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aztarheel · 10-09-2006, 08:43 AM

Steve Victory JOURNAL Season #4 (2006-07)

Victory’s fourth year at the helm begins on a heartbreaking note. The Cougars travel to North Texas and fall to the Mean Green 78-77 in overtime. UNT sticks in the winning points in the final seconds…

For a minute after the loss, Victory looks like he’s going to self-destruct. He storms off the court, then walks a lonely corridor in the bowels of the Super Pit arena. "I can’t go through another losing campaign," he says to himself. "It’s going to kill me."

But he quickly pulls himself together. The season is still young. The key is to learn and move on. When he arrives in the locker room, Victory’s players are as mad as their coach had been. They, too, have dreams of 20-win seasons, winning conference titles and making NCT plans, and this wasn’t the start they had envisioned either.

In the next two weeks, the Cougars respond big time – topping East Carolina 77-65, Delaware State 81-62 and Eastern Michigan 68-58. Then, Victory gets the first real breakthrough moment he’d been looking for.

LSU agrees to a post-Thanksgiving meeting in Charleston, and the Cougars eat ‘em up like a turkey dinner. Final score: College of Charleston 88, Tigers 65. Bobby Robin scores 27 points. Victory glows after his best win yet – LSU came in with a CRI ranking of 51.

The Cougars brim with confidence three nights later as they visit Raleigh, N.C. for a showdown with N.C. State. Both teams are 4-1. State is ranked #25 in the nation. Charleston is supposed to be an easy victim on "Throwback Night" – the one game of the year the Pack plays in the old Reynolds Coliseum (they now have their own 21,000-seat arena).

Victory’s bunch dreams of playing spoiler on the court where folks like David Thompson, Thurl Bailey and Jim Valvano once roamed but loses a hard-fought contest 73-62. Victory doesn’t feel so bad. He finds himself dreaming of coaching in the ACC one day as his players board the bus for home. "Though I grew up a Tar Heel fan, if this job ever comes open I’m going for it," Victory tells an assistant…

Charleston boasts a CRI of 96 after two more wins: 84-66 over Western Kentucky and 78-67 over William & Mary. But now comes the "Murderers Row" stretch in the schedule. Four straight road games before the start of conference — at St. Bonaventure, at Kansas, at Florida State, at #19 South Carolina.

Victory would love a sweep, but even a 2-2 record against these four would be a breakthrough for his young club...

10-09-2006, 08:43 AM	#19
aztarheel High School JV Join Date: Sep 2006	Steve Victory JOURNAL Season #4 (2006-07) Victory’s fourth year at the helm begins on a heartbreaking note. The Cougars travel to North Texas and fall to the Mean Green 78-77 in overtime. UNT sticks in the winning points in the final seconds… For a minute after the loss, Victory looks like he’s going to self-destruct. He storms off the court, then walks a lonely corridor in the bowels of the Super Pit arena. "I can’t go through another losing campaign," he says to himself. "It’s going to kill me." But he quickly pulls himself together. The season is still young. The key is to learn and move on. When he arrives in the locker room, Victory’s players are as mad as their coach had been. They, too, have dreams of 20-win seasons, winning conference titles and making NCT plans, and this wasn’t the start they had envisioned either. In the next two weeks, the Cougars respond big time – topping East Carolina 77-65, Delaware State 81-62 and Eastern Michigan 68-58. Then, Victory gets the first real breakthrough moment he’d been looking for. LSU agrees to a post-Thanksgiving meeting in Charleston, and the Cougars eat ‘em up like a turkey dinner. Final score: College of Charleston 88, Tigers 65. Bobby Robin scores 27 points. Victory glows after his best win yet – LSU came in with a CRI ranking of 51. The Cougars brim with confidence three nights later as they visit Raleigh, N.C. for a showdown with N.C. State. Both teams are 4-1. State is ranked #25 in the nation. Charleston is supposed to be an easy victim on "Throwback Night" – the one game of the year the Pack plays in the old Reynolds Coliseum (they now have their own 21,000-seat arena). Victory’s bunch dreams of playing spoiler on the court where folks like David Thompson, Thurl Bailey and Jim Valvano once roamed but loses a hard-fought contest 73-62. Victory doesn’t feel so bad. He finds himself dreaming of coaching in the ACC one day as his players board the bus for home. "Though I grew up a Tar Heel fan, if this job ever comes open I’m going for it," Victory tells an assistant… Charleston boasts a CRI of 96 after two more wins: 84-66 over Western Kentucky and 78-67 over William & Mary. But now comes the "Murderers Row" stretch in the schedule. Four straight road games before the start of conference — at St. Bonaventure, at Kansas, at Florida State, at #19 South Carolina. Victory would love a sweep, but even a 2-2 record against these four would be a breakthrough for his young club...