Men's Basketball

June 20, 2007

How does the old saying go? The third time is a charm.

Somewhere else there is the mention or cliché of unlikely heroes.

And who would have though that the Elizabeth City State University men’s basketball team, en route to the 2007 CIAA Championship would pull off one of the most talked about runs in tournament history.

The 2006-2007 school year had already been one of the best in recent memory. The football team came from relative obscurity to post the best record in school history. Yet the Vikings came up just short in the first football championship bid since1971 at the hands of North Carolina Central University. So then came the winter sports (women’s and men’s basketball) and what many were predicting be the Lady Vikings’ best shot at claiming the school’s first ever CIAA women’s basketball crown. And who could blame the speculation? After all the senior laden team was powered by three All-CIAA selections; Tiffany Smith, Deanna Price, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and the phenomenal Celeste Trahan whose accolades could read like a roll call at the United Nations. Surely this team, just two years removed from the title game in 2005, was poised to stand atop the champions’ platform. However it was not meant to be as ECSU once again had to stand by and watch North Carolina Central hoist the championship trophy. And there to most onlookers, the story that was the record breaking, banner year for Elizabeth City State University came to a close. All that was left was the men’s championship game where the ECSU Vikings were facing down the barrel of one of the perennial basketball powerhouses in the NCAA Division II, the three-time defending champions from Richmond, VA Virginia Union University.

Ok here’s where all that stuff about three times being a charm and unlikely heroes comes in.

One might say the odds were against them. Okay considering how much you watch CIAA men’s basketball that would be the understatement of the millennium. The Vikings, who entered the tournament 12-15 overall as the 7th seed flew under everyone’s radar all season. They had made some noise, shown some improvement but were still not perceived as much of a threat. Besides the aforementioned Panthers from Virginia Union, there was Bowie State, Saint Augustine’ and the sudden emergence of Virginia State University who had regionally been ranked most of the year. Surely at betting person would put their hard earned money on one of them. However it is always smart to do your research as this was clearly a Viking team that should not be overlooked. In the regular season they fought each and every game to the wire, not losing one contest by more than 10 points. Additionally, 12 of their 15 losses came by eight points or less and most of the games they were ahead only to relinquish their lead in the final moments.

And back to their opponent. Just one week earlier the Vikings lost a double overtime thriller to VUU by one-point in a nationally televised game in Elizabeth City. Earlier in the year the Panthers edged ECSU by a mere three points in Richmond. The Vikings hadn’t beat The Panthers in what seemed like the equivalent of an eternity and 5th year head coach Shawn Walker, a former All-CIAA guard for the Vikings, had not beat the Panthers as a player or a coach.

Yes, one might say these “underdogs” were due and the stage was finally big enough.

En route to Final’s night, ECSU downed Livingstone College and Eastern Division rivals Virginia State, who had swept the Vikings in the regular season and Bowie State, with whom they had split during. In the title game ECSU out-rebounded the Panthers 55-35 behind the backboard brilliance of tournament MVP Anthony Hilliard, a sophomore from Fayetteville, NC. Hilliard proved that the adage of the two-handed rebound was not a lost art-form as his finished the year atop the CIAA in rebounding as the only men’s basketball player to average a double-double in 06-07.

So, on its third try of the sports calendar year, Elizabeth City State University finally stood atop the winner’s plateau. Since the Vikings brought the first basketball title to Elizabeth City, NC since 1981 there has been the reoccurring sentiment of “lucky.” Well why not. Maybe it is or isn’t a coincidence that the Vikings were able to get “lucky” four nights in a row. Perhaps it was just their time to bring recognition for determination and teamwork to the forefront. Or the universe finally threw the faithful Viking fans a curve for their support over the years.

However it was neither a coincidence nor luck that the Vikings were awarded the CIAA Academic Award as the men’s basketball team with the highest G.P.A. or that they were bestowed the honor of the Sportsmanship Award named after John B. McLendon, one of the legendary co-founders of the CIAA Tournament. So in essence on the night of March 3, 2007 in Charlotte, NC, the ECSU Men’s basketball team achieved one of the most underrated yet rewarding trifectas known in sports; as student-athletes, ambassadors and oh yes… Champions!