Wikipedia

1996–97 Charleston Cougars men's basketball team

The 1996–97 College of Charleston Cougars men's basketball team represented the College of Charleston in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by 18th-year head coach John Kresse, played their home games at F. Mitchell Johnson Arena in Charleston, South Carolina as members of the Trans America Athletic Conference.

1996–97 Charleston Cougars men's basketball
TAAC Regular Season champion
TAAC tournament champion
NCAA tournament, second round
ConferenceTrans America Athletic Conference
DivisionEast Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 21
APNo. 16
Record29–3 (16–0 TAAC)
Head coach
Home arenaJohn Kresse Arena
Seasons
← 1995–96
1997–98 →
1996–97 Trans America Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
No. 16 College of Charleston† 16 – 0   1.000 29 – 3   .906
Florida International 12 – 4   .750 16 – 13   .552
Florida Atlantic 11 – 5   .688 16 – 11   .593
Campbell 8 – 8   .500 11 – 16   .407
Stetson 5 – 11   .313 9 – 18   .333
Central Florida 4 – 12   .250 7 – 19   .269
West
Samford 11 – 5   .688 19 – 9   .679
Jacksonville State 9 – 7   .563 10 – 17   .370
Southeastern Louisiana 7 – 9   .438 10 – 18   .357
Georgia State 6 – 10   .375 10 – 17   .370
Centenary 6 – 10   .375 9 – 18   .333
Mercer 1 – 15   .063 3 – 23   .115
† 1997 TAAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll[1]

After finishing the regular season conference schedule unbeaten (16–0), the Cougars would also win the 1997 TAAC tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 12 seed in the Southeast region. College of Charleston beat No. 5 seed Maryland[2] in the opening round before falling to eventual National champion Arizona in the second round, 73–69.[3] The team set a school record for wins in a season and finished with an overall record of 29–3 as well as a No. 16 ranking in the season’s final AP poll.

The Charleston senior class finished with a four-year record of 101–17.

Roster

edit
1996–97 College of Charleston Cougars men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
C 4 Thaddeous Delaney 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Sr    
G 20 Jermel President 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
—
 So Burke Charleston, South Carolina
F 21 Stacy Harris 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
 Sr West Potomac Alexandria, Virginia
F 23 Sedric Webber 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So W. J. Keenan Columbia, South Carolina
G 24 Anthony Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr R.B. Stall Charleston, South Carolina
F 42 Rodney Conner 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
 Sr Orangeburg-Wilkinson Orangeburg, South Carolina
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

edit
Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov 22, 1996*
 at Charleston Southern W 81–68  1–0
 F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,068)
Charleston, South Carolina
Nov 27, 1996*
 vs. Arizona State
Great Alaska Shootout 		W 77–68  2–0
 Sullivan Arena (8,285)
Anchorage Alaska
Nov 29, 1996*
 vs. No. 21 Stanford
Great Alaska Shootout 		W 82–78  3–0
 Sullivan Arena (8,285)
Anchorage Alaska
Nov 30, 1996*
 vs. No. 8 Kentucky
Great Alaska Shootout 		L 65–92  3–1
 Sullivan Arena (8,285)
Anchorage Alaska
Dec 7, 1996*
 The Citadel W 68–63  4–1
 F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,622)
Charleston, South Carolina
Dec 14, 1996
 Presbyterian W 62–56  5–1
 F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (2,741)
Charleston, South Carolina
Dec 16, 1996
 Elon W 68–59  6–1
(2–0) 		F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (2,432)
Charleston, South Carolina
Dec 18, 1996*
 at Oklahoma State L 49–67  6–2
 Gallagher-Iba Arena (5,821)
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Dec 28, 1996*
 Drexel W 75–65  7–2
 F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,722)
Charleston, South Carolina
Dec 29, 1996*
 Northern Illinois W 71–67 OT 8–2
 F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (2,561)
Charleston, South Carolina
Jan 2, 1997
 at Mercer W 88–64  9–2
(1–0) 		Porter Gym (683)
Macon, Georgia
Jan 4, 1997
 at Georgia State W 88–63  10–2
(2–0) 		GSU Sports Arena (1,245)
Statesboro, Georgia
Jan 9, 1997
 Jacksonville State W 90–74  11–2
(3–0) 		F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,482)
Charleston, South Carolina
Jan 11, 1997
 at Samford W 79–59  12–2
(4–0) 		Seibert Hall (3,588)
Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 13, 1997*
 at Wofford W 88–64  13–2
 Benjamin Johnson Arena (2,422)
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Jan 16, 1997
 Florida Atlantic W 72–64  14–2
(5–0) 		F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,617)
Charleston, South Carolina
Jan 18, 1997
 Florida International W 78–75  15–2
(6–0) 		F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,692)
Charleston, South Carolina
Jan 23, 1997
 Campbell W 77–52  16–2
(7–0) 		F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,347)
Charleston, South Carolina
Jan 30, 1997
 at Central Florida W 87–63  17–2
(8–0) 		UCF Arena (1,345)
Orlando, Florida
Feb 1, 1997
 at Stetson W 77–56  18–2
(9–0) 		Edmunds Center (3,307)
DeLand, Florida
Feb 3, 1997
 at Campbell W 97–58  19–2
(10–0) 		Carter Gymnasium (788)
Buies Creek, North Carolina
Feb 6, 1997
 Central Florida W 90–61  20–2
(11–0) 		F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,419)
Charleston, South Carolina
Feb 8, 1997
 Stetson W 62–44  21–2
(12–0) 		F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,607)
Charleston, South Carolina
Feb 13, 1997
 No. 25 at Florida International W 85–81  22–2
(13–0) 		Golden Panther Arena (1,273)
Miami, Florida
Feb 15, 1997
 No. 25 at Florida Atlantic W 64–60  23–2
(14–0) 		FAU Arena (2,124)
Boca Raton, Florida
Feb 20, 1997
 No. 22 Southeastern Louisiana W 81–68  24–2
(15–0) 		F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,688)
Charleston, South Carolina
Feb 22, 1997
 No. 22 Centenary W 94–73  25–2
(16–0) 		F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,734)
Charleston, South Carolina
TAAC tournament
Feb 27, 1997*
 (1) No. 20 Centenary
Quarterfinals 		W 89–71  26–2
 F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,255)
Charleston, South Carolina
Feb 28, 1997*
 (1) No. 20 Southeastern Louisiana
Semifinals 		W 93–63  27–2
 F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,480)
Charleston, South Carolina
Mar 1, 1997*
 (1) No. 20 Florida International
Championship Game 		W 83–73  28–2
 F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,525)
Charleston, South Carolina
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1997*
 (12 SE) No. 16 vs. (5 SE) No. 22 Maryland
First Round 		W 75–66[2]  29–2
 Pyramid Arena (9,000)
Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 15, 1997*
 (12 SE) No. 16 vs. (4 SE) No. 15 Arizona
Second Round 		L 69–73[3][4]  29–3
 Pyramid Arena (11,815)
Memphis, Tennessee
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
SE=Southeast.
All times are in Eastern.

Source[5] [6]

Rankings

edit
Main article: 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Awards and honors

edit

NBA draft

edit
Main article: 1997 NBA draft
Round Pick Player NBA Team
2 39 Anthony Johnson Sacramento Kings

[7]

References

edit
  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1996-97 Trans America Athletic Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ a b "College of Charleston Makes Case for Respect". The New York Times. March 14, 1997. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Arizona Uses Every Trick in Its Bag to Oust Charleston". The New York Times. March 16, 1997. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  4. ^ "Arizona Ends Charleston's Dream". The Los Angeles Times. March 16, 1997. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  5. ^ "1996-97 Men's Basketball Schedule". College of Charleston Athletics. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  6. ^ "College of Charleston 1996-1997 stats" (PDF). NCAA Career Statistics.
  7. ^ "1997 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=1996–97_Charleston_Cougars_men%27s_basketball_team&oldid=1198085088"