Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Hampton University Athletics

Schedule

Scoreboard

MBB-IOWA STATE
Chantel Copes

Men's Basketball By Jim Heath - Director of Sports Information

MEMORIES OF HAMPTON-IOWA ST. 20 YEARS AGO

As "March Madness" is about to commence in Indiana, there is a good chance an iconic clip appears from a pleasant time of Hampton Athletics history and NCAA Tournament history.  

Twenty years ago, a 15th-seeded Hampton Pirates squad took on the 2nd-seeded Iowa State Cyclones in the 2001 NCAA West Regional at the Boise State University Pavilion. A Tarvis Williams jumper with 6.9 seconds left lifted the Pirates to a thrilling 58-57 victory. In the moments that followed, one image will never leave the minds of the Hampton faithful.

The Pirates, in their sixth season at the NCAA Division I level, were in the midst of a special ride heading into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament. Hampton went through the MEAC schedule with a 14-4 record and shared the regular-season title with South Carolina State. After an opening-round win over Morgan State, the Pirates got to avenge three of the four losses by defeating Norfolk State and South Carolina State for the title.

When it came time for the announcement of "Selection Sunday", the Pirates gathered at the home of head coach Steve Merfeld. As the first wave of sites came on the screen, some of the team members saw their "dream site" pop up, but not with Hampton's name. "A lot of the team was a bit disappointed when Anaheim, California showed and we weren't there. We definitely wanted to go to Anaheim, but in the end, Boise blew our minds," said Williams.

Others had visions of matchups with friends at tournament schools. "One of my good friends was on Kentucky at the time and thinking we would be in that 15 range, once Kentucky popped up, I thought we might get them," said junior Tommy Adams.

RECIPE FOR AN UPSET

As practice began before heading west, the Pirates got their first looks on tape at the Big 12 Regular Season Champions. Iowa State entered post-season 25-4, but stumbled in the quarterfinals losing to Baylor.   

The Cyclones had Jamaal Tinsley (who went onto a lengthy NBA career), but with the momentum the Pirates were carrying into the tournament, they felt good.   

"We were watching film and Tinsley hit a couple moves that yes, brought some oooh and ahhh's, but we all thought this was one we could get," said Marseilles Brown who had transferred from Richmond and was on the Spiders team that scored a first-round tournament upset. "Tinsley was the key to them," he added.

From a big man's perspective, Williams felt calm but confident. "I was looking at their bigs and felt we were quicker and more athletic. Iowa State wasn't playing like your typical #2-seed and I remember telling family members that we had a shot at this," he said.  

Coach Merfeld echoed those thoughts with the way the Pirates were trending heading into the tournament. "We had a confident group that felt we could go get this game," he said. "Adding Brown and LaSean Howard with successful NCAA experience gave us an even better feeling."

THE COMEBACK

Down 57-48 with 7:00 left, the Pirates slowly started to make some headway into that deficit and as they crept closer, the crowd kept getting louder and louder for the Pirates.  

"We went early in the day to the arena and got to feel the buzz in the atmosphere with the tournament," Adams said. "The guys were focused on what we came out to do and were ready."

As the Pirates got to 57-56, the buzz in the arena was more than palpable. After a timeout by Hampton with 21.6 seconds left, a calming presence hit the Pirates bench and they knew what they wanted to run.

"We had this play called 'Winner' that we ran just a few times that year and every time it worked," said Brown. In this case, Brown's entry pass into Williams was kicked out of bounds with 11.3 seconds remaining.

THE SHOT

On the ensuing play, Brown threw a risky pass, but it was just over the outstretched hands of the defender in front of Williams. "It was a risky pass, but I knew where Tarvis liked the ball and his length allowed him to get it before the defender could snag it," said Brown.  

Williams knew where to go from there. "Just make it a simple drop step and hook was all that I had in my mind and the shot went down," he said.

From there, Hampton still had one last stand with Tinsley barreling down the court for a last-second chance. "Once I hit that shot I was hustling back to get in position and three words in my head were - do not foul," said Williams. "I took pride in my blocked shots and wanted to alter it in some way without contact.  

Hampton had a foul to give and that was not lost on Merfeld's mind. "If you watch the game, you'll see me in the background after we took the lead trying to get someone to draw a foul. Luckily, I guess no one listened," Merfeld said.

THE REACTION - ON CAMPUS AND IN BOISE

Once the final horn sounded, a feeling hit all members of the Hampton travel party that will never leave their minds. One would say Pirate Nation enveloped Boise.

As Hampton University President Dr. William R. Harvey penned in a story for the Idaho Statesman on March 20, 2001, Boise showed much affection to the visitors from Virginia, before, during, and after the game.

"From the time of my arrival on Thursday morning until my departure on Sunday morning, I witnessed the greatest outpouring of love and humanity by an entire city that I have ever seen in all of my life," Harvey said. "You are very special people!"

The Hampton Marching Force and cheerleaders were such a hit with the crowd that they were invited to perform at a local hockey game the next night to a standing ovation. They even got their props from game announcer, and former Los Angeles Laker legend James Worthy saying how "this crowd will see bar none the best band and cheerleaders here with Hampton."

Adams described the scene back in Hampton as one of a kind. "I got calls from friends and they let me hear how the students were just enjoying it and that's a sound I will never forget," he said.

THE KICK

Anyone who knows the history of "March Madness" knows what happened next. As all of Hampton's travel party and the team celebrated on the floor, you see Merfeld circling around with his arms pumping and we will let him finish the story.

"As the game ends and of course everyone rushes the floor, I am jumping and next thing I feel is a pair of arms and I am up in the air," he said. "I hear the voice of David Johnson in my ear saying 'I got you, coach, I got you,' and the rest they say is history."

 
Print Friendly Version