GREENSBORO - Four years ago, North Carolina A&T head men's basketball coach Jerry Eaves traveled to his hometown of Louisville, Ky., to recruit a young man whom he thought could turn his rebuilding effort into a championship program.
"I remember sitting across from him at his kitchen table," said Eaves about his visit to the house of Thomas Coleman. "It seemed like yesterday."
Fast forward to Monday night, and the two sat alone in the locker room together before Monday's game against Morgan State ready to take those steps toward a championship as Coleman took step one by playing his final game in Corbett Sports Center.
He's taken this program so far," said Eaves. "He has made my job easy because he is such a great player."
In his final home game at Corbett, Coleman scored 21 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots to lead the Aggies to a 68-60 win over two-time defending MEAC Champion Morgan State.
The win secures one of the top five seeds for the Aggies going into next week's MEAC Tournament. The Aggies could fall anywhere between the No. 3-No.5 seed at the conference tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Aggies play at Norfolk State on Thursday.
"We want to be in a situation where we only have to win three games," said Eaves. "The way this conference is, any of the 11 teams can win it."
Eaves likes his chances because of what he has in Coleman. Coleman will end his career as one of only four players in school history to record 1,000 points and 900 rebounds, and he will be the only player in school history with more than 1,000 points, 900 rebounds and 300 blocked shots.
His career has been so solid; he had NBA scouts watching him on Monday. What they saw was Coleman going against the three big men - Kevin Thompson, Ian Chiles and Rodney Stokes - the Bears threw at him all night.
"They tried to wear him down," said Eaves. "But he has such great skills. He was able to fight through it."
Despite his fatigue, Coleman hit 7 of 9 free throws from the line. He then received help off the bench from Nic Simpson and Jeremy Underwood. The two guards combined to hit 4 of 6 3-pointers to help the Aggies build a 46-34 lead five minutes into the second half.
Morgan State was just 3-for-21 from 3-point range Monday night. But Aric Brooks' three cut the Aggies lead to 60-57 with 1:38 remaining. N.C. A&T fortunately found its rhythm from the free throw line at the same time the Bears found theirs from the perimeter. The Aggies made only 13 of their first 26 free throws. Marc Hill changed all that by hitting eight straight free throws over the last 90 seconds to secure the win.
"The kids want to make them," said Eaves about the free throws. "As long as you prepare correctly, shoot them properly and work with the right spirit, they'll go in at the right time."
The Aggies improved to 15-15 overall and 9-6 in the MEAC. The Aggies have a chance to secure their first winning season in 14 years. If that happens along with a championship, Eaves' kitchen table visit will go a long way in bringing it about.
"He is a tremendous young man," said Eaves about Coleman. "He is seven classes from graduating in sociology. He is a no sir, yes sir kind of guy who has never said a negative word back to me. I'm going to miss him."
