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.
- 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment