OUTLOOK: For the first time since 1999-2000, it appears as though the team to
beat in the Big South Conference is Radford. Last year, the Highlanders made
it to the NCAA Tournament and there's no reason to think Brad Greenberg's
squad cannot make a repeat appearance, marking the first time in school
history were it to play out that way. Last year, Radford earned some
additional respect by nearly defeating Virginia on the road, as it finished
21-12 overall and won all but three of its 18 conference outings. What has the
Radford faithful so excited this season again is that the team returns four
starters from last season, with the spotlight shining on preseason player of
the year Art Parakhouski. Also getting some of the much-deserved attention
will be Joey Lynch-Flohr, an all-conference performer in his own right.
It would be foolish to count out a team like Winthrop with the sort of
pedigree it has produced the last few years, which is why the Eagles have to
be given a fighting chance at taking down Radford. Last season, Winthrop was
roughed up early in the campaign with some very tough non-conference
opponents, losing 10 in a row at one stretch, yet the squad leveled off in
league play and ended up an even 9-9, which means the Eagles found their
stride and could easily carry that momentum over into 2009-10.
After showing some grit in the second half of last season, fighting through a
total of four overtime games, three of those coming in a stretch of just five
outings, the Bulldogs of UNC-Asheville were also given high marks in the
preseason voting by coaches and media. Bulldog head coach Eddie Biedenbach
welcomes back three starters and has one of the more exciting second-year
players in guard Matt Dickey. In a dog-eat-dog world, perhaps the canines from
Gardner-Webb could give those from Asheville a true junkyard battle for
premier placement in the league standings. The reason for the optimism at GW
is because senior guard Grayson Flittner is ready to come back after he missed
couple of weeks with injury last season, a stretch that left the Runnin'
Bulldogs with seven of their losses.
Some of the biggest news for the Big South this season is that Liberty will be
competing without star Seth Curry who decided to transfer in order to gain
more visibility and exposure. Then-head coach Ritchie McKay spoke as though he
was happy that Curry was heading to Duke, but in reality the coach had to know
that it was a huge blow for his program. Last season, the VMI Keydets again
led the nation in scoring with 93.8 ppg and posted a 24-8 record, but when the
chips were down in the big games VMI couldn't complete the task. Putting up
133 points against a team like Stevenson early in the season is one thing, but
allowing conference opponents to hit for triple figures isn't an equitable
exchange.
At some point, teams like Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern and
Presbyterian should be moving up in the ranks of the Big South, but for now
the trio is almost interchangeable when it comes to finishing in the bottom
portion of the 2009-10 Big South standings.
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Radford
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Radford; 2. Winthrop; 3. UNC-Asheville; 4.
Gardner-Webb; 5. Liberty; 6. VMI; 7. High Point; 8. Coastal Carolina; 9.
Charleston Southern; 10. Presbyterian
TEAM BY TEAM ANALYSIS:
RADFORD - There were many ups and downs for the Highlanders a season ago, such
as ranking 33rd in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.399), but
also 303rd of 330 D-I programs with their 16.3 turnovers per contest. The
squad is banking on the stability in their lineup and presence in the paint to
uphold the efforts on defense and improve the lackluster ball-handling that
plagued them far too much in 2008-09. Scoring a league-best 16.2 ppg a year
ago and also placing ninth in the entire nation with his 11.2 rpg Parakhouski,
the conference player of the year and an AP Honorable Mention All-America
selection, figures to be a huge force yet again in the paint for Radford. A
native of Belarus standing nearly seven feet tall, Parakhouski not only shot
an impressive 54 percent from the field overall, his nearly 60 percent
accuracy in conference games was what made the Highlanders such a tough
matchup for most league opponents. A preseason all-conference pick a year ago
in his own right, Lynch-Flohr provided the Highlanders with the sort of one-
two punch that made them the favorite to head back to the 'Big Dance' this
season. Lynch-Flohr should have plenty of opportunity to improve upon his 13.7
ppg and 5.9 rpg from a year ago as the opposition tries to figure out how to
deal with Parakhouski. Junior Lazar Trifunovic, a transfer from Binghamton,
will add even more strength in the paint and will be a force to contend with
as well. Ignoring senior point guard Amir Johnson and senior forward Phillip
Martin would be foolish as they too will play a significant part in the team's
success.
WINTHROP - The Eagles didn't have a single player finish among the top-15 in
scoring in the Big South last season, but all that means is that they are more
in-tune with playing a team game than perhaps the rest of the league members.
Head coach Randy Peele has the distinct advantage of returning all but one of
his scholarship players from a season ago. What should scare the other schools
in the conference more than anything is the fact that Winthrop is coming off a
very poor 2008-09 campaign in which it was eight games under .500 and was just
9-9 in conference. Measuring that against a legacy that has seen the Eagles
win eight of the previous 10 conference titles, expect to see the Eagles come
back with a vengeance and take out some of their frustrations on the other
schools that kicked them when they were down. Losing Andy Buechert to injury
was huge last season, but the senior is back for the Eagles and will join
newcomers Matt Morgan and Julius Francis as forces that the opposition did not
have to reckon with last year. In 2008-09, Winthrop was first in the league in
scoring defense with just 66.4 ppg allowed, but that mattered little when
compared to the team's offense which was putting up a minuscule 61.1 ppg and
ranked second-to-last in the Big South and 298th in the nation. Having fifth-
year senior Mantoris Robinson, the reigning Big South Defensive Player of the
Year, ready to defend his title should bring even more attention to the team's
efforts at the defensive end of the floor and offset any troubles they might
have on offense.
UNC-ASHEVILLE - Last season, the Bulldogs were picked to finish a distant
ninth in the Big South, but the squad managed to make many eat crow as it
posted a 10-8 record and was fourth in the standings once the smoke cleared.
Perhaps the voters sensed they were somewhat misguided last year, which could
be why UNCA has gained significantly more respect this season. Not since
2002-03 has a Bulldog team been this highly regarded and that excitement has
not been overlooked by coach Biedenbach. Now what he has to do is temper that
enthusiasm with some sustainable accomplishments, not the least of which would
be to finish above .500, unlike last year when the team was 15-16. This group
received high marks last season for leading the league in three-point shooting
at 36 percent, but there is still plenty of room for improvement and that's
where Sean Smith, the lone returning senior, steps in after hitting a team-
best 74 triples a year ago. Dickey will also have to live up to the billing of
being one of the top freshmen in the league in 2008-09 when he averaged 10.9
ppg. As someone who will draw plenty of attention in the paint, John Williams
will have to do better than his 12.9 ppg and 6.6 rpg if the Bulldogs are going
to live up to expectations. With the roster made up almost entirely of first
and second-year players, it will be the job of coach Biedenbach to keep them
from getting too high, or too low before the conference schedule begins in
earnest.
GARDNER-WEBB - Entering his 15th season as the head coach at Gardner-Webb,
Rick Scruggs has guided his team to a record of .500 or better in three of the
last five campaigns and expectations have him improving on recent success
again this year as his Runnin' Bulldogs try to again show their unselfish play
on their way to an even better finish to the Big South season. Last year, the
team had to deal with the loss of Grayson Flittner for a significant amount of
time and that's one of the reasons why they failed to reach their goals.
Thankfully, Flittner is ready to go in 2009-010 and the rest of the league
recognizes that, having named him Preseason All-Big South Conference heading
into the campaign. Now just 19 points shy of 1,000 for his career, the senior
guard will be expected to switch seamlessly between both guard positions,
something that might hamper his ability to pile up points. The predicted
starters for GW might be a bit undersized, but there's something to be said
for effort as Joshua Henley led all NCAA Division I freshmen in rebounding
last season with his 10.3 per outing, in spite of standing just 6-3. Hitting
the glass even harder at the offensive end of the floor will give Henley some
additional scoring opportunities and that should keep defenders on their toes
when trying to matchup with the strong, inside force. Auryn MacMillan, a
three-year performer with the Bulldogs, is set to return to the center of the
floor for the squad and continue his improvement as he is now a true scoring
threat for this group and will take some of the pressure off Flittner.
LIBERTY - As one of only two players in the Big South to average better than
20 ppg last season, the loss of Seth Curry is truly a disappointment, not just
for the Flames but the league overall because now the conference has to reboot
and find another lightning rod, a player with superstar quality who will draw
attention to the other top-notch performers in the Big South. Not only is
Liberty dealing with the defection of its top player on the floor, the
sidelines will also have a different look for the Flames as Dale Layer has
taken over for Ritchie McKay as the head coach. A former assistant under McKay
at both Liberty and Colorado State before that, Layer, who most recently
worked as an assistant coach at Marquette where he focused his efforts on the
guards with the Golden Eagles, will be right in his element as he gets an
opportunity to build a program almost from scratch with so many freshmen and
sophomores. Unfortunately, not only is Curry gone, so is Anthony Smith who was
the other go-to guy on offense for the Flames, and that leaves only Kyle Ohman
as lone returning double-digit scorer after putting up 13.9 ppg as a starter
in all 35 outings last season. As a freshman last year, Jesse Sanders was the
only regular to shoot better than 50 percent from the field, en route to his
6.9 ppg. Hopes are that Sanders might turn into a performer comparable to
older brother Thomas who was a standout for Gardner-Webb and was the Atlantic
Sun Player of the Year in 2008 before the Runnin' Bulldogs made the jump to
the Big South for basketball.
VMI - The Keydets thought they had something real to build on last year as
they defeated once-mighty Kentucky in the season opener (111-103), but that
was before the Wildcats were found out to be mere shadows of their former
selves. The Keydets, who last made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in
1977 when they made it to the Sweet 16, have just two seniors on the roster
for this season in Carl Josey and Adam Lonon, but neither of them are
threatening to be the big man on campus. Josey started a mere three games last
season and Lonon missed considerable time with a hamstring injury, so
expectations are rather low when it comes to what they might bring to the
table this time around. Losing both Chavis Holmes and Travis Holmes, a duo
that combined to score better than 40 ppg, the former adding 96 assists and
team highs of 33 blocks and 105 steals, means there's much work to do for head
coach Duggar Baucom. Junior guard Austin Kenon will have to shoulder much of
the load until the squad can establish a new, viable identity. Kenon, one of
just two juniors on the team, led the Big South in three-pointers made and was
one of the leaders in both three-point percentage (.395) and scoring (16.3
ppg). The run-and-gun style that has served this team somewhat well in
previous years might not be the best option for this group, but assume that
the three-point tries will continue to be a staple in the attack, just as they
were last season when the team led the nation with 13.7 attempts per outing.
HIGH POINT - First things first with the Panthers as they head into 2009-10,
doing so with a new head coach in Scott Cherry, a former assistant with the
likes of Tennessee Tech, George Mason, Western Kentucky and South Carolina. A
former player himself at North Carolina under Dean Smith, Cherry is taking
over High Point at the ripe old age of 38 and has a lot of hard work ahead of
him. Cherry inherits a team that won a total of just nine games a season ago
and won back-to-back outings just once in the middle of February. Clearly
lacking consistency, the Panthers padded some of their stats with lopsided
wins over Atlanta Christian, Montreat, NC Central and Limestone College. On a
positive note, the team did somehow manage to defeat Winthrop twice and came
close to upsetting VMI in the regular-season finale, which might be reason to
be cautiously optimistic. Senior guard Eugene Harris will be expected to be a
leader after posting 12.0 ppg a season ago, although his mere 35.2 percent
shooting from the field was far from spectacular. Second-year man Nick
Barbour, recognized as one of the top freshmen in the Big South as he led the
team with his 14.2 ppg, will also have to make better decisions in order to
rise above his mediocre 38.9 percent from the floor. Also now a sophomore,
guard David Singleton is the floor leader for the Panthers after leading the
group with his 144 assists and 55 steals, now if only he could work on his 5.9
ppg and 38.3 percent shooting from the floor. What's worse is that Singleton
made just 3-of-17 behind the three-point line.
COASTAL CAROLINA - Now entering his third season with the Chanticleers, head
coach Cliff Ellis has his work cut out for him as he tries to raise this group
from a record of 11-20 overall and a miserable 2-13 on the road in 2008-09.
Working in his favor is the fact that he has four returning starters from a
year ago, although the supporting cast has been depleted and new faces brought
in to replace the old on the bench. Senior forward Joseph Harris carried the
burden of being the top returning scorer for the squad after putting up 15.2
ppg, while shooting 57.6 percent from the floor. Harris was also one of only a
handful of players in the NCAA to average a double-double last season as he
cleared 11.4 rpg, a number that placed him eighth in the nation overall.
Unfortunately, from a team standpoint, while Harris was putting up strong
efforts on a regular basis, the squad as a whole was almost an afterthought as
it ranked 301st in the country with an unhealthy 16.1 turnovers per game.
Senior guard Mario Edwards will be asked to help bring down the number of
mistakes made by Coastal Carolina and also give Dexter Moore some instruction
on playing in the backcourt as he enters his second year with the
Chanticleers. With several brand new faces and quite a number of players back
who were forced to watch from the sidelines, Coastal Carolina is hoping that
it can reverse at least some of its fortunes, such as playing in far too many
close games.
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN - Right off the bat the Buccaneers are going to be tested
as they open the 2009-10 campaign with a meeting against ACC foe Maryland on
the road. While the squad might think it is a good opportunity to make some
noise, just as VMI did last season versus Kentucky, the team would be much
better off focusing on opponents such as Stetson and Trinity which arrive in
Charleston soon after the season opener. Last season, the team averaged a
modest 69 ppg under the direction of Barclay Radebaugh, but had it not been
for the 208 combined points the program dropped on Toccoa Falls and Convenant
College, the numbers would be even more disproportionate. Of the two players
who averaged double-digit scoring in 2008-09, only junior guard Jamarco Warren
is back to test the waters for the Bucs again. Standing just 5-11, Warren is
not the sort of player who can carry an entire program, even though he did
post 17.8 ppg on the strength of his 99-of-249 shooting behind the three-point
line. Now a sophomore, forward Kelvin Martin will have more on his plate after
performing so admirably for the Buccaneers with his 9.0 ppg and 6.9 rpg, the
latter representing the top average coming back to CSU. Much the rest of the
roster is newcomers and slow movers who will be using this season to grow and
develop.
PRESBYTERIAN - Since linking up with the Blue Hose back in 1989-90, head coach
Gregg Nibert has enjoyed several positive moments at Presbyterian, but now he
has to deal with the harsh reality of what it means to reclassify and become a
full-fledged Division I squad. Two years ago the team from Clinton, South
Carolina experienced a total of just five victories in 30 outings, sizing up
bigger and better competition. Last year, Nibert was able to up the win total
to a dozen, yet the Blue Hose still won just three games against opponents
outside of the Big South, which means there is still plenty of growth and
learning to be experienced. Of the two double-digit scorers from last season,
only Al'Lonzo Coleman returns to improve upon his team-best 15.0 ppg. Listed
as the team's center at a mere 6-7, Coleman is certainly someone who can shoot
the ball with accuracy and is also the top rebounder for the group with almost
eight and a half boards per game a year ago, but getting into constant foul
trouble and turning the ball over about three and a half times per game might
be too much to bare. Junior guards Josh Johnson (9.9 ppg) and Pierre Miller
(7.8 ppg) combined to make 102 of the team's 165 three-point baskets last
season, but still the group has much to work on after having shot just 31.4
percent beyond the arc as a group. Honestly, the scoring defense (64.4 ppg)
for the Blue Hose last season would have ranked them first in the conference
if they were eligible for such recognition, but then the team's mere 59.6 ppg
on offense would have put Presbyterian near the bottom of the list as well and
ruined its efforts at the other end of the floor.
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