Men's Basketball
University of Charleston Men Always Striving for More
February 28, 2006
By Jacob Messer
Sportswriter, Charleston Daily Mail
It is easy to call the University of Charleston men's basketball season a disappointment by simply comparing the preseason predictions, the ones that picked the team to finish third in the West Virginia Conference, and the final standings, the ones in which it finished eighth.
But Golden Eagle Coach Greg White doesn't think it is fair to do so.
"I don't look at it that way at all," said White, whose team was picked behind Salem International and West Virginia State in the preseason rankings.
"Only one team (WVC regular-season champion Alderson-Broaddus) is where they want to be. The other 14 teams aren't where they want to be.
"We had higher expectations for our season, but we still have had a good year. We played one of the toughest schedules in school history, and we won 17 games."
The Golden Eagles and their conference counterparts will get an opportunity to redeem themselves this week when they participate in the WVC Tournament.
Eighth-seeded Charleston (17-10, 11-7) hosts ninth-seeded Shepherd (13-14, 7-11) tonight in a first-round game at Eddie King Gym.
All first-round games will start at 7:30 p.m. and will be played at the higher seeds' home court. Fourth-seed West Virginia State (22-6) plays No. 13 Davis & Elkins (6-23) tonight at Fleming Hall in Institute.
No. 1 Alderson-Broaddus (21-5, 15-3) and No. 2 Salem International (19-7, 14-4) have first-round byes and will play Thursday in the quarterfinals at the Charleston Civic Center.
"I think the WVIAC is the most balanced it has ever been since I have been following it," said White, whose team must advance to the championship game of the conference tournament if it is to win 20 games for the third consecutive season.
"I think there are eight or nine teams that can win this thing. The hottest two teams are Glenville and Concord. They are playing well right now. I think we are capable of winning it, too. We just have to get hot and get rolling."
The Rams and the Golden Eagles both struggled down the stretch. Shepherd lost seven of its last 10 games. Charleston was only one better.
The fact that it is tournament time bodes well for the Golden Eagles, who are 12-4 in the conference tournament the past five seasons. Conversely, the Rams are 2-5 in that span.
Another good sign for Charleston: It hasn't lost a first-round conference tournament game since 1996.
On top of all of that, the Golden Eagles posted an 80-71 win over the Rams in the teams' only meeting this season.
Charleston guards Marquis Brooks and Robert Siwo each scored 23 points in that game, which was delayed overnight because of a power failure at Eddie King Gym.
"That win won't get us a cup of coffee when the game starts," White said. "They scratch out our records, and we go back to zero-and-zero."
Brooks and Siwo average 14.6 and 14.1 points per game, respectively. Forward Robert Strickland adds 12.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game for the Golden Eagles.
Forward Darren Stackhouse leads the Rams with 16.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Fellow forward Yves Moliva follows with 15.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Guard Chad Myers contributes 10.8 points and 1.9 assists per game.
"It's simple," White said. "To advance, we have to beat Shepherd."