- October 25th, 2006, 3:53 pm
#37122
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Could this be the year that the Big South finally gets over the hump and wins a meaningful NCAA Tournament game?
UNC-Asheville's opening round OT win over Texas Southern in 2003 remains the Big South's lone tourney win. All it earned, however, was a chance to get a first-round whipping at the hands of top-seeded Texas.
Slowly the Big South, or more precisely, Winthrop, has been closing the gap on the big boys.
In 2005, the Eagles lost by 10 to third-seeded Gonzaga. Last season, they lost a heartbreaking nip-and-tuck affair 63-61 to No. 2 Tennessee on a last-second shot.
Winthrop's success -- they've captured six of the past eight Big South championships -- made coach Gregg Marshall a hot commodity during the offseason. When the College of Charleston came calling he accepted its offer. However, less than 24 hours after being introduced as the Cougars' head coach he had a change of heart. Winthrop gladly took him back.
With Marshall's flip-flop, there were no coaching changes in the Big South, but it is one team smaller than a year ago as Birmingham Southern, which finished third in conference last season, has dropped out of Division I.
Team to beat
Big South
Predicted Finish
1. Winthrop
2. Coastal Carolina
3. High Point
4. Liberty
5. UNC Asheville
6. Charleston Southern
7. Radford
8. VMI
First Team All-Conference
G - Larry Blair, Liberty
G - Jack Leasure, Coastal Carolina
G - Torrell Martin, Winthrop
F - Arizona Reid, High Point
F - Craig Bradshaw, Winthrop
Winthrop. There's bascially 1A and 1B in the Big South and, right now, the Eagles are 1A.
Led by Torrell Martin and Craig Bradshaw, Winthrop returns four starters and five of the top six scorers from last year's Big South regular-season and tournament champions.
Martin, the 2006 conference tourney MVP, averaged 13.8 points (16 points in conference play) and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 44.3 percent from the field last season. Bradshaw, who can beat teams inside and out, averaged 12.8 points and six rebounds.
James Shuler, the team's second-leading scorer last season, is the missing link, but the team has high hopes that freshman Byron Faison and juco transfer Antwon Harris, among others, can fill those shoes.
When it comes right down to it though, the Eagles are about defense and there's no reason to think they'll see a decline in that department. Last season Winthrop held conference opponents to 60.7 ppg, leading the Big South in scoring defense for the eighth straight season.
Watch out for
Coastal Carolina: And now on to team 1B. The Chanticleers, who dominated the conference during the 90s, were nearly the Big South's NCAA Tournament representative in coach Buzz Peterson's first season, but they dropped a 51-50 decision to Winthrop on a Bradshaw lay-up with nine seconds left.
It doesn't hurt Coastal Carolina's cause that reigning Big South player of the year Jack Leasure is back for another season. Leasure loves the long-ball, setting a Big South record with 125 3-pointers made last season, which ranked second behind J.J. Redick nationally.
Moses Sonko (11.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg) is a key cog, while Joseph Harris (5.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg) could really bloom in his second season.
High Point could be a potential danger to both Winthrop and Coastal Carolina. Though they lack senior leadership, they have three starters returning and at least four other players logged more than 12 minutes per game last season. Arizona Reid is a beast on the boards, averaging a league-high 9.4 rpg in conference play, and his offense isn't too shabby either (18.3 ppg).
Player of the Year
Larry Blair, Liberty: He flirted with the NBA but decided to return for his senior season. While the Flames probably will be middling at best, Blair could end the season as the Big South's all-time scoring leader. He's 572 points away from the record (2,151 by Tony Dunkin, Coastal Carolina, 1989-93) after scoring 679 points (22.6 ppg) during the 2005-06 season.
If High Point's Reid improves over even equals his numbers from a year ago he'll be tough to overlo ok, and Coastal Carolina's Leasure should be in the mix if he continues to pour in 3s like he did last season.
- By jmclaughlin
- By cruzan_flame13
- By olldflame