Summer School: Gardner-Webb

A look at other Big South programs because how else are we going to pass the time?

Last Season: 19–14 (11–7), 4th Big South

A soul crushing overtime loss to eventual conference champion Winthrop has probably haunted Tim Craft this offseason. That and the departure of leading scorer Laquincy Rideau.

Losing the 13 points, 7 rebounds, and inside game of Tyrell Nelson would have been one thing, but GWU saw their heart and soul move onto South Florida this summer when Rideau and his 14.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 3 steals per game.

Craft still has plenty of pieces left from a team that essentially had a nine man rotation last year, but who takes over Rideau’s spot as the primary ball-handler? Can some combination of David Efianayi, Liam O’Reilly, and Christian Turner step up in Rideau’s absence?

GWU excelled last year shooting the three ball and by playing incredibly efficient defense, turning other teams over. Rideau was the sparkplug for that and accounted for a third of the Bulldogs steals per game. Can GWU keep some semblance of their defense? Will the absence of a big outside shooter, Nelson, ruin the Bulldogs offensive flow?

This team, like many others, is a total wild card heading into the 2017–18 season.