Southern Conference Notebook
by Tyler Annett
Star Power
The outstanding play of the returning stars of the Southern Conference led the way in these week’s games as well as new players arriving on the scene to give the league some fresh faces.
Kyle Hines of UNC-Greensboro, a potential player of the year candidate, proved the pre-season speculation true with a career-high 38 points and 12 rebounds against Marshall in an overtime loss. Through three games, Hines is averaging 25 points per game and 9 rebounds per game, both conference highs.
Other returning stars had strong debuts as well with Robby Bostain posting 25 and 26-point nights in wins for Furman, D.J. Thompson leading the way for Appalachian State with 18 points over North Greenville, and Dontaye Draper scoring 19 points for College of Charleston in Coach Bobby Cremins’ debut win with the Cougars.
This week’s play also saw the debuts of unknown players who are quickly making their mark felt in week one. Davidson freshmen Stephen Curry is averaging 22.5 points per game through four games for the Wildcats. Curry, an aggressive forward who was not even expected to start, has helped reignite last year’s NCAA tournament representative. Davidson has also gotten strong play from junior forward Thomas Sander, who averaged only 6.6 points per game last season but has scored 19 or more in three of the first four games. Appalachian State has also seen strong play from freshmen guard Kellen Brand, who scored 19 points in only 18 minutes off the bench. If Brand can continue his stellar, play the Mountaineers could have a solid backcourt with him and Thompson.
Wildcats Got Offense
The second story of the week is the play of the Davidson Wildcats. Yes, it is true that no one should be surprised that they are 3-1 at week’s end. Their three wins were over perennial scrubs, and their one loss came against the only notable team they played (Michigan). Yet the reason their play is worth writing about is the potency of their offense, as Davidson through four games is averaging 85 points a game. This is especially significant with the fact that they lost seven contributing seniors from last season’s squad, including all-conference player Brendan Winters and conference assists leader Kenny Grant.
Coach Bob McKillop’s team was expected by most (including this humble writer) to fall off a bit, as the team is young and full of a lot question marks, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Outside of junior forward Boris Meno, the Wildcats returned nearly no offensive weapons from one of the top offenses in the league last season. Yet so far this season, Davidson is not only seeing increased efficiency from Meno, but others have begun to step up as well. Freshmen Curry is leading all scorers with 22.5 ppg, followed by Sander, William Archambault, and Jason Richards, who are all averaging over 11 ppg. If they can continue this barrage on the offensive end of the court with these five very strong players, Davidson will not see the drop off in which most believed would occur, but rather an explosive team that will contend all season for the conference title.
Summary
Overall the conference went 14-12 overall for the week with no real notable wins, yet no real notable losses either. The conference dominated the lower-tier Division I squads (as well as some non-Division I teams), and lost to the traditional powerhouses. The conference schedule is still a little over two weeks from starting, but the play in this first week will begin to form judgments as to where these teams will stand come the holiday season.
Player of the Week: (Tie) Kyle Hines, UNC-Greensboro & Stephen Curry, Davidson.
Hines started the season off exactly the way everyone expects him to play all year with averages of 25 points and 9 rebounds per game. Curry, a relative unknown freshman, has taken the league by storm with a 32-point performance against Michigan and a four-game average of 22.5 ppg.
Game of the Week: Wofford vs. North Carolina State.
Although the Terriers lost, they gave the Wolfpack and new coach Sidney Lowe a huge scare with only a four-point overtime differential. Wofford made 16 three-point shots through the course of the game and held a halftime lead, but that was not enough in the end. Although a defeat, this game made a statement that the conference can most definitely compete with the likes of the ACC.
