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Head Coach: Earl Grant (1st season)
2013-14 Record: 14-18, 6-10 CAA
Key Losses: Willis Hall (12.3 PPG, 9.2 RPG)
2014-15 Results:
Beat Furman 75-40
Lost to Gardner-Webb 80-67
College of Charleston is under a new head coach, Earl Grant's predecessor Doug Wojcik was fired after just two seasons where he went 38-29 overall. Grant, a native of Charleston, is just 37 years old, he was an assistant at Clemson for the past four years- where he proved to be an extremely effective recruiter. Before Clemson, he was an assistant coach to Gregg Marshall at Wichita State and Winthrop. There is a lot of hype behind Grant in his first ever head coaching job.
The Cougars only lose one main player from last year's team, Willis Hall, who averaged 12.3 PPG and 9.2 RPG. Hall will be a tough piece to replace for Grant, but there are multiple players who are ready to take over the scoring duties, trying to get College of Charleston back on the college basketball map.
Key Players
Anthony Stitt, Senior, Guard (6-1, 180): Was second on the team in scoring last year averaging 10.0 PPG with 3.1 APG and 2.9 RPG. Stitt will be looked to for major scoring production along with leadership. While he led the team in assists last season, he only shot 35.4% from the field, something he must improve on this season. In College of Charleston's first two games of the season, Stitt scored 19 points on 7-11 shooting in the win over Furman and 12 points on 5-10 shooting in the loss to Gardner-Webb.
Adjehi Baru, Senior, Forward (6-9, 225): Was second on the team in rebounds last year averaging 7.5 RPG while also scoring 9.0 PPG and recording 1.4 BPG. A native of Ivory Coast, he will anchor the Cougars' front court as he was named to the CAA all-defensive team last season while also shooting 50% from the field. Baru has easily been the most effective player for College of Charleston so far as he scored 16 points on 8-10 shooting against Furman and 10 points on 4-5 shooting against Gardner-Webb. He has also been the leading rebounder in both games, averaging 10 in the first two games.
Canyon Barry, Sophomore, Guard/Forward (6-6, 195): Averaged 9.3 PPG and 2.4 RPG as a freshman last season, earning a spot on the CAA All-rookie team. He is the son of former NBA player Rick Barry. Barry will be looked to increase his scoring this season, but has struggled from the field so far. Only scored 6 points on 2-10 shooting in the win over Furman and scored 9 points on a rough 4-17 shooting in the loss to Gardner-Webb. Barry has been an effective rebounder, though, averaging 6 in the first two games.
Joe Chealey, Sophomore, Guard (6-3, 180): Will join Stitt in the backcourt this season. As a freshman, he averaged 6.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG and 2.0 APG which earned him a spot on the CAA all-rookie team. Chealey will be the team's primary ball handler this season running the half-court offense. Only scored 5 points in the win over Furman, but recorded a team-high 7 assists. In the loss to Gardner-Webb, he led the team in scoring with 17 points on 4-11 shooting, but went 7-9 from the free throw line.