Cougars Picked 3rd in Preseason Poll; Baru, Stitt Honored

In their first-ever CAA Media Day the College of Charleston Cougars were well-represented in Baltimore. Speaking with national media, Coach Wojcik expressed excitement about the new opponents, expanded coverage and inferior point guard play in today's CAA. 

Towson was tabbed as the team to beat in 2013-2014 with Preseason Player of the Year Jerrelle Benimon returning for his senior year. The Cougars were picked to finish 3rd behind Towson and Drexel. However, with all the attention given to Benimon's upcoming campaign and CAA newcomer CofC, one name that kept popping up was Adjehi Baru. Apparently grown men are ineligible for Preseason First Team billing as the conference's coaches and media members squeezed him out of a spot in favor of four guards. The complete All-CAA teams are below. Many think Baru is probably the most likely to slow Benimon's potential dominance through league play but he'll have to prove it in order to finish the season an all-league player.

The only other Cougar to be recognized was starting guard Anthony Stitt, who was named an All-CAA honorable mention. Big things are in store for Stitt this season and Wojcik was not shy about predicting his impact; repeating how lucky he was to come into this season with the two most important important positions on the court occupied by his stud juniors. 

2013-14 CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

1. Towson

2. Drexel

3. College of Charleston

4. Delaware

5. William & Mary

6. Northeastern

7. James Madison

8. UNCW

9. Hofstra

2013-14 CAA MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

First Team                                           Cl.        Pos.     Ht.       Wt.      Hometown/Previous School
Jerrelle Benimon, Towson*                Sr.        F          6-8       245      Warrenton, Va./Fauquier/Georgetown
Damion Lee, Drexel#                          Jr.        G          6-6       195      Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall/St. Thomas More
Frantz Massenat, Drexel#                   Sr.        G          6-4       185      Ewing, N.J./Trenton Catholic
Devon Saddler, Delaware*                 Sr.        G          6-2       210      Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen/Winchendon Prep
Marcus Thornton, William & Mary#  Jr.        G          6-4       185      Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara

Second Team                                     Cl.        Pos.     Ht.       Wt.      Hometown/Previous School
Adjehi Baru, College of Charleston    Jr.        F          6-9       225      Abidjan, Ivory Coast/The Steward School
Quincy Ford, Northeastern^               Jr.        F/G      6-8       212      St. Petersburg, Fla./Gibbs
Andre Nation, James Madison%         So.       G          6-5       200      Plant City, Fla./Faith Baptist Christian
Tim Rusthoven, William & Mary^      Sr.        F          6-9       235      Winfield, Ill./Wheaton Academy
Jarvis Threatt, Delaware^                  Jr.        G          6-2       170      Richmond, Va./Highland Springs

CAA Preseason Player of the Year: Jerrelle Benimon, Towson

Honorable Mention: Marcus Damas, Sr., F, Towson; Chris Fouch, Gr., G, Drexel; Anthony Stitt, Jr., G, College of Charleston



A few other highlights from CAA Media Day:

• The CAA Basketball television schedule can be found here - the Wooden Legacy Tournament (3 games) will be on ESPN 2 and ESPNU, NBC Sports will carry CofC @ Northeastern, Towson @ CofC and Drexel @ CofC and Comcast regional networks will carry CofC @ JMU, CofC @ Towson and Delaware @ CofC. That could end up being an incomplete schedule and it's still loads better than the SoCon.
• Wojcik was somewhat candidly asked how the new NCAA rules regarding keeping a forearm or two hands on an opponent will affect the play of the Cougars. Wojcik answered as if the question had been weighing on his mind, saying that he really had to teach his guys to play defense with their hands up and pulling out a stat on how CofC was one of the best teams in the country last year on playing defense without fouling. Something to look for this season.
• Coach also made a good first impression on the CAA with the College's challenging out-of-conference schedule. He thanked Coach Cremins for establishing so many relationships and multi-year contracts with major programs and also brought up the need to schedule up (and win) in order to put the team in at-large contention at the end of the season.

Taking a Look at Evan Bailey and Nick Harris

Early last month when most of the CofC fan base was either settling into their class schedule or fixated on the start of football season, Coach Wojcik and the basketball program quietly rounded out their three-scholarship freshman class of 2014 with wing Evan Bailey and forward Nick Harris. Both players vocally committed to the program and will join Donovan Gilmore on campus next summer. 

Evan Bailey is a 6-6 sharpshooter who is ranked as the 10th best player in the state of Ohio by ESPN. As you can see from the video above, his specialty is his outside shooting. Knocking down open shots from the perimeter was an inconsistent trait of the Cougars last year and the graduation of Nori Johnson and Anthony Thomas will leave an open spot on the wing for Bailey to contribute as a shooting guard or small forward. 

In addition to his scoring ability (he averaged 18 points and 8 rebounds last year), Jackson High coach Tim Debevec says Evan is a capable defender at a number of positions and rebounds the ball very well for a perimeter player. However the best asset Evan has working for him, according to scouts as well as his report cards, is his intelligence. He carries a 4.4 GPA, scored a 29 on the ACT and turned down scholarship offers from Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Bucknell and Davidson to play for the Cougars. A history of recruiting high-character players was one of the reasons Doug Wojcik was hired as the Cougars' head coach two years ago. With Canyon Barry and Joe Chealey already on the roster, the Cougars could possibly roll out a stout Science Olympiad backcourt in 2014.

Nick Harris was the last player to commit to the program shortly after word began to spread about Evan Bailey. Nick is a 6'10, 220 lbs power forward from Atlanta who will be enrolling in the Doug Wojcik School of Big Men. Like many of Wojcik's pupils over the years (including most recently Glen Pierre and David Wishon), Harris is still growing into his long and lanky frame and will be asked to bulk up before he arrives on campus. But if the CofC coaching staff can mentor him the way they did with last year's bigs, Harris should have his best basketball in front of him.

He's already an accomplished defender due to his size and athleticism but his head coach at St. Pius X, Aaron Parr, also lauded the way his rising senior's offensive game has come together. "He can play with his back to the basket but he's also got a good mid-range shot... and a good jump hook in the post" according to Parr. Nick chose CofC over Miami of Ohio, Western Carolina and #DunkCity (FGCU). 

All three 2014 prospects seem like natural Doug Wojcik type players. Evan and Nick are smart, cerebral defenders with enough versatility on offense to carve out a role on the team. Donovan Gilmore also seems to be an athletic freak for his age and could find himself in a role similar to the one Theo Johnson played last season; a hustling, shot-blocking, flying-in-for-rebounds forward off the bench. 

  

2013-2014 Season Preview

How's about we talk a little CofC men's basketball shall we? We've waded through a long summer offseason of conference shifting, player exodus and acquisition and new identities. If you'll recall this time last year the Cougars were facing an internal identity crisis of sorts. New Head Coach Doug Wojcik was in and few knew what to expect from the Cougars on the court. I would argue the results were pretty good but now the team faces an external change. 

It's a new conference, a few new faces and a new look for CofC heading into the 2013-2014 season. Hundreds of digital pages have been dedicated to speculating, postulating and debating what is in store for this year so for this exercise we're going to go with a format similar to last year's "Scanning the SoCon" team previews and look at a number of different facets of the team. From there we can see what sticks and delve deeper into particular topics. For now let's get it all out there. This ought to be fun.

Top Returning Players

Adjehi Baru - Hard to believe we've only seen the first half of what this young man has to offer as a collegiate career. The rising upperclassmen figures to be one of the best players in the CAA right off the bat and one of the best forwards at the mid-major, or any other level, if he takes another leap in his development. Last year we saw the physical gifts that made him one of the nations top recruits flourish into real skills under the new coaching staff. Baru embodies the defense and rebounding-first mentality of a Wojcik-led team and his threat as a scorer inside the paint and required double team resulted in the Cougar perimeter players becoming more efficient shooters from outside. This year I'm looking for Baru to cut down on his turnovers (he started passing out of the double team much better in the second half of last year) and improving his free throw shooting. 

Anthony Stitt - Also a rising junior is guard Anthony Stitt. Gone is long time incumbent Andrew Lawrence and Stitt finally steps out of the Brit's shadow to become the leader in the backcourt for the Cougars. This year the team is going to depend a lot more on Anthony as a scorer and distributor. As a surprisingly developed freshman and then as a full-time starter last year Stitt has shown flashes of brilliance as a defender and three-point shooter. However he did struggle at times with turnovers and that horrific shooting slump last year. This year we'll need Anthony to be a consistent shot-maker and leader on the floor without a rock-solid backcourt mate beside him.

Anthony Thomas - Even in the CAA "AT" remains a mismatch to opposing small forwards because of his size and speed. He is the Cougars' best perimeter defender and easily the most athletic starter outside of Baru. The trick for Thomas this year will be scoring. Any scoring the Cougs got from the 3 position last year was pretty much just icing on the cake, but with two scorers gone from last years team he needs to be driving to the basket more and taking advantage of smaller defenders. Remember last year's Anthony Thomas revenge game against his former team App State? Thats the AT the Cougars need night in and night out. The turnovers were also a huge problem for Thomas. Last year he wouldn't get yanked because of the lack of depth for his position on the bench. In 2013/14 he needs to be smarter with the ball when pressure comes and improve his handling whenever he makes a run at the hoop.

Willis Hall - The heart and soul of the team. Willis has been a fixture for the Cougars for what seems like a decade. I mean, he was a contributor in the 2009-2010 season when we beat UNC... that was when John Kresse was head coach right? Willis is an emotional leader, a fundamentally sound rebounder and the teams best shooter from three. Not only that but as a starter for Wiedeman just days into last season he developed a great chemistry with Baru. Willis will never dazzle on the box score but his presence on the floor improves everyone around him. 

Key Losses

• Andrew Lawrence - The aforementioned British import and team captain is the biggest loss for the Cougars to fill. As a first-team conference point guard Lawrence bailed the Cougars out of at least 2-3 losses single-handily as a senior last year. He was usually mistake free as a decision maker and thrived in pressure situations. Anthony Stitt is the heir to the position but it's going to be a committee effort to fill his shoes.

• Trent Wiedeman - After a difficult and injury-plagued junior year, Trent Wiedeman elected to finish his career at Georgia Southern with former CofC assistant and interim head coach Mark Byington. When healthy, Trent was a big body in the middle and one of the most offensively-skilled forwards in the SoCon. Willis Hall played fantastic when inserted in the lineup early last year and in terms of spacing is probably a better fit next to Baru but Trent's transfer really affects depth at forward for the Cougars. 

 New Faces

• Canyon Barry - The biggest anomaly for those outside the program and definitely the most intriguing player on the roster is the youngest son of NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry. He could just be the most interesting man in college basketball: he will be shooting all of his free throws underhand, he is a long blonde haired skateboarder and carries a 4.0 GPA as a Physics major.  Here's what we do know about Barry - he is an exceptional athlete, he has the basketball IQ of someone raised in an NBA family and was good enough to receive an invite to the USA Under-19 team training camp. Canyon has a chance at starting next to Stitt but early reports are he still needs time to adjust to the speed of the college game. He also will likely struggle finding how to contribute offensively with zero playing time last year. 

• David Wishon - Dude is 7 feet tall. That's all you need to know. Nah just kidding. Like Canyon, Wishon redshirted last year after following Wojcik here from Tulsa. It could be the best thing for David's development. Teenagers of that size don't come readymade and Wishon's lack of high major scholarship offers coming out of high school probably point to a work-in-progress type of player. He will be a redshirt sophomore this year and at the very least be a solid defensive backup big man with strength and obviously size right out of the gate. I have no idea where his offensive game lies but if he can find the right passing lanes, make things easier on his teammates and take up space near the rim that should be just peachy. 

• Joe Chealey - True freshman Joe Chealey figures to be in the backcourt mix starting on Day 1 (not unlike Stitt his freshman year). He's bigger point guard at 6'3, quick off the dribble and a bonafide leader for such a young age. I've heard nothing but positives through the grapevine about this kid, which is a great sign for filling that Andrew Lawrence-sized void.

Schedule / Conference

• You can read my take on this year's schedule here. The out-of-conference scheduling retains a strong mix of home games and marquee opponents that CofC fans have grown accustomed to. But obviously the big change from last year will be conference play. Despite it's recent dilution, the CAA is still a tougher league top-to-bottom compared to the SoCon. The story of the season will be how CofC deals with the changes in teams and travel schedules outside the regional comforts of the Southeast. Will the Cougars wear down toward the end of the season from the grind? Will they need time to adjust to new opponents? Will the change in playing styles (SoCon: guard-oriented, CAA: more balanced offense, teams have more size inside) result in fewer trap games for the Cougs or will their weaknesses be more exposed? Towson seems to be everyone's favorite pick to walk away with the Colonial hardware, and even though CofC took care of business last season, they will face stiffer competition on a weekly basis this year. 

Biggest Strength

• Defense/Rebounding - in just one season, the Cougars went from a jump-shooting, defense-optional team to a disciplined and decisive rebounding, shot-blocking and opponent field goal percentage crushing force. With size at all five positions, athleticism on the wings and even more hours working under Coach Wojcik the Cougars should once again make scoring a task for opposing teams. They will force teams to slow tempo and take low-percentage shots and will win the rebounding battle most games. 

Biggest Weakness

• Bench Play - Coach Wojcik has already stated that he wants to play a deeper line-up than last year. With four starters set in stone (Stitt, Thomas, Hall, Baru), the starting 2 guard and 6-9/10th man spots are one big flotsam of unknowns or unprovens. Nori Johnson was the teams sixth man last year and the senior is the most likely to start at shooting guard against Louisville. But starting him leaves the bench at two sophomores (Wishon and Theo Johnson), one redshirt freshman (Barry) and 3-4 true freshman (Chealey, Burroughs-Cook, O'Donohue and Pierre if he doesn't redshirt). At first glance that unit looks shaky but potentially solid defensively and seriously iffy on offense. The most experienced player in that group of seven is Theo Johnson and his 10 minutes of playing time per game last year. The starters are likely to take a beating with their playing style and the physicality of CAA play and this team is routinely good for at least one serious injury the past 6 years (*knocks on wood). Depth will be a key factor in 2013-2014. 

Summer Review: Everything You May Have Missed

This past Saturday, the College of Charleston men's basketball team was allowed to hold their first team practice. With less than 40 days to go until Game 1 against Louisville, the timing is never better to start previewing the season. But before we even get that far, we need to review everything that happened this offseason while King Kresse was on hiatus.


- Cougar alums Andrew Lawrence and Andrew Goudelock both played in the NBA Las Vegas Summer League. Goudelock started hot with the Chicago Bulls, getting praise for his strong play and usual scoring bunches. Unfortunately, the Bulls' cutting of Nate Robinson was nothing more than a smokescreen and Goudelock put his NBA career on hold to sign a more lucrative and deserving contract with Russian powerhouse BC UNICS Kazan.  Lawrence played a minimal role on the Washington Wizards (#gowiz) and, after not receiving any offers from NBA teams, took his talents to Croatia in signing with KK Zadar

- Redshirt freshman and Taylor Swift aficionado Canyon Barry was invited to work out with the US Under-19 team in his hometown of Colorado Springs. Practicing in front of head coach Billy Donovan (University of Florida) and assistants Shaka Smart (VCU) and Tony Bennett (UVA), Canyon earned praise for his outside shooting and intelligence but was unable to make it past the first round of cuts amongst a strong group of candidates headlined by the likes of Marcus Smart, Shaq Goodwin and Montrzel Harrell. At least he got to rock the national colors. U-S-A!

- That wasn't all the publicity young Canyon was able to bring to CofC and the men's basketball program. His underhand free throw shooting is already gaining national exposure despite the fact that Barry has not yet played in anything but an exhibition game at CofC. I've said it before and I'll say it again - underhand free throw shooting is going to do way more for this program's exposure across the country than any conference move could.

- Perhaps the biggest news coming out of CofC Athletics this summer was the announcement of totally redesigned primary and secondary logos. I'm impartial to it. The old "C" with the paw print was fine, if unspectacular, to me. While I like the monopolization of the word "College" as well as a nod to "CofC"  (better to keep this top-of-mind for all high school students inquiring about "COC"). The white "C" logo itself seems undeserving of months of design and research and generally pretty watered down. No sign of a Cougar anywhere and the cursive script are a bit irking. But again, if there's one thing this school stands firm on it's a consistent, simple, beautiful, distinct and lasting brand identity.

- Joining Donovan Gilmore in next year's freshman class will be two new commits: three-point ace Evan Bailey out of Ohio and big man Nick Harris from Atlanta. More on these two later.

- Of course no college basketball offseason would be complete without an extensive array of team and conference previews. A few of my favorites (so far) are below. Expect a King Kresse season preview in the coming days

• CAA Hoops
• The Sports Bank
• CAA Sports Countdown
• Mid Major Madness CAA Preview 1
• Mid Major Madness CAA Preview 2
• Jon Rothstein Offseason Notebook
• NROPP.com CAA Preview