This University faces an uphill battle to compete in the tough Southern conference. If last year was the barometer then there is some hope down in Charleston, but not much.   I would like to say that Coach Robinson pulled off an extraordinary coaching feat.  He did not.  Robinson’s boys did gel near the end of the year and combined with a couple of hot streaks (back to back wins is a hot streak here) the Citadel almost got to double digits in wins.  Robinson, who played for powerhouse North Carolina State in the ACC, is on a mission to get this team to the post season for the first time.  He has even went so far as to compare his players with the talent he was suiting up next to in Raleigh. That of course is not true and if you understand the honor code of this college then not being completely forth right is totally unacceptable.  But even in the strangest of realities where Walter Cronkite was reporting the truth once again this program has about as much chance of getting to the post season as Carter has liver pills.  But they will play the games down in Charleston and if you believe that a singer from the 80’s can rise back up the charts decades later and finally get to # 1 then you might just believe this team can challenge for the SoCon title.  And they do believe down south just ask Jeff Foxworthy! 

The Citadel play a controlled tempo as beset an Academy and try to keep games close.  This shows a lot of mental toughness. Too bad they could not finish the job on a regular basis.  Of their seven overtime games, the Citadel only won two including a legendary four overtime upset of fellow military institution (hence the name) the Virginia Military Institute in front of the home crowd faithful.  Their long-time rival left the McAlister Fieldhouse (the renovated and renamed Citadel Armory after a Colonel of course) with their tails between their legs losing a tough one but there was nothing to be ashamed of after this one legendary game.  Played in front of the biggest crowd of the year (4200) the Cadets have not played in front of a sellout (6000 seat capacity) since Duke visited three years ago.  This would turn out to be the Citadel last win of the year as they would lose their final ten games (yes ten) of the season.  But you will not ever be able to take away that game in January said Robinson. ‘They will always have VMI!’ They also had three other losing streaks of five or more games as well but who’s counting.  Strangely the Citadel actually had three guys that averaged in double figures in scoring (plus one more over 9 and a half a game primarily coming off the bench) as Robinson had a solid nucleus of offensive production even with their slow pace.  Of course, this is the same program that was once known as the Blitz Kids a few years back under legendary Stormin Norman Sloan before he went big-time and returned to his alma mater at NC State. I guess some Army General loved that nickname so much he stole it for himself.  As you can see the offensive capability is there.  They do rely on the three a little much but they do not have much size down low.  The biggest player by far is 6’10 Jerry Varn and he has had more than his fair share of injuries since matriculating to Charleston.  But man is he a heck a cadet using his time on the sideline to help the academy.   The ‘Moose’ hosts a sporting clay tourney with proceeds going to The Citadel Brigadier Foundation.  With Varn on the sideline many players had to rotate in and out of their best position trying to match up with the other team’s size (academies usually do not recruit tall players and have to get lucky to find big men unless of course you get lucky and your recruit grows seven inches after signing up like David Robinson did at Navy).  The Moose could be on the loose again this year but Robinson, the coach here, not the Admiral though that might fit as well, has to make due with his undersized big men.  It does not help that this institution is a place of order and seniority so if there is any doubt of who will get the nod or playing time it almost always goes to the upperclassmen.  This, amongst about 17 other things, does not help recruiting.  Thank God Robinson made the exception last year for a certain freshman. 

The Citadel have a solid but small front court with the best two players on the roster playing the same position of small forward.  The exception, Sophomore Regan Truesdale was second on the team in scoring average and is by far the most talented player on the team.  Coming into this year nobody would have expect that after he was barely recruited to come to Charleston. He is an inside outside player who can get things done from mid range or posting up people.  He is not overly athletic or big but knows how play the game. He started the year on the JV and came up mid-season after a rash of injuries including the Moose.  Truesdale has great desire as shown by his team leading 38 offensive rebounds in just 15 games.  At only six four he is not big enough to play power forward at least on the defensive end.  He also had trouble guarding quicker people at his position but shines on offense.  Truesdale was counted on to hit clutch shots and guard more athletic guys and performed admirably down the stretch though his team did not win much.  More importantly, Truesdale became the go to guy at the end of the shot clock and games and he produced.  If this small-town South Carolina kid (Heath Springs, Pop 992) was four inches taller he might be playing for the Gamecocks or even the Tar Heels. Then again he came here pretty green and was nowhere near the player on the JV as he was on the varsity.  Hard work in the gym and getting moved up sure worked out as by the end of the year Truesdale had become an offensive catalyst.  This kid with the great name especially for a military brat sure can play and oh by the way he is one of the first black kids to ever suit up in the Citadel blue and white (yes they are just presumptuous enough to name a color after themselves).   Perhaps that is why he had such a lackluster first half of the year as he was avoiding the extra special hazing they were giving this ‘pleeb.’

Senior Gary Daniels is also a gifted offensive player who is a solid forward.  The problem was that the Citadel had no real center when Vann went down and Daniels had to step in and up.  Daniels was at least a little better fit for the role than anyone else on the roster and ended up playing the post position though he was overmatched defensively at only six five.  Still, Daniels was the best option at least offensively and performed well.  Daniels might have led the team in scoring if he would have allowed to play facing the basket more often but like all Citadel players he does what is best for the team.  An injury that cost him a few games early in the year opened the door for Truesdale to move into his role.  Daniels will be back but hopefully in his preferred role as the power forward instead of the center.  It might not seem like it but there is a big difference in the two especially defensively. 

Senior Art Musselman was the best player on the team.  Or at least he was going into this year.  Sadly, for the Citadel at least, he plays much the same position and style as Truesdale.  Musselman can score inside and out and is a solid rebounder.  Musselman is another tweener forward who does not have much size (6’3) but is a little more natural three than Truesdale.  He can run the court (he was an original Blitz Kid) and can finish and was voted team captain unanimously by his teammates.  Musselman came through with some big shots and was the team leader on and off the court.  He is not quite the scorer of his two front court compadres and is always an unselfish team first guy.  He plays the game the way it should be and understood giving up minutes for the benefit of the team.  He did miss a few games due to injury and the team seemed lost when he was gone. There are rumors that Robinson intends to make Musselman (he could and should be a super hero) his sixth man so he can get some more size up front.  After all a front line that goes 6’5, 6’4 and 6’3 is just not going to work even in the SoCon. 

Robinson has a plethora of players waiting their turn to get a shot to play for the Citadel down low.  Seniors Ray Graves and Dick Martini split the time with juniors Richard Johnson and Tom Slawson that was opened up with all of the injuries.  Most of these guys are not huge but are true bangers in the paint when Robinson goes with a standard lineup.  Graves is a good rebounder but does not have a lot of offensive skills though at times he scored in large quantities in the past.  He is only six five and soon became dispensable when Truesdale took over.  Martini is a tad bit bigger at 6’6 and built like a s*** brickhouse. Martini has a mean streak and  can really score when he is not trying to knock people on their butts.  He got into some trouble with his physical play and got kicked out of a game against Western Carolina knocking Henry Logan into the wall going up for a board.  Martinie supposedly said to the much smaller Logan to stay out of the key with the trees and got run.  Robinson did not tolerate this and after he got kicked out of the game he suspended him for three more games.  That is the life of a cadet.  Not the same rules as everybody else.  Martini barely played the second half of the year but Robinson has said he will give him a fair shot to make the team and produce this, his final year in Charleston.     Slawson has a little more skill and has some size at six eight and should get a lot more PT this upcoming year.  Slawson is also a black athlete and has had to wait in line for his turn though some think his size could have helped the Citadel last season if he was on the court more often.  Do not be surprised if Slawson starts at the five this year even if Varn comes back.  He is by far the best defensive big man on the roster.  Johnson goes 6’8 and is a project that is getting better.  Definitely a defense first guy, Johnson won’t start and might not play much but does give Robinson some options off the pine.  Sophomore to be Patrick Elmore is another option unique as it may be.  Elmore played both post positions two years ago but left the team after Robinson sent him down to the JV early on telling him he was not ready for the varsity as he was too immature.  Elmore worked hard and got a second chance which does not happen much in the world of the Lords of Discipline.  Elmore has a chance of being back on the big club if he meets all the requirements Robinson has set forth which include beginning the season on the JV of course. The 6’7 kid can play and even has a nice outside touch so it is worth the risk but it sure was a shock when he got that second chance.  

The back court for the Citadel is nowhere near as deep but there is some talent.  Junior Rodney McKeever took over at one guard and did a great job.  A scorer first mentality, McKeever is a solid point guard but knows how to create his own shot and can hit the open looks.  He finished first on the team in scoring as he can hit the three (though he does not have a high percentage from behind the arc) and can really get to the hoop.  He also led the team in assists and steals and might be the most competitive guy on the team.  McKeever is a good athlete and can guard people.  He might be better suited as a two guard but this team has no one near his talent level on the returning roster so he seems stuck as the Mr. Do Everything back court stud. 

Robinson did not have much support next to McKeever but a few guys stepped up and played well.  Foremost of this group was junior Rick Swing.  Swing’s name fits him well as he is a true swing man who can play both positions on the wing.  Swing was a steady influence off the bench with a great offensive game as well as well as being a great leader on and off the court.  He has good size (6’4) as he as big as Truesdale but is a true perimeter player and is by far the best three-point shooter on the team.  Swing has a smooth jump shot and should have got more minutes but Robinson loved using him off the bench due to his flexibility and his ability to light up the team with his shooting.  He almost averaged ten a game however and is a solid passer.  A group of seniors kept up the tradition of seniority in Charleston starting next to McKeever though the amount of minutes regressed rapidly as the season progressed.  Herwig Baumann is smart as a whip and is thick skinned as they come (you have to be with that name in the South) and got the most starts next to McKeever.  He can score but does not bring much on the defensive end.  Fellow seniors Jerry Hirsch and Tee Hooper are more wings than guards but will play.  That is if Hooper does not decide to go full-time on the tennis courts as he is the # 1 chair on that court and might have a future there after he graduates.  Two Dicks, Jones and Wherry, came into last year expecting to get big minutes but by the end of the year barely played.  That will almost assuredly will continue if they even make the team but both were huge members of the ‘Blitz Kids’ under Sloan.  But it is not Sloan’s team anymore.  And Robinson wants quicker, more athletic players.  Juniors Randy Nebit and Chuck Cordell fit that bill and will battle, like they did on JV the last two years, for minutes at the point.  Neither is near McKeever in talent but if Robinson wants his star to be a two guard then one of these two will start next to him.  Unless someone pulls a Truesdale this year.  Another point guard, senior Pat Conroy, is still around but has already published a book and looks more like a trainer than a basketball player.  Even the boisterous kid knows this as he said ‘If I make the team I will guarantee it will be a ‘losing season.’

There is only one University in D-1 sports that has the official title of ‘The’ and it is not the boys from Columbus!  The Citadel is nowhere near the athletic juggernaut as those boys from the Big Ten but they are the oldest program in the Southern Conference.  Yes, the same conference where all of those ACC powerhouses began. This program does not get many games with those former rivals who have moved on up to the elite of college basketball though games with fellow Palmetto State teams Clemson and South Carolina (now in the SEC after going Indy for a few years) are still on the Citadel schedule.  Honor means something down here and this program proves that but sooner or later even these guys got to win some games.  Robinson has promised he will get a game with his alma mater and the Citadel’s old coach Norm Sloan’s new team but that has not materialized yet. If it does and it happens in Charleston maybe McAlister Fieldhouse will finally see a full house again.  Of course the odds of that happening in the near future are about the same as the Citadel shocking the world and bringing home a Southern Conference title.  But as we stated above, stranger things have happened!