Pat Kelsey is gone to the P5 ranks, but College of Charleston basketball have replaced him with a high-profile hire: Chris Mack.
The tradition continues! CBB Review is again ranking the top 100 teams heading into the new college basketball season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: College of Charleston basketball.
For the second season in a row, the College of Charleston Cougars ran through the CAA postseason tournament to clinch a bid in the big dance. Unfortunately for the Cougars, they were met with a buzzsaw of an offense belonging to the Alabama Crimson Tide, who used an offensive tempo similar to the Cougars to send the team back to Charleston.
Message board chatter ramped up after the March Madness exit, with head coach Pat Kelsey being named a person of interest at several Power 5 job openings. Eventually, it was Louisville who inked a deal with the Cincinnati native, marking the second straight time a College of Charleston head coaching tenure ended with a promotion to a Power 5 school (Earl Grant to Boston College.).
Several players entered the portal after the announcement, with guards Reyne Smith and Kobe Rodgers following Kelsey to the ‘Ville, along with high-ceiling forward James Scott. Ben Burnham ended up at Virginia Tech while Bryce Butler and Frankie Policelli graduated.
But the cupboard wasn’t bare, as Chris Mack held on to big man Ante Brzovic and lead guard CJ Fulton, while a solid transfer class (AJ Smith, Elijah Jones, Derrin Boyd, Stef van Bussel, Lazar Đjoković, Deywilk Tavarez, and Đorđe Ćurčić) propelled the Cougars to the top of the preseason predictions in the CAA yet again.
Click here to learn more about our preseason top 100 teams heading into the 2024-25 college basketball season.
Head coach: Chris Mack (1st season at College of Charleston and 14th overall)
2023-24 record: 27-8 (15-3)
2024 postseason finish: Lost to Alabama (109-96) in the Round of 64
Notable departures:
- Frankie Policelli (9.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 0.7 APG)
- Reyne Smith (12.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.7 APG)
- Ben Burnham (11.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 0.9 APG)
- Bryce Butler (8.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.3 APG)
- Kobe Rodgers (9.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.2 APG)
- James Scott (5.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.6 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. South Florida (Nov. 8)
- Diamond Head Classic (Dec. 19-22)
Projected Rotation
PG: Deywilk Tavarez (6-2, 185, So.)
2023-2024 stats: 13.7 PPG, 3.6 APG, 3.2 RPG (Delaware State)
SG: Derrin Boyd (6-3, 215, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-2024 stats: 17.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.4 APG, 44.0% 3P% (Lipscomb)
SF: AJ Smith (6-4, 205, Jr.)
2023-2024 stats: 16.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.3 APG (The Citadel)
PF: Ante Brzovic (6-10, 225, Sr.)
2023-2024 stats: 12.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.4 APG
C: Lazar Đjoković (6-11, 235, So.)
2023-2024 stats: 2.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 0.9 APG (Xavier)
6: CJ Fulton (6-3, 190, Sr.)
2023-2024 stats: 4.1 PPG, 4.1 APG, 3.1 RPG
7: Đorđe Ćurčić (6-3, 190, So.)
2023-2024 stats: 2.9 PPG, 0.5 APG, 0.4 RPG (Saint Louis)
8: Elijah Jones (6-7, 210, Sr.)
2023-2024 stats: 8.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 0.5 APG (Green Bay)
9: Stef van Bussel (6-10, 255, So.)
2023-24 stats: 1.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 0.3 APG (Saint Louis)
10: Justas Stonkus (6-6, 210, Fr.)
2024-25 Recruit (Lithuania)
College of Charleston Basketball Team MVP: Ante Brzovic
Brzovic entered the transfer portal once Kelsey was announced as Louisville’s newest coach, but withdrew his name once Mack came to Charleston. Hailing from Zagreb, Croatia, Brzovic has anchored the Cougar frontcourt for the past two years and averaged 12.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 2.4 APG last season. He’s a magician with footwork down low, and Brzovic can pass the ball with precision as well, posting the second-highest assist percentage (20.9%) on the team last year, trailing only CJ Fulton. Going into the first year of the Chris Mack era, a more balanced offensive pace could lead to a higher usage rate and a stat bump for Brzovic this season.
College of Charleston Basketball make-or-break player: AJ Smith
AJ Smith transferred schools but not cities in the offseason. The former Citadel Bulldog averaged 16.2 PPG last season and has the ability to change the direction of a game simply by getting buckets. Smith was “that guy” for the Bulldogs, and he has the ability to fill that role again for a Charleston team, this time for the Cougars. His career-high of 31 points came last season against North Carolina A&T, a CAA opponent. The losses of Butler, Smith (Reyne variety), and Rodgers hurts, but Smith (AJ variety) will help fill that void.
Key analytic: 3PA per game
Part of Kelsey’s motif at Charleston was a fast-paced, perimeter-centered offense. That was evident last year any time someone turned on a Cougar game. On a per-game basis, College of Charleston averaged 30.6 threes, one of just three teams attempting >30.0 long balls per 40 minutes. With a change in coaching staff and coaching philosophy, it’s unlikely that the Cougars will continue at this volume of perimeter shooting. (In Mack’s last full year at Louisville, the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season, the Cardinals ranked 314th of 347 schools in 3PA/game.)
That’s not necessarily a bad or good thing, just simply a change in environment. This could very well, as mentioned above, lead to a statistical bump for Brzovic and the big men on the roster as the offense returns to a more balanced form. Regardless of speed, the Cougar offense should be potent again.
College of Charleston Basketball 2024-25 projections
Projected conference finish: 1st in CAA
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Round of 32