Post by Bornthrilla on Sept 16, 2009 9:45:31 GMT -5
thetandd.com/articles/2009/09/16/bulldogzone/dish/doc4ab069b1295cd624443884.txt
MEAC Notebook: Lee says A&T will beat Hampton
By THOMAS GRANT JR., T&D Senior Sports Writer | Wednesday, September 16, 2009
“Aggie Pride” is making a comeback.
North Carolina A&T is off to its best start in recent years at 2-0. With last Saturday’s 17-13 win over Norfolk State and another Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory in waiting Oct. 17 via forfeit over Delaware State, the Aggies will have won as many games as they did the combined previous three seasons.
It probably explains the high confidence first-year head coach Alonzo Lee expressed during Tuesday’s MEAC teleconference when asked about his team’s chances at home Saturday against Hampton.
“When we go out and beat Hampton this week, you will be saying good things about us,” he said. “I tell folks all the time and I’m not a brag guy or different things like that, I just believe when you put the work in, when you do the things that we’ve been doing ... when you put in the work, I just believe great things are going to happen for you. That’s where our confidence lies right now and that’s where we’re sitting and we’re buying in right now because we put the work in. That’s the bottom line. All we’re doing right now is reaping the benefits.”
The Aggies (2-0, 1-0) will look to snap a five-game losing streak in the nationally-televised game on ESPNU (Channel 160 on Digital Time Warner Cable) against the Pirates (1-1), who are coming off a 31-24 loss at Alabama A&M. Lee spent six seasons with the Pirates as the defensive coordinator, during which they led the conference in total defense in 1997.
Which quarterback North Carolina A&T will face could be a question mark. Syracuse transfer David Legree filled in against Alabama A&M for last year’s starter Herbert Bynes who was hobbled by an ankle injury. Lee is just as much concerned about the rest of Hampton’s offense.
“When you at Hampton’s offense, they have a ton of talent,” Lee said. “Running back, huge lineman and again, the quarterback (Legree) is definitely exceptional. The biggest thing with (Hampton) is, their head coach (Donovan Rose) is doing a great job with their running game. They have transfers everywhere you look and different things and an awesome running back (LaMarcus Coker). So, I think they’re running attack is going to set up an outstanding passing game. So we have to be ready to play both because he’s playing with a quarterback who can really sling it good.”
Another concern for North Carolina A&T is a flu bug which has affected some players. Lee said he’s tried to be pro-active in making sure the flu bug does not become a team epidemic.
“We’re taking all types of precautions,” he said. “Spraying everything, washing every hand that we get. We’re probably washing our hands 100 times a day. We’re Lysol-ing everything down. We’re disinfecting everything we touch and all those things. Fortunately the flu that we have is not that flu (in reference to the swine flu), so that’s a definite plus because we did have two young men with it this past summer that gave us a great scare.
“Fortunately...our guys are coming through it and we’re just taking every single precaution and the university is definitely backing us in everything we do and we’re just spraying everything down, everything we come in contact with and making sure we’re taking care of ourselves.”
MEAC Notebook: Lee says A&T will beat Hampton
By THOMAS GRANT JR., T&D Senior Sports Writer | Wednesday, September 16, 2009
“Aggie Pride” is making a comeback.
North Carolina A&T is off to its best start in recent years at 2-0. With last Saturday’s 17-13 win over Norfolk State and another Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory in waiting Oct. 17 via forfeit over Delaware State, the Aggies will have won as many games as they did the combined previous three seasons.
It probably explains the high confidence first-year head coach Alonzo Lee expressed during Tuesday’s MEAC teleconference when asked about his team’s chances at home Saturday against Hampton.
“When we go out and beat Hampton this week, you will be saying good things about us,” he said. “I tell folks all the time and I’m not a brag guy or different things like that, I just believe when you put the work in, when you do the things that we’ve been doing ... when you put in the work, I just believe great things are going to happen for you. That’s where our confidence lies right now and that’s where we’re sitting and we’re buying in right now because we put the work in. That’s the bottom line. All we’re doing right now is reaping the benefits.”
The Aggies (2-0, 1-0) will look to snap a five-game losing streak in the nationally-televised game on ESPNU (Channel 160 on Digital Time Warner Cable) against the Pirates (1-1), who are coming off a 31-24 loss at Alabama A&M. Lee spent six seasons with the Pirates as the defensive coordinator, during which they led the conference in total defense in 1997.
Which quarterback North Carolina A&T will face could be a question mark. Syracuse transfer David Legree filled in against Alabama A&M for last year’s starter Herbert Bynes who was hobbled by an ankle injury. Lee is just as much concerned about the rest of Hampton’s offense.
“When you at Hampton’s offense, they have a ton of talent,” Lee said. “Running back, huge lineman and again, the quarterback (Legree) is definitely exceptional. The biggest thing with (Hampton) is, their head coach (Donovan Rose) is doing a great job with their running game. They have transfers everywhere you look and different things and an awesome running back (LaMarcus Coker). So, I think they’re running attack is going to set up an outstanding passing game. So we have to be ready to play both because he’s playing with a quarterback who can really sling it good.”
Another concern for North Carolina A&T is a flu bug which has affected some players. Lee said he’s tried to be pro-active in making sure the flu bug does not become a team epidemic.
“We’re taking all types of precautions,” he said. “Spraying everything, washing every hand that we get. We’re probably washing our hands 100 times a day. We’re Lysol-ing everything down. We’re disinfecting everything we touch and all those things. Fortunately the flu that we have is not that flu (in reference to the swine flu), so that’s a definite plus because we did have two young men with it this past summer that gave us a great scare.
“Fortunately...our guys are coming through it and we’re just taking every single precaution and the university is definitely backing us in everything we do and we’re just spraying everything down, everything we come in contact with and making sure we’re taking care of ourselves.”
