THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 24, 1995 TAG: 9503240587
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LOUISVILLE, KY. LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
It seems no matter where they hold the Elite Eight, it's homecoming for Norfolk State coach Mike Bernard.
Last year, the tournament was in Springfield, Mass. Bernard is a native of Brockton, about two hours away.
The tournament shifted to Louisville this year, and again, Bernard has ties. He's a graduate of Kentucky State University, which is in Frankfort, about 60 miles away.
Bernard played on Kentucky State's 1970 NAIA championship team, a crew still well remembered in these parts. The Louisville newspaper has been prefixing his name with ``former Kentucky State guard'' all week.
The team was coached by Lucias Mitchell, a former Norfolk State coach. Mitchell, who still works at Norfolk State, made the trip, as did current Kentucky State coach William Graham, who was a teammate of Bernard's on the 1970 championship team. ``I've seen a lot of old college buddies,'' Bernard said.
MEA CULPA: Alabama A&M coach Van Pettaway has brought his team to the Elite Eight three times, and has gone home early three times.
After Tuesday's 85-67 loss to Norfolk State, Pettaway took all the blame and said he's beginning to question his ability to coach in late March.
``We weren't mentally prepared to play,'' Pettaway said. ``Anytime it's mental, that comes back to coaching.''
Pettaway has a career record of 211-65 in nine years, but hasn't come close to winning an Elite Eight game. New Hampshire beat A&M, 100-90, last year.
``It seems like we play our worst game at this point every year,'' Pettaway said. ``I've got to do some soul-searching.''
TIDBITS: The postseason honors continue to roll in for Corey Williams. The Norfolk State senior has been selected to play in the National Association of Basketball Coach's All-Star game on April 2 in Seattle. Williams was just one of two Division II players selected. The other is Jason Kaiser, a 6-foot-3 guard from Alaska-Anchorage. Williams was also selected a second-team All-American by the NCAA's Division II sports information directors. ... CBS has moved the starting time for Saturday's title game back to 12:45. The Division II title game is the third most-watched NCAA championship event the network carries, behind the men's and women's final four. Dick Stockton and Ann Meyers will do the game. by CNB