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Post by Bornthrilla on Oct 16, 2008 12:49:04 GMT -5
NEW-LOOK AGGIES COME INTO SEASON WITH LOW EXPECTATIONS The Aggies return no starters from last seasonWINSTON-SALEM, October 15, 2008 – North Carolina A&T head men’s basketball coach Jerry Eaves expected people to not look favorably on his team’s chances to be one of the top teams in the MEAC for the 2008-09 season. Wednesday, his expectations were met. The Aggies were picked to finish 8th in the 11-team MEAC. The Aggies also did not have a player named to the first or second preseason team. The prediction is predicated on the fact that the Aggies return no starters from the 2007-08 team that won 15 games and finished 9-7 in the conference. Among those lost starters are Steven Rush, Austin Ewing and Jason Wills. Those three players happened to be the Aggies top three scorers last season. In addition, Rush proved to be one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation. Ewing was a two-year starter at point guard and another good 3-point shooter. In Wills, the Aggies lost their top rebounder over the last three seasons. “College basketball is great because is not so much about the individual as much as it is about the overall program,’’ said Eaves. “In the pros, people sometime identify individual players with a team. People have been coming to our games for years and years because they love A&T basketball regardless of who’s wearing the jersey.” Eaves, who enters his sixth season as the Aggies headman, said the players this season we’ll be asked to run the same system his previous five teams have. “It’s going to be an exciting season,’’ he said. “When people come to our games this year, we’ll still be pressuring the basketball, we’ll still be pushing the basketball and we’ll still be running our same offense because that’s A&T basketball no matter what players are occupying the jerseys.” The Aggies are not completely new. Senior swingman Ed Jones and sophomore center Thomas Coleman didn’t start a lot of game last season, but they earned a lot of playing time. Jones is the Aggies leading returning scorer. Jones scored in double figures eight times last season and averaged 7.6 points and 3.5 rebounds. He was pivotal in helping the Aggies defeat Delaware State in Dover, Del., last season when he scored 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting. Coleman was one of the top freshmen in the MEAC last season. He was a strong defender for the Aggies, ranking second in the MEAC in blocked shots. He broke the school’s single-game blocked shot record when he had nine against Coppin State in Corbett Sports. Coleman won MEAC Rookie of the Week honors twice and was an all-rookie team selection. Coleman averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game despite averaging just 21 minutes per game. There are going to be nights when Thomas scores seven or eight points, but will be the most vital player on the floor because he’s going to do some many things for,’’ said Eaves. “He’s going to block shots, he’s going to rebound, he’s going to pass the ball out of the post for open jump shots…That’s just the kind of player he is.” The Aggies open their season Nov. 14 against the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. They begin conference play Dec. 6 at home against Norfolk State. www.ncataggies.com-
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Post by pj on Oct 16, 2008 19:23:06 GMT -5
I dont know what to expect. I hope Coleman worked on his "facing the basket" & "back to the basket" game this summer. Last year I saw him set a lot of high screens & I dont know whats in store this year. I know this much, we need a double/double every night from him this year. I loved his grit last year...as he would "throw your stuff back" if you came in there with some weak stuff.
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Post by pj on Oct 16, 2008 19:36:05 GMT -5
The League needs a good A&T. I traveled to Norfolk last season and our "small but loud" fans woke theirs up. Its funny how that happened. Its something about A&T to them. Oh, and I cant wait for the WSSU Game. "I had a ball" both times...
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oleschoolaggie
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Oct 17, 2008 11:44:12 GMT -5
The League needs a good A&T. I traveled to Norfolk last season and our "small but loud" fans woke theirs up. Its funny how that happened. Its something about A&T to them. Oh, and I cant wait for the WSSU Game. "I had a ball" both times... i'm not as anxious to play winston this year. we're not as good as we were last year and they're better than they were last year. we'll be the underdog against winston. i'm taking a wait and see approach with our men's team. but on paper, we're lookin' kinda shakey. whether coleman significantly improves this season or not will say a lot about eaves' coaching ability. dayum, our football team is destined to finish last again and our men's basketball team is projected to do almost the same. dayum, our athletic department stinks...
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Post by aggiejazz on Oct 17, 2008 12:14:09 GMT -5
2008-09 MEAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Prediction as voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors (First Place Votes in parenthesis)
1. Morgan State (15) 2. Hampton (2) 3. Delaware State 4. Norfolk State (1) 5. South Carolina State (2) 6. Coppin State (1) 7. Florida A&M 8. North Carolina A&T (1) 9. Howard 10. Bethune-Cookman 11. Maryland E. Shore
I see this club as a 6th seed. They could be a 5th seed if they win the majority of their conference home games and sweep Howard and MD Eastern Shore. Del State is picked too high and Coppin too low. Was Norfolk State's success last year a fluke? SC State has some new players. FAMU could have easily swapped positions with A&T in the pre-season poll.
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oleschoolaggie
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Oct 17, 2008 16:13:10 GMT -5
i think there should be question marks next to everybody except morgan and hampton. no one really knows how the rest will pan out.
however, i do think it will be a long season for us. unless some of our new guys bring a lot of game to the table and coleman is a lot better than last year, we may wind up with more folks at the women's games than the men...
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Post by aahhbigboy on Oct 17, 2008 20:25:56 GMT -5
How could anyone doubt the best coach in the conference? Del State will probably win the conference. 5th or 6th seed Jazz. Pass me what you're smoking. I've seen these cats play. We'll be 9-11 easy! Keep in mind that our coaching staff is super weak and inecperienced.
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DECKS
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Post by DECKS on Oct 19, 2008 9:44:39 GMT -5
2008-09 MEAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Prediction as voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors (First Place Votes in parenthesis) 1. Morgan State (15) 2. Hampton (2) 3. Delaware State 4. Norfolk State (1) 5. South Carolina State (2) 6. Coppin State (1) 7. Florida A&M 8. North Carolina A&T (1) 9. Howard 10. Bethune-Cookman 11. Maryland E. Shore I see this club as a 6th seed. They could be a 5th seed if they win the majority of their conference home games and sweep Howard and MD Eastern Shore. Del State is picked too high and Coppin too low. Was Norfolk State's success last year a fluke? SC State has some new players. FAMU could have easily swapped positions with A&T in the pre-season poll. Jazz what makes you think we can finish in 5th or 6th place with so many new faces? I think those expectations are way to lofty.
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Post by aggiejazz on Oct 19, 2008 10:41:52 GMT -5
First of all, I am not predicting a 5th place finish at the end of the regular season. I was stating if they win certain games they could finish 5th but I am predicting a 6th place finish.
I think A&T can finish 6th because Eaves program is going into its 6th year so there is stability in the program. In my opinion there are several programs that doesn't have this right now, FAMU, BCU, MESU, Howard, SC State and Norfolk State. Norfolk State and SC State are the best of that bunch and could surprise the top teams this year but A&T has beaten these teams under Eaves so I will go with past history due to stability.
Del State loss their best player that A&T couldn't defense.
A&T loss their best outside shooter but last year's performance didn't match the performance of two years ago so the lost isn't as big. A&T will have three shooters to replace that one. I think point guard play will be a lot better with Marc Hill and I think the hustle on defense will be like it was two years ago.
This leaves Morgan State, Hampton and Coppin State. These teams will beat everyone else so our losses to them will be cancelled out by the lower 8 team losses to the top three in my opinion.
The key is winning 6 games of the lower 8 teams at home and beating Howard and Md Eastern Shore away. Throw in another conference win against the lower 8 or an upset against a top three (not saying this will happen and most likely won't) and you have a good chance at a 5th seed.
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Post by aahhbigboy on Oct 19, 2008 11:18:52 GMT -5
My god.
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Aggie77
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Post by Aggie77 on Oct 19, 2008 12:18:58 GMT -5
All I can say is, I hope "Jazz is right and aahhbigboy is wrong, with the current situation with football, if basketball is a complete disaster, with the obvious lack of funds, it could take years to fix. Heaven forbid the women have a slow start or don't meet expectations. Until I see them play I only have suspicions that the men’s team (on paper) is going to be marginal at best.
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Post by aahhbigboy on Oct 19, 2008 12:50:46 GMT -5
All I can say is, I hope "Jazz is right and aahhbigboy is wrong, with the current situation with football, if basketball is a complete disaster, with the obvious lack of funds, it could take years to fix. Heaven forbid the women have a slow start or don't meet expectations. Until I see them play I only have suspicions that the men’s team (on paper) is going to be marginal at best. Trust me, I'm not wrong. lol. We have a bad basketball team. Remember who told you first. Add that to a coach with a 38% MEAC winning pct., and it spells major trouble. Jazz has about 100 variables that has to happen just to get a 5th place finish. lol Like I said on the football board, all aggie pride (for athletics) needs to be suspended. People screaming Aggie Pride at our sports events are like bums having pride in eating out of dumpsters. It doesn't make sense.
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Post by aggie82 on Oct 19, 2008 17:28:17 GMT -5
i went to practice this morning..this is the biggest a&t team that i have seen in years...if we can defend and knock down some shots, i think we could make a little noise...only time will tell...
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Post by aggiejazz on Oct 19, 2008 18:58:38 GMT -5
First of all, I am not predicting a 5th place finish at the end of the regular season. I was stating if they win certain games they could finish 5th but I am predicting a 6th place finish. I think A&T can finish 6th because Eaves program is going into its 6th year so there is stability in the program. In my opinion there are several programs that doesn't have this right now, FAMU, BCU, MESU, Howard, SC State and Norfolk State. Norfolk State and SC State are the best of that bunch and could surprise the top teams this year but A&T has beaten these teams under Eaves so I will go with past history due to stability. Del State loss their best player that A&T couldn't defense. A&T loss their best outside shooter but last year's performance didn't match the performance of two years ago so the lost isn't as big. A&T will have three shooters to replace that one. I think point guard play will be a lot better with Marc Hill and I think the hustle on defense will be like it was two years ago. This leaves Morgan State, Hampton and Coppin State. These teams will beat everyone else so our losses to them will be cancelled out by the lower 8 team losses to the top three in my opinion. The key is winning 6 games of the lower 8 teams at home and beating Howard and Md Eastern Shore away. Throw in another conference win against the lower 8 or an upset against a top three (not saying this will happen and most likely won't) and you have a good chance at a 5th seed. I will now hold off on this prediction until I see what the starting lineup will be prior to first game of the season.
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Post by aahhbigboy on Oct 19, 2008 19:51:51 GMT -5
First of all, I am not predicting a 5th place finish at the end of the regular season. I was stating if they win certain games they could finish 5th but I am predicting a 6th place finish. I think A&T can finish 6th because Eaves program is going into its 6th year so there is stability in the program. In my opinion there are several programs that doesn't have this right now, FAMU, BCU, MESU, Howard, SC State and Norfolk State. Norfolk State and SC State are the best of that bunch and could surprise the top teams this year but A&T has beaten these teams under Eaves so I will go with past history due to stability. Del State loss their best player that A&T couldn't defense. A&T loss their best outside shooter but last year's performance didn't match the performance of two years ago so the lost isn't as big. A&T will have three shooters to replace that one. I think point guard play will be a lot better with Marc Hill and I think the hustle on defense will be like it was two years ago. This leaves Morgan State, Hampton and Coppin State. These teams will beat everyone else so our losses to them will be cancelled out by the lower 8 team losses to the top three in my opinion. The key is winning 6 games of the lower 8 teams at home and beating Howard and Md Eastern Shore away. Throw in another conference win against the lower 8 or an upset against a top three (not saying this will happen and most likely won't) and you have a good chance at a 5th seed. I will now hold off on this prediction until I see what the starting lineup will be prior to first game of the season. Good Move. lol Someone must've told you something....or you saw them yourself. Keep in mind that it doesn't matter who starts because Eaves is the only guy in the conference that plays more than 10 players. lol Maybe the football debacle is bringing people back to earth.
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