2016 basketball preview

BASKETBALL PREVIEW · NOV 1, 2016

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BASKETBALL PREVIEW · A NINER TIMES SPECIAL SECTION

DENZEL DAVIS Intern

With the countdown for the start of NCAA basketball season almost up, there is no one more excited to get on the gym floor than Charlotte's basketball head coach, Mark Price. He is coming into his second season with the 49ers with more experience and ready to start building a timely basketball program here at Charlotte.

Q: A: Q: A: Q: A:

When did you begin playing basketball?

I started playing basketball probably when I was about 10 yeas old. My dad was a coach I kind of grew up around the game and so I just kind of fell in love with it at an early age.

What has been your biggest milestone as a coach?

As a coach, I’d say the biggest milestone was getting the head coaching job here at Charlotte. I’ve been coaching for a while at different levels but at the assistant role and getting a job opportunity to have my first coaching job here in Charlotte What is one thing you would tell yourself if you could go back to your playing days?

Listen to your coach more, I never had a problem staying in the gym or anything like that I had a pretty good college experience.

THE JOURNEY OF COACH PRICE

COLLEGIATE CAREER

(1982-1985)

named to first or second team All-ACC in all four of his seasons at Georgia Tech ACC Tournament MVP after Georgia Tech clinched its first ACC Tournament tittle in school history Made two NCAA Tournament appearances Number 25 jersey retired

NBA CAREER

(1986-1998)

Was the 25th overall pick in the NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks, But was then traded to Clevland Spent nine seasons with the Cavaliers Named to the All-NBA Third Team in 1989, 1992 and 1994 Named to the All-NBA First team in 1993 Played over 700 games in his career Had a .472 Field Goal Percentage and a .402 ThreePoint percentage Shot .904 from the free-throw line, SECOND IN NBA History Two-Time NBA Three-point contest Champion Number 25 jersey retired by the Cavaliers

COACHING CAREER

(1999-PRESENT)

Returned to Georgia Tech as an Assistant Coach for a year Coached for the Memphis Grizzlies, Atlanta HAwks, golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets, totalling 7 years of experience Took his first head coaching job with the 49ers, starting in the 2015-16 season.

Mark Price observes his team on the court. NT File Photo

BASKETBALL PREVIEW · NOV 1, 2016

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THREE SENIORS HELP MEN’S TEAM KATHLEEN COOK Sports Editor

With a new basketball season comes a new set of players lacing up and putting on the 49er jersey for the last time. This season there are three seniors on the men’s squad: Reid Aube, Braxton Ogbueze and Anthony Vanhook.

Aube was a walk-on for the team and saw action in only four games during both his freshman and sophomore seasons. In his junior season, Aube got a lot of playing time. Aube was the spark Charlotte needed off the bench. He saw action in 26 games, scoring a career-high eight points against Marshall. Aube also snagged a career-high six rebounds when the 49ers faced off with Middle Tennessee in the Conference USA tournament. In a ceremony before the his final season began, Aube was awarded a scholarship for his play, marking Price’s confidence in his play and leadership.

“It means a lot. I’ve been here all four years, so I’ve been here before coach Price and after. For me to just play one year for him and for him to think I deserve that, it’s a great feeling,” Aube said.

Ask any player on the squad and they would concur that Aube is deserving of the scholarship.

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“He’s one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever been on a team with. I’m glad to see it paid off for him, he deserved it,” Vanhook said.

Vanhook transferred to the Queen City last season from Cape Fear Community College.

Though the 6-foot-4 forward sat out a few games due to a mid-season ankle injury, the stats sheet wouldn’t reflect that. He finished second on the team with 2.8 assists per game, with nine games where he tallied four or more assists. Vanhook also had six games where he recorded double digits in the points column from the bench.

Making the jump from junior college to Charlotte was a challenge for Vanhook, but expect him to flourish his senior season with his gained experience.

“It’s good to get a good year under your belt,” Vanhook said. “Coming to division one from a junior college, it’s a lot faster pace and a lot better competition. It feels good to get a year down and have more experience.”

The final senior in the trio is Ogbueze. The 6-foot-1 guard came to Charlotte after playing his freshman year at Florida. After sitting out for a season, Ogbueze made an impact on the court for

the 49ers in the 2014-15 season. He recorded 15 double digit scoring games, two of which Ogbueze scored 20 points or more. He lead the team with 49 three-pointers and was the only Charlotte player to start all 32 games in the season.

Ogbueze is hoping to do what he does every season: come out with energy and determination.

“Each year you always want to have that motivation to be the best that you can be, to work the hardest that you can each and every day. It’s my last season, you always want to go out with a bang,” Ogbueze said.

His momentum carried over to last season, where he once again appeared in all of the 33 games played, starting 32. Ogbueze sat atop the leader board for the 49ers in minutes played, points per game and three-pointers made. He finished first in C-USA in three-pointers made per game and assist-to-turnover ratio. The Charlotte native tallied seven games with 20 or more points.

The seniors kickoff thier final season against Newberry Nov. 11 at 8 p.m.

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BASKETBALL PREVIEW · NOV 1, 2016

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TREVOR WILT Sports Editor

The Charlotte 49ers women’s basketball team will be led out to the court during the 2016-2017 season by head coach Cara Consuegra in her sixth season, having made the playoffs four times. With the season right around the corner, we sat down with coach Consuegra to learn more on and off the court:

Q: A:

When did you begin playing basketball?

I played on my first organized team in the second grade. It was a skill league where you just learned how to play the game of basketball.

Q: A:

What made you want to coach?

Q: A:

Q: A:

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When I was in high school.

I started helping out with a middle school team and just really enjoyed it. I enjoyed giving back and helping the younger players learn. It kind of sparked me.

Was there a coach that you had that inspired you?

I’ve had a lot of great coaches in my time and I think that I am a blend of all of them. It’s really hard for me to probably pinpoint one in particular because I’ve been fortunate enough to be around a lot of great coaches and great people.

What has been your biggest milestone as a coach?

I think the biggest thing that I’m proud of is the culture we have built here at Charlotte.

The people that we have brought into this program and the way we have changed things. It’s good to have our kids graduate and do the right thing on and off the court.

Q: A:

What is one thing you would tell yourself if you could go back to your playing days?

I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned is to not focus on things that you can’t control, especially when you are young and there are so many things around you that you cant control. As a young player and a young coach, I used to get frustrated and those things would consume me. I think as I’ve grown, I have gotten a little bit wiser and just realized that you need to put your energy into things you can control and ways you can get better and just have faith and trust that the rest of things will work out.

Cara Consuegra greets her team during Basketball Madness. Photo by Chris Crews

Keeping up with Consuegra Received All-American honors her senior season at Iowa Awarded Most Outstanding Player of the 2001 Big Ten Tournament Recorded career 576 assists Made two NCAA Tournament Appearances while playing at Iowa One of 13 players in Big Ten histoy to tally 1,000 career points paired with 500 assists PLayed a season in the WNBA after graduating with honors Worked with Penn State and Marquette before the 49ers Been at Charlotte for five years, third in all-time wins BASKETBALL PREVIEW · A NINER TIMES SPECIAL SECTION

AND-ONE A closer look at some of the faces on the 49ers basketball teams

MEN’S BASKETBALL If Charlotte can find a rebounding machine in replace of Uchebo, I believe the backcourt of Andrien White, Braxton Ogbueze and Jon Davis can lead this team to a C-USA championship in March.

A 20-win team will reach the big dance.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL With a more experienced Grace Hunter and Laia Raventós, and deadly combo with Nyilah Jamison-Myers and Kenya Olley in the paint, the 49ers will return to the big dance. Lefty Webster and Ciara Gregory will lead the team in scoring.

QUENTIN JACKSON HIDDEN TALENT: WHISTLING FAVORITE MOVIE: ”THE

MIGHTY DUCKS (1,2 AND 3) MEN’S BASKETBALL

NAJEE GARVIN HIDDEN TALENT: ROLLERSKATING GO-TO SONG: “ STILL HERE”-DRAKE

The 49ers are a force to be reckoned with this year. With a smaller lineup there will be a void in the rebounder position. However with multiple strong shooters it won’t affect the 49ers.

Expect to see them partaking in the madness of march.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL There was only one new face on the women’s roster, this has allowed the team to focus on their play even more. This chemistry will be showcased on the court, giving the 49ers a spot in the NCAA tournament.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The backcourt trio of Braxton Ogbueze, Jon Davis and Andrien White should carry the team. The question is whether they can replace the production Joseph Uchebo had down low. They’re a tourney team, top three Conference USA team with 20 wins.

LAIA RAVENTOS HIDDEN TALENT:

SNOWBOARDING

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

GO-TO SONG:

After a successful 2015-16 campaign, Charlotte returns to the court this season with a more experienced team. All the pieces are in place for Cara Consuegra’s crew to relish a memorable 20-10 season.

“ TENNIS

COURT” FLUME REMIX

PHOTOS BY CHRIS CREWS

BASKETBALL PREVIEW · NOV 1, 2016

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BASKETBALL PREVIEW · A NINER TIMES SPECIAL SECTION

PHOTOS BY CHRIS CREWS

ANDY GUSTAFSON Asst. Sports Editor

Year two of the Mark Price era is underway. Optimism surrounds the program this season, opposed to last year where there was nothing but questions.

With a roster built late in the offseason, coach Price led the 49ers to a 14-19 record, but a 9-9 record in conference. Charlotte grabbed a win in the Conference USA tournament and finish their season by winning four of their last six games.

Price did what he said he wanted to do during his introduction speech: build a foundation.

“Last year was quite a challenge.

Starting from scratch by putting together a new staff and roster together,” coach Price said. “We were able to finish the season strong, there’s a lot of positive things to look forward to in the upcoming year.”

The 49ers are led by the terrific trio of Braxton Ogbueze, Jon Davis and Andrien White. As a redshirt senior, Ogbueze will be looked as the team leader for a second straight season. The Charlotte native led the 49ers in scoring, averaging 14.5 points a game. Ogbueze excels from distance, making over 100 three-pointers last season, doubling his total from the year prior.

“You always want to go out with a bang,” Ogubueze said. “This is my last season, so I want to continue to bring that winning culture to the club.”

The two sophomores that helped build the foundation, round out the projected starting backcourt.

Both Davis and White won Con-

ference-USA freshman of the week honors twice last season and made the all-freshman team. Davis put up 11.7 points and 4.6 assists a game in his first season at the helm. On the other hand, White became a strong three-and-D player, averaging 10.7 points (40 percent from three) and 1.6 steals a game. White injured his foot during the team’s tour to Canada but is expected to be ready for the start of the season.

While last year had the freshmen, this year brings a number of transfers. Incoming transfers Austin Ajukwa, JC Washington and Hudson Price will bring length to a team that played a lot of small ball last season. Ajukwa, who transferred to Charlotte in December, will be able to play at the conclusion of the fall semester. Once Ajukwa is able to play, he will bring a strong defensive presence on the perimeter, with his 6-foot-7 frame and an underrated offensive game. Washington is another big body that will compete for minutes in the frontcourt with his effort on the boards. Lastly, Price, standing at 6-foot-7 as well, will bring added shooting to the perimeter.

Not to forget about this year’s new crop of freshmen because they will put numbers up as well. Quentin Jackson, a 6-foot-3 guard from Cary, will provide plenty of bounce off the bench with his explosive athleticism.

Jackson was ranked as the seventh best player in North Carolina according to ESPN.com and averaged 20 points his senior season. Then there is Najee Garvin, a 6-foot-7 for-

ward, who is practicing between the leg dunks in the layup line. Garvin flew under the radar as a recruit but averaged 27 points and 11 rebounds during his senior year. The two should light up Halton Arena and give the new video board plenty of highlights.

Then there are the returning role players. Anthony Vanhook plays all the roles for the Charlotte basketball team, a swiss-army knife type of player. Vanhook averaged 7.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and three assists a game, coming off the bench.

But what Vanhook does best doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, Price is comfortable running the offense through Vanhook at the high post.

Benas Griciunas will return to the team with a bigger role in hopes of replacing Joseph Uchebo, the single-season C-USA rebounding record holder. Griciunas is a skilled seven-footer, who will have to be more physical down low for Charlotte to prevent second-chance points for opponents.

What stands out for this year’s squad is the added depth. Charlotte can go with a number of different lineups, with players like Ogubueze, Davis, Jackson and Vanhook being primary ball handlers. Then there are shooters surrounding the playmakers, like White, Ajukwa, Price and Ogbueze, as well. This team can play position-less basketball, a popular trend in today’s NBA game with a number of ball-handlers and shooters on the floor at the same time.

BASKETBALL PREVIEW · NOV 1, 2016

“We feel that we are a good 10 or 11 deep. We have a bunch of guys that can play multiple positions, which works well in our system,” Price said. “It will keep our guys fresh during the second half and toward the end of the season. Hopefully, that will be a big key to our success.”

“This year, once the starters come out, there won’t be any dropoffs.

Play might pick up actually once the bench comes on,” Davis added on the depth.

The 49ers will face another tough non-conference schedule to prepare for conference play. In a four-game stretch at beginning of December, Charlotte will host Oregon State, then go on the road to Wake Forest, Florida and Maryland. Those four teams went a combined 78-57 last season. Coach Price attributed last season’s difficult non-conference schedule to how well the 49ers played against the C-USA. For Charlotte, improvement is expected this season. With much of the core returning, Charlotte should play close or above to .500 ball.

Charlotte must begin the season off to a better start, opposed to the 2-8 start from last season, if the goal is to be playing in March.

The 49ers begin their season at home against Newberry. Both men’s and women’s teams can be seen Thursday in Halton Areana for a double header. Women’s can be seen at 5:30 p.m. and the men’s game begins at 8 p.m..

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PHOTOS BY CHRIS CREWS AND NT FILE PHOTOS

ZACH TIMMONS Staff Writer

Finally. After almost eight months, basketball is back. And the Charlotte 49ers women’s team is primed and ready for action.

Sixth-year coach Cara Consuegra looks to add to her impressive résumé by leaning on her senior veterans, Ciara Gregory, Kenya Olley and Lefty Webster. Their leadership, combined with the inside presence of Kira Gordon and Alexis Alexander, helped spear the Niners on to a fourthplace finish in Conference USA and a berth in the WNIT. The berth was the Niners’ fourth postseason appearance in five years.

Consuegra’s team led C-USA in scoring and also won 12 of their 15 home games. Their tough non-conference schedule, which included matchups against Miami, Missouri and NC State, continued to bring out large crowds and more support from the Charlotte faithful.

On Oct. 20, both the women’s and men’s teams held “Midnight Madness” in Halton Arena, celebrating the onset of basketball season. Afterwards, Gregory was asked about her expectations for the upcoming season.

“You know, it’s bittersweet, coming into my senior season. There’s only three of us seniors, so we have high expectations. We’ve just been working in practice and pushing each other; we know what we’re capable of, and we’re just grinding to get that,” Gregory said.

When asked about the atmosphere of Midnight Madness and the upcoming season, Webster was also optimistic.

“Every game we play I want us to give our best.

Hopefully, we can win a conference championship and make an appearance in the NCAA (tournament), but right now, I’m looking for us to just have fun and make the best of this year,” Webster said.

The team certainly has the pieces to compete for the championship. The 49ers returns a bulk of their starters, including sophomore guards Grace Hunter and Laia Raventos. Last year’s team became known for each player’s respective gifts:

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Raventos’ passing ability, Gregory’s sharpshooting, Hunter’s aggressive drives to the basket and Webster’s midrange shooting touch. Meanwhile, Olley provided shot blocking on the interior and junior Amaya Ransom also added a defensive presence and veteran leadership late in games.

Webster, an All-C-USA Second Team selection, will look to have a stellar senior campaign. As a junior, she averaged 13.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while also scoring her 1,000th point in a Charlotte uniform. Meanwhile, her classmate Gregory averaged 10.1 points while also shooting threes at a 34.5 percent clip. She was the best free throw shooter on the roster, hitting 93.2 percent of her free throws.

“Lefty has been an all-conference player for multiple years here in C-USA, and I think she can be better. That’s the cool thing about her—every year her game has gotten better. I think that Lefty is holding herself to a high standard and looks every day like she should—one of the best players in this league,” Coach Consuegra said at the C-USA Tipoff Show.

Coach Consuegra also had praise for Ciara Gregory at the show.

“Most people don’t remember that Ciara led us in scoring in non-conference. She was having a tremendous year until she got hurt. She’s now fully healthy, she’s doing very well in practice and so I think she’s gonna bring a whole nother element that, quite frankly, I don’t think this league is prepared for,” Consuegra said.

The younger players made sure to help the upperclassmen as well. Raventos asserted herself as an all-around player, as she averaged 8.8 points, 4.1 assists and 3.5 boards a game. She also found herself on ESPN’s Top 10 plays after a spectacular highlight pass against NC State. Classmate Grace Hunter also averaged 11 points a game and was the second leading rebounder; she pulled down a staggering 7.3 boards per contest. Both players were selected to the All-C-USA Freshman team at season’s end.

In addition to these returners, the team now enters redshirt freshman Dara Pearson and Jaida Robinson into the equation, as well as Nyilah Jamison-Myers, a transfer from Clemson University. Joining them is freshman Lauren Harley, a four-year letter winner from South Carolina who is meshing right in with the returners.

During the preseason, Coach Consuegra previewed her team both on ESPN3’s Conference USA Tip-Off Show and at Charlotte’s Media Day. “Many people talk about our team, and they talk about our offense. We led the league in scoring, we led the league in field goal percentage and were also top 25 in the country. But for us to take a big step forward this season, our focus needs to be on our defense. So even though we know we have that scoring punch offensively, we have to become a better defensive team. That’s been a lot of our focus in practice in this month of October,” Consuegra said.

Coach Consuegra also reiterated her high hopes for her main contributors this year at Charlotte’s media day. At the event, she noted many similarities between this team and her 2013 roster that went 26-6.

“We had three seniors that took the team on their shoulders and said, ‘We’re gonna do this, we’re gonna lead the way.’ I’ve been consistently challenging our seniors to step up and be those leaders for us. In addition to that, we definitely have the most depth that we’ve had at each position since that team. I think our guard play mixture of veteran returners and young players are some of the best combinations in this league. The biggest thing for us to have a year like we had in 2013 is our team has to start believing we can do that. They need to start understanding that we have the ability and the pieces.”

The Niners will look to build momentum off of last year’s successful season when they officially tip off on Nov. 11 against Wisconsin at 5:30 p.m.

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THE TRIPLE THREAT TREVOR WILT Sports Editor

Lefty Webster, Kenya Olley and Ciara Gregory. This is the list of the three seniors that will be playing their final season with the green and white, looking to make it the most memorable one yet.

These three young ladies have been nothing but loyal to head coach Cara Consuegra, playing all four years with the 49ers. Charlotte has flourished under these three, making the WNIT two of the three years, hoping to make it back to postseason action for the third time.

Webster, a 5-foot-8 guard from Norfolk, Va., took all her success from high school, where she nearly averaged 20 points in her senior season, and made a smooth transition to the college level.

In her first year with the program, Webster was named to the All-Conference USA Freshman Team, becoming just the fifth player in program history to earn that prestigious award while in C-USA play.

At the conclusion of her sophomore campaign, Webster earned a spot on the All-C-USA Second Team. Webster averaged 14 points per game, scoring 434 points throughout the season, which marked the most on the team.

Chosen to the All-C-USA Second Team, after being named to the All-C-USA Preseason Team, she became one of only two players to be named to multiple All-C-USA teams in Niner history.

During her junior season, Webster became just the 22nd player in Charlotte history to score 1,000 points over her career.

After being nominated for the McDonald’s All-American game in high school, Olley, a 6-foot3 shot-blocking machine from Spartanburg, S.C., brought her talents to the Queen City. Seeing limited time her freshman season, Olley added in productive minutes off the bench to help the team in the paint.

In her sophomore season, Olley recorded nine points, nine rebounds and eight blocks, almost capturing a triple-double against North Texas.

Her eight blocks against UNT set a Halton Arena record.

Limited by an injury, Olley still had time throughout her shortened junior season to record four, seven-block games, proving she is one of the best shot-blockers in the nation.

Granted she can stay healthy, Olley can create a deadly inside presence with transfer Nyilah Jami-

BASKETBALL PREVIEW · NOV 1, 2016

son-Myers, which could make for an even better weapon with the highly talented guard play for the 49ers.

A 5-foot-7 guard from Jeannette, Pa., Gregory has been a sharp-shooter since her high school days, where she averaged 30.4 points per game, while being listed as the ninth-leading scorer in the country.

Playing in 27 games her freshman year at Charlotte, Gregory’s season was highlighted by her 14-point performance on Fox Sports, firing off four threes on the night in fifteen minutes.

During her sophomore season, Gregory saw action in all 32 games, including three starts, sharpening her three-point shot for her junior season. In her third year, Gregory started a career-high 17 games, including the first 16 games of the season.

Gregory finished the season with 67 threes to tie for third on the program’s single-season chart.

During the season, the 3-point specialist knocked down at least six triples in three or more games, becoming the first player in school history to do so.

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BASKETBALL PREVIEW · A NINER TIMES SPECIAL SECTION