The Compass Friday, December 5, 1997 11
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m
Members of the Viking cheerleaders team pump up the crowd during the Homecoming game against Bowie State.
Mark Brown photo
New players lined up to replace Vike seniors
by A1 Randolph
Despite the loss of some key seniors.
Coach Barry Hamler is hopeful that
the Vikings can repeat last year's
achievement.
The Vikings (22-7) went 14-3 in the
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Asso
ciation, then won the South Atlantic
Regional to advance to the NCAA Di
vision II tournament, where they were
defeated by Salem Teikyo 91-74.
The Vikings followed their two se
nior leaders Adrian Bell and Maurice
Mincey. Bell, the coach on the floor at
the point position and Mincey, the in
side and outside threat at the forward
position will truly be missed this sea
son.
'The team will be affected by the
loss in ball-handling and scoring," said
Hamler.
With key returners Marcus Riddick,
Anthony Harris, Ryan Taylor and Herb
Lewis, Coach Hamler is ready to make
another run at the Northern Division
of the CIAA and the Division II Na
tional Title.
Hamler said he will depend on two
of the players, Hines and Taylor, for
work on the back court. Hines, who
comes to ECSU from Gulf Coast Com
munity College, was ranked fifth best
junior college point guard in the na
tion, according to Hamler.
This year seven new players will be
lined up to replace the last year's se
niors. The new players are Curtis
Cofield, Derrick Hines, Jabari Holder,
Kelsey Wilkins, Aaron Wilkins (no re
lation to Kelsey), Bradley Smith, and
Stephon Newton.
In a recent interview, Hamler had
high praise for his new players.
"Curtis Cofield is very aggressive,"
said Hamler. "He will be a valuable
addition to the team."Cofield is a six-
foot four-inch sophomore forward from
Williamston, NC.
Hamler described Hines, a 5-foot
nine-inch jxmior guard from Roanoke,
Va. as "an exciting and one-of-a-kind
player," who could have attended
UCLA or Syracuse but who decided to
attend ECSU instead.
Jabari Holder is a six—foot, five-inch
freshman forward from Greenbush,
New York.
"Jabari is a very explosive freshman
player and I'm sure he will have a
bright future at ECSU."
Hamler said Kelsey Wilkins, a five-
foot eleven inch sophomore guard from
Durham, N.C., is a "two-sport athlete
with a great deal of talent."
Aaron Wilkins is a 6-foot, four-inch
freshman guard from Plymouth, N.C.
"He is local product who will bring
stability to the program," said Hamler.
"He comes from a tradition of basket
ball."
Bradley Smith is a six-foot, three-inch
sophomore guard, from Currituck,
N.C.
"Bradley is the first recruit from
Currituck High School, and is very ex
cited about his first year playing."
Stephen Newton, a five-foot nin^
inch sophomore guard from Orange,
New Jersey, "comes from a nice high
school program and he will help the
program out a great deal," said Hamler.
Derrick Hines, who will replace the
four-year starting point guard Adrian
Bell, said he felt "comfortable at ECSU."
Added Hines: "The chemistry of the
team is very good. I hope to get every
one involved and score."
Hamler said he wasn't paying atten
tion to his team's No. 7 ranking in The
Sporting News College Basketball Pre
view.
"Where you finish, not where you
start-that's what it's all about," Harnler
said.
The Vikings were 2-2 after their 74-
72 loss to the University of the District
of Columbia on Oct. 25.
Hamler said the Vikes are still trjdng
to get used to plajdng together.
"We're really happy where we are at
this part of the season," he said. We
know we've got a lot of work to do,
but there's no reason why we shouldn't
be where we want to be at the end of
the season."
Mark Brown photo
Coach Hamler will rely on these starters during the 1997-98 season. They are (back
row) Anthony Hams, Xaviar Wise and Marcus Riddick. Front row: Derrick Hines and
Ryan Taylor.