There is hope in Conway as the Chants do play in the weakest conference in the country.  Yeah, the Chanticleers have an easy row to hoe but when you literally don’t have a senior on your team because your program has not been around long enough then those fields get longer and longer.  Bergman has decided to build this team the old-fashioned way and go with four year players instead of the quick route of the Junior College.  This means there must be patience and looking at the returning players if Bergman has not brought in a class that is Clemson level talent this might be a long year.  Of course, the Chanticleers are not going to be able to recruit like ACC schools even if they are in the same area but Bergman has quite a reputation for landing talent but bringing them to Conway is a whole different ballgame unless you swing a club or a bat?  As for the Upperclassmen coming back the cupboard isn’t completely especially one high scoring guard who has become a huge fan favorite at Kimbel Arena.    

Junior Howard White is a terrific perimeter player who knows how and when to turn on his jets on a drive to the hoop.  White is a sensational scorer who easily led Coastal Carolina in that category and was second in the league last year.  He has good range but is better going to the hoop and causing havoc.   He is the only returning player assured of starting and will be the focal point of the offense for the Chants and has become legendary in Conway.  Fellow junior Manuel Jessup will start at the opposite wing from White.  Jessup is another terrific offensive player.  Jessup has been overshadowed by White but might be a better shooter but is nowhere near as gifted getting to the hoop but who is?  This tandem will be counted on for offense and lots of it on this fledgling program.  Sophomore Dave Mooney is a terrific long-range bomber and showed well the last few games after moving up from the JV.  He is perfect for a sixth man role but his defense is a bit suspect so this 6’4 gunner better continue to guide in missiles from behind the arc at a high rate. 

The front court is nowhere near as set as the wings.  The post position isn’t big (short) for the Chanticleers but they did produce albeit their lack of size last season. Junior  Forrest Junck and Sophomores William Calvin, Tony Whittington and Derek Wilson showed some upside in some big minutes at the forward position last season.  Calvin was the most consistent and thus got the most minutes last season. He is solid offensively and a beast on the glass. His toughness was needed as he is the best post defender on the roster even if he only goes 6’4.   Junior Forrest Junck is a solid player who is especially solid rebounding.  He is definitely the Chairman of the Board for the Chanticleers but he is not exactly a rim protector. He is small, however, at just six five which was obviously a problem guarding other people’s centers.  Bergman did want to do this but at times he had to.  None of these guys are going to challenge Patrick Ewing for Aircraft Carrier supremacy underneath but the quartet combines to give Bergman solid effective play on both ends. Whittington is tough down low and gave the Chanticleers some toughness but like his teammates is undersized and nowhere big enough to guard D-1 players though he could be alright in the Big South.  Wilson is a gifted athlete who like Whittington made a solid impact in his first year in Conway.  He has a little size at 6’7 and is a good defender but player out of position at center for the Chants.  Wilson will play somewhere on the front line next season but if he is logging too many minutes at the five this team is in trouble!  Juniors Jim Cabe and Bobby Livingston got some minutes early on last year but were passed up and would be happy just to make the team with Bergman’s new recruits coming to Conway.  Another group of second year players will attempt to make the move up from JV next year.  Richard Scantlebury, Michael Hopkins, Jeff Roberts and Mike Anderson are all in the mix but none of these guys are seven footers either.  Hopkins has the best chance as he understands how to play and led the Junior Varsity team in scoring.  The other three are bangers and could be useful but are probably bound for more time in the trenches of the JV.  But speaking of music, Big Jeff Roberts can play a mean guitar though he is not all that popular on long bus trips.  Or at Toga parties. 

Point guard was handled by Juniors Robert Smith and Dwight Lighty for most of last year.  This duo split time with Smith starting and Lighty as the primary backup.  Both are solid distributors and defenders but neither is a great scorer. They will be challenged by new comers as Bergman tries to get more offense on the court.  Sophomore Greg Moody is a 6’2 pass first player who started on JV but is no better than the pair who started last year.  Fellow sophomores Robert Gray and Ricky Rutherford are combo guards better suited for the two who split time on JV.  You can see why Berman has made point guard an emphasis in his recruiting as well as finding a dominant big man but those are about as easy to find for a program like this as sitting on that proverbial needle in the haystack.  

The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are without question one of the newer programs in D-1 having only having a basketball program for a few years.  But they seem to have the right philosophy for the long term and the right leader.  Coach Russ Bergman is here to stay and is bringing in a group of players willing to play ing his style of hoop.  The Chants might not win the Big South but boy can they dance-the shag that is!  This Beach town community loves their music and dancing and golf course and baseball but not hoops.  Yet! If this Chanticleer team takes off this year this Citizens of Conway will have to add basketball to their favorite pastime as they do their ‘shagging’ at the biggest dance of all!