Former star Moton becomes NCCU's coach

DURHAM -- LeVelle Moton described the past month as a bit "overwhelming." Two weeks ago, his wife gave birth to their first child and on Wednesday officials at N.C. Central appointed him as the Eagles' 17th basketball coach -- his first NCAA Division I head-coaching position.

"I really have to pinch myself," said Moton, the former Enloe High standout who later was a star guard for the Eagles. "March 2009 will be a month and year I will always remember. With the birth of my firstborn and just the opportunity to come back home and be the coach of my alma mater. ... This university was my father, it's a culture, it raised me. ... I owe this university an awful lot."

Moton, who is third on the Eagles' career scoring list (1,714 points), was a shooting guard from 1992 to 1996. He helped the team win an NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional title in 1993.

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No early rest for the N.C. Central women

Photo: NCCU Head Women's Basketball Coach Joli D. Robinson

By MIKE POTTER, The Herald-Sun

Joli Robinson couldn't get practice started quite early enough for her N.C. Central women's basketball team.

McLendon-McDougald Gym wasn't available over the weekend because of homecoming festivities, so the Eagles couldn't get started preparing for their first season of Division I competition on Friday when most teams did.

But they were ready to go at 5:15 on Monday. That's 5:15 a.m., and players were required to be on site by 4:45. That pattern will be the pattern for four weeks.

"I never get that much sleep during the season anyway," said Robinson, who will enter her 13th season with a 181-135 record that includes four 20-win seasons including a 26-6 mark and a CIAA title last season.

She may be getting even less sleep this season. The Eagles will be facing 14 Division I foes in 26 games, with all of those games on the road. The biggest challenges are in their season opener, Nov. 9 at UNC (34-4 last season), and their Jan. 3 game at Duke (32-2).

"Those are games we need to play," Robinson said of the local challenges. "They should be good experiences for our student-athletes."

The measuring-stick game may be on Nov. 20 when NCCU travels to traditional MEAC power Coppin State (25-8 last season) in a battle of Eagles. The two shared the Black College National championship.

NCCU lost some major firepower from last season, as all-time leading scorer Cassie King (16.5 points per game, 7.9 rebounds) finished her career and had her jersey retired. Additionally, both sophomore LaQuanda Williams (14.2, 5.6) and classmate Jasmine Newkirk (11.2, 3.2) will miss this season because of separate violations of team policy.

But Robinson is most concerned about the road, where NCCU will play all but six games including the first 10.

"We'll just have to get used to it," the coach said.

And they'll be going as far away as Tallahassee, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; Pittsburgh; and Wilberforce, Ohio by bus.

"I'd rather go by bus than fly," Robinson said. "That way you have more control over when you leave."

The Eagles return six of their top nine scorers, led by sophomore center Jori Nwachukwu (11.7, 9.3). Guards Jennifer Hukill (5.9, 1.1) and Jordan High alumna Casey Daniel (4.6, 1.8) are the only seniors. Guards LaVonna Hailey (5.7, 5.6 assists) and Northern alumna Tonia Roundtree (4.2, 2.4 rebs.) are juniors and post player Latoya Bennett (4.0, 3.3 rebs) a sophomore.

"We're all going to have to score more," Hukill said. "I know I have to step up my game and show I can do things other than shoot 3-pointers."

Robinson said 6-0 center Losamo Osby from Richmond, Va., and 5-9 guard Shanice Blanks of Wilmington New Hanover have been the most impressive of the current freshmen.

"They're all looking pretty good," Roundtree said of the newcomers. "I'm looking forward to the challenge of this season. Some people are expecting us to get blown out, so we don't have anything to lose."

NOTES -- The Eagles will have two exhibition games -- at home against Virginia State on Nov. 3 and at Wake Forest on Nov. 7 -- before taking on the Blue Devils. ... Daniel is in her fourth season with the Eagles. If NCCU wins at least 14 games, she will become the first player in school history to participate in four straight winning seasons.

2007-08 NCCU Women's Basketball Schedule

Day Date Opponent Location Time/Result Record

SAT. NOV. 03 VIRGINIA STATE (EXHIBITION) DURHAM, NC 2:00 PM
Wed. Nov. 7 at Wake Forest (Exhibition) Winston-Salem, NC 7:00 pm
Fri. Nov. 9 at North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC 8:30 pm
Mon. Nov. 12 at Elon Elon, NC 7:00 pm
Wed. Nov. 14 at Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne, MD 7:00 pm
Fri. Nov. 16 at Appalachian State Boone, NC 7:00 pm
Tues. Nov. 20 at Coppin State Baltimore, MD 7:00 pm
Wed. Nov. 21 at Morgan State Baltimore, MD 5:30 pm
Fri. Nov. 23 vs Lenoir-Rhyne (Catawba Classic) Salisbury, NC 6:00 pm
Sat. Nov. 24 at Catawba (Catawba Classic) Salisbury, NC 4:00 pm
Thurs. Nov. 29 at Tennessee State Nashville, TN 7:00 pm
Wed. Dec. 5 at Armstrong Atlantic Savannah, GA 7:00 pm
FRI. DEC. 7 ELIZABETH CITY STATE
(Lady Eagle Classic)
Fayetteville State vs. Barton - 7:30 pm DURHAM, NC 5:30 PM
SAT. DEC. 8 FAYETTEVILLE STATE
(Lady Eagle Classic)
Barton vs. Elizabeth City State - 2:00 pm DURHAM, NC 4:00 PM
Sat. Dec. 15 at Florida A&M Tallahassee, FL 2:00 pm
Mon. Dec.17 at Bethune-Cookman Daytona Beach, FL 5:30 pm
Sat. Dec. 22 at Towson Towson, MD 2:00 pm
SUN. DEC. 30 MERCY COLLEGE DURHAM, NC 2:00 PM
Thurs. Jan. 3 at Duke Durham, NC 7:00 pm
Sat. Jan. 5 at High Point High Point, NC 7:00 pm
Mon. Jan. 7 at Duquesne Pittsburgh, PA 7:00 pm
WED. JAN. 9 NORFOLK STATE DURHAM, NC 6:30 PM
Sat. Jan. 12 at West Virginia Tech Montgomery, WV 6:00 pm
SAT. JAN. 19 WEST VIRGINIA TECH DURHAM, NC 2:00 PM
Mon. Feb. 4 at Fayetteville State Fayetteville, NC 7:00 pm
Wed. Feb. 6 at Central State Wilberforce,OH 7:00 pm
Fri. Feb. 8 at Lincoln Lincoln, PA 5:30 pm
SAT. FEB. 16 LIVINGSTONE DURHAM, NC 2:00 PM

Home Games at McLendon-McDougald Gym in CAPS

Tough road ahead for NCCU Eagles men's hoops

By MIKE POTTER, The Herald-Sun

N.C. Central opened men's basketball practice Monday night at McLendon-McDougald Gym, and Coach Henry Dickerson's Eagles are going to have to learn quickly.

NCCU's move up to the Division I level has made fund-raising a major consideration, and men's basketball is one of few sports that can get much done in that department. So Dickerson's team will play a tougher schedule than any other team at the school.

The Eagles open the season at Duke on Nov. 9, and after going to Rutgers on Nov. 12, they visit two-time reigning national champion Florida on Nov. 14.

That's the toughest part of a slate that doesn't let up much until after Christmas -- 15 of the Eagles' first 16 games are on the road, broken only by the home opener against Tennessee Tech on Nov. 21.

NCCU has just seven home games, although the Eagles will play seven other games around North Carolina including visits to N.C. State, Wake Forest and Davidson. Along the way, they'll play games in 12 other states, with Nebraska the biggest out-of-state name on the schedule after the Gators.

Dickerson (39-45) has been through a little of this before, going on the road against big-time powers several times a season when he was head coach at Chattanooga (72-73 in five seasons). But he never had to play 22 road games and never had to do it with a team boasting a total of 37 minutes experience in an official game against a Division I opponent.

Bryan Ayala played 36 minutes and Joshua Worthy one in last year's 68-47 defeat at East Carolina. Last season's losses at Duke and Wake Forest were exhibition games.

The best news Dickerson got this spring is that forward Charles Futrell, who missed last season with a shoulder injury from football, is back for a senior season after attending a pair of NFL preseason camps. Futrell averaged 10 points and 6.4 rebounds two seasons ago.

The only other NCCU player who has proven himself in four-year college ball is Ayala, who averaged 9.9 points and 4.0 rebounds last season.

Worthy, junior guard J'Mell Walters and sophomore forward Tremain Holloway have worn the Eagles' uniform before, but everyone else is new. Freshman Marius Vaskys (6-9, 220), a Lithuanian who finished his high school career at Cape Fear Christian, is the biggest recruit.

"We've got seven home games, and if we win more than seven games it's going to be a pretty good accomplishment," Dickerson said. "We've got a lot of guys who are going to be playing who have never been in a college basketball game, and they won't know what to expect. Maybe we can turn that into a positive.

"One thing we've done is recruit good people. I don't want our fans cheering for somebody just because he's wearing the school colors. I want them to be cheering for young men they might hire in a few years."

Ayala couldn't help but smile when he talked about the challenge of the schedule.

"Who wouldn't want to play teams like Duke and Florida?" he said. "If you don't want to play games like that, I don't know why you'd want to play basketball."

Added Worthy: "Of course we're excited. We want people to see how hard we play every game. I know we're going to be in condition."

NOTES -- NCCU's early season visits to Rutgers, Florida and North Dakota State (Nov. 17) plus the home game with Tennessee Tech are a part of the Blue Ribbon Classic. ... ECU is the only opponent returning from last season's schedule.