Charleston Southern Buccaneers
Record: 14-18, 7-11 in the Big South
Head coach: Barclay Radebaugh
Tenure at Charleston Southern: 16th season
Career coaching record: 207-256
Home court: Buccaneer Field House
Starters: G Deontaye Buskey, G Phlandrous Fleming Jr., G Travis Anderson, F Ty Jones, C Sadarius Bowser
Bench: F Terence Porter Jr., G Emorie Knox, F Melvin Edwards Jr., G/F Jamir Moore, G Ja’quavian Florence, G Sean Price, G Malik Battle
Overview: The centerpiece of this team is senior guard Phlandrous Fleming Jr. He’s coming off of a season where he collected the Big South Defensive Player of the Year award and made an appearance on the All-Big South First Team. Fleming has received deserved recognition this preseason and his team has benefited from it, as the Buccaneers were picked to finish third in the Big South by the head coaches.
Charleston Southern has not won the conference tournament since the 1996-97 season, but it has a solid core of returners that will work in its favor. The preseason ranking of third in the conference is puzzling, considering they do not have any statistics that point toward a dramatic turnaround this season.
Fleming is going to need someone to step up alongside him, and Deontaye Buskey is a strong candidate after his performance last season. If Buskey can increase his offensive production, the two will make a good duo. Sadarius Bowser will be a matchup problem for any team that doesn't have a center in their lineup, so there's a chance this Buccaneer team can string together some wins.
Team ceiling: While this may be overly optimistic, if Fleming gets a reliable sidekick this season, Charleston Southern is going to win its conference. Without a perennial repeat champion, the Buccaneers have as good a shot as anyone to finish on top.
Team floor: Without a No. 2 option on offense, opponents are going to key in on Fleming and lock him up. If this happens, expect Charleston Southern to be somewhere in the bottom third of the conference.
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Jake Piazza is a Trinity senior and was sports editor of The Chronicle's 117th volume.