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The Daily OrangeNational | The Citadel finding winning elusive with 14 freshmen
By Matt Ehalt
Posted: 2/20/08, 11:19 PM EST Section: Sports
As would be expected, the Bulldogs have struggled this season. The Citadel carries a 6-20 overall record, and is 1-16 record in the Southern Conference.
Dahn said one thing the team struggled with at the beginning of the season was chemistry. With players coming from different areas and all having to learn a new system at the same time, Dahn said it takes time for the team to be able to come together as a team.
Another aspect the young team has to deal with is leadership on the court. With some rotations consisting strictly of freshmen, the team is still trying to develop leaders on the court to guide the team during crunch time.
"It's so difficult to help a freshman become a consistent player and someone you can count on," Conroy said. "They change weekly, daily and monthly, and as a coach, you don't know exactly what you're going to have."
With the team's record looking bleak, Conroy tries to focus on how the team improves from week to week or game to game.
"We're going through a rough year, and nobody is happy in terms of wins and losses," Conroy said. "But I'm thrilled with our development, and that's what really it's all about. I think your seeing the character really being revealed about these guys and why I believe so much in them when recruiting them."
The Citadel players pointed to a recent road loss against former league champion Appalachian State as a sign of their development. Although the Bulldogs lost, The Citadel had chances to win the game late.
"If there's a particular game (to show our development), it's the Appalachian State game," Dahn said. "They're one of the top teams in the conference, and it was in their place, and we went in there to a tough environment and we just played really well. We took them to overtime and had a couple of opportunities to beat them. But even before that, we've been very close, and we just continue to build on that."
Although the team hasn't produced many wins, the growth is there for the opposition to see. Georgia Southern head coach Jeff Price said the first time his squad bested the Bulldogs, he saw an inexperienced team, but has noted improvement.
Dahn said one thing the team struggled with at the beginning of the season was chemistry. With players coming from different areas and all having to learn a new system at the same time, Dahn said it takes time for the team to be able to come together as a team.
Another aspect the young team has to deal with is leadership on the court. With some rotations consisting strictly of freshmen, the team is still trying to develop leaders on the court to guide the team during crunch time.
"It's so difficult to help a freshman become a consistent player and someone you can count on," Conroy said. "They change weekly, daily and monthly, and as a coach, you don't know exactly what you're going to have."
With the team's record looking bleak, Conroy tries to focus on how the team improves from week to week or game to game.
"We're going through a rough year, and nobody is happy in terms of wins and losses," Conroy said. "But I'm thrilled with our development, and that's what really it's all about. I think your seeing the character really being revealed about these guys and why I believe so much in them when recruiting them."
The Citadel players pointed to a recent road loss against former league champion Appalachian State as a sign of their development. Although the Bulldogs lost, The Citadel had chances to win the game late.
"If there's a particular game (to show our development), it's the Appalachian State game," Dahn said. "They're one of the top teams in the conference, and it was in their place, and we went in there to a tough environment and we just played really well. We took them to overtime and had a couple of opportunities to beat them. But even before that, we've been very close, and we just continue to build on that."
Although the team hasn't produced many wins, the growth is there for the opposition to see. Georgia Southern head coach Jeff Price said the first time his squad bested the Bulldogs, he saw an inexperienced team, but has noted improvement.
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