A Sea Of Red

Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs
(Last Season: 13-17 overall; 9-9 in Big South, T-5th, lost in first round of Big South Tournament)

Head Coach: Rick Scruggs

Returning Players (with stats from 08-09 season):

G Grayson Flittner, sr. (6-0, 200) – 14.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.2 spg, 37.2 FG%, 36.5 3PT% (72 made threes), 85.0 FT% - 32.5 min/game

C Auryn MacMillan, sr. (6-8, 235) – 9.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 61.4 FG%, 0 made threes, 59.6 FT% - 23.9 min/game

F Jonathan Moore, jr. (6-4, 190) – 9.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 40.6 FG%, 35.9 3PT% (37 made threes), 73.1 FT% - 26.2 min/game

F Joshua Henley, so. (6-3, 215) – 6.8 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 57.0 FG%, 33.3 3PT% (1 made threes), 43.1 FT% - 29.4 min/game

G C.J. Hailey, sr. (6-0, 190) – 6.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 44.0 FG%, 36.7 3PT% (11 made threes), 73.3 FT% - 14.1 min/game

G Anton Silver, sr. (6-2, 175) – 3.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 39.6 FG%, 29.3 3PT% (12 made threes), 41.7 FT% - 10.0 min/game

G Brandon Jackson, sr. (6-0, 205) – 1.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 15.4 FG%, 0 made threes, 51.7 FT% - 8.2 min/game

C Matt Maden, sr. (6-11, 275) – 0.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 50.0 FG%, 0 made threes, 50.0 FT% - 4.2 min/game – Played in 10 games

Players that are Gone:

G Aaron Linn (6-3, 175) – 14.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.0 spg, 42.5 FG%, 34.9 3PT% (38 made threes), 78.0 FT% - 31.2 min/game

F Nate Blank (6-5, 220) – 9.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.0 spg, 40.3 FG%, 37.9 3PT% (39 made threes), 75.8 FT% - 23.7 min/game

G Takayo Siddle (5-11,180) – 4.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 33.1 FG%, 31.1 3PT% (23 made threes), 76.9 FT% - 13.1 min/game

G Dillon Boggs (6-0, 175) – 2.5 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 53.8 FG%, 57.1 3PT% (4 made threes), 50.0 FT% - 7.4 min/game – Played in 8 games

G Josh Maggard (6-0, 160) – 1.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 12.5 FG%, 16.7 3PT% (1 made three), 75.0 FT% - 7.0 min/game – Played in 7 games

F Lu Dovonou (6-5, 230) – 1.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 57.1 FG%, 0 made threes, 40.0 FT% - 6.3 min/game – Played in 12 games

F Roy Hinson III (6-6, 205) – 0.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0 made FGs, 50.0 FT% - 4.3 min/game – Played in 7 games

Newcomers:

F Luke Engelken, jr. (6-7, 215) – JuCo transfer
G Bryan Burrell, jr. (6-1, 175) – JuCo transfer
G David Brown, so. (6-2, 180) – JuCo transfer
G Thomas Staton, fr. (6-6, 210)
F Stefon Johnson, fr. (6-6, 215)
F Keith Manley, fr. (6-6, 220)
G Brian McNair, fr. (6-0, 165)

About the Runnin’ Bulldogs:
Gardner-Webb’s debut season in the Big South last year came with mixed results. When the Runnin’ Bulldogs were at full strength, they showed an ability to match up well with most of the league (including a 20-point win at Radford early in the season). But an injury to Grayson Flittner kept the sharp-shooting leader of the team off the court for several games and he was never able to get back to full-strength even when he returned. GWU struggled at that point and lost seven of their last ten games. A healthy Flittner this season could help Gardner-Webb bounce back from their rough finish, but will the senior guard be at full strength?

Flittner is the key to this year’s edition of Gardner-Webb basketball, as he is expected to play both guard positions at times. However, based on some of the preseason reports I have read, it sounds like he had to have micro fracture surgery to his knee over the offseason and that a full recovery going into this season is far from a sure thing. This uncertainty leaves the backcourt picture a bit fuzzy. If healthy, Flittner brings the Runnin’ Bulldogs outstanding outside shooting, good court vision, and very strong passing. He will be leaned on to play a lot of minutes and be the go-to guy on offense, especially after Aaron Linn graduated. Linn was possibly the most underrated player in the Big South last season and did his best to carry the load when Flittner was injured. Linn’s presence will be missed no matter the status of Flittner.

Senior C.J. Hailey will likely be another key cog in the backcourt, though a pair of freshmen (Brian McNair and Thomas Staton) and a pair of JuCo transfers (Bryan Burrell and David Brown) do give GWU some additional options and many of the newcomers will push for playing time. Staton is an intriguing prospect as he is a 6’6” point guard which could be a matchup problem for many of the other point guards in the conference. McNair is also expected to be a contributor right away as a freshman. Seniors Anton Silver and Brandon Jackson (after his football season is done) will add depth to the backcourt, but they likely will not be getting big minutes. Head coach Rick Scruggs has a lot of bodies to put on the court, but he will definitely be much more comfortable if he can rely on Flittner.

There is a bit more certainty going into the season in the frontcourt. Junior Jonathan Moore had a very solid season last year, and brings a versatile inside/outside game to the small forward position. Sophomore Joshua Henley is another starting forward who led all freshmen in the nation last season in rebounding, despite his 6’3” height, though he was not a big offensive threat. Senior Auryn MacMillan rounds out the starting lineup in the center position. MacMillan is a solid player in the post, not doing anything tremendously great, but helps on both sides of the court. The Runnin’ Bulldog starting frontcourt can be relied on to contribute, but they are a bit undersized, and can run into some matchup problems against bigger teams. JuCo transfer Luke Engelken and freshmen Stefon Johnson and Keith Manley join the team this season and all three could see the floor. Johnson is the most likely candidate to get big playing time.

With Flittner’s status a bit uncertain going into the year, it is hard to get a good read on the Runnin’ Bulldogs. Perhaps I am making too big of a deal about his importance to the team, but they were a lot worse when he was not on the court last year. Also, with Linn no longer on the team, there is a lack of proven playmakers on the roster when Flittner is not involved. Even if Flittner is back and at full strength, I feel like GWU is not going to be a threat to the upper half of the standings, and if he is not at 100%, I have a hard time seeing them having much success this season.

My Prediction:
11-18 overall, 6-12 in conference – 8th place finish – lose in first round of Big South Tournament

No Liberty yet? I'm sure you must be throwing us a bone. We're gonna shoot worse than you guys this year.

Not throwing you guys a bone...more like I threw about 5 teams in a hat and pulled them out to figure out the middle of the standings...this season is tough to figure out.

So when you were pulling names out of your hat, when can we expect to see an LU preview?

Let the man operate. Another terrific synopsis, WEF> I wasn't aware of the JUCO infusion in Boiling Springs.

Sly Fox wrote:Let the man operate. Another terrific synopsis, WEF> I wasn't aware of the JUCO infusion in Boiling Springs.

Thanks Sly...I will give you guys a hint...I didn't pick LU to finish first.

And yeah, they've been picking up multiple JuCos the last couple of years. Of their returnees, CJ Hailey and Anton Silver were both JuCo newcomers last season (along with Roy Hinson III, who dropped off the roster)...so that's 6 (if I'm remembering correctly) in the last 2 years and 5 on the current roster. That 5 easily leads the conference...CSU and WU have 2, Coastal, Radford and HPU have 1, and VMI, UNCA, PC, & LU have none (if I counted right...just went through the teams really quickly).

WEF .. right with you on Flittner. They're just not the same team without him. Scruggs said at media day that if Flittner couldn't get to 100 percent pretty quickly they wouldn't hesitate to use his redshirt this year.