‘A huge challenge’ awaits Charlotte 49ers in American men’s basketball tournament
A Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball team that far exceeded first-year expectations under head coach Aaron Fearne is headed to the American Athletic Conference Tournament with ambitions of its own.
Slotted as the No. 3 overall seed following a 13-5 record in conference play, Charlotte is tasked with winning three games in three days for its only chance at punching a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004-05.
Charlotte will take the court for the first time at Dickies Arena on Friday night at approximately 9 p.m., playing Thursday’s winner of No. 6 SMU vs. No. 11 Temple.
While Fearne is never one to look past the team’s next opponent, the first-year head man knows Charlotte must bring its A-game to Fort Worth, Texas, to advance to the latter stages of the tournament, let alone win the whole thing.
“It’s going to be challenging for everybody, there’s no doubt about that. The teams that were able to get into that top 4 (seed) had to fight just to get to that point. We understand that it’s going to be a huge challenge,” Fearne said. “You want to be playing good ball at this time of year, and we’ve been able to get back to form these past couple of games. We need to have a great week of preparation, and we can’t waste a day. We’ve got to go perform.”
While opponents are still to be determined, Charlotte’s most likely path to the tournament championship is through three league heavyweights — SMU, which will be in the ACC next season, Florida Atlantic, which is coming off of a Final Four run a season ago, and South Florida, who has won 21 of its past 23 games and swept Charlotte in the regular season.
Learning from CBI experience
According to Lu’Cye Patterson — Charlotte’s leading scorer, and returnee from last season’s College Basketball Invitational (CBI) championship team — the 49ers know what it takes to win in March. And having fun on the court has become a regularity under Fearne.
“The will to win a championship. Doing whatever it takes. Just knowing how hard it is to win a championship in March was a good learning experience for the guys that came back from last year’s CBI championship team,” Patterson said of winning the CBI last season. “This being my second year (at Charlotte), just seeing the change from last year to this year – it’s a lot more exciting and a lot more fun to play.”
Fearne is aiming to keep his team grounded. Looking to avoid letting the moment get too big, all while playing to their standard, and most importantly — having fun.
“It’s extremely hard to win at this time of year because everyone is playing extremely desperate and urgent. It’s important to stay in your lane and play your role, and not go outside of that,” Fearne said.
“You don’t want to make this any bigger than what it is, so I want to keep the guys as grounded as possible. Yes, we have to play well — but so does the other team.
“We have to work really hard this week. They have to individually prepare for the week ahead because you’re potentially playing three games in three days, and you have to have every ounce of juice available to perform when you get to that point,” Fearne continued. “It’s a fun week, and I’m looking forward to it. I think it needs to be looked at like that – fun, exciting, and a reward for the hard work you’ve put in this season. Let’s go out and perform.”
Many ‘firsts’ for 49ers this season
Charlotte won its final game a season ago — beating Eastern Kentucky in the CBI championship. And despite losing its top scorers to the transfer portal, losing its head coach to his former job, and being picked 13th out of 14 teams while joining a new, much tougher conference in the AAC, the 49ers got better. And the “firsts” started piling up again, something that Charlotte fans haven’t felt in more than a decade.
Charlotte had its first sell-out crowd at Halton Arena since 2013. Beat its first nationally ranked opponent since 2013. Finished top 3 in conference play for the first time since 2003. And had its first “Fearneville” — something that Charlotte students hope to continue until at least 2029, when Fearne’s current deal expires.
Fearne noted the energy, student section, and support for the program as his proudest accomplishments in his first season at the helm.
“The thing that I’m most proud of is just the energy that we’ve been able to bring back to the program. People are excited about the program, the way we play and how hard the guys compete,” Fearne said.
“That’s definitely what I’ve been personally most proud of, that we’ve been able to reignite some old memories. Just the new energy of the student body and the atmosphere they create.
“For me personally, it was just the support and unity that the guys showed from way back in June. They’ve allowed me to coach them hard and get after them. They’ve taken that coaching, and I challenge them. I always the believe that biggest memory that you take from a season like this is the success you’ve built together,” Fearne continued.
“I think it will be something that they’ll take with them for the rest of their lives. They know how hard they’ve had to work to achieve what they’ve been able to achieve. I still reflect back on all those great teams that I’ve been a part of, and the friendships — those are more important than the wins and losses.”
Patterson echoed Fearne’s comments, elaborating on his journey as a transfer just two short seasons ago.
“We’re all really close on and off the court. I think I’ll miss that the most,” Patterson said of this year’s team. “Getting to know these guys from me transferring and them welcoming me in with open arms. Even last year, being my first year here, I felt like I knew these guys for a long time. That’s what I’ll most miss about this team and the guys who are here right now. It’s always love.”
But it’s not finished just yet. Charlotte needs three wins in as many days to win the AAC Tournament championship, and Fearne knows that the 49ers are onto the third and final portion of the season.
“I’m just proud of the guys’ ability to find a way. Just to fight and scrap (through the struggles). I’m extremely proud of what we’ve been able to achieve this year. We’ve done some amazing things, but now we’re in season three. We’re on day one today, and we’ll see how long we can keep this thing rolling.”