THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 21, 1995 TAG: 9503210526
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 132 lines
Mike Bernard studies and teaches politics.
He has a master's degree in political science and is as fascinated with the power games in Washington as he is with the ones under the backboards.
But the Norfolk State basketball coach doesn't play politics. With Bernard, as longtime rival Dave Robbins of Virginia Union says: ``What you see is what you get.''
And if you don't like what you see, well, tough.
``I'm not going to work for someone to like me,'' Bernard says. ``You can't be too concerned with who likes you. Respect is more important.''
For Bernard, the relevant number isn't his approval rating but his winning percentage, which in four years at Norfolk State is hovering just above 75. For the second consecutive year, he's guided the Spartans to the Division II Elite Eight. Norfolk State (26-5) will play Alabama A&M (29-2) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Commonwealth Convention Center in Louisville, Ky.
If Norfolk State can win three games in Louisville, the school will claim its first national championship.
Bernard, 46, already has won two. He was a forward on Kentucky State's 1970 NAIA championship team, and he coached North Carolina Central to a Division II title in 1989.
``He doesn't get a lot of recognition but he's a tremendous coach,'' says former NSU coach Lucias Mitchell. ``I'll put him up against anybody.''
Mitchell speaks not only as an observer but also as a proud mentor. He coached Bernard at Kentucky State and later hired him as an assistant coach.
Mitchell recalls that even as an undergraduate, Bernard was all business.
``He was kind of a loner,'' Mitchell says. ``You've always got some kids who like to joke around. He stayed away from that. He inspired a lot of kids to play hard and tough.
``He was a tremendous defensive ballplayer, one of the best I've ever had. In order to be a tremendous defensive player, you have to play with a lot of intensity.''
Bernard's approach to life hasn't changed much in 25 years. He's still something of a loner. And he's still all business.
``I coach like I played,'' he says. ``I have a very aggressive personality.''
Bernard's personality was formed during his upbringing in blue-collar Brockton, Mass., once the shoe-manufacturing capital of the nation. It's a town known for producing tough people. Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler also called Brockton home.
``My father worked in a shoe factory for 40 years,'' Bernard says. ``He worked extremely hard and he wasn't about foolishness, he was about business. He taught us that if we took on a task, you take it on with seriousness or not at all.''
Bernard has taken the no-nonsense approach to program-building, first at N.C. Central and now at Norfolk State. He demands discipline, on and off the court.
``I don't bend, and let's face it, some people have had to leave my program because I don't bend,'' Bernard says.
This year it was starting center Charles Newborn, suspended in December for ``disruptive'' behavior. He did not return.
Last year it was point guard Terrique Goodman.
The year before, it was forward Byron Woodard.
The moves were not popular with some Spartans fans. Newborn led the CIAA in rebounding last season and was leading again when he was suspended. Some Spartans players took to wearing Newborn's number on their sneakers and sweatbands. Bernard rode out the criticism, which dimmed as NSU rode out a 14-game winning streak, sans Newborn.
``I've been criticized for my measure of discipline and my method of discipline,'' he says. ``But if the end result is that my players are better men - they're graduating, they've been prepared to make a contribution to society - then I've done my job.''
Bernard took over a Norfolk State program that had a proud tradition but was coming off a 15-13 season, the worst in almost 30 years. Interim coach Isaac Moorehead had not done much recruiting, and the Spartans seemed poised for a fall.
``Everybody thought he was going to fall on his face because he had nothing,'' Mitchell said.
But Bernard signed a pair of guards - junior-college standout Marcus Whitfield and Division I transfer David Donerlson - and got the Spartans into the NCAA tournament.
Bernard began building in earnest the following year, picking up freshmen Derrick Bryant and Carnell Penn.
He added juco transfer Corey Williams the following year, and the Spartans went 27-6 and advanced to the Elite Eight.
This year, the new pieces were juco transfers Maurice Whitfield and Marvin Stinson, and Blitz Wooten, who transferred from Division I LaSalle. The team is the blend of four-year players and transfers that Bernard says is essential to win big at the Division II level.
``You can't win with freshmen alone, and you can't win with transfers alone,'' he said. ``You need a mix.''
You also need a mixmaster, and Mitchell says Bernard performs the role as well as anybody.
``He's been a coach who's tried to make sure that everybody knows their role and plays their role,'' he said. ``That's difficult for a lot of ballplayers to do, because everybody's thinking they're a star. You've got to have some lieutenants, and some sergeants, too.''
Bernard's teams have been known for defense and rebounding, and this one is no exception. The Spartans are holding opponents to 38 percent shooting and are outrebounding them by nine per game.
``The thing about Mike's teams is they never quit and they play hard,'' Robbins says. ``They just flat play hard. They play physical, but they play within the rules.''
Robbins thinks Norfolk State has as good a chance as any of the eight teams in Louisville of winning it all.
And Spartans fans looking for a good omen could take heart that Bernard, now in his fourth year at Norfolk State, was in his fourth year at N.C. Central when the Eagles won their title.
``There are similarities,'' Bernard said. ``It takes about two years to install your system, and three or four years to knock on the door nationally. We're right on time in that respect.''
If Norfolk State does win it all, Bernard will become just the second coach to win Division II titles at two schools. He has no interest in talking about the future while NSU is still playing, but last year he indicated that he'd be willing to listen to Division I offers.
Just don't expect him to do any politicking. Bernard, like Robbins, for that matter, has always taken a they-know-where-I-am approach to job-seeking.
``There's a part of me that refuses to play the very political games I study and teach,'' he says. ``There are limits to what I'll do to try to better my lot.
``But for Mike Bernard, good things have happened. I'm very blessed, and I think my future will be a good one.'' ILLUSTRATION: D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff color photos
Mike Bernard, left, has guided the Spartans into the NCAA Division
II Elite Eight. Norfolk State (26-5), in search of its first
national basketball title, will play Alabama A&M (29-2) on Wednesday
night in Louisville, Ky., in a quarterfinal game.
by CNB