THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 16, 1994 TAG: 9411160553
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
For the Norfolk State Spartans, half the fun of going 27-6 last year was proving everyone wrong. Picked fourth in the conference, Norfolk State finished in the top eight in the nation.
This year, with four starters back, the challenge is turned upside down. This time, the goal is to prove everyone right.
Everyone who says the Spartans should be national championship contenders, that is. And that is just about everyone.
The Sporting News, College Sports Magazine, Dick Vitale's Basketball Yearbook, Basketball Times and Hoops Magazine all have Norfolk State ranked second in the nation in Division II. They are ranked third in the AP preseason poll. College Sports has the Spartans ranked sixth.
Coach Mike Bernard didn't have a problem with where the Spartans were picked last year - ``We had no names,'' he says - and he doesn't have a problem with the lofty expectations this season.
It's the magazines' job to create expectations, the coach's to try to turn them to his advantage.
``Certainly there are high expectations,'' Bernard said. ``What we've tried to do is challenge each individual on our team to look at those expectations in terms of them being an opportunity rather than looking at them as pressure on us.
``That's our challenge. To go out and prove that we're as good as any expectations that others may have of us.''
No one has higher expectations than the players themselves. Having had a taste of success last year - a South Atlantic Regional title and berth in the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass. - the players would like a complete helping this season.
``We've made it to the finals of the CIAA, and won the regional championship,'' forward Derrick Bryant said. ``The only thing left is the national championship.''
In the 41 years Norfolk State has played basketball, the Spartans have finished with a losing record only twice - the last time that happened was 1962. With an all-time record of 834-299, Norfolk State has a better winning percentage (.736) than any Division II program in the nation.
But the Spartans have never won a national championship. They've never advanced beyond the final eight.
Still, they've never had a team with this much talent.
All four of Norfolk State's returning starters were preseason all-CIAA picks. The main man is 6-foot-8 forward Corey Williams, a consensus preseason All-American who was named the Division II preseason player of the year by College Sports, Basketball Times and Dick Vitale's Yearbook.
Williams, a senior, averaged 23 points and 7.9 rebounds last year. He worked the Boston Celtics camp last summer and is considered an NBA prospect. Look for a story on Williams, a 25-year-old who sat out four years before coming to Norfolk State last year, in Sports Illustrated's college basketball preview issue.
``Corey is the most talented Division II player in the country,'' Bernard said. ``He's a Division I player, obviously.''
So is Bryant, who signed with Bucknell but stayed only a couple days before coming to Norfolk State two years ago.
The other returning starters are shooting guard Carnell Penn, who averaged 15.1 points last season, and 6-10 center Charles Newborn, who led the CIAA in rebounding with 10.3 per game.
Last year's team lacked a true point guard, and it lacked depth. Bernard appears to have solved both problems by bringing in one of the nation's top recruiting classes.
Maurice Whitfield and Julian Dozier, a pair of junior college transfers, will share time at point guard. Whitfield, a sophomore, teamed with half-brother Marvin Stinson, another Spartan signee, to lead Gloucester County Community College to the Division III Junior College national title last season.
Stinson, a 6-3 scorer, was the Division III junior college player of the year, and was named Division II's top newcomer by the Sporting News.
The top newcomer in the frontcourt is probably 6-7 forward Blitz Wooten, a transfer from LaSalle. Wooten, a starter for the Explorers, will be eligible second semester.
``We want to involve nine or 10 players each game,'' Bernard said. ``Chemistry is going to be very important. We're going to have to take our newcomers and blend them with our veterans.''
With improved depth, Bernard says he expects the Spartans to be better defensively, and on the boards. He also expects them to have more balanced scoring. Last year, Williams and Penn carried much of the scoring load.
Bryant says he doesn't think sharing the wealth - and the ball - will be a problem.
``All of us have a common goal: to win the national championship,'' he said. ``To do that, everybody will have to sacrifice something.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Corey Williams has gotten a lot of preseason buildup as the nation's
best Division II player. He and his teammates face the challenge of
trying to stack up with Division II's best teams.
Photo
GARY KNAPP
Coach Mike Bernard's goal for his team? ``To go out and prove that
we're as good'' as the pundits say.
by CNB