JC Smith basketball’s in need of some urgency in CIAA

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Avery Huggins, left, is Johnson C. Smith’s most consistent player, but the Golden Bulls are in need of identity on both ends of the floor as the regular season winds down.

Johnson C. Smith is stumbling at the worst time of the CIAA basketball schedule.

The Golden Bulls (10-6, 5-4 CIAA), who have lost two straight going into Tuesday’s game at Livingstone, fell flat last week against St. Augustine’s and Fayetteville State. Not only were both winnable games, JCSU fell behind early and couldn’t catch up. Against Fayetteville State, the Golden Bulls fell into a 6-0 hole and could get no closer than 8-7. Statistically, they were in close except for points in the paint, where the Broncos dominated 46-28. Fayetteville State also scored 22 points off 13 Smith turnovers compared to the Golden Bulls’ 16 points on 11 Broncos miscues.

JCSU is more talented than the previous two seasons when the Golden Bulls couldn’t break double-digit wins. They’re also very good at Brayboy Gym with nine wins in 11 games, but they are far from a complete team heading into the regular season stretch run.

JCSU doesn’t have a defined identity on either end of the floor. Avery Huggins (18.1 points per game on 60.5% shooting) is their best and most consistent player, but no one has stepped in as a viable No. 2 scorer. Sometimes it’s Ezekiel Cannedy, who still commands attention but needs to be more assertive when opportunities present themselves.

Cannedy averages 13 points per game, but connects on just 39.8% of his shots, both of which are off his All-CIAA pace a season ago.

Certainly, the Golden Bulls have no trouble with scoring diversity but lack consistent defense, especially on the road, where they’re 1-4 and allow an average of 75.6 points per game. Against St. Aug’s on Jan. 15 for example, they allowed the Falcons to connect on 55.6% of their shots in an 86-72 loss.

That’s been a theme throughout the season, and if JCSU is going to make a move in the Southern Division, they’ll have to fix it quickly.

There are nine games left in the regular season, including four at Brayboy. At 1-2 in division games, the Golden Bulls have some work to do to catch up to Claflin and Fayetteville State, both of which are 2-0. In the CIAA, fortunes turn quickly, but JCSU will have to develop better consistency, especially on the road, to reach the South’s upper end.

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