A Division II program is usually not the level of opponent South Carolina State faces to open the season.

In years past, the Bulldogs have tested themselves early against upper Division I schools like Duke, North Carolina and the University of South Carolina.

With tonight's season-opener against Erskine College kicking off a four-game stretch at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center playing exclusively smaller schools, head coach Tim Carter is employing a different approach.

"In building a basketball program, I think the number one thing you try to do is build confidence within your program," he said. "At the beginning of most seasons, most teams try to play people that they think they have a chance to have some success against and hopefully, you can build some confidence in doing that. Obviously, that's not going to guarantee you that you're going to win. But, the only way you get good at winning is to win and that's what I'm hoping to build here is a winning basketball program. I don't think we're doing anything any different than a lot of teams around the country are doing."

Coming off a 13-20 record in his first season at the helm, Carter has pushed the "money games" further back on the schedule in favor of opponents the Bulldogs could compete against on a more equal level.

"I don't think it's very wise to play North Carolina or South Carolina the very first game of the season," he said. "If you look at our schedule, we're going to Clemson (Dec. 13). We're going to Nebraska (Dec. 30). By that time, we'll hopefully have ironed some things out in what we're trying to do which gives you a chance to maybe go up and play a whole lot better against those type of teams. Obviously, those are money games. But I'm just trying to get our guys to feel good about our program and players feel good when they win."

In the Flying Fleet of Erskine, S.C. State faces a team which went 6-21 last season. They are led by captain/guard Brandon Wright, who led all Division II players in three-point field goals made (3.4 per game).

"From what I've seen on film of them, they're really solid in the halfcourt from the standpoint of trying to run a good offense," Carter said. "They're going to bounce it around from man to zone and they do have a couple of good perimeter shooters. The most important thing for us is not to focus on the opponent. I tell our guys all the game, the opponent is not the team you play. The opponent is yourself."

The Bulldogs return four starters -- sophomore guard and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year Carrio Bennett, point guard Jessie Burton, junior forward Jason Flagler and preseason All-MEAC forward Jason Johnson. Among the six newcomers Carters expects to contribute are shooting guard Brandon Smalls, point guard Kensha Johnson and College of Charleston transfer center Josh Jackson.

Tonight's season-opener tips off at 7 p.m. at S-H-M and is free to the public. It can also be heard on WSSB (90.3 FM). The Bulldogs return to action Tuesday to face Allen University as part of a non-conference doubleheader with the women, who open the season at 5:30 p.m. against Mercer University.

n T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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