The college basketball season is now three weeks old with a majority of early season tournaments in the books and several programs setting themselves apart from their preseason expectations, in one direction of the other. Several of the coaches listed in the first power rankings have built on their already solid resumes, and some newcomers have climbed onto my version of Charlotte's radar.
#1- Mark Byington (James Madison)
The Dukes started their season out on a high note, notching overtime road wins at both Michigan State and Kent State (both NCAA Tournament teams last season). James Madison also dispatched of mid-major peers Southern Illinois and Fresno State en route to winning the Cancun Challenge. Byington's team have climbed from a preseason KenPom ranking of 136th up to 73rd. With no more projected Top 50 teams on their schedule the Dukes are favored in all but one if their remaining games (away at Appalachian State). If the Dukes stay focused they can pile up quite the large win tally by the end of the season.
#2- Justin Gray (Western Carolina)
The Wake Forest alum is in his 3rd-season as the Catamount's head coach, and in just his 5th-season coaching college basketball ever, having joined the Winthrop staff in 2019 following an international playing career. Western Carolina are 4-0 (versus D1 opponents), including road wins at Notre Dame and Middle Tennessee plus a home win over Will Wade's revived McNeese State program (more on that later). Gray's rapid adjustment to college basketball is remarkable, and if more established candidates are out of reach Gray is looking like a solid option to lead the Niners.
#3- Aaron Fearne (Charlotte)
The first six games for Charlotte have been encouraging but far from groundbreaking. It's clear that the hole in scoring left by Aly Khalifa and Brice Williams has set the offense back. However, the team is finally delivering on the effective defense which was first expected when Ron Sanchez was hired 5 years ago. Charlotte has only been outclassed in one game, a 12-point loss to a Liberty team which has since climbed into the KenPom Top 40. The victory over George Mason to open the Jacksonville Classic is the bright spot of the season, however, the UCF game exposed some weaknesses as Charlotte failed to close out the fame from a very favorable position.
UCF were playing a different class of athlete than Charlotte, and jumped out to an early 15-6 lead with Dishon Jackson already on the bench in foul trouble. But Coach Fearne fine tuned Charlotte's approach and the Niners found ways to score against their longer opponents while also slowing down their scoring, leading to a 39-21 run during the middle-half of the game. At this point, Dishon Jackson was reintroduced while having 4 fouls to his name. UCF immediately capitalized, by targetting Jackson on several possessions, scoring easy baskets and regaining momentum. Both in regulation and in overtime Charlotte held narrow late leads, but mental errors and poor free throw shooting opened the door to defeat, which UCF was more than happy to waltz through.
At home against Georgia State the Niners fell into an early hole, as 5/9 3-point shooting propelled the Panthers to a 13-point lead just prior to half-time. In something foreign to Charlotte fans, an improved squad hit the floor following the intermission. The Niners scored the first 12 point of the 2nd-half, and while the lead traded hands a few times Charlotte always looked in control, going on a 10-0 run after the score was knotted at 53 to close out the game.
#4- Mike Jones (UNC Greensboro)
Coach Jones, according to some reports, may have been the closest coach to taking the Charlotte job back in June. Coach Jones is in his 3rd-season leading the Spartans after 10 years at Radford, where he had won at least 12 conference games in each of his final four seasons leading the Highlanders. So far UNC Greensboro have climbed up 92nd in KenPom (highest in the SoCon) as a result of their 5-1 record, including six-point win at Arkansas.
#5- Will Wade (McNeese State)
Well, well, well, look who we have here. Back in 2015 Will Wade flirted with the Charlotte job, but reports say he was not sold by then AD Judy Rose's pitch. Days later Wade would ultimately replace Shaka Smart at VCU, likely indicating any marriage at that point in time between Charlotte and Will Wade would have been short lived. But here we are 9-years later. Wade moved on to LSU from VCU, but things went sour during a recruiting scandal (involving things which can be done above-board these days). Wade took the McNeese State job to rebuild his career, and in-spite of being suspended for the first several games his team managed to spoil Ryan Odom's debut at VCU and has also taken Western Carolina to the wire. The Cowboys have a couple of tough tests remaining in the non-conference schedule (away games at UAB and Michigan) but are, at this point, the runaway favorites for the Southland Conference. It's easy to see Will Wade's tenure at McNeese State being a short one if the right opportunity presents itself.
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