Wolfinger: 'Happy I came' to Citadel

There were expectations surrounding Joe Wolfinger's arrival at The Citadel, and how could there not be?

After all, it's not every season that a 7-foot transfer from a Pac-10 program arrives at the military school.

But after a promising start -- Wolfinger scored in double figures in each of his first seven games as a Bulldog -- the season has not gone as the native of Portland, Ore., might have hoped when he traveled from the Pacific Northwest to the Lowcountry.

"It was a new experience, and I enjoyed it," said Wolfinger, who along with senior reserve Zach Beach plays his final home game today against UNC Greensboro. "I'm really happy I came here. I learned a lot of basic basketball fundamentals that I had never really learned anywhere else, and I'm glad I learned those things."

Wolfinger transfered to The Citadel as a graduate student after playing two seasons at the University of Washington, which made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in each those seasons.

Wolfinger established himself as a big man with a nice shooting touch at Washington, shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range as a freshman.

That shooting touch convinced Citadel coaches that Wolfinger would be a good fit for the Bulldogs, spreading the floor for junior guard Cameron Wells and providing a neat replacement for All-Southern Conference center Demetrius Nelson.

But as the season wore on, Wolfinger lost minutes to 6-6 junior Bryan Streeter, a better fit for coach Ed Conroy's man-to-man defense, which requires centers to hedge out hard on high ball screens, then recover quickly to guard the post.

Wolfinger still hopes for a pro career in the U.S. or overseas, and Conroy said matchups in the pro game might suit him better.

"No question, we're better off for having had Joe," Conroy said. "Our record, our play on the court. We're phenomenally better off in the locker room with him here.

"His attitude and the way he's approached this thing, as a new guy at a place like The Citadel where the bond is so deep over there in the barracks -- and he wasn't part of that -- has been phenomenal."

Reach Jeff Hartsell at jhartsell@postandcourier.com