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....

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.

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