The Mid Eastern Athletic Conference champion has been relegated to the NCAA Tournament’s opening round, or “play-in game,” in three of the seven years the game has existed, leading to the portrayal of the MEAC and it’s low Ratings Percentage Index as victims of an unfair system requiring teams to go on the road to play and often lose to bigger and more elite programs.
Hampton head coach Kevin Nickelberry knows there’s one solution guaranteed to change the conference’s fortunes.
“We need to beat people,” said Nickelberry, who this season already has victories over Tulsa and Virginia Commonwealth as well as a close loss to Maryland. “I’ve read a lot of articles about what some of the schools in our conference have said about not getting equal treatment and all that. I come from the philosophy that you’ve got to beat people. That’s what it comes down to.”
In his second year as a head coach, Nickelberry is doing it with Washington-arearecruits too, including starting sophomore forward Michael Freeman (Alexandria/Brewster Academy (N.H.)) and freshman point guard Jordan Brooks (Flowers High).
“The hardest thing right now is he’s the number one name on the scouting report,” said Nickelberry of Freeman, last season’s MEAC rookie of the year. “He’s got to get used to that.”
Brooks was a late-edition recruit and an undervalued talent who’s brought energy to the backcourt while allowing senior guard Rashad West (team-high 17.0 points per game) to focus on scoring. Brooks still remembers not getting an invitation to the Capital Classic, which along with having friends and family in the crowd, will serve as inspiration tonight against the Patriots.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a home game,” said Brooks. “But we just want to go back there and take it home.”
