By: Aaron Robinson
The History
As I walked into the Physical Education Complex in West Baltimore on Saturday afternoon, for the first of two games between Coppin State and Norfolk State, it was clear that there was an energy in the building that had not been present in the three previous trips that I had made to the PEC this season.
In a gym with no fans, there was noise, even above that of the pre-game music. There was an extra bounce in the steps of the players taking part in their respective layup lines.
This weekend series meant more to all of the parties involved.
It was personal.
“I haven’t beaten Norfolk in my four years of college, until this year,” Senior guard Dejuan Clayton, who poured in 22 points and 9 assists on Sunday, said after the game. “They had the upper hand on us until now, so it felt great to come in and get two in a row.”
Norfolk State entered this weekend having won 14 consecutive games against Coppin State, including two last season that came by 20 points or more.
The two teams were set to play in the opening round of the MEAC tournament in March, but the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic ended the postseason before these two teams even got the chance to suit up.
“Going into the MEAC tournament last year, we felt like we were playing our best basketball, so we were confident that if we were to play against Norfolk, we had a good chance of competing and winning that game,” Coppin State head coach Juan Dixon said after the game.
This weekend though, Coppin State got its long awaited revenge.
How It Happened
The Eagles won game one 81-71, and followed that up Sunday afternoon with a 81-77 victory to move to 5-1 and into sole possession of first place in the MEAC North division.
“For us to be in a position where we can separate ourselves in the north division by getting two wins this weekend, it meant a lot,” Dixon said.
The weekend sweep gives the Eagles a two game cushion in the win column over both Norfolk State and Morgan State who both currently have three wins against conference opponents.
But more importantly, it proved to the Eagles that they can compete with anybody when they are at their best.
“It’s not about the rest of the MEAC, it’s about us,” Dixon stated. “It’s about us being able to go out and compete against any team we face.”
Coppin State completed the weekend sweep behind two sensational offensive performances, having five players score in double figures in both games.
The Eagles averaged 81 points per game on the weekend, knocked down 24 three’s at a 38% clip, and assisted on 62% of their field goals.
The senior trio of Dejuan Clayton, Anthony Tarke, and Koby Thomas really fueled the offense for Coppin in both games, as they were the only Eagles to score in double figures in both games.
“Dejuan has been our quarterback… he is going to continue to lead us,” Dixon Said. “But the play of Anthony Tarke, and Koby Thomas, our seniors who have been here since day 1 of this season… I can’t say enough about our senior class.”
On the defensive end, Dixon’s squad held Norfolk to 37% shooting from the floor, and out-rebounded the Spartans by seven on the weekend.
“We had a great gameplan, where we wanted to make certain guys beat us,” Clayton said.
That ‘certain guy’ that Clayton speaks of was Norfolk State’s Kyonze Chavis.
Chavis came into the weekend averaging just six points per game against division one opponents. He scored 10 and 11 points respectively on Saturday and Sunday.
Some might say that the Eagles did a poor job, seeing that Chavis exceeded his scoring average in both games.
But the fact that the Eagles neglected to guard Chavis on the perimeter forced him to be aggressive scoring the ball, which played into the Eagles hand, as Chavis shot 1-7 from the three-point line in the two games over the weekend.
Juan Dixon’s squad also held the Spartans leading scorer, Devante Carter to 34% shooting from the floor as he averaged just 13 points-per-game in the series.
On this weekend, the Eagles were better on both ends of the floor, and one of the biggest reasons for that is the addition of Yuat Alok.
The Emergence of Yuat Alok
Yuat Alok, a six-foot-eleven, 225 pound, New Zealand native, showed up in West Baltimore in mid December and finally got his waiver approved by the NCAA the second week of January, which made him eligible for Coppin State’s series against Morgan State.
In his first four games for Coppin State, Alok is averaging just under 10 points and a tad over five rebounds per game.
In Sunday’s decisive victory, Alok tallied 18 points and eight rebounds. Both career highs in NCAA division one games. The TCU transfer shot 8-12 from the floor, making two of the three shots he took from beyond the arc.
“Yuat is a game changer for us, we truly believe that,” Dixon said. “He makes us really tough to guard, with his ability to post but also with his ability to stretch (the floor)” Dixon Said.
Sunday was just Alok’s fourth game since December 23, 2018, when he broke his wrist playing for TCU in a contest against Charlotte.
That next month, in January of 2019, Alok left TCU, and transferred to UCF where he spent a semester with Johnny Dawkins in Orlando.
At the conclusion of that semester, Alok transferred to Southern Utah where he would spend the 2019-2020 season sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules, until the Coronavirus pandemic forced many students, like Alok off their campuses, and back to their homes.
For Yuat, his home was Auckland, New Zealand, and due to travel bans in an effort to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, Alok could not return to Southern Utah to begin the 2020-2021 school year.
Southern Utah subsequently reneged on Alok’s scholarship leaving him with no place to go.
You see where this is going.
Juan Dixon’s staff immediately took the initiative to get Alok in school, and after a few months, and two separate waiver requests that were approved, Alok is a Coppin State Eagle.
“For me it has been a long journey, just keeping my head up, and just knowing that everything would fall into place; trusting God… listening to my coaches and just doing everything that I can everyday to get better,” The New Zealand native said.
Alok gives this Coppin State team a different dimension both offensively with his ability to space the floor, but also on the defensive end with his ability to alter shots.
“He’s going to continue to get his legs and get a feel for what we do on both ends of the floor, but we are extremely confident that he’s going to continue to get better,” Dixon said.
If that statement holds true, Coppin State will be a force to be reckoned with come March.
What Does All This Mean?
This sweep of Norfolk State puts Coppin State at 5-1 against conference opponents and in sole possession of first place in the MEAC north. After being picked to finish fourth in the north, and going 3-1 against the two teams who were picked atop the division, the Eagles are in about as good a spot as you could ask to be in at this point in the season.
But the magnitude of the wins over the weekend go beyond the standings.
This team believes it can win, and for a program that has gradually been trending upward in recent years, this could finally be the year the Eagles get over the hump.
When asked if this year’s team was a championship caliber team, Clayton responded, “Yes of course, our starting 5 is very powerful and the guys off the bench bring great energy, so I think we have the complete package.”
“Everything is coming together, we just have to peak at the right time,” Alok said.
Coppin State’s next next four games will go a long way to cement the legitimacy of this year’s squad. Next weekend, the eagles will host Morgan State for a two game set, before traveling to Norfolk, Virginia where they will face off against this same Spartans team on their home court.
Should the Eagles come out of these next two weekends with their head above water, the facilities team at Coppin State will need to begin to prepare for a new banner in the Physical Education Complex.