Citadel 2009 CIT Tournament Preview

Citadel Bulldogs -Southern Conference (20-12, 15-5)

RPI: 175

Big Wins: 2/7 at Western Carolina (75-66), 2/14 at Charleston (72-58), 2/18 at Davidson (64-46)

Bad Losses: 11/29 vs Central Arkansas (53-58), 12/6 at Elon (54-56), 12/15 UC Davis (61-79)

Coach: Ed Conroy

Probable Citadel Starters:

• Cameron Wells, Sophomore, Guard, 15.7 ppg, 3.1 apg, 5.0 rpg

• Zach Urbanus, Sophomore, Guard, 10.0 ppg, 2.9 apg

• Austin Dahn, Sophomore, Guard, 6.9 ppg, 1.2 apg

• John Brown, Freshman, Guard, 4.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg

• Demetrius Nelson, Senior, Center, 16.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg

Key Citadel Roleplayers:

• Daniel Eykyn, Sophomore, Guard, 2.8 ppg

• Tyrell McDowell, Sophomore, Guard, 1.7 ppg, 1.2 rpg

• Cosmo Morabbi, Freshman, Guard, 4.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg

• Bryan Streeter, Sophomore, Forward, 3.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg

Why Citadel Can Surprise:

It took Coach Ed Conroy some time to get the most of his young team, but by the end of the season The Citadel was one of the best teams in the Southern Conference. One of the main reasons for their success is the fact that they do a great job taking care of the ball. The primary ball handlers are Cameron Wells and Zach Urbanus and those two form a very underappreciated backcourt.

Wells scores most of his 15.7 points per game around the basket. He is not afraid to mix it up in the paint and drive the lane. Urbanus is the three-point shooter on the team. He knocks down 2.3 per game at a 45.3 percent clip. When Urbanus’ shot is falling, the Bulldogs have plenty of room to operate in the paint. However, even if Urbanus is having a bad day, Austin Dahn and Cosmo Morabbi are threats to hit the outside shot.

Why The Bulldogs Can Disappoint:
Hitting the three ball is one way to score quickly, but so is forcing turnovers and this is not a team that forces many turnovers at all. The team plays good straight up defense, but every once in a while they need to create a spark for the offense by forcing a turnover on the other end of the floor. There is not even a shot blocker to do such things. The Citadel only commits 12.7 turnovers per game, but they actually have a negative turnover margin since they force so few themselves.

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Who To Watch:
The Bulldogs pretty much have a bunch of 6-4 wings built around big man Demetrius Nelson. The 6-8 forward is one of the few upperclassmen on the team and his leadership has been helpful on and off the court. But he does plenty more than just lead this team from a mental standpoint; Nelson is a great scorer and rebounder too. He leads the team in both categories, tallying 16.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and it is his effort on the glass that makes this a decent rebounding team. However, he will get help from Wells and 6-4 forward John Brown in that department.

Citadel By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 67.1 (179th in nation, 8th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 64.6 (94, 2)

Field-Goal Percentage: 44.9 (106, 5)

Field-Goal Defense: 43.0 (148, 2)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.6 (135, 8)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.5 (147, 10)

Free-Throw Percentage: 71.6 (82, 1)

Rebound Margin: 1.9 (112, 3)

Assists Per Game: 11.3 (274, 10)

Turnovers Per Game: 12.7 (69, 2)

By Joel Welser
CollegeSports-fans.com Senior Basketball Writer

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