USC Upstate: No Longer in the Shadow of the Rest of the Atlantic Sun

One of the great pastimes of the NCAA tournament in recent seasons has been the mid-major, low-major conference schools and the excitement around the programs that hear their names called on what has come to be known as "Selection Sunday."

Fans often find that, years later, they become experts in geography because of these small schools. I mean, plenty of people could tell you the skinny on Cullowhee, N.C., after No. 16-seed Western Carolina took Purdue to the wire in the 1996 NCAA tournament—before losing a heartbreaker, 73-71.

We fans could also talk about when we first fell in love with Cedar Falls, Iowa, in 2009—after the Northern Iowa Panthers canceled the Kansas Jayhawks' prolonged tournament plans.

Then, there's the "encore city" of Spartanburg, S.C., which has had the collective eyes of the NCAA tournament fanbase cast its way for the past two seasons. The Southern Conference's Wofford Terriers were busy punching their tickets to college basketball's biggest show. But this isn't a story about the Terriers or geography, it's one about a potential sleeping giant.

While Wofford was busy cutting down the nets with back-to-back Southern Conference Tournament titles—and posting a combined 49-22 record during those two campaigns—the team across the street, USC Upstate (a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference), was busy finishing up its transitional period to full Division I status.

Things weren't looking bright. Head coach Eddie Payne, in his 10th year, found that his Spartans were learning many lessons the hard way. In fact, while the Terriers were busy dusting off Southern Conference foes and had a record of 35-7 (including the SoCon tournament), the Spartans were still trying to find solid ground in the Atlantic Sun Conference. They posted just 10-30 against their league foes.

However, while mired in that 10-30 record for the past two seasons, the Spartans showed flashes of what they could do against other leagues. That was true when they played the Belmont Bruins and East Tennessee State Buccaneers—both league "gold standards." The Spartans posted a 60-59 win over the ETSU Bucs in front of a packed, raucous crowd at the school's on-campus facility, the G.B. Hodge Center.

Climbing the Atlantic Sun Mountain

In the 2009-10 season, there were a pair of heartbreaking setbacks to East Tennessee State, the eventual league champion. The Spartans lost 63-56 in Johnson City, while dropping a 63-62 heartbreaker at the Hodge that very same season.

Last year's one-point win over East Tennessee State was a breakthrough for the Spartans. It was the program's first win in seven previous meetings with the Bucs. The Bucs remain winless in Johnson City against ETSU. There's reason to believe that ETSU might be the next step for the Spartans—a step they might take this season.

If the Bucs represent Upstate's "Mount Kilimanjaro," then the Belmont Bruins—winners of 30 games and last year's league regular-season and conference tournament titles—might represent Upstate's "Mount Everest." Belmont has won all previous eight meetings between the two schools.

The Bruins are on their way out of the Atlantic Sun after this season, so the window of opportunity to get that first win against them—a team that many see as a "NCAA tournament Cinderella" when filling out their bracket—is this season. That's not to say the two teams won't meet in the future, but you get the drift.

Why the reason for optimism? Well, the past couple of years have seen Payne, along with assistants Ryan Walker and Kyle Perry, hit the recruiting trail with dedication and determination. They brought in two of the best recruiting classes in the A-Sun over the past couple of seasons.

The player that the staff is putting the hopes in to change the recent fate of the Upstate basketball program is Torrey Craig from last season's class.

The 2011-12 Season and Torrey Craig

For 2011-12, Upstate was coming off a 5-25 season with a 4-16 record in the A-Sun. The Spartans finished the previous season with an Relative Power-Index (RPI) of 311.

In fact, three of the Spartans' first four seasons as a Division I member have seen them end the season with a RPI of 300 or higher. Naturally, that number led to the Spartans being picked ninth in the A-Sun preseason polls, which are conducted by the league's coaches and media in late October.

Craig was the A-Sun's Freshman of the Year last season and might well be the best all-around player this season. Through the first 12 games, Craig has suffered no sophomore swoon, and has helped lead the Spartans to their best start since officially joining the Division I ranks in 2007-08.

The Great Falls, S.C., native is averaging 16.8 PPG and 7.4 RPG this season. He has helped the Spartans to a 7-5 overall record, and more importantly, to Saturday night's 79-63 win at Stetson. Craig has also picked up where he left off. He is shooting from the perimeter this season and canned a team-leading 27 triples on the campaign. He leads the team with 13 blocked shots through the first 12 games.

The Spartans were talented last season, but youth and mistakes saw them fade down the stretch in games. That alarming trend, however, has been the exception rather than the rule this season.

The only exception was the loss at UNC Asheville. In that game, the Spartans had the defending Big South champions on the ropes, leading 81-72 with 3:38 to play. However, a 10-0 run over a span of 1:15 got the crowd interested again. As the game snowballed, the Spartans dropped the contest 88-81 to the Bulldogs.

On Saturday night, in the A-Sun opener in DeLand, FL., the Spartans took on an upstart Stetson team under the direction of a new head coach, in Casey Alexander. Alexander had left Belmont and Rick Byrd's staff to take over the Hatters' basketball program. That program had gone south in the final few seasons of Derek Waugh's reign as head coach.

With a win over East Tennessee State in league play, and an overall record of 4-4, the Hatters appeared to be another team that might exceed their preseason 10th-place selection.

The Spartans found themselves in an 11-point hole with 1:25 to play in the opening half of the game. Unlike last season—when the Spartans saw things come unraveled on the road at places like Jacksonville and Kennesaw State—the team didn't fold this time. They showed mental toughness.

Upstate closed the half by scoring the final eight points. The team cut the halftime deficit to three, but more importantly, stole the momentum heading to the break.

Recruiting Has Been Key

The Stetson win reflected a noticeable difference in overall recruiting. The staff have shown an ability to effectively address the team needs, such as a lack of consistent play at the point.

The combination of Ty Greene (9.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG), Mario Blessing (3.8 PPG, team-leading 26 assists) and Adrian Rodgers (9.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 23 assists) at the point has been huge for the Spartans this season. Greene scored a career-high 20 points and seems to be getting more comfortable each night out, while Rogers dished out a season-high six assists in the win over the Hatters.

While Craig and Babatunde Olumuyiwa (7.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 11 blocks) were household names for the Spartans fans entering the campaign, they aren't the only ones on the team who will be in the collective memory banks. Several of the talented, athletic supporting cast members have the potential to have great moments this season.

Veteran Carter Cook (4.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG) adds leadership and the ability to perform in clutch situations. Sophomore posts Chalmers Rogers (2.7 PPG, 1.8 RPG) and Ricardo Glenn (9.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 56.2 FG%) have been solid through the first 12 games.

Greene, South Carolina State transfer Jodd Maxey (4.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 16 steals), JUCO transfer Adrien Rogers and freshman Fred Miller have helped take Upstate from the doldrums to a potential a dark-horse title contender this season.

Maxey might be the best athlete on the squad in terms of combined leaping ability and quickness. If he can stay out of foul trouble, he has the potential to be one of the Spartans' best on-the-ball defenders.

Maxey is a shorter version of College of Charleston's Antwaine Wiggins, who was known mostly for his defensive skills. This season, he has exploded to lead the SoCon in scoring, at 18.1 PPG.

Rodgers is a player who can not only handle the basketball, but is a "slasher" when it comes to getting to the basket. His aggressiveness will allow the Spartans to get to the charity stripe, which was something that was a problem last season. His 6'5" frame will allow the Spartans to force matchup problems at the point, depending on the opponent.

This group is athletic and can run. They are a team that doesn't have to rely on the three to keep them in games anymore. This will cause the league's nine remaining coaches lose a little more sleep when trying to defend the Spartans. The team's confidence now goes beyond Torrey Craig, making the Spartans a "team to watch" in their first season as a full-fledged Division I member.

Time Will Tell

Upstate will get its next test in A-Sun play on Monday night. The team will take on a Florida Gulf Coast team that beat the Spartans by an average of 24 points in a pair of meetings last season.

Only time will tell as to how much the Spartans have in fact improved. One thing is for sure, they have already won more games than all of last year. As a result, have quietly developed their own swagger. USC Upstate basketball appears to embarking on a new day in its first conference tournament-eligible season and is no longer in the shadows of its A-Sun foes.