Cougars travel across SC to face Clemson

The only home loss of last season came against Clemson

Clemson (2-0, 0-0)

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

Littlejohn Coliseum 

Tipoff Satuday at 7pm on ESPN3

Last year the Cougars won 13 of 14 games at the TD Arena. The lone loss of the season was to Clemson. Now with revamped rosters for both teams, the Cougars will look to get some revenge on their in-state brethren by defeating the Tigers in Clemson tomorrow night. Like Morehead State, the Tigers also went to the Big Dance last year and made it to the second round before losing to West Virginia. 

Clemson is coming off two straight victories over Gardner-Webb and El Cid. Not that our schedule has offered us any real challenges either, but the Cougars are also 2-0 on the season. Watching half of the Citadel game, Clemson's calling card is their defense. They played mostly man-to-man against the cadets, and threw in some full-court pressure from time to time. It was enough to make the young Citadel squad uncomfortable and ineffective on offense for most of the game. 

If the Tigers have watched any tape on the Cougars, expect them to put full court pressure on for the majority of the game. I was hoping the problems we had against the Holy Cross press would be fixed for Morehead State. While some progress was made and there were fewer turnovers, I still get the nervous tingles when Wiedeman or Carlton catches the inbounds pass. 

I fully believe that the Cougars' defense is capable of stopping the Tigers' offensive attack. Clemson has some lightning-quick guards but I believe the perimeter defense can hold up in the half court. These guards are also going to have to deal with getting around Wiedeman and Baru inside. Andre Young is only listed at 5'9 and should have a tough time finishing around the rim. His backcourt running mate is TJ Sapp, a freshman who is having a solid season so far. 

The front court battle is what to watch for. Clemson has the experience, but the Cougars are certainly talented enough to keep pace if they stay sharp mentally. Between Wiggins, Wiedeman and Baru the Cougars actually have the height advantage in this one. But Booker is still a beast and Tanner Smith puts up stats similar to Trent. 

I expect this game to be a grind it out type of contest. Both teams will be battling inside, the defense will be there and both squads are young and have a tendency to get sloppy. It will be the first big test for the Cougar Cubs; playing an ACC opponent and playing on the road for the first time this season. If the game was in Charleston I would feel better about our chances, but I think the home crowd will pull the Tigers to victory in a close game. If Lawrence and Scott stay hot from outside the arc we'll stay in it. Hope to see Stitt suffocate some of his cousin's former teammates defensively and more production out of the bench.

Go Cougars! 

Charleston Classic Begins Today

The Cougars are not participating this year (the home team is only eligible to play in their own tournament once every four years) but nevertheless the Charleston Classic is great exposure for the program, the College and the TD Arena. This year's bracket consists of some high profile teams including Georgia Tech, Northwestern and Final Four participant VCU. All games are available to the public on either ESPN3 or ESPNU. If you're in Charleston, it's worth buying a ticket to catch one of the high profile games.

Bracket

Morehead State at CofC: Live Coverage

First Half

• 19:00- 3 quick threes by Wiggins, Scott and Lawrence. 9-0 Cougars
• 16:41- game finally switches to ESPN, 9-2 Cougars
• 15:57- better defense by MSU, corner 3 by Lawrence
• Nice shots of Shem Creek, announcers keep talking about how beautiful the city is. Chyea chyea!
• 15:52- Stitt and Carlton in
• Shot of Goudelock half asleep
• Full court press by Morehead, Cougars get out of it, jumper by Baru
• 13:45- not a bad crowd, still no field goals for State
• SUNDBEEERRRGGG
• 10:26- Full court pressure starting to get to the Cougars now 18-10
• Matt gets his first basket in years... then bricks a three
• 7:21- alley oop jam by the Eagles
• 6:00- Two more 3's by the Sundberg and Scott, then another by Scott 32-14
• The zone isnt letting them close out any shooters
• Shot of the huddle, Stitt's head hits camera
• 4:20- Alley oop from Lawrence to Wiggins!
• Shot of the huddle, Carlton's head hits camera  
• 1:36- 3 from the corner cuts Cougar lead to 14
• With 30 seconds to go, Cougars' hot hand is starting to cool 37-25

Halftime- Eagles end the hlaf on an 11-1 run. 37-25 Cougars

• two quick turnovers by CofC to start
• 18:00- lead cut to 10
• 17:05- two consecutive jumpers by Baru
• 15:52- great defense by Cougs but a 3 by the Eagles
• Wiggins fouled, falls like Shaq
• Oh is Coach K going for some kind of record? Thanks for reminding me, ESPN
• Alley oop from Hulk to Baru is thwarted
• Offensive foul on the Lawrence drive, BS the guys feet were moving
• Great D Cougars
• 13:27- the dude covering Wiedeman leaves with foul trouble
• 12:22- Wiggins keeps getting to the line (2-3 FT so far)
• Some scrub tries to tomahawk jam, Wiggins says "not in my house" and blocks it out of bounds
• 10:50- Nori checks in
• 9:34- Lawrence with a clean block but refs disagree, students not happy
• Full court pressure still getting to us
• Eagles 3 cuts lead to 10
• Drew Kelly fouls out (the one I mentioned earlier)
• 8:16- great offensive rebounding by Wiedeman and Baru, Trent gets the shot and 1
• 8:00- Cougars switch to full court pressure, Eagles starting to look desperate 
• 7:32- Wiggins with the takeaway and jam
• 5:59- Wiedeman and Lawrence give up open looks, Scott with the 3 as shot clock expires
• 4:54- Lawrence with a 3 makes the lead 17
• Wiedeman just cleaning the glass
• 4:00- Scott with a floater to get to 19 points
• 3:00- lead up to 20 on the Jordan Scott layup +1
• Lets get a dunk on the Top 10 Cougars
• 2:13- shot clock expires on the Cougs
• 4 second differential between game and shot clock. TD hits a floater as shot clock expires, then Morehead State player rushes down court as Cougars are celebrating and dunks with 0.8 seconds to go. What a douche. 

Cougars win 72-57. The 3 ball got us going early and we never looked back. Great ball movement by the Cougars and great individual performances by Wiedeman, Wiggins and Scott. 

Time to go shower.

Morehead State at CofC (ESPN)

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

Morehead State (0-1, 0-0)

TD Arena 

Tipoff Tuesday at 8:00 AM on ESPN

Where to begin with this game? It is certainly a little short on star power as opposed to last years game (Kenneth Faried was drafted in the first round by the Nuggets). Nevertheless, this will be the first time that CofC gets a home game in their new arena on ESPN's primary network. Not ESPN2, not ESPNU, not ESPN3.com or even ESPN 8: The Ocho. Fans from sea to shining see will tune in at prime time to watch the Cougars take on the Eagles here in Charleston. 

Wait, what's that you say? The game is at 8 AM?!

That's right, tipoff for this game is at a time when there is not a single student on campus who is awake by choice. As part of ESPN's 24 hours of college basketball, CofC was granted one of the worst time slots and will have to hope the appeal of free coffee and donuts will be enough to get some hardcore fans out of bed, out of class and out of the cubicle to watch this game and support the Cougs. 

Morehead State is coming off of a 30-point loss to an NC State team that was missing CJ Leslie. I was able to watch most of the game and there are some things to take away. Like what the Cougars are going through, the loss of Kenneth Faried has been a huge difference maker for the Eagles. They lost the leading rebounder in the nation and their most explosive offensive player. The team is now much smaller and inexperienced and the results so far have not been pretty. They were crushed by the NAIA's Mountain State and were manhandled on the boards by NC State.

One thing that sets Morehead State apart on defense is that they stick to a strict zone for the duration of the game. This is something that could potentially cause fits for the young Cougars. The best way to attack it is by keeping the ball moving and making crisp passes. Luckily, the Eagles don't have tremendous length or speed to utilize the zone as effectively as other teams. I think they'll struggle against bigger, stronger and faster competition (one thing the Cougars definitely have going for them). The Eagles will also employ the full court press. We'll see how quick the Cougars are able to fix the mistakes they made in the full court against Holy Cross. 

Even though Kenneth Faried is gone, this team still embodies his style of play. They may be undersized but they are scrappy and will fight until the final buzzer sounds. One thing I noticed that they did against NC State was in an attempt to get an inside game going. They routinely use head and ball fakes to try and draw the foul on the big fellas. This could get us into trouble. Can't you see Baru and Carlton jumping all over those ball fakes and getting into foul trouble? Cremins is going to have to keep them disciplined because lord knows our big man rotation is thin.

Athleticism, defense and the size advantage should put the Cougars over the top. The ungodly hour also is in our favor. Not only will the travel from NC hurt the Eagles but just the fact that the Cougars will get to sleep in their own beds should give them a little more of a mental edge. I'm looking for us to out-rebound and take advantage of a highly turnover prone team. Go Cougars!

*I'm going to be doing this game recap a little differently. Rather than the typical game summary and analysis, I'm going to have my computer on my lap and be giving a rapid reaction/ stream-of-consciousness type of instant feedback. Should be fun, fresh and keep me awake. 

Cougars Defeat Holy Cross in Season Opener

Jordan with the filthy poster dunk in the 2nd half

Final Score: College of Charleston 78, Holy Cross 69
Top Performers: Trent Wiedeman 15 pts, 10 rebs, 3 blks
                             Antwaine Wiggins 18 pts, 7 rebs, 3 assts
Highlights     Boxscore

We finally got our first real contest between the new look Cougars as they took on the Holy Cross Crusaders in front of a near sellout crowd at TD Arena. There were plenty of questions coming into this game and the results were definitely mixed. The first basket of the season was an Antwaine Wiggins slam off an alley-oop pass from Andrew Lawrence and the momentum didn't stop there. The Cougs jumped out to an early double-digit lead and kept the pedal on the floor almost through halftime.

The second half was a different story. CofC was lackadaisical and sloppy to end the half and got off to a slow start to begin the second. Holy Cross went on a quick 11-2 run and could have gone on a bigger run if not for some critical Cougar baskets.

There are a couple reasons why this game was a nine point win rather than a 20 point win. Andrew Lawrence, who masterfully ran the offense in the first half, was sidelined for much of the 2nd with a severe cramp (sounds familiar). Anthony Stitt filled in admirably for a freshman but the offense was out of sync. The second reason the Cougars let things slip was the full court press that Holy Cross put on. Cremins was noticeably frustrated as the Cougars continued to turn the ball over rather than playing smart and making the easy pass to break the pressure. The numbers don't lie; 4 turnovers in the 1st half for CofC versus 13 in the 2nd.

The Crusaders won the second half, but the first 20 minutes of the game was a glimpse of what this team is capable of. The defense was making Holy Cross a one dimensional, jump shooting team and the Cougars were pounding the ball inside the Wiedeman and Baru (11 points and 8 rebounds for the game). Like the critics have been saying for weeks, this young team will need to learn how to play hard and focused for 40 minutes. We wont have a 20+ point cushion to throw away against most teams so it's all the more important to work on these things in practice and before conference play starts.

Here's a summary of the other pros and cons I took away from this game:

Pros:

• First half defense- the Cougars held Holy Cross to 19 points on 30.8% shooting including an 0-6 mark on threes. The Crusaders were forced to run their offense from WAY behind the three point line and Stitt and Wiggins' ability to stay in front of defenders resulted in plenty of shot clock violations and tough shots
• Baru's hustle- he had the low post offense going in the first half, but was a little less aggressive in the second. He's so fast down the floor that he gets into position (offensively and defensively) much earlier than his opponent. The block he had in the first half was an impressive display of athleticism and timing. 
• Lawrence running the point- Andrew might be the first true point guard the Cougars have had in five years. Not only does he see the floor well, he also brings a calming presence to a team that can panic at the first sign of a defensive breakdown. That panic set in when the Crusaders went on that early 2nd half run and #4 was on the sideline.

Cons:

• Boneheaded plays by Carlton and Scott- jumping the the air on ball fakes, needless fouls on transition baskets and countless 5 turnovers between them (could've been more). I don't know if it's nerves or sloppiness; but it's gotta stop.
• Free throw %- Cougars are going to get to the line a lot this year. 42 times last night but only hit 27. C'mon man. 

Next game is the 8 am against Morehead on Tuesday

Holy Cross at College of Charleston

BC with former Holy Cross and NBA great, Bob Cousy

College of Charleston (0-0, 0-0)
Holy Cross (0-0, 0-0)
TD Arena, Charleston SC
Tipoff at 7:30

Well folks, here we are. The Cougars kick of the 2011-2012 season in earnest tomorrow night as they host the Holy Cross Crusaders in the first regular season game for both teams. Last season the Cougars were victorious on the road against the Crusaders by a score of 93-84.

This will be our first chance to see what the young Cougar Cubs (you like that?) are made of. The exhibition games against Queens and Limestone were a nice way of getting our feet wet, but Holy Cross will be the true Litmus test to see where this team is at. TD Arena is going to be packed and the way the Cougars play tomorrow night will set the tone and the expectations of these guys going forward.

The last time the two teams played, the Cougars were coming off a gut-wrenching loss to Maryland in College Park. Charleston got off to a quick start against the Crusaders, jumping out to an early lead behind the play of Willis Hall. The closest Holy Cross would get was within 10 in the second half before the Cougars hit some free throws down the line and maintained a comfortable margin of victory. Willis and Jeremy led the team in scoring with 20 and 22 points respectively. The Cougars shot a blistering 63.6% on field goals for the game.

Those last two sentences give me the most encouragement for tomorrow night's game. I know we lost a lot of playmakers, but our inside game was enough to gut out a win against this team last year. We have enough of an outside threat with Lawrence and Scott to keep the defense honest, which should open up room for Trent and Adjehi to operate. In 19 minutes of playing time last year, the Hulk shot 100% from the floor and from the stripe to get himself 13 points off the bench.

The Crusaders' interior players consist of a 6-8 junior and a 6-9 sophomore would should both have a tough time guarding the height of Baru, Wiggins and Carlton as well as the strength of Wiedeman. In the backcourt, Holy Cross will be starting freshman Justin Burrell and senior Devin Brown (who may be their best player). Hopefully we stick Antwaine on Brown and let the freshman beat us in his collegiate debut.

On offense for the Cougars, look for the points to come from Trent, Jordan and Andrew. Adjehi will probably have some of those same jitters trying to play up to the expectations of TD Arena. I don't expect Bobby to force things with his prized freshman so look for Baru's points to come in transition and maybe in garbage minutes. As for the defense, I think Stitt and Wiggins will look great and Nori and James might surprise some people.

In the end I think defense, athleticism and home court advantage will trump inexperience against a Holy Cross team that really struggled in a so-so conference last year. I'm just glad college basketball is finally back. Go Cougars!

*recap of this game might be late tomorrow, I've got tickets to a concert tonight and will be watching the game on delay

Canyon Barry to Sign Today

This is a story that was first reported 2 days ago by the Colorado Springs Gazette, but Canyon Barry has supposedly signed his LOI today to become the first 2012 recruit for the Cougars. Canyon is the youngest son of NBA Hall-of-Famer Rick Barry. He will follow in the footsteps of his four half-brothers to become the 5th Barry son to play Division I basketball (3 of the other 4 went on to play in the NBA).

Canyon is a 6-5, 175 lbs wing player from Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs. According to his father and Coach Cremins, he is a bit of a project and is still growing into his frame. He will most likely redshirt his freshman year according to his dad. 

More after the jump