Feb. 23, 2008

Published on Saturday, February 23, 2008

NCCU's Futrell an inspiration

By Michael N. Graff, Staff writer

DURHAM -- Even after another defeat, even when N.C. Central's basketball season seemingly couldn't get worse, Charles Futrell smiles.

It's the kind of smile that comes with perspective.

To have it, you have to look past the Eagles' 3-25 record, the 17-game losing streak, the 65-point loss at Duke and the ugly 28-point offensive output at Nebraska.

You have to look more at a day in December, when freshman guard Michael Glasker returned from the holiday break and told teammates that his best friend had been shot and killed back home, on Christmas Eve of all days. The first player to offer condolences was Futrell, who said simply, "I understand."

He would. In a story that's well-known on this campus, Futrell's mother died of AIDS when he was 12. He rejected drugs in favor of sports, became a star at E.E. Smith High School and then N.C. Central, and should soon graduate with a mathematics degree and a computer science minor. Yet he and his teammates constantly field the same question: "How difficult has it been to lose so many basketball games?" Futrell smiles.

"It's been a tough season, for emotions and basketball," Futrell says. "But I've been through a lot in my life."

He didn't have to do this. He'd done enough.

As a football player for four years, Futrell was a star, helping the Eagles win the Black College Football national championship in 2006. As a basketball player for one year, he was a wonder, averaging double figures in points as a junior. That same year, he won the LeRoy T. Walker award as N.C. Central's top male athlete.

Even more, the story of how he overcame his broken childhood has inspired several athletes and students throughout the school.

"It's hard to believe that someone can overcome that and still turn out with great character," football player Kadrian Wynn said while watching Futrell play a basketball game recently.

A 6-foot-6 receiver with speed, he was invited to camps and workouts with the Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons last summer, but didn't make it to training camp for either team.

Needing only a handful of credits to graduate, he returned to campus this fall. Basketball coach Henry Dickerson, who coached NFL star Terrell Owens at Tennessee-Chattanooga in the 1990s, realized that Futrell still had two semesters of non-football athletic eligibility remaining, and he offered the fifth-year senior a full scholarship to play basketball.

With his athletic legacy already secure, why would Futrell even consider joining a no-win -- er, three-win -- situation?

Why not?

"I looked at the schedule and I said, `This is going to be fun,'" Futrell said.

N.C. Central lost 11 players, including four starters, from the team that went 13-15 in Division II last year.

Futrell, nicknamed "Sticks," instantly became the Eagles' best player. He's their leading scorer and rebounder, and he ranks among the nation's leaders in minutes played.

"It sounds crazy," Dickerson said, "but we would not be where we're at without Sticks."

The sound of a good floor burn is unmistakable.

During the second half of a recent game, a loose ball escaped into the backcourt. Two Central players gave chase and dived, squeaking as they slid into a wall.

On that wall, hanging overhead, was a sign. It read: "NCCU Athletics. We are Division I."

The NCAA calls this a transitional season, part of the process as the Eagles move up to Division I from Division II. They've been beaten by an average of 24 points per game.

Some people have questioned whether it's worth it.

In return for their losses, they've received $434,500 for being the "guarantee" game for 15 more-established programs. Of that, $115,000 went to travel expenses, meaning the basketball program brought more than $300,000 in profit in year one. That will be spread throughout the athletic department.

The basketball recruiting budget will increase from $12,000 to $20,000 next year.

The money hasn't come without jet-lag.

The Eagles have traveled more than 22,000 miles -- 18,000 by air. They've seen snowcapped mountains and horizon-touching fields.

And they've grown, they say, one experience at a time. Dickerson says that's a key intangible to consider when debating the value of going Division I.

"People don't understand. All they see is the losses," said Dickerson, whose father died in June. "There's more to it.

"They all have gotten a chance to play Division I ball. They all have been able to play in great arenas, where the only way they would've been able to get in otherwise would've been to pay."

The bizarre schedule is the product of the transition. N.C. Central, which last year was the largest institution in the Division II CIAA, is still awaiting acceptance into the Division I Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Without a conference, Dickerson was forced to take games where he could get them.

The Eagles played nine games in November and 18 before the new year. All but three of those were on the road.

Players struggled with schoolwork. Coaches struggled with homesickness. Dickerson played in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks, and he can't remember a year when he's spent so much time away from his family.

Dickerson has been married 30 years, and has two sons -- the younger of whom is autistic.

"When you've been married 30 years, you feel like something is missing, because you're not there," Dickerson said.

In airports across the country, people have learned about N.C. Central. Wherever they go, the Eagles travel in their black warm-ups. "It's funny. They look the same and they smell the same," Dickerson said. "They all smell like that same old hotel soap."

In January, the Eagles flew into Orem, Utah, late one evening before a game against Utah Valley. They went to bed under the cover of darkness.

Early the next morning, sports information director Kyle Serba knocked on Futrell's door and told him to open the curtains.

When he did, Futrell said he was smacked with the sight of a mountain range unlike anything he's ever seen, with snow-covered peaks puncturing the clouds. He still has a picture saved on his phone.

"We left the curtains open the whole trip," he said.

Boxing legend Thomas Hearns sat next to him on a plane to Des Moines, Iowa, in November. Hearns was headed to a boxing exhibition. When the plane landed, Futrell saw Sugar Ray Leonard waiting for his bags.

It wasn't all travel. The Eagles had 10 North Carolina teams on their schedule. They played at Duke, N.C. State, Wake Forest and East Carolina.

Elsewhere, they played in front of 14,000 people at Creighton and 10,000 at two-time defending national champion Florida.

"It's definitely a long way from Murchison Road," Futrell said of his old neighborhood.

Of all the sights he's seen this year, Futrell said the most important had nothing to do with N.C. Central, or with the NFL, or anything athletic.

On Nov. 1, he had a daughter, Samarie.

He had her name tattooed on his left arm. On his right arm, he still has a tattoo remembering the life of his mother.

The gesture was so quick, it was almost unnoticeable. Fast as a blink, Futrell lightly tapped out two thumps of his chest and pointed toward the sky. Then, he crouched down for the opening tip-off against Utah Valley earlier this week.

She still comes first.

Miranda Cogdell Futrell would be 52 now. Charles will be 23 next month. It's been a decade since he kissed her goodbye, the day AIDS and years of drug use took her from him.

He'll tell his story -- her story -- to anyone who'll listen.

He's not only Central's best athlete, he's the most vocal motivator.

"He's got tons of energy. I think he wakes up in the morning and eats a whole box of sugar or something," teammate Brian Ayala said. "Even when stuff isn't going his way, he'll never let you see it."

Some players have considered quitting. But today, as the Eagles prepare for their last game of the regular season at Colgate, they've lost just one player from the opening-day roster.

They've blocked out the jokes and comments from outsiders who see only their record.

"I remember Sticks told us, `No matter who's in your class or who's on campus, no matter what they're saying, the people that are really going to be there for you are the people on this team,'" said Glasker, the young freshman who lost his best friend over Christmas.

During the game against Utah Valley, the Eagles fell behind by double-digits early in the first half. They clawed back to within three points late, before falling 69-62.

It was loss No. 24. (The next night, they would lose No. 25).

Futrell led the team in scoring and rebounding again. But he struggled to find his range from behind the 3-point line, which contributed to the loss. Glasker, coming off the bench, had just three points.

Afterward, Futrell snuck up behind Glasker and threw his arm around the shorter freshman.

He gave him a hard look. But he couldn't hold it. He busted into laughter within seconds. So did Glasker.

The night could have gone better. But it could have been worse.

"I don't believe in natural-born leaders," Futrell said. "But I believe I'm a guy that has a voice of leadership. It's in my heart to see people who are down and try to lift them up."

Staff writer Michael N. Graff can be reached at graffm@fayobserver.com or 486-3591.