IT'S TIME

IT'S TIME -- 49ers Basketball Madness Tips Off 2003-04 Hoop Season, Men's team to unveil stronger frontcourt; Women begin defense of 2002-03 C-USA title
From Charlotte49ers.com
October 17, 2003



Halton Arena - IT'S TIME!

Tonight, at Midnight, 49ers basketball is back.

With its annual 49ers Basketball Madness celebration, the Charlotte 49ers men's and women's basketball teams tip off the 2003-04 season. For men's fans, its the first chance to catch a glimpse of a crop of highly-touted newcomers, including prized recruit Martin Iti, the 49ers highest-rated recruit, ever. The women, meanwhile, are eager to answer the call after last season's memorable Conference USA Championship run.

Newcomers have alot of the attention from 49ers fans. The 7-0 Iti, the 49ers first-ever Top 10 recruit, was rated as the nation's #1 post prospect by ESPN.com. Athlon ranks him #3 among incoming college freshmen while ESPN.com gave him an overall rank of #8. In addition, 49er fans are eager to watch newcomer Brendan Plavich, a shooting guard who sat out last season as a transfer from Vanderbilt. After leading the SEC in three-point shooting as a sophomore, Plavich wowed the 49ers in practice, last year and is rated one of the top transfers to watch by several preseason publications. Junior College all-America C.J. Pigford joins the 49ers front court while Marcus Bennett, who originally signed with Michigan before attending Schoolcraft Junior College, gives the 49ers backcourt an added punch.

While newcomers are getting a lot of the hype, the 49ers crop of returners is the real reason for the preseason optimism. The top two scorers (Demon Brown; Curtis Withers) from last season return as do the top two rebounders (Eddie Basden; Curtis Withers). Both Brown (2nd team all-C-USA) and Withers (C-USA all-Freshman) earned all-conference honors, last year. Include seniors Calvin Clemmons and Butter Johnson and the 49ers have a good mix of experienced size and athleticism in the frontcourt. Brown, who set school and C-USA records with 137 threes last year, is always dangerous in the backcourt, which he'll share with Plavich, Bennett, sophomore Mitchell Baldwin and junior Chris Sager. Baldwin was explosive off the bench as a back-up point guard last year and Sager is a proven zone-buster.

The women captured their first Conference USA regular-season championship, last year, and earned the program's first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament under second-year head coach Katie Meier. And they did it with a relatively young crew. Three 49ers (Pam Brown, Sakellie Daniels and Andrea Davidson) earned C-USA all-Freshman team honors while top returner Peaches Harris was the league's Sixth-Player of the Year. Known for its ability to create turnovers, get up and down the court and score in bunches the 49ers rely heavily on a talented backcourt. Junior Monica League shares the backcourt with Daniels, senior LaShanta Johnson and junior Kysah Upchurch and gifted three-point shooters Harris, Davidson and Leslie Cook, . In the frontcourt, centers Brown and Ivi Mandic and forwards Krystion Obie and Tiffany Hoey provide scoring punch. Incoming freshmen Brittany Sumpter (5-7; G) and Courtney Williams (5-11; F) give the 49ers even more depth.

Last year, the women won 21 games. They lost just two players from that team and, since Meier was constantly using her bench, each returner has a good dose of experience. "The biggest challenge for the team is handling last year's success," Meier said. "I think with the attitude of this program and that of the team is last year was the foundation. That's what we want to build on. We're trying to put that behind us and yet maintain the confidence of a champion through guts of an underdog mentality."

The men's team will host a Green-White Scrimmage, Nov. 1 (2:00) and an exhibition game vs. Global Sports, Nov. 12 (7:30) prior to their season-opener at home vs. George Washington, Nov. 21 (7:30). The women's team has an exhibition, Sunday, Nov.9 vs. the Charlotte Stars (2:00). They open the regular-season at Seton Hall's Tournament, Nov. 21-22 with a home opener vs. Davidson, Nov. 25 (7:00).

 

Someone post some after MM!

 

My opinion...

Curtis Withers looked pretty sharp. Still has an outside jumper. Very fast around the basket and made some MONSTER jams. Of course, absolutely no one was defending anything. I still love his game.

Clemmons was super agressive compared to last year. He also looks like he would make Julius Peppers appear skinny if they were standing beside one another. This guy will hurt someone this year if he stays healthy.

C.J. Pigford looks very natural out there. Didn't get too excited and just stayed around the ball a lot. Won the dunk contest when he lept over a player kneeling in the paint and just ROCKED the rim. I'd like to see one of those during the regular season.

Demon, Sager, Plavich, neither could buy a trey tonight. I'm assuming it was nerves. The only three pointer I recall was made by Withers.

Baldwin and Bennet look suprisingly similar. Both are super quick but neither shot well. Again, nerves.... I hope.

Iti. He "appears" to be out of shape unless he has just always lumbered up and down the court. Tonight he was consistently the last to cross the time line. Of course, the rest of the team "could" be in much better sahpe. As I said, no one played defense so he got a chance to shoot a little. Looked OK but needs work.

Butter, well.... he did some shake and bake and made a couple of jam put backs. Also tried a 20 footer... what are you gonna do with him?

All in all, the thing I came away with is that this team FINALLY has some SIZE. Demon is ripped. Calvin and Curtis have added muscle. I think we will defend the basket a lot better than the last few years. I'm looking forward to watching the exhibition games to see some defense.

 

Re: My opinion...

so, all the lessons from playing tennessee have been learned? the lack of muscle was never more obvious.

is there at least someone who can hit the 3-pointer consistently?

 

the weight room has definitely seen more use this year. the strength coach is doing wonders.

Larry, you coming up for a game or two? huh>? huh>?

 

it would have to be on a saturday or sunday -- probably in february. i've looked at the schedule. i was hoping i could make USF work out. anyone got cincy tickets?

 

i'm sure they could be found

 

Is these a joke or a real question

 

Larry, if you want Cincy and/or USF tickets, I'll handle it, just let me know!

 

Larry, if you are being serious, yes there are a few players on this team that can hit the three consistently. Brown was the second leading bomber in the NCAAs last season, and Plavich was the top three point shooter in the SEC two seasons ago. Chris Sager is also a very solid marksman, and I'm told Bennett can hit it, although he did not show that last night.