Walker stressing short-term goals for loaded ECSU Vikings

Camden, North Carolina - The surroundings may not have been familiar, but when Elizabeth City State men’s basketball coach Shawn Walker looked around the Camden High gym Sunday, there were plenty of familiar faces.

The Vikings, conducting their second day of preseason practice at Camden because homecoming festivities had the RL Vaughan Center booked, return 12 players from the team that went 18-10 last season, including most of the starters.

Two other known quantities — former CIAA Rookie of the Year Angelo Sharpless and Winston-Salem State transfer Michael Bonner — are also on the roster.

Sharpless sat out the 2010-11 season while mending a broken leg and then dealing with a few undisclosed issues while Bonner was a regular at practice last year, but couldn’t play when he got caught up in an unexpected interpretation of a CIAA transfer rule.

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CIAA rules ECSU's Bonner eligible next season

Elizabeth City, NC - The Michael Bonner saga has a happy ending after all.

Bonner, the former Perquimans standout basketball player who sat out last season in an eligibility controversy at Elizabeth City State after transferring from Winston-Salem State, has been granted a waiver from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and ruled eligible for the upcoming season.

“Man, it’s been a fight,” said Bonner, who will have two years of eligibility remaining. “I lost a year (of eligibility) out of the three years I would have had, but I was just grateful get it over.”

Bonner, the 2007 Daily Advance Player of the Year, was caught up in a mess created when Winston-Salem abandoned its Division I plans and rejoined the CIAA in 2010.

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ECSU lands Key recruit from Japan

Elizabeth City, NC -- Elizabeth City State basketball coach Shawn Walker recently went on a trip to Okinawa, Japan, to work at a coaching clinic. While it was a personally rewarding experience, Walker also managed to get a little work in. He not only returned home with some unforgettable memories, he came back with Kentrell Key, who will be joining the Vikings next year as part of a three-man recruiting class.

Along with Key, Walker has recruited Camden’s Shawn Hammonds, a 6-foot-5 swingman, and Glenn Patterson Jr., a 5-foot-9, 170-pound point guard from Red Springs who averaged 24.6 points per game as a senior. Local fans might remember Patterson as he scored 27 points to lead Red Springs past Hammonds and Camden in the regional semifinals of the 1A state playoffs.

Walker thinks Patterson is the most likely...

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Injuries will affect ECSU Vikings' start

Elizabeth City State’s men’s basketball team is in late-season form, but not in a good way. The Vikings are suffering from a multitude of nagging injuries, have lost one player for the year and another will miss at least half the season, if he comes back at all.

“The health of our team right now is not good,” said ECSU coach Shawn Walker, whose team opens the season tonight against Barton.

Barton teams face road tests this weekend

Health issues continue to be a major concern for the men's and women's basketball teams of Barton College as they head into play this weekend on the road. The Bulldogs take on host Elizabeth City State tonight at 8 in the first day of the ECSU Basketball Tip-Off Classic, and then face St. Augustine's at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Lady Bulldogs visit Fayetteville State on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The Barton men opened their season with a hard-fought 90-80 win at Chowan University on Tuesday night and now the Conference Carolinas Bulldogs will face two more Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association teams. The ECSU Vikings, who will be playing their season opener, were picked to win the CIAA Northern Division while the Falcons (1-0) edged ECSU for the CIAA crown last February.

Injuries hit Vikings hard

Elizabeth City State’s men’s basketball team’s 74-41 exhibition loss by to Old Dominion on Saturday may have been more notable for those Vikings not on the court.

Missing in action were senior guard Trent Bivens, junior forward C.J. Wright and sophomore guard Michael Bonner. Wright has an ACL tear and could miss the season, while Bivens and Bonner are expected to be ready for the season opener on Nov. 19. Camden native Ricky Krainiak, who transferred to ECSU after one season at Campbell, will also be redshirt...

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Incoming ... Bonner comes to ECSU

Elizabeth City State’s basketball team is starting to look like an Atlantic Conference all-star team. Perquimans’ Michael Bonner is the latest former star of the 1A conference, now known as the Four Rivers, to join the Vikings, transferring from Winston-Salem State. Earlier this year, former Camden star Ricky Krainiak transferred to ECSU from Campbell, joining last year’s Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Rookie of the Year Angelo Sharpless of Plymouth.

Being close to home and the presence of Sharpless and Krainiak influenced Bonner’s choice of schools. “ECSU is a very good place,” said Bonner, the 2007-08 Daily Advance Player of the Year. “Coach (Shawn) Walker is a really cool guy and from what I hear, he is an excellent coach. Angelo Sharpless, I played with him in high school. Ricky Krainiak, I played with him in high school. We all have that bond already. It’s a beautiful school and my family is around here and my church is around here.”

After Bonner experienced a rough freshman season, Winston-Salem coaches decided to redshirt the 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard last season, a choice that confused the Hertford native.

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