#326 R.P.I. Charleston Southern @ #52 R.P.I. Virginia Tech:

Virginia Tech basketball returns to the court Tuesday night at 9pm down in the New River Valley vs. 4-up and 6-down Charleston Southern.

The Buccaneers of Charleston Southern are pretty much a mid-range preseason pick in the 10 member Big South line-up everywhere you look. Fifth or sixth or middle of the Big South pack and yah; .400 as a winning percentage almost makes that moderate level of prediction read, oversold. However, a combined -71 point deficit in three blowout L’s on the road at Florida State, Georgia and Alabama is not helping matters, either. And yet the Buc’s have been within one or two makes of wining the other three L’s they’ve notched and they do court two pre-season all-conference candidate qualified ballers. So maybe these Buc’s are not that far gone as walking the .4oo plank seems; unless of course they are… read on to find out, which.

Head Coach: Barclay Radebaugh (age=51), 169-195 (.464) overall and 148-187 (.442) @Charleston Southern.

Coach Barclay Radebaugh has an decent enough coaching resume from a career that began in 1986 A.D. as a student assistant coach at East Tennessee State. After stops at Wofford and Furman, Radebaugh began a seven-year stay at South Carolina. Coach Radebaugh is a two-time Big South Conference Coach of the Year (2012, 2015) and in 2015 led C.S.U. to the regular-season Big South Conference Championship; and also to the most regular season wins in C.S.U. history (19). The past four seasons have been the most prosperous in C.S.U. basketball history. Its 70 wins since 2011-12 are the second most in school history, and prior to the 2011-12 season, C.S.U. had not had a winning season in 16 years. In the past four seasons the Buccaneers have ranked in the Top-40 nationally in scoring offense each season, and made its second N.I.T. in the last three seasons. Prior to the 2012-13 season, C.S.U. had only received one (1) national postseason bid in the previous 38 years of the program’s existence. For his career, Coach Radebaugh is the winningest coach in Charleston Southern history, and the 7th winningest coach in Big South Conference history. Coach Barclay holds a Business degree from E.T.S.U. and a Masters in Phys.Ed from South Carolina and is generally known to be an offensive minded head coach.

Charleston Southern at a glance:

• 72nd most 3-point raw makes per game (8.9).
• 99th in Turnover Margin (+1.6 tpg).
• Everything else is middled.
• In between 1o3rd best in offensive rebounding (12.10 o-rpg),
• and 273rd in assists (12.3 apg).
• An extraordinarily centrist team, less…
• 339th in FT percentage (6o.9%).

Buccaneer Returning Starters=3

C.S.U. Strengths:

• Lindy’s 2nd-team all-Big South honors do not suck; and neither does the leading Buccaneer scorer, one #1, Armel Potter. Armel is a cat-quick bouncy little  lead-G at 6′, 180 lbs. in his second season. Armel is something of a recruiting coup, as you have to doubt just how often the Georgia AAAAAAA (seven-A) player of the year signs with Charleston Southern. As immediately after that Armel only lead the Fab-48 Las Vegas high school all-star camp in scoring at virtually 30 ppg. At C.S.U. however Potter nets you a team leading 15 ppg which is hindered by his lowercase 59% from the FT-line. Potter does hit for 48% overall and 36% from range with three assists and 2.5 rebounds. And yet, as aforementioned, he’s got 17 misses from the FT-line; despite icing two games last year for the Buc’s on FTA’s. Plus he really surged in the post-season Big South Conference tourney which would seem to hint that he enjoys and excels alike in the spotlight, just not when taking non-spotlight 15′ set-shots, with nobody guarding you, and 10 sec’s too shoot. That said, Armel has been streaking of late, with 20 or better in three of his last four.

  

• 6’3”, 175. lb. nugget (rookie) year off-Guard Christian Keeling is off to no bad D-1 start. What with the team wide silver medal in scoring at 14.3 ppg as a pure highlight reel baller at the rim and the team pace setter on the glass with a impressive 6.1 rpg. As I’d say that being named 2015-16 Georgia Basketball Player of the Year counts. Every bit as much as being named the Georgia M.V.P., Slam Dunk Champion, and finishing 4th place in the peach state in T&F in the high jump championship counts as well. As Keeling basically has springs for what you and I call: “legs”. His marksmanship of 48% shooting overall and a useful 38% from deep tend to count as well. And yah; I’d have to wager the campus girls love this boy’s hair {sic: style}. Thereby affording Charleston Southern an all-Georgia quality 1-2 offenive punch in the Buccaneer backcourt.

  

• Junior, 6’9”, 220 lb. Javis Howard gives these Buc’s some non-power conference much needed oomph upfront. In addition to looking a bit like an underage man’s Laurence Fishburne (from: Boyz n the Hood), Howard is second in board-work at 5.8 rebounds and he chips in with 7.8 ppg. Which are decent numbers from a guy with over 30 D-1 offers; although Javis is mainly a defending paint player and a banger with limited range to his game.
• Raemond Robinson: I would presume it is safe to say that when Lindy’s pre-season magazine anoints you the best pure shooter in your given conference; that you kind Sir is indeed a: “strength”.  As that is exactly how Lindy’s rates this 6’2”, 190 lb. r-shirt transfer (The Citadel) senior shooting-G. As this former high school Linebacking recruit sure looks the squat part with a lotta thick set bulk hung across his shoulders in basketball terms. His courting acumen however reads: 6.3 ppg on a mere 37.5% overall and 38.3% from downtown thus far in ’16. This is of course noticeably down from 41% and 43% respectively last season. That said, Robinson is still 100% from the charity-stripe and you’d have to think this pure of a shooter heats up before this year ends. As Robinson is a normalized 48% from three at home this season and yet a chilly looking 25% on 3’s on the road.
• Unlike a lot of other smaller schools, C.S.U. can field three decent sized bigs and is actually the larger team; here.

C.S.U. Weaknesses:

• The two departed Buccaneer starters did not put up numbers all that epic; however; the seven new Buccaneers are not exactly code for a veteran team. As this is about as inexperienced a squad as I’ve written about in a couple of years. Ergo, it is going to  take coach Radebaugh and these inaugural Buc’s a couple of seasons to get their sea-legs.
• FT-shooting was 62.1% last year and is actually even worse this year.
• Coach Radebaugh’s are not exactly known to be stop-unit wizards on defense. Nevertheless, patience is needed here for this youthful -though talented- ATL (Atlanta area) backcourt to matriculate. We should ask 2018 how that defense is doing; then.
• Accordingly; although C.S.U. does field some measure of size; there is still a productively imbalance that tilts (heavily) in the backcourt’s favor and that leaves the same susceptible to foul-trouble and/or injury –Coach God forbid.

Buccaneer Bench: (depth=4’ish)
The deep ranging Raemond Robinson is the lead bench Buc’, to be sure. Although Antwan Maxwell Jr., Jamar Martin, and Ugo Mmonu kick in some substitute relief and a couple of others log spot minutes here and there. Maxwelll Jr. is a 6’8” 222 lb. rookie frontcourter who is a bankrupt man’s Anthony Mason on drives to the hoops; and at least he gives you some size and 4.3 ppg with 3.7 boards. J.Mart’ is an interesting 6’5” 215 lb. third year Buccaneer, or an invisible one, as he has no individual page on the Charleston Southern roster pull-down menu. So one can only presume he is real; although Fox Mulder and I are, unsure. Presuming J.Mart’ is fo’ real, he scores 6.1 ppg and hauls in 4.3 rpg on 38% from the 3-point line. He is said to be from Navarro College and/or Toronto Canada, which Fox and I believe could actually be, real. Ugo is an Osina, Nigeria native S/F at 6’6”, 2o5 lb. as Chattanooga State Community College third year transfer frontcourter. And he has an orange left-ear. No, Fox and I are not making that up! So anyone with an orange left-ear merits publicative space right here. Ugo nets you 3.4 ppg on nearly 4 caroms albeit on only 32% from the floor; as his offensive game is still quite raw. Though this is one of those glue-guy coach friendly kids’ who every lockeroom needs and who come to work and work hard.

Illation, conclusion (s) and OPT digits:

Number of Buc's who could start @Tech=maybe, one down the road.

the takeaway:
The takeaway here is… well, this is another homesteading over-match in Virginia Tech basketball’s favor; probably substantially at that.

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Charleston Southern has done some pretty smart post-season work of late; nevertheless, this has the look and feel of a rebuilding year -possibly two- for these small college Big South Buccaneers. Even if they do field a sprite and up-n-coming backcourt; they are still over-matched; even in backcourt terms; which is the Buccaneers one apparent hooping strength.

***

“I think those guys have a camaraderie and a symmetry off the floor that’s very unique. You could kind of see it blossom last year, but it wasn’t fluid. You can see it on the floor more than any group I’ve been around. They’re not selfish at all. They’re wise enough to know that all of us have to be good in order for us to have a chance.”
-Coach Buzz Williams-

The most recent five game trends paint a similar lopsided picture, as it does not appear that Charleston Southern has much of a, chance; check it out:…

1. VT is +19.2% as overall FG percentage goes in each teams’ last five games.
2. VT is +16.4% as overall 3-point percentage goes in each teams’  last five games.
3. VT is +10 as overall Rebounding Margin goes in each team’s last five games.
4. …do you see a trend?

–as even with everyone looking forward to getting home on Christmas Break; and even if that pretty fair to middling Charleston Southern backcourt goes off? It is pretty hard to predict that these Buccaneers raid coach Buzz and company’s Duck Pond frigate and seize her as a prize of war on Tuesday night.

(89.5% confidence interval)
Virginia Tech=9o, Charleston Southern=6o

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

 bourbonstreet**

V.A.D.A. approved