MEAC report

SportsLine.com Report
April 10, 2000

The only thing missing from the Pirates' successful season was a chance to play for an NCAA Tournament berth.

After winning a dramatic overtime game against North Carolina A&T, 98-88, in the second round of the MEAC Conference Tournament, Hampton then lost to Coppin State 64-60 in the second round.

Still, the Pirates finished second in the MEAC regular season standings at 13-5 (17-12 overall).

Considering the Pirates started the season on a five-game losing streak, the season was highly successful. Hampton won six of seven games in early to mid-January, and finished the season strong, winning six of its last seven games.

A glance at 2001

On paper, the Pirates should contend for a conference title. Hampton loses three seniors, and returns 11 players, led by dynamic guard Marseilles Brown, a 5-10 senior-to-be, who led the team in scoring at 16 points a game, was an all-conference selection and broke the MEAC Tournament scoring record with 32 points in Hampton's 98-88 overtime win over North Carolina A&T.

Tommy Adams (6-3) joins Brown in arguably the conference's top backcourt next year. As a sophomore last year, Adams was Hampton's third-leading scorer at 11.7 points a game.

Lasean Howard, an affective 6-6, 190-pound forward who chipped in 10.3 points a game is also back, giving Hampton plenty of firepower.

The coach

Steve Merfeld will enter his third season at the helm of Hampton after serving on an interim basis for one year in 1998-99. He's guided the Pirates to back-to-back winning seasons.

Who'll be back

Marseilles Brown, a 5-10 scoring guard, will enter his senior season as one of the MEAC's top performers. He led Hampton in scoring at 16 points a game and set an MEAC tournament record with 32 points against North Carolina A&T.

Tommy Adams completed a fine sophomore season in the backcourt, averaging 11.7 points, and forward Lasean Howard is back after averaging 10.3 points a contest.

Cleveland Davis (6-8) should weigh into matters more in his upcoming senior season after averaging 5.3 points a game from his forward position.

Who's gone

The losses are significant. The team's second-leading scorer, 6-9, 200-pound Tarvis Williams, has used up his eligibility, as has leading rebounder Mohamed Woni (6-10, 232), leaving huge voids in the middle for the Pirates.

Doug Belton (6-5) was a solid contributor who'll also be missed.