Spears shares A-10 player of week honors

Charlotte 49ers junior forward Shamari Spears was named the Atlantic 10 Conference's co-player of the week after leading the 49ers to wins over George Washington and Fordham the past week.

Spears scored a career-high 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting in Wednesday's win over the Colonials. He earned his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds in Charlotte's come-from-behind win Saturday at Fordham. The Fordham game was Spears' second 13-rebound game of the season.

The 49ers (18-5, 8-1) return to action on Wednesday, playing at Dayton.

Looking ahead: Fordham Rams

The Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team returns to action at 2 p .m. Saturday when it plays Fordham at Rose Hill Gym. Charlotte won last season's meeting, 73-55, at Halton Arena.

Here's a look at the Rams' roster.

Here's a look at the Rams' statistics.

Did the referee really ask that?

Let me set the stage: Shortly into the second half of the Charlotte 49ers' 72-68 win over George Washington, referee Mike Eades whistled the 49ers for a foul while the teams were battling for an offensive rebound. Eades claimed the foul was on George Washington player Lasan Kromah.

Before Kromah went to the line, Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz, as well as point guard DiJuan Harris, continued to ask Eades to make sure it was Kromah that was the player fouled. They believed it was another GW player.

Kromah was allowed to go ahead and shoot the first free throw, which he made. Lutz continued to tell Eades the wrong player was shooting free throws and that's when the most bizarre episode took place I have witnessed in the hundreds of college basketball games I have covered.

Before Kromah could take his next shot, Eades walked into the lane, stood in front of Kromah face-to-face and asked him if he was the player fouled. Kromah said 'Yes' and was allowed to take his second shot, which he hit.

Now under the rules, referees have a responsibility to determine whether the correct player is shooting free throws and are encouraged to look at replays to make sure the call is right. However, Wednesday's game was not on TV and there was no replay available.

By the rules, the matter should have ended there. No replay, no change in the call.

Instead, what Eades decided to do was this: Ask a player of a visiting team, standing in the middle of an arena of screaming fans, in a see-saw game to tell the world whether he intentionally was taking free throws that were meant for another player.

Now, I don't know Lasan Kromah. He may be the most honest college basketball in the world. But I do know this: Eades didn't know Kromah's character any better than I did. And interrogating players about whether or not they were fouled and should be shooting free throws in no way should be a part of the game. What answer would anyone expect to hear?

To be fair, I submitted a question to Eades after the game. According to rules, media may ask questions of officials but they must be submitted by a disinterested third party. I wrote down my question, which was this: "Did referee Mike Eades ask George Washington player No. 20 if he was the player that was fouled?" Tom Whitestone, the assistant athletic director for the 49ers, found a third party and submitted the question. And I got a reply.

Here is Eades' response in its entirety. I will let it speak for itself and you decide whether his answer describes actions that should be a regular part of college basketball games.

Eades: "Initially, we were all confident No. 20 was the player fouled. We lined up to shoot the free throw and he shot the first one. At that point, someone from the crew noticed Bobby (Lutz's) reaction. We conferred as a group. There was no monitor available. We then asked No. 20 if he was the shooter and he said he was. We accepted the answer and did the best we could."

THURSDAY UPDATE: I suspected this Wednesday night but waited to make sure it was correct before writing. A-10 assistant commissioner Stephen Haug confirmed that if a player did intentionally “shoot” a free throw for another player, an unsportsmanlike technical could be assessed, or the player could be given a warning.

So, had Kromah actually admitted to not being the player fouled (he was asked AFTER he had taken one free throw), and was being completely honest, he risked receiving a technical foul for his honesty. Again, what answer would be expected?

Observations from Wednesday's win over G. Washington

-A new aspect to Charlotte forward Shamari Spears’ game? Spears was 2-for-2 on 3-pointers in Wednesday night’s win over George Washington. Asked after the game if fans should expect to see him play more behind the 3-point line, he said, “No. I make a living down low and that’s where I’m going to stay.”

-A disturbing trait – costly first-half turnovers – returned to plague Charlotte. The 49ers turned the ball over in three of its first four possessions while George Washington ran out to a 9-0 lead. Charlotte had seven turnovers total in the first half leading to 10 points for the Colonials. The 49ers ended the game with 13 turnovers which turned into 18 George Washington points.

-Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz is not afraid to go to his bench when he thinks his team needs a spark. When the 49ers’ starters fell behind 14-2 early in the first half, Lutz brought in Ian Andersen and Javarris Barnett of the bench. Both hit 3-pointers in a 19-7 Charlotte run which allowed the 49ers to take their first lead of the game.

-Charlotte freshman forward Chris Braswell entered Wednesday’s game not only as one of the top rebounders in the A-10, but he also is among the best Division I freshman. He ranked fifth, averaging 9.0 per game. Braswell picked up two quick fouls in the first half and played just 16 minutes in the game (four in the first half). Junior forward Charles Dewhurst filled in on rebounding, collecting seven by halftime and 11 in the game.

-The 49ers return to action on Saturday at 2 p.m. when they play at Fordham – the first of two consecutive league road games.

Looking ahead: George Washington Colonials

The Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when it hosts George Washington at Halton Arena. Charlotte and GW split last season's two meetings, with each winning at home.

Here's a look at the Colonials' roster.

Here's a look at the Colonials' stats.

Updated 49ers stats and schedule

Here are links to the 49ers' updated stats and schedule following Saturday's win at UMass:

Updated men's basketball statistics can be found here.

Updated schedule can be found here.

No ranking, but 49ers getting NCAA attention

The Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team didn't make it into either the Associated Press or USA Today Top 25 polls this week (in fact Charlotte didn't get a single vote in the USA Today poll), but the 49ers (16-5, 6-1 Atlantic 10) are garnering lots of attention for their performance this season.

And more and more basketball "insiders" are starting to include Charlotte in their predictions of what teams will make up the 2010 NCAA Tournament field.

Here is a sampling of some of the most recent:

The Sporting News predicts six A-10 teams in the NCAA tournament, including Charlotte. Read it here.

Sports Illustrated's Andy Glockner has Charlotte as a No. 10 seed in the Providence Region. Read it here.

And throw in ESPN.com basketball analyst Andy Katz, who writes the 49ers are relevant once again. Read his blog here.