Charleston 2010 CBI Tournament Preview

Charleston Cougars - Southern Conference (21-11, 14-4)

Big Wins: 1/4 North Carolina (82-79), 1/22 Wofford (70-68), 2/17 Appalachian State (73-72)

Bad Losses: 12/23 at Hawaii (71-84), 1/28 at Davidson (71-86), 2/8 Citadel (65-72)

Coach: Bobby Cremins

Probable Charleston Starters:

• Andrew Goudelock, Junior, Guard, 19.4 ppg, 3.8 apg, 4.3 rpg

• Tony White Jr., Senior, Guard, 11.8 ppg, 2.9 apg

• Donavan Monroe, Junior, Guard, 12.4 ppg, 2.0 apg

• Casaan Breeden, Senior, Forward, 7.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg

• Jeremy Simmons, Junior, Forward, 11.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.0 bpg

Key Charleston Roleplayers:

• Willis Hall, Freshman, Forward, 5.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg

• Andrew Lawrence, Freshman, Guard, 4.7 ppg, 1.0 apg

• Matt Sundberg, Sophomore, Forward, 2.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg

Why The Cougars Can Surprise:
Live by the three and die by the three…that is certainly the case for the College of Charleston. When the Cougars knocked off North Carolina in January, they connected on over 40 percent of their 32 attempts from long range. When they lost to The Citadel in February, Coach Bobby Cremins’ team went a dismal 6-23 from long range. Andrew Goudelock is the most prolific outside shooter of the bunch. He hits nearly three long balls per game and leads the team with 19.4 points per game. He is also a solid distributor.

Tony White Jr. is much like Goudelock. He hits a bunch of three-pointers and can set up his teammates. White Jr. is not as effective of a scorer as Goudelock, but few players in the nation are. Donavan Monroe is yet another perimeter player who is a capable outside shooter. Monroe is also the most likely player to attack the basket and that is an important quality when those outside shots are not falling. Andrew Lawrence does not take many shots that are not three-pointers, but he is a typical shooter off the bench type of player. Casaan Breeden brings the outside shooting to the perimeter. Yet, the 6-8 senior does more than just shoot from long range and he is a decent shot blocker and rebounder.

Why The Cougars Can Disappoint:
With so many shooters, and so many shots, there is not much room on the floor for anybody who can rebound. The Cougars are one of the worst rebounding teams in the nation and have a rebound margin of -9.0. That is pretty awful and usually a team that gets outrebounded that bad is nowhere near the postseason. Jeremy Simmons is the lone big man who scores around the basket. His presence on the offensive end forces the opposing defense to collapse around him and that frees up the shooters on the perimeter. The 6-8 junior gets quite a few rebounds, but there is usually nobody around to help him. Goudelock is a decent rebounder for a guard and Breeden is not bad, but the frontcourt needs more bodies.

Find Charleston hats & gear and NCAA Fatheads online through College Sports Fans and buy college Snuggies!

Who To Watch for Charleston:
Those bodies could be Willis Hall and Matt Sundberg. Hall is an inconsistent freshman who works hard on the glass. At 6-6 is not the big guy this team needs, but he can at least be a decent backup power forward who can be just as productive as Breeden on the glass. Sundberg is 6-8, but lacks the strength to battle with most opposing big men in the paint. He is more of a perimeter threat who needs to add some weight to turn into an interior threat.

Charleston By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 74.4 (65th in nation, 2nd in conference)

Scoring Defense: 72.5 (271, 10)

Field-Goal Percentage: 45.6 (69, 2)

Field-Goal Defense: 44.2 (227, 9)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.4 (5, 1)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.6 (68, 3)

Free-Throw Percentage: 73.3 (32, 2)

Rebound Margin: -9.0 (332, 12)

Assists Per Game: 12.6 (197, 7)

Turnovers Per Game: 11.2 (21, 2)