After finishing the 2003-04 basketball season with a 3-25 record overall and 3-15 conference record, the N.C. A&T men’s basketball team is looking forward to the upcoming 2004-05 basketball season. With a lot of new faces and a newfound desire to win, the Aggies are hoping not only to contend for the MEAC basketball crown, but bring it back to Aggie Land.

Highlighting the grueling schedule for the upcoming season are games against Wake Forest, Duquesne, Santa Clara and Louisville.

The Louisville game will be one to mark on the calendar because it will be a homecoming for head coach Jerry Eaves and some of the Aggie players as well.

Sean Booker, Steven Koger, Jeff Alvis, Leslie Powell, and Demetrius Guoins all have ties to the Louisville area and are anxious to make the trip to the Bluegrass State.

“I’m going to love to go back and play my alma mater,” Eaves said, who graduated from Louisville in 1986. “My team will get to see pressure defense up close. I want my team to play pressure defense like Louisville during our games as well.”

Last year the Aggies averaged 57.8 points per game, the worst scoring averages in the conference. This average is expected to increase with the addition of newcomers Powell and Guoins.

“I expect them to produce and perform at a higher level,” Eaves said. “They are going to get a lot of playing time and a chance to learn the system as well.”

Booker led the Aggies in scoring last year as a freshman averaging 14.5 points per game and also led all freshmen in scoring in the MEAC. Not only did Booker play hard throughout the course of the year, he also pleased the crowd with an array of dunks and accurate three-point shooting.

Senior guards Rechodd Carter and Koger will be asked to lead on and off the court to set an example for the incoming freshman and transfers.

“I expect the seniors to perform at a certain level and play well,” Eaves said.

“I also want them to lead by example and teach the younger guys.”

Fans should not only expect hard nose defense from the Aggies, but they should also expect a lot of alley oops and excitement as well.

“We are like new born babies, but we are much more athletic,” Eaves said. “We are much deeper, a much better scoring team, and we are going to be a tough team to beat. The kids are much further advanced. We may still have problems winning at the end, but overall were a better team and are going to win some games.”

Losing close games was one of the problems that the Aggies faced during the season, but all of this should change with the help of more scorers and everything not being placed on the back of Booker.

“Everybody will pitch in,” Eaves said. “I want to average about 75 points a game with the help of everybody and not just one individual.”

The A&T men open up their 2004-05 season in the NABC Classic in Albuquerque, N.M. with games against Duquesne and Santa Clara on Nov. 12.

The Aggies’ home opener is against High Point University on Tuesday, Nov. 30. Their first MEAC home contest is against Hampton University on Saturday, Jan. 8 at 4 p.m.

“I’m happy were we are right now,” Eaves said. “So if you enjoyed what you saw last year, come out and watch us, the gym will be packed.”

• Julius McKinley