MISENHEIMER — Pfeiffer’s men’s basketball team shot plenty of 3-point bullseyes last season on its way to breaking the 100-point barrier 10 times. For the 2000-01 season, however, the bullseyes are clearly drawn on the backs of the Falcons’ jerseys.
“We were the preseason favorite in the CVAC (Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference) last season and people gunned for us,” said Pfeiffer coach Dave Davis. “But this year those bullseyes are going to be a whole lot bigger.”
That’s because the Falcons were even better than advertised last winter. They went 26-5 overall, reached the Sweet 16 in the national tournament and ran the table in the CVAC with an unprecedented 18 straight wins. No other Division II squad on the planet survived its league without a single blemish. And now, folks around the CVAC are taking drastic measures to close the gap. Longwood, for instance, has brought in five Division I transfers.
But the red-headed Davis, who has his top seven scorers back, smiles and shrugs. He sure wouldn’t trade personnel or coaching staffs with anyone in the league. He admits expectations are high, but sounding an awful lot like Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, says his nationally ranked troops are right where they want to be.
“You do this because you want to be the best,” said Davis. “You want to be on top.
“The best thing of all is that this team is working harder than last year’s, and I wasn’t sure that was possible. No one’s fat. No one’s complacent. And there’s motivation, because guys are upset with how last season ended (with a loss in the CVAC tourney and in the national playoffs). We’re still hungry.”
Leading the feast will be a trio of fifth-year seniors. They were Davis’ original recruits when he came to Misenheimer. All three were lightly regarded at the time. All three are now regarded as fabulous players.
Terrance Baxter, a blur of a 5-foot-10 point guard, is the floor leader and the tail-kicker — inspiring his teammates to play at the same breakneck pace he does. Baxter was fourth in the nation in steals, eighth in assists.
“His stats are good, but his numbers tell only a small part,” said Davis.
Baxter is the key to Davis’ strategy of running opponents into the ground with pressure defense and relentless offense. He was team MVP a year ago.
“Usually the fastest player on the team doesn’t win all the practice sprints, because the most talented kids usually take it easy,” said Davis. “Terrance wins every one of ours.”
There are 54 schools in Pfeiffer’s region, but Davis placed two men on last season’s 10-player All-Region team. One, of course, was Baxter. The other was 6-6 Nem Sovic, an All-American, who actually averaged more points per game (22.8) than minutes (20.5) last season.
Pfeiffer’s third star is All-CVAC guard Emory Smith, 6-2, who shot an unheard-of 62 percent on 3s through the first dozen games last season.
“Emory should be at full maturity,” said Davis. “He has a chance to be great.”
Around that awesome nucleus, Davis will employ waves of players. Even Sovic and Smith sit frequently. Last year, Davis handed significant playing time to a lucky 13 men. Davis’ system calls for four perimeter players and one big man (Sovic or 6-6 leaper Dwayne Bell). He lets opponents worry about matching up with him rather than vise versa.
“Someone with a 6-8 or 6-9 back-to-the-basket guy might give us trouble,” said Davis. “But there aren’t many 6-8s who are still going to be running up and down with us in the second half.”
The gnats who can expect major minutes are led by 6-3 junior Jay Moody, the best shooter on a team of great shooters. Moody hails from a tiny N.C. mountain school that had a graduating class of 28. Somehow Davis found him. Moody made 53 percent of his 3s last season, third-best figure in the country. He nailed seven 3s in the conference championship game — with a broken finger.
North Stanly High product Eric Jackson, a senior, plays much bigger than his 6-0 frame. Davis will never forget the night Jackson played power forward against the College of Charleston.
Davis says 6-3 junior Shakil Brew is as talented as anyone and could be an All-American.
Edjis Sprude, a sophomore from Latvia, is a solid shooter with enough ballhandling skills to give Baxter a breather.
Bell, Davis’ other “big” guy, is the perfect changeup to Sovic.
“Bell is our rim rattler, our guy to finish the lobs,” said Davis. “He does some exciting things.”
New faces include 6-4 Wale (pronounced Wally) Cole; 6-4 Luigi Moxam from the Cayman Islands; 6-4 Jahmal Rich (whom Davis likens to Stacey Augmon); 6-2 Lamont Young from West MontgomeryHigh; 6-4 James Johnson, who played at NW Cabarrus two years ago; and 5-8 Antwan Wallace, whom Davis hopes will become the next Baxter.
Waiting in the wings are talented red-shirt freshmen like Harding High guard Rico Grier; South Rowan’s late-blooming Damien Argrett; and NW Cabarrus waterbug Lamont McKnight.
“Argrett has a chance not just to contribute, but to be special,” said Davis of the 6-6 ex-Raider who poured in 40 points in one game last season.
The wild card in this talented mix is guard Joe Holmes, who transferred last year from Nebraska. Davis says Holmes is hobbled by an Achilles strain, but if he gets well, the combo of Holmes and Baxter in the backcourt might be unfair.
“But the key to everything,” said Davis, “is still our rebounding. If we rebound, we can beat any team in the country. If we don’t, any team in the country can beat us.”
Expect the Falcons to do most of the beating again. Even if they are lugging around bullseyes on their backs.
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