The Roost

Coastal Carolina men's soccer nets national ranking

After reaching the NCAA tournament last season, the Coastal Carolina men’s soccer team is again garnering national relevance.

The Chanticleers, buoyed by a 2-0 victory at home over Ohio State on Sunday, were given a No. 25 national ranking Tuesday in the latest poll by SoccerAmerica while also receiving votes in national polls compiled by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and CollegeSoccerNews.com.

The Chants, who also boast a key win over a ranked Virginia Commonwealth team, are off to a 5-2 start.

"I think it’s great for the program and for the university," CCU coach Shaun Docking said of the ranking. "I think any time you can play big programs and beat them, like we’ve done this year and like baseball has done and golf, I think it’s great not only for athletics but for the whole university and Myrtle Beach area.

"So we’re really thrilled that we were able to get some big wins this year, and I think the win against Ohio State really kind of put us on the map and our program back to where we need it to be."

Docking thinks its the first time since 2004 or 2005 that the Chants have appeared in a national poll.

Through Sunday, Coastal ranked sixth nationally in scoring at 2.71 goals per game, led by six from junior forward Ashton Bennett. He scored both goals in the big win over Ohio State, which was ranked No. 24 nationally in the NSCAA poll entering that game.

Virginia Commonwealth was ranked No. 16 by the NSCAA before Coastal won 2-1 in double overtime in the teams’ Sept. 11 showdown.

"When you play a top-25 team in any sport, they’re just so much bigger and stronger athletically," Docking said. "... I think for us it shows us as a program that we’re on the right track in terms of recruiting and how hard we’re working in the weight room."

Senior goalkeeper Scott Angevine is also off to a strong start, leading the Big South in save percentage (.818) while tying for the conference lead with two shutouts. Additionally, Docking highlighted the play of senior midfielder Cyprian Hedrick and junior midfielder Luis Faz.

And the coach admits the team has exceeded his expectations a bit so far.

"We’re very young. We’ve got a lot of new players this year that have ended up starting for us, and I think from the outset we knew it would take some time in terms of getting these guys adjusted to how the program does things and our style of play," Docking said. "So I’ve been really pleased and excited a lot of these young players have really adapted pretty quickly."

While the national ranking is nice, Docking also knows that the Chants still have a lot of work to do to secure a second straight NCAA tournament appearance.

Coastal opens conference play Friday night at home against Gardner-Webb.

"We’ll see what the season brings," Docking said. "We’re only a third of the way into the season, so we’ve still got another two-thirds left. But I’m encouraged by the start, and we’ve just got to keep this young group focused and heading in the right direction."

| Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com

Mark Richt on Andrae Jacobs

I was listening to the Georgia pregame show on my drive to Sanford Stadium today, and Bulldogs coach Mark Richt had some high praise for Coastal Carolina linebacker Andrae Jacobs.

Richt was talking about how talented but undersized players so often get passed over by FBS programs like his because if there is a similar player a couple inches taller, the big-time programs will take the size and trust they can get the most out of the player with the more-prototypical frame.

That led to him giving his impressions on Jacobs (listed at 5-foot-11), who was the Big South defensive player of the year as a redshirt-sophomore last season.

"I think he's a guy that's going to end up playing in the NFL," Richt said.

Strong comment from one of the country's most successful college coaches.

| Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com

CCU releases men's basketball schedule

Coastal Carolina released its 2011-12 men's basketball schedule Tuesday, revealing a home slate highlighted by matchups with SEC-foe Louisiana State and in-state challenger College of Charleston and key non-conference road games against Clemson, Florida International, The Citadel and East Carolina.

The Chanticleers open the season Nov. 11 at Kimbel Arena against Division III opponent Covenant and tip-off Big South Conference play at home Dec. 1 against VMI.

"These are just great series that should be exciting for our fans, get our players ready, and of course [in] conference play, we've got a target on our back," CCU coach Cliff Ellis said, noting the highlights of the schedule.

This will mark the second straight season Coastal has played LSU. The Chants scored a 78-69 overtime upset in Baton Rouge, La., last December and had planned for the rematch to be a marquee game to help open the school's Student Recreation and Convocation Center. But the new on-campus facility will not be completed as early as initially hoped and may not be used at all this season, so the Tigers will instead come to cramped Kimbel Arena for what will surely be a unique atmosphere for the SEC foes.

"I can't think of anyone that's ever been any stronger coming to Kimbel Arena," Ellis said. "Certainly, we had the aspiration to have them at the Convocation Center, but that’s not going to happen. But we're excited to be playing them.'

Ellis said he never had any concerns about the game remaining on the schedule after it was revealed in April that the new arena would not be ready in time.

"It is what it is," he said. "We're a program that's established itself as a top-150 program, which is important with the RPI. We've just got teams that have a desire to have series with us because we don’t hurt their RPI and we both help each other. That’s how far the program's come."

The game at Clemson is the start of a three-year series with Ellis' old program -- he coached the Tigers for 10 seasons from 1984-85 through 1993-94. And the Florida International game is the start of a home-and-home series, Ellis said, with the Golden Panthers -- coached by NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas -- coming to Conway next season.

The Chants, who are coming off their second-straight Big South regular-season championship and back-to-back 28-win seasons, will also be part of ESPN's Bracketbusters on Feb. 18 while the non-conference schedule is balanced by four games against Division III programs.

| Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com

2011-12 Coastal Carolina men’s basketball schedule
Date        Day    Opponent        Time
Nov. 11    Fri.     vs. Covenant     7 p.m.
Nov. 12    Sat.    vs. Methodist    2 p.m.
Nov. 15    Tues.  vs. LSU             7 p.m.
Nov. 18    Fri.     vs. Spalding       7 p.m.
Nov. 22    Tues.  at Clemson       7 p.m.
Nov. 26    Sat.    at Florida Int.    TBA
Dec. 1     Thurs. vs. VMI             7 p.m.
Dec. 3     Sat.     vs. Liberty        2 p.m.
Dec. 6     Tues.  at The Citadel   7:05 p.m.
Dec. 16    Fri.     vs. Lynchburg   7 p.m.
Dec. 19    Mon.  at East Carolina  7 p.m.
Dec. 22   Thurs. vs. Col. of Char.  7 p.m.
Dec. 31    Sat.    at High Point     7 p.m.
Jan. 2     Mon.   at Campbell       7:45 p.m.
Jan. 7     Sat.     at CSU             5:30 p.m.
Jan. 12   Thurs.  vs. GWU            7 p.m.
Jan. 14   Sat.     vs. Presbyterian  4 p.m.
Jan. 17   Tues.   at UNC Asheville 7 p.m.
Jan. 21   Sat.     vs. Radford        2 p.m.
Jan. 26   Thurs. at Presbyterian   7 p.m.
Jan. 28   Sat.     at GWU             7 p.m.
Feb. 4    Sat.     vs. CSU              4 p.m.
Feb. 7    Tues.   vs. Campbell       7 p.m.
Feb. 9    Thurs.  vs. High Point     7 p.m.
Feb. 11   Sat.     at Winthrop       TBA
Feb. 14   Tues.   vs. UNC Asheville 7 p.m.
Feb. 18   Sat.     ESPN BracketBusters
Feb. 23   Thurs.  at Liberty          7 p.m.
Feb. 25   Sat.     at VMI               1 p.m.
Feb. 27-March 3    Big South tournament

Bennett's cats and dogs talk makes Deadspin

Leave it to Coastal Carolina football coach David Bennett to attract national attention for one of his weekly news conferences.

Bennett closed his Wednesday media gathering with a talk about how his players need to be more like dogs and less like cats -- complete with meows and a very quotable anecdote, as the coach is well known for at this point.

Well, the folks at Deadspin.com have caught wind of the cat talk and put the video on their site. Surely, this sound bite deserves a place on Bennett's greatest hits collection.

Here's the link featuring video from WPDE: http://deadspin.com/5838742/

Hillary honored by Big South after first start

Coastal Carolina junior quarterback Aramis Hillary made quite the impression in his first collegiate start, leading the Chanticleers to a dramatic season-opening win over Furman on Saturday night and earning Big South offensive player of the week honors Monday.

Hillary led the Chants to a 30-23 win over the Paladins, completing 10 of 13 passes for 130 yards while sharing snaps with senior Jamie Childers, and he also led the team on the ground with 61 yards and two touchdowns rushing. One of those scores was his three-yard touchdown run with 1:32 remaining to cap a go-ahead 71-yard drive.

"To me it just really means that the offense did a great job in the offseason, all camp just working hard. I'm just a representative of the whole offense," Hillary said of the conference honor. "We did a good job together. The o-line did a great job blocking on pass protection and runs. It just made it easy for us back there, me and Childers, just to see things and see some holes open up. Those guys did a great job, and our playmakers outside also, you're got to [recognize] them as well."

Hillary, in his second year in the program after transferring from South Carolina, got the start Saturday night in the Chants' quarterback time share and played the first two series, finishing the second off with a four-yard touchdown run to give CCU an early lead.

In the third quarter, helped the Chants regain the lead again, connecting with sophomore Matt Hazel on a 39-yard pass down to the Furman 5-yard line. That set up an eventual four-yard touchdown run by sophomore Aaron Jones as Coastal went back up 23-16.

And with the score tied once more, Hillary guided the offense down the field in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, completing 2 of 2 passes for 24 yards on the drive and rushing in for the game-winning score.

"We definitely can only work to get better," Hillary said of his and the team's encouraging start. "There's always a start and a finish, and hopefully the start can only rise from here. I think we're all motivated as a whole offense knowing that we've got two quarterbacks that can play, we've got receivers everywhere, three or four great running backs and that o-line, all that seniority's just paid off. I think everybody's excited about the year. We've hit the ground running and I think we're not looking back."

| Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com

CCU learns WR DeMario Bennett cleared to play

The Coastal Carolina football team received some potentially impactful news Friday in learning that sophomore wide receiver DeMario Bennett will be eligible for the upcoming season, including the Chanticleers' first game Saturday night against Furman.

Bennett, who transferred from South Carolina in the offseason and went through spring practice with the Chants, was touted as a key addition to an offense that lost its top two receivers from last year. It was then revealed in June that he was expected to be academically ineligible for the 2011 season based on his spring grades.

But CCU football coach David Bennett said that the player had received an unspecified waiver through the Big South Conference that received final approval Friday.

"The official word is he's been declared eligible through a waiver through the Big South Conference office," David Bennett said.

He did not clarify the nature of the waiver.

"When waivers are done, there has to be certain circumstances," Bennett said. "... I guess there are waivers done all the time every year from every team, and you just never know when one's going to go through and when one's not. So I guess the No. 1 thing you do is you hope and pray that a young man is given a chance."

DeMario Bennett played sparingly in eight games last season for the Gamecocks as a redshirt-freshman, catching one pass for four yards. But upon beginning spring practice at Coastal, he quickly established himself as one of the team's fastest players and the kind of deep threat the Chants have been lacking in recent seasons.

Bennett resumed practicing with the Chants on the first day of fall classes the beginning of last week, and David Bennett said he would likely see some action in the season opener Saturday night against Furman, although it's not clear how big of a role he will have.

"I don't know," the coach said. "I don't know. As talented as he is, we have to throw him out there a little bit and see what we can do." 

Bennett was rated a two-star prospect by Rivals.com coming out of Coffee County High School in Georgia where he had 44 catches for almost 600 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior.

"He's a very talented young man. He's blessed with a lot of talent," David Bennett said. "I think he's excited to be able to be around his teammates and have a chance to perform and get his degree and better his life. They were telling me yesterday that this was probably going through, and I said, "Wow.'"

| Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com