*
II /M r CCLLCC
It's time for The Event of Events for
black college alumni, party people and,
most of all, black college basketball
fans.
That's right, the time is nigh for the
14 ?phnnk r?f jKa r1 ?n?rol in?>r
. . vi iiiv vviuiai iniv.1 "
collegiate Athletic Association to bring
their basketball show back to the Norfolk
Scope for four frantic days and
nights of non-stop action ? both on
and off the court.
By now, most coaches, fans and
players are busy getting their shopping
lists together for the gala affair, which
ranks with the Bayou Classic at the top
of black college sporting events.
Among the shoppers this time
around are Jake Ford of Hampton Institute,
who has placed a third straight
tournament title at the head of his list,
and St. Augustine's head mentor
Harvey Heartley, who would no doubt
love a trick defense or an early buzzer
to save his Falcons from a third
straight last-second loss in the event.
Charles Christian will be shopping
for another miracle similar to the one
Tim Allen delivered last year when he
"We were overconfident last year
29 during the season and took thi
this year because we know we ca\
? a la Lorenzo Charles -- snared an air
ball and dunked it as time ran out to
put the Spartans into the title game.
"Bighouse" Gaines, the Hall of
ramer who may lose his title as the nation's
winningest active college basketball
coach - at least temporarily ? to
DePaul's Ray Meyer before the
tourney begins, will be searching for a
way to get back into the tourney
limelight as a coach rather than a
celebrated bystander on title game
night.
And Virginia Union's Dave Robbins
has probably moved seeds and fertilizer
to the bottom of his list since
he'd like to avoid being free to work in
his garden as early as he did last year
after a first-round upset loss. *
Other coaches, like Shaw's Warren
Reynolds, J.C. Smith's Robert Moore,
NCCU's Jesse Clements and Virginia
State's Floyd Laisure are hoping for
formulas that will assure them shots
for at least the semi-Fmals.
Still others, like St. Paul's Moses
Colatt, Bowie State's Frank Silva and
Livingstone's Jerry Fitch, woukf settle
for the respectability a single tourney
win would bring.
The players, like the coaches, have
their Jists too.
Some, like Norfolk's David Pope, a
four-year starter and all-American pick"*
...? i ?. -?? ?
wno nas yci 10 piay on a uue-winner,
will have a championship at the top of
their pads. Pope also sees a title and a
trip to the NCAA playoffs as enhancing
his shot at a pro career.
Like Pope, St.Augustine's Anthony
Rogers has toiled for four years in the
league without a title. He, too, knows
Page 16-February, 1984SSSSSS
?
c soccir ixvii
that a championship and the added exposure
of post-season play are keys to
his pro chances. "7"
Then there's Virginia Union's
Charles Oakley. Easily the most
talented player in the league, the 6-8 inside
force is shopping for the inspiration
he needs to be the league's best
throughout the event rather than when
the feeling hits.
Once the shopping lists have been
filled, partially filled, or discarded,
and fashion-conscious fans have had
the chance to secure at least one more
new outfit for the festivities, the action
begins.
If this year's event goes according to
schedule, which it never does, only
three teams look to have a legitimate
shot at the crown.
Nationally-ranked Virginia Union
has to be the favorite. The Panthers
have lost only twice this season, and at
this writing already had 20 wins.
t ? - *
nowever, Dotn ot their losses came at
the hands of CIAA opponents Shaw
and Virginia State. And, as the regular
season wound down, a crucial meeting
after beating Fayetteville State by
?m lightly, but that won 7 happen
n be upset,"
~Dave Robbins
with Norfolk State at Norfolk awaited.
Norfolk, on the other hand, was
19-1 at press time, its only loss an 81-80
overtime defeat to 4he Robbinscoached
Panthers. Both teams were
once-beaten in division play entering
their Feb. 11 showdown.
In the South, St. Augustine's continues
to rule. The Falcons' 7-2 league
mark was two games better than runnerup
Winston-Salem State's 6-3 slate
as we went to press, and they have
beaten the Rams twice this season.
Coach Harvey Heartley's snakebitten
squad has lost on last-second
miracle shots in the tourney the past
A _
iwo seasons alter taxing leads into the
final moments of games.
The Rams of Winston-Salem are
again short on talent (both literally and
figuratively) but are long on coaching
with "Bighouse" at the helm. But it's
been six long years since Gaines won a
tourney title, and coaching genius
alone can't overcome size and talent.
Union Coach Dave Robbins, a winner
in the first two CIAA tourneys he
coached in, but a loser in the first
round the last two years, likes his
team's chances for the title, but says
his cagers won't be overconfident.
4'We were overconfident last year
UUVI uvaiiug 1 ajtucviiic JlitlC uy d
during the season and took them lightly,
but that won't happen this year
because we know we can be upset," he
says.
Robbins also notes that some of his
players became distracted by the extracurricular
activities surrrounding
the tournament last year, but he says
that won't happen in '84.
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St. Augustine's A1 Coatee (44) fires a jt
MlUer (photo by Joe Daniels).
"We can cause problems for i
people," says Robbins of his talented i
and deep squad. "We plan no different
approach and we won't change our 1
nhilncnnKv Kut iuA*t>? ?? *? ^ 1
piliivr) l/U( V TV gui a ucucr
team to take (to the tournament) than 1
the last couple of years/' <
Robbins says his team is especially?I
stronger in the backcourt. 1
Still, he wears his optimism ]
cautiously and repeats the worn but
true CIAA cliche that the unexpected J
can and usually does happen at tourna- i
ment time. 1
As for darkhorses in this year's i
event, there are many. I'll only count
Bowie State, Winless in the league so 1
(n. c? r> i?_ i / .l _ f i
iai, ji. raui $, i-o in ine league ai <
press time, and possibly Livingstone, i
under new Coach Jerry Fitch, out of I
the running for the title. <
But -Fitch's team has played well
fc
?* *
umper over Hampton's 6*11 Cedric
recently and could catch fire at the
right time.
Other probable pretenders are
Elizabeth City, which', under Bobby
Vaughn claimed the 1981 crown but
J -
new uunc nuie since, and North
Carolina Central, which was picked to
battle St-. Au^usttnc's for the Southern
Division title, but has been a big disappointment.
Vaughn, however, entered the
season with 452 wins, and he has two
mproving freshman forwards and a
pair of sharpshooting, experienced
guards.
At Central, Jesse Clements has a
,a... :?- -- ? ? - ...
1WI3V maiuc in ^.naries Murphy, added
i>ulk in Duane Griffin and some fine
guards. The Eagles just haven't put it
:ogether. But peaking at the right time
:ould make Central the spoiler if not
Please see page 18