2011-12 NCCU Men's Basketball:  Year in Pictures


DURHAM, N.C. (NCCUEaglePride.com) – With the dust settled from the 2011-12 season, the North Carolina Central University men’s basketball program has a ton to be excited about after its first campaign as an official Division I member and newcomer to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
 
For the first time since the 2004-05 season, NCCU completed the year with a winning record by finishing 17-15 overall, including a 10-6 mark in league play. The Eagles ended fifth in the MEAC in their first season, which was exactly where they were picked to finish in the preseason.  The 17 victories are also the most in a season since the 1999-2000 campaign during which the maroon and gray finished 17-9.
 
Third year head coach of the Eagles LeVelle Moton talked about the significance of finishing the first official year in Division I with a winning record.
 
“It means the world for us to finish with a winning season,” said Moton.  “I think it’s a testimony to Chancellor (Charlie) Nelms and our Director of Athletics, Dr. Ingrid Wicker-McCree, for providing the resources to give these young men a quality chance to succeed.”
 
The friendly confines of McDougald-McLendon Gym treated the Eagles well as the maroon and gray finished 8-3 at home.  During Moton’s tenure, NCCU is 24-11 at home.
 
Of the 215 schools that have reclassified to the NCAA Division I level, NCCU is one of the 38 schools across the nation who finished their first official season with 17 wins or more. That puts the Eagles in the same company as (Air Force-1958, VCU-1974, Weber State-1964, George Mason-1979, UNLV-1970, James Madison-1977, and Northwestern State (La.)-1997) who also recorded 17 wins in its inaugural campaign.
 
The 2011-12 slate was a daunting one for NCCU.  The schedule included road trips to Charlotte to take on the 49ers, to Staten Island, N.Y., to take on a Wagner College squad that finished 25-6 on the year, and stayed in-state to battle two ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) foesWake Forest and NC State.  The Eagles nearly beat NC State on Dec. 11, losing 65-60.  The Wolfpack made it to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed and went to the “Sweet 16.”  NCCU also faced a second team to make it to the round of 16 in the Big Dance as Indiana made it to the tournament as a No. 4 seed. The Eagles dropped a 75-56 decision in Historic Assembly Hall on Feb. 22.
 
From Dec. 20-22, the Eagles traveled approximately 2,856 miles to participate in the 2011 Global Sports Hoops Showcase in Eugene, Ore. at the brand-new Matthew Knight Arena impressing many in attendance.  The Eagles lost to the host Ducks of the University of Oregon 58-45.  However, looking deep into that contest it was a four-point game late into the second half until a charge call turned the tide on the maroon and gray.  NCCU quickly recovered and won its next two contests over Stephen F. Austin (65-57) on Dec. 21 and Prairie View A&M (69-58) on Dec. 22 to head into the holiday break with a 7-6 mark.
 
Very early in the schedule, the Eagles made their MEAC debut hosting arch-rival North Carolina A&T on Dec. 3 in front of a sold-out crowd in Durham, N.C. as the Eagles trounced the Aggies 65-46 to earn the first MEAC win at the Division I level.  It was NCCU’s first conference win since Feb. 15, 2007, an 80-75 decision over then-CIAA (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) foe Bowie State.
 
The 19-point win over the Aggies was the largest margin of victory in the series since a 76-57 Aggie win over the Eagles on Dec. 15, 1984. 
 
On Feb. 18, the Eagles finished off the season sweep of the Aggies in Greensboro with 71-66 victory in the Corbett Sports Center.  With the win, Moton improved his record to 3-1 against the Aggies.  Prior to this season, the last time NCCU swept A&T was back in the 1988-89 campaign when the maroon and gray beat A&T 66-54 on Nov. 30, 1988 and 75-40 on Jan. 18, 1989.  It was that season when NCCU went 28-4 and won the NCAA Division II National Championship under the tutelage of head coach Michael Bernard.
 
“Anytime you sweep your arch-rival, it’s great for the fans and alums,” said Moton.  “However, we viewed it as a conference game which made it all the more critical for us to win.”
 
In the MEAC, NCCU picked up some big wins within the league that included a season sweep of defending regular season champion Bethune-Cookman.  The Eagles also swept North Carolina A&T, and South Carolina State.  Road victories against Howard, and Florida A&M were big for the program as well.
 
“Our first season in the MEAC was everything we expected,” said Moton.  “Anytime you are able to get double-digit wins in your first full season, it has to be celebrated.  I credit my staff and the student-athletes for buying in and selling out.”
 
NCCU’s top duo was senior Dominique Sutton (Durham, N.C.) and Ray Willis (Atlanta, Ga.). They were also the top two scorers on the team and were both honored as All-MEAC team members. 
 
Sutton, who was named first team All-MEAC, finished the year fourth in the league averaging 16.6 points per game along with 7.4 rebounds which placed him seventh in the conference.  He tied for No. 1 in the league shooting 59.3 percent from the field which also ranked him No. 11 in the nation.  Sutton finished the year with nine double-doubles.  The transfer from Kansas State was honored by the MEAC three different times as the player of the week (twice as the player of the week and once as defensive player of the week).  Sutton recorded 71 steals on the year to be the first Eagle to reach that feat dating back as far as the 1980-81 season. He fell 10 shy of the current school record of set by Moton’s teammate, Jimmie Walker, who amassed 81 thefts during the 1992-93 campaign.
 
Willis, selected to the second team, finished his junior season at NCCU averaging 15.2 points per game which was seventh-best in the league.  The 6-6 guard was fifth in the MEAC at the foul line shooting 80.7 percent.  Willis ended the season with four double-doubles and scored 20-plus points on four different occasions, including 28 points against Delaware State on Jan. 28.  Willis earned MEAC player of the week twice during the regular season.
 
Point guard Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) quietly had one of the best offensive seasons by an NCCU floor leader since the 1979-80 campaign when Donald Sinclair dished out 200 in 26 games, as the sophomore dished out 162 assists averaging 5.06 per game ending the year second in the MEAC.  Chapman had five games of 10 assists or more including 14 against Barber-Scotia and 11 in conference play against Maryland Eastern Shore.  Chapman has risen into the top-15 all-time in helpers with 220 passing Shawn Ray who amassed 215 assists from 2000-03. 
 
As a team, the Eagles were statistically one of the best teams in the league finishing second in the conference in scoring offense and defense, dropping in 70.7 points per game while allowing 63.1 points a game.  NCCU led the league in free-throw percentage at 70.6 percent, field goal percentage at 47.0 percent (34th in the nation), second in assists at 14.1 per game, and second in three-point field goal percentage at 35.6 percent.  Defensively, the Eagles were tied with Florida A&M as the top team in the conference in steals with 8.2 per game (30th in the nation). The maroon and gray were also second in the MEAC in three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents at 30.2 percent from the outside per game, which was good enough for 19th in the nation.
 
Senior Nick Chasten (Raleigh, N.C.) ended his career by becoming the 34th Eagle in program history to join the 1,000-point club.  Chasten finished his four years at NCCU scoring 1,016 points to sit No. 31 all-time at NCCU.  The 6-7 forward is the second student-athlete under Moton’s tenure to join the exclusive club as C.J. Wilkerson scored 1,023 points in just two seasons to put himself 29th all-time.  Chasten also ended his time as an Eagle with 578 rebounds tied for 16th all-time with Hall-of-Famer Sam Jones, eighth in blocked shots with 71, and 10th in steals with 123.
 
“Nick represents the beginning of this program’s turn around,” Moton said. “I’ve known this young man for a long time and I can’t be any prouder of him than I am with his performance over his career.”
 
In the 2012 MEAC Tournament, which took place March 5-10 at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C., the fifth seeded Eagles nearly made a run to the semifinals.  The run was cut short by a game-winning 15-foot jumper with 5.7 seconds left by Bethune-Cookman’s Garrius Holloman who propelled the fourth-seeded Wildcats all the way to the championship game with his play, but stole the hearts of many of the NCCU faithful in B-CU’s 60-59 win.
 
“The MEAC Tournament was exactly what I expected it to be,” said Moton.  “I thought our level of intensity increased, but unfortunately we were 5.7 seconds away from going to the semifinals; and if you make it that far, you never know what can happen.  I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and we must work harder to get better and control our own destiny.”
 
As far as improving the program, Moton is not satisfied with a 17-15 campaign. He has his mind set on a bigger picture for his alma mater.
 
“We have to get tougher and bigger,” said Moton.  “We also must shoot the ball from the perimeter more consistently to give ourselves a chance to improve upon this season.  The goal for NCCU is to continue to improve day-by-day. If we do that, we have a great chance to succeed when the ball is thrown up next fall.”
 
It’s clear to see that NCCU basketball is on the way up, and if that continues the Eagle nation will flock to see this team play.
 
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