THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 17, 1996 TAG: 9602170473
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Long : 197 lines
When word leaked last spring that Barry Hamler was a finalist for the head coaching vacancy at Elizabeth City State, athletic director Dr. Edward McLean's phone started ringing.
Everyone wanted to talk about Barry.
``I got calls from a lot of people in Norfolk who'd grown a liking to him,'' McLean said.
``I also got a lot of calls from people telling me he was an uncontrollable hothead.''
Hamler established quite a reputation in his eight years patrolling the sidelines at Norfolk's Booker T. Washington High School.
There were those who remembered the seven trips to the Eastern Region championships, the 1992 state championship game, the overall record of 141-45 and his driving role in forming the Tidewater Basketball Classic.
Others could not forget the man who would bang his fist on a scorer's table, harangue a clock operator or fly off the handle at a referee. There were times when The Barry Hamler Show was bigger, and often better, than the game itself.
Was this what Elizabeth City State wanted?
It certainly wasn't what the school got.
``You have to remember,'' said Hamler, who has yet to receive a technical foul in 24 games as a college head coach, ``I was 28 when I took over at Booker T. Now I'm 38.''
What the Vikings got was a man with the drive to match that of his aging Volvo sedan, which had 228,570 miles on it at last count.
To McLean, that was Hamler's most important selling point.
``Nobody, and I mean nobody, is going to outwork Barry Hamler,'' McLean said. ``People on my staff run from him when they see him coming because he's always got something for them to do.
``I thought he might have a tough first year. But I wasn't worried about it because I knew he had too much pride to just take it.
``My specialty is sports psychology and I like to look for quirks in personalities. When I was looking for a new men's basketball coach, I was looking for someone with a gleam in their eye.
``Barry has that, in both eyes.''
But could he transform a downtrodden program overnight?
Only three players returned from the previous season's 8-19 squad and only one, point guard Adrian Bell, had started.
Hamler was hired May 15, so he'd missed most of the recruiting season for the incoming class. Due to budget restraints, he was limited in what salary he could offer any assistant coaches.
He hired former Old Dominion University player Anthony Carver, former Hampton University assistant John Milbourne and longtime Elizabeth City area junior high coach Melvin Hooker. None of the three had experience as a college recruiter. Neither did Hamler, which was the one major drawback McLean saw when he hired him.
But somehow, some way, Hamler has thrown together a collection of has-beens, outcasts and leftovers to create a team many believe has a legitimate chance of winning the CIAA tournament two weeks from now in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Entering tonight's game at Norfolk State, the Vikings are 14-10 overall, 10-5 in the CIAA. A week ago, they beat North Carolina Central, then No. 12 in Division II.
Not bad for a team predicted to finish fifth in the six-team Northern Division. And had they beaten fourth-ranked Virginia Union Tuesday night in a game decided in the final seconds, the Vikings would have had an outside chance to win the regular-season division title.
``I see a lot of things in that team that I saw in the North Carolina Central teams of the 1980s,'' said Dave Robbins, referring to a program that won the Division II national title in 1988 under then-head coach Mike Bernard. ``Barry has done a great job and should be coach of the year. He's got my vote.''
A quick glance at the starting lineup is evidence Hamler's patchwork quilt could win a 4-H ribbon at the county fair.
After Bell, the starting lineup includes: Maurice Mincey, a 6-foot-7 junior lefthanded power forward who bounced from Hampton University to DeKalb Junior College to Elizabeth City; Theron Curry, a smooth-shooting 6-6 small forward who transferred from Division I Tennessee Tech with just one year of eligibility remaining; Anthony Harris, an undersized 6-6 sophomore center who was little more than a bit player last year; and 6-3 senior guard Sherano Woodley, who thought he had played his last game in an Elizabeth City basketball jersey two years ago.
Woodley played for former coach Claudie Mackey before the two disagreed over what he would do the summer before his junior season.
``I wanted to take an internship in Atlanta working with a parole and probation youth program,'' said Woodley, who majors in criminal justice. ``He wanted me to stay at school and work on my game. We didn't see eye-to-eye.''
When Woodley returned, he decided the only game he wanted to work on was football, where he became a star wide receiver.
Give Hamler this: He leaves few rocks unturned when looking for talent.
``I went to football practice hoping I'd find a lineman who was 6-6 or 6-7 and could give me five fouls a game,'' Hamler said. ``Instead, I found Sherano.''
Hamler also found a basketball program sorely lacking discipline. Said one player: ``Guys used to walk past the coach and check themselves into games.''
Rather than let the players wait until the start of basketball practice to read his coaching technique, Hamler began a preseason conditioning program that kicked off with a 5:30 run every morning starting the day after Labor Day.
With Hamler still residing in the Rosemont Forest section of Virginia Beach - a 50-minute drive from Elizabeth City - Bell figured the pre-dawn start was a bluff.
``I thought, `Preseason conditioning? You've got to be kidding,' '' Bell said. ``And there he was the first day, waiting for us at the track, grinning from ear to ear. I figure with that kind of dedication this guy's going to take us places.''
As tough as Bell thought it was to roll out of bed and walk a few blocks to the track, it was even more difficult at Home Hamler, where the rest of the clan was often awakened before 5 a.m.
``It was, `Daddy's up and he's talking.' '' said wife Patti Hamler, an assistant principal at Cox High in Virginia Beach.
And can Barry Hamler talk.
``When the season began, almost every night he'd say, `I've really got to do a lot of recruiting to turn this around,' '' Patti Hamler said. ``Lately it's been, `Practice was really great today.' Either way, I've been awakened in the middle of the night a lot this year with `Honey, you up?' ''
She interjects only at the proper moments and never questions the coach's methods.
``I asked him a question once and learned my lesson fast,'' she said. ``It was a while ago and I remember the question well. I asked him why he didn't call a timeout in a Booker T. game against Maury.''
Away from the court, there are few timeouts. Hamler carries two other titles at Elizabeth City - athletic department marketing director and fund-raiser. He seems to be flourishing in those capacities, lining up 58 local businesses as Vikings sponsors for anywhere from $1,000 per year to $15,000, with four businesses at the high end.
He has taken to his surroundings in this quaint little town 22 miles south of the Virginia state line as if he was coming home, which in a way is how Hamler views it.
``I grew up in Big Stone Gap (Va.) and the two places are a lot alike,'' Hamler said. ``It's a slower pace here, one I can appreciate. I remember when I was being shown around campus by a professor . . . I got out of my car and locked the doors. He looked at me and said, `You know, there's no need to do that here.'
``The first time I met the mayor, we talked for a few minutes and, figuring he probably had a busy schedule, I thanked him for his time. He told me, `I'm in no hurry.' We ended up talking about government and politics (Hamler was a history teacher at Booker T.) for two hours.''
If Hamler's Volvo doesn't reflect its owner, it definitely reflects his work ethic. In spite of missing chunks of upholstery and the ridiculous amount of mileage, it just keeps on trucking.
Hamler figures he's put 20,000 miles on the car in the last six months, 30,000 on the state car he uses to make recruiting trips and adds, ``I'd hate for someone to see my telephone bill.''
``I made it a point to visit as many of the high school coaches in a 100-mile radius of the campus as I possibly could. I want to get to know them,'' Hamler said. ``One of the things I didn't like about the recruiting process when I was a high school coach and people were coming from all over to recruit (Parade All-American) Michael Evans was that I'd never seen these guys before Michael came along and I never heard from them once Michael was gone.''
With Hampton joining the Division I ranks this season and with Norfolk State planning a similar jump in 18 months, Elizabeth City State is about to become the only Division II school in the coastal North Carolina-Virginia corridor. Elizabeth City State could feast on area recruits, particularly those who don't qualify for Division I eligibility.
McLean is almost shocked by the recruiting network Hamler already has in place.
``I asked Barry the other day how it was going and he said he had 92 kids he was taking a look at,'' McLean said. ``I wonder sometimes if the guy ever sleeps. And if you ask him if he does, he avoids the question. He spends so much time here working that I've been thinking of finding a room where we can set up a cot and let him nap.''
Patti Hamler admits her husband sometimes binge sleeps.
``Every once in a while he just plays out and will sleep a whole day,'' she said. ``But he can usually function pretty well on six hours.''
There is little rest for Hamler, who intends to take the Vikings to a Division II national championship.
``When I got the job, I started looking closely at Virginia Union, Norfolk State, Indiana of Pennsylvania and Kentucky Wesleyan and asked, `How are they winning championships?' '' Hamler said as he wheeled the Volvo around Elizabeth City on a sunny afternoon. ``They're winning with a mix of four-year players, Division I transfers and junior college transfers.''
With the car stopped at a light, Hamler turned to his passenger for emphasis.
``Getting those people stretches the recruiting period, but anybody who's worried about succeeding doesn't worry about how much time they put in on the job,'' he said. ``I've come to the campus every day since May 15 when I got the job except one.''
And that day?
``Christmas.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by VICKI CRONIS\The Virginian-Pilot
Barry Hamler's commitment to elevating Elizabeth City State
basketball is reflected in the fact that, since he was hired May 15,
he worked all but one day - Christmas.
Photo by Vicki Cronis
Theron Curry, the CIAA 3-pointers leader, is part of a lineup that
has come together quickly for Barry Hamler.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE by CNB