Page 15 AC Phoenix, December 1988
Coaches Pick CIAA Pre-Season Favorites
Norfolk, Va....ClAA
head men's and
women's basketball
coaches revealed their
predicted order of finish
and pre-season All-
CiAA seiections at the
annual basketball
round-up luncheon
held Tuesday in Norfolk.
Men's coaches see
top Southern Division
honors going to North
Carolina Centrai foi-
lowed by Winston
Saiem State, Johnson
C, Smith, St. Augus
tine's, Shaw, Fayet-
teviile State and Living
stone. Virginia Union
was selected for the
number one spot in the
Northern Division, with
off the remaining slots.
Pre-season all con
ference players are led
by 1987-88 player of
the year Terry Davis of
Virginia Union and in-
ciude Jerome Coies -
King - Shaw, Derrick
Leake - North Carolina
Centrai, Peltre Wiliiams -
Hampton, Stacy Clark -
Hampton, A.J. English -
Virginia Union, Mike
Sinciair - Bowie State,
Jackie Dolberry of
Hampton headlines the
women's selections and
is joined by Kammy
Brown - Virginia State,
Angela Hamilton - J.C,
Smith, Debra Howeli -
St. Augustine's, Jackie
McWiiliams - Hampton,
DeAnna Hail - Virginia
Union, Demetrius Belk -
Bowie State, Andrea
Watts - Norfoik State,
Pam Sawyer - North
Coaches Pick Panthers, Eagles
Virginia State, Norfolk
State, Hampton, Eliza
beth City, Bowie State
and St. Paui's rounding
Norfolk State, Ernie
Griffin - Elizabeth City
State, Leonard Harris -
Virginia State, Anthony
Antoine Sifford - North
Carolina Centrai and
Lament Walker - Virginia
State.
Shaw, Shelia Seward -
Fayetteviile State,
Aretha Campbell -
Shaw, Rhonda Gunter -
Carolina Central and
Antoniea Sanford - J.C.
Smith.
CIAA Basketball Review 1988-89
By Sam Davis
The script has gotten
old in the CIAA. The
conference's top team
is Virginia Union and
everyone else is walking
in "The Shadow". "The
Shadow" of course
refers to Dave Robbins,
the Panthers' coach,
who is known by that
mohiker throughout the
conference.
VUU failed to win the
conference tournament
last year but there was
little else they came up
short doing. The Pan
thers are ioaded again
and took very capabie of
besting the 25-6 record
they posted overail and
the 17-2 mark they
compiied in conference
wars.
in A.J. Engiish, the
Panthers boast the
finest piayer in the con
ference and one of the
top swingmen in the
nation. English was one
of the premier players
on the U.S. Jones Cup
team that played in
China last summer. But
VUU is by no means a
one-dimensional team.
"Mr. Inside" for the Pan
thers, 6-9 center Terry
Davis was named piayer-
of-the-year in the CIAA,
after leading the con
ference in rebounding
and ranking near the top
in scoring,
VIRGINIA STATE
rates as the darkhorse in
the conference this
season. The Trojans
sent shockwaves
through the CiAA by
downing Union in the
conference tournament
and coming away as the
Spartans seem to ai-
ways find enough faient
to rank among the top
clubs in the conference.
Norfoik was ranked
among the top 20
NCAA Division li Rams
ali iast year and couid
sneak into that eiite
group again.
The conference's top team is
Virginia Union and everyone else
is walking in "The Shadow".
tourney champs. VSU
doesn't quite have the
dominating type team
that Union has, but the
Trojans seem to rise to
their best ability in im
portant games. Point
guard Chris Hoiloway is
the top assist man and
playmaker in the CiAA
and another solid year
from him and the Tro
jans couid very weli
make the NCAA Division
II Tournament field
again.
Norfoik State can't be
looked, over, eithe;, .The
NORFOLK STATE-
Charles Christian, the
Spartans' coach, has
some veterans to build
around and they could
battle Union and VSU all
the way to the wire.
Their only weak point
could be in the middie,
which 6-9 center Lee
Johnson Handled last
year before graduating.
HAMPTON should
again be an up and
down team. The Pirates
don't really have a
standout player to build
around. Hampton was
13-13 overall and 10-9
in league play. Stacy
Clark and Peltre Williams
are solid swingmen for
the Pirates, however
the missing ingredients-
a strongman in the mid
dle and a smooth ball-
handler-could keep
them from moving
above .500.
ELIZABETH CITY \s
stili stnjggiing to get its
head above the .500
mark. The run-and-gun
Vikings still haven't
found their stride under
Claude Mackey since he
took over from leg
endary coach Bobby
Vaughan. Ernie Griffin is
the Vikings top gun and
he wili again fire away
from the perimeter, it wiil
be interesting to see if
the Vikings can better
their 10-17 overali and
8-11 ieague slate this
season.
ST. PAUL'S is re
building for the
umpteenth time and the
Tigers wiil not be fa
vored much during the
88-89 season. First-year
coach Harry Bradley will
have his hands fuli try
ing to battle in the
Northern Division pace
with only one starter
(Cletiis Dalton).return-.
ing from last year's team.
Bradley would do well to
duplicate last season's
11-17 overall and 5-14
conference records,
BOWIE STATE was
the surprise team in the
conference during the
1988 football season
and the Bulldog Cagers
hope to pick up where
the football team left off.
Led by flamboyant
coach Warren "Bit Time"
Reynolds, Bowie fig
ures to finaliy get out of
the ClAA's doormat slot.
The Bulldogs' leader is
swingman Mike Sinciair,
who earned all-confer
ence honors last sea
son, But there is little
else dependable in the
Buildogs' arsenai.
ever, they aren't quite
ready to battle with the
conference heavy
weights.
NORTH CAROLINA
CENTRAL is the team to
beat in the Southern
Division. Mike Bernard,
the Eagles coach,
hasn't been able to
make the break
throughs expected
during recruiting and
must rely on teamwork
and defense to dupli
cate last season's 26-3
overall and 18-1 confer
ence record. The Ea
gles have already got
ten off to a stow start,
losing their first game of
the season.
Derrick Leak and Fred
Bennett are solid front
line players, but neither
North Carolina Central Eagles
are the team to beat in the South
ern Division of the CIAA this sea
son.
Bowie managed only
four wins ail of last year
and the Bulldogs
should double that out
put. this lime. out. How
is dominant. Eric Jack-
son could develop into
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