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.

The College of Charleston advances to the Semi-Finals to face App. State tonight at 8:30 pm

For the past 6-years, Goldfinger, Mel and I have gone to the So Con Tourney only to be disappointed as our beloved Cougars fell short from attaining the ticket to the Big Dance, but this year was different. This year, the Cougars knew the stakes and they came to win! The College of Charleston's men's basketball team improved to 21-10 defeating Georgia Southern 77-66. The Eagles dropped to 15-16 for the season. The Cougars face Appalachian State tonight at 8:30 pm.

From the Den
The Cougars trailed by 7 at the half. Dontaye Draper scored 12-points in the first half, David Lawrence had 5-points, Jermaine put up 5-hard fought points and Javon Parris added three-points in the first half. Dismal to say the least. The Cougars gave up numerous easy baskets and it looked as the same dance, just a different year. (Photo from CofC Sports.com)

Keeping the Faith!
The 2nd half became a Cougar high-light reel as the College turned up the defense, the crowd became a formidable opponent as the 6th man and we all ran (7-2 @ the 16:26-mark and 10-0 at the 12-minute mark) with the Cougars. (Que Prince" "They say tomorrow '00, party on like its' 1999!) Dontaye Draper would lead the Cougars with 23-points (4-6 from behind the arc). Big Man Josh Jackson looked sluggish in the first half, but became a fierce opponent in the paint with 16-points. I almost felt bad for Salazar and his fellow wounded Eagles as Dontaye and Jermaine utilized the Lionel Richie-"All Night Long" play dishing under the basket for Jermaine's easy lay-up. Jermaine Johnson would finish with 15-points. David Lawrence looked like Reggie Miller on the floor feeding shots and putting up 12-points of his own.

The Cougars played an exciting game last night. They gave us all something to cheer about and kept our spirits alive throughout. I can only hope that more of the Maroon Nation will join us for tonight's game against App. State. Great job by the Cougars! Eagles thanks for playing!

The Cougars dropped their final regular season game to the Eagles, 65-74

The Cougars fell to Georgia Southern today at Hanner Fieldhouse in front of 2,703 fans for the Eagles' seniors last home game. The College is now 3-4 in their last 7-final season games. The Cougars dropped to 20-10, 13-5 (SoCon) as we get ready for the SoCon Tournament next week. The Cougars will play Thursday night, their opponent has yet to be announced. The Eagles finished their season 14-15, 7-11 (SoCon) and showed today that despite their record, they are a formidable opponent for their next opponent in the SoCon Tournament. (Photo compliments of CofC Sports)

For members of the Maroon Nation watching from home, we missed the first minutes of the game as the Marist vs. Sienna game went into OT. The Cougars had the lead off the fingers of Draper and Tony White Jr. hitting back to back 3-balls and a lay-up by Jermaine Johnson added to Draper's point from the charity-stripe to give the Cougars a 13-5 lead at the 14:48 mark. (due to time restraints I will post more on this later)

From the Den

Philip McCandies matched his career-high of 4 blocks in a game before the 10-minute mark in the 1st half; he would end the day with a new career-high of 7 blocks in the game, six of which he swatted in the 1st half. Dontaye Draper scored 9-points and dished out 9-assists, hitting 3-12 from the field and 2-7 from behind the arc in his 38-minutes of play. Jermaine Johnson finished with 4-boards and 14-points hitting 7-11 field goals. David Lawrence was 5-11 from the field and 3-8 from behind the arc, as he pulled down 8-boards and finished with 14-points in 37-minutes of play. Josh Jackson had 3-assists and rolled sixes with 6-points and 6-boards. The walk-on player brought in by Coach Cremins, Tony White Jr. went 3-5 from the field and hit both of his 3-balls for a total of 9-points. Returning from his knee-injury, Marcus Hammond was 3-5 in the field and 3 for 4 from behind the arc, putting 9-points on the board in his 16-minutes of play. Finally, Javon Parris was able to score 2-points in the 8-minutes he was on the court today.

Teams---1st Half---2nd Half---Total

CofC---39---26---65

Ga. Southern---36---38---74

Honoring the College of Charleston Basketball Seniors!

(Photo from L to R: Nardo, Philip, CofC President George Benson, CofC Head-Coach Bobby Cremins, Dontaye and David-photo courtesy of CofC Sports)

College of Charleston Basketball Seniors in Action
In their final home game, in front of the 3rd largest crowd at Kresse Arena the Cougars' 4 seniors did not have the blow-out victory they wanted, but a "W" is a "W" and there is still a lot of basketball for the Cougars to play before they move to greener fields.

Renardo Dickerson: Nardo only played for 4-minutes, and wasn't able to increase his stats, but he was a dependable presence on the court in transition.
Dontaye Draper: Dontaye went 4-6 from the field, scoring 8-points with 3-boards in his 27-minutes of play.
David Lawrence: David was a rock star for 30-minutes, putting 21-points on the board, hitting 7-13 from the field, 3-4 from the charity-stripe, grabbing 5-rebounds and he was 4 for 8 from behind the arc.

Philip McCandies: Philip was limited to only 5-points, but he played fantastic defense and grabbed 11-rebounds for the College in his 30-minutes of play. He took advantage of the Citadel's pressure-defense, hitting 3 for 4 from the charity-stripe. Philip is averaging 8.3-boards in the last 3-games.

Senior Night: David Lawrence

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Maroon Nation, I proudly present to you #21, forward, David Lawrence! David is a junior college transfer, where he averaged 17-points, 6-boards and 3-steals per game. David was named to the "Top 25 Jr. College Player List" and a "Pre-Season All-American" by Street and Smith's Magazine garnering the attention of Coach Herrion-who brought him to the College. David was an All-SoCon Candidate last season averaging 9.3-points and 7-boards in 28-games. The most memorable moment of the 20065-2006 season had to be his 22-point performance in the SoCon Tournament against UT-Chattanooga.

Lawrence's 2006-2007 Season Stats
David is averaging 11.8-points, 6.6-rebounds and 7.1-assists per game. He played in 28-games this season, averaging 35.4-minutes per game while shooting 40.1% from the field. Great job this season David!

Cougs on the road against Wofford at 6 pm!

The College of Charleston Basketball Team (17-9, 10-4 SoCon) face off against the Wofford Terriers (9-16, 4-10 SoCon) tonight (6 pm) at Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg. Tickets are $13 reserved and $8 general admission. The game will air on CSS-Comcast Channel 42-the Cougars are 5-3 on games airing on television.

In the last meeting between the two schools, (January 22 at Kresse Arena) Dontaye Draper notched a double-double with 22-points and 11-assists. BMOC, Jermaine Johnson put 22-points on the board against the Terriers as well and David Lawrence had a game high 10-boards.

Recon
Although their record doesn’t reflect their ability, Wofford is tough. The Terriers can put points on the board, evident in their win against UNCG as they scored 80-winning by 5 in that game. They have two starters, Shane Nichols and Eric Marshall, averaging 15-points-per-game, with Drew Gibson averaging 14-PPG. The Terriers are coming off a 20-point loss to App State, followed by a 12-point win over the Citadel. Go Cougs!

The College of Charleston wins on the road

UNC-G Coach Mike Dement could only look in awe as the College of Charleston added another notch to the victory belt as they defeated UNC-Greensboro (81-59) on the road. The College increases their record to 17-8, 10-3 (SoCon). Photo compliments of UNC-G Spartans.

Teams---1st half---2nd half---final
CofC ---25---56---81
UNCG---28---31---59


From the Den
Dontaye Draper's eight from behind the arc tied the school record for most 3-pointers in a game (Troy Wheless hit 8-3-pointers against Davidson, February 23, 2003) and a career high of 28-points helped the Cougars overcome a 3-point deficit at the half to beat UNCG in front of 1, 572 Spartan faithful. The Cougars shot 47.6% in the 1st half, and then shot a lights out season high of 59%, hitting 11 of 16 three point attempts, in the 2nd half. David Lawrence had a big game with 13-points and 9-boards. Big man, Josh Jackson put 10-points on the board and the youngster Tony White Jr added 11.

They say they don't need an introduction, but I'll give the Wildcats one anyway
The Cougars welcome the Davidson Wildcats to Kresse Arena Monday night at 7 pm. The Wildcats had this week off, but they will enter a hostile environment at Kresse Arena as this year means so much more than the past. I will have to ask Coach at the next Bobby Cremins Show to ease up on these Saturday-Monday games for next season. The team did a great job to win on the road! Spartans thanks for playing!

And now, since we are no longer looking forward to the next game instead of concentrating at the game at hand-let the blogging begin against Davidson! WB started a week ago, but I just couldn't (with good conscience) get involved yet! But tomorrow and Monday are wide-open. Leave any suggestions you might have, but I am not doing the serious trash talking I did last year (to my embarrassment).

Cougs Win Over Western-Carolina...but at what costs?

With Renardo Dickerson on the injured-reserve it was with great hesitation that I watched Marcus Hammond leave the game after injuring his knee during tonight's game. Marcus scored 5-points and 3 assists in his 22-minutes of playing time tonight, before being injured. Initial reports note a needed knee surgery meaning Marcus will be out for at least three weeks. Get well Marcus! The Cougars won for the 13th time in 15 games tonight, improving to 16-8, 9-3 (SoCon) with their win over Western Carolina (9-14, 6-6 (SoCon) 76-64. (Photo of Marcus Hammond from CofC Sports.com)

From the Den
The Cougars shot lights out in the first half, hitting 68% of their shots and putting 44-points on the board. Coach Cremins' main concern was the 3-ball threat the Catamounts have in their arsenal, and despite W.C. freshman Nick Aldridge scoring 39-points against the College, we did hold them to 1 for 13 from behind the arc, maintaining our number 1 ranking in the SoCon at defending the three-point shot.

The Cougs led 54-31 with 17-minutes left on the clock, until Aldridge hit the aforementioned 3-ball to start a 22-8 run by the Catamounts. Despite fighting a flu-bug Jermaine Johnson would finally get mean in the paint, leading the Cougars with 18-points. David Lawrence added 15-points (hitting 4 of 6, 3-pointers), 6 assists and 6 rebounds. Philip McCandies added 14-points and led the team with 11-boards. Dontaye Draper matched his jersey with 11-points in the game. Great job tonight to all of the Cougars! Western Carolina, thanks for playing.

Victory is mine! Defeating a complex basketball hoop and the Cougs win over Western Carolina 82-75!

Talk about frustration

Craig and I put together a goal for a big fan and chef of the CofC Sports Fan, Brett-don't tell his daughters; it is a surprise. I digress; if you purchased a filled-base, hydraulic lifting/adjustable Reebok goal for your kids this Christmas and it is not preassembled, you need to get to work now! That thing was frustrating. Granted the first pill always costs a million bucks to make, so I imagine that we would be able to assemble another goal pretty fast.

From the Den

The Cougars improved their record to 6-6, (2-1 SoCon) defeating Western Carolina this evening, 82-75! The big men, Josh Jackson and Jermaine Johnson combined for 30 points (Josh with 13 and Jermaine with 17). David Lawrence went 3 for 7 from behind the arc, scoring 17 points. Dontaye Draper hit 2 for 5 from behind the arc, putting 16 points on the board.

Strategy

At this weeks Bobby Cremins Show, Coach mentioned Western Carolina's Princeton offense as something we needed to address. Princeton offense is the back-door cuts and accurate 3-point shots taken by patient players with out much support in the paint. Despite the Cougs having 13 turnovers, all I have to say is, when you live by the 3, you die by the 3. It didn't work for Princeton against USC and it didn't work for W.C. tonight.

Great job by the Cougs tonight! Catamounts thanks for playing!

CofC hits blackjack in Myrtle Beach, beating the Chanticleers by 21!

The College of Charleston (5-6) notched another win tonight defeating the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, 70 to 49. In the 41st meeting between the two schools, the Cougars shot a season high 50% from the field and controlled the boards 45-22. The College has won the last 8 meetings and 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two schools. Coach Cremins is now 5-0 (lifetime) against Coastal Carolina. (Photo compliments of How Stuff Works)

From the Den
David Lawrence scored 17-points, and Marcus Hammond put 11-points on the board to help bring the Cougars their 2nd straight win. Jermaine Johnson muscled 9-points and brought down 13-boards as the Cougs established dominance. Philip McCandies and Dontaye Draper both scored 7-points in the win. The Cougs led by 13-points at the half (36-23) and after a 10-1 run in the 2nd half, led by 20. The College would led by as much as 25 in the 2nd, as they scored 34 points to the Chanticleers 26 in the final half. Coastal Carolina shot 32.7% from the field and 3 of 16 from behind the arc.
Nice Show Cougs! Chanticleers, thanks for playing!