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LEAVE ’EM WANTING
The inaugural Charleston Classic (especially that memorable championship game) gave fans plenty to cheer about. What will 2009 bring?
By John Roach
Charleston Classic fans would love a repeat of last year’s thrilling inaugural tournament and championship finale. In the title game, Temple trailed by 14 in the second half before three-time Atlantic 10 scoring champ Dionte Christmas scored all 14 of his points in the second half to draw the Owls close against Clemson. But the Tigers, behind tournament MVP Trevor Booker (15 points, 16 rebounds) and Terrence Oglesby (16 points), held on to take the win, 76-72.
This year’s tournament features four teams from last year’s NIT field, including NIT champion Penn State. Along with the Nittany Lions, South Carolina and Miami hope for upgrades to the NCAA Tournament, while Davidson takes its first steps since the NBA departure of All-American Stephen Curry.
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The rest of the Charleston Classic field includes possible A-10 sleeper La Salle, UNC Wilmington, USF and Tulane. The bracket-format tournament will feature 12 games from Nov. 19-22 in Charleston, S.C., at the Carolina First Arena at the College of Charleston.
ESPN college basketball analyst Andy Katz offered these observations:
KATZ: “There’s no question the biggest challenge for Bob McKillop in his tenure at Davidson will be to replace Stephen Curry—and obviously, you’re not going to replace a scorer like that, a guy who’s the face of not only the program but of the university. So McKillop actually changed some things; he was supposed to coach the USA Basketball team [last] summer in New Zealand, but he decided to stay home and make sure that he could man the ship at Davidson.
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“Davidson will still be a solid team, but they’re not going to be the favorite in the Southern Conference anymore, and this will be a good test for them at the Charleston Classic. They should be able to get a good fan base, but the favorite in this field, and I think the sleeper in the SEC East, is South Carolina.
“Dominique Archie and Devan Downey decided to withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to South Carolina for coach Darrin Horn. He’s in, by far, the nation’s toughest group of six teams—the SEC East—along with Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Vanderbilt and Georgia. South Carolina has a great shot to get to the NCAA Tournament, but it’s going to be very difficult in that group of six. A good stepping stone for them would be to get some quality wins in this tournament.
“Other names to watch for in the Charleston Classic are freshman Durand Scott from Miami, who could be the guy to replace Jack McClinton, and Penn State’s Talor Battle—watch out for him.”
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John Roach is a former college basketball writer and editor at ESPN The Magazine.
All Photos Courtesy AP
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