Pulling into basketball with new perspective

It’s back to basketball this week as I have completed my two-week tour of Speedweeks in Daytona Beach, Fla. Charlotte was 3-1 while I was gone, which leaves me wondering if my arrival at Duquesne will be welcomed for Wednesday night’s game against the Dukes.
One thing I noticed about the 49ers while I was away – and sometimes it’s good to get a fresh perspective from the outside – is how much they rely upon offense to carry them this season. Even during some wins, Charlotte still allows its opponents to shoot well from the floor. When Charlotte does win, it seems to be because it is more effective in its offense than the other team.
There have been games when Charlotte has played well on defense, but as the season has gone on, the 49ers are struggling to play good defense for 40 minutes against tough competition. De’Angelo Alexander, Leemire Goldwire and E.J. Drayton are logging a lot of minutes and playing through injuries. But at this moment, what will be made of the remainder of the 49ers’ season lies in their hands.
– Jim Utter

Lutz: Charlotte hurt by offense, defense

KINGSTON, R.I. -- Charlotte 49ers coach Bobby Lutz wasn't just frustrated at his team's defense in an 86-69 Atlantic 10 loss Saturday against Rhode Island. He wasn't happy about the 49ers' offense, either.

The 49ers, who trailed 39-35 at halftime, should have been closer, according to Lutz. "We missed six point-blank shots," he said. "Six!"

But the defense did need work. Rhode Island shot 61.1 percent, including 67.9 in the second half.

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The 49ers, who have been a strong rebounding team this season, were outrebounded by the Rams 40-28. Starting forward Antwon Coleman had no rebounds.

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When Charlotte reserve Sean Phaler, whose arms are covered in tatoos, entered the game, the Rhode Island crowd chanted: "Sharpee marker! Sharpee marker!"

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The game underscored how important 3-point shooting can be. The 49ers rely on the 3-pointer more than any team in the league, but get the least from them: They entered the game leading the the A-10 in 3-pointers made (8.46 per game), but were last in percentage (33.0). Rhode Island led the league in percentage (40.1). For Saturday's game, Rhode Island improved on its 3-point mark, making 50 percent. Guard Jimmy Baron, who leads the A-10 in 3-points made per game and is second in percentage, made four of five. The 49ers made 34.5 percent of theirs, but only 27.8 percent in the second half. For what it's worth, Rhode Island made only 47.1 percent of its free throws.

DAVID SCOTT

Phaler has his moment vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

As the Charlotte 49ers were in the process of finishing off Louisiana-Lafayette 80-56 Tuesday, there wasn't much late in the game to keep the fans in Halton Arena interested.

Enter Sean Phaler.

For starters, Phaler is hard to miss. Reed-thin at 6-foot-9, 175 pounds, Phaler sports a series of tatoos on his arms that draw attention pretty quickly. These aren't your garden-variety tats using black ink. We're talking vivid reds and blues, among others.

Phaler is also a different sort off the court. He once won a web page designer contest and the $60,000 that went with it. Problem was, he was in the eighth grade and too young to be eligible for the prize.

Even his route to Charlotte is unusual. He was signed with UCLA by former coach Steve Lavin, but transferred to New Mexico after Lavin was fired. So he transferred to New Mexico, then switched to Fullerton (Calif.) Junior College to be near his sick father. While at New Mexico, Phaler was in a car accident so serious that he had to be cut from the vehicle by the Jaws of Life.
Now, in is first season at Charlotte, Phaler has been plagued with injuries and sickness, playing in just 15 of the 49ers' first 23 games.

But he made the most of his six minutes against Lafayette. First, he swished a 3-pointer, igniting the crowd. Then he did it again. And again, a slight smile crossing his face as he backpedaled down the court. When it was over he had scored 11 points on 3-for-3 3-point shooting. The crowd serenaded him by chanting his name during a timeout.

It was a nice moment for a kid who's had a long journey.

-- David Scott

Charlotte-La.-Lafayette notebook

The Charlotte 49ers' 80-56 nonconference victory Tuesday against Louisiana-Lafayette featured a withering full-court press that the Ragin' Cajuns couldn't cope with.
"They really took us out of our ability to run our offense," said Lafayette coach Robert Lee. "That pressure really didn't allow us to do what we wanted to do."
Charlotte forced 13 turnovers, nine of them coming in the first half.
The most unlikely of them came when forward Courtney Williams slapped the ball away from Lafayette's Derek Gray. Williams lumbered down the floor with the ball and was fouled by Ross Mouton. He made the free throw, giving the 49ers a 30-10 lead.
ODD FOUL: The most inexplicable play of the game came when Charlotte's Jerell Jamison intentionally - and with feeling - fouled David Dees as Dees drove in for a layup. Charlotte was leading 54-32 at the time.
BIGGEST BLOWOUT: The 24-point victory was Charlotte's widest margin of victory this season.
REBOUNDING ROLL: The 49ers continue to hit the boards, outrebounding Lafayette 39-29. E.J. Drayton (eight) and De'Angelo Alexander (seven) led the way for Charlotte, which has a plus-3.5 rebounding margin per game. That's among the best in the Atlantic 10, but nothing near the league's top rebounding team, Massachusetts (plus-8.0).
DAVID SCOTT

For Charlotte, it's football or bust

I read with interest, as many of you did, the Observer's story Sunday about the pluses and minuses of adding football to Charlotte 49ers athletics. It is clear that any university that hopes to add football now is going to need large sums of money to do it. It is also clear that as each day passes, the cost goes higher and the prospects become less likely.

Charlotte needs football because, fair or not, conference alignments and future realignments are biased toward football-playing schools.

Anyone who thinks the Atlantic 10 was a step up for Charlotte after Conference USA -- particularly in basketball -- is not taking an objective look at the situation as it exists today. The closest conference rival to Charlotte is a five-hour drive. If you have no local rivals, your next hope is schools that have strong programs and are likely to attract fans based on their success. Those are also lacking in today's A-10. And it seems to be getting worse.

Without football, I believe Charlotte is probably already in the best place it can be. As a supporter of the 49ers, you must ask yourself, "Is this where we want to be? Is this good enough?"

If the answer is no, the addition of football is Charlotte's last, best hope to return to conference affiliation that will include teams with regional ties or national success that will encourage fan attendance in all of the school's sports.

Thatleaves little wiggle room. If Charlotte writes off football, it might as well ask for a application to the Southern Conference right now because the rivalries with nearby schools will be the only hope the 49ers have of attracting attention and breeding success in their athletic programs in the long run.


-- Jim Utter

Alexander's big game stands out

• De'Angelo Alexander's big scoring game Saturday for the Charlotte 49ers against Fordham was just the second time since 1991 a Charlotte player had scored at least 35 points. The other time came in 2005 when Curtis Withers (who’s now playing professionally in Turkey), scored 39 against Saint Louis. Alexander, who had 35 against the Rams, scored 34 last season against St. Bonaventure.
  
• Forward Jerell Jamison, who started for the first time Saturday and has played in just 18 of Charlotte's 23 games, now has more rebounds this season than starting center Antwon Coleman. Jamison has 70 rebounds, averaging 3.9 per game. Coleman has 60 and averages 2.7.
  
• Leemire Goldwire, who had a career-high tying seven 3-pointers in a victory against Richmond on Wednesday, made just 1 of 8 against Fordham. But he was clinically effective at the free-throw line when he needed to be, making eight in a row in the last 45 seconds as Fordham tried to rally.
• The 49ers have started slowly the past two games - going 3 of 20 to begin the Richmond game and 4 of 20 against Fordham. But they've finished strong, reversing a trend of earlier in the season when they tended to start with a flourish, then fade at the end. "I'd rather have it this way," said coach Bobby Lutz.

--David Scott

Barnett commitment a victory for 49ers

Good work by the Charlotte 49ers in landing Charlotte Victory Christian senior Javarris Barnett. First-year assistant coach Chris Cheeks was instrumental in landing Barnett, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard who turned a lot of heads during the Bojangles’ Shootout in December and immediately attracted the attention of college recruiters in attendance, including Cheeks.
Charlotte, stuck in the middle of ACC country, must battle hard for talented local players. In Barnett’s case, he was a player without statistics of a hot prospect, and he didn’t attend all the camps at which many recruiters judge talent. However, in a tournament against some other top prep players, he shined.
For that, he was worth taking a chance.
In recruiting battles today, perhaps more than in the past, chances have to be taken. Recruiting is a difficult business – you have to be a judge of current and future talent at the same time.
Barnett attracted attention from many major Division I schools. Several turned away once he made it clear he did not want to venture far from home, but coming out ahead of teams such as Wake Forest, Vanderbilt and College of Charleston (and former ACC coach Bobby Cremins) is a good sign for the 49ers.
JIM UTTER