Sophomore An'Juan Wilderness |
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GAME NOTES: Charlotte Hosts Unbeaten Tigers, Saturday Night
Nov. 21, 2008
Halton Arena -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
GAME #4
Charlotte 49ers (1-2)
vs. Clemson (4-0)
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008; 7:00 p.m.
Halton Arena (9,105)
Radio: WFNA 1660 (Matt Swierad)
Charlotte49ers.com audio: Niner Network All-Access
The Coach:
Bobby Lutz, Charlotte
Career: 370-219 (20th year)
at Charlotte: 189-128 (11th year)
(49ers all-time winningest coach)
Notes:
Charlotte is 2-3 all-time vs. the Tigers, including the 49ers 82-72 over 18th-ranked Clemson in Clemson, last year ... Charlotte has hosted Clemson, once, falling 104-79 at the New Coliseum (Hornets home), Dec. 18, 1989 ... the last three meetings have been in Clemson, where the 49ers are 2-1. Lutz is 1-0 vs. the Tigers.
THE GAME:
The Charlotte 49ers (1-2) host Clemson (4-0), Saturday at 7:00 p.m. (WFNA 1660 Sports Radio). The 49ers are coming off a pair of difficult losses: 69-68 home loss to Old Dominion in which the Monarchs canned a three-pointer with 5.5 seconds remaining to capture the victory; 87-84 double OT loss at Appalachian State. Clemson is the first ACC foe to play in Halton Arena. The 49ers defeated #18 Clemson, last year in Littlejohn Coliseum, 82-72. The Tigers have won four straight and are receiving votes in both major polls: In the AP Top 25 poll, the Tigers would be ranked 33rd; in USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll they would be ranked 39th.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The 49ers travel to ESPN's 76 Classic in Anaheim, Ca., Nov. 27-30. The 49ers face #15/#15 Arizona State (ESPNU) in the first round and will face either Baylor or Providence (ESPN2/ESPNU) in the second round. Baylor is receiving votes in both major polls and would rank 26th in the AP poll and 30th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll. The 49ers third round foe could be #20/#25 Wake Forest, St. Mary's, UTEP or Cal-State Fullerton. St. Mary's is also receiving top 25 votes.
CRUNCHING NUMBERS:
Charlotte is shooting 42% from the floor and 84% from the foul line, but just 26% from long range ... the 49ers are forcing 21.0 turnovers per game ... Charlotte is averaging 10.0 steals per game.
PLAYER NOTES:
Junior center Phil Jones is shooting .615 from the floor and tied a Halton Arena record with six blocks vs. Old Dominion ... Charlie Coley, III and DiJuan Harris both have 8 steals on the season (2.7/gm) ... Lamont Mack has scored in double figures in all three games ... sophomore Charles Dewhurst has led the 49ers in rebounds (8 vs. App State), assists (4 vs. App. State) and steals (4 vs. UNC Greenboro) in a game this season ... Three different players: Lamont Mack, An'Juan Wilderness and Ian Andersen have scored 15 or points in a game.
RETURNING STARS:
Charlotte returns four starters and seven players who averaged double-digit minutes, last season. Returning starters include senior forwards Lamont Mack and Charlie Coley. Mack is the 49ers leading returning scorer and a preseason 2nd-team all-A-10 choice. Coley was the 49ers leader in rebounds, blocks and dunks. Junior point guard DiJuan Harris, who led the 49ers in assists and led the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio is back as the starting point guard and sophomore wing An'Juan Wilderness returns after being named to the A-10's all-Rookie Team.
NINERS COMING OFF 20-WIN SEASON; POST-SEASON APPEARANCE:
Charlotte is coming off Lutz's fifth 20-win season with the 49ers. Charlotte went 20-14, last year, placing tied for fourth in the A-10, and advancing to the NIT, the 8th postseason appearance in Lutz's 10 years. Lutz, who became the 49ers all-time winningest coach, last year, also holds school records for 20-win seasons (5), NCAA Tourney berths (5) and postseason trips (8).
LUTZ PROVIDES A DECADE of 49er PRIDE:
Charlotte has been to post-season play in eight of Bobby Lutz's 10 seasons, including a school-record five NCAA Tournament appearances. In the last five years, Charlotte has posted one first-place, two second-place and a 4th-place league finish (2004 C-USA Champs; 2005 C-USA Runner-up; 2006 A-10 Runner-up, 2008 A-10 4th-Place). He passed Jeff Mullins' as the 49ers all-time winningest coach, last year, with his 183rd victory as 49ers head coach. He now has 189 wins. By opening his 11th season, he has matched Mullins for the longets tenure of a 49ers head coach.
FIELD OF 64:
FOXSPORTS.com predicts the 49ers will be in the 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. In their Hoops Hysteria bracket, FOXSPORTS.com has awarded the 49ers a #7 seed. They predict the 49ers lose their first round game vs. Baylor. Interestingly, the 49ers could face Baylor in the second round of the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Ca., Nov. 28.
PRESEASON NOTES:
Charlotte was picked to finish 5th in the Atlantic 10 Conference in a preseason poll of the leagues coaches and media. Charlotte was picked to finish third by both The Sporting News and Athlon Sports preseason publications; sixth by Lindy's publication. Senior forward Lamont Mack, the 49ers leading returning scorer, was named a preseason second team all-Atlantic 10 selection.
MACK EARNS PRESEASON NOD:
Charlotte 49ers senior forward Lamont Mack was named to the preseason all-Atlantic 10 second team. Mack is the 49ers top returning scorer. He averaged 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds, last season. His numbers improved in the seasson's second half. He averaged 15.6 points in Atlantic 10 games and scored 15 or more points in 11 of the final 17 games. Mack shot .411 from three-point range against A-10 competition. He was one of four 49ers with over 35 steals.
MADNESS:
Senior high flyer Charlie Coley won the 49ers annual Slam Dunk Contest at Basketball Madness. In Coley's first dunk, he jumped over DiJuan Harris as Harris pedalled away on a stationary bike. For his second dunk he initially brought out 5-11 guard Kyle Church before sending him back and pulling out 6-10 center Phil Jones. Coley then jumped over Jones while he dunked. His third dunk came on a bounce pass from the upper concourse of Halton Arena from Harris.
MEN OF STEAL:
In three games, Charlotte is averaging 21.0 forced turnovers and 10.0 steals. In the season-opening win over UNC Greensboro, Charlotte forced 23 turnovers with nine steals. The 23 turnovers matches the season-high of a year ago. Last year, Charlotte had 271 steals and forced 574 turnovers, the most in both categories since 1991, when the 49ers set school records with 363 steals and 649 turnovers forced. Senior Charlie Coley, III and junior DiJuan Harris lead the 49ers with 8 steals, apiece.
DOUBLE-UP:
The 49ers have had four double-figure scorers in each of their first three games and in just two games, seven different 49ers have already hit double figures at least once: Lamont Mack (3); An'Juan Wilderness (2); DiJuan Harris (2), Ian Andersen (2), RaShad Coleman; Phil Jones and Charlie Coley, III,
DOUBLE-DOUBLES:
Lamont Mack posted the 49ers first double-double of the year with 18 points and 10 rebounds against UNC Greensboro -- the first of his career. The 49ers had five double-doubles, last year: 2 by Charlie Coley and Charles Dewhurst; one by Leemire Goldwire.
BENCH:
The 49ers bench has score 20 or more points in each of its first three games (24 vs. UNC Greensboro; 20 vs. Old Dominion; 21 vs. App. State) and produced at least one double-figure scorer in two games (Phil Jones, 11 vs. UNC Greensboro; Ian Andersen, 10 vs. Old Dominion). Charlotte's bench has outscored its opponent's 65-60.
BALANCE:
Through three games, the 49ers have already had seven different players score in double figures in a game. Six 49ers are averaging at least 8.0 points per game.
STRONG SLATE:
The 49ers schedule includes at least 17 games against teams that reached the postseason, last year. Nine of those games will be played in Halton Arena. In the current Top 25 rankings, 76 Classic first round foe Arizona State is ranked 15th, while possible third-round opponent Wake Forest is ranked #20/#25. In addition, 2008-09 opponents Clemson, Southern Illinois, Tulsa, Xavier and Rhode Island are all receiving votes. Possible 76 Classic opponents Baylor and St. Mary's are also receiving votes.
NATIONAL TV:
Eight of the 49ers games will be on national television via ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or CBS College Sports (CBS C). All three games at the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Nov. 27-30 will be broadcast on either ESPN2 or ESPNU. The 49ers home game with Xavier (Feb. 19) will be broadcast on either ESPN or ESPN2 and the home date with Richmond was recently moved to Mar. 3 so that it can be broadcast nationally by CBS College Sports.
OH, CANADA:
Over the Labor Day Weekend, the 49ers took a four-day; three-game trip to Canada, where they got an early glimpse of the 2008-09 edition of men's basketball. The 49ers went 3-0, outscoring their three foes by an average of 49.0 points. Charlotte averaged 106.7 points in the three games while forcing an average of 24.3 turnovers with 14.3 steals per game. Three different players led the 49ers in scoring in the three games (Ian Andersen with 18 in 109-55 win over Sheridan College; Shamarr Bowden with 21 in a 123-59 victory over York University and Charlie Coley with 15 in an 88-59 win over University of Toronto.). Eight different 49ers scored in double figures at least once. Junior RaShad Coleman did not play on the trip due to injury. Freshman Shamarr Bowden, the 49ers leading scorer over the three-game tour, has since injured his knee and will redshirt the season.
RECRUITING COUPS:
The 49ers announced the signing of Top 100 recruit Chris Braswell, Nov. 13 and K.J. Sherrill, Nov. 17.
Braswell, a 6-8; 235 lb. power forward out of Seat Pleasant, Md., attends Hargrave Military Academy. He averaged 16.7 points and 12.0 rebounds as Hargrave went 29-0, last season. He is ranked 58th in the nation by Dave Telep's scouthoops.com and 78th by Rivals.com. Clark Francis of hoopscooponline.com tabs Braswell as the 10th-best fifth-year player in the country. Rivals.com has Braswell as the A-10 top power forward commitment and one of the A-10's Top 5 recruits.
Sherrill, 6-7; 220 lb. forward, from Mount Ulla, N.C., was a second team all-Charlotte Observer selection as a junior, averaged 18.4 points as West Rowan went 21-7 and reached the sectional final. Sherrill, a cousin of former NC State player Scooter Sherrill, was named to the NCPreps 3A all-state team and was also named first team all-Piedmont Region for West Rowan head coach Mike Gurley.
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