Never too early for basketball season

[AggiePride]

Especially since you guys have depressed me about football season!

sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2974460

[DECKS]

Lol, further proof that the Dawg pound is starting to get bigger than the basketball team!

[Bornthrilla]

NC A&T finally give fans something to cheer aboutBy Kyle Whelliston
Special to ESPN.com

NC A&T riding fan support

Once upon a time, basketball games in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference were so overwhelmingly popular that they were moved from campus gyms to city arenas, as tens of thousands of fans clamored for a peek at players with nicknames like "The Pencil" and "The Human Eraser" and to root on teams like UMES' "Black Beatles."


Three decades have passed since the conference's Division II days of distinction; in the 26 years since the MEAC was granted an auto bid to the Big Dance, the league has languished at the bottom of Division I's RPI table. These days, most regular-season contests play out before thousands of vacant seats, desperate hype men with microphones exhorting tiny crowds to "make some noise."



But you can find a reflected glimpse of the MEAC's faded glory in Greensboro, N.C., at North Carolina A&T's Corbett Sports Center. Under the bright yellow banners of a compact building named for former head coach Don Corbett -- who led A&T to a 37-game home win streak and seven NCAA trips in the '80s -- the Aggies play in front of packed, railing-hanging, rowdy crowds of 4,000-plus. The school perennially leads the conference in attendance, often nearly doubling its nearest competitor.



"A lot of people ask me what it's like going down to the MEAC," said head coach Jerry Eaves. "I tell them you'd never know it when you come into Corbett Sports Center. I'm in the Forum here, I'm in Madison Square Garden. This place has a spirit and life of itself. When you talk about a sixth man, when you talk about people who really love their school … They came out and supported this team when we were awful."



Indeed, the Aggies' faithful have kept up the support even though the team hasn't been to the NCAAs since 1995, even throughout a 2002-03 season in which the team went 1-26 and lost all its home games by an average of 14 points. Eaves, a former player at Louisville, took over the program after that painful campaign but found no overnight success -- his first three Aggies squads each lost 23 games or more.



Last season, the administration's patience -- and the fans' faith -- started paying off. A&T's 15 wins equaled the total of Eaves' first three seasons combined. The squad pulled off an 80-76 upset at SMU in late December, compiled a 10-8 conference record and advanced to the league semifinals (where it lost to eventual champions Florida A&M).



And with seven returning seniors from that turnaround team, many of whom have firsthand experience with the program's recent 20-loss seasons, North Carolina A&T and its relentless up-tempo style has emerged as a strong candidate for the MEAC championship. Or, at the very least, a new gym roof.



"This year is a year where we definitely do have an opportunity," said Eaves. "I think that we're one of the top three teams in the conference. That's the first time I've been able to say that in five years. I usually say we're sixth, seventh."



The resurgent Aggies will remain slightly anonymous. Eaves, like his old Louisville mentor Denny Crum, has strong opinions against sewing names on the backs of jerseys. But the guy who wears No. 1 doesn't need to show his ID -- that's Steven Rush, a 5-foot-11 all-league dynamo who finished third in the conference with 17.3 ppg on the strength of a league-leading 115 3-pointers. The UNC-Asheville transfer hit on 40.1 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.



"Instant offense guy," Eaves said of his star guard. "He has ultimate confidence to make any shot he takes. You can knock him out of bounds, he'll still hit the shot. He is a game changer, that's all there is to it."



With a senior core that includes 6-6 second-team all-leaguer Jason Wills (13.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and 5-11 floor burner Austin Ewing ( 11.1 ppg), the fifth-year coach has the entire Aggies squad changing games with blazing end-to-end speed.



"Ninety-five percent of schools practice a half-court game," said Eaves. "We practice 94 feet, and that's how we play. As long as I can keep people playing my game, which is a full-court game, I think I have an advantage."



Despite its breakneck tempo, last season's squad was one of only two MEAC entries that tallied more points than it gave up (regular-season champion Delaware State was the other). It was the first time since 1999-2000 that A&T's score sheet balance didn't end up in the red. The trend toward improved defense is only fitting for a coach whose primary fame as a college player originated from a decisive stop on UCLA's Kiki Vandeweghe, the one stop that iced the 1980 national championship game for Louisville.



"I've been a defensive-minded coach since I got into coaching 18 years ago," said Eaves, who drew up defenses for Charlotte, Cleveland and New Jersey as an NBA assistant. "My philosophy hasn't changed. We're very aggressive, I don't think I've played a minute of zone since I came here. We're going to get turnovers to create quick baskets, just like coach Crum."



Not that the fans wouldn't show up without an exciting style of play to watch (there's plenty of top-notch off-court entertainment at Aggies games too). But the 2007-08 season promises an increase in hoop-related thrills, perhaps even a return to the heady days when North Carolina A&T lorded over the league.



"It's just a pleasure to be able to walk into your home arena and get the support we get," Eaves said. "I know that when you go to the other [MEAC] gyms, it's not across the board. … I'm just so glad that we're able to compete for a championship in front of these fans."

[lovelespartan1]

Amen! Football is having a rough start. It's still early, but hopefully we can look forward to what Eaves & Co. have in store for Aggie fans who desperately need something to cheer about.

[hawkeye]

When is Midnight Madness?