Pirates report: Notes, quotes

March 25, 2008
The Sports Xchange

Notes, quotes · Strategy and personnel · Getting inside

FINAL RECORD
18-12, 11-5 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (tied for second place)

WHAT WENT RIGHT
The Pirates' defense kept them in a lot of games, holding opponents to just 62.8 points per game and a league-best .398 field-goal percentage. The scoring of Rashad West and Vincent Simpson kept Hampton afloat on nights when the defense wasn't up to par. The Pirates were excellent at home, compiling an 11-2 record at the Hampton University Convocation Center.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Six of the Pirates' loss were by six points or less, including the last three. It probably didn't help that Hampton was a MEAC-worst .601 from the free-throw line, which might have changed some of those close setbacks into victories.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"It was a microcosm of the entire season for us -- we haven't done a great job all year with the lead. Guys get a little relaxed, and we're just not a good team when we're not rebounding. Our attention to detail really evaporated." -- Hampton coach Kevin Nickelberry told the Newport News Daily Press after the Pirates' season-ending loss to Coppin State in the MEAC tournament.