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March 8, 2010
We have reached the
conclusion of the season, and we fell a
little short of where we wanted to be. After
a challenging, and at times trying, early
season non-conference schedule, and an
exciting and successful conference season,
we lost in our conference tournament final
by four 67-63. Noteworthy performances by
our team this year included an undefeated
run at home in league play, Trey Drake being
named as the Conference Player of the Year,
Jarmel Arrington joining him on the first
team and Lamont Stokes making the Honorable
Mention squad when All-Conference teams were
announced, Tyler Murray's selection to the
All-Sportsmanship team, and our team's run
to the USA South Regular Season
Championship.
We lose six outstanding seniors and over the
next couple of weeks, I will devote a good
bit of this space to the many contributions
these guys have made to our program. In
addition to the four players I named above,
Ivan Butler and Alphonso Frazier, who was
named to the All-Tournament team will all be
greatly missed as we prepare for next
season.
Obviously recruiting is going to be very
important for the remainder of the spring
and we will be busy with a combination of
campus visits and recruiting travel. We are
excited about the potential for the class of
2010.
January 7, 2010
We just got back from
Atlanta. The trip was good, although it
would have been better had we won both
games, rather than earning a split. While
there our team visited the CNN Center and
Phillips Arena (our hotel was one block
away), the Olympic Centennial Park, the
front offices of the Atlanta Hawks, and the
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic
Site. I believe our guys had a great visit,
one that was both enjoyable and educational.
This weekend we open conference play and our
next couple of months are sure to be very
challenging. We hope that our early season
schedule has prepared us for what lies
ahead.
December 1, 2009
We are working hard to
develop team consistency and really
establish our team identity. Role
definition, rotations and synchronicity are
evolving with most teams at this time of
year and we are certainly no exception. We
have a home game tomorrow against Guilford
(#2 nationally) and then break for exams. We
return to action in a holiday tournament
(The Briggs Elliott) vs. another top 5 team
Wooster, from Ohio. Between games our staff
stays busy scouting future opponents,
recruiting, and obviously, working with our
players, both on and off the court.
November 14, 2009
We are on the road
today, headed to Dover, Delaware. We open
the season tomorrow against Wesley College.
We opened with a win a year ago against
Wesley back home at Everett Gymnasium.
Wesley is well coached, talented, and coming
off a conference championship and an NCAA
Tournament appearance. We know this will be
a difficult test, the first of many. We
return to North Carolina to play at North
Carolina Central University and then host
our annual Roger Taylor Invitational. A very
busy first week.....
Off the court, our players have been
involved in some ongoing mentoring programs
and in a major campus beautification
project. We have also had three players,
Alex Murray, Lamont Stokes, and Domarius
Thomas, participating in the Wesleyan
Academy for Athletic Leadership.
October 15, 2009
After a very busy
start to the school year, October 15 has
arrived. This date is looked to with great
anticipation every year by players, coaches,
and fans across the country. It is no
different here and I am particularly excited
about getting on the floor with our players.
The practice court is a wonderful place and
quite frankly, there is no place I would
rather be. We have an extremely challenging
schedule in 2009-10 and we start
preparations today.
August 31, 2009
Freshmen arrived about
two weeks ago, upperclassmen have returned
and classes are underway. The fall semester
is here and October 15 is not far away.
Between now and then our players will be
busy with classes, study hall, workouts
(both basketball and weight training),
pick-up games and more. We are already
getting involved in three community service
projects, two that are a continuation from
previous years and one new one. The two
ongoing projects involve mentoring
elementary school students and honoring our
local police and firefighters during the
week of 9/11. Our new president, Mr. Jim
Gray has placed a real emphasis on community
service and our third project is directly
linked to his initiatives. On October 10 we
will take part in a campus-wide event
involving campus improvements. We may be
planting trees or performing other various
tasks around campus. Our involvement in this
type of service is important to us and we
are always excited to give back.
Our staff has undergone a recent change. We
are adding long-time high school coach
Michael Mosley to our staff. We are thrilled
to have Coach Mosley join us after a highly
successful career at the high school level.
He has coached over 20 players who went on
to play collegiate basketball, including two
pros, and has won numerous championships and
coached in the North Carolina East-West
All-Star Game. His experience will be
invaluable and our players and program will
benefit greatly.
May
28, 2009
May has been exciting
and quick. Right as exams were ready to
start, junior guard Lamont Stokes and I
spoke at Pope Elementary School. They were
having Career Day and we really focused on
academics and how to get wherever it is you
want to go, having a plan, surrounding
yourself with good people, and working hard.
Lamont did a great job, as I knew he would.
Just as in this situation, our guys are
often out in public and they take great
pride in representing themselves, our
program, and the College well. Freshman
Devin Nichols recently had occasion to meet
with local businessman, Jim Dickens. The
next day Mr. Dickens called to say what a
pleasure it was to meet Devin and how
impressed he was with him. He added, "Every
time one of your players has a chance to
meet someone, it is like a potential job
interview." We talk about that and how
important it is carry yourself in a positive
way. You never know who is watching. A
youngster, a potential employer....
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I spent the 6th through the 9th of the month
in Phoenix, with the NCAA Men's Basketball
Rules Committee. We had some great
discussions about the game and how it is
played. We hammered out a few things and we
also met with the Women's Committee so there
is great understanding on both sides.
May 10th-12th I was in Atlanta for an NCAA
Regional Rules Seminar. This is like a crash
course in understanding the NCAA Rulebook.
It was lengthy and intense, but very good.
Since returning from Atlanta, I have met
with Jim Gray, our new president (he
officially takes office on June 1), 3 times,
discussing the College, Athletics, and a
whole host of other topics. Additionally, we
are tying up recruiting and feel very good
about where we are. The six players who are
here for the summer have been home for a
couple of weeks and moved back in yesterday.
Two of our other guys will be back to work
our camp in June, as they are working camps
all over, throughout the summer.
Our camp opens June 15th and summer
recruiting will be here before you know it.
April
1, 2009
The end of the season
is always tough. Unless you win it all, you
end with a loss and that's hard. At any
rate, there were some very bright moments in
our season: sweeping the Eastern North
Carolina Classic and the Southern Shootout,
cracking the Top 25 in the national poll,
and having multiple players recognized as
conference Rookie of the Week, Player of the
Week, All-Conference, and All-Sportsmanship
Team. We have a great group of men here and
I appreciate very much what they do for the
college and how they represent the program.
We are going to miss two seniors, Adam
Coleman and Buddy Williams, who have
contributed significantly to our program
over the last 4 and 2 years, respectively.
We remain busy, however, as we move to a
different phase of the year. In the
post-season our guys are working hard to
improve themselves in the gym and in the
weight room. They are obviously working hard
in the classroom, as well. Yesterday I went
to see one of our guys make a presentation
at the Biology Symposium and left feeling
very proud of him. Exams are just about 3
weeks away and everyone is gearing up with
papers, projects, and the like.
Additionally, our guys have been out in the
community, reading to and mentoring
elementary school students, speaking to
athletes at local middle schools, and even
making contacts with some local businesses.
The feedback I get from people who come in
contact with our players is consistently
positive.
It will soon be time to put summer plans
into motion..
January
12, 2009
We were finally able
to get back to game action this week,
splitting two games in the Philadelphia
area. What had been a great trip was made
for less enjoyable as we lost our second
game there on a shot with 2.3 seconds
remaining. Prior to that, we had practiced
at the historic Palestra on Penn's
University City campus; enjoyed cheese
steaks at world-famous Geno's Steaks; spent
time listening to and talking with Hall of
Fame Coach John Chaney; visited the Liberty
Bell and Independence Hall, City Hall, the
Philadelphia Museum of Art (and the
well-known statue of Rocky), and we had won
big in a game that we played very well in.
Fortunately we were able to get out before
the snow and ice came in. I must say that
for our players, practicing in the Palestra
was nothing short of special. That arena has
so much history and tradition. After our
workout, we spent time walking the concourse
looking at all of the memorabilia and
soaking up the environment. Speaking of
soaking up....when Coach Chaney speaks,
that's what you do. Our players were so
impressed with him and really appreciated
his taking so much time to spend with them,
and to share some things that he thinks are
very important.
Now it's on to the next game. We have one
non-conference game remaining and then it's
league play all the way. The next couple of
months promise to be challenging and
exciting.
click on the
image to enlarge

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