NSU-Baylor Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State men's basketball team opens its 2009-10 season on Frday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Central.) at Baylor University. It will be the first-ever meeting between the schools.

Live statistics and live audio are available through Baylor's web site, www.baylorbears.com.

NSU returns seven letterwinners and three starters from last season's 13-18 team that adanced to the MEAC Tournament championship game for the first time in program history.

Following is a breakdown of the 2009-10 Spartans.

Backcourt
NSU boasts arguably the best returning backcourt in the MEAC in senior Michael Deloach (Rocky Mount, N.C.) and junior Aleek Pauline (Jamaica, N.Y.). In his first season as a starter in 2008-09, Deloach exploded for a 21.5 points-per-game average. He led the MEAC in scoring and set a new single-season Division I school mark with 666 points scored. Deloach, who ranked in the top 20 in the MEAC in seven different statistical categories last season, figures to be a front-runner for MEAC Player of the Year honors this season. He was named the preseason Player of the Year in voting by MEAC coaches and sports information directors.

Pauline also had a record-breaking season. He handed out 117 assists (3.8 per game), another single-season Division I school record. Pauline also ranked second in the MEAC and 20th nationally in steals (2.4 per game) and proved to be a capable scorer as the year progressed, finishing third on the squad at 6.5 points per game.

Senior Antoine Perry (Norfolk, Va.) returns for his final season at NSU. He will provide defense and experience behind Pauline at the point guard spot.

Juniors James Williams (Miramar, Fla.) and Isaac Nixon (Raleigh, N.C.) should give the Spartans two capable scorers off the bench at the guard position. Williams averaged 4.0 points per game last season as a rookie, making his niche as a 3-point marksman. Evans is also high on Nixon, an athletic junior college transfer who can score in a variety of ways.

NSU must replace the leadership and scoring of departed senior wing player Corey Lyons, who made the All-MEAC second team last season after averaging 15.4 points per game. Junior Drexel transfer Rob Hampton (Queens, N.Y.) will get the first crack. Hampton played two years at Drexel, averaging 4.5 points in more than 20 minutes per game as a sophomore in 2007-08. He attended NSU but sat out the season per NCAA transfer rules.

Evans also signed a pair of rangy, physical players in Reggie Revels (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Jordan Payton (San Diego, Calif.) to add depth to the perimeter rotation. Both Revels and Payton can shoot the 3-pointer and defend multiple positions on the floor. Walk-ons Brandon Wheeless (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Kris Brown (Suffolk, Va.)will also compete for time.

Frontcourt
The Spartans lose two of their better defenders and rebounders from last year's team in Kevin Worsley (5.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and Brandon Monroe (4.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg). Still, NSU's post rotation should be quite formidable as four players 6-8 or taller should factor in. Leading the way are senior Joseph Dorsett-Jeffreys (Bronx, N.Y.) and sophomores Kyle O'Quinn (Jamaica, N.Y.) and Christian Morris (Bronx, N.Y.).

The 6-11 Dorsett-Jeffreys, the tallest player in the MEAC the last two seasons, started 26 games at center and averaged 4.8 points (5.6 in MEAC games) in 2008-09. He has shown the ability to score in the low-post and also has a solid face-up jumper for a player his size. He will be pushed for playing time this season by Morris, the 6-9, 275-pound transfer from Rutgers. Morris, who should be eligible for the second semester, was given a three-star rating by Scout.com coming out of the South Kent School (Conn.) before signing with Rutgers.

O'Quinn was the Spartans' top scorer off the bench last season, averaging 5.3 points per game. He shot nearly 50 percent from the floor, with range beyond the 3-point line. He should start at the power forward spot alongside either Dorsett-Jeffreys or Morris.

Also returning is junior Tim Zephyr (Bronx, N.Y.). Zephyr, an athletic forward, played limited minutes last season but could see a larger role this season.

Also making his debut for NSU is 6-7 sophomore transfer Marcos Tamares (Queens, N.Y.). The Queens, N.Y. native played briefly for Maryland-Baltimore County last season before transferring. Like Morris, Tamares should also be eligible for the second semester. With the ability to play either forward position, Tamares provides the Spartans with another player who could factor into a variety of lineups.

Schedule
Six of the Spartans' potential non-conference opponents participated in postseason play last year, including Baylor, Illinois State and Niagara in the NIT, James Madison and UTEP in the CBI and Kent State in the CIT.

NSU tips the season off on Friday, Nov. 13 at Baylor University in the schools' first-ever meeting. Baylor won 24 games last season and advanced to the NIT finals before losing to Penn State.

NSU opens its home schedule on Monday, Nov. 16 when it hosts the University of Maine of the America East Conference. This will be the third time the schools have met after splitting a pair of games in 2000-01 and 2001-02.

Next is a trip to New Rochelle, N.Y, for a first-ever matchup against Iona College on Nov. 21. The game also gives seven New York natives on the Spartans' roster a chance to return to their home state.

After Thanksgiving, NSU will take part in the Basketball Travelers Classic hosted by Illinois State, Nov. 27-29. The round-robin tournament also includes St. Bonaventure and Southeast Missouri State.

The Spartans' December slate begins with a Dec. 2 tilt at James Madison. The teams have played just once previously, a game won by JMU during NSU's transitional Division I season of 1997-98.

MEAC play begins on Dec. 5 as NSU hosts North Carolina A&T. The Spartans will then take to the road for their next six games, beginning Dec. 15 at Jacksonville State. NSU also plays in the 2009 Sun Bowl Tournament in El Paso, Texas, Dec. 28 and 29. NSU will meet host UTEP on Dec. 28, then either Air Force or Niagara on Dec. 29.

NSU wraps up its non-conference slate on Jan. 4 at Kent State. The schools have never faced each other.

The final 17 games of the year are against MEAC opponents. The two games against Winston-Salem State do not count toward conference records because the Rams are not eligible for the MEAC Tournament, which runs March 9-13, 2010 at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

In the league's unbalanced schedule, NSU plays Delaware State, Maryland Eastern Shore, Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M once each. The Spartans face every other MEAC team twice.

“I'm very excited about the group we have,” Evans said. “This is the most talented roster that I've had here, and we just want to continue the progress that we made last year.”