Wofford Preview

CINCINNATI (OH) -- The Wofford Terriers return to UD Arena after a five-year hiatus. Head coach Mike Young hopes to build upon last year’s campaign that saw him set a career high in wins with 16.

Wofford finished 8-5 during last year’s non-conference schedule including a signature win at Purdue. By January the Terriers were 6-5 in conference play, but had won six of their last seven and were hoping to finish strong for a high seed in the conference tournament. Alas, injuries and inconsistency curtailed the Terriers as they lost seven in a row and went 2-8 in their last 10 games.

Despite having one of the best backcourt tandems in the Southern Conference last season, the Terriers finished a disappointing fourth in the South Division. Point guard Drew Gibson and shooting guard Shane Nichols, both 1,000 point career scorers, accounted for one-third of the Terrier offense last season.

“We lost two guys who meant a lot to me and to our program,” Young said. “I hope to coach another 25 years and may never have a guy who shoots as well as Shane did.”

Wofford hopes to mesh the eight returning letter winners with five freshmen, four of whom are guards. Young’s imbalanced recruiting class puts the Terriers at a disadvantage underneath with a dearth of size and experience in the post.

The Terriers are dedicated to defense and hope to generate some of their offense by creating turnovers on the perimeter. With a kennel full of guards, Young may employ even more ball pressure and some half-court trapping keeping fresh legs on the floor at all times.

Guard Junior Salters (6-1 185) played all three backcourt positions last year as a sophomore. This year he’ll play predominately at shooting guard or as the third guard in a three-guard lineup. Salters is a capable shooter with an adequate handle. He has a quick first step, but uses it mainly to create separation for jump shots. Salters shies away from contact, but won’t hesitate to shoot the three or the pull-up jumper.

An adequate defender, Salters will gamble for the steal and has a knack for anticipating passes. When he guesses wrong it usually results in a foul or easy bucket for the opposing team.

“He understands his role and how that’s changed from last year,” Young said. “I think it’s unfair for me to tell him he has to score 18 every night, but he might. He’s going to be a more consistent scorer because he’ll have more opportunities. We expect more from him defensively and a leader. The points will come. That’s what comes naturally to him.”

Salters benefited greatly from all of the attention paid to Gibson and Nichols. He’ll be the lead dog this year and the focal point of opposing defenses. Young doesn’t need Junior just to put up more points. Last year he led the team in field-goal attempts and took nine shots a game to average just under 10 points. Young needs a more efficient Salters taking better shots and creating easy baskets for his teammates.

There should be more than a handful of Wofford fans at the Arena since two freshmen from Ohio, Brad Loesing from Cincinnati (St. Xavier) and Jason Dawson from Columbus by way of Fork Union Military Academy, will rotate at the point guard position.

Playing their first collegiate game at the Dayton Decibel Dungeon in front of 12,000 rabid Flyer Fanatics should be a memorable moment for both of them, if not especially pleasant.

“I’m more than a little concerned. They’re going to have the kitchen sink thrown at them,” Young said. “But I don’t think they’ll blink. They don’t turn the ball over. They understand that we can’t tolerate poor decisions and ball-handling.”

Junior Corey Godzinski (6-8 210) should start on the wing and is an explosive player around the basket. He gets off the floor quickly and finishes well. At or beyond the foul line he’s much less effective with an unreliable jumper and questionable shot selection. If Godzinski put the time in during the off-season to refine his perimeter game, the Terriers could have something special. He is fearless, if not always smart with the basketball.

Junior forward Tim Johnson (6-5 230) is undersized but outplays bigger opponents through attrition. He plays full speed and never takes a play off. He’s relentless on defense and on the glass where he led the team in defensive rebounds. Johnson uses his quickness when defending the post and will slip around his man to pick off lackadaisical entry passes. Johnson is strong, but lacks the deft touch needed to score around the basket. He’ll get most of his points on garbage baskets or easy feeds from teammates.

Sophomore Noah Dahlman (6-6 220) rounds out the frontcourt. He was the teams leading rebounder and led the Southern Conference in field-goal percentage (.609). The rangy Dahlman is comfortable on the blocks armed with a turn-around or quick move to the basket. What he lacked was the strength to maintain his position, and stronger defenders were able to push him off the block.

Senior guards Matt Estep (6-3 185) and Marcus Jackson (6-1 190) are the back court reserves and are capable spot-up shooters and competent ball-handlers. Sophomores Terry Martin (6-6 225) and Drew Crowell (6-9 215) are the front court reserves.

Playing Wofford in the opener is ideal for the Flyers. The Terriers will play two freshmen at the point and the Dayton defense should be able to create turnovers and disrupt the Wofford offense. Coach Young’s key players Salters and Godzinski are adjusting to new roles and Salters may struggle early, especially with Marcus Johnson hounding him all over the floor. The Flyer big men will have favorable match-ups and Huelsman and Searcy could both have big games if the Dayton guards get them the ball.

If Dayton doesn’t take care of the ball and Wofford forces them into a half-court game the Flyers could be in a dogfight. However, Dayton’s advantage in depth, size, experience and athleticism should take its toll at least by the second half. While it’s not always the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog that prevails, these Terriers shouldn’t have enough of either to prevail against Dayton Sunday night.