The Chanticleers and Sycamores meet for the second time in school history Monday night.
Nov. 22, 2009
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Chants Face Indiana State in NIT Consolation Round
The Coastal Carolina University men’s basketball team (3-1) heads to Bowling Green, Ky., to continue the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Nov. 23 with a matchup against Indiana State (3-1). Tipoff time is at 4:30 p.m. Central Time (5:30 p.m. in Myrtle Beach). The game will be broadcast on THE TEAM 93.9 FM in Myrtle Beach with Matt Hogue on the call. The game also will be video streamed on Western Kentucky’s website, www.WKUsports.com. The Chanticleers have won two games in a row, including Saturday’s 99-56 win over Voorhees.
A Coastal Carolina Win Would...
- Give the Chants a 4-1 record to start the season for the first time since the 1993-94 season.
- Give Head Coach Cliff Ellis his 640th career win and his 28th with the Chanticleers.
- Give Coastal its first-ever win against a team from the Missouri Valley Conference.
- Improve its record to 2-0 on the season in neutral-site games.
Storylines
- The Chanticleers have ties to Kentucky as Assistant Coaches Gus Hauser and Richie Riley will return to the Commonwealth this week. Redshirt-sophomore Jordan Griffin also is from Edgewood, Ky. Riley played his college basketball at Eastern Kentucky, graduating in 2005.
- The Chanticleers will conclude a span of playing six games in 11 days on Tuesday. The streak opened Nov. 13 with a 70-59 win over the College of Charleston and featured two games apiece in Durham, N.C., and Bowling Green, Ky.
- Coastal Carolina had 46 rebounds in the win over Voorhees Saturday afternoon. Coastal has now had 40 or more rebounds in three of its four games and is averaging 43.5 rebounds per game.
- Coastal Carolina will play its fifth game against a team from the Missouri Valley Conference, but the Chants have only played two MVC schools - Indiana State and Evansville. The Chants are 0-3 against the Purple Aces and 0-1 against the Sycamores.
Scouting Indiana State The Sycamores are coming off a 65-60 win over Colorado State Friday night at home. Dwayne Lathan led Indiana State with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Harry Marshall, ISU’s leading scorer last season, added 15 points. Lathan leads the Sycamores with 14.7 points per game, while Jake Kelly is averaging 12.0 a contest. In the NIT Season Tip-Off, Indiana State fell to LSU 56-45 and defeated Milwaukee 65-60.
Series vs. Indiana State Indiana State defeated Coastal Carolina 70-46 Nov. 19, 2004 in the only meeting between the two schools. Jack Leasure, playing in his first game as a Chanticleer, led Coastal with 16 points, which included three three-pointers.
Harris Hits 1,000 Points in His Career Redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) scored his 1,000th-career point Nov. 21 in a 99-56 win over Voorhees. His free throw with 18:36 left in the second half gave him the milestone. Harris is the 16th Chanticleer in school history to reach 1,000 points. He now is 15th in scoring and needs 76 points to pass DuWayne Cheatam for the 14th spot.
Chants on Fire in Voorhees Win Coastal Carolina ended the Voorhees game shooting 58.1 percent from the field, including going 64.3 percent in the second half. That was a season-high and the best since a 78-69 win over Winthrop Jan. 24, 2009 (Coastal had a 59.5 percent shooting clip in that game). Coastal also had 50 points in the paint and 28 points off of turnovers in the win over the Tigers. Chants at 3-1 for First Time Since 1993-94 With its 99-56 win over Voorhees Nov. 21, the Chanticleers improved to 3-1 for the first time since the 1993-94 season. That team started the season 4-1 and ended the campaign with a 15-11 record.
Harris Back to Double-Double Mode Redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) returned to his double-double form, scoring 23 points and adding 15 rebounds in the 69-46 win over Elon Nov. 17. Harris was 11-of-17 from the field and 14 of his 15 rebounds were on the defensive end. It was his second double-double of the season and he now has 33 after the Voorhees game.
Block Party vs. Elon Coastal Carolina had eight blocked shots in its 69-46 win over Elon Nov. 17. Redshirt-freshman Sam McLaurin (Havana, Fla./East Gadsden) had five blocks in the win, which was a career high and the most by a Chanticleer in over 10 years. Coastal now has 19 blocked shots in four games.
Harris Named Big South Co-Player of the Week Coastal Carolina redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) was named the Big South Conference’s Co-Men’s Basketball Player of the Week Nov. 16. Harris recorded his 31st career double-double with 21 points and 17 rebounds in the Chanticleers’ 70-59 win over SoCon South Division preseason favorite College of Charleston Friday night. Harris went 9-of-17 from the floor, grabbed six of his 17 rebounds on the offensive front, and added four steals, an assist and blocked shot. It was his 13th consecutive double-double, dating back to last season.
Rebounding Key to Early-Season Success Coastal Carolina outrebounded Elon 45-26 Nov. 17 in its 69-46 win over the Phoenix. Redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) and redshirt-freshman Sam McLaurin (Havana, Fla./East Gadsden) had 15 and 11 rebounds, respectively, in the win. Coastal Carolina now is averaging 43.5 rebounds a game, has a +13.3 rebounding margin and tops the Big South in rebounding defense.
Edwards Hit the 20-Point Mark Senior Mario Edwards (Massillon, Ohio/Chipola J.C.) scored 20 points in the 69-46 win over Elon Nov. 17, which is the third time that Edwards has reached the 20-plus point mark in his career. Edwards now is averaging 16.0 points per game in the NIT Season Tip-Off after he went 7-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line in the win.
A Game of Runs Coastal Carolina started the game against #9 Duke with a 6-0 run, as a backdoor layup from redshirt-senior Logan Johnson (Knoxville, Tenn./South Doyle) and dunks from redshirt-freshman Sam McLaurin (Havana, Fla./East Gadsden) and senior Mario Edwards (Massillon, Ohio/Chipola J.C.) were mixed with four Duke turnovers. The Chants, though, went 7:28 in the first half without scoring as Duke took a 33-19 halftime lead. Coastal would cut that lead to 10 at the start of the second half on layups from Johnson and McLaurin, but Duke would outscore the Chants 41-30 in the second half for the 25-point win.
Edwards Provides Spark for Coastal at Duke Senior Mario Edwards (Massillon, Ohio/Chipola J.C.) scored a team-high 12 points and had five rebounds and a steal against #9 Duke Nov. 16. Edwards was 2-of-5 from three-point range and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. He now is averaging 15.0 points per game against ACC schools in his career.
Chants Score Hustle Points in CofC Win Coastal Carolina outrebounded the College of Charleston 49-30, scored 17 second-chance points and had 20 points off Cougar turnovers in the 70-59 win Nov. 13. Redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) had 17 rebounds, while redshirt-freshman Sam McLaurin (Havana, Fla./East Gadsden) had five offensive boards.
Harris Picks Up Where He Left Off Redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) scored 21 points, had 17 rebounds and four steals in the 70-59 win over the College of Charleston Nov. 13. The 17 rebounds is tied for ninth in Coastal Carolina history for a single game. Harris was 9-of-17 from the field and had a blocked shot, which put him two away from the all-time school record.
Nieman Impresses in Opener Freshman Danny Nieman (Concord, N.C./Hargrave Military) scored seven points, had three steals and ran the point for 22 minutes in his first game as a collegian, the 70-59 win over the College of Charleston Nov. 13. The Chants outscored the Cougars by 21 points with Nieman in the lineup.
Gray Makes His Chant Debut Redshirt-junior Chad Gray (Kingstree, S.C./South Carolina) made his debut in a Chanticleer uniform in the 70-59 win over the College of Charleston. He scored 17 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field. He also grabbed eight rebounds, had a blocked shots and two emphatic dunks in the final minutes of the win.
Harris Named to the Preseason All-Big South Team Redshirt senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) was named to the Preseason All-Big South Team, it was announced Oct. 13 at the League’s annual Media Day. Harris also has been named to the All-Big South Teams by Lindy’s, Blue Ribbon and the Sporting News. Harris, an All-Big South First Team selection last year, averaged 15.2 points and 11.4 rebounds per game in 2008-09. He had a streak of 11 straight double-doubles for the Chanticleers and had 19 total his redshirt-junior season. Harris had career highs of 33 points and 22 rebounds in the 100-97 win over VMI Feb. 14. He also became the seventh player in Big South history to pull down 600 rebounds, have 100 steals and dish out 100 assists in a career. Harris is on track to become the second player in Big South Conference history with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his career. Art Parakhouski of Radford was named the Big South Preseason Player of the Year, while Jamarco Warren of Charleston Southern, Grayson Flitner of Gardner-Webb, Joey Lynch-Flohr of Radford and Nick Barbour of High Point joined Harris on the Preseason All-Big South Team.
Chants Picked Eighth in Big South Preseason Poll Coastal Carolina’s men’s basketball team was picked to finish eighth in the Big South Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll, announced Oct. 13 at the League’s annual Media Day. Radford was picked to win the Big South Conference, garnering 23 of 24 first-place votes and 239 points overall. UNC Asheville was picked to finish second with 191 points. Winthrop earned a first-place vote and 179 points overall for third place, while Gardner-Webb was picked to finish fourth with 130 points. VMI (125 points) and High Point (124 points) were fifth and sixth, respectively, while Liberty was seventh with 119 points. That was one point ahead of the Chanticleers, who received three third-place and three fourth-place votes. Charleston Southern (53 points) and Presbyterian (42 points) rounded out the poll.
Ellis High On Active Division I Career Wins List Head Coach Cliff Ellis is tied for 13th in Division I wins by an active coach heading into the 2009-10 season. Here is a list of the top 20 active coaches in Division I wins.
1. Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) 837
2. Jim Calhoun (Connecticut) 808
3. Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) 803
4. Bob Huggins (W. Virginia) 640
5. Tom Penders (Houston) 630
6. Gary Williams (Maryland) 628
7. Homer Drew (Valparaiso) 603
8. Roy Williams (N. Carolina) 598
9. Bo Ryan (Wisconsin) 578
10. Mike Montgomery (Cal) 571
11. Ben Braun (Rice) 565
12. Rick Byrd (Belmont) 563
13. Pat Douglass (UC Irvine) 561
Cliff Ellis (Coastal Carolina) 561
15. Larry Hunter (W. Carolina) 560
16. Rick Pitino (Louisville) 555
17. Bobby Cremins (CofC) 520
18. Stew Morrill (Utah State) 486
19. Dave Bike (Sacred Heart) 482
20. Rick Barnes (Texas) 474
Welcome to Chant Basketball for Five Players Coastal Carolina welcomes five newcomers for the 2009-10 season. Two freshman point guards enter the mix in Kierre Greenwood (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods (New Creations (Ind.)) and Danny Nieman (Concord, N.C./Concord (Hargrave Military)). Greenwood averaged 19 points and 9.3 assists per game his prep year at New Creations High School in Indiana, while Nieman averaged 10 points and seven assists his prep season at Hargrave Military Academy. Freshman Tre Lee (Hampton, Va./Bethel) was part of the Peninsula District Championship team his senior season at Bethel High School in Hampton, Va. Forward Chris Evans (Chesapeake, Va./Petersburg) was an All-State Second Team selection by the Associated Press his senior season at Petersburg High School in Chesapeake, Va. Anthony Raffa (Strathmere, N.J./Wildwood Catholic (Albany)) will sit this season out after transferring from the University at Albany. He averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds for the Great Danes last season.
Chants Add Three New Assistants to Staff Coastal Carolina adds three new assistants to the coaching staff for the 2009-10 season. Associate Head Coach Don Hogan heads to Conway after spending the last 16 seasons as head coach at West Florida. Hogan was Cliff Ellis’ first recruit at South Alabama and the duo also were on the same staff at Clemson from 1984-89. Gus Hauser comes to Coastal after spending the last two seasons at Louisiana-Monroe. Hauser also worked on Reggie Theus’ staff at New Mexico State and with Rick Pitino at Louisville. Richie Riley joins the Chanticleer staff after spending three seasons at Pikeville College in Kentucky. He was the recruiting coordinator for Pikeville for three seasons, where he was named a top-five recruiter by the website RecruitingRumors.com. Director of Basketball Operations Jimbo Tolbert returns for his third season on Coach Ellis’ staff, while David Long comes on as the graduate head manager.
Two Publications Pick Chants Third in Big South Both the Sporting News and the Blue Ribbon Basketball Yearbook have chosen Coastal Carolina to finish third in its preseason publication. Sporting News chose the Chants to finish behind Radford and Winthrop and had redshirt senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) on its All-Big South team. Blue Ribbon picked the Chants to finish behind Radford and UNC Asheville and also had Harris on its preseason All-Big South Team. The publication also had freshman Kierre Greenwood (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods (New Creations (Ind.)) as its Big South Newcomer of the Year.
To The Point Freshmen Kierre Greenwood (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods (New Creations (Ind.)) and Danny Nieman (Concord, N.C./Concord (Hargrave Military)) will look to fill the point guard slot left after Mario Sisinni graduated. Greenwood is penciled in as the starter, but Nieman will also see plenty of action. The third option is to move Mario Edwards (Massillon, Ohio/Washington (Chipola J.C.)) back to the point. He played there the final six games after Sisinni hurt his ankle, averaging 14.2 points per game in that slot.
Gray To Play After Transfer Season Redshirt-junior Chad Gray (Kingstree, S.C./Florida Prep (South Carolina)) will play in his first game since the 2007-08 season Friday against the College of Charleston after transferring from South Carolina and having to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. Gray averaged 2.2 points and 1.4 rebounds a game with the Gamecocks in 2007-08 after scoring 2.4 points a game as a freshman.
Harris Could Break Numerous Records This Season Redshirt-senior Joseph Harris (Lejeune, N.C./Lejeune) is on track to break numerous school and conference records this season. He needs just two blocked shots to become the school’s all-time blocked shots leader. He also needs 24 rebounds to become the school’s all-time rebounding leader. The redshirt-senior needs 135 rebounds to become the Big South’s second-ever career 1,000-point and 1,000-rebound performer, joining High Point’s Arizona Reid on that list. He also needs 149 rebounds to become the conference’s all-time leading rebounder.
Johnson Returns for Year Five Redshirt-senior Logan Johnson (Knoxville, Tenn./South Doyle) returns for his fifth season in a Chanticleer uniform. Johnson averaged 6.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season, scoring a season-high 14 points against Radford Feb. 9. Johnson had an even 500 points in his career before scoring six in a 70-59 win over the College of Charleston Nov. 13.
McLaurin Returns from Injury Redshirt freshman Sam McLaurin (Havana, Fla./East Gadsden) will look to play in his first game Friday against the College of Charleston after missing the final 25 games of last year due to injury. McLaurin had five rebounds and two blocked shots in last season’s opener against Coker and had 1.3 rebounds a game in his six contests.
Kimbel Has Its Advantages Coastal Carolina’s Kimbel Arena may seat just over 1,000 fans, but it has been large for the Chanticleers the last six seasons. Coastal Carolina is 36-6 (85.7 percent) since the start of the 2002-03 season in non-conference games at Kimbel. Coastal Carolina had a stellar 14-1 overall record at home in 2005-06, the most home victories since the program went Division I for the 1985-86 season. CCU is also 71-27 (72.4 percent) overall at the Conway campus venue in the last seven years.
Coach Ellis Can Be Seen and Heard Head Coach Cliff Ellis will have a radio and television show for the third straight season. The Cliff Ellis Show can be seen on WPDE-TV Channel 15 at 12 p.m., on Sunday’s during the basketball season. The Chanticleer Call-In for basketball will start Tuesday, Dec. 1 from 6:30-7:30 p.m., at Logan’s Roadhouse in the Coastal Grand Mall. Matt Hogue will be the host for the hour-long show, which will take place Dec. 1 and 8; Jan. 5, 12, 19 and 26; Feb. 2, 9, 16 and 23 and March 9 if the Chants make the NCAA Tournament. The call-in number for questions to Coach Ellis is 877-264-5371. C
hanticleers in the Pros Former Coastal Carolina men’s basketball players Pele Paelay and Moses Sonko are playing professionally in Europe this season. Paelay currently is averaging 12.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for Etoile Charleville-Mezieres in France. Sonko is averaging 13.9 points and 4.6 rebounds a contest for Aix-Maurienne Savoie Basket in France.
Up Next Coastal Carolina faces Cal State Northridge to conclude the NIT Season Tip-Off Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 5:30 p.m. EST (4:30 p.m. CST) in Bowling Green, Ky.
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