rivalry Renewed

El Cid (4-9, 0-0)

College of Charleston (5-7, 0-0)

McAllister Field House

Tipoff at 2pm on Citadel Portal ($6.95)

Conference affiliations may change and expectations dip when neither team has a winning record, but as long as the Citadel and CofC remain 2 miles apart from one another this will always be a rivalry. Both fan bases generally despise one another despite the cordial relationships between bff's Doug Wojcik and Chuck Driesell as well as Bulldogs and Cougars who play pick-up ball together every summer. Now that the teams will only meet once per year, the bragging rights for Berry Residence Hall, King Street and downtown Charleston rest on one game played at McAlister Field House. The last time the Cougars played an old SoCon foe they hung up 89 points. Will this be the game that the offense finally comes alive or are we in for another 51-44 stinker? Here's what you need to know:

Are the Bulldogs any good?

In a word, no. Yea the Cougars aren't one to talk but the Citadel Bulldogs have struggled against D1 competition. Three of their four victories have come against lower division teams and the other was over Presbyterian. I really admire the job Driesell does at one of the most difficult head coaching positions in the sport but his team is struggling with the graduation of Mike Groselle - one of the best players the Citadel has had in the past decade. It is possible that El Cid is turning a corner though, at Nebraska on December 21st the Bulldogs and Cornhuskers were tied at halftime before the home team pulled away late. 

What do they do well?

The 'Dogs rank 64th nationally in assists per game with 15.2 averaged each contest. They also do a great job of putting up points against schools you have never heard of.

What do they struggle with?

Right now it seems as if Chuck Driesell is trying to fit some square pegs into round holes. He's trying to run an up-tempo offensive system that doesn't really fit with the player personnel he has on hand. Because of this I feel like they're actually playing below their talent level right now. I really like Matt Van Scyoc as a player (CofC fans should remember him lighting us up as a freshman last year and you better believe he'll be gunning to do it again) but I think he's being misused. He's a better shooter than his numbers suggest and I think it's because he's not taking the right shots. 

Matchup to watch for:

Anthony Thomas versus Van Scyoc will be good for the above reasons but I want to see how the re-tooled CofC rotation does against a thin Citadel team. Barry will likely be coming off the bench again and he should be able to generate some easy points - IF he can knock them down. I wonder if JBC will still be a starter but whether he is or not I want to see if he can still bring aggressiveness on offense. Hell, why am I beating around the bush, I want to see if the Cougars can finally put some points on the board against a shitty Citadel team. There, I said it. 

X-Factor

It seems a bit strange to list your best player as an x-factor in a rivalry game but Adjehi Baru is the most important player on the court today. He is still getting way too few touches in the paint (3 shot attempts against Kent State....3?!) despite CDW's consistent bemoaning to the media each postgame about how the team needs to get him more involved. Baru faces no real defense with Groselle gone and should really dominate this afternoon. He scores at a 60% clip, which would be an automatic boost in points if he gets the opportunities but it also opens up room outside for Stitt and Thomas to drive or Barry and Chealey to pull the trigger from three. 

All I Want for Christmas is some Offensive Execution

Following a 58-54 sleep-inducing home loss to Kent State over the weekend, fan concerns over the lack of offense from this years team have ratcheted from mild concern to near abandon ship status. The Cougars scored just 16 points in the first half of that game and the season numbers paint an even bleaker picture of offensive clumsiness.

The 2013-14 Charleston Cougars rank in the bottom ten teams nationally in both scoring per game (61.5) and assists per game (9.3). Their free throw shooting as a team (63.8%) is also perilously close to falling to the bottom of the barrel. The season statistics only confirm what fans this year have seen on the court (especially at home): the Cougs look clunky and slow on offense, take too much time to get into their sets and can't finish plays with made baskets to justify milking the clock for so long. They also have the habit of giving the other team an average of 14 extra possessions each game via turnovers. Coupled with poor free throw shooting this has inflated deficits against up-tempo teams like Louisville, SDSU and Charlotte. 

In the above video Coach Wojcik is asked about the team's struggles on the offensive end and offers his reasoning. The team, and I'll agree with this, does create open shots for themselves when they are not turning the ball over. Part of the problem is that they aren't hitting these shots. The team is probably too dependent on freshmen scoring production and all three first year guards are hitting a wall. The most efficient player on the team, Adjehi Baru, is getting too few shots per game and players like Canyon Barry and Anthony Stitt are probably shooting too much. 

It's frustrating for the fan base because the Cougars have gotten back to a top-tier defense since struggling early. They hold opponents to season-low scoring and field goal percentage numbers. They often win the rebounding battle and can take out opponents' best scoring options. But all that is for naught if the Cougars can't crack 60 points to finish off these dismal shooting teams. 

The way I see it there are three basic strategies that could help to jump start the offense. They all have their pros and cons but something has to happen before CAA play kicks in or the Cougars are in for a long and disappointing season.

The first option seems to be the one that CDW teased closest to in the Marist and Kent State games: shake up the rotation to give more minutes to offensively talented players like Johnathan Burroughs-Cook, Theo Johnson and Nori Johnson. With the three guard backcourt struggling to hit shots at a decent percentage, Wojcik tried to alleviate some pressure from Barry and Chealey by bringing them off the bench and instead starting spark plug Cook and all-around utility guy AT to try and create some points. I would ask him to go a step further and also give some shooting guard minutes to the Johnsons. Senior Nori Johnson has completely fallen out of the rotation this year but many fans will remember his career high 27 points against Kent State just a few seasons ago. Theo has proven he's capable of creating points for himself and others.

The reasoning behind this strategy is simple, you give fewer minutes to the guys who are either defenders or struggling with their shots and give more minutes to shot creators like Cook and Nori Johnson or a guy like Theo who can score off cuts, steals and open threes. In this case you live with these three players' questionable defense and hope that a lineup anchored by Wishon and AT can give you enough of a defensive presence to offset any scoring swing. The problem is that even the teams best catch and shoot players are streaky. There is not a consistent three-point shooter on the team aside from Willis Hall and the inefficiencies in ball handling and ball movement are enough to warrant not playing the aforementioned shooters.

The second option is perhaps the most radical and deals with implementing an almost totally new offense and tempo that could better fit the athletes on the team: run and (cautiously) gun. Baru, Thomas and Barry are all starting caliber forwards who can sprint the length of the court better than most of their peers. Unfortunately we don't see it enough in the teams slow and deliberate sets. Getting in transition off missed baskets would rid the team of wasted clock time they experience from over-thinking and over-passing the ball. The team has been victim to a number of shot clock violations after too many dribble hand offs and probing the paint. Asking the guys to stop thinking so much and get to the rim after the numerous missed shots they force seems like an easy fix for offensive woes.

But this potential solution comes with a multitude of problems. First of all it's a little late in the game to change strategies even that much and expect a turnaround this year. The team already has a turnover problem running a half court set. The few times they have been able to get out on the break they look lost and the pressure to score in the open court could backfire tremendously. The second issue is that despite the great defense the Cougars are capable of playing, it's not the type of system that ends in steals or blocked shots. Wojcik's defense is more of a sagging, contesting, force tough shots and secure the rebound type of game plan that rarely results in the Cougars running the other way with a man advantage. 

The third option is likely the one we see implemented this season: the wait and see approach. We all know Doug Wojcik's military background comes out in what can be perceived as stubbornness. He offered a welcome glimpse of flexibility with the lineup changes last week but he will more than likely role with what he's got the rest of the season. 

The thinking behind this is you get better as a team by the individual players getting better as the season goes on. As guys like Canyon and Joe Chealey continue to acclimate themselves to the college game the entire Cougars squad gets a boost. You wait and hope that this is a stretch of bad shooting and you trust that the system can work if guys just hit the shots when open.

It's tough to stay positive and easy to lose faith when we see the same problems occur in each loss: namely poor free throw shooting, sub 40% shooting and turnovers. Teams have gotten by with stellar defense and less than mediocre offense but the Cougars really need to boost the ol' scoring average to start tallying up the win column. Conference play is just a few weeks away and a little Christmas miracle for some well-behaving Cougars would be an appreciated gift for fans and players alike.  

Wojcik Shakes Up Starting 5, Cougars Win Battle of Anemic Offense

Final Score: College of Charleston 51, Old Dominion 44

Top Performers:

Willis Hall 14 points, 7 rebounds

Aaron Bacote 13 points

Following a mostly listless performance against Marist, the Cougars needed a spark to light the fires under their back sides. Departing from his usually rigid habits, Wojcik surprised many when he made the decision to pull Joe Chealey and Canyon Barry from the starting lineup and replace the duo with fellow freshman Johnathan Burroughs-Cook and senior Anthony Thomas.

The #FreeJBC movement faltered before it really even got started as Cook's potential to score in bursts was hindered by early fouls and turnovers. The third member of the Freshman Big Three finished with zero points.

At the small forward position, AT (who started every game last season) had his clear best game of the year in extended minutes. For the moment he has snatched back the starting spot from Canyon. Thomas finished second to Hall in points and rebounds, played stellar defense and came up with two big offensive tip-ins late to kill any momentum the Monarchs worked up. While he lacks the scoring touch Barry showed early in the season, AT is a much better defender and rebounder. Until Barry earns his minutes back we should be more than content to welcome back Thomas with open arms. 

The willingness to try something different with the rotation was a welcome sign but the team continued to struggle offensively - the very reason for the change. Hall and Thomas were the only players who scored in double figures and the team shot just 37% for the game. Once again turnovers (13) and lack of clock awareness forced the clunky Cougar offense to stutter. It could be a freshman wall or cold streak but the CofC backcourt rotation of Stitt, JBC, Barry and Chealey was a combined 6-23 from the field. Some of those shots were forced as the clock ran down but you can't fault the coaching staff for the open looks that aren't falling. 

On the positive side, CofC's defense played great and their FREE THROW SHOOTING was outstanding. Anthony Thomas and David Wishon deserve recognition for the way they played last night on the defensive end. Wishon had the best game of his career, subbing in for the foul plagued Baru he packed the paint, grabbed seven boards and blocked three shots. Thomas is such a great one-on-one stopper but his value last night was as a team defender. He's very aware of when to leave his man and where everyone is on the floor. It's something Canyon hasn't picked up yet and part of the reason why the lineup of Wishon-Hall-AT-Stitt-Chealey was so productive. 

Compared to ODU the Cougar offense looked like they were playing in an open gym. The Monarchs admittedly missed some bunnies but also were harassed into bad shots again and again. They were 1-10 from beyond the arc and barely cracked 30% shooting from the field. Bacote was their go-to scorer coming into this game and Anthony Stitt deserves a lot of credit for keeping him in check the entire game. 

It all made for another sloppy affair in which the Cougars were only really threatened once. ODU was able to make a push with a few minutes left in the 2nd half, but timely tip-ins by AT and Canyon Barry's clutch three (his only basket) from the top of the key as one of the final shot clock possessions expired put this one away. 

Moving forward I'd love to see the guys continue to hit free throws at a solid clip and play the same type of defense they played last night. Wishon finally looked serviceable as a role player and AT should remain in the starting lineup. I also think JBC should not see his minutes cut so drastically. He did not seize the opportunity last night and CDW benched him much of the game but the team desperately needs someone who can create offense. Up next is a surprisingly competent Kent State team at TD Arena. I'm not expecting a decent crowd but the Cougs could use a boost in their shooting confidence. It's either that or a sacrifice to the shooting gods. 

Cougars Look to Bounce Back with Trip to ODU

Old Dominion University (4-6, 0-0)

College of Charleston (4-6, 0-0)

Ted Constant Convocation Center, Norfolk, VA

Tipoff at 7pm on ODUSports.com ($9.95)

The Cougars are in a skid right now. Despite a lightened schedule since the first two rounds of the Wooden Legacy, CofC (in the words of coach Wojcik in his latest podcast) has "not been great at anything." They're not shooting the ball well, they're allowing way too many open jumpers and the absence of David Wishon has made the teams lack of size painfully obvious. The Cougars will try to right the ship with a mid-week break from Charleston as they head to the Old Dominion to face ODU:

Are the Monarchs any good?

Record wise they are precisely as good as the Cougars. They've beaten the teams they should beat (Presbyterian, Murray State, Howard, Waffle House Univeristy) and lost to the likes of VCU, St. Louis and West Virginia. Having gone a surprising 5-25 last year, new head coach Jeff Jones has guided the team to a very "meh" season thus far. The team is probably a little bit better than the squad the Cougars beat last year in Chucktown - which could be good enough to win the way the Cougs have been playing recently. 

What do they do well?

This game looks to be dead even on the boards as both ODU and CofC hover around 38 per game and top 100 nationally. The Cougars have out-rebounded their last four opponents, Arizona St and Coker by 17 apiece. Richard Ross, a junior who played sparingly against the Cougars last year, and freshman forward Denzell Taylor lead the way with 7.9 and 6.1 per game respectively. Willis gets a quick break from going against bigger, bulkier opponents for at least a game as he matches up size-wise with ODU's 4-spot. He's was a beast against Marist on Sunday, he'll need to bring it again tonight.

What do they struggle with?

Much like the Cougars, the Monarchs cannot create consistent offense. They don't share the ball very well and don't get good shots. They're averaging 60 points their last five games (all losses by the way) and have few options outside guard Aaron Bacote. The sophomore is averaging 19 per game on 44% shooting.

Matchup to watch for

The Cougars inability to start fast versus the Monarchs ability to close games. Last year I coined the nickname "Cardiac Cougars" for CofC's habit of giving up leads late in winnable games. This year the Cougars have not found themselves in many dogfights but they were able to miraculously come back against Charlotte and make a number of second half runs in Anaheim as well as against Marist. Part of the reason why these runs are necessary is that the Cougars have taken lethargic play to the first five minutes of games and have given teams like San Diego State and Marist insurmountable leads early on. ODU is suffering from Cardiac Cougar syndrome this season (Myocardial Monarchs?) against the likes of NC Central and Georgia State. One team figures to start slow and finish strong, the other figures to do just the opposite. So goes a battle of 4-6 teams...

X-Factor

Who else could it be?? #FreeJBC

Cougars Embarrassed at Home, Lose to Formerly Winless Marist

Final Score: Marist 69, College of Charleston 62
Top Performers:
Willis Hall 19 points, 11 rebounds
Chavaughn Lewis 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals

Full disclosure - I was unable to watch this game live due to familial travel obligations so I'm mostly going off the boxscore and what I've overheard on the web so far. Regardless, this is a pathetic loss at home for the Cougars. As if losing to UNC Asheville wasn't bad enough, Marist (0-9 on the season prior to today) was able to build a 15-point halftime lead and withstand a Willis Hall-fueled comeback to win their first game of the season.

Once again the Cougars were unable to put the ball in the basket, shooting under 40% from the field and just 22% from three. As has been the case in most losses this season, last year's stout defense also took the night off as Marist shot nearly 50% from the floor (much higher in the first half) and 47% from outside the arc. I can't say why exactly the defense was so porous having not seen the film but it probably had something to do with slow rotations and closeouts. The Cougars actually did well to significantly out rebound the Red Foxes (expected) and make their free throws (pleasant surprise) but it was the inability to hit shots and 15 team turnovers that negated any positive improvements the Cougars made in those two areas.

Down double digits in the second half, Willis Hall became fed up with his team's performance and went on a tear of 7 straight points to spearhead a 16-5 run that cut the deficit to just 2 points. But in the final minutes, Marist was able to make more shots than CofC and the Red Foxes walked away with a rare victory.

On any night the Cougars can either look like a legit contender or clear bottom-feeder in the CAA. I'm not buying the idea that they'll finish as a bottom three team in the conference but right now we look like a middle of the pack team despite what I would consider an advantage in talent. The main problem is that the Cougars cannot consistently make shots. It was a big problem last year but at least the defense could bail us out on occasion. What the coaching staff needs to do is figure out a way to get points when Baru is double teamed and the jump shots aren't falling. Barry, Chealey and Stitt are all capable of driving to the basket. The team has a number of guys who can play up-tempo. Somehow, someway the team needs to consistently produce offense, not when their backs are against the wall and not when they're cruising to a double digit victory. Until then it's going to be more of these low-scoring losses, no matter how easy the schedule looks on paper.

10 Reasons why Johnathan Burroughs-Cook is your New Favorite Player

Resistance is futile. The Johnathan Burroughs-Cook hype bandwagon is pulling out of the station and you have no choice but to hop on. The late-signing, under-recruited freshman has been granted more and more playing time as the season has gone on thanks to his so-tenacious-it's-almost-reckless style and propensity to make plays. In just a few short weeks he's moved so far up the rotation thats he's now the Cougars' go-to sixth man. He's proven his worth in extended minutes against Furman and Coker. He's must-see JBC. And he's your new favorite player - here's 10 reasons why. All aboard!

1) He started off his career like this 

It didn't take long for Johnathan (yes, that's how you spell his first name) to find a warm place in our hearts. Entering an exhibition game in garbage time, he decided that coasting to a modest victory in his first collegiate game just wasn't his style. Not breaking 100 points against Newberry College doesn't sit too well with JBC's go hard 24/7/365 style so instead THIS IS WHAT YOU HEARING. Number 2 decided to take matters into his own hands and posterize some 6-7 kid from a 1,000 student Evangelical college to get CofC over the century mark and give us college basketball's first highlight dunk of the season. The #FreeJBC movement was born.

2) He has three names

Joining the storied ranks of three-named luminaries such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Daniel Day-Lewis and Billy Dee Williams, Johnathan Burroughs-Cook's name oozes excellence and cool. His last name, Cook, is reflective of his propensity to "cook" opponents in limited minutes. Not unlike a microwave.

3) He's from Memphis, TN

4) This attempted dunk against Miami

When you put JBC in the game, rest assured that no rim is safe. The hoop is the acquired target and it's go hard or go home. As you can see from the above picture, JBC's trajectory for finishing above the rim will come up a few inches short...he was definitely not still on his way up at the point this photo was taken. Jonathan would go on to miss this dunk but it's the aggressiveness that counts. JBC doesn't let a 1-on-4 fast break against the ACC Champs or his 6'1 frame stop him from trying to flush another jam in front of the TD Arena crowd. After getting stuffed by the iron and crashing to the floor, JBC dusted himself off and hustled back on defense.

5) He chose CofC over Northeastern

Can you imagine JBC ballin' up in Bah-ston? His southern drawl is as slow as the Mississippi, he belongs in Charleston. 

6) He played AAU ball for Team Penny (as in Hardaway)

And his high school team was the Roadrunners 

7) He was raised by wolves and interned with Somali pirates last summer*

*still factually unconfirmed

8) He's leads CofC in highlights per minute and a number of other small-sample statistics

 

Despite averaging just 8 minutes per game, JBC leads the team in both three-point percentage (41.7%) and free throw shooting (75%) - two huge weaknesses in the Cougar offense this year. He also ranks second on the team, between Barry and Baru, for points per minute played. He's also got the best motor on the team and I'm waiting for him to dive out of bounds and throw the ball of his opponents' leg so hard he tears some kid's ACL. 

9) He loves the beach!

10) He's only just a freshman!

Terrance O'Donohue was the highest ranked player in last year's recruiting class, Canyon Barry leads the team in points and Joe Chealey has been nationally lauded for his outstanding play as a freshman. Lost in the mix up until now was JBC. He brings the playmaking of Chealey and the shooting of Barry along with an aggressive effort on defense. He's a perfect sixth man and will continue to grow over the next three and a half years. Team JBC for life!

Baru Carries Cougars Past Coker in Sloppy Contest

Final Score: College of Charleston 68, Coker 54
Top Performers:
Adjehi Baru 19 points, 11 rebs, 2 blks
Eren Moses 15 points, 7 rebs

Playing their first game in 12 days, the Cougars looked out of sync for much of a virtual scrimmage against DII Coker. After overcoming another slow start and poor free throw shooting, the size and depth of the Cougars eventually proved too much for the under-manned Cobras as the home team pulled away for a 14 point victory in the 2nd half.

Adjehi Baru was head and shoulders above everyone on the court tonight. Once the Cougars started hitting enough shots to force Coker out of their double and triple teams on Baru, the junior big man went to work on the much smaller Cobra front line and shot 9-12 from the field to come within a point of tying a career high. Since Wojcik came aboard last year the team has preached an inside-out mentality but with the surprise play of Barry and Chealey the team has often initiated offense from the perimeter. That was not the case tonight. Stitt and Chealey were feeding Baru early and often in the shot clock and Baru was effective nearly every time he made his moves. The only thing missing was his free throw shooting. That's a shame because Adjehi has been one of the better free throw shooters on the team this year and if he went more than 1-for-7 tonight he would have easily eclipsed his career scoring mark.

The rest of the team generally looked like a group who had not played in close to 2 weeks. With exams to focus on and the downswing of going from a tough OOC schedule to an exhibition game, a few lapses could probably be expected. While I don't advocate playing Division II schools, I guess it is better to get the kinks out against such an opponent. So long as you are able to put said opponent away. There were careless unforced turnovers, goaltends and miscommunication on offense and the Cougars' unwillingness to close out on Coker's shooters at full speed resulted in a game that was cut to 2-3 points several times in the first half. My hope is that the win will not discourage the coaching staff and players from using this as a learning experience and fixing some of the issues (free throw shooting, over-dribbling, lackadaisical defense) that started to creep back in the losses out in California.

The plus side of tonight was two-fold. Number one: we got to see more minutes out of reserves like Theo, Terrance O'Donohue and JBC. Theo showed off some nice facets of his game that he teased us with in limited minutes last year. In a short stretch he nailed a three-pointer and cut hard to the rim for a very nice jam off the pass from Baru.

But the real spark off the bench tonight was Jonathan Burroughs-Cook. The freshman from Memphis continues to be a fan favorite (maybe just my favorite) and microwave off the pine. He's all over the floor, flying around at 110% effort, every second of time he's on the court. In this game he was the best free throw shooter in a white jersey (instant fan favorite material on a night like tonight), faked out the entire Coker team on a shake and stutter move to the rim for an uncontested layup, drew an and-1 going to the rim yet again and stole the ball on a broken inbounds pass from Coker. My man-crush on Cook is gaining steam as he gets more playing time and I'm totally alright with all of this. #TeamJBC 4 Lyfe.

The second good sign of possible offensive wrinkles to come was that the team looked to push the tempo and run a bit more in this game. Maybe it was the level of competition or the number of blocked shots and steals the Cougars used to jumpstart themselves but the guys definitely made an effort to get out and run in this game. There were moments where the Cougars looked as though they had never practiced such open and variable plays before (the 3-on-1 fastbreak resulting in a Canyon Barry turnover comes to mind) but at least Wojcik showed that he is not bound to the sometimes overly-decisive slow moving sets. The Cougs have the athletes to pad their point totals by getting in transition, the one thing that I'd just like to see them do a bit more is pass ahead to Sitt or Barry on the wings when they're on the break. Too often tonight the Cougars would take off for the other end of the court only to have Chealey or whoever was running point hang on to the ball for too long and waste an opportunity.

All in all tonight went about as I expected. The Cougars avoided the massive letdown of losing to a DII team and had they hit their FT's (again, a gaping weakness of this team) they could have easily walked away with this one with an even larger margin. The defensive lapses need to be cleaned up but as long as we have Baru and Burroughs-Cook everything will be ok.

Baru Anchors CofC in Victory Over Titans

Final Score: College of Charleston 61, Cal State Fullerton 48

Top Performers:

Adjehi Baru 13 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks

Michael Williams 14 points, 6 rebounds

After suffering back-to-back blowout losses to San Diego State and Arizona State, the Cougars started to get defensive. No, they did not lash out at media or fans who questioned the team's game time strategies - they simply locked down the Cal State Fullerton Titans and produced enough easy offense to win comfortably. The win over the Wooden Legacy host team gave the Cougars a 7th place finish in the ESPN tournament. 

The star of this one was the man in the middle - Adjehi Baru. From the opening tip Baru took full advantage of the thin Titan front line on his way to another double-double and a season-high 5 blocks just to let everyone in orange know who was boss. There were questions about how CofC was going to balance a three-guard attack with the obvious advantage of a dominant big man in Adjehi - the latter seemingly under-used in the first few games. That judgement was put to rest in Anaheim as Adjehi was the best player for Charleston over the entire three-game stretch. Playing more as a help defender with Fullerton's lack of quality bigs, Baru feasted on whatever the Titans tossed up from inside the paint. As an offensive force he continues to see double teams but if the perimeter players can feed him the ball before help arrives he still has quick (and high) enough moves to finish against most teams. Adjehi's 10 rebounds, and Willis Hall's 11, helped the Cougars edge the Titans in rebounding 40-35. 

Getting back to what they did best last year, the Cougars won this game with defense. A few minutes into the 1st half they threw a 2-3 zone at the Titans that proved to be highly effective. This was where the length of Chealey, Barry, AT and Baru is so clutch. The Titans spent their first 3-4 possessions against the zone passing the ball around the perimeter, unable to penetrate with the outstretched arms of the Cougars filling nearly every passing lane. Long threes and contested mid-range jumpers were almost all the Titans could muster with those 4 sharing the court (AT was the only significant contributor off the bench, playing 21 minutes). CofC held Cal State to just 31% shooting for the game, including a 5 for 20 mark from behind the arc.

All four starters were effective last night. In addition to Hall's dominance on the boards and Adjehi's all around game, Anthony Stitt and Canyon Barry actually led the Cougs with 14 points apiece and Joe Chealey contributed another dozen. All three still have their flaws: Stitt with his hot-and-cold shooting, Barry sometimes takes too many long twos and Chealey often holds on the ball for too long before setting up the offense, but last night they were efficient and steady throughout the entire game.

Great defense, good enough offense adds up to a standard Doug Wojcik-style victory. The Anaheim tournament went about as I expected. San Diego and Arizona State will both be NCAA Tournament teams this year. As great as it would have been to beat them (or even bring it down to the wire), the only loss the Cougars have dropped the ball in this year was the OT contest against Asheville. The one where the they couldn't throw a beach ball through a hula hoop if they tried.

The schedule eases up from here on out. Following exams is a matchup with non-D1 Coker, then Marist, ODU and Kent State. All of those games are winnable and I'd love to see guys like Wishon, Cook, O'Donohue and Theo Johnson get some burn before conference play. The Cougars could use the boost off the bench after the starters carried them in this game.

Cougars Suffer Second Blowout Loss, Drop to 0-2 in Anaheim

They say basketball is a game of runs. After the Cougars fell victim to a multi-point scoring outburst by the Louisville Cardinals on opening weekend I thought the statement had never been more true. In back-to-back games in the Wooden Legacy Tournament, CofC again fell victim to two separate and decisive offensive punches to the mouth. Against San Diego State University on Thanksgiving Day, the Aztecs opened the game with a 17-1 run on their way to a 72-52 win. The following night the Cougars played tight with Arizona State into the second half before the Sun Devils went on a 13-0 run and cruised to an 80-58 victory. Just like last year in the Charleston Classic, the Cougars dropped two games on back-to-back nights and fell to 0-2 in an ESPN Tournament.

Once the Wooden Legacy Tournament bracket was released, we knew it was going to be an uphill battle for the Cougs. The three teams the Cougars could face in the first two rounds of the tournament shared just two losses between themselves. What I wasn't expecting was the Round 1 game against SDSU to be out of reach within minutes.

The word(s) of Thanksgobbleday for Wojcik and his staff were "transition defense." The Aztecs with all of their speed and length advantages in the open court absolutely abused CofC in the first 10 minutes. Canyon Barry and the rest of the Cougs were frequently on their heels as SDSU pushed the pace and attacked the rim off defensive rebounds. No one on CofC was stopping the ball from advancing up court and the results speak for themselves. Couple that with a rushed and ineffective offense on the other end and Wojcik was in a quick hole to dig his team out of. 

I don't know if it was because of a fear of fouling but the Cougars did not show any aggression in slowing the ball as defenders. Then they overcompensated by bringing in more bodies to disrupt penetrating guards and left San Diego with wide open looks from outside the arc. It led to an all-around sloppy first half from the Cougars where it seemed like nothing was going their way. The shots weren't falling, the Aztecs were diving out of bounds and saving loose balls and nearly every shot CofC attempted inside was blocked or altered by their opponents.

It was all very reminiscent of last years game against Louisville. The athleticism of SDSU was a clear mismatch for the methodical Wojcik style. It resulted in a huge game-opening burst by both opponents and completely took the wind out of our sails. It's a shame too because in the second half the Cougars looked much better. They got good minutes from both Theo Johnson and Terrance O'Donohue, Baru looked way more deadly offensively and the team defense seemed to rally a bit. But as we have seen against these types of teams in the Wojcik-era (Miami's another good example), the strategy to stay patient on offense even as the defense struggles proved costly. Whether that's a reflection of the coaching staff or apprehension amongst the players is still unknown to me.

Friday's game against Arizone State started much better than the previous day. The Cougars' transition D was much improved against the speedy Jahii Carson-led Sun Devils and the offense attacked the basket again and again. The first half saw the Cougars either holding a lead or staying within a possession thanks to the paint presence of Adjehi Baru, Anthony Thomas and David Wishon (who had a nice bounce back game from the previous night). The Cougars were all over the boards in this game, especially offensively, out-rebounding ASU 41-24 for the game. 

These were all good signs for Wojcik's squad but the inability to defend jump shots (a strength of this team last year) again plagued the team. ASU shot over 50% from the field and kept things even in points in the paint to offset any disadvantage they had on the boards. The CofC offense began to fall apart after a brief second half surge and the result was the game-changing run for the Sun Devils. 

It's a disappointing development for CofC after the guys couldn't seem to miss against Furman. Chealey and Barry have both had trouble finding the bottom of the basket in Anaheim and it has resulted in (or possibly been because of) a lack of ball movement. Too often the guys are standing around when Chealey or Stitt dribbles the ball at the top of the key and too often they over pass instead of pulling the trigger on a shot or drawing contact at the rim.

One win and two losses were what I was expecting when I saw the schedule for this year's Wooden Legacy Tournament. It's just the nature of the losses that is so hard to swallow. The Cougars will get a chance to avoid going winless on the West coast when they face host Cal State Fullerton tomorrow afternoon on ESPN3 in the consolation game. It's a chance for the Cougars to get back to their winning ways and start the second half of their out-of-conference season.

Stitt, Cougars Trounce Furman

Final Score: College of Charleston 89, Furman 55

Top Performers:

Anthony Stitt 21 points (4-8 3Ptr), 4 steals, 2 assts, 2 rebs

Stephen Croone 20 points (7-14 FG)

Just what the doctor ordered. After facing tough challenges early and dropping to 1-3 on the season, the opportunity to face a familiar foe in Furman was just what CofC (and especially Anthony Stitt) needed to find their groove again. After leading by just 7 at halftime the Cougars exploded in the second period, shooting 9-14 from outside the arc and blowing up their lead to well past 30 points.

The most welcome takeaway from this game was Anthony Stitt breaking out of his shooting slump. The junior guard was shooting just 22% from three on the season and had yet to reach double figures in a game this year. The most experienced cog in Wojcik's "Three-Headed Monster" backcourt, Stitt had yet to have the type of impact that freshmen Joe Chealey and Canyon Barry have had. 

Like he has done since his freshman season, Stitt got it going on defense first. Tasked with slowing down Stephen Croone, the "straw that stirs the drink" of the Furman offense, Stitt made his man work to facilitate the Paladin offense. The confidence in slowing Croone defensively seemed to follow Stitt to the other end of the court as he looked confident and composed shooting and running the offense. Joe Chealey played the least minutes of any of the starters with early foul trouble and Stitt ensured the Cougars didn't skip a beat.

Right behind Anthony Stitt in the "let's get this guy going" category was freshmen Jonathan Buroughs-Cook. With Chealey in foul trouble and the Cougars running away from the 'dins in the second half, Burroughs-Cook saw more time on the court than he has all season. He responded with 14 points off the bench including yet another ferocious dunk off a steal (the rim is never safe when JBC is on the floor) and 3-of-4 shooting from downtown. Wojcik mentioned after the game what an advantage it is to now have as many as 5 players (Chealey, Stitt, Barry, Thomas and Cook) who can handle the ball at any given time. If he keeps it up, JBC might find himself doing more than just handling the ball when the team is up 30.

Speaking of freshman, we got the opportunity to see a lot more depth from CofC. There was actually a stretch in the second half where Wojcik rolled with an all-newcomer five man unit of Chealey, Cook, Barry, O'Donohue and Wishon. None of those guys saw a minute of playing time last year. Throw in Theo Johnson getting 8 minutes and you have some idea of how much more firepower the Cougars have in the expanded rotation since last year.

That's going to be a welcome development with the 3-games-in-four-days Wooden Legacy Tournament in California later this week. Last year in the Charleston Classic, the lack of depth became painfully obvious as the Cougars got crushed in their first two contests with both Trent Wiedeman and Andrew Lawrence missing multiple games in such a short time frame. The other teams in the Wooden present a tall task for the Cougars but such a dominating win might be exactly what the Cougars need to make some noise when they hit the road. 

Furple Returns to TD Arena in SoCon Flashback

College of Charleston (1-3, 0-0)

Furman (2-1, 0-0)

TD Arena

Tipoff at 6pm on UStream

After nearly a week of rest following the Miami game, the Cougars face their final tune-up against Furman before hitting the road for California and the Wooden Legacy Tournament. The Paladins are a familiar opponent from CofC's time in the SoCon but they are not your older brother's bottom-feeding Furple team. The Paladins have a good win against Gardner Webb and their only loss on the season was a one point defeat at the hands of 2013 NCAA Tournament darlings Florida Gulf Coast. The Paladins always get up for their games against the Cougs but the guys really need a confidence-boosting win heading into Anaheim. Let's talk Furman.

Are they any good?

They're probably better than you think they are. Most CofC fans expect to stomp the small school from the upstate year after year. For good reason too. The past few seasons Furman has consistently ranked as one of the worst teams in D1 basketball. However, as last season's Andrew Lawrence-saving victory at TD Arena made evident, the Paladins can be dangerous when they play with nothing to lose. 

New head coach Niko Medved is the reason behind this season's solid start. He's made point guard Stephen Croone the star of the show, trusting the sophomore guard to penetrate defense and make the right plays when he gets into the paint. 

What do they do well?

Furman was able to keep things close with the much more athletic Gulf Coast team by throwing a 2-3 zone defense at the Eagles for the first 75% of the game. You have to believe after watching tape on the Cougars this season Medved will employ the same strategy. With the players Furman has on the roster it's unlikely they will force many turnovers, but they can make the Cougars take bad shots.

What do they struggle with?

Moving the ball. The Paladins are ranked 336th in the country in assists per game with a paltry 9 dimes per contest. Inconsistent offense was part of the reason why Furman started to fall apart against FGCU. Croone can carry the team only so much, he's yet to get a 2nd option to share duties with.

Matchup to watch for

Croone vs CofC's perimeter defense - We've talked about Stephen Croone this much, might as well keep the dialogue going. Not all small, speedy point guards dominate the Cougars, but chances are if the Cougars lose, an opposing point guard has been able to get into the lane at will. It's been an issue for a while. Against Miami the Cougs could not keep the Cane guards in front of them. Last year Croone (then just a freshmen) drove again and again, finishing around Baru. He's super quick off the dribble and some of the acrobatic shots he was making last year at TD Arena really showcased his body control. 

These types of players cause two major problems for the Cougars. It's an easy way for Baru and Hall to get into quick foul trouble and the penetration neutralizes CofC's usually pretty good three point defense. Croone gets past a defender, sucks defense in, kicks it out for a wide open look. Wojcik has said that stopping Croone is the priority tonight.

X-Factor

Terrance O'Donohue - Wojcik shook up the rotation a bit last week with freshman Terrance O'Donohue entering the game before Wishon. I like what I've seen from him so far and want to see him in extended minutes. He might get it tonight if the Cougs find themselves up on Furman early. Rain those treys young fella!

Cougars Outclassed by Miami at Home

Final Score: Miami 70, College of Charleston 54

Top Performers: 

James Kelly 18 points (6-9 FG, 3-3 3PFG)
Willis Hall 12 points, 7 rebounds

Apologies for the late posting, work duties called this week. My thoughts from Mondays game:

As great as it would have been to defeat the reigning ACC Champion Miami Hurricanes on our own floor, the Cougars could not catch a break Monday night. Seeing the Canes struggle to hit outside shots in their two games, the plan seemed simple: keep up with Miami on the boards, limit their looks at the rim and neutralize their size advantage with quick ball movement and deliberate offense.

The Cougars came out of the gates hot, jumping out to an early five-point lead but then our defensive game plan was thrown for a massive loop. Miami, the same team that shot 16% from outside the arc in their two OT games on the season, started torching the nets. Led by James Kelly, starting his first game, the Hurricanes would eventually go on to hit 7 of 11 from behind the arc. Once those shots started falling the Cougars were stuck with their pants around their ankles. Wojcik tried switching defenses multiple times, daring the Miami bigs to beat the College with jumpers only to watch the plan backfire again.

On offense the Cougars did some good things. They attacked the rim better than they had all season (going to the line 22 times), started hitting shots again, even Anthony Stitt got out of his shooting slump. The problems CofC encountered offensively were two-fold. They really struggled with Miami's length and quickness. On several occasions the freshmen (Barry and Cook immediately come to mind) were caught off guard by how fast Miami could close out and it affected their shooting motion. This resulted in missed opportunities. The fact that the Cougars had struggled to put the ball through the basket against UNC Asheville two days prior may have also contributed to their propensity to pass up open shots last night. It wasn't until the second half that I think it dawned to some of the guys in white that they were not going to get a comfortable shooting space with how fast Miami could swarm: no matter how much hot potato they played with the ball.

The second (and more major) issue was @#)(&$^!&"{:)_@!^^% - ing free throws. What started as a grumble-worthy disturbance earlier in the season is now turning into a full blown nightmare. CofC simultaneously crushed any offensive momentum they were experiencing and inflated Miami's lead by missing on half their 22 free throw attempts. All the while, ironically enough, as the greatest free throw shooter of all time sat four feet behind the Cougar bench.  Most of these misses were of the pull-your-hair-out-in-frustration bricks and several more were on the front end of one-and-ones.

A few more quick hits:

• Freshman Jonathan Burroughs-Cook is fearless. His attempt at slamming another highlight reel dunk, this time over an ACC team, came up about 2 inches short but his aggression off the bench was a welcome sight. I'm still unsure of what exactly his role or per-game numbers could look like but mark me down as excited.
• Burroughs-Cook getting minutes wasn't the only substitution change we saw. Wojcik elected to bring yet another freshmen, Terrence O'Donohue, off the bench before Wishon. He also got Theo Johnson into the game earlier. I think this was a good move. With Miami's athleticism, coupled with the extra-long UNCA game just 72 hours prior, getting the guys who can run into the lineup earlier was probably the right call.
• Cougars attempted 16 shots in the first half, the Canes made 16 shots
• As much as I loved CofC's energy to start the game and the second half, the habit of lapsing toward the approaching halftime is a bit disconcerting
• Adjehi for the first time all season was not double-teamed for a possession, he scored and got double-teamed the rest of the night. 
• Beat Furman this weekend and the sky will not be falling

ACC Champion Miami Faces Cougars at TD Arena

College of Charleston (1-2, 0-0)

Miami (2-1, 0-0)

TD Arena

Tipoff at 7:30 on CSS and CofCSports.com

The Cougars have a well-earned reputation for scheduling quality opponents year after year. And since the opening of TD Arena (celebrating its 5th anniversary this year), the College has welcomed an impressively large number of major conference opponents to their home floor. Leveraging coaches John Kresse and Bobby Cremins' involvement with the program, the city of Charleston's recognition as a premier tourist destination, a beautiful and new(ish) arena and most recently the father of freshman Canyon Barry, CofC has spoiled us with marquee home games - USC, Clemson, UNC, the Charleston Classic (twice) and most recently Louisville.

Tonight carries on that tradition when the Cougars welcome the defending ACC Champion Miami Hurricanes to TD Arena. Perhaps the most surprising team in the country last year, former George Mason coach Jim Larranaga rode Shane Larkin and a crop of athletic seniors to a number 2 seed in the Big Dance and Sweet Sixteen appearance last year. Now missing all 5 starters from last years team, the 'Canes are struggling to find themselves, meaning now might be the best time to steal another marquee win for CofC.

Are they any good?

It's hard to tell so far - they're not looking like the team that was must see TV last year. The Hurricanes opened their season in embarrassing fashion by losing their home opener to St. Francis (NY) 66-62 in OT. Then they followed it up by struggling to win in regulation again against a familiar opponent to Cougs fans; Georgia Southern. Miami eventually prevailed by one point in overtime against the Eagles. However, against Texas Southern on the November 14th, Larranaga's team absolutely dominated their opponent. 

With all they lost between last year and this year, this type of up-and-down start was to be expected. Maybe not to the extent of losing to St. Francis but their most recent win could very well be a turning point in the season. Like Asheville on Friday, the Cougars are facing a team that desperately wants a win. Tonight's game marks the first road test for the Hurricanes. That's why TD Arena and Cougar Nation need to be loud and intimidating for 40 minutes of game action.

What do they do well?

One thing that is not up for debate with Miami is the strength of their coaching. It's not the first time the Cougars have faced Jim Larranaga*. After leading GMU to the Final Four, Larranaga elected to stay with the Patriots for the long haul, or so the Patriots fans thought. He took what seemed at the time to be a step down coaching basketball at the U only to surprise everyone with the success his team had last season - earning him National Coach of the Year. 

Larranaga's teams play smart, make few mistakes and will have excellent plays called for them if the game comes down to the wire. He's the type of system-coach that would always frustrate the free wheeling Cremins teams. Wojcik has proven to be a more strategical sideline manager so it will be interesting to watch the chess match unfold.

*If you've been reading this blog for a while you know I've posted that same video about a dozen times. It's my Paul Rudd /Mac and Me video and it never gets old. The uncalled Ryan Pearson guillotine on Tony White junior, bench-warming freshman Willis Hall, current Georgia Southern head coach Mark Byington shadowing Cremins and the reaction of the GMU fans. All priceless.

What do they struggle with?

Winning games in regulation? I kid (sort of). The Canes have struggled to create offense with all the new moving pieces on their team. They've been a terrible outside shooting team thus far, their field goal numbers across the board have not been good and they don't have a go-to scorer or facilitator yet. But they're still an ACC team with top-level athleticism, it's going to take a great effort from CofC to beat them.

Matchup to watch for

Donnovan Kirk vs Willis Hall - The battle at power forward will feature senior versus senior. Kirk is the Canes leading rebounder with 7.7 per game and leading scorer with 16.3 points per game. Willis Hall will be giving up both height and wingspan to the lankier Kirk but will have to hold his own in this one-on-one matchup to keep the Cougars from getting beat down low. Hall has given up a few too many offensive rebounding opportunities the last few games but as the Cougars' emotional leader I would expect him to be fired up for this game.

X-Factor 

Anthony Stitt - I was critical of Anthony Stitt in this weekend's review of the Asheville game. While the junior guard has been solid on defense, he seems dangerously close to falling into another shooting slump not dissimilar to the extended streak he went on last season. With the length and athleticism a team like Miami has on the wings, expect freshmen Canyon Barry and Joe Chealey to again get pressured to turn the ball over. Anthony Stitt being able to handle and shoulder some of the scoring load would be a welcome spark to the CofC offense. That offense went stale when the two froshies were not hitting shots Friday, Stitt needs to hit some of his outside looks or drive to the rim and see the ball go in the basket tonight. 

Dreadful Shooting Dooms Cougars in OT Loss

Final Score (OT): UNC Asheville 67, College of Charleston 58
Top Performers: 
Andrew Rowsey 23 points, 8-11 FG, 3-6 3PFG
Adjehi Baru 12 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals

Well, I guess this is what we should have been more afraid of. Following an emotional victory against UNC Charlotte earlier in the week, the Cougars came out of the gates looking flat and could not find the bottom of the basket for much last night's game. Falling behind double digits for the second straight contest, the Cougars once again fought back to get this one to overtime. Unfortunately, the lid remained on the basket in OT and the Cougars couldn't get anything to fall in the extra period.

It's a shame this one goes in the loss column because the Cougars improved on a lot of things that had hurt them in the Louisville and Charlotte games. They cut their turnovers from an average 18 per contest to just 6, Adjehi Baru was able to stay on the floor and give a dominating performance and the guys made 90% of their free throws. In fact, if you look at all the numbers outside of shooting percentages you could easily postulate that the Cougars were victorious. The Bulldogs were crushed on the offensive boards 17-8, turned the ball over more than twice as often as the Cougars and attempted half as many threes.

Whether it was from tired legs, lack of focus or some combination of the two, CofC could not buy a basket for much of the game: the Cougs shot 18.5% from three and 31% from the field. You just can't win many games with that sort of performance. One of the things we learned last year about Wojcik's very deliberate offense is that you have to hit the shot at the end of the play. The poor shooting last night was not a result of taking bad shots. Time after time the guys would run a play only to miss a bunny at the rim or see a wide open three rattle off the iron.

An early second half run that saw the Cougars come all the way back (and briefly take the lead) was spurned by Barry, Thomas and Baru attacking the rim. Good things always happen when you have playmakers in front of the basket. Eventually Asheville went back to the 2-3 zone, daring the Cougars to shoot their way back into it. This was a strategy that was a killer last year and once again proved successful as the shots stopped falling.

From an RPI standpoint this is a bad loss. The Bulldogs were winless on the season and you want to beat the teams you should beat. With Duke and Charlotte on their schedule in the coming days, Asheville wanted a win a lot more and the Cougars could not keep any home court momentum they had built during the week. The 1-2 record going into the big home game Monday against Miami doesn't concern me being as that's probably what our record should have been had we lost to Charlotte and beat Asheville. The defending ACC champs are struggling and are a very beatable team this year. Then next on the schedule is a matchup with former SoCon foe Furman. If the Cougars can sweep both teams at TD Arena we'll have some real momentum heading into California. Not as hot as 4-1 would have been but 3-2 with wins over Charlotte and Miami would feel good heading into the Wooden Legacy Tournament with the road warrior mentality.

A couple other notes:

• Take away the shooting of Baru and Thomas and the field goal percentage numbers are downright ghastly. The guy that really needs to get it going is Anthony Stitt. Going into the season, Anthony was expected to lead this team with the absence of Andrew Lawrence. Instead, the All-CAA honorable mention is having an awful start to his junior year, hitting just 2-18 from outside the arc this season (11%) after being amongst the team's best last season. Not only that, he hasn't gotten sent to the line since the Louisville game. We all painfully watched last year when Stitt went through that god-awful 0-20 something shooting slump. Hope he can work his way out of this one sooner than later. 
• Night and day difference when Adjehi is on the floor versus off it. He was able to keep Cunningham in check for most of the game and, even though he somewhat struggled offensively, still finished with an easy double-double. The one thing I'd continue to push Adjehi to do (Wishon as well) is to finish strong at the rim. Both those guys will physically impose virtually any other opponent they face, why they would elect to avoid contact and go for a reverse lay-up instead of a dunk is baffling. Aggression, guys.
• Chealey and Barry began to cool off as well. They were a combined 3-15 from behind the arc. Both excel at getting to the rim, which is what the Cougars need to do when the offense sputters but these are the types of growing pains we will see when your two top scorers are freshmen.