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Maroon Tigers huddle
towards NCAA tournament
By Richard N. Hayes
As of press time, the Morehouse
Maroon Tigers were number 15 in the
nation and rolling. No, this is not a
misprint! Morehouse, the team which
finished 13-13 last year, is ranked #15
nationally and #2 in the South Atlan
tic region. The squad started with a
115-112 thriller against AUC rival
Clark Atlanta. They have had few
problems with opponents since then.
The Maroon Tigers’ three victories
were over Alabama A&M, ranked #2
in the nation at the time; Norfolk State,
the #1 team in the C.I.A.A, and to
LeMoyne Owen. Morehouse has lost
only once, and are preparing for a
rematch with Alabama A&M on Feb.
22 in Archer Hall.
Two seniors have led the way for
this Tiger feat. David Norwood is
averaging 17.6 points in addition to
4.4 rebounds. Sarran Marshall has
been unstoppable in the paint, averag
ing 16.3 points and almost 9 rebounds
a game. Marshall has been recog
nized as one of the strongest players
in the league, and has been a difficult
assignment for opposing S.I.A.C. cen
ters. Sophomore Wallace Corker has
also chipped in almost 13 points along
with 7 rebounds a game, and William
Simpkins has been a key as the sixth
man for the Maroon Tigers.
Morehouse suffered a blow early
when starting point guard Cabral
Franklin tore the lateral tendon in his
knee. However, freshman Herman
Banks has filled in admirably, aver
aging 8 points a game and showing
great court awareness and maturity
forafreshman. Coach Arthur McAfee
has already been named S.I.A.C.
Coach of the Week this season, and,
as of press time, the squad had already
reached last year’s mark of 13 wins.
But, let us not celebrate too soon.
In addition to the Alabama A&M
game, the Maroon Tigers must travel
to Memphis on Feb. 18 to take on the
talented LeMoyne Owen Magicians.
If Morehouse wins these two games,
it will put itself in good position to
win the S.I.A.C. The S.I.A.C. tour
nament is Mar. 2-4 in Birmingham.
With a good showing, Morehouse
could be NCAA tournament bound.
Maurice Hunt returns to
lead Maroon Tigers
By Richard N. Hayes
For Coach Maurice Hunt, the grass
did not turn out to be as green on the
other field. Hunt, who, in 1989, left
Morehouse after ten years to take over
at Kentucky State, finds himself back
in the familiar confines of B .T. Harvey
stadium. Hunt is expected to bring
maturity, wisdom and discipline to a
program now seeing its third coach in
five years. However, it won’t be easy.
With the early signing date already
past, Morehouse will be forced to
settle with the “leftovers” from this
year’s recruiting class. The Maroon
Tigers have no early commitments,
and are losing some key players to
graduation. Hunt admits, “Recruiting
is going to be tough... we’re behind,
we are going to have to step it up....
There are some kids who are going to
be available.” Also, the NCAA will
be cutting back on the amount of schol
arships available at the Division II
level.
Hunt, however, does appear to have
the full backing of the Morehouse
administration. He cited that there are
several factors that need rebuilding in
order to return to S.I.A.C prominence,
including student support. Hunt
stated, “Often times, we fail to realize
how important the fans are. There’s a
tendency not to want to let the fans
down.” Also, Hunt added the full
program needed “administrative sup
port, both faculty and staff, coaches
doing (their) job, and most impor
tantly, players realizing the full extent
of their talent.”
To assist him, Hunt plans to add a
staff of about 6 assistant coaches in
addition to the trainers. Coach Hunt’s
immediate goals are to “keep kids
academically solid, competitive in the
conference, and to win the Atlanta
University Center title as well as the
S.I.A.C. title. But perhaps, more im
portantly, Hunt hopes for success off
the field. “I don’ t think we’re going to
be a football powerhouse,” admits
Hunt, “More important is that (the
players) graduate. But we do want to
win, and we’re going to work hard to
win.
Hunt is still in the process of famil
iarizing himself with the team, but
was impressed by watching the films
of the Maroon Tigers against Fort
Valley State, Howard, and Hampton.
He commented, “Every team plays
Morehouse tough. People don’t like
losing to Morehouse... to them it’s
like a put-down. There’s something
about the image of Morehouse that
every Saturday, you have to view that
team as a team that really doesn’t
want to lose to you.” Hunt added that
NBA at
the Half...
By Richard N. Hayes
The N.B.A has just completed
the All Star Weekend in Phoenix,
and this season has already had some
surprises, a few records, and a great
deal of excitement. Expect nothing
less in the second half of the season
as the intensity of the games rises,
and every shot assumes greater im
portance. Let us take a look at the
divisional races.
Atlantic- This one may have been
over before it started. As of press
time, the Orlando Magic has only
lost one game in the O-rena. and
have the league’s best record.
Shaquille O’Neal is raking up MVP
type numbers, and Anfernee
Hardaway and Horace Grant have
proven to be more than just compli
mentary players. Donald Royal has
been a pleasant surprise, allowing
Brian Hill to bring the expendable
Dennis Scott off the bench. 1 still
wonder about Orlando’s depth over
the course of a seven game series,
but their starting five is without weak
nesses. New York has the heart, if
not the talent, to make things inter
esting. Patrick Ewing is still pushed
by the desire to win a title, and real
izes that he is not getting any younger.
New York is still the Eastern Con
ference champion and the team to
beat, and if the supporting cast
(Harper, Starks, Oakley, and Smith)
show up consistently, they could be
a force. However, they are going to
have to do it this time without home
court advantage, and with, at best, a
third seed in the playoffs. New Jer
sey will make a run as soon as Der
rick Coleman and Kenny Anderson
grow up. Boston needs a time ma
chine to be a contender, and the rest
of the Atlantic (Miami, Philadelphia
and Washington) should be scouting
the NCAA.
Central- All personal biases aside, a
healthy Charlotte Hornets should win
this division. Scott Burrell has been
one of the two most improved play
ers in the league along with Philly’s
Dana Barros, and Larry Johnson has
improved his game by improving his
range. The Hornets can be danger
ous if Allen Bristow ever designs a
few plays to get Hersey Hawkins
involved. John Bach has improved
the defense, and the team feels over
looked with all the attention going to
Orlando. The point is still a problem
but Muggsy creates almost as many
points as he gives up. If the Hornets
falter, Indiana will take the Central.
The Pacers have all the necessary
parts: a superstar shootgr in Reggie
Miller, a battle tested point in Mark
Jackson, a shot-blocker in Rik Smits.
two rebounders in Dale and Antonio
Davis and a veteran leader in Byron
Scott. However, they have taken on
the personality of their coach. Larry
Brown, and you never know what to
expect. The Cavaliers have been the
surprise of the first half, but expect
them to continue to struggle without
Price. If they can hang around until
he gets back though, their defense
will win them some big games down
the stretch. Ron Harper has yet to
arrive in Chicago, and it is hard to
forecast about this team until you
know where Scottie Pippen is going
to end up. If Harper finds his game,
Scottie stays focused and Kukoc con
tinues to develop, they will make a
run at Charlotte and Indiana, and
should catch Cleveland. Atlanta
needs a more consistent team leader.
Lenny Wilkens also has to figure out
how to play two of his top players,
Steve Smith and Stacey Augmon,
without being exploited defensively.
The Hawks are looking at a seven or
eight seed at best. Milwaukee and
Detroit will get to add another lottery
player along with Glenn Robinson
and Grant Hill.
Midwest- Utah is on a mission —
they played through Stockton's record
without skipping a beat and have been
unbelievable on the road. Road wins
are crucial in the second half, and
they know they have the ability to go
anywhere and pick up a “W”. Karl
Malone may be the most underrated
player in the league. Although 1
personally hate the Jazz, the talent is
there and more importantly, so is the
teamwork. This is the most unselfish
team I have ever seen play; this may
finally be their year. However, San
Antonio and Houston will also make
some noise. The Spurs started slow,
but have the warmth to rebound.
David Robinson continues to put up
consistent figures, and Sean Elliott
and Chuck Person provide firepower.
The Rockets have struggled at times,
but are the defending champions.
Hakeem continues to dominate but.
as they did in the playoffs last year,
Horry. Maxwell. Cassell or Smith
must contribute. Dallas is exciting
and colorful but not there yet. Den
ver is fading quickly and must find
some leadership. Minnesota is point
less.
Pacific- This is the league's most
excitine division.
he will not make any drastic changes
and will design an offense and de
fense that matches his personnel. He
added, “We’re going to try to prepare
them the best we can.” Coach Hunt
will get a real test early as the Maroon
Tigers open in B.T. Harvey on Sep
tember 2, against a Hampton team
playing its first game as a Division I-
AA school.