The MEAC tourney is held in Joel Coliseum in North Carolina, like it should be. Knowing the vibe of North Carolina, and knowing this is an HBCU tournament, that they spread out nicely, and actually mix in the women's tournament so every day you only get two or maybe three men's games, but a full buffet of like five games of varying genders in the first rounds, I can imagine this is a nice fucking tournament with a lot of wacky people watching type stuff going on to check out. And if you've gone to college basketball games live, you know that one of the best parts is watching the pep bands and cheerleaders during TV timeouts. I have watched enough barely overweight white girls try to shake their asses in sequined pants to expect the MEAC timeout parades to kick some fucking ass. Here are the top 14 returning scorers for this year's MEAC tournament, which kicks off tonight around supper time...
#1: Reggie Holmes (Morgan State guard; 134 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Morgan State is the #1 seed in this year's MEAC tournament, and it's entirely on the shoulders of Reggie Holmes, a hometown hero who hopes to repeat as MEAC tournament MVP and winner this year and go back to the NCAA tournament for a second straight year. Go Bears!
#2: Michael Deloach (Norfolk State guard; 88 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Norfolk State comes in the #4 seed and doesn't play until Thursday night against cross-metropolitan-cluster rival Hampton, and Michael Deloach is buckwild enough of a scorer to help the Spartans steal an automatic berth into the NCAAs. He's a guiltless shot-taker, hitting double digits on even an off-day, and topping 30 points a couple times this year. An All-MEAC first-teamer last year, he should repeat that without issue again this year, and has a shot at Player of the Year.
#3: Vincent Simpson (Hampton guard; 60 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Simpson is also a beastly game-changer within the relative levels of MEAC play, and that quarterfinal game Thursday night could just end up with him and Deloach trading shots.
#4: Jason Flagler (South Carolina State guard/forward; 47 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Hot scoring Senior who has the Bulldogs sitting in the #3 seed, awaiting the winner of the Maryland-Eastern Shore/Coppin State game.
#5: C.J. Reed (Bethune-Cookman guard; 43 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Team leader of a middle-of-the-pack inconsistent MEAC basketball team, meaning he, like many of the guys from yesterday's list, probably will no longer be in basketball this time next year.
#6: Michael Freeman (Hampton forward; 41 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Michael Freeman is a pirate.
#7: Joseph Dorsett-Jeffreys (Norfolk State center; 39 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Senior center for the Spartans (stands 6'11") from the Bronx. On one hand, you can be like, "Hahaha, NYC urban ass gritty kid going to college to play baskeball, whatever, am I right?" But on the other hand, props to the world of HBCUs for giving this guy, should he be from a rough upbringing like you might assume a dude with a hyphenated name and icy glare in his promo photo from the Bronx to be like, a chance to experience something more than abject poverty his entire life. We get so caught up in the one-and-done major program wastes of collegiate space, we forget that there are a lot of guys who benefit from the exploitative nature of college basketball.
#8: Curtis White (Howard guard; 34 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Howard's a pretty prominent HBCU, so you'd think at some point they'd have a more successful basketball team, not because of black people stereotypes, but because any college, prominent in any way within any prism, ends up having alum who push for the school to be awesome in high profile sports, even if only a small scale. This apparently has not happened at Howard, though their yearly festival probably takes up most of their alumni generosities.
#9: Carrio Bennett (South Carolina State guard; 30 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - One of the more prominent Juniors in the MEAC, who should be domineering shit next season.
#10: Michael Harper (Coppin State guard; 25 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Coppin State has traditionally been a player in the MEAC in recent years, but this year they are the lowest seed going into the tournament, facing off against Maryland-Eastern Shore in the first round. Harper is only in his sophomore season (first team All-MEAC last year as a freshman), but he can light it up, and in a conference where one outstanding player can make you the team to beat, the Eagles might be booking hotel rooms in Dayton for the NCAA play-in game again in the next year or two.
#11: Frisco Sandidge (Delaware State forward; 25 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Delaware State is the #2 seed in this year's MEAC tournament, and plays the winner of the Bethune-Cookman/Florida A&M game in the late game on Wednesday night. They are led by a group of Senior players, including this guy. I have a hard time imagining a guy with the name "Frisco Sandidge" is not a chill ass dude.
#12: Brandon Tunnell (Hampton guard; 23 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Actually, Hampton seems to have a steady line-up of solid contributors, so maybe they can back door their way into the NCAA tournament again, where they scored a major upset over #2 seeded Iowa State in 2001, and almost upset Georgetown to make the Sweet 16 as a #15-seed.
#13: Thomas Coleman (North Carolina A&T forward/center; 22 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Prominent high school athlete in Kentucky who, at 6'9", plays center in the MEAC. Do tall people just not get born anymore, or are they just rushed so quickly into the NBA, no one's left to trickle down to the smaller colleges?
#14: Marcus Neal (Delaware State guard; 21 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Marcus Neal is the other main Senior in the Delaware State starting line-up along with Frisco Sandidge. These Seniors have also won the MEAC regular season titles in 2006 and 2007, only to lose the tournament championship game, and they went to the semifinals last year. A free trip to the NCAA tournament seems like it would be appropriate.
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