The College of Charleston stays on the road to face App State tonight at 7 pm

The College of Charleston’s Men’s Basketball Team heads to the Holmes Center in Boone, N.C. to face the Mountaineers of Appalachian State University. The 7 o’clock game will broadcast on CSS (Comcast Channel 42), as well as the usual 910 AM and on SoCon TV. Mountaineer Sports Network will also broadcast the game in North Carolina. App State is currently 16-5, 8-2 (SoCon) with a three game winning streak that consists of breaking the 2nd longest Division 1 win-streak Davidson had (after embarrassing Davidson at Davidson), the Mountaineers smoked Furman by 9 and kenneled the Citadel Bulldogs by 41-points. The Cougs are playing great hoops right now and are riding a six-game win streak (winning 12 of the last 13 games), but tonight’s game will be a test for the Cougars as their remaining 8-games on the schedule (per ratings percentage index) is getting nothing but tougher.

Recon:
Head-coach for the Mountaineers Houston Fancher has assembled a very strong, 3-guard team who are shooting lights out wherever they go. App. is leading the SoCon in field goal percentage (48.2%) and 2nd only to Davidson in points per game (76.4), as well as holding the top of the heap in the North Division of the Southern Conference. Donte Minter, DJ Thompson and Nathan Cranford all average double-digits per game and as the Cougars found out in our SoCon opener, App State can bury the basketball from behind the arc, as well as beat you up in the paint. The Mountaineers are shooting 51.9% at home and in SoCon games this year. They have shot 50% or better in their last 5 games and 60% or better in 3 of those 5 games.
When I said lights out, I meant lights out; Senior-Guard Nate Cranford tied the school record for most treys in a game with 8 total 3 balls against the Citadel and the team as a whole set a new record for most treys in a game, with a total of 17 baskets (63%) made from behind the arc.

By the Numbers:
The Cougars (15-7, 8-2 SoCon) are 3-2 when playing on television, 4-4 on the road and 4-0 on Monday nights this season. Coach Cremins is 4-1 (All-time) vs. App. State and will be making his first trip back to App as head coach of the Cougars. The Mountaineer’s coach Fancher is 3-7 vs. the College. Charleston leads the overall series 10-6 and 9-4 since both teams joined the SoCon. Make no doubt about it, this game is pivotal to both programs as the season is dwindling away and the SoCon Tournament is less than a month away, so tune in tonight for the game. Go Cougs!

(Photo compliments of Blue Ridge Blog)

Post & Courier's Andrew Miller re-caps last night's game

The Post and Courier’s Andrew Miller wrote a great piece (McCandies Man Can) in today’s paper regarding the last few moments of the Cougars win over Wofford and Philip McCandies’ efforts. P&C Staffer, Wade Spees risked life and limb to jump in the celebratory mix and get the shot you see here within.

The Cougs won tonight against Wofford thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-ball from Philip McCandies

We're experiencing technical difficulties on this end, I'll post more on the game tomorrow. Cougs won 77-75!

(Photo compliments of CofC Sports.com)

The Cougs welcome the Wofford Terriers to Kresse Arena tonight at 7 pm!

The Cougars (13-7, 6-2 SoCon) face off against the Wofford Terriers (6-13, 1-7 SoCon) for the 112th time, tonight-7 pm at Kresse Arena. Wofford has the distinction as the opponent the College has played the most, with the Cougs leading the series 67-44, and 14-3 since both schools entered the SoCon. CofC has a current streak of 2 straight wins against the Terriers and Coach Cremins has never lost (8-0) to Wofford. The game will air on Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS)-as well as on ESPN-Radio 1400 & 910.

Let’s talk Terrier
Although Wofford is 11th in the SoCon and 6-13 overall, they have shown recently that they can rebound from a deficit, put points on the board and win-the Terriers overcame a 9-point deficit at the half to defeat Chattanooga Saturday night. Their most recent losses to SoCon opponents have been with very thin margins (i.e. Davidson and Georgia Southern both beat Wofford by 5-points, The Citadel and Furman both snuck by the Terriers with only a 3-point margin). Coach Mike Young (2-6 vs CofC) will bring his team to Kresse Arena fired up to bring home another SoCon win.

Wofford junior-guard Shane Nichols has the opportunity to break the thousand-career point’s mark against the Cougars tonight-Key word “Chance”. Nichols is the All-time leading 3-point scorer for the Terriers and currently hitting 44.8% from behind the arc, which is the high to the 40% average for the Terrier’s starting 3-guards. (I have never been a fan of the three-guard offense, but you have to play the cards you are dealt.) The main caveat the Cougs have to watch is fouling the Terriers; make no bones about it, with 4 of the starting 5 players averaging above 80%, these kids can shoot from the “Charity-Stripe”. If we have to foul Wofford, we need to focus on the Mikes (Estep and O’Conner) or Tyler Whatley-all three are currently shooting below 65% from the foul line.

From the Den
Dontaye Draper needs only 2-points to become the 9th All-time scorer for the College of Charleston. Ahdonus Cofer (CofC 1988-1992 Squad) is the current 9th All-time scorer with 1,330 career-points. The College is 7-1 at home, 3-0 on Monday nights this season and 328-38 (.896%) All-time at Kresse Arena. Go Cougs!

The Cougs defeat Elon

The College packed 3, 704 into Kresse Arena to watch the 6th meeting between the Elon Phoenix and the Cougars. Elon coach Ernie Nestor was 1-2 against the Cougs and had high reservations about facing the Cougs. The Cougars did not disappoint, leading at the half 40 to 19. The Phoenix matched the Cougars scoring 26 to our 27 in the second half, but it wasn't enough to stop the College. Charleston won tonight, 67-45! Go Cougs!

From the Den
David Lawrence drilled 19-points and Dontaye Draper put 14-points and 6-assists on the board. Jermaine Johnson showed he could dish the ball around and opted to curb his enthusiasm off the glass to snag a career high 8-boards and 5-assists. Marcus Hammond scored 10-points as the Cougars cruised past the Phoenix, leading by as much as 30 in the 2nd half. (Photo from CofC Sports.com)

The Cougars won for their 10th time in 11 games, as they routed the Elon Phoenix. Great job by the Cougars! Elon thanks for playing. The Cougars next game will be on Monday against Wofford (7 pm) at home.

Scoring: (1st half/2nd half/ final)
Elon: 19/ 26/ 45
CofC 40/27/67

The Cougs face Georgia Southern tonight!

The Cougs face Georgia Southern tonight for the 33rd time, 7 pm, at Kresse Arena. Georgia Southern has a current win streak of 2 against the Cougs and have won 5 of the last 6 meetings between the two schools. The game will air on CSS-Comcast channel 42 and will broadcast on ESPN Radio-910 AM.

From the Den
Coach Cremins is 3-1 (All-time) against Georgia Southern and the Cougs lead the match-up 17-15, and 9-8 since both schools entered the SoCon. Georgia Southern's head-coach Jeff Price is 8-7 (All-time) against the College.

The College (11-7, 4-2 SoCon) are coming off a 67-55 win over Furman. Georgia Southern lost to the Citadel 74-69 in OT.

Sorry about the recent silence on my end, Blogger has been giving me trouble. I am off to the game-GO COUGS!

Cougars face the Paladins

The College of Charleston (10-7, 3-2 SoCon) welcomes the Furman ‘Purple’ Paladins (7-8, 1-3 SoCon) Saturday night (6 pm) to Kresse Arena for the 67th game between the two schools. Furman leads the series (All-time) 39-27 but since both schools entered the SoCon, the College leads 16-2, with a current streak of 4-straight wins over Furman. The game will broadcast on CSS (Comcast Sports Southeast) with Matt Stewart doing the play-by-play and the legendary CofC Coach John Kresse painting the court as the color commentator. Also, the game will broadcast as usual on ESPN Radio-910-AM-with Tony-C and Easy-E calling the game for us.

From the Den:
Coach Cremins is 8-6 (All-time) over Furman. The last time the two schools met, the Cougars won by a basket 67-65 @ Timmons Arena, Feb.11, 2006. Josh Jackson scored 14-points; D-Lawrence scored 12-points and led the field with 9-boards. Dontaye Draper had a game high of 8-assists and had a career-high of 6 steals against Furman at the previous meeting between the two schools (1/7/06).

Furman Head Coach Jeff Jackson has a clean slate against the Cougars as this is his first year at the helm for the Paladins and Saturday will be his first trip to Kresse Arena. Coach Jackson is 28-68 in his 4 seasons as a head-coach, with a .292 (All-time) and .467 (at Furman) win percentage.

Recon
Despite having a losing record (of 7-8) and having but one win to keep the Terriers in dead-last for the South Division of the Southern Conference, the 5th-ranked Furman Paladins (1-3, SoCon) have a decent ball-club who can put points on the board. The Paladins lead the League in 3-pointers shooting 40.1%, with an average of 8.1 shots made from behind the arc per game and Furman has three starters averaging at least 12-points a game and 3 rebounds: Moussa Diagne (12.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg), Robby Ballstain (12.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.5 assists) and Eric Webb (12.9 ppg. 3.3 rpg and 5.3 apg). The Paladins lost to Georgia Southern by 2-points last Saturday and they lost to Davidson by 8-points on Wednesday. (Both Diagne and Webb scored 13-points in their loss against Davidson Wednesday night.) Side note: Furman lost to the currently undefeated Clemson Tigers on November 15th by 9-points.

Where the Paladins are weak-under the basket-Furman was out rebounded by Ga. Southern (33-19) and Davidson (39-24). Hopefully it is time for Josh Jackson to get angry! And Jackson and Johnson can do a little “shake and bake” on the boards-yes, I just said that; I can’t believe that just happened.

Run with the Cougars!

Coming off a loss to their rivals (more on this later) Davidson, the College of Charleston 10-7, 3-2 (SoCon) Cougars won in McAlister Field House against the 5-11, 2-3 (SoCon) last night, 74 to 62.

Trailing by as much as 10-points in the first half, the Bulldogs fought the Cougs in the paint to tie the game at 29 all at the half. Demetrius Nelson put up 16-points on 8 of 16 attempts for the Bulldogs, but the powerful offensive display by the Cougars silenced the Dog-Pound and the McAlister Maniacs.

The Cougars opened the 2nd half with a fireworks display by Draper's 3 consecutive (unanswered) 3-pointers, starting a 13-2 run to give the Cougs a 42-31 lead. The Citadel staged a comeback putting 8-points on the board and making things respectable, but the Cougs went on another run, 10-3, making the score 52-42.

The Cougs hit 11 of 24 from behind the arc, compared to the Bulldog's paltry display of 4 of 16 from 3-point land. Charleston scored 45-points in the second half compared to the 33-points produced by the Bulldogs.

From the Den:

Dontaye Draper led the Cougs with 25-points and 8 assists, followed by Marcus Hammond's (7-13) 21-points. David Lawrence scored 15-points in his 35-minutes of play, Josh Jackson had but 4-points in the paint. Tony White Jr. made a couple of turnovers, but put 6 on the board for the Cougs. The College's big man, Jermaine Johnson went 0 for 3 from the field, missing his usual lay-up attempts, but he did put one on the board from the charity stripe. The Citadel had a chance to make the scoreboard look respectable when Coach Cremins played the "human-victory cigar" David Baller and the sophomore Javon Purris for the final minute of the game.Did I make Craig watch the paltry excuse for a basketball team, as heart-breaking as it was until the bitter end of the game? You are damn right I did-he was pulling for Florida Monday night.

I am not hating, I am just stating-Davidson has the worst looking mascot in the SoCon!

...Need I say more?

(Photo compliments of the Davidson basketball blog)

Cougs face-off against the Citadel Bulldogs tonight at 7:05 PM

The (9-7, 2-2 SoCon) College of Charleston Cougars face their cross-town rival, the Citadel Bulldogs (5-10, 2-2 SoCon) tonight at McAlister Field House (7:05 PM on ESPN Radio). This will be the 79th meeting between the two schools on the hardwood, a rivalry that the College of Charleston leads 41-37 (All-time) and 14-2 (since both schools entered the SoCon). The Cougars have a current 8-game win streak against the Bulldogs with their last win at McAlister Field House on February 16, 2006 (CofC 72, The Citadel 52) a game which Dontaye Draper scored 24-points and Josh Jackson scored 21-points. (Photo compliments of J.Trabert/the Bushido)

Both schools brought in new coaches this year, and this is the first time Citadel Coach Ed Conroy and CofC Coach Bobby Cremins will face off. Coach Cremins is 11-1 vs the Citadel (All-time) his only loss to the Bulldogs was January 14, 1980 while he was coaching at Appalachian State (App. St., 53---El Cid, 54).

Good luck to the Cougars tonight as they face the Bulldogs. Go COUGS!

The College lost to Davidson tonight 73 to 81

Davidson increases their win victory over the College to 6 games--yes, we had our butts beat by 5 smart, white guys who can shoot once again--Davidson won tonight 81 to 73. Davidson had a 3-point lead at the half, but led by as much as 16-points in the 2nd half, scoring 22-points off of Cougar turnovers, hitting 19 of 25 (76%) from the charity-stripe and well, let's not even talk about behind the arc, where the Cougs only hit 25% of their shots. (Photo compliments of Will Bryan's Davidson blog)

For the Cats
Thomas Sander led the Wildcats with 25-points and 10-boards. Stephen Curry followed with 19-points and Jason Richards had 18-points to help Davidson win another game at home. Davidson's record is now 13-3, 4-0 (SoCon).

From the Den
Dontaye Draper and Marcus Hammond both put 20-points on the board for the Cougs. Josh Jackson scored 17-points coming off the bench. David Lawrence brought up the rear with 6-points. The Cougs record is now 9-7, 2-2 (SoCon).

The College of Charleston trails Davidson at the half by 3

The College of Charleston trails Davidson by 2 at the half, 35 to 38. GO COUGS!

Davidson Wildcats the smartest kids on the hardcourt!

In the world of College Basketball recruiting is the building-blocks of the program. Coaches dispatch their assistants to travel the country and occassionally cross the "Pond" to look for the next players to lead their programs. This brings us to the issue that faces the scholastically "elite" schools and their chances to be competitive without lowering their standards.

The College of Charleston's Class of 2008 has an average SAT scores of 1240 (in-state) and 1280 (out-of-state)-the 2nd highest in the state of South Carolina. The Davidson Wildcats' average student SAT score is 1,360-the average SAT score for a Davidson basketball player is 1,370. I'll give it to Davidson on this one, those kids are smart.

(Picture of the Bushido's friend and Davidson graduate ('02) Susanne Leath, with her friends après baccalaureate-Alexandra Douhit, Ann Ballengery, Christiane Leisman courtesy of Davidson.edu)

CofC vs Davidson (Coaches and records)

Davidson is led by an 18-year veteran coach, Bob McKillop, who has the most wins in the SoCon for a head coach and the most wins for a Davidson head coach. McKillop is an enigma in the College Division 1 basketball world. He's been persued by numerous "big" schools (i.e. St. John's and Virginia) during his tenure at Davidson, yet still he decides to stay at Davidson (a school with 1,700 students) and makes winners of his teams each year both on the court and off. In McKillop's 17-years on the side-lines for Davidson, he has graduated 53 of 54 of his seniors-impressive.

(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

McKillop's Wildcats vs CofC

Davidson leads the rivalry 41-8 (All-time) and 9-3 (SoCon) with a current 5 game winning streak. McKillop is 9-3 against the College and is 294-216 (.518 W%) in his 18 seasons at the helm. Many of college basketball's talking-heads thought this would be a rebuilding year for the Wildcats after they lost 4-starters, but it seems, Davidson is "reloading" and not rebuilding as their only losses came from major opponents Michigan (78-68), Mizzou (81-75), and Duke (75-47). Davidson is currently riding an eight game winning streak.

Cremins' Cougars vs Davidson

Although the Cougars trail the Wildcats in the rivalry, the College leads the SoCon in the most wins (94-35) with Davidson trailing (89-40) as a close second, but in the words of Ricky Bobby, "If you ain't first-you're last!" Cougar Coach Bobby Cremins is 8-1 against the Wildcats with his lone loss at Belk Arena on Jan. 30, 1980 when he coached App State. Coach Cremins is 9-6 (.600) in his first year as the leader of the Maroons, and Cremins is 463-313 (.597) in his 26 seasons on the side-lines. In the last meeting between the two schools, the Cougars lost at Belk Arena 63-65 on February 25, 2006. The Cougars are currently 9-6, as they ride a six game winning streak.

Although McKillop is the Coach K of the SoCon as Bobby referred to him on the B.C. Show, I think tonight's victory will go to the Cougars! Go Cougs!

Game Strategy against the Davidson Wildcats

The Wildcats have few weaknesses to exploit, but their Archiles Heel may actually be their lack of depth. The Wildcat's starters scored a largesse of their points, and their bench seems to only have the ability to muster a paltry excuse of scoring. In the last game before the Wildcats played in the Arizona State Sleep America Classic, the starters scored 86 of 92 points against UT-Chattanooga.

A ride into the danger zone for Recon
There should be two O's in Goose, but since late December Max "Goose" Paulhus-Gosselin is a dangerous shooting-forward for the Cats, especially behind the arc. With an average of 19.6 ppg, Stephen "Wildcat" Curry and Thomas "Merlin" Saunder (14.4 ppg) are the go-to guys headed for Top-Gun Academy. Other starters: Jason "Tex" Richards, G, averages 12.9 ppg, Boris "the Bogie" Meno averages 11 ppg.

Cougars vs Davidson Wildcats (Alumni)

To help start celebrate today's rivalry game against Davidson, I thought it apropos to include an alumni tracker. Not many SoCon players make it to the NBA, especially when they come from two academically challenging schools such as the College of Charleston and Davidson. Tonights game begins at 8 pm.

Representing Davidson: Brandon Williams with the Milwaukee Bucks. The 31-year old shooting-forward averages 3.2 minutes a game, 0.3 points per game in the 6-games he's played this year.

Representing the Cougars: Anthony Johnson (photo courtesy of Getty Images) the 33-year old has been in the league for 9-years now, averaging 15.4 points per game, 1.4 assists and 2.2 rebounds as a point guard for the Dallas Mavericks.

The winner: #8 Anthony Johnson from the College of Charleston!

Where's the Buzz?

When F. Marion Busby wrote the Rissa Kerguelen and Tregare Holzein series of Science-Fiction novels, "Busby's theme was one of human brutality on an institutional scale and how it inevitably shapes the very people who will eventually fight against it." How does this foreshadow or translate to the arrival of arguably the first Division 1 player, adorned with a gold-tooth, taboo-tattoo and one of the most graceful shoots to arrive at a "school primarily populated with preppies" and a hard-nose New Yorker leading this institution's side-line?

Evidently, the College of Charleston's Marion Busby survived the basketball-brutality of the Kresse-Era to become the 6th All-time Scorer in CofC history. Ken Burger took a trip up Hwy-17 to visit Busby at his family business, Pawley's Island Golf to catch up with the Buzz. (Click here for the full article). He and his wife, Melanie, whom he met at CofC, run their family business and are grooming their 3 sons, Justin (8), Jaylen (6) and Trey (2) to hopefully wear the Maroon and White one day.

Busby averaged 13.5 ppg, (29-points vs Cremins' Ga. Tech) and is 6th All-times scorer in CofC history. Marion is 4 Sociology credits away from finishing his degree and having his #5 jersey hanging from the rafters. Mr. Busby, the CofC Sports Fan and the Maroon-Faithful hope that you find it in your heart to return and finish those last 4-credits during summer school. You never quit as a player, you should keep that same integrity and will power off the court. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Coach Cremins showlighted on tonight's "around the South" on FOX Sports Network

A post dedicated to the male CofC Sports Fans out there: I just finished watching the FSN and"Best Damn Hooters Dream Girl Special" airing tonight and January 10th @ 11 pm. The competition is between 16 of the hottest Hooters Girls for the cover of the "Best Damn Hooters Dream Girl Calendar" front page. Click here to vote for your favorite girl! Afterwards as I was posting on the Bushido, I saw that Coach Bobby Cremins' return to the hardwood is one of the segments in tonight's "Around the South" on FSN South.

"Bobby Cremins has the College of Charleston fired up! He's back in the game and loving every minute of it!"

Cremins looked great tonight, almost as good as the Hooter's models in the above photos. The interview covered our beloved Cougars winning 6-in a row, and Cremins' return to basketball: 1) He loves the game, 2) Wanted to get back into coaching, 3) The Opportunity came available and he said, "What the heck, why not take a leap and go on a new adventure."

The Magic Wand

Coach Cremins explained that it is not easy to get back in the fight and that everyone thought he'd come to Charleston wave a magic wand and everything would be copacetic. He knew it would be tough, but he didn't want to ruin the enthusiasm of the fans in Maroon faithful.

"This is not about Bobby Cremins it about helping the College of Charleston"

Coach Cremins' initial goals for the Cougs were to win a SoCon regular season title and then a SoCon Tournament and to dance in March. But now, his most important goal for the Cougs is to help the team find their identity as a team and to get this team clicking. "It is hard-work doing things right and being honest with yourself, but that is what will make this team the foundation of the Bobby Cremins Era at the College of Charleston.