Wofford Looks To Repeat as Southern Conference Basketball Champions

South Division Predictions

1. Wofford

2. College of Charleston

3. Davidson

4. Furman

5. The Citadel

6. Georgia Southern

All-SoCon Predictions: First Team

G: Donald Sims (Appalachian State)

G: Andrew Goudelock (College of Charleston)

G: Amu Saaka (Furman)

G: Cameron Wells (The Citadel)

F: Noah Dahlman (Wofford)

Second Team

G: Jamar Diggs (Wofford)

G: J.P. Kuhlman (Davidon)

G: Jordan Miller (Furman)

C: Jake Cohen (Davidson)

F: Jeremy Simmons (CofC)

Player of the Year: Donald Sims, Appalachian State

Newcomer of the Year: Jelani Hewitt, Georgia Southern

Previewing 2010-11

With four starters returning off its first Southern Conference title team and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth, the Wofford Terriers look like the team to beat once again, with challengers to the Terriers crown being Appalachian State, College of Charleston, Western Carolina, Chattanooga and Davidson, all looking capable of putting together a strong conference title run in the 2010-11 season.

The following article will take an in-depth look at all six teams from each of the SoCon’s two divisions and make predictions for the upcoming campaign.

Will this be the year the Southern Conference gets two teams to the Big Dance? It won’t be long until we are able to answer that question. This has all the makings of a breakthrough season for the league as a whole.

The 2010-11 Southern Conference basketball season is here and, as a whole, the conference looks as strong as it has been in quite sometime.

Predicting The South Division

1. Wofford (26-9, 15-3 SoCon in 2009-10)

Unfortunately for Wofford, its stay in the NCAA Tournament wasn’t an extended one, as the Terriers were knocked from the postseason by the Wisconsin Badgers, 59-54, in a hard-fought opening round matchup between a couple teams that have similar styles of play.

After an 0-2 start, Wofford got its act together and reeled off 19 wins in its last 20 games, including a school-record 13-straight victories, to storm to its first NCAA Tournament berth and garnered the top overall seed for the Southern Conference Tournament.

The Terriers opened the Tournament with a hard-fought win over UNC Greensboro (59-47), before avenging both of their Southern Conference regular-season losses, getting a 77-58 win over Western Carolina in the SoCon Tournament semifinals and a 56-51 victory over Appalachian State in the SoCon title game, punching its inaugural ticket to the Big Dance.

The Frontcourt

If things are going to fall into place once again for the Terriers this season, they must get a performance from 2009-10 SoCon Player of the Year, Noah Dahlman (16.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG), similar to those he put forth in his previous two seasons as a Terrier.

The 6'6", 215-pound native of Braham, Minn., has scored in double figures in 48 straight games, and enters his senior season ranked 18th on the school’s all-time scoring ledger, having poured in 1,331 career points. Dahlman finished the season knocking down 57.9 percent of his shots from the field, ranking 10th in the nation.

Joining Dahlman in the post is Tim Johnson (6.1 PPG, 7.9 PPG), who was one of the league’s premier rebounders a year ago. Johnson is a great complement to Dahlman underneath the basket, as he offsets Dahlman’s shooting ability and knack for getting points around the basket with strength and power. Johnson was particularly beneficial on the offensive glass last season for the Terriers, who entered the season with lack of size being the perceived weakness.

However, the 6'6", 228-pound senior was strong and active around the hoop, oftentimes keeping the ball alive and giving the Terriers a chance for a second or third tip underneath the bucket. Johnson had a solid athletic presence under the basket and was a nice asset on the defensive end of the floor for Wofford. But it’s his tenacity and work ethic that make Johnson the player he is.

One of the top options off the Wofford bench in the frontcourt is Terry Martin (4.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG in ‘09). Martin is a player who was a boost off the bench, and like Johnson, he’s active beneath the basket with a unique ability to keep offensive rebounding opportunities alive with his hard work off the glass. Martin played a big role in the Terriers’ Southern Conference Tournament Championship win over Appalachian State, scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in Wofford's 56-51 victory.

The Terriers also have Kevin Giltner (3.5 PPG, 0.9 RPG) returning, but he plays more of a 2 guard role, rather than a post coming off the bench. Still, at 6'6", 200 pounds, Giltner is a proficient outside shooter and forces opposing perimeter players to come out and guard him, which takes defenders away from the basket. Giltner knocked down 24 trifectas last season, and shot 38.7 percent from long range last season.

Domas Rinksalis (1.1 PPG, 0.6 RPG) and Joseph Tecklenberg (0.7 PPG, 0.4 RPG) round out the frontcourt contributors, and both will hope to see their minutes increase this season.

Nathan Parker (2.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG) is one of the best athletes on the roster for the Terriers, and he could be a significant impact player off the bench this season. The 6'6", 200-pound sophomore from Knoxville, TN., should see some quality minutes this season, especially with the graduation of Corey Godzinski (3.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG), who was a significant contributor off the bench for Wofford last season.

  The Terriers finished third in the league in rebounding margin last season (plus-2.9), and a strong frontcourt had plenty to do with that, especially with players like Johnson, Dahlman and Martin keeping the ball alive underneath the basket, despite being undersized.

If the scrappy Terriers keep that kind of intensity on the glass this season, especially on the offensive end of the floor, there’s a real good chance they will be cutting down the nets the first weekend of March once again.

Despite losing sharp-shooting four-year starter Junior Salters (7.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, team-leading 68 three-point FGs, 37.4 percent) to graduation, the Terriers appear to be in excellent shape in the backcourt once again heading into the 2010-11 season.

The point guard responsibilities will once again be handled by Brad Loesing (5.9 PPG, 3.0 APG, 27 steals), who enters his junior season as one of the league’s more underrated point guards.

Loesing was a SoCon All-Freshman selection two years ago, and he’s coming off a season in which he maintained that strong level of play that he established as a freshman, especially as a distributor. Loesing completed the 2009-10 season with 104 assists and only 50 turnovers, helping the team post a plus-2.14 turnover margin, which was second in the SoCon and 45th nationally.

One of the additions who helped the Terriers break through and claim that inaugural league title last season was Jamar Diggs (9.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 90 assists, 37 steals), who was one of the best individual defensive guards in the SoCon last season. He was a player who could take the opposing team’s top scoring guard completely out of the game with his athleticism and length.

Diggs transferred into the program after garnering Freshman of the Year honors at Division II Wayne State a couple years ago. He has been an asset more on the defensive end of the floor than even as an offensive weapon for the Terriers.

Diggs’ defense was most impressive in the SoCon Tournament Championship game, as he matched up with Appalachian State’s dynamic scoring presence, Donald Sims. In that title contest, Diggs limited the league’s leading scorer to nine points (11 points under his scoring average coming in) and just 2-of-15 shooting from the field. Diggs joined Dahlman on the All-SoCon Tournament First Team last March.

When Cameron Rundles (6.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 49 assists) joined the program a couple years ago, coaches immediately began envisioning the future success of the Terrier basketball program.

The transfer guard from the University of Montana came in and was an immediate impact player for the Terriers last season. Most noticed how clutch a player Rundles was in the early-season 60-57 win at Georgia last season, as the Big Sky All-Freshman selection hit two clutch free throws in the waning moments to help the Terriers claim their first significant win of the 2009-10 season.  

It was the type of play that would come to define Rundles’ inaugural season in the Old Gold and Black, and his clutch play on both ends of the floor would play a major role in allowing Wofford claim its inaugural SoCon regular-season and tournament titles, while subsequently punching the school’s first postseason ticket. It was Rundles’ play in the SoCon title game that most fans will remember, as he scored a game-high 20 points, which allowed the Terriers to cut down the nets with a 56-51 championship win over Appalachian State.

Sophomore Taylor Wagener (0.6 PPG, 0.7 RPG) and junior Matt Steelman (1.2 PPG, 0.3 RPG) saw only limited action in the backcourt last season in reserve roles, and both are expected to contribute more this season. Wagener and Steelman both saw mop-up minutes in nine games in the backcourt last season for the Terriers.

Overall, Wofford again appears to have one of the better backcourts in the league heading into the 2010-11 campaign. With that year of experience under the belts of both Rundles and Diggs, this team should be able to overcome the losses of Junior Salters and Jason Dawson. The Terriers will actually have more talented depth in the backcourt; however, it will be less experienced depth.

The Newcomers

As a result of the Southern Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance, Wofford head coach Mike Young, who’s already considered one of the league’s best recruiters, looked as if he had brought in one of his best recruiting classes in his 11 years as head coach; however, the Terriers were dealt a tough blow three weeks ago when it was learned that Josh Corry would be leaving school.

With Corry’s potential as a pure perimeter shooter and ability to score in bunches, the depth in the backcourt certainly took a hit. Corry, who averaged 21.2 PPG in his senior season at nearby Gaffney HS, decided to leave for another school in early October.

There was some good news, as Wofford brought in a couple of talented post players in Charlotte products Aerris Smith and Cameron McQueen.

Smith, a 6'8", 260-pound product of Butler High School, certainly addresses the frontcourt size issue that many thought might hinder Wofford last season. McQueen, a 6'8", 240-pound product of Ardrey Kell HS, is a walk-on. He performed well in the Terriers trip to Brazil in the summer.

The Schedule

As usual, Wofford will face a challenging slate as it looks to hang another SoCon Championship and NCAA Tournament banner from the rafters of Benjamin Johnson Arena.

The Terriers open the season on Nov. 11 against a Big Ten opponent, traveling to face Tubby Smith’s Minnesota Golden Gophers. It will be a homecoming game for senior forward Noah Dahlman (Braham, Minn.) and senior guard Cameron Rundles (Minneapolis, Minn.), as the Terriers face a Minnesota club coming off a 21-14 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Golden Gophers will give the Terriers a good test from the start, and it’s a game that, despite being at one of the toughest places to play in the Big Ten, serves as a winnable game for the Terriers. Wofford will see one of the best pure shooters in the Big Ten in Minnesota guard Blake Hoffarber (10.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG in 2009-10).

Another exciting non-conference game will be against NCAA Tournament qualifiers Clemson (Nov. 15) at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Terriers stand a good chance of facing Georgetown (Nov. 19) in the second round of the Charleston Classic, assuming both the Terriers and Hoyas win their first-round games against Coastal Carolina and USC Upstate, respectively.

Rounding out the NCAA Tournament opponents in the non-conference slate is a post-Thanksgiving trip to face Xavier (Nov.27), who’s fresh off an NCAA "Sweet 16" appearance and matched Wofford’s 26-9 record. The Musketeers enter the campaign with a 24-game winning streak at the Cintas Center, which is the third-longest active streak in the nation.

The Terriers open conference play on the road at Alumni Gym on Dec. 4, facing Matt Matheny’s Elon Phoenix. After traveling to South Carolina in search of a second-straight win over the Gamecocks on Dec.11 and participating in the VCU Tournament at the end of the month, the Terriers begin league play in earnest, hosting league and Palmetto State rivals back-to-back in The Citadel (Jan. 6) and College of Charleston (Jan. 8). Trips to Davidson (Jan. 15) and Appalachian State (Jan. 27) also highlight conference matchups in January.

Five of Wofford’s last seven games of the season, not including a Bracket Buster Matchup (TBA in late January) will take place away from Benjamin Johnson Arena. The most intriguing matchups are at the end of the season, as the Terriers travel to Chattanooga (Feb. 23) and Furman (Feb. 26), before heading to Chattanooga’s Mackenzie Arena (March 4-7) for the 2010-11 SoCon Tournament.

Final Prediction

It’s hard to imagine the Terriers being anything other than the favorites this season in the Southern Conference South Division race, as well as the preseason tournament title pick.

The Terriers defense was the one thing that allowed them to break through and put together that magical 2009-10 season in which they notched a 26-9 mark, SoCon South Division Title, tournament title and inaugural NCAA Tournament ticket.

Wofford finished the season ranking third in scoring defense (61.0 PPG), first in field goal percentage defense (.417 PCT), first in three-point field goal percentage defense (.306 PCT) and third in steals (6.9 SPG).

If the Terriers can approach that type of play again this season on the defensive end of the floor, Wofford should be dancing once again.

The Backcourt: