January 27, 2006
First Impressions:
Duggar Baucom
This
is part four in a six part series on the college basketball
coaches making the best impression with their new teams.
A
little crow-eating time here. I earlier wrote that the
VMI coaching vacancy fell under the “don’t
unpack” files. As in VMI, which hasn’t been ranked nor been to the Big
Dance in almost 30 years, was where a coach would go only if he had a
peculiar interest in losing, being fired, or both.
Well,
Coach Duggar Baucom can unpack and make himself feel right at home. At 7-10
they may not be going to the postseason this year, barring a surprise run
through the Big South. But they are already two wins away from matching
last season’s total (9), and one win from matching last year’s number of
conference wins (3) - and there’s still 10 games to go. A simply incredible
feat for a team that was overwhelmingly picked to bring up the rear in the
Big South preseason poll.
Coach
Baucom, a former North Carolina state trooper, has employed a high-speed,
up-tempo offense that is already paying big dividends. Sophomore Reggie
Williams, an all-Big South freshman last season, is currently third in the
league in scoring and fifth in rebounding. He has improved nearly every
facet of his game under his new head coach.
The
team as a whole leads the conference in rebounding and is second in
field-goal percentage. However, they also lead the Big South in turnovers,
which could be their Achilles’ Heel in the Big South tournament. Still,
there is no question that the Keydets are headed in the right direction and
could actually be a contender for the Big South’s automatic bid next season
should Williams stick around.
This
is #4 in a six part series on the college basketball
coaches making the best impression with their new team. Tomorrow
is Matt Doherty of Florida Atlantic.
