Jim 'N Nicks Cougar Classic (Recap)

Dec. 29th: James Madison won over South Carolina State Univ. 84-75

Dec. 29th: College of Charleston defeated Mercer 84-74

Dec. 30th: Mercer held on to win over SC State 76-73

Dec. 30th: The Cougars won the Cougar Classic blasting JMU 76-53

(Photo courtesy of J.Trabert)

The College of Charleston drops their third straight

I didn't make it to Columbia for Cremins's second return to his alma mater this year, but I did catch the game on the tube. It was a great day for college basketball with Memphis taking on one of our old favorites, the Georgetown Hoyas and showing why the Tigers deserve to be ranked second in the nation. Memphis is quick, strong and aggresive, they just have such a great squad. (Photo courtesy of the Bushido)

But back to the College, the Cougs took on the Gamecocks and had three different 15 point leads but unfortunately the Cocks had hot hands from behind the arc, keeping them in the game and the College just couldn't answer. At times, I felt the old "live by the three, die by the three" mantra nagging the Cougs. Tony White Jr. had another great game, but the Cougs still didn't get the extra pass around the horn to find the open shot. We kept falling into traps on the wings and simply took deep shots that we just didn't have a chance to drop. And I hate to put it on the refs, but they simply made a bad call on a foul against the Cougs at the end of the game, which put the nails in the coffin. Cougs lost 82-85.

Cougs lose on the road at Florida State

The Cougs lost a close one to the Noles 61-66 tonight! Do to the holiday schedule, we're only going to do score-posts until the new year-sorry Maroon Nation. If you happen to catch a game and want to send me your own thoughts of your experience, by all means, send me an e-mail or leave your thoughts in the comments section.

(Photo courtesy of Lauren Sauer-FSU Cheerleader)

Live by the three, die by the three

Cougs lose on the Road to Chattanooga
The Cougs lost to Chattanooga on Saturday 86-70 dropping to 4-4, (1-1 SoCon). Tony White Jr. led the Cougs with 12 points; Jeremy Simmons was just short of a double-double with 10-points and 8 rebounds.

The Good: The Cougs did come-back from a 20 point deficit 30-8 in the first. And the College of Charleston set a new school record for 3-point attempts.

The Bad: The Cougs only made 10 of the 39 attempted shots from behind the arc.

The Ugly: UTC scored 44 points in the paint compared to the Cougs 18 and the Mocs out rebounded the Cougs 56-36.

Bonus: And finally, Dustin, Jermaine, Antwaine and Tony all had four-fouls, which is either good-tough aggressive “D”, bad officiating or ugly defense.

Photo of Jeremy Simmons guarding UTC’s Qavotstaraj Waddell courtesy of the Chattanooga Times Free Press

Sure Erin Andrews is hot, but what about Davidson making Playboy's Top 25 list?

I read in the Post & Courier the other day about Erin Andrews leading Playboy's "America's Sexiest Sportscaster" survey, which is great that they show a bit of color in their sports' commentary, but how could they miss the SoCon's very own Davidson Wildcats making Playboy's "Top 25 in the Tip Off '08"?

From Hef's Magazine: "#22 Davidson: Last season was a magical one on the Davidson campus as coach Bob McKillop's team won 29 games and advanced to the NCAA tournament, a rare thrill for this little North Carolina college. The top four scorers return. Guard Stephen Curry leads the offensive (he scored 21.5 points a game last season). His running mate, senior Jason Richards, provides experience and a threat from the perimeter. The frontcourt is deep and talented. X factor: Can this mid-major team handle the spotlight? Expectations are suddenly high. Don't miss: Early season tests against North Carolina on November 14th and Duke on December 1st could open America's eyes on how good this club is.

Random Shots: You can vote for your favorite sideline sportscaster at playboy.com/sexiestsportscaster
(Photo courtesy of Sidelinehotties.com)

College of Charleston Baseball Update from Mark Etheridge

The following article written by Mark ethridge (sebaseball.rivals.com)

Talk about it in The Dugout
Last season College of Charleston led the nation in batting average (.350), runs (552), and slugging % (570). With all that offense it is hard to fathom how they were an unlikely omission from Regional play.

This spring the Cougars will rely on more on pitching and defense as they attempt to defend their Southern Conference regular season title.

"We will be deeper on the mound and better defensively," said Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Scott Foxhall. "The question is whether we can be as good as we have traditionally been offensively. Will the new guys answer the bell? I think the talent is here ... maybe as talented a team overall as we have had."

Head coach John Pawlowski's squad lost their entire infield including the catcher along with the weekend rotation.

College of Charleston will have a different look this season
Gone are top hitters Chris Campbell (.385/12/82), Graham Maiden (382/10/42), Ben Lasater (.376/15/54), Alex Garabedian (.353/13/58), and Oliver Marmol (.345/7/45). The quintet totaled 57 home runs - more than five of the ten SoCon team totals last season.

Also missing are pitchers Nick Chigges (11-1/3.52), Jeff Beliveau (3-2/4.56), and Michael Bunton (4-2/6.72). The trio combined to start 44 of the 58 games last season.

Fortunately, there are some Cougars returning with experience to blend with an impressive group of newcomers.

Michael Harrington (.364/13/66) is the top returning hitter. He'll play a corner outfield spot and hit third or fourth. The other two outfield starters also return in Gabe Marchant (.299/8/47/16 sbs) and Stuart Haywood (.389/1/37/10 sbs). Jedd Cordisco (.333/2/11) provides speed as the fourth outfielder.

The infield will have a different look as the newcomers lead the way. Defensive whiz Austin Morgan is a junior college transfer behind the plate. The left side has a pair of juco transfers as probable starters. Jeremie Tice is a middle of the order type who will play third. Mike Hentz is a strong defensive option at short.

Second base is a competition between junior college transfer Brandon Sizemore and returnee Joey Bergman (.418/1/14). Michael Kohn (.312/9/42) is a candidate at first and DH along with junior college transfer Joash Brodin. Brodin comes from the same school that produced former Kentucky slugger Ryan Strieby and has some similarities.

The pitching staff gets a boost from Danny Meszaros who missed 2007 with labrum surgery. Jake Goldberg (6-1/3.72) did well last season and will get an opportunity for an enhanced role this year. The coaches are excited about junior college transfer lefty Austin Garrett. Garrett may be the team's best arm. Other starting candidates include Clay Caulfield and Ole Miss transfer Jesse Simpson.

Top bullpen options include freshman Casey Lucchese and junior Jordan Tiegs.

The team got a huge boost this fall from Kohn - a first baseman/DH a season ago. Kohn worked on the mound and was phenomenal earning a chance to be the Cougar closer. His emergence is a real key since the bullpen -- normally a Charleston strength -- was a liability last season.

If Kohn, a senior pitching for the first time in college can close games, there is no reason to expect anything less than another successful campaign for the Cougars at renovated Patriots Point.

A Thrilling Win For The Cougs Against Western Carolina!

The College of Charleston Cougars won their third straight game this season and their ninth straight game over the Western Carolina Catamounts on Saturday, improving to 4-3. The Cougars will head to Chattanooga for their next game on Saturday, December 15th.

Jermaine Johnson earned SoCon Honors, as Player of the Week, with his career-high 26 points, and tying his career best 14 rebounds. Jermaine was excellent from the charity-stripe hitting 7 of 8, and cool as a Kennedy in the last 5-minutes of the game, putting 8 points on the board and grabbing 4 rebounds to secure a Cougar win! Andrew Goudelock added 25 points with a career-high 15 assists. Antwaine Wiggins and Jeremy Simmons both had 11-points as the Cougars brought home their first SoCon win of the season.

The key to the Cougs' win here is more than just the BMOC (Johnson) but also the depth of the College's bench: the Cougs bench outscored the Catamounts 34-4. The College shot 55.2% from the field in the first, but only 40% in the second half allowing Western Carolina to get back into the game, as they outscored the Cougs in the second-half 52-46. The Cougs still need to work on their shots from behind the arc, but they definitely have improved dramatically (since last season) from the charity-stripe.

Teams-1st---2nd--Total
CofC---40---46---86
WCU---32---52---84