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.

UNC Asheville Preview

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

UNC Asheville (0-2, 0-0)

TD Arena
Tipoff at 7pm on MyTV Charleston and CofCSports.com

Are they any good?

• The UNC Asheville Bulldogs are projected to finish somewhere in the mid to upper tier of the Big South conference - a league only slightly below the current SoCon. Not much can be gleaned from their first two games; a blowout loss in the season opener against Kentucky and a hot and cold loss to Western Carolina in which the Bulldogs trailed big but rallied to lose by just seven. They are actually very similar to CofC in build, with a 5th year senior forward up front in DJ Cunningham and another big man - Will Weeks - leading them in assists. Also like the Cougars, Asheville is currently led in scoring by freshman guard Andrew Rowsey. 

What do they do well?

• The Bulldogs are a scrappy defensive team, a quality that kept them in the UK game for a while, and do the things that other big-fronted teams do well - namely rebounding and shot blocking. Cunningham was one of the country's best shot blockers last year and the hot three-point shooting of Rowsey (he hit 7 against WCU) has added some balance offensively.

What do they struggle with?

• Even with the bunches of scoring by Rowsey this year, the rest of the Bulldogs have had trouble finding the bottom of the net so far this season. Even though their stats are dragged down by playing a Top 3 team in Kentucky, Asheville's field goal percentage, assist and point total numbers are not very impressive so far.

Matchup to watch for

• Barry/Chealey vs Andrew Rowsey - A battle of the super talented freshmen guards. I expect Stitt and AT to guard Rowsey one-on-one but offensively both teams will lean on their freshmen perimeter players to carry the load. Barry and Chealey have already faced adversity in their first two games. Can they keep it up?

X-Factor

• Adjehi Baru and free throws - Against both Louisville and Charlotte you could make the case that Baru was the best player on the court anytime he got off the bench. The problem was that Adjehi has yet to adjust his defensive habits to stay in line with the new physicality rules. Baru adds important balance to the outside scoring of Barry, Stitt and Chealey and his absence is glaring. Both the Cards and Niners went on huge runs offensively with Baru unable to guard the paint. He needs to keep his hands up on defense no matter how much of an awkward adjustment it is so he can draw attention on the other side of the court. Free throws continue to be a major issue for this team and I said last week that in one of these games sooner or later it's going to cost them big. I hope the guys have practiced all this week because they're going to be at the line a lot tonight.

Prediction

• Adjehi finally stays on the court by quickly turning the tables on the equally large Cunningham and drawing contact again and again. Canyon cools off from last week but veterans Willis Hall and Anthony Stitt get on the scoring bandwagon and lead the Cougs to victory 81-75

Cougars Storm Back from 14 Down, Clip Niners

Final Score: College of Charleston 83, Charlotte 82
Top Performers:
Willie Clayton 19 points, 13 rebounds (8 offensive)
Canyon Barry 26 points (11-19 FG), 3-6 3PM-A
Willis Hall 16 points, 10 rebounds

I'm still trying to wrap my head around what took place on John Kresse Court last night. The initial draft I writing for what would become this blog post started completely different from what you are about to read. Already in a foul mood for being unable to watch the game (technical difficulties) and only able to listen as the Niners pulled away from the hometown team, at my doom-and-gloomiest I started crafting notes about how this game was over the minute Baru picked up his 5th foul early in the second half.

At that point the Cougars were still down double digits and had completely neglected the space inside the arc offensively. The team became 100% guard and jump shot-oriented and not even the hot shooting of Canyon Barry seemed to be making a dent in Charlotte's lead.

But slowly things started to change.

A few threes sprinkled here and there from the Anthonys Stitt and Thomas started to fall. Charlotte, who had been crushing the offensive boards with Baru absent, started looking sloppy. To couple that, the Niners' free throw shooting went from lukewarm to cold in the final minutes.

By this point I was adjusting this post to reflect that, despite a dreadful end to the first half and mediocre defense throughout the game, the Cougars had shown some real heart by cutting the lead to a respectable margin.

I literally had a tweet that would read "Proud of the comeback but this game was done when Baru picked up his 5th" and with my mouse hovering, about to hit send, freshman Joe Chealey took over.

The sequence starts at around the 1:46 mark in the video above.

12 seconds on the clock, Cougars down 4, Charlotte's ball on the inbound. Chealey jumps in front of the pass, spins and nails a three. The entire play took about a second. That's a phenomenal display of awareness and talent by a teenager who is already dazzling CofC and basketball fans around the country. The play of the night in my opinion.

But it wasn't over yet, the Cougars had only come back far enough to find themselves down one point. Barry immediately fouled Henry to put the Niners on the line with 10 seconds to play.

"I told the guys if (Henry) missed one, get the ball to the front of the rim, if he made both, then we need to get a three-point shot off" said Wojcik after the game.

There are two possible outcomes in that scenario. Henry either splits a pair of free throws or makes them both... Henry would go on to miss both free throws. And that's when the Joe Cool Show reached a fever pitch.

With 10 seconds on the clock and no timeouts, Chealey secured the rebound off Henry's second miss, dribbled coast to coast with total control, drove to the basket where he was met in the air by two Charlotte defenders and wrapped around a pass to Willis Hall for a wide open layup.

That play, with 1.7 seconds left on the clock, completed a comeback that was nothing short of a miracle. 30 points in 7 minutes for the College. No Baru on the floor for any of it. A 14-point 2nd half deficit completely erased. Contributions from everyone on the floor in white.

How's that for a home opener?! Thus, a total overhaul of my game summary was warranted.

This is the type of game that can pay dividends down the road. Right now the students, the fans and the players are pretty hyped. Doug Wojcik deserves a ton of credit for his game management in the final minutes. The Cougs deserve praise not only for the comeback but for also outrebounding the Niners and cutting down on the turnovers since the Newberry and Louisville games. It was far from a perfect game - missed free throws and the slow habituation to the new defensive calls remain major flaws that could hurt the Cougars down the road. But the final quarter of last night's game gave a glimpse of what the Cougars are capable of this year. Depending on how Miami and Toswon fare in the coming days/weeks, Charlotte could be the toughest opponent the Cougars face at TD Arena all year. I'm just glad everyone who stuck around got to see a signature victory.

Cougars Return to Chucktown for Home Opener vs UNC Charlotte

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

UNC Charlotte (1-0, 0-0)

TD Arena
Tipoff at 7:00 pm HERE

Even with all the good that came out of a valiant effort against Louisville, a loss is still a loss and the Cougars return to TD Arena to take on the UNC Charlotte 49ers and avoid an 0-2 start. The Niners are coming off a close victory over ETSU in their own home opener. Last year in the A-10, Charlotte had convincing wins over Butler and Davidson but eventually settled for middle-of-the-pack pecking order in their final year before moving to Conference USA. Both teams match up very well against one another in terms of talent.

Like many out of conference opponents CofC has faced the last two seasons, Charlotte is a tough, physical team. Sophomore center Mike Thorne was a beast in Charlotte's first game of the season, dominating with 17 points on almost perfect shooting to go along with 9 boards. Joining him in the front court is forward Willie Clayton. The two make a formidable offensive rebounding duo - an area that was highly exploited by the Cards on Saturday.

On the perimeter, the player to watch is point guard Pierria Henry. He had 5 steals in the first half against ETSU and also finished with 17 points while playing all but 60 seconds of the game. The Niners must depend on offensive boards and defense because they are a horrendous outside shooting team. They finished in the bottom 10 nationally in threes made and attempted last year and don't look to be reversing the trend anytime soon.

That's a shame for the Cougars because defending the arc is one of the things they've done best since Wojcik came to town. The key matchup is going to be inside. Baru vs Thorne is the battle everyone is talking about but Willis Hall and David Wishon will be the X-factors. Willis is hit or miss against physically larger opponents. He was hesitant against Louisville but he also had a lot of success last year against a similar sized team in Baylor. Wishon will be the biggest opponent the Niners face and if he can be a defensive presence Charlotte may get out of whack. It's hard to tough up a guy that size.

From the rest of the team I'll be looking for ball security and improvement from the charity stripe. The Niners mostly play man-to-man defense but Henry will gamble for steals. With so many big bodies banging in the post, this could also be a game decided by free throws and the Cougars don't want to continue to shoot themselves in the foot like they have the past two games.

This game will be a really good test for the Cougars. Both programs are on a very similar level and it's a good win to have under your belt to start the home season. The road warrior mentality of last year was great but the young guys for CofC need to experience a strong home court atmosphere. So show up, show out and don't forget to wear white! Go Cougars!

CofC vs Louisville: Twitter Round Up

So happy to have college basketball back...

But we knew it would be difficult with TV Teddy calling the game

Not everyone was elated...

I always knew there was some reason why I liked Jeff Goodman so much

Damn straight

Things started great

Woooooo!

It's easy to get got overly excited about David Wishon's first points at CofC

And the world started taking notice

Jimmy Dykes keeping it real

After halftime we finally got our first taste of the Canyon Barry underhand free throw

:(

....

Very fun lineup to watch defensively

But then things took a turn for the worse. Fouls started adding up and the lid came off the basket for Louisville

But there was definitely some good to be taken from this game

Foul Trouble, Turnovers Unravel Cougars Against Louisville

Final Score: Louisville 70, College of Charleston 48
Top Performers: 
Russ Smith 21 pts, 5 asts, 1 stl
Adjehi Baru 8 points (4-4 FG), 9 rebs (25 mins)

First things first. Let's make it clear for anyone who may have missed this game how misleading the final score is. For 34 minutes the College of Charleston went toe-to-toe with the defending national champions on their home floor in the season opener. With 6:41 left to play in the game the Cougars were down one basket, 48-45, after having switched leads numerous times with the Cards since the first half. From that point on a deadly cocktail of inexperienced players taking the court, ticky-tack fouls, turnovers and run-outs for the Cards swelled an otherwise commendable score to a 20+ point "boom".

It was an unfortunate end to an otherwise commendable performance by the Cougars. Starting two freshmen, CofC looked unfazed by the moment and kept the game close thanks to a usually stout defense and the early play of Canyon Barry and Joe Chealey. Neither team was particularly potent offensively for the game (Cards shot 38% to the Cougars' 41% from the field) but the Cougars did a great job of forcing Louisville into tough shots and keeping things close on the glass (41-38 in favor of UofL).

For all the good Barry and Chealey gave us in terms of shooting and play-making, both struggled with turnovers and fouls in their first collegiate game. Even though Canyon led the Cougs with 10 points, he was guilty of 6 turnovers, 3 of which were offensive fouls with the new attention to forearm push-offs. Chealey, handling the ball for much of the game, never got his pocket picked but he did end up with 7 turnovers trying to make passes against Louisville's zone (to couple with a handful of his own offensive fouls). It's hard enough for freshmen to learn what kind of contact they can and cannot get away with going from high school to college; it's even harder when no one else on the floor knows either. Charleston freshmen accounted for 15 of the team's 21 turnovers. Keeping in mind how the game ended, the Cardinals were able to turn the Cougar's errors into 27 points. That's what the Cards do best.

Despite these miscues there is still a lot to be excited for this season. Barry and Chealey will only get better at making decisions and handling pressure. The veterans - Hall, Baru and Stitt all looked solid and played much better than the last time they matched up against Louisville. Wishon and O'Donohue looked surprisingly stout defensively as a hodge-podge frontcourt that played more than anticipated with Baru's foul trouble.

Let's take a look at some other game notes:

• As if a new interpretation of the NCAA rulebook wasn't enough to throw a game into whack, Charleston's native son and everyone's favorite ref was on hand to call this game
• Nothing but praise for Joe Chealey by Louisville's commentators and national media alike. The 6'3 PG who celebrated his 18th birthday less than a week ago handled everything that was thrown at him with composure. Yes, he had the 7 turnovers and foul trouble but he was relentless at getting to the basket, hit some tough shots, controlled the pace of CofC's offense and found his men. Such a bright future ahead for him. This team has been absent of a true point guard for the better part of a decade. It's refreshing to see a guy with the potential to drive-and-kick or run the pick-and-roll.
• Speaking of bright futures, this was my first look at Canyon Barry in live game action and he too did not disappoint given his boxscore. Moves well without the ball, made a great play pulling up for a jumper (and swishing it) in transition on a 1-on-2 and came down with 3 boards. The only thing I would change- he went 0-for-4 with the much-lauded underhand free throws. Those attempts were costly as momentum swingers and ignited the Louisville student section.
• Had it not been for some unfortunate foul trouble that caused coach to sit him for much of the first half, Adjehi Baru could have had the kind of numbers he had against Louisville last year. Taking advantage of the absence of Dieng and Behanan, Adjehi was perfect from the field (4-4) and pulled down a team high 9 rebounds in just 25 minutes. He looked so smooth and polished on his post moves and has gotten better at being ready with his hands when Chealey or Stitt drives and dumps off to him. 
• David Wishon, playing 21 more minutes than he has since 2011, played within himself and looks like a capable back up. He did not turn the ball over, hit his only field attempt (a pretty turn hook shot over the left shoulder) and altered a number of shots in the paint. Even though he's not a freshman, this was Wishon's first playing time in years and he will get better as he gets back up to speed.
• Loved the rim protection of the surprisingly deep front court rotation. Going to be very difficult for CAA opponents to score on a combo of Wishon, O'Donohue, Johnson/AT coming off the bench
• Jonathan Burroughs-Cook is pushing Theo Johnson for the "most highlights per minute" title. After having the play of the game against Newberry, JBC hit a big three that stopped a Cardinal run and got the Cougars right back into it after things were starting to go stale
• Louisville averaged 20 personal fouls as a team at home last season. They had 14 in the first game of a season that is supposed to be called tighter than ever
• Adjehi Baru, Willis Hall and David Wishon were a combined 8-10 from the field for 17 points. They need to get the ball more. They should have gotten more touches tonight but the CofC guards were having trouble threading them passes in the right positions.
• Free throw shooting needs to be better. The Cougs only attempted 10 but they hit just four. Barry going 0-4 did not help. The bigs on this team might be better shooters from the line than the guards. 
• Big game Tuesday for the home opener against UNC Charlotte. The 49ers are a very good mid-major team on par with where the Cougars want to be. Play like we did the first 3/4 of this game and we'll fare well. Take a step back and CofC will be looking at an 0-2 hole to start the year. Fans need to show up and show out. Big things could be in store for this season. 

Louisville Preview: Stepping Into a Hornets' Nest

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

Louisville (0-0, 0-0)

KFC Yum! Center
Tipoff Saturday at 1pm on ESPN3

We finally made it to college basketball season, Cougar fans. It's been 7 months since the Louisville Cardinals celebrated a national championship on the floor of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. After what has seemed like an eternal offseason the College of Charleston men's basketball team will finally take the floor - picking up right where the college basketball season left off.

Two years ago the Cougars walked into the deliciously named KFC Yum! Center with tempered expectations and gave Louisville a tightly contested game thanks to well-rounded contributions from their role players. Last season Rick Pitino knew not to underestimate the team he was facing on the return visit to Charleston and referred to TD Arena as a "hornets nest" buzzing with a thirst for revenge. That analogy proved to be on-point for all of 15 minutes before TD Arena sat in stunned silence as the Cougs quickly fell behind early and left with the biggest black eye of an otherwise successful season. The Cardinals would go on to ride this same strategy of aggressive defense and lightning quick transition offense all the way to another national title for coach Rick Pitino.

Which brings us back to this season and this game. The Cardinals will be playing their first real game since winning it all and, as such, will be hoisting the NCAA Champion banner into the rafters to the delight of their own hornets' nest in Louisville. It's a tall order for any team to play the Cards that day but it's the biggest stage in the country and there's no better way for the Cougars to introduce themselves to a new conference than to take on the reigning champs.

Most notably absent from the team that went 29-5 last season are point guard Peyton Siva and big man Gorgui Dieng. Both those players harassed the Cougars last year at TD. Also out for the opener is a guy who has played CofC four of the last five seasons: Final Four MVP Luke Hancock. The second-hottest shooter in the championship game (Spike Albrecht #neverforget) will be sitting this game out due to a nagging Achilles injury. Also, forward Chane Behanan (who also feasted on the Cougars the last time these teams met) will miss this game as part of an indefinite suspension for breaking unspecified university rules.

However, the Cards will still have the player who did the most damage last year in Charleston - Russdiculous Russ Smith. Joining him in the backcourt in place of Siva is last year's junior college Player of the Year, Chris Jones. Also with a good chance of seeing playing time is Kevin Ware. Or as many of you remember last seeing him, the gentleman with his leg bone potruding through his skin on national television. Despite sustaining the most gruesome injury I've ever seen in a live sporting event, Ware has been practicing with the team for a few weeks and played sparingly in Louisville's final exhibition game.

It's taken us this far down the page to get to the players taking the court tomorrow for the Cougars. Until last week Wojcik had held his cards close to the chest with regard to the starting lineup. The decision to start freshmen Canyon Barry and Joe Chealey was a surprise to many but both players had solid exhibition game debuts last week. With height and athleticism blessing both players, the physical tools are enough to warrant both teenagers sharing the floor at tipoff against the reigning best team in college basketball. But with the lights on and a raucous crowd in attendance, the much-lauded decision making abilities of both players will be tested the second Louisville starts to swarm on defense.

Returning to face Louisville are seniors Willis Hall, Anthony Thomas and Nori Johnson as well as juniors Anthony Stitt and Adjehi Baru. Adjehi and Nori have both played well against the Cards in the past. The Anthony's will need to not turn the ball over (easier said than done against that press) and focus on defense. At just 5'10, Jones is actually a pretty good matchup for Stitt to defend. The do-it-all CofC guard is my favorite player to watch on D and I don't think CJ knows what he is in for. AT is coming of the bench (allegedly - he could still start tomorrow) because of his strength as the team's "swiss army knife." Against most teams, Thomas' size and ball-handling ability make him a matchup problem, but most of the Cards team is built the same way.

Here's what I'll be watching for in this one:

• Composure - KFC Yum! Center is going to be a mad house after the Cards raise their 2013 Championship banner to the sky. Couple that with the country's best defense at forcing turnovers and you have a huge first test in keeping your cool as an opposing team. Anthony Stitt knows what to expect after struggling to hold on to the ball last year against the Cards. The aforementioned freshman are also stepping right into the fire for their first collegiate action.
• Turnovers - very much related to composure. Last year against Pitino the Cougars coughed the ball up 27 times. Last Saturday against Newberry they had 21 TO's in a victory. So much of Louisville's offense is derived from their defense getting a takeaway and turning the other way. The first step in keeping this game close is to limit the Cards' opportunities.
• The new defensive rules / free throw shooting - The new attention given to hand checking and holding is meant to benefit teams that play smart defense. The Cougars were one of the best teams at defending without fouling last year but I can foresee some growing pains as they get accustomed to playing with their hands off the opponent. On the reverse end, the Cougars (namely those hanging closest to the basket - Baru, Stitt, Chealey) will probably get more free throw attempts than they're used to. The Cougars need to convert on the freebies to limit the game quickly getting out of reach.
• Adjehi Baru - perhaps the only player in a CofC uniform last year who looked like he belonged on the same floor as Dieng, Behanan and Blackshear. With another year of development and conditioning and a weaker front line for Louisville, it's exciting to think what Baru might be capable of in this game. If he can stay out of foul trouble I expect him to impress some Cards fans.
• Joe Chealey - talk about a welcome party to collegiate basketball. Chealey has impressed everyone from the coaching staff to his teammates and the Cougar faithful with his maturity and leadership as a freshman who just turned 18. He'll go from playing against DII Newberry to the #3 team in the country within a week. Let's hope he's ready.
• Canyon Barry - underhand free throws on the national stage. Prepare yourselves. 

This is a huge test for the Cougars in just the opposite way that the Newberry game was. Few people are giving the Cougars a chance but without four contributors from the team that marched all the way through the madness last season, the Cards could be caught off guard. A strong showing, healthy players and promising play would be a great start to the season. Let's all just rejoice in the fact that college basketball season is finally back. Let's all enjoy this for the next 5 months. Go Cougars.

10 Takeaways from 101-87 Exhibition Victory Over Newberry

College of Charleston 101, Newberry 87
Top Performers:
Willis Hall 15 points (7-10 FG), 13 rebounds, 4 assists
Adjehi Baru 9 points, 15 rebounds, 7-7 FT, 4 blocks
Canyon Barry 21 points, (7-11 FG)

It's hard to take much from exhibition/preseason basketball. Coaches experiment with different lineups and strategies, stats are skewed by enlarged minutes for reserve players and play is generally quite sloppy as both teams get their legs back under them. That being said this was our first look at the 2013/2014 Cougars in live action and there were some things to be gleaned from the performance. Sure, it's a small sample size against a DII opponent but let's roll with the possible over generalizations.

1) The freshmen look ready to contribute. In a somewhat surprising move, Wojcik elected to throw redshirt frosh Canyon Barry and true freshman point guard Joe Chealey into the starting line-up over seniors Anthony Thomas and Nori Johnson. Both were amongst the most impressive players on the floor. Barry led the Cougs with 21 points and three treys while Chealey looked unflappable running the offense to the tune of a team high 8 assists. Barry was all over the court and backed up the talk that he has a basketball mind (thanks dad!), cutting to the basket without the ball and finding the open man when he was handling. The first thing you notice about Chealey is his size. At 6'3 he looks to be as tall and long as most wings at the mid-major level and the way he uses it to glide to the basket and finish at the rim is impressive. Both players were rewarded with a postgame trip to the media room.

2) Adjehi Baru and Willis Hall look like they're picking up right where they left off last season. Despite constant double teams in the paint, both contributed by cleaning the glass to the tune of 28 rebounds between them. Last year's starting 3 man Anthony Thomas also contributed 7 rebounds coming off the bench. Particularly encouraging was Adjehi's perfect 7-for-7 shooting from the free throw line. With the new rules in place and the constant defensive pressure he'll get every night, Baru needs to make other teams pay for sending him to the line. Speaking of the new rules...

3) This season will set new records for fouls called and total game times. 53 personal fouls were called in this game and resulted in frustratingly often stoppages in play. Again, these tune-up games are often sloppy contests but many across the NCAA believe the new attention given to hand-checking and forearm guarding will negatively impact the defensive minded teams (like CofC).

4) The fingerprint Wojcik and his coaching staff left on the Cougars in year one keeps on humming to the same beat. Despite giving up 87 points, the defense looked good and once again held an opponent to under 40% field goal shooting for the game. The offense continues to run methodically through the post, moving inside-out, and the guys were hitting open shots (the Cougars shot 55.6% from the field for the game including 47.8% from outside).

5) Depth will be a welcome improvement from last year. Instead of rotating seven players per game, fans might get a glimpse of up to eleven Cougars take the floor on any given night. Leading the reserve minutes in this one were Wishon, AT and Theo Johnson and all looked capable playing with both the starters and other bench players. Guards Nori Johnson and Jonathan Burroughs-Cook are good for some instant offense off the bench without compromising the team D and talented freshman big man Terrance O'Donohue looked very good in just 5 minutes of playing time. With the physicality of CAA play and the increased chances of foul trouble this year, depth will play a key factor. If the play coming off the pine stays at this level it could be the deepest rotation CofC has seen in years.

6) Most critical of all are David Wishon and Terrance O'Donohue. Frontcourt depth is one of the team's biggest question marks coming into this season with such talented players on the starting line in Hall and Baru. Wishon looked a bit more polished offensively than I expected, using some nice moves to finish through the much smaller (who isn't smaller?) Newberry bigs. Terrance did not show off any of his alleged three-point shooting skills but did have a nice assist to the corner for a three and a dunk of his own. Each one of these guys brings a different look to the forward position, it will be interesting to see who is the most effective subbing in for Hall or Baru.

7) Anthony Stitt led the Cougars in minutes (31) but struggled with fouls (4) and turnovers (5). The double-point guard look was very successful the last year and a half with Stitt and Lawrence splitting duties. If Chealey is the opening day starter we could see that same two-headed monster this year. I'm not super concerned with Stitt's up-and-down exhibition debut but the team is going to need him to play better against Louisville. As much as I like Chealey's pure point guard potential, I'm not sure throwing him into the fire that is Louisville's trap defense is the best idea.

8) One of the biggest problems with last year's offense was the frequent "droughts" of offense. Almost every game the Cougars would fall into a funk for 3-5 minutes where they couldn't score any points. This led to several frustrating losses and the distinction of "Cardiac Cougars." Hope springs eternal in the preseason but hopefully the increased assist numbers, greater depth and supreme height and length of this years team can end that trend. Even without a go-to all-conference scorer, this team will share the ball well and find good shots. Chealey and Barry should be able to shoulder some of the scoring load from Stitt. The bench figures to get most of their offense off defense and in transition. Even without much of a scoring touch, Wishon, AT and Theo can get their points from offensive putbacks, cuts to the basket and posting up smaller opponents.

9) Things that concern me going into the Louisville game next week: turnovers and free throw shooting. The swarming, ferocious defense of Louisville's full and three-quarter court defense still gives me nightmares. Last year at TD Arena the Cards forced the Cougars into 27 turnovers. Pitino's team converted many of those steals into points on the other end and rode the same formula to a national championship. The number one item on the to-do list going into opening night for the Cougars will be to limit turnovers. It's something they must work on this week. The most disappointing stat to fans like myself and even Coach Wojcik was the poor free throw shooting (21-35) by the Cougars. Not to keep harping on this but every team in the country will be going to the line more this year, not hitting free shots would be a huge detriment to a team. We saw the success Davidson had last year as the best free-throw shooting team in the country. Repeating that success would pay huge dividends in every game.

10) Finally, let's get to the biggest overreaction of the night. With less than a minute to play and the Cougars flirting with the century point mark, 6'1 freshman guard Jonathan Burroughs-Cook may have already given us the top play of the season. Cook got around his man and took flight right in the face of some poor Newberry defender who will remain unnamed for the sake of pride. If you've ever wanted to know what it looks like to murder someone on the basketball court check this out.