Charlotte 49ers basketball season begins tonight. 4 reasons to be excited for this year
November is here and the Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball team has plenty of reasons for optimism for the 2021 season, including one of the best backcourts in Conference USA.
In his fourth year as head coach, Ron Sanchez will aim to right the ship and bounce back from a single-digit win season in 2020. Last year saw cancellations and schedule changes that impacted the team, including a year with minimal to no fans.
Charlotte opens the season at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Monmouth at Halton Arena.
Charlotte lost its final nine games to round out the 2020 season. Sanchez’s unit will look to turn the page with a team that features a mix of developing underclassmen, returning leaders and five incoming transfers.
This season promises to be different for the 49ers, who are picked to finish in seventh place in C-USA. Charlotte hosts 15 games in Halton Arena this season, travels to the Bahamas for the 2021 Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship and will play Wake Forest at Spectrum Center in the Hall of Fame Shootout.
Charlotte will utilize an athletic small-ball lineup with redshirt freshman Aly Khalifa and Jared Garcia serving as the primary rim protectors. The expected starting five features just two individuals that saw the court in green and white in 2020. Brice Williams, the team’s third-highest scorer in 2020-21 at 9.7 points per game, is injured but will likely be re-inserted in the starting rotation when healthy.
Here are four reasons to be excited about Charlotte’s men’s basketball season.
DYNAMIC BACKCOURT
The backcourt of Young and Trapp has the makings to be one of the best, if not the best in C-USA. The duo continues to challenge themselves in practice, frequently matched up one-on-one to bring out the best in each, Sanchez said.
Young was leaned on heavily last season, but with Trapp replacing Jordan Shepard in the starting lineup, Charlotte has two primary ball handlers that will aid floor spacing. Both guards are extremely athletic and will pose problems for opposing defenses with their slashing ability and explosiveness off the dribble.
Trapp and Young are both three-level scorers with quality court vision. Lateral quickness and defensive IQ will be at a premium for the 49ers’ guards, serving as the front lines of the defense.
Sanchez has confidence in the duo as both players can score the ball and play a rugged defensive style. The success of this duo has the potential to push Charlotte above its pre-season projection.
DIVISION I TRANSFERS
The transfer portal was kind to the 49ers as Sanchez added five new transfers, three of which played in the ACC or Big 10 last season.
Trapp and Butler are immediate impact players who are expected to be in the starting lineup from the season opener, but there are multiple new faces who will make substantial impacts.
Robert Braswell IV appeared in 24 games for Syracuse last season and saw extended time in March for the Orange’s ACC and NCAA tournament games. Adjusting to Sanchez’s defense will be key in his production for Charlotte, but he is expected to push for time at the small and power forward positions.
Guard Musa Jallow returned to practice last week from injury but is expected to see playing time off the bench. Jallow transferred from Ohio State where he played in 26 games with five starts in 2020-21. He graduated in just three years from Ohio State and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Charlotte has an impressive schedule
The 49ers are slated to compete against teams from the ACC, SEC and A-10 this season.
Charlotte went 2-2 against in-state foes last season, with wins over Davidson and North Carolina A&T and losses to East Carolina and Appalachian State.
This season, the Niners host Davidson and Western Carolina, travel to Boone to face Appalachian State and will play Wake Forest at Spectrum Center.
Starting on Nov. 22, the 49ers will compete in the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship. Charlotte will play Toledo, then either Drexel or Tulane with a victory. Tournament participants Drexel and Abilene Christian made the NCAA Tournament last season, and the Wildcats advanced to the Round of 32 with a win over Texas.
Charlotte’s lone matchup with a pre-season ranked opponent comes in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Dec. 7 against the preseason No. 16 Razorbacks.
The 49ers have struggled on the road over the past two seasons with a record of 6-19 outside of Halton Arena. Charlotte must turn this around in 2021.
FANS ARE BACK
It was quiet in Halton last season with Charlotte losing over half of its home games. With capacity restrictions and fan-less games behind them, this team gets to feed off the crowd again.
Charlotte started the 2020 season without fan attendance, went through a brief period where a limited capacity was allowed, then cut fans all together late in the season.
The 49ers posted a 13-2 record in Halton in 2019-20, breaking the record for the most home wins in program history. Getting back to a normal gameday environment will provide a boost for the players and staff, which could propel this unit to another first-round bye in the C-USA tournament come March.
For the first time since March 4, 2020, against North Texas, there is no capacity limit in Halton.
Charlotte will join the American Athletic Conference in the coming years, which will drive fan attendance as the quality of opponents will increase dramatically.
Charlotte 49ers projected starters
Jahmir Young — 6-foot-1, 185 pounds
2020-21 stats: 18 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists per game.
Young is the leader of this team. He was First-Team all-conference in 2020 and shot 42% from the field, 33% from three. Young scored double figures in all but one game, with his season-high of 27 coming against North Carolina A&T. His slashing and defensive presence will anchor the 49ers’ backcourt.
Clyde Trapp Jr. (Transfer from Clemson) — 6-4, 200
2020-21 stats: 7.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists per game.
Following four years in the ACC at Clemson, Trapp has one season of eligibility remaining. Trapp started all 24 games for the Tigers last season. He is an athletic guard that increased his 3-point percentage from 2019 to 2020, jumping from 26% to 35%. The free-throw line has been an issue, shooting 62.4% from the stripe in his career.
Austin Butler (Transfer from Holy Cross) — 6-5, 210
2020-21 stats: 16.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.6 steals per game.
Butler transferred in as a fifth-year senior from Holy Cross, where he started all but nine games through four seasons. He shot 49.5% from the field and an eye-popping 45.8% from three in 2020. He is a leader at practice and will be on game days. At 6-5, Butler’s toughness and motor will create extra possessions for Charlotte on the glass.
Jackson Threadgill — 6-6, 170
2020-21 stats: 3.4 points, 1.5 rebounds per game.
Threadgill won the 49ers’ Hayward Grubstake Award last season, given to the player whose effort, work ethic and dedication exemplify the program’s culture. He shot 33% from the field and 31.4% from three last season, with his career-best 11-point outing coming against South Carolina State. An injury to his hip sidelined him for 10 games of the 2020 season.
Aly Khalifa — 6-11, 230
2020-21 stats: Redshirt season
At 6-11, Khalifa is a gifted passer with the size to protect the paint. Khalifa played with the Egyptian National team where he averaged 12.7 points and 8 rebounds per game in the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup. He spent time with the NBA Global Academy and won multiple championships in a three-year stint.