There’s no denying that Hampton University basketball has underachieved this year. In an unusual twist, they lost a player to a power conference team, and they have been fairly inconsistent at home, and the massacre at the hands of Coppin State didn’t help matters.
You throw that in with a sub-par football season, and somebody has to go somewhere for the Pirate faithful to be at ease.
But that’s exactly the reason why the man responsible for the team, head coach Kevin Nickelberry, should be the one guy hanging around after this season, even though he’s on the hot seat at Hampton.
Here’s five reasons why the Pirates shouldn’t even consider firing Nickelberry.
5. They probably can’t get anybody better - As it stands, there aren’t many hot young coaching prospects in black college basketball that Hampton could get. And if they wanted to get an assistant from a power conference squad, there’s strong doubt that they could afford to keep him.
4. Nickelberry just hasn’t been there long enough - Four Three seasons is all you’re going to give the guy? Since when did 15 wins a season become a bad look in Hampton, the 2006 tournament appearance? That’s what Nickelberry guarantees, and likely more going forward.
3. Inconsistent? Yes? A bad team? No way - Hampton may have been inconsistent at home and dropped some bad games to sub-par teams, but save for Coppin State and North Carolina A&T, they are 1-1 against the teams that are ahead of them in the standings. And did I mention they’ve swept Morgan State this season? Or that they beat George Mason?
2. Hampton is built for the MEAC tournament – Hampton isn’t a necessarily a team that will be great throughout the regular season. Hampton’s best players are juniors that likely will hit their stride in the MEAC tournament and likely get as far as the semi-finals.
1. Dr. Harvey doesn’t want to look like a firing fool - The last thing Hampton president Dr. William Harvey is a meddling buffoon that can’t keep his ego out of the sports department. If the basketball head coaching gig takes the same shape as football, both jobs stand to become undesirable jobs among coaches in the know.
LJ 12:03 pm on February 25, 2009 Permalink
I agree with your analysis regarding Nickelberry. He has done a commendible job in this tenure at Hampton. Besides, he has outcoached Todd Bozeman in both of their wins over the Morgan State Bears and defeated a decent George Mason team who will probably be heading the the NCAA Tournament. He has a good necleus of your players returning next year that in a year or two should put Hampton back in the MEAC title race.
JC 12:27 pm on February 25, 2009 Permalink
I actually wouldn’t be surprised if Hampton makes the semi-finals or championship game, which would mean an upset against one of the top two teams in conference.