Virginia Union has tradition, talent on its side
Will tradition win out
again when the CIAA Men's
Basketball Tournament tips
off this week in Winston
Salem? Or will this be the
year that an underdog steps
forward to capture the title?
If you are Virginia
Urtion, your hope is that tra
dition will count for some
thing. The Panthers can
boast of their 15 tournament
titles, more than any other
program in the league.
VUU, which has seven
championships in the last 10
years, took home another
divisional championship this
season when it blasted
upstart Elizabeth City 97-71
last Saturday night to take
the Eastern Division title by
one game.
The Panthers have one
of the league's top frontcourt
players again this year in the
person of 6-9 Chandar Bing
ham. He follows in a long
line of "big time" pivotmen
for Coach Dave Robbins'
team.
On the other hand, if
you're North Carolina Cen
tral your desire might be to
finally live up to expecta
tions. The Eagles haven't
won a conference champi
onship in nearly five
decades.
?Coach Greg Jackson's
team took first place in the
division again this season,
taking a tie-breaker over
Winston-Salem State and
Johnson C: Smith, which
both finished with identical
7-3 record divisional records
to tie the Eagles. Jackson's
team isn't flashy, but finds a
way to do its damage.
The Eagles have a histo
ry of fading in the tourna
ment. That last time NCCU
stood in the winner's circle
was 1950, the fifth year of
the tournament's existence.
The Eagles also took home
the spoils after taking a
championship in the inau
gural tournament in 1946.
But twice is a whole lot
better than none. There are
five schools in the league
have that distinction.
Livingstone had never
won a league game until it
pulled off two upsets last
season. St. Paul's, which got
its first tournament win sev
eral years ago, also has
never captured a league title.
Neither has Bowie State,
which is in the running with
those two programs for the
fewest wins in tournament
history. Johnson C. Smith
has made it to the champi
onship game six times,
including last season, but
has never emerged as the
champion.
.. - Other programs are hop
. ing to get back to their once
storied CIAA days. One is
Winston-Salem State, which
tied North Carolina Central
in divisional wins but lo,st
out to the Eagles on a tie
breaker because they lost
both regular season games 1
toNCCU. ' .
The Rams showed dra
matic improvement this sea
son under Rick Duckett, a
former head coach at Fayet
teville State. The Rams
come into the tournament
with an 18-8 record and are
in search of 2()-win season.
WSSU, which dominat
ed the league during the
1960's and I970's under
legendary Coach Bighouse
Gaines, could be the tourna
ment's darkhorse.
The Rams have taken
well to Duckett's style and
are an exciting blend of vet
erans and rookies. WSSU
has one of the top recruiting
classes in the conference,
led by Marcus Best. Best, a
6-2 guard from Fayetteville,
might be the best freshman
to come into the conference
in the '90's. Although not a
prolific scorer, Best is
among the top defensive
players in the conference
already. In addition, he i$
one of the top rebounding
guards and an explosive
leaper.
Elizabeth City has had
some glory days in the past,
the last coming during the
1981 season when it defeat
ed Virginia State for the
tournament championship.
The Vikings have the
league's top scorer in
William Fitzgerald and a
good complimentary player
in Marcus Riddick. Barry
Hamler, the Vikings' coach,
was also awarded Coach of
the Year honors for the job
he did with ECSU during
the '98-99 season.
Johnson C. Smith is
hoping that it can win one
more game in the tourna
ment than it did last year
when it lost to Virginia
Union in the championship
game.
The Golden Bulls and
Coach Steve Joyner have
played consistently through-'
out the season in posting a
19-7 overall record. Howev
er, the team has lost several
key matchups in the divi
sion. Smith, led by the
inside-outside combination
of Lemans Shingler and
Christopher Reese, lost
twice to WSSU and once to
NCCU. However, they come
into the tournament riding
the wave of the momentum
they gained in defeating
NCCU in the final game of
the seas9n last Saturday
night by a convincing (75
60) margin.
Mike Bernard returned
to the CIAA this season
after falling out of favor at
Norfolk State. At Fayet
teville State, Bernard has
crafted one of the league's
most patient teams. The
Bropcos can't be counted
out because of their disci
plined attacked the fact
that they haWJijge of the
league's top scorers in Tim
othy Revels.
St Augustine's is talent
ed, but hasn't (Juite reached
its stride again after losing
venerable Coach Norvell
Lee prior to the 1997-98
season. The Falcons cap
tured their first ever CIAA .
Tournament title two years
ago and have LaFonte'
Moses, a streaky shooter on
their roster.
The biggest enigma is
St. Pauls, which' might have
the most talent of any team
in the league. Coach Buck
Joyner has the league's top
player, Antwain Smith, who
was named the league's top
player for the third Consecu
tive year.
The Tigers are big and
athletic, but don't seem to
play well enough in big
games. If the Tigers can pull
together for* four games,
they could end up taking
home the spoils this season.
Shaw, Bowie and Vir
ginia State have played well
on occasion but lack the
overall tools to make a run
for the championship. Shaw
and Vnginia State were both
hit hard for using ineligible
players.
Bowie State has shown
signs of improvement, but
the Bulldogs are still miss
ing the ingredients for cook
ing up a league title.
Livingstone, of the
Western Division, comes
into the tournament with
many more wins than it
posted a year ago. The Blue
Bears, however, will be
hard-pressed to pull off the
upsets they did during the
'98 tournament.
?Sam Davis
?mmtd (Hcpri ia? at tk* tournament.