Back today with some more Liberty notes from Tuesday’s Big South media day in Charlotte, plus a Q&A with Josh Hoke, the Coastal Carolina beat writer for the Myrtle Beach Sun News.

Let’s start with the promos:

- Twitter feed can be found here.

- My story on Radford center Art Parakhouski, the Big South’s preseason men’s player of the year.

- My Liberty/Big South notebook from today’s News & Advance.

- I’ll have a story on Liberty safety Chris Rocco in Thursday’s News & Advance.

- Here’s Hoke’s Coastal Carolina football notebook from the Sun News.

And speaking of Mr. Hoke, here’s the Q&A I conducted with him about the upcoming CCU game. I try every week to pick the brain of a writer who covers Liberty’s opponent, with the exception so far being West Virginia Wesleyan, because I’m not sure anyone covers West Virginia Wesleyan.

CL Are the Chanticleers starting to finally recover from losing that class of 36 seniors a few years back? And has the coaching staff adjusted its recruiting philosphies to make sure another mass exodus like that doesn’t happen again?

JH I think the recovery athletically is complete. I think you can make a legitimate argument for this being the most talented team overall in school history. There isn’t a Jerome Simpson, a Tyler Thigpen, a Quinton Teal or a Mike Tolbert—at least we haven’t seen that type of game-changing ability yet—on the roster, but I think this is perhaps the most athleticism across the board that Coastal has ever had.

But I still don’t believe that Coastal has replaced the leadership of those 36 players. After the coaching staff emphasized that trait in the offseason, you can start to see more guys stepping into vocal roles. Yet, there is still something missing, an indefinable, intangible trait, that is missing from this team. I’m not exactly sure what it is, though.

In terms of recruiting, Coastal is trying to do its best to redshirt players and only play a few true freshmen each fall. That has helped to space the players out and avoid the exodus that doomed the program in 2007 and 2008. This program might have a year down the road when 20-25 seniors leave at once, but I don’t think Bennett will ever allow 30-plus to leave at one time again.

CL It seems like everyone is running some variation of a two-quarterback system any more, and that’s certainly the case at Coastal. How do Zach MacDowall and Jamie Childers complement each other, and how much time is each player getting each week?

JH MacDowall is the team’s starting quarterback. I don’t think there is much controversy about that. The guys on offense seem to agree that he gives them the best chance to win over the course of the game. Childers is far more athletic and certainly adds a wrinkle or two with his feet, but he doesn’t give them the same chances to make plays in the passing game down the field.

MacDowall’s best trait is his ability to keep plays alive. He has an innate feel for the pocket and always seems to know when/where to avoid taking a sack. He will get sacked every now and then when, in an effort to make a play with his arm, he holds onto the ball too long. But he brings a patience to the offense that Childers, who is much less experienced, doesn’t at this point of his career. When the pocket collapses, MacDowall slides out of trouble, while Childers is looking run.

Childers, however, is growing daily. He is a legitimate threat to score on any play with his legs. Proof is in his 80-yard scoring run against Towson that was called back. Coastal wants to get him in the game consistently, and he certainly provides a change of pace. Look for him to get some snaps, but there is truly no telling how many.

CL Up here, Liberty tries to market Coastal Carolina as a huge rival. Does Coastal feel the same way about Liberty, or this is just a manufactured sort of thing?

JH Coastal doesn’t seem to market the rivalry too much, but I can assure you that fans, players and coaches seem to take this game as or more seriously than any other. The rivalry bloomed in 2005 with the multi-overtime affair in Lynchburg and took an ugly turn in 2006, when both teams lost their cool at the end of a close one. Liberty’s ascension to the top of the Big South—a place that Coastal knew very well—has only fueled the Chants even more. I think this might be the best rivalry in the Big South. So, yes, I think the rivalry is shared by Coastal, too.

CL How beneficial was last year for Josh Norman in terms of experience, having been thrown into the fire the way he was because of injuries? Has he matured quicker than expected because of that?

JH Norman, a sophomore corner, is a star in the making. A 6-foot-2, 195-pounder with excellent ball skills and great athleticism, he could bloom into a legitimate NFL prospect. He and fellow sophomore corner Marcus Lott, another rangy kid with a great upside, were raw last year, but they had to play. It helped both of them develop into solid players.

Norman is bigger than almost any corner at the FCS level, so he brings an added dimension to Coastal’s defense. I think playing so much last year certainly sped his development. The amazing part about him is that Coastal’s coaches still believe he has plenty of room for improvement.

CL Coastal is about 100 yards better per game defensively this season. What’s been the key to that turnaround?

JH I think you’ve got a group of players that have bought into the concept of teamwork. Instead of guys trying to do too much, they’ve done their jobs well. It’s not a really flashy group, but they’ve gotten the job done so far. The defensive line has played much, much better than it did last year. Linebackers Desmond Steward, Derrick Frasier and Chris Walls are a year older and wiser. Lott and Norman have been outstanding.

Still, I think the biggest difference is having strong safety Dominique Davenport back in the fold. He was on his way to a great season in 2008 until an elbow injury forced him to redshirt. His presence and leadership in the secondary has been pivotal in Coastal’s improvement against both the run and pass. He’s an instinctive player with a nose for finding the ball.

We thank Josh for his time.

***

Now for some more basketball, in bullet-point form:

* I asked Flames men’s coach Dale Layer yesterday about a possible depth chart heading into the start of practice, and he didn’t have a definitive answer. Not surprising since there are so many new players. Until practice starts, I’m not sure where everyone will fit. So instead of predicting a depth chart with the traditional five positions, I’ll look at it this way:

Guards—Jesse Sanders (PG), Jeremy Anderson (SG), Evan Gordon (both), Chris Perez (both), Johnny Stephene (PG), James Spencer (PG)

Wings—Kyle Ohman (SF/PF), David Minaya (SF), Bill Weaver (SF/PF), Patrick Konan (SF/PF), Antwan Burrus (PF)

Posts—Tyler Baker (C/PF), Carter McMasters (C/PF), Joel Vander Pol (C), Taylor Jensen (PF)

Sorry, but nothing more definitive will materialize until the first few weeks of practice. This is very much a brand new team. I think you can safely assume that Sanders, Ohman and Baker will be in the starting lineup Nov. 13 at George Mason. If I had to make a guess, I’d say Anderson and Minaya are frontrunners for the other two spots. But it all depends on how big or small Layer wants to go. We shall see.

* I also asked him about potential redshirts, but he said those decisions probably won’t be made until at least three weeks from now. For now, everyone will be in the mix to earn playing time.

* Ohman has always been a secondary option behind guys like Anthony Smith and Seth Curry. This season, he’ll be counted on as a senior leader and a primary scoring option. Layer said Ohman is prepared for such a role.

“He’s always been one of those guys who has played well off of other guys,“ Layer said. “Now that he’s the focal point, I’m sure it will be tough on him. But he’s always found a way to overcome whatever obstacles have been in his way. He’s a fighter. He’s a winner. He’ll respond the right way.“

* Baker enters fall practice fully healthy for probably the first time in his career. Baker has shown lots of flashes of his talent, but he’s been positively snakebitten with foot injuries throughout his career. Layer is excited to see what Baker can do in a full season.

“He hasn’t skipped a beat. He hasn’t missed a workout for the first time in five years, I guess,“ Layer said. “Every time he has a healthy day, he gets better. It’s been a very positive thing for our team. ... He’s always had talent. He’s never been able to string together days and weeks of improvement and kind of hone his skills. Now he’s been able to do that.“

* Layer on where Minaya fits into the mix:

“Dave is talented. He can score a lot of ways. He’s got some experience, so we’re counting on David. Everything I say about our team, you know, unless it’s about Jesse or Kyle, it’s got a little bit of “if” by it. You qualify it in some way because all of the other guys have contributed in fits and spurts, for whatever reason—confidence or inexperience or injuries or being a freshman. So, I sure hope that David can fulfill the promise that he has, because he’s a talented member of our team.“

* Layer on how Sanders has been as a leader since deciding to return to Liberty in April:

“Is there a word that’s higher than perfect?“

* And one thing to remember about this team: Ohman and Baker are seniors. Spencer and walk-on Jensen are juniors. Everyone else is a freshman or sophomore. If it’s possible, this team is much younger than even last year’s team, at least in terms of experience. There are a combined 86 Division I starts on this team, with 65 coming from Sanders and Ohman and 14 coming from Minaya when he was at Tennessee Tech.

* On the women’s side, head coach Carey Green must deal with another injury to former Brookville standout Brittany Campbell, who looked very much like a breakout candidate last year before tearing a ligament in her right knee. She tore the ACL in that same knee during summer workouts and will miss the season. Green said he hopes Campbell will receive a medical hardship for missing this season.

* The last time Liberty lost a player to the WNBA (Katie Feenstra), the Flames reloaded with Megan Frazee. Now with Frazee gone to the WNBA, is there anyone waiting in the wings to become a breakout player?

How about Devon Brown, the former Waynesboro High standout who is the VHSL’s all-time leading girls scorer?

Brown will continue to deal with the foot problems that plagued her last season, and specialists have told her she will have to just gut through the pain, because it will probably never go away fully. The problem was diagnosed as “dancer’s toe,“ which is something that Mehmet Okur of the Utah Jazz has dealt with in the past.

But when Brown is on the court, she’s a complete player, an aggressive 5-foot-10 guard who is dynamic.

“She brings a lot of intensity,“ Green said. “Megan was just wishing and hoping last year that she could get healthy so they could play together. During some days at practice, I mean, Devon was really after Megan. It was interesting how they competed. ... She does everything. She’s undersized, but she scores inside. You back off her, she scores outside. She rips it and takes it off the dribble. She has a complete game. She’s not just a scoring machine. She sees the floor well and knows when to distribute and pass the ball. She picks her times to score. She’s going to be a major contributor for us.“

* Green on what he wants to see develop during the preseason:

“We need to develop team play, chemistry and our own identity. I think that we need to stay focused on team play and fundamentals. I think we’ve got to defend the home court. And then, we need to develop mental toughness, and this is key, to win on the road. The teams that can do that can be successful.“

* The women’s tournament will again be at High Point’s Millis Athletic Center. Big South commissioner Kyle Kallander said Tuesday that the league is accepting bids for the next two women’s tournaments, and a winner will be announced in the spring.