Baseball: Cougars' Pre-Season and Current Rankings

Street & Smith’s Baseball (on store shelves until May 1, 2007) Pre-Season list has the College of Charleston (46-17 in 2006) ranked 24th in the country: “These are heady times for the College of Charleston baseball program. Last season the Cougars became the first team from the Southern ballpark at Patriot’s Point." (Not sure where S&S was going with that last sentence). "Will it prove to be big enough to host an NCAA regional one day? Certainly, the Cougars continue to be worthy of post-season consideration."

(Picture courtesy of J. Trabert/CofC Sports Fan)

The College of Charleston is currently ranked 30th by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s NCAA Div. 1 Poll. The Cougars face off against the Citadel at the Joe Riley Stadium this Friday (5 pm), Sat. (5pm) and Sunday (1 pm).

College of Charleston Catcher Alex Garabedian named SoCon Player of the Week for the 2nd time this season

The 2007 All-American and Johnny Bench Award recipient, Alex Garabedian was named Southern Conference Player of the Week this week for the 2nd time this season, he was previously tapped the week of March 26. Garabedian went 12 for 23 (.522) last week: having 2 homers, 4-doubles and 6 RBIs. (Photo courtesy of CofC Sports)

College of Charleston Responds to Tragedy at Virginia Tech

A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT GEORGE BENSON

The tragic events at Virginia Tech are deeply felt here at the College of Charleston. They echo throughout the higher education community and, indeed, the entire nation. As we keep our colleagues and peers in Blacksburg in our thoughts and prayers, we are humbly reminded of our fragile existence.

Through this unfortunate circumstance, our campus community is brought closer together and linked by a profound concern for the mutual health and well being of our co-workers, fellow students, friends and family. As always, the safety of our campus community is a primary concern; we will continue to use every resource available to keep our community safe.

These tragic events are also a reminder that we all should reach out for help in times of need. Our counseling office is available to students who are in need of support. The walk-in hours are Monday-Thursday, 12:30-5:30 p.m. and Fridays, 12:30-3:30 p.m.

We invite the College community to come together to mourn, to commemorate, and to wish for comfort and solace for the Virginia Tech community. I invite you to join me on the Cistern on Monday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m. to pause and reflect.

Events
Commemorative Vigil: Mon, April 23 1:00p @ The Cistern.

FACULTY NOTE: Please offer leniancy to students who may arrive late to class due to this event.

ADDITIONAL CAMPUS SAFETY INFORMATION
Emergency Preparedness General Informationwww.cofc.edu/emergency
College of Charleston Emergency Medical Servicehttp://www.cofc.edu/~ems
Emergency Call Boxeshttp://www.cofc.edu/publicsafety/importantnumbers/index.php
Department of Public Safetywww.cofc.edu/publicsafety
College of Charleston Counseling Center:www.cofc.edu/~counseling/
Residence Life: http://reslife.cofc.edu/oncampushousing/livingoncampus.html#security
SAFERIDE Cab Service:www.cofc.edu/studentaffairs/general_info/saferide/

Antwaine Wiggins signs with the Cougars

Antwaine Wiggins a three-star prospect as ranked by Scout.com signed with the College of Charleston Cougars on the 13th of April (Knoxville News). Wiggins averaged 26.3 points and 11 boards last season for Greeneville (Tenn) High and will be utilized as a shooting-forward-to hopefully fill the shoes of David Lawrence. And at 6-7, 180 lbs. Wiggins appears to be at least the right size (5 pounds lighter than D.L.) to fill those shoes. (Photo courtesy of Scouts.com)

Deal-Maker
What gave the College of Charleston the edge over App State as Wiggins choice to play basketball? Coach Cremins is your answer; said Antwaine, “He’s been through a lot and he’s like one of the greatest coaches ever and I thought it would be a privilege to play for someone with that prestige.” We've said a million-times, Coach Cremins is a recruiting-road-warrior.

Cremins pleased with first full C of C recruiting class by Andrew Miller w/ the Post & Courier

College of Charleston basketball coach Bobby Cremins certainly hasn't lost his touch when it comes to recruiting.

Known as one of college basketball's top recruiters when he was at Georgia Tech, Cremins signed five players, including one of the top junior college prospects in the country, to this year's recruiting class.

In his first full season of recruiting, Cremins landed 6-0 guard Donald Davis of Deer Park, N.Y.; 6-1 guard Andrew Goudelock of Stone Mountain, Ga.; 6-1 guard Donovan Monroe of Waxhaw, N.C.; 6-8 forward Dustin Scott of Tallahassee Community College and Timberland High School; and 6-7 forward Jeremy Simmons of Stone Mountain, Ga.

"I'm ecstatic about this recruiting class, and we're still waiting to hear from one more kid to make it truly a great class," Cremins said. "We filled almost all of our needs. We would have liked to have signed a point guard in this class, but a couple of the guards in this class should be able to play at the point."

The biggest catch of the class is Scott, who led Timberland High School to the Class AAA state title in 2003. Scott, who will be a junior next season, was rated among the nation's top junior college players. Scott reportedly got serious consideration from Clemson, Louisville, South Florida, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee before signing with the Cougars.

"I think Dustin has a chance to come in and help us right away," Cremins said. "We were on him pretty hard during the early signing period, but to be honest, he didn't have much interest in us. He was getting interest from some big-name schools, so I wasn't sure we had a chance at him."

The turning point for Cremins and Scott, who averaged 14 points and almost eight rebounds a game at Tallahassee Community College, came when the Cougars advanced to the Southern Conference Tournament final at the North Charleston Coliseum.

"I think that had a lot to do with him signing with us," Cremins said. "He was there for the finals against Davidson and he saw what we were trying to build here. I like having local kids in the program and to get a player of Dustin's stature is just phenomenal."

Cremins said he worked hard to land a couple of players during the early signing period in November.

"We went 0-for-2 during the early signing period and I was starting to get a little concerned," Cremins said. "I thought I'd lost my touch. The kids decided to go with some bigger-name programs, so it was understandable, but we were a little worried back in November."

The Cougars are still waiting to hear from one last prospect and hope to learn something this morning.

With just one scholarship point guard in the program - rising sophomore Tony White, Jr. - Cremins is hoping that either Davis, Monroe or Goudelock can eventually be play some at point guard.

"All three are combo guards that have the potential to play the point," Cremins said. "We were really looking for a point guard in this year's class. If one of them doesn't work out, we'll sign a point guard in next year's class."

Cremins is quick to point out that Dontaye Draper wasn't a full-time point guard until his senior season.

"Dontaye turned out OK for us at the point," Cremins said.

Monroe, who played last season at Fork Union Military Academy, could be the sleeper of the class, Cremins said.

"Because we need help at the point, I think Donovan has a chance to come in and get some early playing time," Cremins said. "I think he's going to surprise some people."

Jeremy Simmons signs with the College!

The College of Charleston Cougars basketball team added depth to the roster in the power-forward position with the addition of Jeremy Simmons from Tucker High School (Tucker, Georgia). Simmons (6-7, 225) is ranked 17th among recruits in the state of Georgia and he was a major reason (especially his nasty dunk in the 4th quarter) the Tucker Tigers were able to defeat their Dekalb County rivals, Columbia High School for the Class 4A Championship in the state of Georgia. Simmons was also being recruited by Providence, Tulane, Ball State and even Vandy was looking at this young man. (Photo credits: Rivals.com)

The experience young Jeremy had in high school, coming from a team that had lost eight-seniors and four-starters last year and lost to Columbia twice during the regular season, to winning the state championship in their division (last March) as well as ending the Columbia Eagles 51-game-win-streak is of David and Goliath proportions. I just hope he can continue his development and carry this moxie onto the court for the Cougars.

Donovan Monroe commits to the College of Charleston-Cougar basketball is reloading!

Fork Union point-guard, Donovan Monroe committed to the College of Charleston for next season (ESPN Briefing Room). The ex-Parkwood basketball player, Charlotte Royals (AAU Team) and Waxhaw, N.C. native was courted by Virginia Tech, St. John’s and UNC-Wilmington among others. More than likely, the offer from V-tech came after Fork Union’s basketball team defeated the Hokies in two straight games last November. Monroe first landed on my radar back in February, when Coach Cremins (see: “Coach Cremins is a recruiting road warrior”) made a morning trip to watch Fork Union play UNC’s Junior Varsity Squad, Donovan Monroe scored 17-points during the game handing the Tarheels JV-Squad their first loss of the season.

Scout.com lists (Monroe) the 6’2; 180-lb combo-guard as a "talented scorer and mid-range offensive weapon, with areas of improvement regarding his ball-handling skills and on the defensive-side of the ball, as well as consistency". (I always love it when they mention how key a player is and how dependable they are with dropping “big-game” buckets, but then note “consistency” as a weakness.) Especially because Monroe was the only consistent player (read: offensive-threat: hitting from the perimeter, dropping baskets with his left hand in the paint and driving to the basket against a 2-3 Zone) on the Fork Union squad. Assuming Monroe’s main improvements are needed on the defensive-side of the ball is quite fortuitous for Donovan because the Factory on George Street turns out defensive-machines every year. Welcome aboard Mr. Monroe!

Update: Click here for the Post & Courier’s coverage by Jeff Hartsell

Dustin Scott Comes Home!

Jamestown (Berkeley County) native and Tallahassee Community College standout, Dustin Scott signed with the College of Charleston as a Junior College transfer on Thursday at 3:30 pm. It has long been college basketball lore about Frank McGuire's pipeline to the Catholic School in New York City, but now it seems that the College of Charleston might have a similar pipeline to TCC, as Scott becomes the 3rd TCC player to don a Cougar uniform. Bernard Jackson who played for the Cougs from 2002-2005 and Marcus Johnson who played for the Cougs from 2003-2004, were both former TCC standouts.

As a freshman, Scott averaged 13.5-points and 8.5-boards per game, shooting 54% from the field. He continued his course of excellence in his sophomore year scoring 14-points and 8-boards per game, shooting 47% from the field. Scott leaves TCC with the all-time rebounding title, grabbing 534-rebounds in his 2-years playing for the Eagles.

Many of the bigs (i.e. Florida, Rocky Top and "Slick Rick" from Louisville) have courted Scott, but he decided after visiting the College that he wanted to play for the legendary Coach, Bobby Cremins. A very wise decision Mr. Scott.