Choose Charleston

Charlotte joins the Charleston Classic 2010 field with several questions. The biggest news for Charlotte is that Coach Allen Major will be taking over the program after Charlotte fired former Coach Bobby Lutz.  Lutz is the all-time leaders in wins at Charlotte and has left plenty for Major to work with.  Lutz had his Charlotte team on a roll until a late season cold streak left them sitting at home with no NCAA or NIT bid.  The A.D. decided Lutz winning record was not enough and decided to roll the dice on Major, who has no head coach experience.

Charlotte does not have a proven point guard, which usually is a huge disadvantage at the college level.   This is especially true when going through a coaching change.  I expect the Charlotte 49ers still trying to find who they are when they are playing here at the Charleston Classic 2010. On the wing, they will lean on Derrio Green to handle the outside scoring load. Inside,the Charlotte 49ers have two very solid players.  Former Boston College player, Shamari Spears and Chris Braswell provide two wide bodies who can both rebound and play at a physical level.  These guys will be key in potential match up against N.C. State as they have one of the best post scorers in the nation with Tracy Smith.

In Summary: Charlotte has some talented guys, I just think the inexperience at point guard and players adjusting to a new coach will be too much for this team to make a strong run at the Charleston Classic.  I feel they can out talent a team like East Carolina, but a team that can apply constant pressure on the ball could present problems for Charlotte. The question is, will Charlotte take that step forward this year and make a run in the Charleston Classic to help build an appealing NCAA resume or will they falter early on and test a rookies coach ability to rally the troops together for a March bid?

Interesting Fact: Shamari Spears formerly played at Boston College.  Spears could meet some familiar faces against N.C. State.  Spears transferred to Charlotte to be closer to home and will be finishing his career as a Charlotte 49er.

Today I will take a moment to highlight one of the local teams that will join the Charleston Classic 2010 field. The East Carolina Men’s Basketball program is the polar opposite of George Mason, who we covered yesterday. To put it in perspective, East Carolina has not had a winning season since 1996-1997.  The Pirates last NCAA tournament appearance was in 1992-1993 and the last NCAA tournament win? Well keep googling that along with how many titles East Carolina’s basketball program has ever won.  I will give you a hint, it rhymes with hero.

Speaking of hero, East Carolina is hoping that newly hired Head Coach Jeff Lebo can change history and do it in a hurry.  For any of you Southern Conference diehards reading this, you are probably familiar with Lebo.  Lebo coached Chattanooga to two winning seasons before heading off to bigger but maybe not better things at Auburn.  Auburn is a tough sell for any basketball coach.  Lebo was not immune to this problem but did find some success by posting a 24-12 record in the 2003-2004 season.  Auburn was looking for someone to take them to next level and Lebo came up short. His next season was another losing season but quickly found another job at ECU.  This year will probably be a struggle for the Pirates and Lebo.  Coaching changes are never easy but East Carolina seems to have made a solid decision to hire Lebo as he has proven he can win and is familiar with recruiting the southern region.

In Summary: I have no clue what to expect out of ECU.  Lebo says his club will play hard and fight.  He may be a bit low on talent this season and will probably still be trying to find out what guys work best together by the time he takes his Pirates to the Charleston Classic 2010 tournament.

Interesting Fact: East Carolina upset N.C. State in Sidney Lowe’s first trip to Greenville as Head Coach of the Wolfpack.  Lebo has brought in the son of former ACC great Ralph Sampson (Who played against Sidney Lowe) Robert Sampson this year.  The Pirates lost to 2010 Charleston Classic participant UNCC 80-68.

When you think of a “Cinderella” team come March Madness time, you may think of George Mason.  The Charleston Classic 2010 is welcoming George Mason to the tournament because they have a true winning program. The Patriots head coach, Jim Larranaga, signed a contract through the 2015-2016 season and if recent history is any indication, he will have his club ready to win when they make the the trip to Charleston.

George Mason’s Final Four berth in the 2006 NCAA tournament may have been wrote off as a miracle run but ask any rival fan in the CAA and they will tell you, George Mason has been winning for much longer than that.  George Mason has had 12 consecutive winning seasons and will be looking for no different this year.  Larranaga will lean on Cam Long to carry the scoring load for the Patriots but George Mason has a solid supportive cast to surround the talented Long with.

In Summary: George Mason always brings a solid basketball team, night in and night out.  Will that be enough to beat the likes of NC State or Georgetown to win the Charleston Classic 2010 title? I doubt so unless Cam Long can be a consistent star and some of the other guys around him decide to step up and seize the moment.

Interesting Fact:  George Mason’s Point Guard, Andres Cornelius, played high school basketball in Charlotte NC and picked George Mason over two other Charleston Classic participates.  East Carolina and UNCC both offered but Cornelius decided to play with for the Patriots.  He also had offers from Tennessee, Mississippi State, and C of C’s in-state rival South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Charleston Classic will be returning for the third year and will be hosted at Carolina First Arena in Charleston, S.C.  The tournament is held through Nov. 19-22 and will also be covered by ESPN.  So far, six of the eight teams have been named for the 2010 Charleston Classic basketball tournament.

The headliners are N.C. State and Georgetown University with some other Carolina teams such as East Carolina, UNC-Charlotte and Wofford rounding out the field.  The Charleston Classic offers a great opportunity for Charleston residents to catch some exciting and affordable basketball before March!

This tournament is promised to feature some future NBA talents!  Also, imagine getting the chance to see star coaches such as John Thompson III, Sidney Lowe, and Jim Larranaga. The Charleston Classic in 2010 is sure to be exciting so what are you waiting for!?

The ticket packages can be found here.