Progress is hard and not all of their brethren went marching with them for equality or better notoriety.  Archrival Winston-Salem State (talk about a corporation) plus Johnson C.Smith and Virginia Union stayed behind for some reason to dominate Division Two.  North Carolina Central came along but did not like the big time and jumped back into the CIAA (btb the C stands for Central nowadays-yep I know).  A few other stragglers saw the light and are now joining up with their brothers and have joined the MEAC.  It is now a full-fledged 11 (that number has some spiritual connotation) member league with all of the rights and privileges of any other Division One program including an automatic bid to the Big Dance though to be honest this did way too long (way longer than other leagues making the jump).  Since the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference was formed there has been one dominant program and that has been North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University.  Or as we like to refer to them as the NC A&T Aggies who once again showed they were the class of the MEAC.  They also won the conference tournament and deservedly got the first ticket for the MEAC to the big dance.  They did not fare too well in their trip but that will not hurt them as Coach Calvin Irvin and his incredible staff are here for the long haul and this program is about building men.  The wins and losses just seem to come.  Following the motto ‘if we build it, they will come’ the Aggies have assembled not only a program that uses the major program (and maybe a little Henry Ford) blueprint to a T.  IN building this beast the Aggies have not only brought along their great fans in Greensboro but the entire MEAC and heck all of HBCU for a ride. 

The Aggies have developed a juggernaut of in the MEAC and has a rabid fan base affectionately known as the Dawg House behind them.  This program has dominated the regular season like not many other programs in the country. Kentucky and UCLA come to mind. Still, the Aggies hardly ever get the recognition they deserve.  The fans of basketball crazy Greensboro are getting a little testy.  They do love their Aggies and will continue to support them.  They just wish the rest of the country could see how good this program really is. The ironic thing is that when NC A & T was just starting to become a bona fide program they would routinely upset the top seeded teams in the old CIAA tourney and have played in a few national tournaments.  As a matter of fact the Aggies were the first HBCU program to play in the final four of the D-2 national tourney when they lost to eventual champion Evansville not so long ago. Now that they are the cream of the crop of the MEAC but after last year’s showing in the big dance they know they have work to do.  . 

Like all great machines this program knows how to build with the best possible parts.  The Aggies have recruited some of the best athletes in the country.  Actually, that was a bit easier when they were in the lower divisions as many of their players were either overlooked by the bigger schools (racism) or they had already filled their quotas and these guys got left out in the cold.  Coach Cal Irvin was more than eager to welcome them in.   He built this beast on the leftovers but this cold pizza tastes pretty dang good.  You don’t even have to warm them up.  They are ready to go.  But like everything else in a great machine you can be replaced by younger parts.  Irvin is stepping aside after this year as he accomplished his biggest goal of getting this program moved to Division One. He will be handing over the reins to this program to assistant Don Corbett after one more year in Greensboro.  Irvin has accomplished almost every goal he has set out to do as the coach of the Aggies but he still wants to win a game in the Big Dance. That will be easier said then done but for right now the goal is winning another MEAC title.  And then let the cards play out as they might.  

The Aggies are prohibitive favorites in the MEAC going into this season and these boys do not want to disappoint the fans of Greensboro. The Aggie machine will keep on turning and keep on developing fine young players and men who have great futures in front of them.  They might not all be ‘pro’ material but these kids can play and it is too bad most of the world doesn’t know about them. 

The Aggies are led by a trio of terrific players and thank goodness only one of them is a senior but of course he is the heart and soul of the team.  The Senior is Al Attles who teams with junior James ‘the Bird’ Sparrow and Sophomore Joe Binion who are about as good as at what they do as there is in these part of the woods.  Attles is the unquestioned leader of this team.  He is tough, smart and understands basketball.  The ‘Destroyer’ has a tremendous will and basically everyone answers to him.  No nickname fit a player better (ask Mike Riordan about that one) as Attles does not back down from anyone.  He is not overbearing (to his teammates) but the buck stops with him.  He is as good of a floor leader and general as any player in this league.  And yes, he is like having another coach on the court. Oh yea, he may be one of the best defensive players in the country.  He can guard anyone and we do mean anyone.  His tenacity and will to stop his opponent from even getting a shot are legendary.  His noteworthy long arms drive opponents crazy as even if you think you are by him you are not.  Oh, and yes contrary to popular belief, Attles is a solid offensive player.  No, he will not be confused with Darrow (that kid can flat play) on the offensive but this unselfish team captain never takes a bad shot and led the team in assists.  And he does help on the boards when not shutting down guys on the perimeter.  Still, it is his will to win that permeates this club.  He will not let them not compete every night.  And nobody wears a denim suit the way Al throws one down!

Binion is one of the best inside offensive weapons in the conference.  Somehow Irvin stole this massive big man away from Syracuse as he was high school stud in Rochester.  The Aggies do not get many (have never had) a player with this kid’s size and strength down low.  He was the one guy in team history that started from game one as Irvin put him as one of his starting post players in his first game last year.  Good choice!  A great low post player who can get to that hoop and finish, Binion has solid moves and great strength.  He is tough on the boards and though he is only six foot eight he goes 235 and can dominate the paint.  He made all conference as a freshman and deserved it.  By the end of his career, he could be the best player ever to play in this conference.  He is that good.  His only downside is that he is not a center and with nobody else on this team who is a true center, he had to man the five for most of the year.  As good as he is trying to stop Marvin Webster or Clem Johnson or Ricky Mahorn was just a little too much to ask even for this wunderkid.  If he was guarding other power forwards he might not have looked so overmatched as he did at times.  Still, this kid did not give in and he is by far the best (and biggest) this program has and for the next three years will be manning at least one of the posts for the Aggies.  And that is not all bad! 

Irvin has the multitalented James Sparrow at his disposal.  Easily the biggest recruit ever to sign with the Aggies ‘the Bird’ instantly became the most popular player on the team as soon as the fans saw his incredibly well-rounded game.  Breaking future Tar Heel (and the first black student athlete to play at NC) Charlie Scott’s high school scoring records in tiny Laurinburg on the southern border of this basketball crazy state, Darrow decided to forego the big programs and come play for Irvin.  Great choice especially for the Aggies.  The junior can flat do it all.  At six foot six this kid score going to the hoop or hitting long range jumpers.  This kid is as dynamic as they get as he loves to finish with a flair (one handed jams are his favorite) who loves to flip it high off the glass.  The Dawg Pound loves the Bird and though he might not be to Greensboro what that guy with the real last name is to Terre Haute, he is not far behind.  If he got that kind of publicity (the great white hope) he might just be a nationally known brand.  He is that good and every bit as complete of a player as the Hick from French Lick.  Sparrow, like Bird, also is solid on the boards and is a terrific defender who led the team in steals.  He could have led the team in assists but Corbett needed him to score more (he tied for the team lead in scoring with Binion) and he is nothing but a team player. When his coach says score more well your wish as they say.   His partnership with Attles was made in heaven as though the two are as opposite as can be on the court their love of style and their competitive nature made them great teammates.  This duo may have formed the best back court in conference.  They feed off each other and know each other like the backs of their hands.  It is Sparrow’s time to fly now and no one thinks for a second he will not continue his fine play and perhaps even get higher.   

Irvin basically platooned everywhere else on the team and he has the talent to do so.  It started with his Upperclassmen rotating in but he had to use his underclassmen as the year progressed.   Seniors Warren Davis and Herb Gray rotated at one post opposite Binion.  Both are very solid all-around big men.  Both can score a little (very little in the case of Gray) and love to board as they say.  They have their limitations vertically but that does not stop them from being productive assets to this program.  The Aggies roster is filled with tough, physical players who may be undersized but more than make up for it with their desire and Gray and Davis are the vanguards of this program as the first dominant big men.  Of course both got hurt, Gray for the season and Davis for five games which opened the door for the aforementioned underclassmen to play but like these days the one things none of these big men had was height.  At six seven and six foot six these dudes were more than big enough for the CIAA but with the move to the big time there came bigger players and they just had issues matching up with six ten and above guys.  Davis is more athletic and better suited for this but realistically is a swing forward though on this team he played the four.  This Atlantic City kid is cool as a cucumber and plays the game the way it was meant to be played.  He has no real weaknesses to his overall game and has a great chance of being productive at the next level if he gets the chance.  Gray is a gamer and can play and is terrific on the boards and the fans loved him as he was the team’s first big man but he was losing minutes when he got hurt.  Still, this duo did perform well when on the court and will be missed around these parts.  Junior Elmer Austin produced in the post with his solid post game.  Undersized at six four, Austin had a hard time matching up with the beasts underneath but when Gray went down he was next up and produced some effective minutes as a swing forward.  The Aggies had a plethora of guys waiting in the wings to take over because this really is one team that reloads instead of rebuilding.  Foremost of these up front were juniors Sterling Colbert and LJ Pipkin.  They have a bit more size at six ten and nine respectively and can handle the bigger players a little better.  This duo was splitting time down low on the JV when the injuries hit and they took turns being available on the varsity as well.  Irvin used them accordingly the last half when Davis came back.  A four (sometimes five) person rotation that was productive as it was infuriating to the players I am sure. Colbert is a solid defensive player who could team with Binion for the next two years to give the Aggies as solid of a pair of post players. But to do that he needs to get more consistent and develop a little better offensive game.  There are others waiting in line and ready to pounce.   

Speaking of guys waiting in line and then stepping up next we have sophomore Claude Williams.  The Underclassmen had a harder time finding playing time but with the injuries this gamer stepped up and performed admirably.  Williams stepped up and took on the role of a primary low post scoring option.  He is perfectly suited for this position.  Williams is a bull on the blocks who knows how to position and will muscle to get his shots.  He loves contact and though he is undersized can get his variety of shots off underneath.  He can also hit jumpers and bang for boards.  He is the type of all-around player that Coaches love and Irvin was no exception.  He loved this kid so much that he broke his freshman rule of not giving the underclassmen much PT.  Not that he was playing all the time.  Corbett used three guard sets most of the time and barely went with lineups that had all three of his big men on the court at the same time.  Still, when he got the call this kid was ready and performed well in limited minutes. In the end it worked out well as Williams will be in serious contention for a primary post option next season.  And his feet are definitely wet. 

Senior Mo McHartley started the season at one wing splitting time with fellow senior Joe Howell.  Howell got hurt midway through the year and McHartley went down five games later. Both were season ending injuries.  This was a huge blow to the team as this duo complemented each other well and fit in with the Attles/Sparrow combo perfectly.   Howell was the first superstar on this team and this six two cat can score from anywhere.  He loves to go to the hoop and score but can also launch from behind the line.  He is the perfect instant offense guy off the bench.  McHartley might be the most complete player on the team and that includes Darrow.  He does not get the publicity he deserves but does not seem to.  You think Davis is cool McHartley actually plays the game with a toothpick in his mouth. This Detroit kid knows all of the tricks and was having a great year when he went down.  Mo was averaging over 12 points a game with over three assists and boards a game as he can play just about anywhere in the back court.  He is also a terrific defender who can shut down point guards or wings and is a matchup nightmare.  He will play somewhere next year and make some coach very happy as he will probably not be drafted after his injury.  When he went down, Coach Corbett needed somebody to jump in and take over.  Corbett tried everyone and the kitchen sing trying to find another back court guy.  Juniors James Outlaw and June Harris got the increased minutes and played really well.  Like most of their teammates in the back court these guys can do a bit of everything.  Outlaw is a dynamic player who can score and distribute but has issues guarding bigger players.  Harris is a true leader who will probably take over the role (at least in position) of Attles next year.  This kid has ice running through his veins and never gets flustered who got some big minutes the second half and performed well.  He can score and pass and is big enough at six three to defend bigger guards and quick enough to guard waterbugs as well.  He might not be as tenacious as Attles and sometimes this kid gets overlooked because he plays the game so effortlessly but don’t let his smoothness fool you, Harris is the real deal and he knows how to play this game.  Harris comes from just up the road in Durham though the Dukies never even looked his way.  He has one game circled on the schedule next year as the Blue Devils will come to Greensboro and maybe this time Harris can lead the Aggies to a victory over one of those ACC Goliaths? 

Attles and Sparrow had a group of players vying for time in the back court.  Corbett has recruited a load of great point guards here as he likes to go primarily a two point guard set most of the time.  Sophomore Eric Boyd is the perfect swing guard for Corbett.  He took advantage of the injuries more than anyone as he was stuck on the JV until McHartley went down.  He can score and dish and was perfect coming in for either Attles or Sparrow.  He played great down the stretch but has much competition for minutes next year as many of the underclassmen plus Harris, Sparrow and Outlaw will be back vying for the three perimeter positions.  Corbett’s bench seemed to shrink at times and he used basically an 8 man rotation in big games.  Juniors Joe Brawner (an offensive minded point guard) and Allen Spruill (a solid wing) will also be in the mix but this is a competitive place to try and get on the court.  The Three Bells will also be pushing for time as the trio of Sophomores including Thomas Griffis (a true point guard)  ‘Little’ Jimmy Brown and George ‘Magnolia’ Cale (wings) will all get a shot to produce next year with more minutes.   Whew that is a lot of mouths to feed and that is only the back court but Irvin will find a way to get these kids on the court if he has to go to a 12 man rotation ala Dean Smith.  And if the kids have to wait to play they will not leave because that is not the Aggie Way.  They will wait their turn and contribute when their name is called. 

The North Carolina A& T Aggies once again were the top of the class in the MEAC.  Led by a group of phenomenal players who turned the coaches rotation into hockey shifts at times, Coach Don Corbett’s team made it thru the regular season almost unscathed on their way to another MEAC title.  Since the Aggies have made the move on up to big time college basketball and helped form this brave new conference that boasts proud members of the HBCU community this program has dominated the conference.  This year was no different and even though some their brothers from the old CIAA (especially super rival Winston-Salem State) have stayed behind in Division Two there are plenty of schools here to compete on a daily basis in the MEAC and of course the tough out of conference schools they have never got to face before.  Chinks in the armor exposed themselves late as a lack of consistent outside shooting and no quality seven footers (heck no one over six ten) left the Aggies hurting.  Some say the Aggies played a soft schedule with not enough quality big conference teams and the only time they got to play one of the big boys they got blown out at home as their only loss of the year in the Dawg Pound was to NC State.  That will hopefully change this year as some of the programs that have been avoiding them since they joined Division are suddenly lining up to play them after their blowout loss to the WolfPack. But so far that hasn’t happened. A game against Duke is scheduled but has not been confirmed and the Blue Devils have suddenly become hesitant about playing their neighbors.  Too bad as this team needs these big time games to show to the world and themselves they are as good as they think they are.  But as far as the MEAC knows these Aggies are the best dang program in the Carolinas and one thing for sure is this machine will keep turning out quality teams, players and coaches and that Dawg Pound will be full of ravenous blue and gold clad fans every night!  Now if they can just get Winston-Salem to come play them again the fans of this area might know what a true rivalry looks like!