By Kenneth Cross
The Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, SC, has developed as a solid host for the Charleston Classic and this year the tournament hosts several local squads on Nov. 17, 18, and 20. Furman, South Carolina, and College of Charleston will play in the field while Davidson, Virginia Tech, and Old Dominion encompass the surrounding states. Colorado State head coach Niko Medved will bring his Rams into the tournament as he was the coach at Furman from 2013-2017 and Micah Shrewsberry will bring his Penn State team into Charleston as well.
The following games are the opening round matchups on Thursday, November 17 as they match games with first-year coaches and teams looking to find their paths back into the NCAA Tournament in March.
11:30 am – Furman vs. Penn State, ESPNU – Furman head coach Bob Richey has turned the Paladins into a major winner as he enters his sixth season and the Paladins are 111-46, overall, and 63-24 in the Southern Conference. Furman returns it’s top two scorers in Mike Bothwell (15.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and Jalen Swanson (14.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg) as the squad should battle for the Southern Conference championship and make it to their first NCAA Tournament since 1980. The Paladins are usually an offensive juggernaut with their three-point shooting as they shot 38 percent from three-point range (13th/NCAA) a year ago.
Micah Shrewsberry had a competitive group of Nittany Lions in his first season and he returns his leading scorer in guard Jalen Pickett (13.3 ppg, 4.4 apg) and his No. 3 leading scorer in junior forward Seth Lundy (11.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg). Defensively, Penn State gave up 35.2 percent from behind the three-point line, 275th in college basketball. They were a strong defensive team in giving up only 65.0 points per game, 50th in college basketball.
2 p.m – Old Dominion vs. Virginia Tech, ESPN2 – The Monarchs step into the Sun Belt Conference where they could be one of the favorites this season, but returnees and newcomers have to become offensive factors after coach Jeff Jones lost his top four leading scorers. Mekhi Long (8.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg) is Jones’ leading returning scorer as he shot 46.8 percent from the floor. Charles Smith, IV, (5.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg) is another returnee who will look to be another key scorer in an offense that made only 29.8 percent of it’s three-pointers (350th/CBB) last season.
Give Mike Young credit in guiding Virginia Tech to it’s first conference tournament championship since 1979. In beating Duke and North Carolina in the finals and semifinals, we saw Young in one of his finest hours of his coaching career. The Hokies return their second leading scorer in Justyn Mutts (10.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg) to the post with Hunter Cattour (10.0 ppg, 41.7%-3) on the perimeter. Cattour will be one of the key three-point threats in the ACC. Defensively, Virginia Tech only allowed 62.8 points per game (24th/CBB), so the Hokies will have to revisit how they will defend as they lose three starters and four of their eight players who averaged double figures in minutes.
5 p.m. – Colorado State vs. South Carolina, ESPNU – The Rams will once again be a factor in the Mountain West Conference although leading scorer and MWC player of the Year David Roddy is now a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. Coach Niko Medved hosts the return of his second and third leading scorers in Isaiah Stevens (14.7 ppg, 4.7 apg) and John Tonje (9.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg). Both are solid three-point shooters who can go inside-outside and make a difference for Colorado State.
Frank Martin left South Carolina for UMass and the Gamecocks reached to Chattanooga to acquire coach Lamont Paris who has done an excellent job in hitting the transfer portal as Meechie Johnson comes in from Ohio State while Citadel’s Hayden Brown and Coastal Carolina product Ebrima Dibba. All three should contribute right away as should freshman GG Jackson, who reclassified to the 2022 season and dropped his verbal commitment to North Carolina, has been magnified as he was considered the top player in the 2023 class.
7:30 pm – Davidson vs. College of Charleston – Coach Bob McKillop retired in the off-season after building Davidson basketball to it’s highest level in his 33-year run as the head coach. Now, his son, Matt takes over the program as the Wildcats lost three of their top four scorers. Davidson welcomes back a solid playmaker in point guard Foster Loyer (16.1 ppg, 3.3 apg) and New Zealand product Sam Mennenga should be able to take control inside with Luke Brajkovic and Michael Jones moving out of the program.
Meanwhile, the Cougars have the same vision as the Wildcats as they also lost three of their top four scorers. Reyne Smith (12.1 ppg, 2.3. rpg) is the lone returnee in the group as he shot 37.5 percent from three last season. Charleston coach Pat Kelsey has a solid background and the Cougars will be trying to fix a defense that allowed opponents to shoot 45.2 percent from the floor (284th/CBB). Dalton Bolon (9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and Ben Burnham (7.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg) could become two of the Cougars’ top scorers as they are the second and third returning scorers.