No Shocker: Cougs Get Humbled in Wichita

After struggling to create offense against Siena in the season opener, it seemed like only a prayer would save the Cougars if Jarrell Brantley was a no-go against #6 Wichita State. Brantley did not play, and those prayers were not answered.

The Shockers quickly raced out to a double-digit lead in the first half as the Cougars struggled to create any semblance of offense. Wichita State’s defense may be the best man-to-man unit in the NCAA, and they had their way with Charleston. On the other end of the floor, Shaq Morris showed off a diverse game by bullying Harris and McManus in the post before stretching them out to drain a pair of first half threes. The Shockers built up a 25 point advantage going into halftime.

There was nowhere for CofC to go but up in the second period. Perhaps the unattainable lead took the pressure off, or maybe the Shockers laid eased off the gas, but the Cougars played much better the final 20 minutes. Riller woke up to score 18 of his 20 points, Johnson and Smart gave productive minutes and Charleston actually outscored Wichita 41–34 in the period.

As most expected, the Cougars are 1–1 on the season. But the nature of both contests has fans of the preseason favorites a bit concerned. Here are some more takeaways from Game 2 of the young season.

The Cougar Offense is One Dimensional

Earl Grant said postgame that his team ran into a buzzsaw. He also said his team looked like “deer in headlights.” Maybe the Cougars were deer staring down the headlights of an incoming buzzsaw.

The Brantley injury has not only robbed the Cougars of their best rebounder and interior scorer, but also imploded an already shaky offense. Losing Brantley’s positioning and passing around the elbow have forced the Cougars to play what are essentially four guard sets around Harris. McManus and Bailey, to no fault of their own, can’t play up from their true position for full games. Against the size of a major conference team, the two will get eaten alive in the paint as they did last night.

Harris has not proven enough with his iso post game to warrant a double team, so the guards have to win their one-on-one battles against set defenses. Riller, Chealey and Pointer showed this in flashes during the second half last night but can’t do it forever. Even when the Cougars do run something, they’re not converting from deep (22% on threes as a team so far), not getting in transition (2 fast break points last night), not getting second chance points (3 last night) and not hitting free throws (67% as a team so far).

Again, the Shocker defense is outstanding and the Cougars are down an all-league talent, but the numbers through two games are ugly.

The Smart-Harris Lineup Needs More Minutes

After getting annihilated on the boards and in the paint for 30+ minutes, Coach Grant finally tried a desperation play that fans were begging for at least an hour prior: playing Osi Smart and Nick Harris together.

Through two games, Smart has been the designated backup center for Harris and Bailey has spelled McManus at the four. If either of the latter is not hitting threes, they are borderline unplayable against a team as big as Wichita State (or most other Tournament-worthy teams). I understand why Grant would hesitate to play Osi and Nick together, seeing as their similar skills could cannibalize each other’s impact, but it can’t be any worse than the uninspiring standard offense thus far.

The two closed out the game together and it was probably the best stretch the Cougars played on both ends. Smart was the only Charleston player to have a positive +/- on the evening. Neither one was sinking any jumpers, but together they have enough size to not get pushed out of the way for boards or layups. They can also seal off lanes for the guards to penetrate.

I know the en vogue trend right now is for teams to go small, but that only works if you can shoot. The Cougars aren’t intimidating anyone as presently constructed, so I’m a fan of zigging where others zag.

Game Notes

• A few more tough-to-swallow CofC offense stats: 4 assists, .913 points per possession. Burn the tape.
• The team has still not released an official injury report on Brantley, who likely underwent tests back in Charleston. Keeping him out as a precaution is understandable, but this was originally a “tweak” that didn’t seem serious.
• Loud ovation for Earl Grant during intros at Koch. WSU fans are a loyal and knowledgeable bunch.
• Charleston fans will get a chance to catch the Shockers in person next year. They’ve agreed to play in the 2018 Charleston Classic.