GETTING INSIDE

The Citadel basketball program in 2008-2009 was one chock-full of history.

The Bulldogs, improved from six victories to 20 last season, obliterating all sorts of school records. It was the school’s second 20-victory team, and it led to NCAA Division-I’s top turnaround of the season.

In the conference, the Bulldogs won 15 games for the first time in school history. Coach Ed Conroy became the first Citadel coach to be selected Coach of the Year, by both the coaches and the media, in 20 years.

But can the Citadel repeat the feat this year?

No longer will the Bulldogs have the services of forward/center Demetrius Nelson. The post player turned into one of the most dynamic big men in the league a season ago.

Nelson finished fifth in the league with 16.4 points per game, 11th in rebounding at 6.5, second in field goal percentage at 59.6, 10th in free throw percentage at 77.3 and 11th in defensive rebounding at 4.5.

However, junior guard Cameron Wells, a former Southern Conference freshman of the year and a member of the All-Conference team a season ago, returns.

Wells averaged 34.5 minutes per game and was one of the more active players in the league, finishing among the conference leaders in scoring, steals and assists.

As with any other year Conroy has been in charge of the Citadel, the Bulldogs will have to maneuver another tough non-conference schedule. West Virginia, Michigan State, Texas A&M and Houston all precede the team’s holiday break.

“This schedule will be extremely challenging,” Conroy said. “Michigan State and West Virginia are going to have the chance to be as good as anybody in the country.

“Texas A&M will be a top-25 team. Houston should be picked to finish in the top three in Conference USA, and as always, the Southern Conference will be one of the top mid-majors leagues in the country.”

Last season, a similarly themed schedule—including Virginia Commomwealth, Iowa, Michigan State and South Carolina—prepared the Bulldogs for all that history.

Repeating the feats and becoming the first Citadel team since 1961 to have back-to-back winning records in the conference won’t be easy. But Conroy believes it can be done.

NOTES, QUOTES

• The Bulldogs’ 11-game winning streak from Jan. 22-Feb. 26 was the longest such streak for the program since the 1926-1927 season.

• Guard Zach Urbanus averaged 34.6 minutes per game to lead the conference and backcourt mate Cameron Wells was second at 34.5, besting Davidson guard Stephen Curry’s 33.7 minutes.

• Cameron Wells was the sixth best scorer in the league last year at 15.6 points per game.

Last Year:   20-13, 15-5, second in the Southern Conference South Division.

Head Coach:   Ed Conroy (career 74-100); fourth year at The Citadel (33-60).

Quote To Note:   “This is by far our most veteran team returning. We have a large group of guys familiar with our system. It has been a great fall in terms of physical, mental, and academic development. I think a lot of this can be attributed to the strong group of returners we have.”—Coach Ed Conroy, on the state of his team coming into the 2009-2010 season.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   Ed Conroy was clear in his recruiting purpose. Of the eight newcomers brought in this season, history shows that some will be lost to the military school’s training regiment. However, with so many of the first-year players being big men, Conroy hopes to replace the skill in the post he lost with the departure of Demetrius Nelson. The most intriguing pickup may be that of Washington transfer Joe Wolfinger. The 7-foot, 255-pound center has range few seven-footers do; during his final year at Washington, he hit 19 three-pointers.

Key Early-season Games:   The Bulldogs will againplay a difficult non-conference schedule, including a trip to Springfield, Mo., for the Hispanic College Fund Challenge on Nov. 20-22. There, the Citadel will face Eastern Michigan, Missouri State and Maryland-Eastern Shore. From there, the Citadel will play at West Virginia on Nov. 24 before playing host to Davidson on Dec. 3, Georgia Southern on Dec. 5 and Michigan State on Dec. 7.

Program Direction:   If last season was any indication, the Bulldog basketball team is well on its way out of the bottom-feeder spot in the league it held before Ed Conroy’s arrival. As this season progresses, observers will have a clear view if last season’s success was a blip or a trend. The team has the right mix of experience and youth to keep this roll going.

Probable Starting Lineup:   G Cameron Wells, G Zach Urbanus, G/F Austin Dahn, G/F Daniel Eykyn, F Bryan Streeter.

Roster Report:  

• The Bullodgs’ roster is slightly misleading. While The Citadel sports a 24-man roster—by far the largest in the league—it stands that only a select few will see significant this season. Last season, when the Citadel also had the largest roster in the Southern Conference, but only seven players averaged more than 11 minutes per game.

• The second-biggest loss for the Bulldogs was that of John Brown. The up-and-coming forward came on strong at the end of the season, nearly taking over the team’s rebounding lead, but he withdrew from school after last season.

• The only eligibility losses from last year were star big man Demetrius Nelson and seldom-used Jonathan Brick, who averaged less than one point a game.