Georgia Southern’s Charlton Young has experienced the Southern Conference basketball tournament as a player, an associate head coach and now a head coach.
The former GSU star sat next to John Shulman with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s 2005 champions.
He’ll roam the sideline opposite the Mocs this Friday night, starting about 9:30, in the opening round of the 2010 tournament.
“It’s always magical and something special always happens,” said Young, who finished his playing career in 1993. “I wish we could both win it. But we have to play in the first round.”
Nearly two months will have passed since UTC (14-17, 6-12) strolled into Hanner Fieldhouse and beat GSU (9-22, 6-12). The Mocs were on a six-game winning streak, and that game was the last of nine straight losses for the Eagles.
“We’re a very different team,” Young said. “Now we put all of our shooters on the floor, which has really helped us to go on runs.”
The Mocs have changed, too. In fact, they enter the tournament having lost six of their last seven games and 11 of their last 14.
“They’re playing to Charlton’s personality,” Shulman said. “They make life miserable on you. They don’t ever quit.”
Teacher vs. student
The Shulman-Young meeting will be the second teacher-vs.-student matchup Friday. Davidson’s Bob McKillop will face his 16-year assistant, Elon head coach Matt McKillop, in the men’s opener at 2 p.m.
The schedule forced them to wait until the last game of the regular season to play, and the game lasted two overtimes. Davidson won 99-96 on YouTube-worthy 3s by Brendan McKillop and Steven Rossiter in the final three seconds.
“There’s tremendous respect,” McKillop said. “He’s been superb in how he’s developed the team and the program.”
Target on Terriers
Wofford coach Mike Young is ready to take on all challengers to his top-seeded Terriers.
“Give me that target,” he said. “This team has adhered to the thought of ‘To heck with you hunting us; we’re going to hunt you.'”
Wofford has not reached a SoCon tournament championship game since entering the league for the 1997-98 season.
“We go in full of great hopes and expectations,” WC’s Young said. “I hope we can play well. I think we will. This team has given me no reason not to think that.”
Wofford’s home game against College of Charleston last week determined the SoCon South Division champion. It may have been the biggest game in Wofford’s SoCon history. The Terriers aced that test 74-68.
“That was make or miss, do or die, win and you’re the regular-season champ, lose and you’re second,” the Terriers’ coach said. “We played as well in that game and that setting as when we played at Davidson the week prior.
“We’re going to play well. Is it going to be enough? I don’t know.”
Quote of the week
Somebody asked Appalachian State coach Buzz Peterson about Michael Jordan — Peterson’s roommate at North Carolina — and his purchase of controlling interest in the Charlotte Bobcats.
Said Peterson: “When we go through the McDonald’s line, I still have to pay. He’s always been tight!”