The Wingate University men’s basketball team will have a role reversal of sorts from head coach
Brian Good’s first season a year ago. During the 2008-09 campaign, Good took over a team with a solid core of returners. His veterans included four seniors with a combined 80 starts entering the season. In the upcoming season, the Bulldogs will have only four returners that have started a game under Good. Wingate’s second-year mentor also welcomes ten newcomers for the 2009-10 season.
Wingate finished the 2008-09 year with 12-16 overall record and an 8-8 finish in the South Atlantic Conference, a league that sent 33 percent of its members to the 2009 NCAA tournament. The schedule also featured nine other NCAA teams.
Coach Good knows the Bulldogs will rely on youth and talent due to the lack of experience on the court. “I can say without a doubt that I have never been through a pre-season like this...with 10 new players,” Good acknowledges. “The youth and enthusiasm has made this fall very fun. They have been eager to learn and have worked extremely hard. We are doing our best to come together as a team. We have spent several hours together off the court in hopes that this will expedite the team building process.”
The Bulldogs return two seniors in swingmen
David Johnson and
Larry Staley. Johnson led the ‘Dogs from beyond the arc and the free throw line last season. Staley scored in double figures twice last season, posting those totals in back-to-back wins against Tusculum and Brevard.
Sophomore guards
Chase Smith and
Jaime Vaughn will lead the Bulldogs in the backcourt. The duo combined for 88 three-pointers and each had exactly 100 attempts. Smith scored in double figures five times, with a season-high at home against Lander. Vaughn struck for double-digit points 11 times with his season-high at Tusculum, when he poured in 20 points.
Wingate will welcome in nine true freshmen and one sophomore transfer. All nine of the rookies for Wingate hail from North Carolina, Florida or Georgia. The sophomore transfer (
Tracy Parks) is a Floridian who joins the Bulldogs from South Alabama, where he played one year for the NCAA Division I Jaguars.
Good admits the recruiting process was a furious one, as the Bulldogs need production right away. “We recruited guys that we felt would contend for starting positions,” Good says. “At some positions, we recruited two or more for those positions. I doubt that there will be any minutes played when there are not freshmen on the floor for us this season.”
The three previous years prior to the Brian Good era, Wingate won 37 of 43 home games in Cuddy Arena. The first year under Good was no different as Wingate had a 10-2 record on its home floor. The road was not friendly for Wingate as they finished 2-13 with both road wins coming in the SAC. The road woes are something Coach Good and his staff discuss on a regular basis.
“We ask for feedback from our players as well,” Good notes. “Is it pre-game meals…the gym arrival time…the route? We consider everything and look for any detail that may help our team be more prepared,” Good adds. “Truth be told, it’s tough to win on the road in this league…very few (teams) lose at home.
“For us to win on the road, not only do we have to be talented and prepared, but mentally tough,” Good says. “I felt that this is what got LRU the championship last season. They had veteran guys that were mentally tough.”
Wingate will field yet another tough non-conference slate with four of the first six games on the road, including a trip to visit Coach Good’s former team, Queens University of Charlotte. The home opener is November 15 against Armstrong Atlantic State, a 2009 NCAA tournament qualifier.
