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LOCATION: Charlotte, NC
CONFERENCE: Conference USA (American)
LAST SEASON: 23-11 (.676)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 10-6 (3rd)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 3/2
NICKNAME: 49ers
COLORS: Green & White
HOMECOURT: Dale F. Halton Arena (9,105)
COACH: Bobby Lutz (UNC Charlotte '80)
record at school 23-11 (1 year)
career record 204-102 (10 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Orlando Early (Gardner-Webb '90)
Lane Odom (High Point '89)
Rob Moxley (Pfeiffer '94)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 19-14-22-20-23
RPI (last 5 years) 39-66-26-25-22
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in NCAA second round.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Of all the programs in Conference USA and it seems there are more every time you look perhaps only two have moved inexorably forward in the last several seasons. One is Cincinnati, which has been a top-10 program the last four seasons, despite its recent run of NCAA Tournament disappointments. You're reading about the other one. South Florida is improving greatly, but has had growing pains. UAB faces a tremendous challenge this year in keeping its program at the top of the National Division. DePaul is only really starting to get its thing going. Charlotte's been there all along. Check out those RPI ratings for the last three seasons and explain how Charlotte basketball fans could still consider this program a sort of poor cousin to the ACC. The 49ers deserve greater respect in their hometown. They've got a beautiful homecourt that has free parking and easy access. They've got a team that's been in the NCAA Tournament the last three seasons and advanced every time. So how come only 6,676 fans attended their games on average last season, in a building that seats more than 9,000 and gives every one of them a quality seat? What more do these people want?
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B- BENCH/DEPTH B+
FRONTCOURT B INTANGIBLES A-
Because we're on the subject, we present our first step toward eliminating UNCC's attendance concerns: It's time to dump the UNC from UNC Charlotte. It's time this school just became the University of Charlotte. It could still be part of the UNC system, but just those initials hovering over the school's head serve as a reminder that the 49ers are, figuratively, somebody's little brothers. Whatever sort of charter changes might be necessary are worth it. Most of the people in the league call them "Charlotte" now. Perhaps if the school carried the city's name and only the citiy's name, the city would get behind the program. It's a program worth supporting. Charlotte is not going to go quietly from its run of three straight NCAAs. It faces a difficult task in a loaded division, but there's a very good chance Charlotte could finish fourth and still make the field. There's also a very good chance Charlotte won't finish fourth. Louisville and DePaul are going to have to prove they've surpassed the 49ers, and no one plays Cincinnati quite as well. "The division is obviously excellent," Lutz said. "There's at least two top 25 teams, and one top five. I'm not worried about that. It just speaks to the strength of the league and especially the division. It's not unlike last year. All that kind of takes care of itself. If we play the way we're supposed to play, wherever we finish, we have enough to have a legitimate chance to make the NCAA Tournament. That's our first goal." This is one of the best-run operations in Conference USA. Don't expect a significant decline. Lutz may have to do some slick coaching to disguise the defensive liabilities that exist in his backcourt, but this team still could approach 20 victories. |
If Bobby Lutz turns this team into an NCAA Tournament team, that certainly ought to be enough, whether or not his club is wearing Carolina blue. It's not that it would be such a miracle. There's a lot to work with here. It certainly would be impressive for a team in UNCC's position to lose four players in two years like DeMarco Johnson, Shawn Colson, Galen Young and Kelvin Price and still keep itself a viable operation. That's what we're talking about. Lutz thinks this team might be better than its predecessor. "We are similar, but we have a core of key players that are ready more even then we were a year ago to keep it going." That's an impressive dose of confidence, but Lutz is not afraid to suggest this team is a contender for the NCAA Tournament. He's got three of his top six players from last season, most of the role players who were so heroic in claiming the Conference USA Tournament last March and a promising batch of recruits. What he does not have is the particular point guard or the type of point guard he planned to have. Lutz wants "a jet" running his offense He signed just that sort of player in 6-1 Demon Brown out of Maine Central Institute. Unfortunately for the 49ers, he is back in Maine Central Institute as the result of a bout with the gatekeepers at the NCAA eligibility clearinghouse. Brown was picked off by one of those nightmarish technicalities you hear about and was ruled to be short a core class. He should join the 49ers for next season. That leaves 6-2 junior Diego Guevara in charge. Guevara (12.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 125 assists, 35 steals) is the best shooter in C-USA and one of the best in the nation. It would be difficult to find anyone who has made as many big shots, including one that forced overtime in the 1998 NCAA Tournament against North Carolina and four in the late going that slapped the first loss of the 1998-99 season on the Cincinnati Bearcats. The idea was for Guevara to concentrate on scoring for this team, but he will first have to handle the point-guard responsibilities. It's not really a strength, though he averaged 3.8 assists. Considering he did not share all that much playing time, the assist numbers might have been better. It's mostly about focusing on the job. "I think he's made a lot of progress," Lutz said. "Last year was a lot of change for him. We still wanted him to score, but we asked him to run the team and defend." That was where Guevara struggled most. He was known as "Highway 22" for the way opponents sometimes plowed through for points. Cincinnati's Steve Logan found Guevara's defense particularly inviting, scorching him for an average of 16.3 points in three games. But he wasn't the only one. "I think he's gotten a little better defensively," Lutz said. "He worked on his quickness. He knows that's an area we need him to be better." Guevara will have much more help this time. Dalonte Hill, a 6-5 sophomore, redshirted last season after injuring his knee before practice began. He is capable of playing either backcourt position. Although he is not quick, he handles the ball well and understands the responsibilities. He averaged 4.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists as a freshman. "Dalonte can guard the one, two or three," Lutz said. "While maybe he can't stand to really get after a point guard, he certainly can bother them with his size and long arms. I think it gives us a little more flexibility than a year ago. Now we have another alternative." Hill will take some of the pressure of playing the point away from Guevara. There will be times they will play together in the backcourt. He also will lessen the need for Lutz to use 5-11 senior Kedric Smith (3.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 42 assists), who was a genuine hero in the C-USA Tournament with his play off the bench but who makes the 49ers a smaller team than Lutz prefers. Smith could fall closer to the category of 6-4 junior Dee Toliver (1.7 ppg, 0.6 rpg, .385 FG) and 6-1 senior Chris Dwiggins (0.5 ppg), who will struggle to make contributions. The likely starter at shooting guard is 6-4 sophomore Jobey Thomas (7.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 46 assists, 23 steals, .366 FG, .389 3 PT). Thomas is lanky and needs to get stronger to become a better defender and more complete contributor. Too much of his scoring is done from outside the arc. He scored 259 points last year, and 183 came on three-pointers. He is an excellent shooter, though he needs a lot of help getting open. It doesn't matter much, because Lutz is an exceptional tactician who can take care of that. Thomas came on in the second half of last season, scoring double figures in four consecutive February games, including a season-high 22 against Houston. With Marlon Thomas playing well, he did not get as many opportunities when March arrived. With Guevara and Thomas together in the backcourt, though, UNCC could have problems defending capable guard tandems. "Defense is the question," Lutz said. "Galen and Kelvin provided tremendous rebounding, defense and toughness. I think we have enough of that, but some young guys are going to have to show they can do it." If that's a problem, one option for Lutz would be to use 6-5 junior James Zimmerman at shooting guard. He can play either wing spot and may be a more dynamic athlete than Thomas. Zimmerman is in his first year after transferring from Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College, where he helped the team win the 1999 NJCAA championship. ZImmerman averaged 12.0 points and 5.0 rebounds and shot .470 from the floor and .390 from three-point range. He could play in the backcourt, or he could challenge veteran 6-7 senior small forward Tremaine Gardiner. "He's got a winning attitude," Lutz said. "He's an excellent shooter who also can put it on the floor a little bit and make it on the move. "Galen could really slash, but he didn't always finish. James brings that. He's a good defender. He's not as athletic as Galen, but very few guys are. We're excited about him. We think he's going to add a lot to our team." Gardiner (8.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 30 assists, 29 steals, .496 FG, .400 3 PT) is a player who looks great on paper then you see him on the court and wonder how he gets anything done. But he does. He doesn't look athletic, but he defends his position. He doesn't look like a shooter, but he makes nearly half of what he takes. And he's been doing this for a while, so it's not a fluke. In bigger games, Gardiner is even more dependable. He had 14 double-figure games all of last season and five came in the final month. Teams tend not to take defending him seriously he had a knee injury in 1997-98 that seemed to rob some of his quickness but he makes them pay in those situations. He is especially dangerous shooting from three-point distance about halfway between the free-throw line and baseline. It's stunning how many teams let him have that shot. Neither of UNCC's two returning big men is a sure thing. Kenny Whitehead (1.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg), a 6-10, 220-pound sophomore, scored only 35 points all last season and never more than five in a game. He did play extensive minutes a couple of times, notably against Houston (seven rebounds) and Louisville (10 minutes, two points). At 6-10, 225, Jonathan Neely (1.3 ppg, 1.2 rpg) is even bigger than Whitehead, but he's also slower. His averages are no better, but he is thicker than Whitehead and seems to have the ability to force opponents to notice him. It's debatable how much they'll play now that 6-8, 230-pound freshman Rodney White has arrived. He was outstanding at the ABCD camp last year White was one of the few with legitimate post skills, and he's also a solid face-the-basket shooter. White was overshadowed at that camp by Jason Parker, a similar-style player UNCC also tried to land, but he was an excellent get for this program. With White, the difference is in strength and experience. Price was a man by the time he transferred from Southwestern Louisiana to play for the 49ers. "Defense is always a question for young guys," Lutz said. "But offensively, he's very, very solid. We can also do a little by committee." That means using Neely and Whitehead, but also 6-9, 215-pound junior KenKay Jones, a product of West Plains Junior College who averaged 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds and shot .610 from the field his sophomore season. He gets off the floor quickly and is agile. He may play at both power forward and center. UNCC also recruited 6-11, 240-pound Wade Helliwell from Australia. He will be a junior in his first season with the 49ers. Lutz calls him "a true 6-11, big, physical post player." This team is dramatically deeper inside than last year's, which lost Osseynou Kane to visa problems before the season and Charles Hayward to a relapse of his leukemia.
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