jjohnson@heraldsun.com; 419-6667
DURHAM -- The basketball schedules for the N.C. Central men's and women's basketball teams have an ACC flavor this season.
Both squads get their first taste of action this week, as the men open at North Carolina on Wednesday (9 p.m., ESPNU) and the women visit Maryland on Saturday.
Women's coach Joli Robinson called her team's slate, which includes five ACC opponents, ambitious -- maybe a bit too ambitious, she said.
"You do worry about confidence," Robinson said. "It's still going to be a great experience to play those teams. We don't have the depth as those schools, but it will help is."
Robinson said surpassing the 2008-09 win total of 10 was the primary goal as the Eagles prepare for competition in the MEAC, which still is a year away.
"Anything more than 10 would be great," Robinson said. "But we know the schedule is a lot tougher this year."
With NCCU's men, just about everything is new.
There's a new head coach, a new set of uniforms, a handful of new players and a new team captain.
First-year coach LeVelle Moton said he took his team back to the basics for the first four days of practice. He wanted to rebuild the foundation the Eagles would be playing from this season.
"No one has ever played for LeVelle Moton before," he said. "I'm optimistic, but I'm realistic. We went back to third-grade basketball to make sure everybody knows the basics."
The Eagles' first test will come against reigning national champion North Carolina. Moton said he thought many of his players probably dreamed of playing for the Tar Heels growing up, but having a chance to play against them could be a little overwhelming.
"I'm just trying to calm the guys down so they can play," Moton said. "This is something we've wanted as an institution for a long time as we're making our transition to Division I.
"It's like we've been waiting to get into the party and now we're in. We're not going to hang on the wall and complain about the music the deejay is playing because we've got the play North Carolina first."
Junior guard C.J. Wilkerson said he is looking forward to playing against UNC, and he admitted that he was a fan of the Tar Heels and so is most of his family.
"It's going to be exciting because I grew up a UNC fan," said Wilkerson, who is the Eagles' team captain. "My family is going to be on both sides of it. They'll want to see me do well, but they're going to like Carolina, too."
Wilkerson, who is from Oxford and played at Webb, joined the team after playing the past two seasons in junior college, first in Iowa and then in South Carolina a year ago. He said he was honored to be chosen the team captain and that the team is really working hard to practice and play the way Moton wants.
"There's a real intensity we have," Wilkerson said. "It has really changed. He gives us the prompts, and we want to perfect what he says. Each day the team chemistry gets better because we're working hard every day."
