Season opener offers Hoosiers a tough test

Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz has a good thing going -- two Conference USA titles in the last three seasons, three consecutive post-season appearances and a NBA lottery pick. \nBut Lutz could have a better thing going, if not for that lottery pick, Rodney White. \nWhite led all freshman in scoring at 18.7 points per game, was an all-conference selection, the C-USA Tournament MVP and the C-USA Freshman of the Year.\nNow, he's a Detroit Piston. \nIn his wake is an un-tested frontcourt that combined to score 12.5 points per game in 43 minutes per game. That trio -- senior Jermaine Williams, junior Cam Stephens and sophomore "Butter" Johnson -- will get its first test tonight against Charlotte's cross-town rival, Davidson. But the first tell-tale test will come at 7:30 p.m. Sunday when the 49ers meet IU at Dale F. Halton Arena. \nJunior Jeff Newton and sophomore All-America candidate Jared Jeffries could expose the 49ers' front line, and Lutz knows it. \n"Our post guys have improved, but we don't have Rodney White," Lutz said, adding that he plans to use a rotation of three post players. "We pride ourselves on being versatile."\nLutz has the ability to use a three-guard lineup to match IU's three-guard set, but is worried about keeping tabs on Jeffries, who scored 19 points against Charlotte in last season's IU 76-72 comeback win. \n"If they let us use six, we will," Lutz joked. "We'll throw a few guys at him and see how the game flows."\nThe flow will likely be up-and-down, thanks to Charlotte's up-tempo style of play and the potential of the 49er guards to dominate and control the game. Sophomore Demon Brown and senior Jobey Thomas run the 49er offense and take the liberty to fire at will from outside the three-point line. \n"They're very good, and their coach has done a great job," coach Mike Davis said. "They have two guards back who can score. We can't let them get 15 to 20 points each."\nDavis said he is confident in the defending ability of only one Hoosier guard, senior Dane Fife, who will match up against Thomas, C-USA's all-time leader in three-pointers and the 49ers' leading returning scorer (14.0 points per game). \nLutz said Thomas has improved his off-the-dribble shooting ability and his physical play. Still, his shooting touch could be the 49ers' trump card all season.\nDavis compared Brown to former Florida guard Ted Dupay, who found cracks in the IU defense Wednesday night on his way to a game-high 23 points in IU's final exhibition game, a 98-76 victory over Nike Elite. \nIU will counter Lutz's backcourt with a formidable one of its own and one that has shot well from three-point range in the Hoosiers' two exhibition contests. Fife and juniors Tom Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby have hit 17 of 30 three-point attempts and combined to score 73 points in the victories against Athletes in Action and Nike Elite. That trio is keeping Lutz on edge. \n"Coverdale is one tough son of a gun," Lutz said. "He makes winning plays and really bothered us last year. Fife does a great job and is a great defensive player. They just make game-winning plays." \nWhat has both coaches a tad worried is the game's proximity to previous contests; IU began preparing for Charlotte Thursday, and Charlotte will have only Saturday to prep for the No. 21 Hoosiers. \nSunday's game was originally slated for Saturday, but Charlotte and Davidson could not reach a mutual agreement for a date for their game before settling on Friday night. Once school officials made that decision, they bumped IU's season opener back 24 hours. \nWhile Lutz said the situation isn't ideal, the Friday-Sunday home games will mark the first time in Charlotte history the team has opened the season with back-to-back weekend home games, something that has the campus and city buzzing, Lutz said. \n"To play a school with Indiana's stature is huge." said Lutz, in his third-year in Charlotte. "It's a great way to kick off the season. IU is by far the best non-conference quality opponent to come into our arena. It's the best non-league game ever in our building without question."\nHalton Arena will be rocking Sunday night and should offer IU a test, helping it prepare for the rigorous Big Ten road schedule that has given the Hoosiers fits in recent history. The Hornets have lost only 10 games in Halton Arena since opening the building in 1996. \nIU freshman guard Donald Perry called Halton Arena, a 9,105-seat venue that is expected to be sold out, "the toughest place to play in Conference USA."\nThat prospect has the Hoosiers ready to go. \n"I like playing in other team's gyms," Newton said. "It's a different atmosphere; you have everyone against you. You want to stick it to 'em"