On Saturday, when Charlotte hosts Saint Joseph’s to close out the regular season, Seniors An’Juan Wilderness and Charles Dewhurst will be taking the court at Halton Arena for the last time. While these two guys have endured a difficult stretch of Charlotte basketball, they both put in a full effort for every minute they played. Both Charles and An’Juan share an honor that shines light on the struggles of the 49ers. Unfortunately, they are the last two players to participate in the post-season after the conference tournament, when Charlotte played Nebraska in the 2008 NIT.

Dewhurst came to Charlotte in 2006 out of Charlotte Latin, and after winning the dunk contest at Midnight Madness, suffered a leg injury and red-shirted his first year. Injuries became a theme of Dewhursts career, in his Sophomore season, he suffered a devastating knee injury while scoring a game tying layup in a game at Maryland. Prior to this season, a less severe knee injury kept him out of action until January. Dewhursts best games came his freshman year, which was also the best year for the 49ers in his time here, including a 12 point, 7 rebound game in a win at the #17 Clemson Tigers followed immediately by a double-double at home against the 2008 Atlantic 10 Champion Temple Owls.

Dewhurst protects the ball against Maryland in his final game of the 2008-09 season. He would injure his knee later in this game.

Charles Dewhurst Career Highs
Points: 13 vs. Long Island
Rebounds: 11 vs. Gardner-Webb; George  Washington
Assists: 5 vs. Yale; Winthrop; George Washington
Steals: 4 vs. UNCG; Yale
Blocks: 3 vs. La Salle
Field Goals Made: 5 vs. Temple; Winston-Salem State
Field Goal Attempts: 11 vs Temple
3-Point FGM: 1 three times
3-Point FGA: 1 seven times
Free Throws Made: 9 vs. Long Island
Free Throws Attempted: 10 vs. Long Island

Wilderness arrived at Charlotte in 2007 after prepping for a year at the Paterson school. He has been a mainstay of the starting line-up since his first game for the 49ers against High Point. An’Juan’s specialty over his four season has been his ability to create shots for himself by driving to the basket and finishing. An’Juan has been held back by a couple of injuries himself, a stress fracture in his foot during his Sophomore season and a calf injury the delayed the start of his Junior campaign. An’Juan has stolen the show on a few occasions, claiming the #1 spot on Sportscenter’s top plays after this 360 lay-up against Wake Forest, and by hitting this buzzer-beating game winner to put away La Salle. An’Juan has never put up consistently high scoring numbers, but his quickness and defense has kept the 49ers in many games.

An'Juan completing his highlight play against Wake Forest, on his way to his career high 21 points.

An’Juan Wilderness Career Highs
21 vs. Wake Forest :Points
11 vs. Rhode Island :Rebounds
4 six times :Assists
6 vs. High Point :Steals
2 vs.Xavier :Blocks
9 vs. Wake Forest :Field Goals Made
13 vs Wake Forest; Appalachian State :Field Goal Attempts
2 three times :3-Point FGM
3 fourtimes :3-Point FGA
8 vs. Southern Illinois :Free Throws Made
12 vs. Massachusetts :Free Throws Attempted

The Green Tinted Glasses gang shares their favorite memories of our departing Seniors, Charles Dewhurst and An’Juan Wilderness:

J Felt: Dewhurst- Favorite memory of Dewhurst? Probably the same as everyone else’s: his game at Clemson in 07-08. He looked absolutely unstoppable on offense, and seemed to be extremely comfortable and confident around the basket. Shouldn’t forget his defense and rebounding were key parts to our eventual victory over a ranked Clemson team. I remember leaving that game expecting big things in the future from him, but the eventual injuries and the ill-fated experiment at point guard seemingly shattered his confidence. Huge props must be given to Dewhurst for this season though. He had every reason to leave and not come back; Charlotte didn’t offer the graduate program he wanted, his head coach had just been fired, and he was ready to put his sneakers up for good. Instead, he laced up his shoes, passed the fitness tests, overcame yet another injury, and worked his way into a starting role for the squad. His reason? He thought he owed it to his teammates to come back and help. That’s what a fifth year senior does. Thanks must be given to Dewhurst for all the years of hustle and dedication.

NLP: Dewhurst-  His 12 point, 7 rebound, and one sick block performance at #18 Clemson his Freshman year.
Wilderness-  His wild running game-winner against LaSalle last year.

C-Pip: Dewhurst- His double-double against Temple to start the Niners 1-0 in conference play to keep up momentum from the Clemson win(I didn’t get to see the Clemson game :sad face:).
Wilderness- His bizarre clutch free throw shooting(3 of 4) to close out the Xavier game in 2009, the first one bounced around the rim a bit, but once it dropped, we all knew that game was over.

No one can be happy losing 18 games, but as human beings we tend to rationalize everything to avoid emotional collapse. There are certain things that have come to be accepted about this Charlotte 49ers team, the inconsistency, the poor ball handling, the poor shooting and weak inside defense(Thanks Phil Jones). Those things can’t be fixed overnight, but’s it is good to see glimmers of hope for this team even amidst this abysmal downward spiral.

The Richmond Spiders are a good team, and now they are the first road team to ever win four-straight at Halton Arena.

The Spiders took off to an early lead, jumping out to an 12 point lead at one point. Justin Harper was absolutely undefendable, scoring 22 points for the Spiders. Harper made three of five 3-pointers, and five of nine inside the arc. This guy doesn’t need much room, and continued to knock down fall-away jumpers despite the valiant efforts bey An’Juan Wilderness and KJ Sherrill keeping a hand in his face. Kevin Anderson had a poor shooting night, only making 5 of 17 shots from the field, but tallied 20 pts with the help of nine free throws, reaching the 2,000 career point mark midway through game. Richmond dominated the first half, outscoring Charlotte 18 to 6 in the paint and converting the Niners’ 10 turnovers into eight points. The Spiders led the Niners 34-24 going into the break.

Wilderness' 16 points was his season high.

Charlotte displayed an incredible effort in the second half though, opening with an 8-2 run to pull within four. Five of those points came from Senior An’Juan Wilderness, who, after four years, may have found a jumpshot. Wilderness knocked down two of three from behind the arc, to go with a couple of mid-range jumpers. His 16 points on 7/8 from the field led the Niners’ scoring on the night, although, to no surprise, An’Juan missed all three of his free throw attempts on the night. Whenever Charlotte got within three points in the 2nd half, either Justin Harper or Kevin Anderson answered with a bucket to keep the Niners at bay.

The Spiders were able to pull away as the game ended, showing why they have a chance to go dancing in March for the 2nd straight season. Richmond was able to widen the gap even more down the stretch with free throws, with the final score being 72-59. Richmond is under 70% on the year from the free throw tonight and, aided by the 19/19 performance Saturday, are over 97% against the 49ers.

“I thought we battled back and I’m really happy with the way our guys fought.  It’s such a fine-line conference,” Charlotte head coach Alan Major said, also adding, “I thought if we could get the lead we’d have a chance to finish it.”

The situation is dire for the 49ers with only two games remaining in the regular season. With Saint Joseph’s upseting St. Bonaventure Saturday, the Hawks claimed a one game lead on the Niners for the 12th and final spot in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Niners go on the road to Xavier Wednesday while the Hawks will host Richmond, a Saint Joseph’s win Wednesday coupled with a Niners loss will knock Charlotte out of the A10 Tourney, which is unlikely as the Spiders will be expected to roll the Hawks. Next Saturday’s game should be the unofficial 1st round of the A10 Tournament, with the winner forced to endure another game of a disappointing season.

Charlotte49ers.com Recap
Box Score(.pdf)

The Niners (9-8, 1-2) got off the early conference-play schneid by up-ending the Fordham Rams on Saturday 71-61.  It was a game that again saw Derrio Green dismantle the Rams with outstanding shooting; however, this time the Niners managed to keep one-man wrecking machine Chris Gaston in check to provide the difference.  Wednesday night brings another northeastern foe in the UMass Minutemen, who enter the game 10-6 overall and 2-1 in conference play, featuring wins over the perpetually obnoxious Dayton Flyers and the LaSalle Explorers.

Sure he's got the slick hair down, but not the results. Not that Calipari could ever win without vacating.

UMass is a predictable team in that they’re predictably underachieving -don’t let the Dayton win fool you, Dayton is a perpetual paper lion.  In the third season of Derek Kellogg’s grease-haired reign, the Minutemen show few signs of improvement at a time where Kellogg’s style and recruiting should be making their mark on the program (I add that caveat of the third season given our own struggles under first year head coach Alan Major).  A particularly rough stretch was one featuring three straight home losses, including one to lightly-regarded Maine.  Despite the poor results UMass does have discernible talent and given that, the Niners should not regard them lightly.

The Minutemen have just one double-digit scorer, 5th year Sr. Anthony Gurley (who many remember transferred from Wake Forest following the ’06-’07 season).  Gurley to his credit has become a better all-around scorer, relying less on his outside shot and more on the rest of his game.  He is still though a solid threat from outside, hitting on 37.5% of his attempts.  It will be interesting to see if Gurley tries to attack the (likely) Niner 2-3 zone or if he tries to shoot over it.  Joining Gurley in the backcourt is fellow Sr. PG Gary Correia.  Correia doesn’t score much (4.1 ppg) and isn’t a terrific playmaker (2.5 apg) but is a respectable defender.  Wing forward and former Niner recruit Terrell Vinson appears to be struggling in his sophomore campaign with UMass, seeing his scoring nearly cut in half (5.7 ppg vs. 9.6 ppg last year).  Though his overall FG% is nearly the same, Vinson has seen his perimeter shooting drop, foul shooting drop and perhaps most importantly, his foul shooting rate has declined.  It’s an unfortunate decline for the Minutemen as Vinson was highly heralded and had a very impressive freshman campaign.  Vinson’s struggles are likely due to lingering Achilles’ tendinitis, something Deuce Briscoe knows a thing or two about.

Fellow sophomore swingman Freddie Riley has also struggled to improve upon his play from a year ago, scoring at the same rate but taking more shots to do so.  Particularly concerning is his play of late as he hasn’t managed to score in double figures over the last 6 games, including a goose egg against LaSalle in just 11 minutes of action.  In the front court, Sampson Carter who claims his two last names as his most proud accomplishment, starts at PF and gets the bulk of the minutes at that position.  Carter is the team’s second leading scorer and rebounder at 8.9 ppg  and 5.1 rpg respectively. Carter isn’t a particularly deft shooter for someone at his position (38.2%) but scores nearly half his points from the free throw line, where he’s quite successful (80.3%).  Let’s try not to foul him, mkay?

Splitting time at the center position for UMass is a familiar name for the Niners, Sean Carter.  Carter flirted with the Niners on the recruiting trail before ultimately settling on Oregon State.  The marriage would only last one season as Carter, like Gurley, transferred to UMass following his freshman campaign.  In his Jr. year Carter is scoring 5.1 ppg and a team-best 5.8 rpg in just under 20 minutes of action per game.  Splitting that time with Carter is Sr. C Hashim Bailey.  Despite a half dozen starts Bailey plays just under 10 minutes/game, doesn’t score much and doesn’t rebound very often.  That makes him a particularly boring writing subject to me, so we’ll move on to Javon Farrell.  This is going to shock you:  he’s yet another sophomore wing player who averages 9ish points per game for the Minutemen.  Naturally he shoots less than 40% from the field and less than 20% from behind the arc despite scoring 9.1 ppg.

Maybe that comparison isn't fair. Instead we offer up Eddie Munster to Derek.

Lest anyone forgets, UMass has also had a bit of the suspension bug that’s plagued the Niners this year:  former Niners’ target Daryl Traynham has been suspended indefinitely by the Minutemen.

As a team, there’s really not much that stands out about UMass.  They’re not great from the field (41%) but they’re not awful.  At least no more awful than their opposition, whom they limit to 41.5% shooting from the field.  They are, just like last year, dreadful from behind the arc though, shooting a woeful 27.2% from deep.  More importantly than any stat, however, is that we owe them.  We owe them for that awful, embarrassing ‘home’ loss in the first round of the A10 tournament last year.  Sure, we had the unforgivable 6 men on the court violation, but that shouldn’t of ever figured.  The game should not have been close, we should have blown them out and that should have been that.  But none of that happened and despite being short-handed this year I think we’re the better team and certainly better coached, not to mention again being at home.  I want to see Derrio Green and Deuce Briscoe (who finally is on the mend) playing well and Chris Braswell attacking the meh interior of UMass.  This is also a game where someone like An’Juan Wilderness or Charles Dewhurst can have a solid impact, with Terrell Vinson being limited in his explosiveness with his lingering injuries.

It’s been a difficult season for the Niners with ineligibility, suspensions and injuries taking a tremendous toll, but the Niners are competing every night and playing with the kind of gusto that makes fans hope for better times ahead.

Here’s to the 49ers coming out Wednesday night and putting a painful memory to rest with a win!

During the Charlotte 49ers current 4-game winning streak there has not been any shortage of drama.  Sunday’s game at Georgia Tech was par for the course for the Niners, who trailed by as many as 14 in the first half and never led in regulation. However, they forced overtime against the host Yellow Jackets with what has become their trademark: stiffing defense and clutch plays on the offensive side of the court.

Derrio Green led the 49ers in points and assists Sunday.

A lot of players contributed on the court today, most notably Derrio Green, who scored 21 points including 8 straight free throws to close out regulation and into overtime.  Green has shifted to point guard and while still struggling with shot selection (5-20, 3-12 3-pt) is thriving as a creator for the rest of the offense, scoring 9 assists with only 3 turnovers.  He may be the answer at point guard with Jamar Briscoe struggling with his shot AND taking care of the ball(1 Assist, 5 turnovers).

The front court had plenty to contribute as well -Javarris Barnett turned in his 15 points, going 3-6 from behind the arc plus 6 rebounds. Barnett continues to show that he will be a focal point of this offense, and his hustle play near the end of the game to chase a loose ball sums up everything you need to know about this player.  The force of Chris Braswell and Phil Jones combined for 29 points but only 11 rebounds.   The rest of the lineup made up for the rebounding, led by Briscoe’s 8, as the 49ers out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets 47-37.   An’Juan Wilderness tallied a line of 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, a solid performance to wrap up his visit to his home state.  Gokhan Sirin once again struggled to have an influence on offense, not taking any shots in only 4 minutes of action, but pulled in 3 rebounds over that time.

The 2-3 Zone was once again Alan Major’s defense of choice, holding the Yellow Jackets to 26 points in the 2nd half after the hot shooting Iman Shumpert (6-10 3-pt) helped contribute to 40 1st-half  points for Georgia Tech.  Down three at the half,  Charlotte controlled the tempo the last 30 minutes of play, ultimately leading the the victory.  Other than the Shumpert, the Yellow Jackets only make 33.3% of their long range shots, but it wasn’t enough as an inside game never developed to take pressure off the shooters.

These games might be ugly, but the job is getting done by Alan Major’s squad.  On Wednesday the Richmond Spiders await who are particularly vulnerable after a shocking 1-point loss at home to Bucknell today.  A primer for Charlotte’s Atlantic 10 schedule will be posted tonight after the end of the Rhode Island-Florida game(9pm)

Charlotte 49ers.com Recap

Box Score(.pdf)

AP Recap(via ESPN)

Postgame Quotes

Well the Alan Major Era officially officially got underway tonight with a win against the South Carolina State Bulldogs 90-81 in a hard-fought, excessively officiated game. We say officially officially because there’s some sort of crazy rumor going around that we played Friday afternoon. I don’t see it on my schedule or my booklet of halftime hospitality passes so I’m just going to dismiss it as shenanigans (and frankly, a bunch of hooey).

It was a rough start in the early going as the Niners fell behind 7-0 without even attempting a shot. Actually, they didn’t even get the ball inside the three-point arc. Deuce Briscoe in particular struggled early on with turnovers, telegraphing several passes that turned into baskets for SC State. After the 16:00 timeout, however, the boys settled down and played much better basketball.

Shamari Spears and An’Juan Wilderness, both fresh off suspensions, paced the Niners in the early going with tremendous energy and effort on both ends of the floor. An’Juan had an emphatic block early on that was unlike any I’ve seen him have before. Unfortunately though things took a turn for the ugly when several incidents caused the refs to start chirping away on their whistles, not stopping until the final horn sounded. Shamari Spears was fouled on the offensive end and made contact with Carrio Bennett trying to force a shot up. Carrio seemed to take issued with this, words and glares were exchanged, and a double-technical was accessed. Personally I have no problem with either the contact -of course Shamari is going to try to get a shot off or the technical (the refs are always going to call a double-technical there to cool tensions). The problem is one technical means you’re one technical away from ejection. We’ll get to that. The other early T was on An’Juan Wilderness who was harassed after securing an defensive board. His elbows got a little too wide and with it being a point of emphasis, was whistled for a technical. Was it malicious? I didn’t think so. But it’s the rule now, so it’s something he’s got to be careful of.

By halftime the Niners had a 43-41 advantage thanks to a couple offensive rebounds by Gokhan Sirin, including a put back bucket that gave the Niners the lead going into the break. Sirin was definitely better on offense today, hitting a triple, getting to the line, and scoring the aforementioned basket; however, his defense left much to be desired and spent the 2nd half on the bench. Sirin is definitely going to have to work on improving his strength and defensive awareness going forward.

The second half saw more of the same. Aggressive, product play by Spears, nifty scoring by Briscoe, and plenty of fouls, fouls, fouls. Chris Braswell scored 15 points on the night on just 2 FGs. How? 17 trips to the line. Same thing with Shamari -just 5 FGs but 25 points for the game thanks to 13-16 shooting from the line. In all the Niners had 4 players in double figures, a welcome change from the G-W game that didn’t happen and last year as a whole.

By about 7-8 minutes to go, the Niners built an impressive 17 point lead. That was whittled away towards the end thanks to some turnovers, some fouls, and Shamari Spears’ second technical. This one came out of frustration on a whistle away from him. He got the ball, slammed it down, and 20 feet into the air later he was T’d up and sent out for the rest of the game. Shamari’s emotion and skill make him an exceptional basketball player, but that emotion when unchecked can cause problems. We at GTG love that passion and aggression he plays with, but he needs to be smart about it and keep it within when he’s frustrated. Don’t take it out on yourself, Shamari, take it out on the opposition with baskets. It’s the most brutal payback of all.

Things I liked tonight:

-Chris Braswell’s from-the-floor finger roll in the 2nd half after an inbound play. Serious envy there. Expect a call from George Gervin.

-Colby Lewis’s steady performance when called on again. Had a few rebounds, hit a key 3 pointer, and took care of the ball. He also had the best feed into the post of the night. He’s not Derrio or Briscoe, but he’s much more than a walk-on. Personally, I think he deserves the 13th scholarship (that’s the right way to get one).

-Deuce Briscoe’s scoring. He’s fearless, he hits his shots, and he seldom takes bad shots. Just needs to take better care of the ball in the halfcourt.

Things that need work:

-Sirin’s defense: He’s not going to get off the bench much if he gives up as much or more than he produces on offense.

-Foul shooting: 49 trips to the line is terrific. 67.3% conversion rate, not so terrific.

-Players not visiting the student section after the game: Those kids love you guys. Why else would they camp out in the cold and wait in line for hours to watch you play? They bring their passion the entire game for each and every one of you. If the players have a problem with what they see on the internet, it’s coming from the other side of the arena. But really, what’s so objectionable? Fans wanting to see the team win? Don’t you guys want the same?

I know I’ve received my fair share of criticism in life and in work. You know what? Most of it was deserved. But I didn’t take it personally and used it to better myself. A big key to life isn’t avoiding adversity, it’s learning how to respond to it. That’s something that can really separate people no matter what they do.

Alright. Down off the soap box. Good win Niners and keep your heads up. I think we’ll see a lot more of them out of you guys as long as you stick together and trust in yourselves and your coaches.

It’s time to dust off the high tops, slap on your headband, and send 6 men onto the court make the first of many pilgrimages to Halton Arena this Friday as the Niners take on the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs (they haven’t lost their hyphen yet, how cute).  Of course, with the absurd 4 PM tip-off time many of you run the risk of getting fired for skipping out of the office early to catch the game.  But hey, those are what bomb threats are for, right?

G-W fans find creative ways to kill time during blowouts.

On to business:  Friday afternoon’s game is an unusual one in that both team’s head coaches will be making their respective coaching debuts.  New G-W coach Chris Holtmann returns to Boiling Springs after a 5 year associate head coach stint at Ohio University (Holtmann previously served on deposed head coach Rick Scruggs’ staff as an assistant), hoping to turn around a program that has suffered through 13-17 and 8-21 campaigns the previous two seasons.  Pitted against him of course is everyone’s favorite samurai warrior in pleated shorts, Niners new head coach Alan Major, who replaces the gloriously mustached Bobby Lutz after 12 years of leadership).

The weirdness doesn’t stop there, unfortunately, as fans and GTG alike basically have no clue who’s going to play.  Strong rumors have swirled  that multiple players (three is the count du jour) have been suspended anywhere from one to two games, although it sounds increasingly likely that it is only one game.  Still that’s potentially (likely?) 120 player minutes unavailable on a team that is already missing two guys expected to see a lot of minutes in the rotation (KJ Sherrill and Charles Dewhurst).  Lamar Bradbury and Ray Morgenstern, I hope you’re ready!  So who’s missing action Friday?  We’ve heard names and some of them sound reasonable but I think we’ll save the gossip for the watercooler.

With so many players potentially out, instead of focusing on what we can do to G-W, it might make more sense to see if they can do anything to worry us.  The Runnin’ Bulldogs are returning just 3 of their top 7 scorers from an 8 win season -usually not a prognosticator of success unless there’s a serious influx of talent.  Among the more intriguing newcomers is Fr. C Michael Byron from Texas who at 6’10, 215 lbs could provide problems for a potentially thin Niner frontcourt.  Fr. G Luke Davis could also compete for significant time this season and JC transfer Laron Buggs might provide some backcourt scoring punch as he was good for 17.3 ppg at Murray State JC last year (all Niner fans know Juco stats translate DIRECTLY to DI).

Looks like they're hard-up for fun in Boiling Springs

Jonathan Moore is the returning leading scorer for the ‘Running Bulldogs.  He averaged 10 ppg last year and scored 8 in the 95-66 beatdown the Niners put on G-W last year in Halton.  Ah the good times.  The other returning starter from last year is Joshua Henley.  The 6’3 F managed to lead the team in rebounds/game (7.3) despite his obvious lack of height.  He’s the type of aggressive player that can absolutely dismantle a zone with his rebounding desire; however, it looks like the Niners are going to be a primarily man-to-man team on defense under Coach Major.  Hopefully the dedicated defensive assignment will help keep a body on Henley.

Let’s be honest.  G-W is a young, rebuilding team with a first year head coach.  As bad as they were last year managing just 8 wins, they could be even worse this year.  But that doesn’t mean their not dangerous.  Any team with a new influx of talent and a new coach has to be taken seriously until proven otherwise lest the odd Monstra scenario occurs.  For a team with a new coach and a fanbase that’s increasingly impatient for success, the Niners absolutely must come out and win this game.  It will be a test of stamina and player minutes given the injuries and potential suspensions, but even with 5 scholarship players missing action (and maybe another depending on the Luka Voncina situation), the Niners simply have more talent than G-W.  I expect us to win, but don’t ask me how.  I need to know who we have available to play before I can even venture out and make that kind of prediction.

So we’re trying this new thing. Adding a new dimension to our blog.

Pictures of hot chicks.

Not really, we’re just adding a weekly conversation about the state of Niner basketball between J Felt (me) and NLP. We’re both completely untalented and unfunny by ourselves, but together we form a mildly humorous duo capable of making you smirk once or twice. This one was started right after the Saint Joseph’s game. Read on…

J Felt (I’m in italics because I’m artsy): Well, who saw that coming? With the way we’ve been struggling, the thought of us beating a team down like that, in conference play no less, was far fetched. Saint Joe’s looked like us last year: bad at everything. They walked into a buzzsaw, and after 5 minutes into the game it was never in doubt. The Hawks forgot how to play basketball on the same day our team remembered. What does this victory tell you about our team heading into the last few games of the season?

Ian Andersen is fired up!!!

NLP (in regular, because he’s a straightfoward guy): It tells me that we need to play the Hawks more often.  I don’t know how much of it was execution on our part or ineptitude on their part, but I’ll take the result either way.  Take Ian and Gokhan for instance:  30 points between them.  Basically they were hitting the shots they’ve been missing as both have been able to get open looks during their respective scoring droughts (Ian’s lasting all season up until last night).  Really how often do you have someone as a Sr. who isn’t injured burst for 19 points when he’s been below the double-digit line all season?  Rare.
 
We’ll find out if we’re back this weekend when we take on the Foggy Bottom Colonials.  The team that lost three straight will lose that game by double digits.  The team we saw last night would win by double digits.  I don’t think we’ll see anything in between.  It’s going to be either one extreme or the other.

J: That GW game has worried me all season. They really are starting to develop as a rival, and Lutz even mentioned in the postgame, “they REALLY don’t like us.” So you know the Colonials will be fired up for the game, and it’s on MASN. We never win on that channel, unless you count barely beating Fordham as a win…
 
Speaking of Ian Andersen, where does his layup on the break rank amongst your “Most Awkward Fast Breaks” list? To me, it’s got to go pretty high, right up there with E.J. Drayton getting called for a palming violation against Miss St. a few years ago. I wonder what was going through Ian’s head, if his first intention was to bring down a tomahawk slam but got distracted by thinking about whether or not he should blow a kiss to his wife after a slam dunk.

N: I’m on Orbitz right now looking for flight and hotel packages (I’d take the bus up but NQH has never seen DC and we might head up tomorrow night and come back Sunday.  Point?  I’m trying to guarantee a loss.  Although we’re undefeated at the Smith Center with me in attendence… granted my last appearance was in 2002 when we still had Jobey, Cam, Eddie, and the Curtis Nash experiment hadn’t yet begun. 
 
Ian’s layup?  I think he achieved the minimum elevation possible while still leaving the ground… maybe 1 or 2 micrometers, which is funny because he can actually dunk fairly easily.  In warmups.  Important distinction.  Yesterday’s game is proof that the basketball gods are willing to relent at least for one game.  Bask in the glory Ian, there’s no knowing how long it will last!

Free the Golddusters!

J: Back to the really important issues. Which Goldduster is #1? Short haired brunette, or GingerDuster? There are serious arguments being made on both sides, but I think some people are neglecting the blondes. I would be worried about asking this question because it might offend some women, but we already know women don’t read our blog.

N: Look, they’re both gahgeous.  It just comes down to preference.  Most people will probably gravitate towards Ginger for the novelty factor and you can’t fault that. 
Personally?  Short-haired brunette wins the NLP Goldduster award.  Both can feel free to schedule a competition with GTG as judges to determine the ultimate winner. 

J: Its too bad our athletic department doesn’t have a page dedicated to them where we can bios and Judy Rose-approved headshots. They’d probably all list UNC-CH as their favorite college basketball team anyway. However, Short-Haired Brunetter Duster is probably leading the vote right now, You’re right, the only way to settle it is a GreenTintedGlasses.net Goldduster competition, which I’m sure Judy Rose would be more than happy to allow.
 
Back to basketball. There was a noticeable difference in the demeanor of our team last night. They were smiling and enjoying basketball. Even during the 7 game win streak, our team didn’t exactly look excited to be playing basketball until the end of the games, but last night they were a different team before tip off. I guess winning does that to you. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out for the rest of the season. Do guys like Gokhan and Ian see more of a role? Will Derrio come out of his “slump”?

N: Do we really have to go back to basketball?  I guess I don’t want Judy Rose sticking a shank in my neck at the Richmond game.
 
Yeah the team looked like it had fun out there, which is the big idea.  Win and enjoy doing it.  We absolutely need more of that.  As for roles, I’m scared Bobby might overuse Ian after his ‘breakout’.  He’s still awful on defense and just doesn’t have the speed and overall athleticism to do anything more than come off screens.  If he’s on though, give it a whirl but watch that +/-. 
 
I do want more Sirin, I’ll admit it, I’m enamored with his game but he’s still a work in progress and needs to be more aware on defense, work on his dribbling as you mentioned when we were gtalking it up, and get stronger.  Most of those things will come in the off-season.  The SF position will be interesting.  Dewhurst just doesn’t provide much on offense, but he’s a great glue guy who can get offensive rebounds and tends to get fouled if and when he shoots.  But I really like the way Wilderness is playing.  It’s just unfortunate he’s never really developed that consistent jumper that teams have to respect.  Still, he’s amazing around the rim.  Easily our best finisher.  The question is whether teams will let him get there. 
 
As for Derrio, he’ll be fine.  He just needs to re-iterate that shooters mentality and have the short memory whenever he makes a mistake.  That doesn’t mean force up shots, that just means always believe a good shot will go in.

J: You know Judy has all that hair for a reason. She keeps a collection of weapons in there for people like you.
 
Sirin has an amazing shot, and fairly good basketball IQ, but call me when he can play defense, adds some muscle, and can dribble the ball out of double teams. If he can do at least one of those things, I say give him plenty more playing time, but in the meantime I like his “Sean Phaler + Skill” role right now. And Wilderness, man, what a beast. In my mind I’m picturing a Basden-esque senior year for Wilderness. Remember how much more dangerous Eddie was when he sort of developed a jumper? If Wilderness can do that and stay healthy, watch out, we could be really good next year.
 
I hate saying that with so much of the season left, but that’s really the biggest thing I’m getting from this season: we could be REALLY good next year. I’m already excited and this one’s not even over yet.

Obligatory

N: We’re the kings of next year.  For once, I’d like to be the king of this year.  This team could do it -the ability is there, but can they seize it?  That I don’t know.  I’m personally of the belief that unless we run the remaining 3 regular season games, we have to win the A10 title to make the NCAA tournament.  In the event we do run the table, I think we still have to make the A10 finals, or at least beat an RPI top 40 team like Dayton who had to play their way to AC by winning a first round game.
 
I’m excited too, but unlike the Pointer Sisters I’m still kind of hiding it.

J: I refuse to mention anything about the big post season event that happens following the conference tourney. No point getting our hopes up, because I hate to be disappointed. I will say this, we still have a chance because there are a TON of bubble teams that could easily drop off and let us in. We still have work to do.
 
Last topic for your discussion (I sense our reader is bored), what do you think matters the most heading into these last three games?

N: Our reader?  We have just one now?  :’(
 
Going into the last three games the difference is going to be defense.  We need to get better at it and play the kind of defense we did against Richmond.  We’ve been good at getting open shots this season, but they don’t always fall.  We’ve been good at getting Shamari the ball down low, but he doesn’t always get the call when he’s fouled.  But none of that should impact how hard we go at it on defense.  There’s no better way to keep a game close when shots aren’t falling than going all out on defense.
 
After that, it’s taking care of the ball.  We’re still turnover prone between the circles, and that’s the worst play to turn it over.  It’s an almost guaranteed layup/dunk/foul because of the numbers.

Wilderness provided the heroics with the game winner against La Salle.

Well that was pretty much the definition of awesome.  D-Fo had his birthday wish delivered in the form of a game-winning runner delivered by the hands of An’Juan Wilderness as time expired at Tom Gola Arena.  The basket broke a 82-82 tie with the La Salle Explorers and gave the Niners another impressive road victory as they try to keep place with Xavier and Temple at the top of the A10 standings.  The win sets up a battle for first place Wednesday against #16 Temple  in Halton Arena (7PM tip.  If you don’t have tickets yet I’m gonna hunt you down).

Coming out of the opening tip, the Niners pulled out to an early 8 point lead thanks in large part to the hot shooting of Derrio Green.  Green scored 9 straight points for the Niners on three 3-point baskets and layups by Chris Braswell and An’Juan Wilderness put Charlotte ahead 15-7.  La Salle would battle back with impressive shooting for long range of their own thanks to sensational Fr. C Aaric Murray.  Murray, despite the offensive explosion in the first half, would be limited in action for much of the game due to foul problems, which exacerbated an already thin bench for the Explorers thanks to injuries to Ruben Guillandeaux and Kimmani Barrett, the latter finding out he will likely miss the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his right foot.

The Niners would again build a first half lead, this time going to the inside game.  Shamari Spears, and in particular, Braswell scored often against the big La Salle frontcourt.  Braswell did his damage both on the floor and at the line, finish the game with another double-double (21 points, 13 rebounds and a very impressive 9-9 at the foul line).  The Explorers would again make a run to tighten the game at the half thanks to Yves Mekongo and Jerrell Williams, who found themselves frequently converting at the foul line in the latter minutes of the first half.  When the buzzer sounded to send the game to halftime, the Niners held a small 48-46 advantage.

The second half featured more of the same: the Niners building leads and the Explorers battling back.  The lead grew to as many as 11 points for the Niners, and they maintained a 5 point lead with just 2:03 remaining before the La Salle would make one last run.  A pair of Rodney Green free throws and a Yves Mekongo 3 pointer tied the game at 82 points apiece with just under a minute remaining.  A missed Derrio Green shot left the ball in La Salle’s hands with a chance to win and 25 seconds to work with -basically they could run the clock down and either win it or send it to overtime.

Not so fast.  An’Juan Wilderness played tough defense on Rodney Green on a pick and roll with Aaric Murray, causing Green to opt to pass to Murray who was cutting to the basket with possibly a dunk or layup to win it.  The pass however sailed off Murray’s fingers out-of-bounds giving the Niners one last chance with a little less than 5 seconds remaining.  The 49ers immediately inbounded the ball to An’Juan Wilderness who covered about three-quarters of the court an managed to get off a runner as time expired which found the bottom of the net, giving the Niners the stunning last second victory.  It was the 2nd win in 3 games that game on the last possession for the Niners who suddenly find themselves in the unfamiliar role of road warrior in A10 conference play.

The starters again shined for the Niners as they were responsible for 81 of the 84 points scored.  The lone bench points came from an Ian Andersen first half 3-pointer.  Leading the scoring charge for Charlotte was Shamari “Sherman” Spears who finished with 22 points on 7-12 shooting and 8-11 from the foul line.  Derrio Green was the third Niner to reach 20 points for the game, managing exactly that number on 6-14 shooting.  Derrio had another good game distributing the ball and leading the team with 7 assists on the game to go with just 1 turnover.  The provider of the last-second heroics, An’Juan Wilderness, also had a terrific game with 13 points on 6-7 shooting and adding 4 assists and 3 rebounds.  DiJuan Harris didn’t have his best game, fouling out in 33 minutes of action with 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists to go with 3 turnovers.  Credit Rodney Green for being a difficult matchup all game for Harris.

Despite being outrebounded by La Salle, the margin was not particularly bad.  Finishing just boards behind the Explorers, the Niners managed 11 offensive rebounds including 6 by Braswell.  Impressively, Charlotte handed out 23 assists on 27 made baskets as again the Niners did a fantastic job moving the ball on offense, including in transition.  Who is this team?  What have they done with my Niners of old???  Actually, don’t answer that question.  I just want to enjoy this.

In the end, the difference in the game was foul shooting by the Niners.  Most, if not all previous Niner teams under Lutz would have lost this game, but Charlotte coverted 23 of 28 foul shots, good for an 82.1% mark.  In contrast, La Salle only hit 16 of 23, which was good for 69.6%.

Next up, a first place tumble with the very tough and very well-coached Temple Owls.  Here’s to hoping we fill Halton Arena on Wednesday to give Fran Dunphy a not-so-warm welcome to the QC.  The average sports fan needs to know how good the Niners, Owls, and A10 are so be sure to get the word out!  See you on the 27th.

There was one casualty for the Niners tonight.  Charles Dewhurst went down late in the 2nd half with a leg injury.  No would yet from the team what the extent of it is, but rumors are an ankle injury.  We’ll update you when we get word on the extent of his injury.

Raise your hand if you're the stupidest mascot in the nation.

Sunday afternoon the St. Louis (just kidding run49er), I mean Saint Louis Billikens take to the Halton Arena floor to square off against our beloved Charlotte 49ers (11-5).  The Billikens enter the game sporting the same 11-5 record on the Niners but enter the contest with a 2-0 conference record.  Saint Louis has defeated Richmond at home and most recently posted an impressive double-overtime win at Duquesne.

A welcome addition to svelte Head Coach Rick Majerus’ squad is freshman import Cody Ellis.  Ellis, a 6’8″ power forward finally received clearance to play by the NCAA (we know how that goes) and has posted a 12 point average in two games coming off the bench.  Despite being unproven in live game action, Ellis has logged an average of 27 minutes in this two games, and has pulled down 8 rpg.  His addition brings a very welcome addition for Saint Louis and changes the complexion of the team as well as how teams will have to prepare for them.

As young as the Xavier squad was that the Niners fell to on Wednesday, Saint Louis is even younger.   With Paul Eckerle out with a pre-season knee injury, the Billikens are comprised of entirely Freshmen and Sophomores.  According to Ken Pomeroy, that makes the Billikens 2nd least experienced team in the nation.  Leading the Billikens in scoring is So. PG Kwamain Mitchell, who puts up 16.2 ppg. on 46.6% shooting from the field and 36.1% from behind the arc. Giving the Billikens good inside balance to go with Mitchell is post man Willie Reed.  Reed is also a So., and averages 12.8 ppg. and 8.6 rpg. giving Saint Louis along with Ellis a pair of very good, young post players.

Rounding out the main starting unit for Saint Louis are wing players Brian Conklin (7.8 ppg.) and Christian Salecich (7.6 ppg.).  Coming off the bench to give the Billikens a boost from the perimeter is diminutive Fr. G Justin Jordan.  Jordan hits on 40% of his 3-point attempts and contributes 6.6 ppg. in just over 20 minutes a game.

As a team, Saint Louis provides a stark contrast to the Niners’ style of play, preferring a slower tempo and grinding out victories.  Saint Louis “only” averages 64.3 ppg. and limits the opposition to 58.5 ppg.  More impressive is their ability to force defenses into poor shooting, limiting them to just 38.0% from the field and 26.3% from the 3-point line.  The Billikens do have some weaknesses though that the Niners can hope to exploit.  Though a respectable team at blocking shots, Saint Louis does not excel at rebounding, allowing the opposition to out-rebound them by about 1.3 rpg.  Chris Braswell and KJ Sherrill could have big games on the glass, as the Niners will likely need plenty of second-chance scoring to overcome the Billikens’ excellent floor defense.

Additionally, Saint Louis is a bit suspect from the line, particularly at the F positions, where they convert just 63% of their attempts from the charity stripe.  If players like Phil Jones and Shamari Spears get beat on defense, strong fouls might be a better alternative to giving up the easy basket.  Of course, that’s not a good strategy if it leads to following out or extended stretches on the bench, of course.

For the Niners, some consistency in scoring is absolutely needed.  Though DiJuan Harris appears to be breaking out of his funk, Derrio Green needs to utilize better shot selection lest he fall in a slump of his own.  The Niners can ill-afford another 0-9 performance behind the arc from Green, particularly with the defection of Shamarr Bowden. As for Shamari Spears, I’m going to be a broken record.  When he gets the ball early in the possession he’s deadly.  If he’s not double or triple teamed, that is.  If he does receive pressure after the catch, he absolutely must do a better job of getting the ball back out, whether it’s to a backdoor player, a slasher like An’Juan Wilderness, or back out to the guards.  Too often has he forced the ball up in a crowd either missing the shot or getting stripped.  That’s not to say he’s a poor player; Shamari has been terrific.  But he can’t be his best until he can also use the attention he draws in the post to make his teammates get better scoring opportunities.

Two other players to keep an eye on are Fr. F Gokhan Sirin and So. F Javarris Barnett.  Both received more action in the Xavier game and this trend may continue as the Niners look to replace the perimeter offense of Bowden.  Sirin in

Rick is bringing sexy back.

particular, despite missing all his attempts against the Musketeers, continues to look more comfortable in the offensive flow.  One can only hope more opportunities leads to more improvement.  As for Barnett, it’s hard not to notice that he tends to do good things in the few minutes he receives.  Against Xavier he drilled a 3 in the corner that was waived off due to an offensive foul, and hit a little flip shot in the paint while collecting 2 rebounds in just 6 minutes.  Though he’s neither a true guard or true forward, his blend of skill and size can potentially lead to matchup problems in the time when he’s on the court.

Another player to keep a watch on is Wilderness, who is shooting a sizzling 63.9% from the field since his return from an early season calf injury.  Though Wilderness continues to struggle at the line, he is a terror around the rim and is probably the Niners best finisher close to the basket.

This game is going to be tougher than some anticipate.  A very young Saint Louis squad continues to improve and the addition of Cody Ellis will only help.  If the contest was at Chaifetz, I’d put this down as a loss, but I think the Niners go to 2-1 in A10 play by grinding out a victory tomorrow afternoon.  The rebounding of Braswell and the rest of the squad will be the determining factor, as the Niners will prevail in a game that will probably be ugly in terms of scoring and field goal percentage.

Oh, and kennethhouck gave a little tid bit in the comments to the X game that I’m going to pass along to anyone who hasn’t seen it.

Tough loss to X.

For St. Louis, do you know what a Billiken is? It’s a Blue Demon. Do you know why SLU has a Blue Demon? Did you see the Exorcist? The movie is based on a real story. The real exorcsim was in a building on the SLU campus. No one goes in the room where the exorcism takes place. It’s sealed up. A window cleaner was on the fire escape cleaning windows, & went down to the floor to clean the outside of the window of the sealed room. He was scared s**tless when he saw a blue demon in the room.
The Niners will have to perform a real life exorcism to beat Rick “tub of lard” Majerus. SLU always has tough defense. We had a game there one time where both were in the 30′s with 3 minutes to go.
Pick: Niners 13, Scary A** Window 12.

We’ll move this to the predictions tomorrow when J Felt gets off his butt and writes it.  Or gets on his butt.  I really don’t want to know in what state of being he writes his articles now that I think about it.  I’m going to go bleach my eyes now.

An'Juan looked more like his junkyard dog self. Image from charlotteobserver.com

The Niners capped off a historic weekend on campus by dispatching the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs 95-66.  It was a game that saw the Niners shoot over 50% from the field for the second straight game and a total of 13 players scored.  En route to outclassing G-W, the Niners managed to hold Grayson Flittner scoreless, a stark contrast to the Smith Center record 9 three pointers he dropped on the Tarheels last month.

Leading the way for the Niners were Shamari Spears and DiJuan Harris, with 13 points each; however, it was truly a group effort with the final horn showing 6 Niners scoring in double figures.  For his part, Spears did a much better job of passing out of the double team and not getting stripped or forcing shots.  Freshman KJ Sherrill hit double figures for the first time in his young career, showing a nice little hook shot and scavenging a loose ball for a thunderous dunk home.  An’Juan Wilderness also managed 10 points in just 6 minutes of action, looking more like the Wilderness we’re accustomed to  -finishing well around the rim.  Despite only scoring 7 points, Rashad Coleman also had an excellent game, chipping in 7 points, pulling down 7 rebounds, and adding a pair of steals (though it felt like he had half a dozen).  Coleman seems to be playing much more within himself and within the flow of the team compared to last year, passing up shots he would have taken a season ago.

The Niners did have an early scare in the game when Harris went down in the first half with an ankle injury.  Though we later learned his return was questionable, in typical Harris fashion he returned before the end of the half to a warm welcome from the appreciative (and relieved) crowd.  Despite the turned ankle, Harris perhaps had his best game of the season in terms of dribble penetration and finishing at the rim.  On one play that was emblematic of game and the Niners as a team this season, Harris drove hard towards the basket and was seemingly engulfed in a sea of red jerseys.  But the ever mighty PG managed a dart of a pass to Shamarr Bowden on the wing who buried the open 3-pointer.

For Gardner-Webb, despite keeping the first half score relatively close, the Runnin’ Bulldogs for the most part looked overmatched.  In the first half, it was largely an epidemic of turnovers leading to easy buckets for Charlotte (14 points off turnovers).  In the 2nd half, a combination of poor shooting and rebounding by Gardner-Webb allowed the Niners to build on a 14 point lead which grew as large as 33 points.  The large 2nd half lead allowed the Niners to empty the bench and give young players like Gokhan Sirin some more time to develop.  Sirin for his part hit another three pointer and a nice pull up jumper after bringing the ball across the time line to beat the Gardner-Webb pressure.  For my part, I’ve been impressed with the gradual but consistent development for Sirin since I first got the opportunity to see him play, and struggle, against Johnson C Smith.

For the game, the Niners shot 53.7% from the field and 41.2% from behind the three-point arc.  From the charity stripe, the team hit 16-23, again hitting more FTs than the opponent attempted.  The Niners also handily out-rebounded Gardner-Webb with a final margin of +10.  The Niners will next be in action when they cross the state line and take on the Winthrop Eagles next Sunday December 20th at 4:00 PM.  FREE PLUG ALERT: There’s going to a be a pregame tailgate with BBQ from 49erfanatics.com starting at 1 PM in the parking lot.  BYOB (yes,  it’s permitted).