Rocky road for Byington, Cougars

Mark Byington must feel like he's between the proverbial rock and a hard place. He wants to be a head coach on the college level, and now he is one, albeit with an interim tag.

Just over a week ago, the associate head coach of the College of Charleston men's basketball team got an early morning call from coach Bobby Cremins. Cremins was taking a medical leave of absence. Byington was the logical choice to take over, a decision affirmed a few hours later by director of athletics Joe Hull.

The team, which looked so promising after getting off to a 10-2 start, has struggled since Christmas. Injuries have taken their toll, with freshman center Adjehi Baru missing a couple of games because of an ankle injury and freshman guard Anthony Stitt going down with a broken hand. And then came the news about Cremins, a man the players love.

Byington said he doesn't look at the next few weeks as a dress rehearsal, although it certainly could be perceived as such.

"Honestly, I haven't thought about that," said Byington, who will be the man in charge for only the fourth time when the Cougars play at Appalachian State today. The Cougars are 1-2 on Byington's watch.

"I'm just really concentrating on what I can do to help this team at this moment. If it helps me get this job or some other job, that would be great. But I'm not approaching it that way. I'm just trying to do whatever I can for this team. The guys have gone through so much. I'm not thinking about myself at all. That probably helps keep me focused and keeps me from being nervous."

Roller-coaster ride

This was supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Cougars, who lost a trio of all-conference players last year, including NBA draft pick Andrew Goudelock. But there is a lot of young talent that blossomed early. Before the Christmas break, the Cougars had wins over Clemson, Massachusetts and Tennessee, and they had then-No. 4 Louisville on the ropes. The ride since has been something of a roller coaster, with youth and injuries factoring into the 3-8 record since Christmas.

"Injuries have been the biggest challenge. Sometimes we don't know who's going to be at practice. It changes game plans. It changes personnel. It changes roles," Byington said. "I think we showed signs of the talent level, of how we can play, in November and December."

Byington said he feels the growing pains the Cougars are going through will help them build depth for the Southern Conference tournament in March. Out of necessity, younger players who might have spent more time on the bench are logging minutes on the court. Stitt is expected to return in a couple of weeks, giving the Cougars a much-needed second point guard.

"I think the biggest change you'll see -- not in the short term but the long term -- is we're going to try to have a more structured offense," Byington said. "We'll try to be more disciplined and get the ball inside more.

"We've been fortunate that we've had a lot of guys that can make plays by themselves, guys like Drew Goudelock, Donavan Monroe and Tony White. But that doesn't fit who we have playing right now. The guys we have playing now are doing a lot of other things that are strong in different areas. We have to adjust in how they can be successful, and that's one of my main jobs.

"But we can't do a complete overhaul in the amount of time we have right now."

A player's coach

Byington has a good relationship with the players, and a level of trust exists. He recruited most of them, and the players think he can succeed.

Junior Willis Hall, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in October that has kept him on the bench this year, said if anyone can turn things around given the circumstances, it's Byington.

"He's always organized. He's always prepared. He always knows the opponent. His scouting reports are thorough, precise. His mistakes are at a minimum. If anybody could be thrown in the fire like that, it would be him," Hall said.

"He's real enthusiastic, he's young, so he knows what we're going through. He just finished playing college basketball a few years ago. He's been through the same things we went through. We can relate to him," said Antwaine Wiggins, the team's only senior.

Said sophomore Trent Wideman: "He really knows the game of basketball. He lives and breathes basketball. He's always watching films and drawing up plays. He's a really good coach and we have a lot of faith in him."

Byington said he's sought and received counsel from a number of people since getting the job, including former Cougars coach John Kresse and Clemson coach Brad Brownell, who was an assistant at UNC Wilmington when Byington was a player. They've told him to be himself and control the things he can control.

And he's also appreciative of the Cougars fans, especially the support they showed in his first game as coach, a loss to Wofford.

"It was comforting," Byington said. "It was comforting for me. It was comforting for the team. The crowd was trying the best they could to will us and get us over the hump. I think people know we're going through a lot right now. So I don't think there are unrealistic expectations."

Byington, in his ninth season at the College of Charleston, grew up near Roanoke, Va., and played college ball at UNC Wilmington. He worked as a graduate assistant at the University of Virginia and from there went to Hargrave Military Academy. He came to the College of Charleston in 2002 as an assistant to Tom Herrion, who had replaced John Kresse. Byington spent two years with the Cougars, returned to Virginia for one season, then came back to Charleston for Herrion's final year and was retained when Bobby Cremins was hired in 2006. Byington's wife is the former Christy Masters, whose father Ernie and brother Rob both played for the Cougars. The couple have a son, Chase, 4.