Per Ninerballin om the A10 board:
http://www.basketballforum.com/atlan...your-team.html
Here's a small preview of what Charlotte will have on tap:
Key Losses:
Dijuan Harris - While Dijuan's senior season dropped below expectations somewhat, he was the sure fire leader of the time, and the team's one true option at PG. The one time walk-on who earned a scholarship and a starting nod before stepping foot on the court, will always hold a special place in the hearts of Charlotte fans with his Charlotte first attitude and his appealing charisma. Dijuan was also always the guy developed relationships with visiting recruits, which helped tremendously in the recruiting process.
Roster
PG - Jamar "Deuce" Briscoe (Sophomore), Luka Voncina (Freshman), Colby Lewis (Sophomore)
SG - Derrio Green (Junior), Javarris Barnett (Junior)
SF - Anjuan Wilderness (Senior), Charles Dewhurst? (Senior), Gokhan Sirin (Sophomore)
PF - Shamari Spears (Senior), KJ Sherrill (Sophomore)
C - Chris Braswell (Sophomore), Phil Jones (Senior)
Analysis:
Deuce will get the chance to play a lot of minutes at the PG position, and depending on his play will dictate how much time Luka sees. Colby Lewis is a walk-on, but it's always a treat to see him in the game, because he's got a nice stroke.
Derrio will probably play more minutes than any other player on this team, with the possibility of Voncina or Barnett spelling him for a rest. Derrio can also play the point if need be.
At SF, Anjuan will start, but Gokhan will see time. Again, how much time will remain to be seen, depending on Anjuan's health and overall play. The interesting thing to note here is the availability of Charles Dewhurst. Dewhurst was going to waive his final year of playing eligibility to attend another school for a specific graduate program that Charlotte no longer carries. However, he's back in school and from what I've heard wants to play, but the coaching staff will need to sign off on it.
Shamari Spears will be the leader of this team. His skillset is the best of the group along with his fire and passion for the game, but Athletic freak KJ Sherrill has had raving reviews through the summer and should see the court quite a bit.
Chris Braswell had an impressive freshman campaign, and in his sophomore season, Charlotte fans are expecting him to take that next step offensively to become more dominant inside. Braswell's a terrific rebounder, and very sound fundamentally, but many Charlotte fans are hoping he can evolve into that next level guy who is a consistent option on the low block. Also, since Braswell was the one who set the screen on the arc, he needs to improve his mid-range game and be able to knock down shots when his defender helps on the guard.
Phil Jones is the biggest guy on the team, and he's been very impressively defensively at times throughout his career, and not so much at other times. Phil likes to tease 49er fans , because he'll have a breakout game where's he's very agressive offensively and defensively, and then he'll have another where he's barely noticed. Phil does have a very good stroke, and this made him effective when rolling out after setting a screen, because most defenders would lay off or were too slow to recover from helping on the guard.
Newcomers:
Luka Voncina (PG) Slovenia: There's still a huge question mark of how good Luka really is. Slovenia has produced quality players over the years, and by the footage we've seen of Voncina, he's looked impressive. Like most international recruits, questions of adaptation to US basketball and level of competition make it tough to call at this point on how good Luka will be in his freshman campaign.
Jamar "Deuce" Briscoe (PG) Baltimore/NC Central: Briscoe comes in with a lot of surrounding hype. The transfer from NC Central who sat out last season, was 2nd in the nation in scoring among freshman, at 17.8 ppg, during his one season with the (only behind
Liberty's Seth Curry who's now at Duke). Duquesne fans got a first hand look at Briscoe when NC Central visited Paulmbo and Bricoe going for 34 points that game. Questions still remain around the low A:T ratio he had, and whether he can adapt to a team with a much higher level of talent surrounding him.
Demario Mayfield (SG/SF) Carnesville, GA/Georgia: Mayfield will be sitting out this upcoming season, due to the transfer rule. Mayfield was a high scoring talent in the deep recruiting pool of Georgia when he came out of high school. Mayfield originally gave a commitment to then Georgia coach Dennis Felton, but Felton was fired and Mark Fox was brought on board from Gonzaga. Fox didn't play Mayfield much during his freshman year, and Mayfield decided to transfer for more playing time. Current assistant Desmond Oliver recruited Mayfield during his time at Georgia, and thus made Charlotte an ideal landing destination for Mayfield when he decided to transfer.
Alan Major, Head Coach: Coach Major begins his first season with the Niners, and that's part of the reason why we don't know what to expect from certain players under a new coach. Coach Major has plenty of experience working under the likes of Gene Keady, Bob Thomason, and Thad Matta. Coach Major is noted for his work with some great big men through the years, including Michael Olowakandi at Pacific, David West at Xavier, and Greg Oden at Ohio State. Coach Major quickly surrounded himself with a great staff of coaches upon receiving the job, Ryan Odom (Va Tech, American, UNC Asheville, Furman, USF), Orlando Vandross (Boston U), Desmond Oliver (Canisius, Georgia, Rhode Island, and St. Bonaventure), and Rob Perron who was retained as the director of basketball operations from the previous staff. We still don't know Coach's offensive and defensively philosophies to the fullest, but he did state the team would work hard and be an in your face type squad. However, I suspect we will try to run when given the opportunity and run mainly M2M on the defensive end.
