COVER STORY
m
Tim Davis , 6'8", Jr. should help Va. Union in its quest for another
CIAA title.
N.C. Central Coufd
Topple Va. Union
In the preseason, Johnson C.
Smith coach Steve Joyner said it: the
' CIAA was going to he more balanced
than ever this season.
Well, as wq head into the 48th
annual CIAA Tournament Feb. 24-27
at the Richmond Coliseum, which is
the final go ' round for the-PlAA inihe
Virginian city, Joyner 's preseason pre
diction has turned out to be very, very
true.
This year's men's tournament is,
in the words of Livingstone coach
Stan Lewter, a toss-up.
"I think the tournament will be
interesting affair," Lewter said."Going
in it looks like there are five teams
who should be considered favorites.
You've got three Southern Division
teams in North Carolina Central,
Fayetteville State and Johnson C.
Smith and two from the Northern
Division in Elizabeth City and Vir
ginia Union."
For once, many observers really
think that a Southern Division team
could win it all this year. It's been 14
years since the last Southern Division
team won, Bighouse Gaines' Winston
Salem State team, though J.C. Smith
made t heJLournameitffmaf^ yearago.
And with the tournament moving
south to Winston-Salem, N.C., next
year, Lewter feels that this would be a
good year to start a trend.
"This would be a great sequeway
to having the tournament in the south
next year," Lewter said, "to have a
southern team win it, especially if it's
from Salisbury."
Salisbury is where Lewter 's Liv
ingstone team is located. And for the
Blue Bears to win, it would take a few
upsets. For the week ending Feb.. 7,
Livingstone was 4-13 and next to last
in the CIAA's Southern Division.
But for the other three Southern
Division teams, winning this year\s
championship is a definite possibility.
All of this brings us to:
THE FAVORITES:
ft
VIRGINIA UNION
OK, this is a year of parity, but
let's not be stupid. To not go with Vir
ginia Union, the defending Division II
i ? . . * i i t ? m ? .
National Champion, as the favorite
would J>e like going into the desert
without a few bottles of water. In 14
years at the school, Union coach Dave
Robbins has won six of these CIAA
championships. /
And as of Feb. 7, the Panthers (17
2) were the only CIAA team to not
lose to a conference opponent and
were at their usual station- first-place