We are now prepared to enter conference play. We have had a 10 day break, so we were able to get a couple of days rest and a good week of practice in and some rest and treatment for those guys who needed it. The break has also served us well here at the start of the second semester, giving guys a little more time to handle academic housekeeping issues. We have played very well at times, thus far (we are 7-5 with only one non-conference game remaining), but we are far too inconsistent to be the kind of team we want to be. The USA South is always strong and this season it looks like it will be particularly challenging. It is obviously our hope that we find the consistency we’ve been looking for and that over the next few weeks we start to play at our best level.

November 8

We are now days away from the start of the season. With nearly 30 practices under our belt, we feel good about our development. We played our annual Blue-White game on this past Saturday night and played our first exhibition game against Elon University on Monday. Although we did not play as well as we would have liked on Monday, both of these games have helped us. We have been able to identify areas that we need to work on and, as is always the case with exhibitions, it is good to get on the floor with the real game environment: clock, officials, fans, etc. We play our second and final exhibition tomorrow against the Kazakhstan National Team. We have always enjoyed the opportunity to play international teams and we are looking forward to tomorrow nights game. Following the game our two teams will share a post-game meal and enjoy a cultural exchange. What a great education.

We open the regular season in Virginia Wesleyan’s Tip-Off Tournament against a very good Rutgers-Newark team. No more exhibitions then.

September 28

With practice now 17 days away, our players are anxious to hit the floor. In the past several weeks they have been lifting, playing pick-up, and working out individually or in small groups. Additionally, they have been very busy in the community. The week of 9/11, we delivered season tickets to the police and fire departments locally. We have done this each year, beginning in 2002, in recognition of the events of 9/11/01 and in appreciation of what our local departments do for us.

Our coaching staff has been working diligently to get prepared for the season and with recruiting, as well. We have covered a number of fall events and have also attended several high school workouts. We have three fine young assistant coaches on our staff and believe that they will all be great assets to our program. David Doino brings a wealth of positive experience and is an extremely hard worker. Josh Turnpaugh is a high energy coach with a lot to offer. Those guys will work with, among other things, our big guys and perimeter players, respectively. Our third assistant is Courtney Alston and he will assist with recruiting, organizational needs and game and practice preparation. I feel very fortunate to have three guys of this quality on our staff.

July 26

What an incredibly fast spring and summer it has been. In a few short weeks our students will be back on campus and the fall semester will be underway. That means getting all of our returnees back together and all of our recruits oriented with our program.

On the subject of returnees, it has been a great summer for our guys. Some have worked summer jobs at places like the YMCA and The Boys and Girls Club, while others have worked here on campus and others still in private business sector jobs. A number of guys were able to work our basketball camp for a couple of weeks, while we also had a few work some other college camps and a camp run by a former NBA standout. Most all of our players are playing in summer leagues, from Philadelphia to Washington, DC and from Raleigh to here in Rocky Mount.

Recruiting has kept us busy the last few months. During the spring we completed our incoming class and are excited about their arrival on campus in mid-August. We believe we have some players who will blend well with our veteran group. Once July rolled around, we hit the ground running with summer recruiting. North and South Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are among the destinations our staff has evaluated players at team camps, exposure camps, summer leagues and AAU tournaments.

As I mentioned earlier we ran our annual summer basketball camp for kids and, as always, had great sessions, with great campers. My staff always enjoys working camp and teaching the game to youngsters who are eager to learn.

In the midst of everything else, I hired a new top assistant coach, David Doino. Dave was an outstanding player at Virginia Wesleyan and has served as an assistant there for three years. We are thrilled to have him on staff at Wesleyan. We also added Courtney Alston, as an assistant. He comes to us from Louisburg Junior College.

Finally, we put the finishing touches on our 2007-08 schedule. The schedule, which was released last week, promises to be exciting for fans and very challenging to our squad. Practice is just 82 days away.

February 25

Well, an up and down year has come to an end and what an end it was. After struggling to develop consistency all season, we came together well during the conference tournament. We new all along that we had talent, our shortcomings revolved around performing up to our capabilities on a day to day basis. With 10 days to go in the regular season we had a shot to finish in second place. We faltered down the stretch and finished tied for 5th. So, as we entered the tournament, there were a lot of questions. We played very hard, played together, and performed like the team that we thought we could be all along. After two outstanding wins in the quarters and semi-finals, we advanced to the USA South Championship game and felt very confident. In a tremendous game we lost in double overtime to the number one seeded Averett University Cougars. We had our chances and it didn’t work out. Averett did a great job and they are a very deserving Champion. We now must turn our attention to player development and recruiting. Next season began yesterday.

January 11

We just returned from a 7 day trip to Florida. While going 1-2 on the trip was disappointing, we did grow as a team. Our first game after Christmas was not a good outing at all, but we followed that up with an outstanding effort on the second night of the Flagler Holiday Classic in St. Augustine. Although we didn't win, I was very pleased with how we bounced back and competed with energy and enthusiasm. We also picked up a good win before we came home, opening up our running game and shooting the ball better than we had in awhile. In the midst of all those games, we toured St. Augustine, the oldest city in the country, and the location that Ponce de Leon was to have found the "Fountain of Youth"...went to see the Orlando Magic play the Charlotte Bobcats...visited Universal Studios Properties...ate at the NBA City Restaurant...and went to see the new Will Smith movie "Pursuit of Happiness."

We enter conference play this weekend against Shenandoah University. We are excited to move into the "new" season. At 5-7 we are not satisfied with our performance thus far, really needing to develop consistency in all areas of the game. However, there is a lot to build on. In a recent loss to Flagler College we played one of our best games of the year and defended well. Point guard Trey Drake has been named "Rookie of the Week" three times so far. Lenny Hall leads the league in scoring, free throw percentage, and steals. Trey Drake is third in the league in assists and Sharard Carmichael is fifth in rebounding. After missing all of last year with a torn ACL, Jarvis Cobb is starting to feel comfortable and giving us some very positive contributions. We are improving, just not at the rate we want to improve. Our conference schedule will be very difficult but as long as we continue to work hard and develop our consistency, we will continue to improve.

October 30

After 16 practices we are really developing a sense of identity. I really like our team. We are young...two seniors, two juniors, and the rest freshmen and sophomores...and by far not the biggest team we've ever put on the floor, but I think we've got a lot of positives. We are deep and quick. I think we can defend and we have some guys who can score some points. Our chemistry is good and our guys have been working very hard.

We held our annual "Late Night Blue White" game on Saturday night (the 28th) and we saw some good things. The game is always good for us to gauge, after having some practice time under our belt, with officials, fans, the clock, kind of where we are in terms of being ready to play. It's also a great night for our student body. We have given away books for second semster, stereos, team warm-up suits, balls, t-shirts, all kinds of stuff. We had musical entertainment before the game and we were preceded by the women's Blue White game. The women tipped off at 10:25 and we started about an hour later.

Our team and staff will be holding a youth clinic on Saturday, November 4, and we will then provide a coaches clinic. Both clinics are sponsored by the City of Roanoke Rapids and will be held at the TJ Davis Center. Our players really enjoy working with kids and trying to share some of what they have picked up over the years.

September 20

In the past couple of weeks our student athletes have stepped off the playing field to show their support for our community. While they all continue to work hard in class room and with their respective teams, they recently came together as one team to help remember and pay tribute to all those affected by the tragedy of September 11, 2001. This was the fourth consecutive year that our student athletes have lent their support on 9-11.

Below are links to a couple of recent press releases on activities in our program. As you can see, our players are involved in community service activities and we feel as though that is very important....and by the way, it's only 25 days until practice begins.

Wesleyan athletes honor local heroes on September 11th

ENCBCA Announces Second Annual Fall Basketball Clinic

September 6

The year is off to a good start. All of our guys are in and our main focus is getting off to a good start academically. We see our players regularly and really focus on what's going on in the classroom. Time management, especially for freshmen, is a big key to success in college. We spend time talking with them about using day planners and organizing their days (and weeks and semesters). Whether it is class, study time or pick-up games, being organized and mapping their schedule out will help them succeed.

I was at our football teams home opener today. It was a heartbreaking loss in the final two minutes. I mention this only to say that a number of our guys on our team were there and it was great to see how supportive they were of our football team. I believe that's one of the many special things here at Wesleyan.

One last note...I am excited about September 30 because we are hosting an event here that is really good. The Eastern North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association will hold it's Second Annual High School Players Clinic from 9:00-12:00 that morning. The clinic is limited to 40 players and is conducted by my staff and other area high school coaches. Following lunch, we will have our fall Coaches Clinic. Last year was a real success and we look forward to another great day on the 30th.