Junior DiJuan Harris leads the 49ers with 17 steals, nearly 3.0 per game. |
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GAME NOTES: Charlotte Faces Cal State Fullerton in 76 Classic Final Round
Nov. 30, 2008
Anaheim, Ca. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
76 Classic
Charlotte 49ers (1-5)
vs. Cal State Fullerton (2-4)
Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008; 3:00 p.m.
Anaheim Convention Center
Radio: WFNA 1660 (Matt Swierad)
TV: ESPNU
Charlotte49ers.com audio: Niner Network All-Access
The Coach:
Bobby Lutz, Charlotte
Career: 370-222 (20th year)
at Charlotte: 189-131 (11th year)
(49ers all-time winningest coach)
Notes:
This will be the 49ers first-ever meeting with Cal State Fullerton... the 49ers 1-5 start is their worst since 1984-85 when they also started 1-5 ... the last time the 49ers lost five in a row: January of 1989 ... that team rebounded to win its next six straight and earn an bid to the 1989 NIT.
THE GAME:
The Charlotte 49ers (1-5) face Cal State Fullerton (2-4) in the final round of ESPN's 76 Classic in Anaheim, Ca. (3:00p.m. ET/ESPNU). Charlotte has dropped its last five games including its first two games of the 76 Classic. The other three losses were by a combined five points, and included a double OT loss at Appalachian State, a one-point loss to Clemson in which the Niners had the ball with a chance to win in the final five seconds and a one point loss to Old Dominion, which hit a game-winning three in the final five seconds. The 49ers last five-game skid came in 1989.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The 49ers difficult road continues after the 76 Classic. Charlotte plays at Southern Illinois, Dec. 6 and at Mississippi State, Dec. 10 before breaking for finals. The 49ers next home game is Dec. 21 vs. Youngstown State.
PLAYER HIGHS:
Senior Charlie Coley grabbed 11 rebounds in back-to-back games vs. Clemson and #14 Arizona State ... junior RaShad Coleman scored a personal-best 19 points (all in the first half) vs. Providence ... Junior center Phil Jones is shooting .607 from the floor and tied a Halton Arena record with six blocked shots vs. Old Dominion ... Junior shooter Ian Andersen nailed a career-best 7 three-pointers vs Clemson, and has reached 100 career treys .... junior point guard DiJuan Harris passed out a career-best 10 assists vs. Clemson and 10 vs. Providence, the first 49er to reach double figures since Feb. 21, 2007 (Carlos Williams, 10 at Duquesne).
BENCH:
The 49ers bench has score 20 or more points in each of its first six games (24 vs. UNC Greensboro; 20 vs. Old Dominion; 21 vs. App. State; 33 vs. Clemson; 27 vs. Arizona State; 28 vs. Providence) and produced at least one double-figure scorer in five games (Phil Jones, 11 vs. UNC Greensboro; Ian Andersen, 10 vs. Old Dominion; 21 vs. Clemson; RaShad Coleman, 14 vs. Arizona State; 19 vs. Providence). Charlotte's bench has outscored its opponent's 153-124.
BALANCE:
Through six games, the 49ers have had five different leading scorers: Mack, Wilderness, Coley, Andersen and Coleman (2). The 49ers have had seven different players score in double figures in a game. Four players have scored 15 or more points in a game: RaShad Coleman (19 vs. Providence), Ian Andersen (21 vs. Clemson, 15 at App. State), An'Juan Wilderness (17 at App. State, 15 vs. UNC Greensboro) and Lamont Mack (18 vs. UNC Greensboro).
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.
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.
Men of steal:
In six games, Charlotte is averaging 18.8 forced turnovers and 8.7 steals. The 49ers have forced more turnovers in four of the first six games. Junior DiJuan Harris leads the 49ers with 17 steals (2.8/gm), including five vs. Providence. Senior Charlie Coley has 12 steals (2.0/gm), including 4 vs. #14 Arizona State. 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.
Double-Up:
The 49ers have had four double-figure scorers in three of their first six games and seven different 49ers have already hit double figures at least once: Lamont Mack (5); An'Juan Wilderness (3); Ian Andersen (3), RaShad Coleman (3); DiJuan Harris (2), 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.
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.
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.
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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