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University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Know Your Opponent: Gardner-Webb
November 15, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers
By Bobby Hundley
Gardner-Webb (GWUSports.com)
Location: Boiling Springs, N.C.
Rankings: No. 221 KenPom, NR AP
Record: 0-2
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 4-0 (Carolina 76, GWU 59, Nov. 9, 2012, Chapel Hill)
Eight months ago, Gardner-Webb was in the midst of its finest hour as a Division I program. The Runnin' Bulldogs swept through the Big South tournament, beating regular season co-champs Campbell and Radford on their home floors to earn a place in the NCAA tournament for the first time. GWU then put a scare into Virginia in the opening round, leading by as many as 14 before fading after halftime.
Eight months later, head coach Tim Craft and his team are adjusting to life without a pair of impact seniors in David Efianayi and D.J. Laster. Efianayi was the club's leading scorer at 18.2 points a night and made 42 percent of his 3s, while Laster poured in 32 points on 14-of-17 shooting in the Big South title game to win tournament MVP honors.
Expectations are still high - GWU was picked to finish second in the league behind Radford - but cold shooting and a lack of ball security have contributed to an 0-2 start to the 2019-20 campaign.
A pair of returners are crucial to the success of this year's Gardner-Webb team. Sophomore Jose Perez is a do-everything wing who was second on the team in scoring and led the Bulldogs in both rebounds and assists as a freshman. The Bronx native was a first-team all-league performer a year ago and scored a team-high 19 in the NCAA loss to UVA. Junior Nate Johnson was also named to the preseason All-Big South team after averaging nearly 10 points per contest in 2019.
Forward Eric Jamison Jr. is the lone senior in Craft's starting lineup, but 10 total lettermen return for GWU. A tough loss to a talented Furman team in the opener wasn't surprising, but a 12-point setback at a Western Carolina team that went 7-25 last season was. The common threads in both games were poor shooting and a glut of turnovers, the former of which is especially concerning for a team that ranked 26th nationally in effective FG% a season ago.
Friday night's game in Chapel Hill continues a challenging early road trip for Gardner-Webb that also features games at Wichita State and South Carolina. In fact, the Bulldogs face six more road contests - including at Wofford and Virginia Tech - before the end of the calendar year. That stretch should adequately prepare GWU for the rigors of a Big South slate that squeezes 18 games into eight regular season weeks, starting with a road trip to Campbell on Jan. 2.
Gardner-Webb (GWUSports.com)
Location: Boiling Springs, N.C.
Rankings: No. 221 KenPom, NR AP
Record: 0-2
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 4-0 (Carolina 76, GWU 59, Nov. 9, 2012, Chapel Hill)
Eight months ago, Gardner-Webb was in the midst of its finest hour as a Division I program. The Runnin' Bulldogs swept through the Big South tournament, beating regular season co-champs Campbell and Radford on their home floors to earn a place in the NCAA tournament for the first time. GWU then put a scare into Virginia in the opening round, leading by as many as 14 before fading after halftime.
Eight months later, head coach Tim Craft and his team are adjusting to life without a pair of impact seniors in David Efianayi and D.J. Laster. Efianayi was the club's leading scorer at 18.2 points a night and made 42 percent of his 3s, while Laster poured in 32 points on 14-of-17 shooting in the Big South title game to win tournament MVP honors.
Expectations are still high - GWU was picked to finish second in the league behind Radford - but cold shooting and a lack of ball security have contributed to an 0-2 start to the 2019-20 campaign.
A pair of returners are crucial to the success of this year's Gardner-Webb team. Sophomore Jose Perez is a do-everything wing who was second on the team in scoring and led the Bulldogs in both rebounds and assists as a freshman. The Bronx native was a first-team all-league performer a year ago and scored a team-high 19 in the NCAA loss to UVA. Junior Nate Johnson was also named to the preseason All-Big South team after averaging nearly 10 points per contest in 2019.
Forward Eric Jamison Jr. is the lone senior in Craft's starting lineup, but 10 total lettermen return for GWU. A tough loss to a talented Furman team in the opener wasn't surprising, but a 12-point setback at a Western Carolina team that went 7-25 last season was. The common threads in both games were poor shooting and a glut of turnovers, the former of which is especially concerning for a team that ranked 26th nationally in effective FG% a season ago.
Friday night's game in Chapel Hill continues a challenging early road trip for Gardner-Webb that also features games at Wichita State and South Carolina. In fact, the Bulldogs face six more road contests - including at Wofford and Virginia Tech - before the end of the calendar year. That stretch should adequately prepare GWU for the rigors of a Big South slate that squeezes 18 games into eight regular season weeks, starting with a road trip to Campbell on Jan. 2.
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