THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510260218
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 34 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
BASKETBALL practice officially opened on Oct. 15 at Elizabeth City State University, but you hardly would have known. Gone are the bold slogans. Gone was ``midnight madness.'' As a matter of fact, the team was pushed out of its own building by a homecoming crowd. The team practiced for the first time at Northeastern High School.
Such is the world of new head coach Barry Hamler, who is going for substance instead of flash after ECSU's disastrous 8-21 1994-95 campaign. Hamler, a stickler for conditioning, has a rigid schedule mapped out for his team, right down to when they need to be on the team bus for road trips.
Practice began unofficially on Sept. 5 at 5:45 a.m. when the team began its first of many timed running sessions. For five weeks, the team went on distance runs, ran sprints, ran the Roebuck Stadium steps, lifted weights, and attended mandatory team study halls from 7:00-8:30 on school nights. By the end of the conditioning, in order to be included on the roster, big men had to run five miles in 32 minutes and guards had to run five miles in 28 minutes.
``Everything we did was timed,'' Hamler said from his new office on the second floor of the Vaughan Center. ``We're in real good physical condition. I believe in hard work. I'm from a coal mining town in southwest Virginia where my daddy and granddaddy worked hard all their lives. That's the way you're going to get there, hard work.''
Nobody has proved that more than Hamler himself. In order to get to the Vikings 5:45 runs, he had to wake up at 3:30 a.m. to travel from his home in Virginia to Elizabeth City. He is committed to the program and expects his players to do the same.
Corporate sponsors have also apparently bought into the program. Hamler said that he has received over $100,000 in donations of cash and gifts from area businesses. He's also depending on the student body to support the team and for ECSU professors to do their part by coming forward and tell him if players are not going to class.
The Vikings will be road warriors to open the season. The first game is on the road at Catawba College on Nov. 24. The first home game is a matchup against Fayetteville State on Nov. 27. After final exams, the Vikings will make a five-game road trip to Florida and South Carolina and won't play home again until Jan. 8.
``I like being on the road at the beginning of the year,'' Hamler said.``The players get used to hostile crowds and refs that may not be favorable. They have to understand what adversity is all about.''
Hamler said his players must be willing to pay the price for the good of the team.
``It will make us a better ball club and we'll be something to write home about,'' he said.
It's all part of the disciplinary process, which wasn't always evident in the program in past years.
``The good thing is that I didn't know how it used to be, but I know how it's going to be,'' he said. ``We're not here for a roller coaster ride. We're working to build a strong program that is competitive year after year.''
With the conditioning over and practice under way, the team is getting down to the ``X's and O's'' of the game.
``We're still putting the puzzle together,'' Hamler said. ``We're trying to figure out who goes where.'' by CNB