Ja-Marco...Ja-Polo....

Despite my best efforts last night, and the luke-warm acceptance received as I began this little, school-yard-ditty as I sat right next to a line-up of Chas Southern boys, JaMarco Warren still scored 21-points against the Cougs. Warren is a scrappy little guy, who seems to get lost in traffic which makes him a huge asset for the Bucs.

(Picture courtesy of Tyrone Walker/Post & Courier)

Cougs Win Over Charleston Southern! Improve to 3-3 for the season!

The Cougs found their groove last night in the second half at North Charleston Coliseum, despite letting the Buccaneers hang around all night, winning 79 to 70. This victory in Coach Cremins 800th career game boosted his all-time record to 479-321 over a span of 17-seasons. And the Cougs improved to 3-3 for the season. CSU fell to 3-3 as they loss to their longest standing rival spanning the past 42 years. The College leads this rivalry 46-22 all-time.

Click here for Post & Courier article

The Cougars controlled the pace of the game and did a superb job of keeping the Bucs forward Chris Moore contained as well as their BMOC Knysas (Did he pronounce that “nice ass”-any Lithuanians out there who want to give a help with pronouncing this kids’ name?) But as you know the old adage about closing one window, another "Ja-Marco…Ja-Polo" opens, JaMarco-Ja-Polo Warren led the Bucs with 21.

From the Den

The Cougs did a great job of moving the ball and opening up lanes to take it to the hoop; as a result Jermaine Johnson had his first double-double, grabbing 10 boards while putting 21 points (8-11 FG/5-10 FT) just shy of his career-high. Tony White Jr. was consistent and scrappy last night putting 17 points (5-10 FG/3-4 FT) on the board, hitting 4-6 from behind the arc. Dustin Scott added another 10-points (4-6 FG/1-2 FT/1-3 3FG). Antwaine Wiggins and Marcus Hammond combined for 10-points.

Bench production:
Goudelock (as seen in this Tyrone Walker picture courtesy of the P&C) with two steals and a few other attempts (we like this kid’s effort) joined Jeremy Simmons with 9-points, Diarra came in for a few minutes to shake things up and Donovan Monroe hit one of four three-ball attempts. Not bad bench production and the team seemed pretty fluid during the interchange.

Scoreboard---Record---1st---2nd---Final
Chas Southern (3-4)---29---41---70
The Bucs shot 36.4% (28-77) from the field, 87.5% (7-8) from the charity stripe and 26.9% (7-26) from behind the arc.
College of Charleston (3-3)---26---53---79
The Cougs shot 47% (31-66) from the field, 43.5% from the charity stripe and 23.3% from behind the arc.

Cougs Face Charleston Southern in the Battle of the Holy City tonight!

The Citadel defeated Charleston Southern for the first time in nine years on Monday night winning, 76-73 at the Coliseum, finally preventing Chas Southern from gaining enough "So-mentum" to be in contention with the College of Charleston.

Which brings us to tonight's game: first let's do a bit of house-keeping, to answer WB's question, no-there isn't a trophy (yet) just bragging rights for who the Holy City Champ is. Secondly, I know it seems odd for those of us who served in the Peace Corps or who save lives as Emergency Room Doctors can't get a free pass for tonight's game, but EMT, Cops, Meter-Maids, etc can, but that's just how it is. It usually works that way across the board. Military discount at the IHOP but nothing for those of us who served in Africa fighting AIDS and other diseases. Just go with it, shell out the 10-bucks and cheer on the Cougs tonight!

(Photo credit: JET via phone @ El Cid library)

Reminder: Game vs Chas Southern at the North Chuck Coliseum Wednesday Night!

The Cougs will face Chas. Southern (7 pm) on Wednesday night at the North Chuck Coliseum, for the annual City Champs match-up (Chas Southern plays El Cid tonight).

Hootie (sans Blowfish) will get things started with a stunning performance of the National Anthem. Before the game the Charleston Nine (local firefighters who died in the Sofa-Super Store blaze this past July) will be honored and all local Po-pos, fire-fighters, EMS, garbage men and military personnel in the area get in free to the game.

Cougs win on the road at Fordham, 73-68

Quite honestly, there was a bit of confusion in regards to who was whom when it came to the Fordham and College of Charleston fans last December at John Kresse Arena; maroon and white are both school’s colors and the universal-collegiate-gray t-shirt was quite prevalent at the game. To much surprise Fordham had quite a large fan base here in Charleston, and with the student section off for the Christmas break, I almost felt outnumbered at our own place. The Cougs battled to beat Fordham by 10 (65-56) last season and I was a bit worried things might be more hostile this time in New York.

Despite getting off to a rough start this season, both teams and schools are quite similar in size, reputation and record. The only difference this season was that the Cougs haven’t been home all season and with another road trip to a hostile environment, things didn’t look promising.

Stop Spreading the News…
I’ll be the first to apologize for not making the trip to NYC, but as it is I am allergic to the Bronx. And what can I say? Not many Southerners decide to retire and live in NYC (my justification for the high turnout of Rams fans at Kresse last season).

I did catch the game on ESPN radio as Blackie and I headed to Charlotte on Saturday and despite the wonderful, half-fuzzed AM broadcast, I was quite concerned to hear Jeremy Simmons take a knee to the back of the head, but glad to hear that he was fine, just sitting out as a precaution. The Cougs had the lead at the half by 10-points (34-24) and despite a well executed effort at the end of the game, the Cougs held on to win by 5, with a final score of 68-58.
From the Den
Despite coming off the bench, Donavan Monroe led the Cougs with 15-points, Tony White Jr. and Goudelock both scored 12. Jermaine was in foul trouble early, but who said that was a bad thing? As long as they are smart fouls that help establish your dominance in the paint and not just lazy-lapses of judgment, the CofC Sports Fan says, “Foul On Brother”! Slipping into his spot was the “Rally from Mali” (West Africa), 6’10”, 235 lb center, Konimba Diarra who played for twelve minutes, hitting 2-4 (50 %) for 4 points in his first chance at double-digit minutes of playing time. (You know this kid is a senior and I am finally thinking that if he wants to make an impact on this Cougar team, this is the season to do it. So Konimba get tough in there and show us what you got!)

The Rams outscored us in the second half, 44-39, but the Cougs held on, played smart and won by (everyone get ready for this) hitting 7 of 8 free-throws in the final seconds of the game. The Cougs shot 51% (25-49) from the field and 73% (16-22) from the Charity-Stripe.

Press Play
The Cougars are now 2-3 on the season, tied with the Citadel for 4th in the SoCon (Southern Division) and our next game will be against Chas Southern this Wednesday. The Citadel plays Chas. Southern on Monday, so it would appear this will be one of those battles for Holy City bragging rights again this year! Go Cougs!

Cougs Announce Additions

From the CofC Sports Official Web-Site:
"College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins announced Wednesday the signing of point guard Quasim Pugh and forward Matt Sundberg to national letters of intent for the 2008-09 season.
Pugh (5-11, 165) is from St. Thomas More High School in Oakdale, Conn., while Sundberg (6-6, 185) prepped at Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Ga.
“We are excited about these two young men coming to the College of Charleston," The will definitely make our team better," said Cremins, whose teams plays at Fordham at 1:00 on Saturday. “Quasim is a very exciting point guard from New York City who can handle and push the ball up the court. He plays with a lot of energy and is a tremendous passer. He is also coached by Jere Quinn, one of the highly regarded coaches in the country.“Matt is a very athletic wing player and an excellent shooter. He is versatile and can play three positions. Matt knows how to play and will help our team with his perimeter shooting.”

Cougs lose to Houston, slip to 1-3

The Cougs didn’t have much left in the tank for their game against Houston in the final round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico. Simply put we just didn’t have an answer for their big man, Robert McKiver.

But we did learn a few things from this tourney down in Puerto Rico

1-This (CofC) Cougar team is balanced, we’ve had a different scoring leader in our four games.

2-The Cougs are young but I believe by the end of the year this will be an outstanding squad of players.

3-Cuban-styled shirts with our logo are still cool, even though our team didn’t play in Cuba during this tournament and Bobby and the Cougs staff didn’t have stogies hanging out of their mouths.

CofC makes record comeback to defeat Temple!

On our second excursion into the local bar scene to watch the Cougs on ESPNU, the “James Edward” Trio headed to George’s Sports Bar to catch last nights’ CofC basketball game against Temple in their second game of the O’Reilly Auto Parts ESPNU Puerto Rico Tipoff.


It’s never a good vibe when you get some 5-Star-A-hole Memphis fan old enough to be your father talking smack to you about your team when your beloved Cougs are trailing by 25 at the half (50-25), turning the ball over or when they continue to throw up the trey as soon as they begin trailing. In fact, sometimes you just have to be the better person, remain calm and seated in order for the aforementioned degenerate to step away from your table and to get out of your face. (Full disclosure: Indeed, if the Cougs weren’t 2-12, 16.7% from behind the arc in the first half, I probably wouldn’t complain about this sort of rookie mistake).



And the beatings will continue
I am not quite sure what I did to disrupt my Karma points that night, but it seemed one bad play, one bad pass and one terribly rushed shot happened right after another. And this obnoxious “distinguished” Memphis guy has now entered the, “I know Bobby Cremins and he isn’t going to stay at the College but one more year”. Good grief, someone put a lid on this guy.



Our server seemed to bring the gloom as well: What’s that? No Bobby Cremins Show here at George’s Sports Bar this year. George sold the bar. Oh and there having the B.C. Show at California Dreaming this season; oh that seems like a great spot. Assuming no where else is available. But alas, none of this sports-bar hazing was a joke and the Cougars looked young and behind the eight ball throughout the first half. But on a bright note: at least they are hitting 83.3% from the charity stripe!



Don't call it a comeback
I am not sure if Coach Cremins gave the guys a dose of LL Cool Jay’s “Momma Said” at the half but the Cougs came out a little rusty but then all of the sudden became a more mature and developed team. Boom, I have been here for years! Tony White Jr. lowering the number of turnovers, getting the extra pass and the extra look, and dropping 3 from behind the arc. Antwaine Wiggins would become more of an offensive threat, the big men are getting angry in the paint and the team as a whole looked more fluid. The Cougars are back in this game, tying the score at 76 with 46 seconds left on the clock as Jermaine Johnson dropped his second attempt from the charity stripe (are you all watching this?) Jermaine is 5 for 6 from the foul line and the Cougs just made their largest comeback in team history.*


Momma Said!
Oh please don’t break my heart guys! Don’t tease us Cougars! Please don’t tease us. Ryan Brooks had just hit a trey less than a minute ago to give the Owls the lead, are they looking for him again? Luis Guzman just re-entered the game for the Owls. (Is that the same Luis Guzman from the show John From Cincinnati? Dang, that guy is good, nope, different Luis Guzman.) The Owls call a time-out and then rebound the ball to their high-scorer Dionte Christmas (31-points), he misses from the field. Cougs bring the ball down court with 12-seconds left, ball to Dustin Scott who drops it a three-ball at the buzzer! Count it! Cougs Win! Cougs Win! Now if that doesn’t make the ESPN Highlights tonight I will be pissed. (Note: Scott’s buzzer beater did make the ESPN Plays of the Day Highlights)



* On December 15, 2001, the Cougs were down 35-18 @ UNC-W before staging their comeback for a 60-58 win, a record response overcoming a 17-point deficit, which is now surpassed.

First Look @ Davidson and Our Loss to Arkansas

Last night we had our first look at Davidson and they look very tough, losing to the #1-ranked UNC Tarheels by just four points. And I doubt that it would be a stretch to say that Davidson if they stay healthy (read: Stephen Curry doesn’t hurt an appendage or ankle) and continue to develop from their big games against the likes of UNC, UCLA and Duke, the Wildcats could quite possibly win another SoCon Title. But let’s not anoint the Cats just yet, UT-C looked pretty good against Indiana and of course, the College will have plenty of time to watch Davidson in the SoCon before we meet on January 26, 2008. I recommend visiting WB's Davidson B-Ball Page from time to time.

I don’t have much to say about the loss to Arkansas tonight other than the point that you could tell that we have a lot of talent, but our team is quite young. Perhaps some of you might question the ‘talent’ comment when the Cougs only shot 28.6% from the field, but these comments are of course, reliant on one another because when you are down 14-points with 11-minutes on the clock, and all you throw up are three’s, and sadly, none of these shots from behind the arc are falling, then your percentage will go down.

The Cougs need to get back to basics (fundamentals) and work on getting more ball movement (without the high amount of turnovers) to get that extra pass, which usually leads to someone getting a nice open look at the basket. The Cougs just aren’t looking crisp at all. Give it to Davidson, across the board the players on their team have excellent fundamentals (both in shooting and passing). Their passes are normally crisp, designed and when you see the bounce pass from the Wildcats you will see thumbs down from the passer.

Simply put we need more aggressiveness from our big guys in the paint, better communication on the floor and fundamentals in the passing and shooting aspects of the team. I think these kids have a lot of heart and I know they will battle like hell, but we’ve seen it time and time before, show-boats can only go so far, but teams leave legacies.

Start with the basics Coach Cremins and let’s get a win down there in Puerto Rico.
The Cougars are now 0-2. Our next game will be against Temple.

Carolina First Center's Progress! (Viewed from the Cougar Club and Burns' Lane)

2007 O’Reilly ESPNU Puerto Rico Tip-Off

The Cougars face the #18 Arkansas Razorbacks tonight in the opening round of the 2007 O’Reilly ESPNU Puerto Rico (aka: the San Juan Shootout); tip-off is at 5:00 pm. The game will televise on ESPNU (we’re headed to a sports bar) and will be available on ESPN Radio 910-AM WTMZ.

The Cougs Drop their Season Opener on the road @ UNCW in Over-time

The Cougars dropped their season opener to UNCW in OT. Obviously we didn’t get the outcome the Maroon Nation was looking for, but we did learn a few things from this road game; mainly, that this is a talented team and they are scrappy. (Photo courtesy of CofC Sports)

From the Den
Scoring the most points for a CofC freshman since Rod Conner dropped 29 points against South Carolina State back in 1993, freshman guard, Andrew Goudelock led the Cougs with 27 points. Jermaine Johnson put 19 points on the board and pulled down 9 boards. Charleston’s other “BMOC”, recent transfer; Dustin Scott scored 12-points (5-10) and had 6-boards for his first game as a Cougar. Tony White, Jr. was 6 for 13 with 15 points.

The Cougars shot 50% (15-30) from the field in the first and went into half-time tied with UNC-Wilmington at 36. The Cougs dropped in scoring percentage from the field to 45.9% (17-37) in the second half, but increased in percentage from behind the arc, hitting 36.4% (4-11) but the Seahawks’ Daniel Fountain with 27 points) and Vladimir Kuljanin who scored 25 points were able to hold of the Charleston attack to win 98-91.

The Cougars’ next game is against Arkansas in the San Juan Shootout November 15th.

App State-itis??? Or Michiganitis, Cougs lose in exhibition game against Augusta State

As we all know the biggest shocker of this football season was App State (a powerhouse in their Division winning back-to-back National Championships) defeating Michigan at the “Big House”. Now that the shock is over and the Wolverines are back in action, I’d be hard pressed to think the Mountaineers could return to Ann Arbor and beat Michigan, but as the football season progressed we’ve learned one thing-no one is safe.

So it seems the “Michiganitis” plagued the Cougars in their exhibition game against Division II powerhouse Augusta State, losing 65-63. Not only do the two “upsetters” have the same initials (ASU) but the favored teams had similar heartbreaks at the end of the game as the Cougars watched Jaguars’ Ben Madgen dropped a trey with 7.3 left on the clock, but the Maroon Nation would be hard pressed to think they (Augusta State) could come into the house Kresse built later on this season and walk away with a victory.

The Cougars led 32-28 at the half, but ASU showed the Cougars what we need to work on before the regular season begins next Saturday, mainly stopping a big man (i.e. Jaguars’ 6-11, 305 lb. center Garret Siler who scored 24 points) in the paint. Tony White, Jr. led the Cougars with 18-points (15 in the 1st half).

But remember, this is an exhibition game and thankfully it doesn’t count. Augusta State returned all five of their starters and they are a good basketball team. And although we have Coach Cremins at the helm, he doesn’t have a magic wand. It takes time for even the most talented players to develop and reach their full potential.

We returned two starters (Jermaine Johnson and Tony White, Jr.) from last season. It would seem only natural that most of our scoring in this exhibition game came from the perimeter, when we scouted our new talent (freshman-guard Andrew Goudelock who scored 17 and freshman-shooting forward Antwaine Wiggins who scored 13) we knew they would be a threat from behind the arc. And with the addition of Dustin Scott this season, Jermaine will have some added muscle in the paint; we just need these guys to get mean and in sync-which will come.

Link to Charles Bennett’s article in the Post & Courier

The Cougars begin their season at UNC Wilmington, 7 pm, on November 10th! Go Cougs!