By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
When the USCB Sand Sharks were picked to finish last in the Peach Belt Conference ahead of their inaugural 2023-24 season, it was to be expected. A first-year program dropped into a notoriously competitive league is not supposed to kick down the door.
And they didn’t.
The gauntlet chewed up Ron Fudala’s freshman-laden roster, as the Sand Sharks endured eight single-digit losses in Peach Belt play, including five by a single possession, leading to a 3-15 conference record and the projected last-place finish.
But … those three wins included a loud arrival on the scene in a 114-112 debut triumph over Augusta that set The Cove on fire and a 123-118 slugfest with Columbus State that went to four overtimes, and for a moment, the Sand Sharks could smell blood.
A string of four consecutive losses by three points or fewer took an emotional toll, though, and USCB finished the season on a nine-game losing streak.
The Sand Sharks likely would have been regarded more highly entering their second campaign had Marcus Overstreet returned for his sophomore season, but the dominant big man from Chicago hit the transfer portal after earning PBC Freshman of the Year honors and landed at Mercer, leaving a gaping hole in the paint.
Perhaps that’s why the league’s coaches picked the Sand Sharks to again occupy the PBC cellar. But they appear to have underestimated Fudala and the culture he has built in his short time in the Lowcountry. Moreover, they inflated the importance of any one individual in Fudala’s program.
Despite beefing up the early-season schedule substantially, including two road trips to the Pittsburgh area where Fudala cut his teeth as an assistant and mined several of his prized recruits, the Sand Sharks went 8-2 in non-conference games, and after a stinging loss at Augusta to open PBC play, they’ve rattled off three straight wins to match last season’s Peach Belt win total.
In Overstreet’s absence, the parts have become more interchangeable in Fudala’s “shift changes” with five players frequently going to the bench to be replaced by fresher versions of themselves during a key sequence. The 10-man rotation encourages everyone to play with maximum intensity for short spurts, emphasizing defensive pressure and constant motion punctuated with a team-first, win-at-all-costs mentality.
And the recipe is starting to simmer to a boil.
The selflessness is evident on the stat sheet, where 10 players average at least 14 minutes and 5.6 points, yet only two average double-digit scoring — Kenney Gaines (12.4) and Kevaughn Price (10.6). This in spite of the fact that the Sand Sharks average 88.9 points per game and have four players in double figures per game on average.
In fact, USCB is 10-1 when at least three players hit double digits and 1-2 when only one or two have hit the mark. Seven Sand Sharks scored 10 or more in a 92-91 thriller at Georgia Southwestern on Saturday, with Gaines splashing a late 3-pointer that proved to be the game-winner.
On any given night, a different hero can emerge. The addition of point guard Alejandro Ralat, a fifth-year transfer from Florida Atlantic who was part of a Final Four team in Boca Raton, brings a veteran presence who can help this young team navigate the bumps in the road that inevitably lie ahead. Everyone has bought into what Fudala is selling, and the market is rising.
If the Peach Belt coaches haven’t figured it out by next year’s preseason poll, well, bless their hearts.
Keep up with the USCB Sand Sharks with new episodes of Sand Shark Rewind at 8 p.m. Sunday on the Lowco Media YouTube channel!
Justin Jarrett is the sports editor of The Island News and the founder of LowcoSports.com. He was the sports editor of the Island Packet and the Beaufort Gazette for 6½ years. He has a passion for sports and community journalism and a questionable sense of humor.
