Re: The Accidental Career of Guy West (CH2k8)
2011-2012 Season Preview
Coach West was in the middle of going over the reports compiled by his scouts from the ABL. It was a quiet, August day. The campus was fairly still -- students would not be moving in for another few weeks -- but West had made sure that his players were ready and working through their off season training programs. It wasn't the duties he expected to have when he drove to Norfolk last year, but he was beginning to get used to the grind. Or ride. Whatever the characterization. The new recruits seemed to be fitting in nicely, but the trail would be much harder this year with five seniors to replace.
The AD walked in with another person West had not seen before. She seemed terribly out of place, with a worn out book, a satchel full of rough-shod paper, and an obviously vacant look when West asked her what she thought about the team last year.
AD: Well, I've been working on the schedule for this season and I hope it's to your liking. The NCAA appearance meant that many more teams were interested in facing us.
West: That's good. So am I not going to get peppered with questions again this year about "your schedule was too easy," or "your team can't do this"?
AD: Of course you will, you're in the MEAC. Gotta prove them wrong. Here, take a look at this. I found some neat computer program online that would build a college schedule for me, and this is what it spat out. Neat huh?
West: (reading) Hmm. Okay. Interesting. Okay. A home and home with Mercer, I guess that's not a terrible idea. Okay. I'll say, this isn't bad. But the schedule is very light before December. Is that to help with all the recruiting traveling I'll have to do?
AD: Kind of.
West: Kind of?
AD: Let me explain, and I thought it'd be better to get this out of the way earlier. The woman sitting in the corner there is Simone --
Simone: Hi.
West: Yes, hello.
AD: And as you probably guessed she's going to be going on maternity leave very shortly --
(Coach West hadn't guessed actually -- but no need to interrupt)
AD: -- so people were talking and we're short on professors and I agreed to let you take on her English Comp classes.
West: ...what?
AD: C'mon! I thought you'd be happy! You didn't come here to coach, you came here to teach! And now you get to.
West: So, should I pack up my things then? Wait, no, this can't be right. I get thrown into the job, take this team to new heights, and now I have to pack up my --
AD: No! No no not at all buddy. You'll still be coaching, but you'll ALSO be teaching. It will just be for the semester. And many coaches across the country also teach seminars and stuff from time to time.
West: Yeah, seminars, not paper classes. What if it's too much --
AD: It's already been decided, so you better just buckle up and stay flexible. After all, people will be lining up to take a class with the man who led the Spartans to the NCAA's. C'mon, it'll be fun!
West: Yes, lining up to hand in more papers. Well, if I don't have a choice I'll have to make it work.
AD: Oh, you will. And you can always teach remotely if you're on the road anyway, right? Oh technology -- how you've changed our lives!
Simone: Thanks so much for doing this.
Norfolk State 2011-2012 Schedule:
11/10 vs Gardner-Webb
11/13 at Penn St.
11/19 at Mercer
11/29 vs. S. Carolina St.
12/1 vs Mercer
12/15 at Oklahoma
12/17 at Wichita St.
12/20 Tournament vs Chicago St.
12/21 Tournament TBD
12/27 at Georgia State
1/8 vs Utah Valley
1/10 at Hampton
1/12 at MD-Eastern Shore
1/17 at Bethune-Cokman
1/19 at Florida A&M
1/24 vs Coppin St.
1/26 vs NC A&T
1/31 at Delaware St.
2/2 at WSSU
2/7 vs Morgan St.
2/9 vs Howard
2/14 vs Bethune-Cookman
2/16 vs Florida A&M
2/21 at Coppin St.
2/23 at NC A&T
2/28 vs Delaware St.
3/2 vs WSSU
3/5 at S. Carolina State
Norfolk State 2011-2012 Roster:
The Spartans return most of their squad but lost a lot of leadership with the departures of seniors Hampton, Pauline, and Zephyr. However, Coach West will have the luxury of starting a true PG and a true Center for the first time in his career. It appears the team will be far better defensively, although Cowen's lack of size raises some questions. However, the biggest question facing the squad is where the perimeter shooting will come from. DM, Cowen, and Williams all have okay jump shots -- but not one of them is nearly as reliable as Hampton or Pauline. How will the Spartans respond to teams who have the size to pack it in?
2011-2012 Season Preview
Coach West was in the middle of going over the reports compiled by his scouts from the ABL. It was a quiet, August day. The campus was fairly still -- students would not be moving in for another few weeks -- but West had made sure that his players were ready and working through their off season training programs. It wasn't the duties he expected to have when he drove to Norfolk last year, but he was beginning to get used to the grind. Or ride. Whatever the characterization. The new recruits seemed to be fitting in nicely, but the trail would be much harder this year with five seniors to replace.
The AD walked in with another person West had not seen before. She seemed terribly out of place, with a worn out book, a satchel full of rough-shod paper, and an obviously vacant look when West asked her what she thought about the team last year.
AD: Well, I've been working on the schedule for this season and I hope it's to your liking. The NCAA appearance meant that many more teams were interested in facing us.
West: That's good. So am I not going to get peppered with questions again this year about "your schedule was too easy," or "your team can't do this"?
AD: Of course you will, you're in the MEAC. Gotta prove them wrong. Here, take a look at this. I found some neat computer program online that would build a college schedule for me, and this is what it spat out. Neat huh?
West: (reading) Hmm. Okay. Interesting. Okay. A home and home with Mercer, I guess that's not a terrible idea. Okay. I'll say, this isn't bad. But the schedule is very light before December. Is that to help with all the recruiting traveling I'll have to do?
AD: Kind of.
West: Kind of?
AD: Let me explain, and I thought it'd be better to get this out of the way earlier. The woman sitting in the corner there is Simone --
Simone: Hi.
West: Yes, hello.
AD: And as you probably guessed she's going to be going on maternity leave very shortly --
(Coach West hadn't guessed actually -- but no need to interrupt)
AD: -- so people were talking and we're short on professors and I agreed to let you take on her English Comp classes.
West: ...what?
AD: C'mon! I thought you'd be happy! You didn't come here to coach, you came here to teach! And now you get to.
West: So, should I pack up my things then? Wait, no, this can't be right. I get thrown into the job, take this team to new heights, and now I have to pack up my --
AD: No! No no not at all buddy. You'll still be coaching, but you'll ALSO be teaching. It will just be for the semester. And many coaches across the country also teach seminars and stuff from time to time.
West: Yeah, seminars, not paper classes. What if it's too much --
AD: It's already been decided, so you better just buckle up and stay flexible. After all, people will be lining up to take a class with the man who led the Spartans to the NCAA's. C'mon, it'll be fun!
West: Yes, lining up to hand in more papers. Well, if I don't have a choice I'll have to make it work.
AD: Oh, you will. And you can always teach remotely if you're on the road anyway, right? Oh technology -- how you've changed our lives!
Simone: Thanks so much for doing this.
Norfolk State 2011-2012 Schedule:
11/10 vs Gardner-Webb
11/13 at Penn St.
11/19 at Mercer
11/29 vs. S. Carolina St.
12/1 vs Mercer
12/15 at Oklahoma
12/17 at Wichita St.
12/20 Tournament vs Chicago St.
12/21 Tournament TBD
12/27 at Georgia State
1/8 vs Utah Valley
1/10 at Hampton
1/12 at MD-Eastern Shore
1/17 at Bethune-Cokman
1/19 at Florida A&M
1/24 vs Coppin St.
1/26 vs NC A&T
1/31 at Delaware St.
2/2 at WSSU
2/7 vs Morgan St.
2/9 vs Howard
2/14 vs Bethune-Cookman
2/16 vs Florida A&M
2/21 at Coppin St.
2/23 at NC A&T
2/28 vs Delaware St.
3/2 vs WSSU
3/5 at S. Carolina State
Norfolk State 2011-2012 Roster:
| Norfolk State Spartans 2011-2012 | ||||||
| # | NAME | POS | HT | WT | CLASS | HOMETOWN |
| 10 | Kyle O'Quinn (74) | PF | 6'10" | 260 | SR | Niagra Falls, NY |
| 42 | Tom Friend (67) | C | 6'10" | 220 | FR | Aukland, New Zealand |
| 13 | Elton Cowen (67) | SG | 6'1" | 181 | FR | Baltimore, MD |
| 14 | Danijel Mihailovic (66) | PG | 6'0" | 178 | FR | Zrenjanin, Serbia |
| 12 | Pendarvis Williams (61) | SG | 6'7" | 187 | SO | Brooklyn, NY |
| 15 | Jordan Weathers (59) | SF | 6'5 | 192 | SO(W) | Corpus Christi, TX |
| 4 | Malik Johnson (59) | PG | 6'3" | 182 | JR | Charlotte, NC |
| 32 | Marcus Tamares (58) | PF | 6'7" | 217 | SR | Charlotte, NC |
| 20 | Rodney McCauley (57) | SF | 6'5" | 213 | SR | Chesapeake, VA |
| 24 | Brandon Wheeless (57) | SF | 6'4" | 206 | SR | Norfolk, VA |
| 23 | Kris Brown (57) | PG | 6'3" | 173 | JR | Miramar, FL |
| 31 | Riley Maye (55) | PF | 6'8" | 220 | SO | New York, NY |
| 35 | Chris McEachin (53) | SF | 6'5 | 182 | SR | Norfolk, VA |
The Spartans return most of their squad but lost a lot of leadership with the departures of seniors Hampton, Pauline, and Zephyr. However, Coach West will have the luxury of starting a true PG and a true Center for the first time in his career. It appears the team will be far better defensively, although Cowen's lack of size raises some questions. However, the biggest question facing the squad is where the perimeter shooting will come from. DM, Cowen, and Williams all have okay jump shots -- but not one of them is nearly as reliable as Hampton or Pauline. How will the Spartans respond to teams who have the size to pack it in?
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