MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Coppin State coach Fang Mitchell dismisses the notion of moral victories. But as his team finished a draining week under the bright lights of Big Eight Conference competition -- a three-tour stop that left the Eagles still winless after five games -- Mitchell put a positive spin on the trip.
Mitchell said when he scheduled Oklahoma, St. John's, Kansas, Missouri and Kansas State to start the season, he figured the Eagles could go 2-3, maybe even 3-2.
"We also recognized there was a strong possibility that, since we were on the road, we could be 0-5 going home," Mitchell said. "In life, those who get ahead can't be afraid to fail. It's a lot better being out here, trying to be successful, than sitting home and not recognizing that we can play with these teams."
The Big Eight trip served several purposes for the Eagles. First of all, it confirmed the obvious. The Big Eight is a huge step above the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, where the Eagles have not lost a regular-season game since 1992. Coppin State lost its games to fourth-ranked Kansas, defending Big Eight champion Missouri and Kansas State by an average of 20 points.
Why? Size and depth are the primary reasons. Against Kansas and Missouri, the Eagles faced overwhelming height disadvantages. Against all three teams, they faced superior benches. No wonder Coppin State was whipped on the boards by an average of 15 per game. No wonder the Eagles' tired starters faded each night in the second half, when they were outscored by an average of 17 points.
Matchup problems aside, it was still a dismal week for the Eagles' frontcourt, outside of senior forward and captain Stephen Stewart.
Senior 6-foot-8 forward Michael Thomas fouled out of all three games, and although he grabbed 19 rebounds in his 67 minutes, his offensive production was disappointing. Thomas scored just six points, and never went to the foul line.
Junior 6-9 center Mario McGriff also spent the entire trip in foul trouble. He produced only six points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes, and also failed to get to the free-throw line.
"That's an example of big people not playing big," Mitchell said.
Stewart added: "Right now, we're just a perimeter team. We need a threat inside, and it has to be more than me."
After losing the second game of the trip -- a discouraging, 90-62 setback at Missouri -- Mitchell juggled the lineup. He benched McGriff and went to a three-guard alignment, giving junior Kyle Locke his first start of the year. Although the sacrifice in height helped Kansas State out-rebound the Eagles 36-23, the backcourt trio of Sidney Goodman, Keith Carmichael and Locke came through with 37 points in the Eagles' 66-56 loss to Kansas State on Saturday.
Mitchell plans to stick with this lineup, hoping to cultivate a dependable bench.
Coppin State's reserves managed only 34 points last week. The most encouraging was backup point guard Allen Watson. He scored 15 points and had eight assists in the three games, and he ran the offense crisply at Kansas State, helping Goodman to score most of his game-high 19 points as a shooting guard. Senior 6-6 forward Tariq Saunders also showed promise. He had a respectable eight points and 10 rebounds in 50 minutes, and he created eight free-throw chances with aggressive moves to the basket.
Coming into the season, the heart of the Eagles was Stewart and the backcourt of Goodman and Carmichael, and that trio left its mark in the Midwest. Each of them went over the 1,000-point career scoring mark on successive nights.
Carmichael grabbed a piece of the spotlight at Kansas with a career-high 32 points on 10 three-pointers. Goodman halted a three-game shooting slump with terrific efforts at Missouri and Kansas State. He scored 39 points in those games on 12-for-23 shooting from the field and 11-for-12 at the foul line. Goodman also had 16 assists and only nine turnovers on the trip.
Stewart, left to battle double teams for much of the trip, still averaged 14 points and five rebounds. In Mitchell's new lineup, Stewart will have to rebound more.
"We didn't play that badly at Kansas," Mitchell said of the 91-69 loss. "If we had gone home after Missouri, I would've felt it [the trip] was a complete wash. But coming back here [to Kansas State] and playing the way we did most of the night, we're going home knowing we can be successful, instead of dragging out of here."
The Eagles are richer after their Big Eight swing, in more ways than one. Mitchell generated about $100,000 in guaranteed money for his school on the trip, while Coppin State collected a few bruises and lessons in toughness that will surely benefit it during its MEAC schedule.
The Eagles will get a week off, before making their home debut Saturday against Bowie State, a Division II school. Then it's back to the road for the Eagles, who will face LSU, travel to the Spartan Classic at Michigan State, then go to Illinois-Chicago before opening their MEAC schedule. The Eagles know they must win the MEAC tournament to qualify for the NCAA !c tournament. A big road victory can only enhance Coppin State's stature, come tournament selection time in March.
"I'm smiling, even after a loss, because I know this will benefit us in the long run," Mitchell said. "We knew this schedule was going to be tough. We're Coppin State and we're not embarrassed by our performance. We might not have a victory yet, but we know victories are ahead."