1/6/2002 - Men's Basketball
Navy Hoops Welcomes Nationally-Ranked Wake Forest To Town

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Navy Welcomes Nationally-Ranked Wake Forest To Town

After taking it on the chin Saturday at Brown (L, 95-83), the Mids walk straight into a battle with 24th-ranked Wake Forest Monday night. Navy (5-9) plays host to the Demon Deacons (11-3) at 9 p.m. in a game that will be carried live by Fox Sports South, as well as the entire Baltimore and Annapolis viewing area of Comcast Channel 8.

Navy enters Monday night's game having won three of its last four, and also boasts a 5-1 record in games played at Alumni Hall this year. Meanwhile, Wake Forest has triumphed in six of its last seven contests and is coming off an 84-62 rout over North Carolina in Chapel Hill Saturday afternoon. All three of the Demon Deacons' losses have been away from Winston-Salem - vs. Syracuse (Madison Square Garden), at Kansas and at St. John's.

Tough Stretch Ahead

Navy will play its second game in the last three days when it tips Monday night against Wake Forest. The contest against the Deacs is the second among three to be played in five days. Navy traveled to Brown Saturday (L, 95-83), play Wake Forest Monday night and will make its way to Worcester, Mass. for a televised contest against defending Patriot League Champion Holy Cross Wednesday evening.

Prosser Vs. DeVoe

Don DeVoe and Skip Prosser have met up just once in their careers as head coaches - a J10, 1994 contest in which Prosser led Loyola (Md.) College to a 78-68 victory over the Midshipmen in Baltimore.

Familiar Names

Wake Forest junior guard Steve Lepore is the younger brother of Chris Lepore who was an All-East safety for the Navy football team from 1997-00.

First-year Deacon assistant coach Dino Gaudio was the head coach at Army from 1994-97 and amassed a 36-72 record in his four seasons. Meanwhile, he also served as head coach at Loyola (Md.) College from 1998-00.

Tough At Home

The Mids have traditionally been known as a strong home court team. Navy was 15-2 at Alumni Hall during the 1999-2000 season, winning 15 in a row while boasting a 6-0 league mark at home.

The Mids are 53-12 (.815) against conference opponents and 52-20 (.722) against nonleague foes at home under DeVoe (105-32, .766). In DeVoe's first-two seasons in Annapolis, the Mids were a combined 10-7 (.588) against league opponents at home. Since then, the Mids have posted a 43-5 (.896) record against league foes at home.

Navy's three home losses last season were the most since the 1995-96 team dropped three.

Navy's Home Losses Since 1997-98 Season

N30, 97 Air Force 64-63

F11, 98 Lafayette 66-65

D19, 98 Auburn 88-70

J9, 99 Lafayette 72-66

N22, 99 Wake Forest 90-55

N24, 99 Richmond 58-52

N18, 00 Rice 69-51

D9, 00 SMU 66-64

F14, 01 Holy Cross 77-67

N26, 01 Ohio 80-74

DeVoe Closes In On 500

Navy head coach Don DeVoe is just six wins shy of his 500th-career victory. With a 19-point victory over Coastal Carolina last Wednesday, he claimed his 494th-career victory, and is tied for 61st on the NCAA's all-time win list. He is tied with retired coaches Jack Friel, Calvin Luther and Everett Shelton, as well as current Auburn mentor Cliff Ellis. Dave Bliss (Baylor), Nolan Richardson (Arkansas) and Rollie Massimino (Cleveland State) reached their 500th wins earlier this season.

Navy Assistant Coach Victor Mickel Recalled To Active Dute

Second-year Navy assistant coach Victor Mickel (pronounced Michael) has been absent from his seat on the bench for most of the 2001-02 season. In early November, the 1994 graduate of the Naval Academy was recalled to active duty and has since been stationed at Cheetham Annex in Williamsburg, Va. He is a member of Naval Coastal Warfare Group 2 which is in charge of port security harbor defense on the East Coast. Essentially, his unit escorts ships in and out of port and ensures the peers are safe against terrorist attacks.

Mickel was able to spend some of his leave over the holidays back with the Navy basketball team and returned to the comforts of coaching during the Mids' three-game homestand (D28-J2). He also spent this past weekend coaching the JV team, part of what is his normal coaching responsibility at the Academy.

A four-year letterwinner for the Midshipmen from 1991-94, Mickel also served as captain his senior campaign. He remains among Navy's top 10 in career assists and steals.

The 70-Point Barrier

Since the 1994-95 season, Navy is 88-16 (.846) when it scores at least 70 points in a game and 29-49 (.372) when it doesn't. Last season, it was 18-3 when it eclipsed the 70-point barrier. Navy is 5-5 this season when hitting that marker, and has already lost two more games this year than last when hitting 70 points.

Nonleague Ledger

Navy has posted a 70-69 (.504) mark against non-Patriot League foes under Don DeVoe. Though in his first season he guided Navy to a 3-9 nonleague mark, he has since led it to eight or more nonconference wins in four of the last six seasons.

Navy's Year-By-Year Nonconference Record Under DeVoe

Year W L Pct.

1992-93 3 9 .250

1993-94 5 8 .385

1994-95 8 4 .667

1995-96 6 8 .429

1996-97 8 7 .533

1997-98 6 9 .667

1998-99 11 3 .786

1999-00 10 4 .714

2000-01 8 8 .500

2001-02 5 9 .357

Overall 70 69 .504

Scoring Some Points

Going into the Brown game, Navy had posted back-to-back 90-plus point games (W, 95-54 vs. Mount St. Mary's and W, 90-71 vs. Coastal Carolina) - the first time since the 1993-94 season when the Mids scored 96 against Army and 93 versus Holy Cross in Patriot League Tournament games.

Meanwhile, Navy has averaged 89.3 points over the last three games - better than 16 points above its season average.

Giving It Up

Navy has also given up its share of points this winter. Brown's 95 points in Saturday's contest are the most Navy has surrendered since its Nov. 28, 1998 loss at Air Force in which the Falcons put up 97 on the Midshipmen (97-88). The 95 points also ties for the second-most points Navy has given up under DeVoe. In DeVoe's first year at the Academy (1992-93), the Mids were defeated at Holy Cross, 95-69.

Jeanpierre Knocks Down The Three

Junior guard Jason Jeanpierre is coming off a career-high 24-point performance at Brown Saturday. A scoring effort that featured a career-high six made three-pointers. He owns a team-high 23 triples, and has connected on 17-of-35 (.486) in the last six games.

Along with his scoring efforts, his assist numbers have improved. He is averaging 4.3 assists over the last six games, including a career-high six against Mount St. Mary's (D30) and at Brown. Nearly halftway into the season, his team-high 45 assists are more than his 30 he dealt out all of last year.

Double Duty For Ebong

Starting center Francis Ebong is coming off his third double-double of the season and his career. He produced 17 points and 12 boards in Navy's loss at Brown Saturday. He was tough in the paint, hitting seven of his eight shots, while collecting five of his 12 boards on the offensive glass. He played tough defense, picking his opponent for a career-high three steals.

He picked up his first double-double of his career with a 13-point, 11-rebound effort at Davidson (D1). He followed up with another double-double against Gettysburg (D17), scoring a career-high 20 points and collecting 12 rebounds.

Automatic

A trip to the free throw line for junior forward Kyle Barker is nearly a sure thing for an extra point or two on the scoreboard for the Mids. He owns a team and Patriot League-best 97.3 free throw percentage.

Barker has made 36 of his 37 tosses this season (missed at The Citadel, N29) and 84-of-91 in his career. Not to get too far ahead, but his 92.3 career free throw percentage is on track to top the current record of 85.6 percent held by John Tolmie - a 33-year-old record.

National News

According to the last NCAA statistics report (D17), Kyle Barker ranked fourth in the nation with a 95.45 (21-of-22) free throw percentage - he is currently shooting 97.3 percent (36-of-37). While the next report is due out Tuesday, the best free throw shooter in the country is Youngstown State's Rafael Cruz who has not missed a free throw this season (23-of-23).

Barker Eyes League Free Throw Mark

Kyle Barker has made 28-consecutive free throws dating back to the Davidson game (D1) in which he turned in a 13-for-13 performance from the line. The Patriot League record for consecutive made free throws is 49 held by Lafayette's Brian Burke (2000).

Shepard Steps Up

Senior captain Demond Shepard produced double-digit scoring marks in three of the last five games, including a career-high 18-point effort against Coastal Carolina last Wednesday. He is averaging 11.4 points over the last five outings, well above his 7.3 season scoring average. In his career night against The Chants, Shepard was 4-for-9 from the field and 10-for-11 from the charity stripe. He also matched his career highs in rebounds (6) and steals (3).

Topping The Charts

With its 38.0 three-point percentage (92-of-242), Navy owns the best long range shooting percentage in the Patriot League. The Mids boosted their percentage Saturday, connecting on 11 of their 26 triples against Brown. Navy's 11 three-pointers marked a season high and the most since last year's Denver contest in which the Mids targeted 13 treys.

More Of Mitch

In the two games starting center Francis Ebong has gotten into early foul trouble, junior reserve Mitch Moore has stepped in and filled the role. In the Mids' season opener at Rice (N16), Moore scored a then career-high 13 points in what was just his fourth varsity contest. He did it again against Coastal Carolina last Wednesday, scoring a career and team-high 22 points. He was 8-for-11 (.727) from the field and 6-for-8 (.750) from the charity stripe. He followed up with a 3-for-3 effort from the field against Brown Saturday. On the year, he is averaging 6.0 points and 2.5 boards.

On Cue

Jehiel Lewis leads Navy with his 12.7 points per game and has a remarkably high shooting percentage for a mid- to long-range shooter. He is hitting 45 percent (50-of-111) from the floor and 44.7 percent (17-of-38) from three-point range. In the last three games, he has shot 51.9 percent (14-for-27) from the field and 53.8 percent (7-for-13) from long range.

With 17 three-pointers, he has already surpassed the total number of triples in any of his previous seasons. In his first-two years he hit seven in each, while last year he targeted 10.

Playing Past The Pain

Call him unlucky, call him a survivor, call him what you will. Senior Jehiel Lewis has endured an injury every year during his career at the Academy, including a sprained sternal clavicular joint his plebe year, a series of concussions which resulted in a variation of postconcussion disorder his sophomore season, a bruised lower back his junior campaign and underwent shoulder surgery this fall prior to the start of the season. Lewis has also been battling sharp pains and numbness in his both hands since the Gettysburg game (D17), yet he has put up double-figure scoring marks in six of the seven games since that contest.

Double Your Success

Junior Jason Jeanpierre's career-high 24 points led Navy at Saturday at Brown, as four Navy players scored in double digits for the fifth time this season.

Air Force Ebong, Barker, Jeanpierre, J. Lewis

Gettysburg Ebong, Barker, Jeanpierre, Shepard

Columbia Ebong, Shepard, Jeanpierre, J. Lewis

Coastal Car. Moore, Shepard, Barker, J. Lewis

Brown Ebong, Shepard, Jeanpierre, J. Lewis

Last year, at least four Navy players scored in double figures in a single game 12 times. The Mids posted an 11-1 record in those contests with their lone loss a 77-67 setback to Holy Cross in Annapolis (F14). Navy is 3-2 this season when four players score in double figures.

From Bench To Starting Lineup

Last year's bench was described by Don DeVoe as "the best scoring bench he had fielded at Navy." Last season, the Navy bench averaged 35.7 points per game and accounted for 47.3 percent of the team's scoring. With the loss of arguably five starters, Navy's bench has turned into its starting lineup this winter. Top bench producers from last season include Navy's second and third-leading scorers, Jehiel Lewis and Kyle Barker, respectively. Lewis averaged 8.6 points and outing, while Barker tossed in 8.2 points per game. The duo is Navy's top and third-leading scorers this season - Lewis (12.7) and Barker (10.8)

Finding The Right Fit

With the loss of arguably all five of its starters from a year ago, Don DeVoe has been searching for the right starting lineup. DeVoe inserted senior Jamie Nero into the lineup against Belmont (D28) - his first-career start - and has utilized that same lineup for the last three games. Navy has used six different lineups in Navy's 14 contests with junior center Francis Ebong and junior guard Jason Jeanpierre being mainstays. Below are the lineups Navy has used to date.

Gm. 1,7-8 Charles, Barker, Ebong, Jeanpierre, Shepard

Gm. 2 J. Lewis, Moore, Ebong, Jeanpierre, Shepard

Gm. 3-5 McCreary, Moore, Ebong, Jeanpierre, Charles

Gm. 6 J. Lewis, Barker, Ebong, Jeanpierre, Charles

Gm. 9-10 J. Lewis, Barker, Ebong, Jeanpierre, Shepard

Gm. 11-14 J. Lewis, Nero, Ebong, Jeanpierre, Shepard

Experience Yes, Starting Experience No

Coming into the season, five players had earned at least one starting nod in their careers. Four of those five players started just six or fewer games, while Demond Shepard owned the most starts on the team with all 18 coming last season. The others with past starting experience are Scott Long (6 gm), Francis Ebong (4 gm), Jason Jeanpierre (2 gm) and Jehiel Lewis (2 gm).

Barker Finds His Touch

Kyle Barker was missing his shooting touch early in the year, experiencing a trio of games in which he scored minimally - three points at Ohio (N26), one point at The Citadel (N29) and was held scoreless at SMU (N18). He has regrouped nicely, scoring double digits in seven of the last nine games, including a career-high 31-point performance against Davidson (D1). He is averaging 13.7 points over the last nine outings.

Long Returns To Lineup

After sitting out the first-11 games of the year with a back injury, junior forward Scott Long dressed for the first time this year just over a week ago against Mount St. Mary's (D30). He has played in the last three contests, and is averaging 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in nine minutes of action.

Improvement At The Line

While the Mids have seen their ups and downs from the charity stripe this season, a few individuals have improved their efforts over the last year. Jason Jeanpierre has never shot better than 63.6 percent in a season, but is hitting 78.6 percent (33-of-42) this year. Jehiel Lewis was a 67.1 percent career free throw shooter entering his senior campaign, but this season has hit 70.6 percent (48-of-68) of his free throws.

Nero Shows His Range, Plays His Role

Navy senior forward Jamie Nero has been hot from three-point land, hitting 12 triples this winter and is shooting 50 percent (12-of-24) from behind the arc.

He came off the bench at SMU (N18) to give the Mids a much-needed scoring boost. Nero nailed five three-pointers, 4-for-4 in the first half, in a career-high 17-point effort Nero's previous career high was five points against Holy Cross in 2000.

Charles Responds

After scoring a career-high nine points at Rice (N16) in the season opener, sophomore Jeff Charles has struggled. Against Mount St. Mary's (D30) , he looked as though he had returned to form, hitting all four field goals he tossed up. He produced eight points and led the Mids with a career-high tying six boards. He also dealt out three assists and blocked a shot.

One For The Record Books

Navy's 41-point victory (95-54) over Mount St. Mary's (D30) was its biggest triumph since handing Colgate a 42-point loss (93-51) Feb. 8, 1995. Meanwhile, it was the most points scored by the Mids since last year's 95-89 win at Army.

Simply Perfect

Junior forward Kyle Barker's 13-for-13 free throw shooting display against Davidson (D1) was one of the best in school history. There have been only 17 perfect free throw shooting games (min. of 10 made) in school history and Barker's 13 ties with Michael Heary for the most made/attempted.

30-Point Club

With a career-high 31-point performance at Davidson (D1), Kyle Barker became the newest member of Navy's 30-point club. He is the 18th player in school history to score 30-plus points and is among a group of 11 to accomplish the feat only once in their career. He is the third player to score 30 points under Don DeVoe, joining Josh Williams (32 vs. Lehigh, Jan. 14, 1998) and Chris Williams (31 vs. Northeastern, Nov. 20, 2000).

Rough Start

Navy's 2-8 start to the season was its worst under the direction of head coach Don DeVoe and its worst start in 12 years. Former coach Pete Herrmann's 1989-90 team kicked off the season 1-9 and produced just a 5-23 record that season.

Ironically, for the third-consecutive year, Navy started its season 0-2. The Mids were able to turn the previous seasons into positives, earning trips to back-to-back Patriot League Tournament title games.

Spanning The Country

Navy's recruiting efforts over the last few years have taken its coaches from coast to coast. Eleven different states are represented among 16 players - California (2), Georgia (1), Illinois (1), Louisiana (1), Michigan (1), Nebraska (1), New York (3), Ohio (1), Texas (3), Virginia (1), Washington (1).

Navy Coaches Show

Join head coach Don DeVoe and the voice of Navy Athletics Bob Socci every Thursday night from 7-7:30 p.m. at O'Brien's Oyster Bar and Grill in downtown Annapolis for the Navy Coaches Show. Enjoy free appetizers, drink specials, trivia, prizes and more. If you can't join us in person, tune in to 1430 WNAV, as it will be aired live, or link to the www.wnav.com on the internet.

Frequent Flyers

Navy will log more than 16,000 miles of travel this year which includes its coast-to-coast trip to Hawai'i. Among those miles, the Mids will visit seven different states to play 13 road games.

Of the 16,556 miles to be traveled this season, Navy has already knocked off 14,067 miles with trips to Texas (Rice and SMU), the Carolinas (The Citadel and Davidson), Hawai'i (Yahoo! Sports Invitational) and its most recent trip that took it to Providence, R.I. (Brown).

Miles Traveled To Date 14067.00

Rice and SMU 2,690.11

The Citadel and Davidson 1,005.75

Hawai'i 9,709.44

Brown 661.70

Miles Remaining 2,489.02

Road Warriors

Navy has spent plenty of time getting acquainted with life on the road. The Mids, who opened the season N16-18 at Rice (L, 75-72) and SMU (L, 81-64), played seven of their first-10 contests away from Annapolis and lost all seven.

From Road Warriors To Road Woes

Over the last four years (including the current season), the Mids have posted a 21-22 (.488) record on the road versus a 43-8 (.843) mark at home. Last season, Navy recorded an 8-9 record in games played away from Alumni Hall. The Mids are 0-5 on the road this season (does not include neutral site games).

Year Home Road Neutral

1998-99 12-2 6-4 1-1

1999-00 15-2 7-4 1-0

2000-01 11-3 8-9 0-0

2001-02 5-1 0-5 0-3

Total 43-8 21-22 2-4

New Guys On The Block

Nine new faces joined the Navy basketball team this fall, with four of those players - Marcell Cummings, Taj Mathews, Laramie Mergerson and Rob Paul - seeing action so far this winter. The other five freshmen are Adam Allegro, Paul Bania, Shawn Ikpa, Danny Knott and George O'Garro.

Below are the bios of Cummings, Mathews, Mergerson and Paul which do not appear in the media guide.

#33 Marcell Cummings

G _ 6-3 _ 195 _ Sacramento, Calif.

Up Close - A 2000 graduate of Laguna Creek High School in Elk Grove, Calif. ... letterwinner in basketball and track & field ... named team MVP of Laguna Creek track team in 1998 and 2000 ... directed prep basketball squad to the 1999 county championship ... full name is Johnathan Marcell Cummings ... son of Johnny and Barbara Cummings ... born April 7, 1982.

#34 Taj Mathews

G _ 6-3 _ 187 _ Mercer Island, Wash.

Up Close - A 2001 graduate of Mercer Island High School ... three-year letterwinner in basketball ... guided Mercer Island to the 1999 and 2001 King Conference Championship ... the '99 team captured the Washington state title with a 27-3 record ... served as captain his junior season and co-captain as a senior ... earned Second-Team All-King Conference his senior campaign ... former high school teammate of Lehigh guard Matt Logie ... full name is Taj Imani Mathews ... son of LaVeeda Garlington-Mathews ... born Oct. 31, 1983.

#55 Laramie Mergerson

F/C _ 6-7 _ 210 _ Duncanville, Texas

Up Close - A 2001 graduate of Duncanville High School ... a two-year letterwinner in basketball ... led his prep team to the 2000 regional championship with a 32-5 record ... garnered all-district recognition his senior campaign ... a member of the National Honor Society and Latin Honor Society ... served as Student Council Chairman ... full name is Laramie Mergerson Jr. ... son of Laramie Sr. and Loretta Mergerson ... born Nov. 7, 1982.

#53 Rob Paul

C _ 6-11 _ 240 _ Corpus Christi, Texas

Up Close - A 2001 graduate of Calallen High School ... a three-year letterwinner in basketball, while also earning a letter in cross country ... led Calallen to back-to-back-to-back district and area championships ... led his prep squad to a 28-5 record his senior season and a 25-8 mark his junior year ... named defensive district MVP his senior campaign ... named First-Team Academic All-State ... full name is Robert Westervelt Paul ... son of Matt and Susan Paul ... born Sept. 26, 1983.