Leading the way be junior center Joe Pace.  Pace is unknown to most basketball fans but not the ones by the Potomac.  This Jersey kid, who came from a difficult background, was a god send to the Eagles.  You see at this point last season Pace was preparing to play his sophomore year for the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks.  Pace had a terrific year as he is as dominant of a big man as there is in a small conference.  He blocks shots, rebounds, plays great overall defense and is a leader.  Oh, and he can score a little too.  He only averaged 15 points a game but when he wanted to take over games on the offensive end he was unstoppable.  At six ten and an athletic 220 this kid can jump out of the gym and gets his shot over anyone and I do mean anyone just ask Marvin Webster who just may be the best shot blocker in the country and goes a smooth seven four.  Pace did not exactly dominate the Human Eraser but he did score.  But what Pace is best at is controlling the paint on both ends with his board work and his incredible ability to block shots.  He may not be the physical specimen vertically that Webster is but when you are six ten and can jump through the roof and your timing is sensational then you too can block shots.  But right after the season ended Pace decided that he was transferring down the road to Coppin State.  That’s right, not only is he transferring in the same conference but in the same city.  You don’t see that often but come to find out the Hawks could not keep him on scholarship so he had to leave (as did his coach John Bates who got hired as an assistant by Mitchell).  Yeah, there is something fishy going on in Baltimore.  At least when Julius Keye transferred fro South Carolina State he moved halfway across the country to Alcorn State in Mississippi though still a HBCU.  Man, those games between these two teams are going to be fun.  AS Pace goes so will the Eagles.  And the best thing is for Coppin State is that he does not have to sit out a year.  Thank God for the new transfer portal.  Sure, he might have some issues (like most of his teammates grades and being eligible are an issue) but this kid can flat play.  He has two year left to play for Coppin State but is already a legend there. 

Junior Tony Carter started his first few games at point but is better suited as a combo guard as he has more of a score first mentality.  Carter was born shooting the basketball and made his rep in high school in Baltimore but like many Eagles had to go the JC route (or not be eligible their freshman year with those new racist rules) due to grades.  Fang was desperate to get this local legend and he committed to Coppin but had to sit out a few games.  He came on strong with his incredible first step and great jump shot.  His experience down the stretch and his ability to hit big shots were huge.  Not many teams at this level have someone this talented who can come off the bench and play two positions and score like Carter.  He was a big asset for the Eagles and Fang knew it and used him accordingly and gave him the starting job for this year before it even started.  Fellow junior Colbert Carter will be going to the bench.  Carter has been solid but is nowhere near Carter offensively but will be helpful off the bench if he can beat out the studs Mitchell has got coming in.  Other upperclassmen who got pushed to the bench last year with the new sheriff in town are back for more.  Seniors Jimmy Bennett, Walter Green and Gene Giles were once high scorers here but that was long ago.  Or so it seems.  There is another group that probably will not even make the opening roster as Mitchell brings in more of his kids who play his way. 

 Mitchell has a deep bench that got some minutes but by the end of the year he was set with his solid 9 man rotation.  It will be hard to break into that next year unless there are some injuries.  Junior Gary ‘Tank’ Barnes began the season as the team’s starting point guard and boy can he pass.  Barnes is a nifty floor general but lost his job as Mitchell wanted more athleticism on the court.  Barnes took his demotion in stride and helped his replacement adjust to running a team and came up with some big minutes when called upon down the stretch.  Sophomores Earl Lee, Phil Booth and Steve ‘the Joker’ Miller started last season getting some quality minutes from the get go even as freshmen.  Mitchell had recruited these guys and had no intention of watching them ‘develop’ on the JV.  Lee who sounds like he is a cross of a famous comedic actor and his most famous character had a solid season as the sixth man.  This 6’6 forward can go inside or out and is solid on both ends.  Booth was a starter and high scorer last year but was a tweener forward who had some issues guarding both bigger (he is only 6’5) forwards or quicker wings.  He is a hard-working forward who does all of the little things and has become Mitchell’s whipping boy in practice but does not seem to mind as long as he can contribute to wins.  Miller does not fly like an eagle but he can play and took over the point from Barnes.  He is only 5’10 but can fly up and down the court. Still, he is nowhere near the athlete as the kids Mitchell is supposedly bringing in to challenge him and Barnes at point. 

The Coppin State Eagles are led by an up and coming magician as their Coach.  ‘Fang” Mitchell knows not only how to ‘win’ but knows how to get players to come to his small school hidden in downtown Baltimore.  Aided by his ‘Philly Connection’ Mitchell is bringing to town a bunch of kids who have been passed by for a variance of reasons (size, grades, Prop 48) from bigger schools who can flat play this game.  Led by a terrific four five combo up front that can play with anyone athletically Coppin State have a plethora of  ‘winged’ Eagles who can flat fly up and down the court and really know how to score.    The other Birds in town haven’t been good since Boog Powell left anyways.