The Virginian-Pilot

urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:1234 HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com http://www.pilotonline.com The Virginian-Pilot 2009-11-21T00:23:39-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:487810 This season in the MEAC 2008-11-13T00:24:43-05:00 2008-11-13T00:21:45-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

Ready for tipoff The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's unofficial award for best overall job of scheduling goes to Hampton University. The Pirates put together a nice blend of challenging but winnable games, including several on their home court: - vs. George Mason, Nov. 20 - vs. Georgia State, Dec. 3 - vs. Delaware, Dec. 10 - at Virginia, Dec. 23 - at VCU, Dec. 27 - in Great Alaska Shootout,Nov. 26-29 What third-year coach Kevin Nickelberry says: "A big reason this job was attractive to me was the commitment from higher up to try to be a mid-major power, along the likes of VCU, ODU and GMU. It's why I left Clemson for this job. Our philosophy is to do things that help our RPI and to avoid the guarantee games if we can. That way, if we do make the NCAA field, we aren't stuck in the play-in game." By the numbers 3 Consecutive NCAA tournament play-in games in which the MEAC tournament champion has played. 87 Coppin State senior Tywain McKee's free-throw shooting percentage, tops last season in the MEAC and 21st nationally. 55 League-leading steals total last season by Norfolk State's Michael Deloach, who is a junior. 32.5 MEAC's overall 3-point percentage, which ranked last among Division I conferences last season. Over the last five seasons, the MEAC ranked next-to-last in Division I at 33.1 percent. Only the Southwest Athletic Conference, at 31.9 percent, had a lower shooting rate during that span. 1 New head coach in the MEAC: Frankie Allen (UMES). Head coach at Virginia Tech from 1987 to 1991, Allen was most recently an assistant at Maryland-Baltimore County. He has experience in the MEAC, having coached at Howard from 2000 to 2005. 7 Number of road games Delaware State will play in a one-month period against major conference squads in a brutal pay-for-play schedule: Nov. 20 - Ohio State; Nov. 22 - Kentucky; Nov. 25 - West Virginia; Dec. 1 - Connecticut; Dec. 12 - Maryland; Dec. 14 - Rutgers; Dec. 20 - Notre Dame. Did you know? Howard University will open its season with a home game against... Oregon State? Craig Robinson, brother-in-law of Barack Obama, took the head coaching job at Oregon State last spring, after coaching at Brown for two seasons. His Beavers visit Howard on Friday - the only game Oregon State will play east of the Mississippi. And it falls only 10 days removed from Obama's landmark victory. It's part of a home-and-home series in which Howard returns the favor on Dec. 20. So who wants to bet Michelle Robinson Obama might drop by to watch her brother's team in action? How about the president-elect, too? More did you know? A request to talk to Robinson about the scheduling of the Howard game and the prospects of having family/White House dignitaries in attendance was denied. While the request was made through the Oregon State athletic department, the denial was handed down by the Obama for America Oregon campaign headquarters. Super sophomores Three underclassmen who could emerge and do plenty of damage this season: Thomas Coleman, North Carolina A&T The 6-foot-9 Coleman set a school single-game record with nine blocks against Coppin State last season. He finished the year with 57 and also averaged 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds. Trevor Welcher, Delaware State The 5-10 Welcher led the league in assists-to-turnover ratio (1.84) last season and was seventh in the league in assists at 3.07 a game. He also shot 52.6 percent from the field, almost unheard of for a point guard. Brandon Monroe, Norfolk State Listed as a junior by his school, the 6-foot-7 Monroe has sophomore eligibility and can regain a year if he keeps progressing academically. And if he keeps progressing on the court, look out: He averaged 5 points and 5.9 rebounds for NSU last season while shooting 59 percent from the field. Norfolk, VA Anonymous This season in the MEAC The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:487810 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:487966 This season for the CAA women 2008-11-13T23:12:17-05:00 2008-11-13T23:07:11-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

5 impact newcomers JoNiquia Guilford, 5-10, fr., G, Old Dominion A preseason knee injury was hardly the start to her career she wanted, but given time, the dynamic scorer from Wilson High will add more athleticism to an already athletic Lady Monarch perimeter. Sarah Williams, 6-0 jr., G, James Madison She transferred from Richmond after being part of the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team in 2005-06. Katrina Wheeler, 6-3, jr., C, Towson Wheeler is a huge addition, having started 51 of 53 games at Georgetown, where she averaged 8.1 points and 8.1 rebounds her sophomore year. Asia Jenkins, 5-9, fr., G, Hofstra The New Jersey native will be eligible in the second semester after transferring from Cincinnati. She was a first-team All-New Jersey selection her senior year in high school. Dana Olsen, 6-1, jr., F, Georgia State Olsen was No. 2 in the nation in scoring with 24.2 points per game in earning first-team All-America honors at Labette (Kan.) Community College. The rest of her line isn't shabby either: 57 percent shooting, 7.1 rebounds and 84 percent accuracy from the foul line. 5 storylines to follow 1 If the Lady Monarchs are to win an 18th straight CAA tournament title, they'll have to win three games in Harrisonburg. The last time they won a game there was in 2005. 2 Last season, Virginia Commonwealth went to the WNIT and finished 26-8, even with center Quanitra Hollingsworth missing the final 11 games with a torn Achilles'. Will the Rams be even better with the Great Bridge High graduate returning for her senior year? 3 After three straight years of recording 20 or more wins and advancing to postseason play, Delaware slumped to 7-24. Can coach Tina Martin regroup with a roster that includes four freshmen and four sophomores? 4 Two years ago, the CAA placed three teams in the NCAA tournament. It was the first time any team from the league received an at-large bid since 1996. Last year, ODU was the only team to make it, and no one other than the Lady Monarchs is in the preseason top 25 or even receiving votes. Is the CAA mediocre again? 5 Elena Della Donne, the nation's top recruit, is playing volleyball at Delaware after saying she was burned out on basketball and reneging on her commitment to UConn. What if she peeks in at a Delaware basketball practice and gets the itch to play again? They said it "At Wilmington." Seahawks coach Ann Hancock when asked if she'd like to see Della Donne playing in the CAA. "She had so many great experiences. She called me one day and said, 'Coach, I just met Usher.' " JMU coach Kenny Brooks on Tamera Young's initial season in the WNBA "Tyne Daly." ODU coach Wendy Larry's response when asked who would play her in a movie "Julia Roberts." Blue Hens coach Tina Martin's response to the same question. By the numbers 70 Blocked shots by ODU's Tiffany Green last year. 51 Consecutive victories by ODU in the CAA tournament. 26 Consecutive victories ODU has on its home court, tied for most in the nation with Hartford. 19 Points averaged by preseason Player of the Year Gabriela Marginean of Drexel last season. 5 Starters returning for Georgia State. 1 New coach in the CAA: Former Radford coach Jeri Porter replaced Debbie Taneyhill at George Mason. 5 who moved on T.J. Jordan The conference's all-time 3-point ace from ODU is playing ball in Slovenia. Britne Rodgers The Princess Anne High graduate left Hofstra last month for unspecified personal reasons. A conference All-Rookie team forward last year, Rodgers was the Pride's third-leading scorer and one of the team's top rebounders. Nikki Moats A Tennessee transfer, Moats was expected to play a huge role for JMU, but personal issues derailed her basketball career, and coach Kenny Brooks said she will not play for the Dukes. Kia Butts The Kellam High graduate who was an assistant coach at William and Mary is the school's new assistant dean of admissions. Kyle DeHaven She started at William and Mary and transferred to Delaware before finishing up second all-time in the CAA in steals. DeHaven now plays in Germany. Vicki L. Friedman, (757) 477-6874, VickiL120@cox.net Norfolk, VA Anonymous This season for the CAA women The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:487966 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:488120 This season for the CAA men in college basketball 2008-11-15T00:58:56-05:00 2008-11-15T00:50:57-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

fhe favorite VCU is coming off back-to-back regular-season CAA titles and features reigning CAA Player of the Year Eric Maynor. PG Maynor and F Larry Sanders, who blocked a league-high 95 shots as a freshman, anchor a team with 10 underclassmen. the top contenders Northeastern welcomes back all five starters from a squad that finished 14-17 last season. Old Dominion is one of the league's youngest teams, but the Monarchs return F Gerald Lee and a host of players who saw significant playing time as freshmen. the darkhorse George Mason, the defending conference tournament champ, has three starters back from a 23-win team. on the rise Georgia State, a ninth-place finisher or worse in its first three years in the CAA, could be ready to move up on the strength of five Division I transfers. on the decline UNC Wilmington lost four starters to graduation, including first-team All-CAA pick T.J. Carter (15.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg). The others - Daniel Fountain, Vladimir Kuljanin and Todd Hendley - averaged 12.5 ppg or more. he said it... "It's just a great, great league, and I think it's going to make for great theater. You don't know where the top begins and where the bottom ends. It's all scrambled up, and I think it's going to be a very exciting year." - Delaware coach Monte Ross 3 to watch VCU's Eric Maynor, a 6-3 point guard, mulled turning pro after last season, but he decided to return for his senior season. Maynor's a clutch player who led the conference in assists (5.5 apg) and was second in scoring (17.9 ppg) as a junior. Old Dominion's Gerald Lee, a 6-10 junior, established himself as one of the conference's dominant post players last season, averaging 12.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Northeastern's Matt Janning was third in the CAA in scoring last season, averaging 16.1 points a game. The 6-4 junior is one of the league's top 3-point shooters. trey, trey chic The NCAA moved back the 3-point line for this season, so players will launch treys from 20 feet, 9 inches - a foot longer than previously. Reaction to the move by a couple of CAA coaches: Towson's Pat Kennedy "For the guys who are marginal shooters to begin with, they'll go in that category 'Don't shoot it.' " VCU's Anthony Grant "Guys that can really shoot the basketball, I don't think that they're going to be affected by it." On the schedule Some of the more intriguing non-conference match-ups: James Madison plays Nov. 16 against Davidson in the NIT Tip-Off in Oklahoma. The Dukes face NCAA darling Davidson and sharpshooter Stephen Curry. UNC Wilmington is at Wake Forest on Nov. 17. The Seahawks visit a team picked to finish third in the ACC. Georgia State's schedule features games against two ACC teams in a five-day stretch: at home vs. Florida State on Dec. 13 and at Georgia Tech on Dec. 17. * VCU plays Oklahoma - and former coach Jeff Capel - in Oklahoma City on Dec. 20. transfer of power Eleven players are eligible to play this season in the CAA after transferring in from major Division I programs. Georgia State's roster has five transfers, followed by Towson with three, and Delaware, UNC Wilmington and William and Mary with one each. Georgia (State) on my mind The Panthers' transfers include forwards Trey Hampton and Xavier Hansbro, who left the University of Mississippi; guard Joe Dukes, who exited Wake Forest; and guard Dante Curry, who left South Florida. Hansbro and Hampton played for Ole Miss under Rod Barnes, who is in his second season as Georgia State's coach. by the numbers 4 CAA teams (VCU, Old Dominion, Hofstra and George Mason) rank among the nation's top 56 winningest programs over the past four seasons. VCU's .703 winning percentage is 25th. 11 Seasons Jim Larranaga has coached at George Mason, making him the CAA's elder statesman. 12 All 12 CAA members are slated to participate in the ESPNU Bracketbusters Feb. 20-21. 1,110 Approximate miles Northeastern will travel to play at Georgia State on Jan. 7, the conference's longest road trip. The Huskies play at non-conference foe South Florida (1,356 miles) on Nov. 29. coach on the hot seat Drexel's Bruiser Flint is coming off a 12-20 finish, his worst record in 12 seasons as a college head coach and the Dragons' lowest win total since 1991. super sophs Four players who are coming off big freshman seasons: Old Dominion's Ben Finney started 17 games, and an improved jump shot could make him more dangerous. Hofstra's Charles Jenkins scored in double figures 27 times and averaged 15 ppg. UNC Wilmington's Chad Tomko started all 33 games at point guard and averaged 8.6 ppg. VCU's Larry Sanders led the Rams in rebounding (5.1 per game) and was an All-CAA defensive selction. don't I know you? Two players from South Hampton Roads who are expected to have an impact around the CAA: George Mason F Darryl Monroe, a 6-7 senior from Virginia Beach, returns after missing last season with a foot injury. Monroe started 19 games two seasons ago. William and Mary G Kendrix Brown, a 6-3 freshman, averaged 17.5 ppg and was second-team all-state as a senior at Norview High in Norfolk. Tribe-ulations William and Mary had its winningest season in a decade last season, finishing 17-16 and reaching its first CAA tournament championship game. Three starters, including PG David Schneider (10.9 ppg), return. "The best change is that our guys approach the season with a lot of confidence," coach Tony Shaver said. NKOTB Forget the reunion tour of Jordan, Jonathan, Joey, Danny and Donnie. The CAA's only New Kid on the Block is baby-faced coach Matt Brady, who replaces Dean Keener. Brady coached four seasons at Marist, guiding the Red Foxes to a 73-50 record and their first MAAC regular-season title. Jami Frankenberry, (757) 446-2295, jami.frankenberry@pilotonline.com Norfolk, VA Anonymous This season for the CAA men in college basketball The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:488120 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:531427 'Real Pirates' storm the Nauticus 2009-11-20T14:39:18-05:00 2009-11-21T00:00:00-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

NORFOLK About a century after Shakespeare wrote "all the world's a stage," a bunch of pirates in the Caribbean got reality and stagecraft truly confused. The crew of the Whydah, in the early 1700s, put on a play about a pirate trial for their own entertainment. A few drunken men stumbled in late, just as an actor was being sentenced to death for piracy. In the actor's defense, they threw hand grenades into the gathering and drew their cutlasses. They broke an actor's leg, cut off the playwright's arm and killed an audience member, according to the catalog for "Real Pirates," a blockbuster Nauticus exhibition opening today in the newly upgraded lower level of the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center. "Real Pirates" purports to present life in the golden age of piracy as it was, rather than through the mythic versions passed down through Hollywood and storybooks. The show presents treasures from what organizers tout as the first pirate shipwreck to be discovered and fully authenticated. That would be the Whydah, built as a slave ship in 1715 and sunk off Cape Cod as pirates' booty in 1717. A companion exhibit, organized by Nauticus with the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, could steal some of the Whydah's limelight: "Piracy Today: Terror on the High Seas" features the orange life-boat in which Capt. Richard Phillips was held hostage in April by Somali pirates. It's the same boat we saw over and over on news channels. The Norfolk museums got the lifeboat because the pirate incident involved Norfolk-based Maersk Line Ltd., and Maersk's president and CEO, John Reinhart, is on Nauticus' board. The public might glimpse Phillips this evening in Norfolk's Grand Illumination Parade, for which he will be grand marshal. In the past week, the drama of these true pirate stories past and present was mirrored backstage, as dozens of workers scrambled to install a sprawling, 16,000-square-foot exhibition on dead-line. ------ Five days before show time, from where project manager Christina Wright sat, it looked like backstage on Broadway. Brand new exhibition walls resembled unfinished stage sets. Shadows and lights mysteriously shifted as workers made adjustments on nearby displays. A steady parade of workers stopped by and phoned Wright. "Shackles case still going up outside the bell?" the lighting designer asked. Wright nodded. She and her team had been going full tilt since Nov. 2, when the 11 53-foot-long trucks carrying the makings of "Real Pirates" began rumbling in to Nauticus. Wright works for Arts and Exhibitions International, which organized current touring shows on King Tut and Princess Diana. "Real Pirates" was created by her company with the National Geographic Society. Nauticus is the fourth stop for the show, which closed last month at Chicago's Field Museum. The openness of the Half Moone facility impressed Wright. "You would never know this was a cruise facility," she said. The city recently paid to adapt the cruise center, upgrading electrical for such major exhibitions, adding light trusses and reusable carpet tiles and widening a loading dock door (to bring in the lifeboat). The center is adjacent to Nauticus, on the downtown waterfront not far from where the pirate Blackbeard's head was placed atop a pole on the coast of Hampton in January 1719. When Wright and her crew began installation, the center was just "a big, open, cement floor." Earlier this week, 12 galleries existed, each containing a different chapter of the story. The show opens with the Whydah's sinking in a powerful nor'easter, told through a video experience that ends with the parting of curtains to reveal a key artifact: the ship's bell, the first item to positively identify the wreck. (Such a storm was not foreign to Wright, who kept her team working throughout Hampton Roads' nor'easter last week. "I've never had to schedule a museum installation around high tide before," she said.) ------ The exhibition delves into the slave trade, because slavery is what fueled the wealth that created the environment for pirates to thrive. The Whydah - pronounced WI-duh, like a Western pioneer's version of "widow" - made only one slave run from Africa to the Caribbean before Capt. Sam Bellamy and his pirate crew took her over in early 1717. Throughout the show, four pirates pop up as characters, including Bellamy and a boy named John King who had begged to join their ranks. Also profiled is a free black man of Dutch and African descent and a Miskito Indian, possibly from Nicaragua. Visitors may board parts of the Whydah re-created at full scale in fiberglass, including the captain's quarters and a deck. Treasure chests will be piled high with genuine loot - gold coins that early last week were still being kept by TowneBank, to be delivered nearer the opening via police escort. Jewelry, pistols, swords and cannon also will go on display. The treasures were brought up by underwater explorer Barry Clifford and his fellow divers, to whom a section is devoted. Clifford discovered the wreck in 1984, has established a museum for Whydah artifacts in Province-town, Mass., and is still diving for treasure. (What remains of the three-masted ship, however, is still buried deep in sand.) The sounds of voices and roaring waves, dramatic lighting, giant video screens and walk-in environments conspire to bring the era to life. "The whole thing is very theatrical," Wright said. "We do our best to help the guests really get a sense of what they're seeing, and really get immersed." ------ Rolf Johnson, Nauticus' deputy director, foresees dramatic changes for the city museum with the advent of "Real Pirates," the largest show since the facility opened in 1994. The high-profile exhibition cost $1.6 million, counting the city's modest expense to adapt the cruise center, Johnson said. By comparison, a show now at the maritime museum, "It's a Nano World," was priced at $60,000. "I think we have really raised the bar here at Nauticus for exhibitions," Johnson told the staff at a briefing Monday. Nauticus usually offers a few special programs with its changing exhibitions. For this show, dozens of programs are planned. The museum also is involving more local partners, from The Mariners' Museum in Newport News to Norfolk State University. With such a high price tag, the show is a risk, Johnson acknowledged, but the excitement of the project has spurred more donations, and he's banking on a combined attendance of 80,000 people, which would make the project at least break even, he said. Such big numbers are possible, given the show's draw in other markets, Johnson said. "No more wringing our hands and saying, 'How can we get more people into Nauticus?' Now, we're doing it." Teresa Annas, (757) 446-2485, teresa.annas@pilotonline.com Norfolk, VA Anonymous 'Real Pirates' storm the Nauticus The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:531427 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:531454 Norfolk retreats on petition change 2009-11-21T00:23:39-05:00 2009-11-20T20:18:20-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

That Norfolk's government considered making it more difficult to overturn City Council decisions or recall elected officials raises questions about the judgment in City Hall. That such substantial changes appeared on the City Council's docket without sufficient public notice or discussion inspires doubts about intentions and oversight. Early this week, word started circulating that the council was eyeing edits to the City Charter that would double the minimum number of signatures needed on a petition initiative. The changes - which would have required General Assembly blessing - also would have changed the process for recalling an elected official. Current rules allow for a recall election if a petition attracts enough signatures. Under the proposed changes, a petition would prompt a judicial review. Only a judge could order a member of the City Council removed, and only for malfeasance. These changes to city code might seem minor were it not for the fact that citizens used petition drives in two major efforts to overturn decisions on development in Bay Oaks Park and Highland Park. Under the proposed rules, both efforts, which caused considerable embarrassment and frustration in City Hall, would have failed. Neither gathered more than 6,000 signatures; under the charter change, citizens would have to get at least 8,000, double the current requirement. Veterans of those campaigns rightfully saw the proposed changes as an end run around their rights to veto bad decisions and went to Tuesday's council meeting to complain. "A politician who would vote to limit the power of the people is a politician who has lost his way," Norfolk resident Darren Willis said. The council rejected the changes, and officials apologized. The genesis of the proposal seems to be Councilman Randy Wright's contention, a month ago, that the threshold for signatures is too low. How that got from Wright's mouth to the City Council docket is something city officials should be working to find out. "It came to us more quickly than it should have, and we regret that," Mayor Paul Fraim said. "I understand why the community is upset." Fraim and his colleagues should be upset, as well. And embarrassed that they came even this close to making it harder for citizens to make their frustrated voices heard. Norfolk, VA Anonymous Norfolk retreats on petition change The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:531454 Change 0 Usable