Tim Carter could have used a bottle of Pepto-Bismol Saturday night at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Just 24 hours earlier, the South Carolina State men’s basketball team was eliminated in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference semifinals by Norfolk State. The defeat proved more than costly as it denied the Bulldogs any chance of postseason play.

No chance to dance at the NCAA tournament. No invite to the National Invitational Tournament. Even a potential spot in the newly-created College Basketball Invitational had the Bulldogs advanced to the MEAC final was taken away following the 74-71 loss to the Spartans.

Against his better judgement, Carter returned with his wife to the coliseum to watch the tournament final between Morgan State and Norfolk State. Needless to say, he was not in the best spirits watching the Bears earn the automatic berth.

“I probably felt as sick as I’ve ever felt,” he said.

The source of Carter’s queasiness was reflecting on the causes of the Bulldogs missing out on their first tournament final appearance since 2003. A game in which the Bulldogs led by as many as 11 points was stolen away thanks in part to an old bugaboo from earlier in the season - turnovers - rearing its ugly head again.

S.C. State committed 21 in the game, many of which came in the second half when it the team was unable to handle Norfolk State’s fullcourt pressure.

Further stymieing the Bulldogs’ effort was a poor shooting performance from All-MEAC forward Jason Johnson and point guard Jessie Burton. The starting duo combined to go 0-for-10 on field goals, with Burton going 0-for-8 in an effort which drew flashbacks to 2004 when S.C. State lost in the semifinal to Florida A&M after going 0-for-25 from 3-point range.

“If you had told me that Jason Johnson and Jessie Burton would score one field goal - I believe it was one or two field goals in the tournament - I would have thought you were nuts,” Carter said. “And then to have Jason and Jessie not to score field goal in the semifinal game, that killed us. Absolutely killed us that they didn’t score. Not only that, the fact that we did not attack their press. We became very, very passive against the press and we just didn’t get the production versus the press that was needed.”

Watching his point guard struggle against the press conjured up another painful past memory. How improved would the Bulldogs have looked had highly-touted freshman point guard Darien Norris (who started five games as a freshman at Bradley University) not opted to seek his release from the program?

For that matter, how much better would S.C. State’s record be if newcomers Brandon Smalls, Jamaal Day and Arsenio Williams were not ruled academically ineligible for the spring semester or center Julius Carter had not quit the team?

Despite those adversities and having a roster which topped eight players before the MEAC rosters, Carter still managed to lead the Bulldogs to their most wins and highest regular-season finish since the 2003-04 season. A big credit goes to the leadership of players like forward Jason Flagler in helping the short-handed Bulldogs become a cohesive unit.

“Every one of those guys banded together,” he said. “Jason Flagler did a tremendous job of leading this team after Julius (Carter) quit.”

More important, Carter has managed in just two years to overhaul and upgrade the current roster while improving the team’s lot in the “win” column.

“People tell you if you’re going to build a program the right way, it takes you four years,” Carter said. “And I’d like to think that we’re ahead of schedule because to come in second place in my second year and .. .have three players on this team that I didn’t sign - Jason Flagler, Jessie Burton and Westley Telfaire - I think we’re ahead of schedule.”

Freshman guard Jimmy Williams developed into a difference maker and team leader the second half of the season. Shooting guard Carrio Bennett late in the season began to shake his “sophomore jinx” and Kensha Patterson provided some minutes at point guard.

Should Smalls and Day return improved, the Bulldogs could have one of the MEAC’s deepest backcourts especially if incoming guards Tyvon Williams and Shaquil Barber pan out.

“This is a guard-dominated league,” Carter said. “If you’re point, you’re two or three are really good, you’ve got a chance to have a really good basketball team. Norfolk was that way and I though this year, Morgan had the total package.”

The 5-11 Williams, who like Johnson is from the Bronx, N.Y., averaged 10 points and 3.75 assists per game in two seasons at Monroe College and is considered by Carter as more of a “pure” point guard.

“He brings speed,” Monroe coach Jeff Brustad told Scout.com. “I’ve called him Tyverson. He’s probably the quickest guy in the program. He’ll play some off the ball, play the point. We’re a team with a lot of length, but he adds that other dimension (with his speed).”

As for Barber, the 6-0 senior out of Griffin High School in Georgia earned Class 4-AAAA Player of the Year honors this past season. He received high marks in an evaluation posted in ESPN.com college basketball recruiting section which described him as a “prototypical low major point guard”, “an outstanding leader” and a “very knowledgeable playmaker.”

In addition, Barber was described as having “blazing speed and quickness with the ball” who can “soar to the hoop or find open teammates” and is an “effective outside shooter.”

“South Carolina State head coach Tim Carter landed a true gem in Shaquille Barber,” as posted in the evaluation. “He is destined to start as a freshman for the Bulldogs.”

With Johnson and Josh Jackson departing, Carter finds himself in search of two replacements to play alongside second-team All-MEAC forward Jason Flagler. Rio Pitt, a 6-8 forward, sat out this season and Carter has already signed 6-7 forward Joe Wright, formerly of Marion High School.

Should Carter sign two physical frontcourt players with his remaining scholarship offers, those sick moments from Winston-Salem State will further fade from his memory in place of anticipation for the 2009-10 season.

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. Check out his blog, Following the Bulldogs, at www.thetandd.com.

 

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