2009-10 Men's Basketball Preview

The North Carolina A&T men will start the 2009-10 basketball season looking to build on last year’s 16-16 overall record.

The Aggie faithful found a few things to cheer about last season, with the team winning 10 out of 12 home games and also embarking on an eye-raising eight game winning streak during the month of February.

Fans remembered the 2005 accolade given by Street & Smith’s magazine that ranked the A&T men’s program 62nd best of all time. For a while last season it looked like the team might be getting back to that former glory and peaking at the right time. However, a couple of close losses against Hampton (58-59) and at Norfolk (61-74) took away some of the late season steam. Then, the 63-66 loss to Coppin State in the quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament left the fans wanting and wondering.

But now it’s a new season for the NABC District 15 Coach of the Year, Jerry Eaves.

The Aggies have two starters returning in senior guard Tavarus Alston (11.1 ppg, 4.1 apg.) and forward /center Thomas Coleman (7.7 ppg., 6.3 rebs., 2.7 blks. ). With those two stars, it looks like the Aggies will be poised to challenge Morgan State for the MEAC title.


Who's Gone?

The key losses to the roster are forward Ed Jones ( 12.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and forward Nicholas Wilson (10.3 ppg., 4.5 rpg.) These two players hit some big shots last season and will be missed.

Who’s New?

This is a tall class of incoming freshmen, who are all 6-foot-3 or better. This seems to be a solid unit.

* Lawrence Smith (F) 6-5, 195 lbs.
* R J Buck (G) 6-3, 192 lbs.
* Adrian Powell (F) 6-6, 188 lbs.
* Austin Witter (G/F) 6-8 195 lbs.
* DeMetrius Upchurch (F) 6-7 210 lbs.

Players to watch:

* Senior Tavarus Alston got the needed minutes last year and hit some big shots. I expect him to really shine and to display some of the gained confidence from the Pro-Am Summer league.

* Senior Dwane Joshua played in the Pro-Am Summer league also and he is not afraid to take a shot. He got many open looks last year and should be set up nicely by the offensive scheme this year.

*Junior forward/center Thomas Coleman may be the true nightmare for the foes in the league. His shot blocking skills had the fans hyped. Coleman had 85 blocks last year, and finished 14th in the nation. (http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-baskbl/stat....s-per-game.html). He and Tavarus Alston revealed a ‘two-man game’ late in the season that showed the potential of what is possible this year.

*Senior center James Porter did not play last season but should help in the middle and free up Thomas Coleman defensively. Porter needs to attack the basket for points, draw fouls and rebound.

*Sophomore guard Marc Hill (3.2 ppg, 1.6 apg) will push the ball with speed. He needs to get his points thru the fast break. His minuets will be valuable to the running and pressing team.

*Senior Robert Johnson (F) 9.8ppg, 4.5rpg is the key. I expect him to really become a leader on the team. Rob can ‘finish’ the play and defend. I feel that he will have a big year.


Final Projection:

Well I think that this team has the potential to win the MEAC if these things happen:

* Limit the turnovers (they had an 18.1 turnover average per game last year).
* Improve the field goal percentage (they had a 42% average last year).
* Improve the free throw percentage (they had a 63% average last year), but lost a few close games with misses down the stretch.
* Continue to play good defense (they caused 17.1 turnovers per game)

Even when we struggled offensively last season, we still got open looks and played good defense. Of course I expect Coleman to be improved offensively, and if one or more of the newcomers can really contribute I can see Coach Eaves using a wave of defensive pressure to get some easy points for the freshmen. Now add the atmosphere of the Corbett Center crowd that averaged 2,272 fans per game, along with the Aggie Maniacs and Live Wires, and you have a tough team to beat.

I think that A&T can turn the corner and win a title. Mind you, I’m still spoiled from that 1981 NIT game against a Duke team featuring Gene Banks and Kenny Dennard, when we only lost by a score of 69-79. A&T's Joe Binion had 18 points in that contest and James Anderson added 19. The only A&T player to have an off night in that game was Harold Royster, who recorded four points and 10 rebounds. But back then, we would lace them up and ball with anyone!

Hopefully, this year's team can perform on the same level as the 1981 squad. Let's get it started!



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