Charlotte 49ers basketball coach watched last 2 games from home. That changes vs. WKU
Charlotte 49ers’ men’s basketball coach Ron Sanchez says watching his team’s last two games from home was “a truly educational experience.”
But, he adds, “I’ll be much happier to be at the games in person this weekend.”
Relegated to fan status for a pair of Charlotte’s pre-Christmas games due to COVID-19 contact tracing, Sanchez says he and his 49ers’ team are eager for Friday’s start of Conference USA play.
Granted, it’s preseason C-USA favorite Western Kentucky headed to Halton Arena for 4 p.m. games Friday and Saturday. And Sanchez says the visiting Hilltoppers are loaded.
“But we’re really happy to get started in conference play,” he says.
Charlotte (4-3, 0-0 CUSA) has won three in a row, beating Davidson, North Carolina A&T and George Washington since mid-December. Sanchez was in quarantine for the latter two games.
“It’s frustrating, because you can’t control anything,” he says of watching his assistants coach the team. “But it was very educational. I got a lot out of it.”
Did he keep his cool during the two games, each of which was decided by four points or less?
“Well, I don’t know,” he says with a laugh. “You’ll have to ask my wife about that.”
Western Kentucky is off to its best start in nine games since the 2012-13 season. The Hilltoppers’ victims include traditional basketball powers Memphis, Northern Iowa, Rhode Island and Alabama. They lost by six to nationally ranked West Virginia.
Charles Bassey, a 6-foot-11 junior center, ranks first in the conference in rebounds and blocked shots. He has been C-USA Player of the Year twice this season, and teammate Luke Frampton has won the award once.
You might remember the name Luke Frampton. He was a highly regarded Davidson recruit who spent two years with the Wildcats before transferring to Western Kentucky. Frampton, a distance-shooting specialist, is averaging 8.4 points a game but scored 22 in his last outing, against Tennessee Tech.
“They’re really talented, 1 through 10,” Sanchez says of the Hilltoppers. “Fortunately, they can only play five at a time.”
Charlotte guard Jordan Shepherd says the Hilltoppers “bring a lot of talent at you. They can do so many things well.”
Bassey was injured much of last season, but most of the other current Hilltoppers were playing when Charlotte beat Western Kentucky 72-70 last Feb. 22 in Bowling Green court. It snapped a four-game Western Kentucky winning streak over Charlotte and was part of a late-season surge that sent the 49ers into the conference tournament with hopes of making some noise.
The COVID-19 outbreak scuttled those hopes, but Shepherd says his team sees this season as a chance to continue the push.
“Hopefully, we won’t be so rudely interrupted this time,” he said. “As far as the conference race goes, we say to ourselves, ‘Why not us?’ ”
Sanchez says his team, which has a number of new faces, is making good progress.
“We’re nowhere near where we need to be, but don’t get me wrong. There are certain things we’re doing well,” he said. “We’re doing a much better job of taking care of the basketball. And we’re learning our role identities.”
▪ New schedule format: Sanchez says Conference USA’s format, which has teams playing each other on back-to-back days, is a first for him. “There’s not a lot of time for adjustments,” he says. “We’re looking at back-to-back games against the best team in our league. You’ve got to plan well.”
▪ C-USA splits into divisions: Conference officials announced Wednesday that the league will move to a divisional format this season. The 49ers will play in the East, with Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion and Western Kentucky. Making up the West will be Louisiana Tech, North Texas, Rice, Southern Mississippi, UAB, UTEP and UTSA. It’s the same lineup as in football.
Officials also said standings will be based on win-loss percentages in conference games. That could come into play if some teams lose games to COVID and play fewer than the scheduled 18 conference games.
▪ 49ers’ women sidelined: The 49ers’ women’s team was to have opened league play with games Friday and Saturday at Western Kentucky, but the trip has been canceled. Charlotte athletic officials cited “COVID-19-related problems” for the cancellation. They say they are working with conference officials to reschedule the games.