When the postseason invitations of the less-attractive kind showed up at Charlotte's doorstep -- College Basketball Invitational, a 16-team, third-tier tournament -- the 49ers had good reason to offer a gracious "thanks but no thanks."

It was time to move on for the program, which announced the morning after Selection Sunday that coach Bobby Lutz had been fired after 12 seasons. It was all about the nosedive to the finish line to end the 2009-10 season.

Few college basketball teams had a more interesting season than Charlotte. The 49ers improved by eight victories over last season but will always look back at 2009-10 in a melancholy way.

In the end, a season that featured a great turnaround by a coach who entered the season on the hot seat, ended in ruins. Considered a near lock to earn an NCAA berth when it raised its record to 18-5 with a victory at Fordham on Feb. 6, Charlotte lost seven of its last eight games to finish 19-12, the end coming with a 59-56 home loss to lowly Massachusetts in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.

After blowing its NCAA hopes and being passed over by the NIT, too, Charlotte decided to call it a season rather than accept an invitation to the CBI or CollegeInsider.com tournament.

The end was so unexpected and left such a sour taste in everyone's mouth that it was nearly forgotten that Charlotte had improved dramatically over its 11-20 record of 2008-09. The reason for that improvement was a roster overhaul by Lutz.

Forward Shamari Spears, a junior transfer from Boston College, made a big impact, as he led the team in scoring with a 16.0 average and also pulled down 5.9 rebounds. Another newcomer in the frontcourt, forward Chris Braswell, averaged 9.5 points and 8.5 rebounds as a freshman while making the conference's all-rookie team.

Sophomore guard Derrio Green, a junior college transfer, provided some needed outside scoring, as he averaged 13.1 points despite cooling off late in the season.

Meanwhile, two seniors contributed with steady play. Point guard DiJuan Harris led the conference in assists with a 4.5 average while also scoring 8.3 points a game. Forward An'Juan Wilderness averaged just 5.7 points but provided toughness on defense after sitting out the first seven games with a groin injury.

Yet despite all the positives, Charlotte found itself sitting at home once the conference tournament was over, something unfathomable just a month earlier. And that unwelcome surprise was Lutz's ultimate demise.

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