The Accidental Career of Guy West (CH2k8)

[waytofailself]

Quote: Originally Posted by delija66

You finished first! great job man gl in conference tourney

Thanks! It has been a bit of a trip. I got lucky too though -- Bethune-Cookman lost to Delaware State on the same day I beat Hampton. That left me fortunate enough to get a tie for the best record and the #1 seed in the tournament. Will it serve the Spartans well? It has been a long season, but they didn't do so great on a neutral court before. Maybe this time will be better.

[waytofailself]

First Round Results
(9) Howard 77 (8) Florida A&M 56
(11) Delaware St. 66 (6)MD-Eastern Shore 50
(10)Morgan St. 86 (7)NC A&T 71

Not a good day to be a higher (lower?) seed, that's for sure.

Quarterfinal Results
As the number 1 seed, Norfolk State has the benefit of watching the other games play out before playing its own game. Here's what happened before the Spartans hit the floor against the Howard Bison.

(4)S. Carolina St. 66 (5)Hampton 60
If Norfolk State can make it to the semis, they'll face South Carolina State. This might be dodging a bullet, as the Bulldogs have fewer playmakers than the Pirates. Their PG, Tooms, is dangerous, and their slow-down game can be effective. It certainly seemed to be against the up-tempo Pirates.

(3)Coppin St. 77 (11)Delaware St. 49
Unsurprising result. Coppin State's senior leadership and high unity simply outclassed the Hornets. The Spartans caught a break having the Eagles on the other end of the bracket -- they're a tough match up.

(10)Morgan St. 74 (2)Bethune-Cookman 50
Morgan State had a winning record during the 2nd half of conference play (5-4), so one fiagures that the 78 OVR squad might be putting things together. A convincing win against Bethune-Cookman is a scary thought: could the Bears finally be waking up?

(1) Norfolk St. vs. (9)Howard

In their last meeting exactly a week and a day ago, the Spartans blew out the Bison 99-69. And while the game was never competitive, the Spartan's defense was shredded by Kyle Riley for 42 points and 8 three pointers. Riley, who averages 10.0 ppg and received a DNP Coaches Decision in the first meeting between the Bison and Spartans despite being healthy, figures to be a key part of Howard's plans -- but he can't be left to do it by himself.

The Spartans started the game fast -- a common theme among their 8 game win streak. With O'Quinn dominating down low, the Spartans built up a 12 point lead during the first half. However, there was some cause for concern: hardly anyone else was able to hit a basket. Pauline was shooting cold. The Spartans started turning the ball over and putting up weak jump shots. Riley started to come alive. The result? Slowly but surely, the Bison began to chip away at the lead. First a three to match a Spartan two point basket. Then a defensive stop and basket. Bit by bit they came back, until Howard riveted their fans with seven unanswered points to take their first lead and close the half.

The Spartans were struggling. Shortly after the half, the Bison started to slash towards the basket and getting easy buckets inside with their guards. Fortunately, Coach West switched the defense from a 3-2 to a 2-3 to stop their penetration, the Bison suddenly got desperate. And so did the Spartans. With the Spartans holding a narrow lead, both teams rushed back and forth across the court. The Bison fans would be going wild as their team charged down the court again and again, and then one block later the Spartan fans would go crazy. But no one could break the gridlock, and momentum swung back and forth and back and forth without anyone scoring a basket.*

Frustrated, Coach West called time out and yelled, "Get the ball to O'Quinn. Slow it down. They're dropping everyone back, so don't rush." And O'Quinn took over. The Bison had no answer for him, and he carried the Spartans to victory with career highs in points (35) and rebounds (16). The final score: 77 to 63, but the game was far closer than the Spartans would have liked. They'll face South Carolina State in the Quarterfinals.

Mar 11, 2011 - HOW at NSU
TEAM	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Howard ()	43	20	63
Norfolk State ()	42	35	77

Howard
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
D. Collins	17	5-15	0-4	2-2	4	3	1	2	2	12
C. Thompson	28	1-3	1-2	0-0	0	7	0	0	0	3
K. Riley	25	9-25	7-17	0-0	7	2	0	1	2	25
M. Phillips	21	0-4	0-0	1-2	7	0	0	3	1	1
C. DeCosta	27	2-4	0-0	1-1	7	6	0	1	0	5
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
D. Naves	19	5-15	2-4	0-0	1	2	0	0	1	12
A. Leary	12	2-2	0-0	1-2	7	0	1	0	0	5
TEAM TOTALS		24-68	10-27	5-7	33	20	2	7	6	63

Norfolk State
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
R. Hampton	25	4-14	1-7	2-4	2	5	1	0	0	11
A. Pauline	24	4-17	1-10	2-2	1	5	1	0	1	11
R. McCauley	21	3-6	0-1	4-8	2	2	1	0	0	10
T. Zephyr	23	3-4	0-0	0-0	18	2	1	1	1	6
K. O'Quinn	23	15-22	0-0	5-8	16	2	0	1	0	35
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
M. Tamares	10	1-3	0-0	0-0	4	1	1	1	0	2
J. Weathers	8	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	2	0	0	0	2
K. Brown	7	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	2	0	0	0	0
M. Johnson	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
R. Maye	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
C. McEachin	2	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		31-68	2-18	13-22	44	21	5	3	2	77

Coach West: "It's great that we won, but we're going to have to figure out how to shoot the ball. We were missing at the line. We were missing behind the three point line. We were missing near the basket. We got no scoring help from the bench. It's like I've been saying from the start: if we can't make shots, we can't win."

* Ed Note: Despite being unable to break the game open, it was still one of the most fun 3-4 minute exchanges I've had in this game. The 6th man was shifting almost every possession, and it really felt like a single elimination tournament game late in the 2nd half.

[Getty51]

Great finish to the regular season, pull off this Tourney win baby!

[waytofailself]

Semifinal Results

(10)Morgan St. 82 (3)Coppin St. 72
It looks like the Bears have finally come out of hibernation after a long winter. After underachieving all season long the most talented team in the MEAC has put everything together at just the right time.

(1) Norfolk St. vs. (4) South Carolina St.

In his pregame comments, Coach West expressed concern that his team might be looking forward to the match up against Morgan State in the conference final. He reminded reporters that the Spartans already lost a similar "trap" game Bulldogs earlier this year with a big conference game on the horizon. However, any concerns about Norfolk State overlooking the Bulldogs might have been overblown. The Spartans used towering defenders and an effective fast break offense to knock South Carolina State out of the MEAC tournament 78-62.

The game started out as a match up of style vs. style, as Norfolk State would move the ball down the court quickly and look for the fast inside-out play, while South Carolina State would slow down the ball and grind down the clock. For awhile, the Bulldogs were creating open shots. They just weren't hitting them. Soon Norfolk State found itself up 8-1 and then 16-4. Things were looking one sided early, and got no better for the Bulldogs when they tried to speed things up. Kyle O'Quinn and Tim Zephyr finished with 4 and 3 blocks respectively, and the Spartans as a team had a season high 8 blocks total. And to add to the Bulldog's woes, Norfolk State's perimeter defense matched its interior's effort by limiting South Carolina State to 2-16 from three point range.

Meanwhile, Norfolk State seemed to successfully focus on the problem areas from their game against Howard. The team shot 6-10 from three point range, including both Aleek Pauline and Rob Hampton hitting 2-3 from beyond the arc. In the end, the Spartan offense proved to be too efficient, and they were able to clear their bench early in the 2nd half.

The Spartans looked far more dangerous than South Carolina State, and they'll take their 10 game winning streak into the MEAC final to face a resurgent Morgan State squad.

Mar 14, 2011 - SCS at NSU
TEAM	1ST	2ND	SCORE
South Carolina State (18-16)	30	32	62
Norfolk State (24-7)	37	41	78

South Carolina State
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
K. Toombs	26	4-8	0-3	0-0	1	7	1	0	4	8
D. Porter	18	5-15	0-6	5-6	2	1	1	0	0	15
J. Wright	25	4-14	0-2	0-0	5	2	0	0	0	8
P. Bell	23	4-7	0-0	1-1	5	0	1	0	0	9
D. Wooten	18	0-2	0-0	0-1	6	1	2	0	2	0
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
T. Williams	11	3-5	0-1	2-2	0	3	0	0	0	8
R. Pitt	2	1-2	1-1	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	3
O. Sanders	16	1-4	0-0	0-0	7	3	2	1	0	7
TEAM TOTALS		25-64	2-16	10-12	27	19	7	1	6	62

Norfolk State
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
R. Hampton	21	4-9	2-3	1-2	1	4	0	0	2	11
A. Pauline	18	4-7	2-3	1-2	1	3	1	0	0	11
R. McCauley	15	2-4	0-1	3-4	0	0	0	0	0	7
T. Zephyr	13	2-3	0-0	2-2	6	1	0	3	2	6
K. O'Quinn	21	9-14	0-0	3-5	8	2	1	4	3	21
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
M. Tamares	13	1-1	0-0	0-0	4	0	1	0	0	2
J. Weathers	6	0-1	0-0	2-2	4	2	2	0	0	2
K. Brown	9	1-3	0-0	2-2	0	2	0	0	0	4
B. Wheeless	6	1-2	0-0	1-2	0	2	0	0	0	3
M. Johnson	7	2-3	2-2	0-0	2	2	0	0	1	6
B. Good	14	1-5	0-0	0-0	7	1	1	1	0	2
C. McEachin	8	1-4	0-1	1-3	0	1	0	0	1	3
TEAM TOTALS		28-56	6-10	16-24	33	20	6	8	9	78

Coach West: "That's more like it. Our team played great together, especially playing great team defense and staying at home when their bigs would try and kick the ball back out. If we can keep firing on all cylinders like this, I don't know if anyone can stop us."

[Deuce2223]

#1 VS #10 for a spot in the NCAA Tourney.. Would be interesting to see if your 25 wins would be enough for the MEAC to get 2 teams, but hopefully we don't have to find out.

Congrats on the huge year. Looks like Coach West was a great hire for Norfolk State.

[waytofailself]

Quote: Originally Posted by Deuce2223

#1 VS #10 for a spot in the NCAA Tourney.. Would be interesting to see if your 25 wins would be enough for the MEAC to get 2 teams, but hopefully we don't have to find out. Congrats on the huge year. Looks like Coach West was a great hire for Norfolk State.

Thanks! As for if I lost: my RPI is 115 with 0 wins against the RPI top 100. Getting an at large bid would be highway robbery, so I better take care of business!

[VandyRedskins21]

Good luck in the championship!! You better do better in the conf. championship than I did in my first year with UC Davis...

[waytofailself]

FINAL

(1) Norfolk State vs. (10) Morgan State

No matter what happens tonight, someone will be packing their bags for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The question is who: will it be the Norfolk State Spartans (OVR 68), who rode a surprising hot streak up the standings at the end of the season and through the tournament? Or will it be the talented but young Morgan State Bears (OVR 78), who struggled for most of the season but have saved their best ball for March. Who's David? Who's Goliath? Who knows? Who cares! Someone's going to be leaving Raleigh as a first time champion.

The Fix is In? Not When One Team Self Destructs

There are a few adages commonly associated with playoff or championship games. But someone seemed to forget to tell the referees that they should just let the teams play it out. In what turned into a very ugly contest for both sides, Norfolk State managed to show critics they were no fluke by outlasting Morgan State 94-81 and claiming their first ever MEAC championship.

But before the Spartans got to cut down the nets, they had to fight through their own adversity. The game started with Morgan State stunning the Spartans by jumping out to a 15-2 lead. And while Dewayne Jackson and Justin Black put on a spectacular two man show, there were two major issues facing Norfolk State. First, 8 of those first 15 points came from the free throw line, and Norfolk State's entire starting front court of McCauley, O'Quinn, and Zephyr all got into early foul trouble. To add to the problems, Norfolk State also came out tight, missing all of their shots -- even O'Quinn inexplicably missed a driving dunk down the lane. Kevin Thompson and Rodney Stokes seemed to have him shut down from the start. And while the fouls began piling up on both sides, they seemed to affect the Spartans starters the most. Even though the teams combined to shoot a shocking 39 free throws in the first half, the Spartan faithful boo'd lustily every time a whistle was blown.

After the Spartan's disastrous start, the game turned on a gamble taken by Coach West. He kept O'Quinn in the game after he picked up two fouls in the first four minutes. Although he had to lay off on defense, O'Quinn managed to score 9 of the next 20 Spartan points, including 3 at the line. But just when the Spartans were beginning to dig out of their early hole, O'Quinn was forced to sit after getting tagged for his third foul with over 7 minutes left in the half.

Even though O'Quinn was no longer able to provide the spark, Rod Hampton and Aleek Pauline were still on the floor to start the fire. With his front court players all in foul trouble, Coach West went small and moved to a high pressure game with lots of pressing and double teams. And a funny thing happened -- although no side was ever able to seize momentum due to the number of fouls, the Spartans began to convert their chances while the Bears went cold at the free throw line. By the end of the half, the Spartans and plinked and plunked their way to the line and through open jump shots to open up a 12 point lead to close the half.

The fouls kept piling up for the Spartans in the 2nd half, but by then the Bears had lost their swagger they started the game with. They continued to brick at the free throw line, they continued to play off of Norfolk State's shooters, and they continued to turn the ball over. This game could have been closer, but Morgan State choked after blowing their big lead. They took 16 more free throw attempts and hit 3 more three point baskets, but their 17 turnovers and resulting 14 fewer field goal attempts are the tale of the tape. And for the second game in a row, Coach West got to clear his bench with plenty of time to spare.

Norfolk State withstood the free throw parade and probably won't care much about any complaints of poor officiating. They're champions!

Mar 15, 2011 - MORG at NORF
TEAM	1ST	2ND	SCORE
#10 Morgan State (13-21)	42	39	81
#1 Norfolk State (25-7)	54	40	94

Morgan State
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
L. Bastfield	16	3-8	1-4	0-0	0	3	1	0	2	7
J. Black	23	6-10	4-6	5-8	0	2	1	0	4	21
D. Jackson	25	4-6	0-0	5-7	6	7	1	0	2	13
K. Thompson	24	2-8	0-0	4-4	8	0	0	2	3	8
R. Stokes	19	2-8	0-0	5-6	7	0	0	2	1	9
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
E. Brooks	12	1-2	1-2	3-6	4	2	0	0	1	6
A. Ali	17	3-8	1-2	4-7	4	0	0	0	3	11
J. Lockhart	3	1-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	2
J. Jackson	3	0-1	0-0	1-2	1	1	0	0	0	1
I. Childs	4	0-0	0-0	1-2	1	1	0	0	0	1
T. lawal	4	1-2	0-0	0-0	2	0	0	0	1	2
TEAM TOTALS		23-54	7-17	28-42	33	15	3	4	17	81

Norfolk State
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
R. Hampton	24	5-9	2-3	3-6	4	7	2	1	0	15
A. Pauline	21	8-13	2-4	4-4	1	0	0	1	0	22
R. McCauley	11	0-2	0-0	2-2	1	3	0	0	0	2
T. Zephyr	13	3-5	0-0	1-1	4	1	0	1	0	7
K. O'Quinn	12	4-5	0-0	5-5	3	0	0	2	1	13
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
M Tamaras	17	3-9	0-0	2-3	5	0	1	0	3	8
J. Weathers	9	0-2	0-1	0-0	1	1	1	0	1	0
K. Brown	6	2-4	0-0	0-0	0	3	2	0	0	4
B. Wheeless	10	1-5	0-0	2-2	0	1	0	0	0	4
M. Johnson	4	2-3	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	1	4
B. Good	10	1-4	0-1	0-0	4	0	0	0	2	2
R. Revels	10	5-7	0-1	3-3	2	1	1	0	0	13
TEAM TOTALS		34-68	4-10	22-26	28	16	8	5	8	94

Coach West: "I can't say enough good things about our team. About how we've grown and how far we've come. When we saw how tight the game was being called, we had to adjust -- especially with O'Quinn off the floor. Fortunately for us, Hampton and Pauline were both "on" today. They were outstanding. Our pressure defense was outstanding. Today is a great day."