The Compass Thursday, March 18,1999 9
Sports
ECSU’s Hamler Named
CIAA Coach Of The Year
Raleigh To Host
CIAA Tournament
By; Shekeria Smith
Staff Writer
Elizabeth City State University head
men's basketball coach Barry Hamler
is this year's Central Intercollegiate
Athletic Association Coach of the Year.
Mr. Hamler was notified of his selec
tion by the CIAA's executive board the
weekend of Feb. 19, following his
team's 97-71 loss to the conference's
top seed Virginia Union University.
Mr. Hamler said that he was flat
tered by his selection and award but
he would rather have beaten arch rival
Virginia Union.
Ehiring an interview Hamler stated,
"I can't speak for the kids, but I'd gladly
trade it in for an Eastern Division cham
pionship."
Hamler guided the Vikings to a 21-4
record as well as a No. 19 national rank
ing this year. However, the four-year
coach did not lead his team to the CIAA
title. The new-look Vikings spent most
of the year at the height of the league
standings.
Replacing four starters from last
year's 18-10 team, Hamler's squad still
compiled a respectable wirming regu
lar season with a 13-3 (8-2 Eastern Di
vision) conference record.
"I knew we'd be good this year, but I
never dreamed we'd have the kind of
season we've had," said Hamler. "But
the credit has to go to the players."
"They've really overachieved this
year. We've at least been in the finals of
every tournament we've played in, and
although we didn't win the conference,
at least we were in the chase the whole
year."
After directing the Vikings to the con
ference championship in 1997, Hamler
also earned Coach of the Year honors.
His team won the South Atlantic Re
gional title and was among the NCAA's
Division II Elite Eight.
By Monique Boyce
Staff Writer
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic
Association has selected Raleigh as the
host city for the men and women's bas
ketball tournaments in 2000-2002. The
CIAA tournament is the third largest
basketball competition in the United
States, providing an opportunity for
fans and alumni to enjoy exciting hard
wood action.
Raleigh was one of four cities to sub
mit bids to host the annual event. The
other cities were Fayetteville, Winston-
Salem and Richmond, Virginia. Win
ston-Salem is this year's host city, as it
has been for the past five years.
Dr. Bernard W. Franklin, the chair
man of the CIAA board of directors,
said the decision to choose a host city
was difficult.
"The selection process was especially
difficult this year, due to the outstand
ing quality of each city imder consid
eration," he said.
One of the decision-breakers was
Raleigh's proximity to all the member
schools, which provides the opportu
nity for greater student involvement.
The Triad is the home to three of the 12
participating institutions: North Caro
lina Central University, Shaw Univer
sity and St. Augustine's CoUege.
Another decisive factor in the selec
tion was Raleigh's new $150 million
Entertainment and Sports Arena.
Chancellor Mickey Bumim, a mem
ber of the CIAA board of directors, is
excited about having the tournament a
little closer to home.
"It's a central location that will make
it easier for students to attend games
and minimize the number of classes
they will miss to do so."
The CIAA, founded in 1912, is the
oldest African-American athletic con
ference in the nation. This year will be
a celebration of 86 years of athletic com
petition and 25 years of women's par
ticipation. It is made up of 12 histori
cally black colleges and universities,
which makes it one of the largest
Division II conference in the National
Collegiate Athletic Association.
Former NBA Great
Pursues Second Career
By Sochiameya Humphreys
Compass Staff Writer
Former National Basketball Associa
tion star John Salley and Beverly Hills-
based Sagestone Entertainment an
nounced recently that they have
entered into a joint venture for SaUey's
label. Total Entertainment.
The Atlanta-based label, run by
Salley and producer Soul Messiah, will
focus on rap and R&B artists and will
be distributed by Sagestone through
Navarre Entertainment.
The debut single "What We Be Bout"
from Total artist Mozae will be released
on March 30th and followed by their
album Southbound on April 20th.
Mr Salley played in the NBA for the
Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls.
Mr Salley is no stranger to the enter-
tauunent industry. He has also ap
peared in such films as Bad Boys with
Martin rtin Lawrence, Eddie with
Whoopi Goldberg, and hosted NBC's
NBA pre-game show "NBA
Showtime". He also appeared on the
Fox Network's Family game show "I
Can't Believe You Said That."
Salley is also known as the man who
discovered R&B singer Tony Rich, who
is now signed with LaFace Records.
Sagestone Entertainment was
founded in 1996 by Stephen Metz who
has worked with a wide range of art
ists including the Beatles.
The label's current releases include
Street Institute's "S.I. Riders" with vol
ume lO's hit "Raised In The Hood (Pis
tol Grip Pump 2)" and T.I.P.'s (Totally
Into Pleasure) The Game.
M
P
photo by Al Randolph
University students, staff, faculty and alumni turned out in full force for the Winter Homecoming basketball game.