Two men will be making their head coaching debuts on Friday at Halton Arena. Most notably, Charlotte coach Alan Major. But Gardner-Webb will also begin a new era under seasoned veteran Chris Holtmann, who is just a year removed from helping Ohio University to an upset NCAA Tournament win over Georgetown. After 12 years of calling the shots from the bench—5 years at Gardner-Webb—he’ll finally get a chance to be the man running things.
Holtmann might have a bit of a problem in his first game at the helm when he faces Charlotte. The Bulldogs return three starters from last year’s 8-21 team, but only one of those three averaged more than five points per game a season ago and just one averaged more than four rebounds.
The Bulldogs’ most notable returner will be 6-4 senior wing Jonathan Moore (10.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg), who worked his way up from a walk-on to earning 17 starts a year ago.
Nailing down the point guard spot for the Bulldogs will probably be freshman Luke Davis (11.6 ppg, 6.0 apg at Ravencroft School in Raleigh). He was rated just outside of ESPN.com’s top 100 point guards and was very productive in the same league that produced Washington Wizards rookie John Wall.
Helping Davis out in the backcourt will be junior transfer Laron Buggs. The 6-2 combo guard is strong on the defensive end and transferred from Murray State College where he averaged 4.3 points per game and earned all-region honors.
The Bulldogs’ frontcourt will see a size improvement with the addition of 6-foot-10-inch, 230 pound freshman center Mike Byron, who averaged 10.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg at Churchill High School in San Antonio. Byron was ranked as the No. 105 center prospect by ESPN.com and will provide a big body in the middle for the Bulldogs.
With suspension rumors circulating, Byron could prove to be a match up problem depending on which players sit out.
Rounding out the starting lineup for Gardner-Webb will be 6-foot-6-inch small forward Stefon Johnson. Johnson provides some athleticism for the Bulldogs and came on late last season, scoring in double figures in two of the final four games. He scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a road game against Winthrop.
The most experienced player returning for the Bulldogs will be 6-3 junior power forward Josh Henley (4.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg), who will be the Big South’s second leading returning rebounder from a year ago.
Charlotte lacked some defensive intensity near the end of last season, so expect Major to implement a suffocating man-to-man defense. Expect the turnover rate to be high for a young Bulldog squad and look for Charlotte to capitalize on transition opportunities.
This game has match-up problems written all over it for Gardner-Webb. Charlotte has the upper hand based purely on experience and size, but that size advantage could be diminished depending on suspensions. Even with the possibility of Charlotte losing some starting members of the frontcourt, I expect them to take care of business against a young, inexperienced Gardner-Webb team.
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