Eaves gets NC A&T hoops job
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
Eaves, fired along with head coach John Lucas of the NBA's
Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this year, apparently beat out
Johnson C. Smith head coach Steve Joyner
and 71 other applicants in replacing fifth-year coach
Curtis Hunter who was fired following a
1-26 season. This is his first head coaching assignment.
Eaves appeared at the press conference accompanied by his wife and three of his children and was introduced by A&T Athletic Director Charlie Davis. A&T Chancellor, Dr. James C. Renick, was also on hand for the announcement.
Davis said Eaves, who won an NCAA championship while a player at Louisville and formerly coached as an associate head coach under Butch Beard at MEAC-member Howard, was a person that understood the proud basketball tradition at A&T.
"I think we have an individual who will help us get back to the top who's going to reclaim the tradition and glory that belongs here," said Davis.
Eaves said the job has 'potential' written all over it.
"Aggie Pride is known all over the country," he said. "When I was at Howard, we knew we had to go through A&T to win an MEAC championship. We came here and the banners were hanging from the rafters. That's what we want to get back to."
"I wanted to be here," said Eaves, noting that he campaigned for the job. "When you're looking at basketball you're looking at tradition. It's not where they are it's where they have been. History repeats itself. They have won. Winning is important here and I wanted to be somewhere where winning is important."
Eaves graduated from the University of Louisville, where he was a hard-nosed starting guard during most of his four-year career. He led the undersized yet high-achieving team to the NCAA Championship in 1980 and the Final Four in 1982. He went on to play in the NBA with the Utah Jazz where he was a member of the 1983 NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He also played with the Atlanta Hawks and the Sacramento Kings.
"I believe that we have attracted a coach and a gentleman who will help our young men grow as individuals and also build a program which year in and year out will contend with not only the best of the MEAC, but ultimately among the more respected programs in the country," Davis said in a prepared statement.
A native of Louisville, Eaves has had stints as a professional assistant coach with two other teams, the New Jersey Nets from 1994-96 and the Charlotte Hornets from 1999-2001.
In the collegiate coaching arena Eaves served as an associate head coach with Howard from 1990-94. He also served as an assistant coach with the University of Louisville from 1996-99, learning from his legendary college coach, Denny Crum.
Eaves said he has learned from all of the coaches he has been associated with.
"I would never put one ahead of another," said Eaves, who along with Crum, Beard and Lucas, worked under Paul Silas at Carolina. "I've taken a little bit from everyone. You are what you experienced. I experienced a lot of things. I'm a little bit of all of them. I'm not one of any.
"I told the team we're going to press 40 minutes of every game. Pressing doesn't mean we're running around trying to steal the ball but we will be up 94 feet every play of every game. But there'll be philosophy. We're going to be the best conditioned team. We're going to work hard and we're going to do our best."
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