CSU vs. VMI Game Notes

By Mike Lacett
Sports Reporter
Published: January 4, 2009

The Buccaneers play the final game of a three-game homestand as they welcome the VMI Keydets to the CSU Field House. The game will mark the third Big South conference tilt of the season for the Bucs after they suffered their first conference defeat to UNC Asheville, 65-76, on Saturday night. The Bucs will be looking to snap a pair of four-game losing streaks in this matchup. The first is an overall four-game losing skid that began with their, 55-74, loss at Cincinnati. CSU has also lost in the stretch to Florida State, Virginia Tech and UNCA. The second streak is a four-game losing stretch to the Keydets, who swept the two conference regular season matchups a season ago. Included was an overtime thriller at the CSU Field House, that the Keydets claimed, 93-91. CSU last beat VMI at the CSU Field House in Barclay Radebaugh’s first season as head coach in 2005-06.

KEYING ON THE KEYDETS
VMI is led by head coach Duggar Baucom, currently in his fourth season at the helm of the Keydet program. The Keydets are off to a great start to the season, having won seven straight games, and are currently 11-2 overall and leading the Big South conference with a record of 3-0. Included was a season-opening upset of SEC-power Kentucky, 111-103. In their most recent outing, VMI edged Gardner-Webb, 96-92, for the conference lead.

Twin brothers and Sr-Guards Chavis and Travis Holmes lead the break-neck Keydets who at last report led the nation in team scoring (99.3 ppg). Chavis currently leads the Keydets, netting 20.8 points per game, while also pulling down 4.5 rebounds per contest. Travis is second on the team with a ppg average of 18.9. Travis also leads the rebounding effort, grabbing 5.6 rpg.

CSU Game Notes

Free Live Audio (CSU Broadcast)

Live Video

Live Stats

THE LAST TIME OUT…

The Bucs endured a tough first half shooting the basketball, including going just 1-for-8 from the free throw line, and were never able to recover, dropping their first conference decision of the season, 65-76, to the visiting UNC Asheville Bulldogs on Saturday night at CSU Field House. It was also the first loss of the year for CSU at the Field House. So-Guard Jamarco Warren again led the offensive effort for the Bucs, scoring 19 points. Giedrius Knysas contributed his first double-double of the season (11 pts/10 reb) in the losing effort.

BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL
Buccaneers freshman forward Kelvin Martin has quickly become an offensive factor for CSU. “K-Mart” as he is known, established a new career high for points and rebounds in each of his first five games. He scored 6 points against Iowa, bettered that with 11 against Furman, tallied 14 against College of Charleston, one-upped that with 15 against Toccoa Falls and took it one point further with 16 against The Citadel. He also increased his rebounding totals in each of his first four games. He recorded his first double-double against CofC on Nov. 20th (14 pts/11 reb), made it two straight with his second (15 pts/15 reb) aginst Toccoa Falls and accomplished the feat for a third-straight game 11/25 vs. The Citadel (16 pts/10 reb). Martin again established a new career-high, scoring 23 points to share the team lead with Omar Carter against the Covenant College Scots on 12/13. The feat was made all the more impressive by the fact that Martin accomplished it on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 shooting from the foul -line.

RIGHT ON THE JA-MARC-O
Bucs sophomore guard Jamarco Warren has been lights out from three-point range through 12 games. Warren, who connected on 73 three-point field goals in his freshman year (2nd most in school history) has hit 53-of-110 attempts thus far this season (48%). On that pace, Warren would finish the regular season with 128 three-point makes, shattering Chris Moore’s school record of 81 in a single-season, set during the 2007-08 season. Warren has at least shared the team lead in scoring in 11 of the Bucs first 12 games this season: 18 @ Iowa; 28 vs. Furman; 20 vs. College of Charleston; 28 vs. Toccoa Falls; 25 vs. The Citadel; 15 vs. North Florida; 29 @ High Point; 17 @ Cincinnati; 21 @ Florida State; 22 vs. Virginia Tech; 19 vs. UNC Asheville. He is averaging 21.3 points per game and 4.4 three-pointers a game, both of which lead the Big South Conference.

O-MAR OH-MY
Turning in perhaps the best freshman season in Charleston Southern (Baptist College) history, Omar Carter was tabbed as the 2007-08 Big South Freshman of the Year. Carter was named by league coaches as a pre-season All-Big South selection entering his sophomore season. To this point, Carter has certainly lived up to those lofty expectations, second on the team behind Jamarco Warren with an average of 14.2 points per game. Carter has also averaged 7.9 rebounds per game, which is second behind Kelvin Martin. The Charlotte, NC, native also is second on the team with 14 steals. Carter averages 29.1 minutes per game, which is again second behind Warren (34.2).

2008-09 Big South Pre-Season All-Conference Team

Anthony Smith Liberty Senior Guard
Chavis Holmes VMI Senior Guard Omar Carter CSU Sophomore Forward
Grayson Flittner Gardner-Webb Junior Guard
Joel Lynch-Flohr Radford Junior Forward

italic - Big South Pre-Season Player of the Year
PRE-SEASON PROGNOSTICATING
The 2008-09 pre-season Big South basketball poll produced some of the tightest results in history, leading to the belief of many that the conference race may be more nip-and-tuck than ever. Each of the top seven teams in the poll received at least one first place vote. That number includes the Bucs, who have been tabbed sixth, coming off of an eighth place finish last season.

2008-09 Big South Pre-Season Projections

1. Winthrop (9) 202
2. Radford (7) 189
3. Gardner-Webb (3) 188
4. Liberty (2) 148
5. High Point (1) 132
6. Charleston Southern (1) 128
7. VMI (1) 110
8. Coastal Carolina 107
9. UNC Asheville 83
10. Presbyterian 33

First Place Votes in Parentheses

BANKING WITH BARCLAYS
The Buccaneers are currently in their fourth season under the tutelage of head coach Barclay Radebaugh. In his first three seasons, Radebaugh posted a record of 31-58. However, Radebaugh has turned Charleston Southern into one of the most reputed recruiting schools in the Big South and has ushered onto campus two of the most heralded recruiting classes in program history. He has claimed landmark wins in the Charleston City Championship twice (2005, 2006) and has entered the Buccaneers into their 2008-09 schedule, which in his estimation is the toughest non-conference schedule a CSU team has ever faced.

FRESH FACES ON THE SIDELINE
The Buccaneers have two new coaches on the sideline for the 2008-09 season. Courtney Brooks, joins the coaching staff as an assistant coach after spending the previous seven seasons as the head coach at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy where he guided SACA to two class-A Georgia state championships. Another newcomer to Radebaugh’s staff is Director of Basketball Operations Charlie Witt. Witt joins the CSU staff after occupying an executive position with Target. However, he is no stranger to the Bucs program, having previously assisted with the Barclay Radebaugh Youth Basketball Camps as well as the Elite Senior Camp. During his playing days, Witt was a captain for Rochester Community & Technial College during the 1995-96 season.

FRESH BUT FAMILIAR FACES ON THE SIDELINE
Returning to CSU are assistant coaches JD Powell and Bob Richey. Powell, who played for Clemson, enters his fifth season with the Bucs. Radebaugh calls Powell “without a doubt, one of the top assistants in the Big South Conference.“ Richey returns for his third season as recruiting coordinator for the Bucs. His arrival from North Greenville has directly coincided with two of the top recruiting classes in program history. He is also in charge of player development for Bucs’ guards and coordinates team travel.
SOPHOMORE SENSATION
As of 1/4, Bucs So-Guard Jamarco Warren leads the Big South in scoring (21.3 ppg). That leads VMI’s Chavis Holmes (2nd) and Liberty’s Fr-Guard Seth Curry (3rd), the brother of Davidson’s Stephen Curry, who leads the nation in scoring. Warren at least shared the Bucs team lead in points in their first seven games of the season. Warren also leads the Big South in three-point field goal % (48%). He has hit 53-of-110 attempts from outside this season. His 53 makes are also good for the conference lead.

DIAPER DANDIES
CSU will look for scoring from one of the most highly touted freshman classes in program history. Currently, the Bucs have five freshman on the roster, with two expected to contribute significant minutes.

Kelvin Martin (6-5, 197) from Adel, GA. Martin was rated the 87th-best prospect in the country by ESPN.com. He averaged 28.3 points per game in high school, and averaged a double-double for his senior season.

Joel Lamb (6-7, 194) from Atlanta, GA. Rated a three-star recruit by Rivals.com. Played for CSU assistant coach Courtney Brooks at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy and averaged 18 points per game and 10 rebounds per game as a senior.

IF IT AIN’T BROKE…
The Buccaneers were forced to use a different starting lineup for the first time in nine games when they played UNC Asheville on 1/3. The lineup change was forced due to a broken forearm suffered by Jr-Center Billy Blackmon. The lineup of: So-Point Guard - Tovi Bailey, So-Guard - Jamarco Warren, Fr-Forward - Kelvin Martin, So-Forward Omar Carter, Jr-C Billy Blackmon, had posted a record of 5-4. Blackmon, who did not dress against the Bulldogs is expected to miss at least six weeks, could be sidelined for the remainder of the Buccaneers season. Jr-Center Quinton Goods made his first start of the season in Blackmon’s place and played 13 minutes. Due to Blackmon’s absence, the Bucs dressed Fr-Guard Glenn Self for the first time this season. However, Self did not see playing time.

PRAISE WARREN-TED
After a record-setting campaign in 2007-08 in the awards department, sophomore guard Jamarco Warren was the first Buc to claim a weekly award in 08-09. Warren was named the Choice Hotels Big South Player of the Week for the week of November 17-23. During that stretch, Warren averaged 25.3 points per game in three contests, leading the Bucs in scoring in all three games, while they posted a 2-1 record with wins over Furman and Toccoa Falls. He shot a ridiculous 62% from the floor (28-of-35), including 59% from three-point range (16-of-27). Included was 10-of-12 from the field against Toccoa Falls. Warren established a new career-high with 28 points against Furman and replicated the feat with 28 against Toccoa Falls.
A LONG AND WINDY ROAD
The Buccaneers are facing what Barclay Radebaugh calls the toughest schedule in program history. Including their games thus far this season, CSU has posted a 179-251 record against the 20 different opponents they will face throughout the season.

How the Bucs Have Fared Against 08-09 Opponents:

Iowa 0-1
Furman 7-8
College of Charleston 23-47
Toccoa Falls 1-0
The Citadel 12-19
North Florida 2-0
High Point 10-10
Covenant College 2-0
Cincinnati 0-1
Florida State 0-5
Virginia Tech 0-4
UNC Asheville 28-31
VMI 3-9
Liberty 19-23
Radford 18-36
Presbyterian 4-5
Winthrop 19-28
Gardner-Webb 1-3
Morris College 0-0
Coastal Carolina 30-21

Total 179-251

The Bucs have posted the most victories against Coastal Carolina (30) and suffered the most defeats against College of Charleston (47). College of Charleston has also been the most played opponent (70 meetings - 23-47).

CSU will play four opponents for the first time (Iowa, Toccoa Falls, Cincinnati and Morris).

THE LAST TIME THE BUCS…

Won 20 games in a season
(1986-87 - 21-9 record)
Had a five-game winning streak
(2004-05 - 5 games)
Had a 10-game winning streak
(1986-87 - 10 games)
Had a 10-game losing streak
(2006-07 - 13 games)
The Bucs scored 100+ points
(December 13, 2008 vs. Covenant College)
Played a multi-overtime game
(1998-99 @ Coastal Carolina - W, 98-93 3 OT)