10 The Compass Friday, Decembers, 1997
Coach Harris resigns as head of Vikings
by Donald Perkins
On Nov.18 1997 coach Elisha
"Cadillac" Harris resigned as head
football coach of the Elizabeth City
State University Vikings. Harris said
he was forced to resign because an aca
demically ineligible player participated
in the game against North Carolina
Central.
"It was not our intent for him to get
into the game, but he did," said Harris.
ECSU Athletic Director Edward
McLean said the student wasn't sup
posed to even be on the field this sea
son.
"I think the GPA was not high
enough," said McLean. "He was very
close, but close will only coimt in horse
shoes."
McLean said the University has al-
by A1 Joyner, Sports Editor
The Viking basketball program is on
the move. Where is it going? To the
National Championship in Louisville,
Ky.
That's right, Louisville. Hoop dreams
become a reality when individual play
ers join forces to produce one great
team. The 97-98 Viking Basketball team
should be that type of squad.
Coach Barry Hamler has spent long
hours preparing this group of new and
returning Vikings for their champion
ship run. Some of these players have
never been on a champior\ship squad.
Others have never forgotten what it
was like to hop up on a teammates
shoulders and cut the strings down
from the baskets.
This years' Vikings may be the best
balance of players and skill available
to the university in recent time. I'm
sure you thought last year's team was
the one. It was a fine team, but this one
is more "home grown" in terms of rep
resenting greater purity in defining
"Barryball." Barry Hamler's winning
attitude is carefully developed to pro
duce winners.
The program begins with a focus on
responsibility for one's self off the court
and a continuous dedication to im
provement of knowledge and skills on
the court. It is a results driven system
which leads to success through hard
work and commitment. The players im-
derstand their roles and the coach mo
tivates them to seek their full poten
tial.
This year the Viking lineup returns
three starters. The returnees are All-
American candidate Anthony Harris
(a preseason pick), Marcus Riddick, an
all conference rookie last year and Ryan
Taylor whose three-point shooting
made him one of the most feared shoot-
Sports
ready notified the National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA) about the
violation.
"We had to do these steps to self-
report ourselves," said McLean.
Harris said that prior to the season
McLean informed him that the player
could not play football this season.
Harris said that he later received the
information from the compliance of
ficer about which players were eligible
to play and that he gave this informa
tion to his offensive and defensive co
ordinators.
McLean later announced that Harris
was resigning as head coach "to pur
sue other opportunities."
ing guards in the CIAA. Another player
in this group is Herb Lewis, who
Hamler will go to for help with his
starting lineup. Lewis adds a combina
tion of defense, scoring, and rebound
ing.
Hamler also has a strong bench to go
to for extra help when a player needs a
breather. He, and the rest of the coach
ing staff, realizes that it takes more than
five or six players to compete for a
national championship season. Any
thing less than a CIAA championship
would be unacceptable for this team.
But success at the conference level is
just the beginning. After the CIAA,
you have the South-Atlantic Regional,
and then finally the Elite Eight teams
meet to decide who will be the Na
tional Champions. Last year the Vi
kings got a taste of what that feast could
be like. This year they intend to de
vour all opponents in order to get their
fill of it.
The Vikings are ranked 7th in the
nation, according to the Sporting News
College Basketball Preview 97-98, and
with the added attention comes added
responsibility of performance. In order
to prove their worthiness they will have
to endure a 30-game regular season
which spans a period of about five
months.
To appreciate the commitment the
young men playing must travel two or
three days per week while maintain
ing GPAs above the 2.5 mark. Whether
these Vikings win a CIAA crown or
soar to the top of the Chancellor's List,
Coach Barry Hamler has this group of
Vikings poised for success this year.
For some players "Barryball" may seem
tough, but for most the reward of a
national championship far exceed any
other alternative.
Harris said he disagrees with McLean
about the circumstances surrounding
his resignation.
"As to my resignation, the truth is I
was told that I would either be termi
nated on the spot and not finish out
the year, or I could finish out the year if
I resign," said Harris.
Harris said by resigning, he could
take care of his family, since he would
be able to stay until the end of the
school year.
"The use of an ineligible player who
played in a game that we lost is the tag,
"said Harris. "I'm the head coach and
the responsibility lies on me."
Harris said he thinks the entire issue
"should be investigated by groups of
people that are interested in the truth."
Although Harris is uncertain about
his career plans, he expressed faith in
his abilities.
"Coaching is my livelihood," he said.
"I will see what's on the college and
high school level, and see which road I
will take."
Harris said people knew his inten
tions were good in trying to rebuild
the program.
"I worked with enough people over
the years and they wouldn't question
my integrity."
Harris also said he had wanted to
meet with the team and tell them of his
resignation, but that McLean declined
his offer. McLean said that he would
meet with the players himself.
Two members of the Viking team said
they thought the coach's record was a
factor in the change.
"The coaching change was due to
come when you have two back-to-back
losing seasons," said Bryant Wiggins.
"I feel that a lot of pressure was put on
Coach Harris and his staff when they
first came in because of the 7-4 season
we had the year before he got here.
When he did not produce, everyone
was ready to ship him off.
"Then with the pressure coming from
the players about the new scholarship
change, he was going downhill faster
than he thought. I feel that he did what
he could with the resources he was
limited to. The whole program begins
with the Athletic Department and if
there is no money being put into the
department for the football team then
there is nothing any coach can do."
Another student, Lawrence Mack,
complained of restricted playing time
for "talented upperclassmen" in favor
of younger players.
"When a team is that young you have
to go to your upperclassmen but the
coaching staff didn't do that," said
Mack. "When you have upperclassmen
who practice hard all week and prove
they should play, why should they
wonder if they are going to make a
travel list or not over a freshman who
sees limited playing time when we do
play? This change might be better for
the program."
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Mark Brown photo
Cheerleader Nicole Hoffler looks determined during the Homecoming game against
Bowie State. A junior Computer Science major, she is a member of the Honors
Program. - - - ■
Sports commentary