By Joe Budzelek
This summer, I will be profiling various East Coast "destination" mid-majors, programs that have been a consistent source of excellency throughout the ebbs and flows of the college basketball landscape.
The first team that will be featured in this series is Norfolk State, a program that has had a .500 or better conference record in every season since joining the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference as a full-time member in 1998.
Over the course of 12 seasons, head coach Robert Jones has led the Norfolk State men's basketball team to more than 230 victories, steering the program through its most successful stretch since joining Division I that is headlined with three NCAA Tournament selections and a CIT title in just the last five years. Jones has been instrumental in shaping every major achievement during this period, creating a culture of excellence that has become the benchmark in the MEAC. With the foundation he has built, there is strong belief that the team will not only sustain its high level of success but also continue to rise and break new ground.
“We finally had our first breakthrough [winning the MEAC tournament] in 2012 with Kyle O’Quinn, following that up with a 26 win season, and them the undefeated regular season conference play the next year,” says Jones, “So the way things have changed, it also transformed from having people happy with us just competing in the MEAC, to now we’re not only expected to win conference games, we’re also expected to win non-conference games. Now, if we finished, like, fourth place, people would be like Norfolk State fell off the map. Now, the pressure is totally different, we’re expected to be the champion, not just to have winning seasons.
Berthed from that pressure is the diamond, so to speak, of a perennial winning culture, and Coach Jones has been handsomely rewarded for his hard work and dedication, earning a new seven-year extension that will pay him a base salary of $435,000 per year, a number that will help keep Jones at Norfolk State as long as possible, despite perennially receiving offers with more earning potential.
As time passes, the personal accolades for Robert Jones line up. Recognized multiple times for his leadership and character, earning MEAC Coach of the Year honors in 2019, 2022, and 2024, along with BOXTOROW HBCU Coach of the Year in both 2022 and 2024. He was also the recipient of the 2019 Skip Prosser Man of the Year award—an honor that highlights integrity and ethical conduct in coaching at the Division I level—and was once again a finalist for the award this year.
Simply put, college sports, as a whole, can use more Robert Joneses.
And it shows in the product and the spirit of his teams. When opponents face Norfolk State, they are often outworked on the offensive glass, overwhelmed by defensive pressure, and have their hearts broken by lead guards from recent years—such as DeVante Carter, Joe Bryant, and Brian Moore—who have a knack for carrying the team with laser-focused daggers in the final moments of games.
Next season, like many mid-major programs nationwide, Robert Jones and his staff had to hit the recruiting trail hard and fast to replenish their roster that returns the least amount of players in program history. “It’s a big experiment,” says Jones, “Even though we had some great newcomers last year we still had a core that was able to push the culture and the legacy forward, and then from there, we just plug-and-played in the new guys, which put us over the top. With four guys coming back – and neither of those guys played a lot for us last year – what we had to do was get some immediate firepower.”
In the past, typical Norfolk State transfers were more like diamonds in the rough. Case in point: Jamarri Thomas, the 2023–24 MEAC Player of the Year, just wrapped up an excellent season at South Carolina, leading the team in assists and finishing second in scoring. However, he averaged fewer points and assists per game at UNC Wilmington than Elijah Jamison—Norfolk State’s projected starting point guard—who began his college career at Milwaukee. Jamison is expected to share the new-look Norfolk State backcourt with Texas A&M–Corpus Christi transfer Dian Wright-Forde—a Bay Shore, NY native who averaged 10.4 points per game as a freshman—and New Hampshire transfer Anthony McComb III, a rim-attacking guard who averaged nearly 13 points per game last season. Freshman Ahmad Torrence and Monroe Community College transfer Ryan Williams — both New York City natives — add depth to the backcourt alongside returning wing Dramane Camara, who joined Norfolk State last offseason after beginning his career at DePaul.
The bedrock of Norfolk State’s restocked frontcourt arrived as transfers from NYC-area mid-majors with incoming seniors Keyontae Lewis transferring after three seasons at Wagner and Jaquel Morris, a Brooklyn native, playing last season at Saint Peter’s. Listed at 6’9” and 255 pounds, Lewis is a physical force in the low post, ranking as Wagner’s most efficient defender over the past two seasons, according to EvanMiya.com. The site also ranked the 6’8”, 225-pound Morris as Saint Peter’s second most efficient defender. His length and athleticism make him one of the most versatile and switchable defenders on the roster.
Physical low-post forwards are nothing new for Norfolk State, but Casper College JUCO transfer Yel Deeng – a 6’9 230 incoming junior – adds an element that has been missing from Norfolk State for years: an ability to stretch the floor. “Last year, we won 24 games, but a lot of those were games when we made like just a few three-pointers,” says Jones, “Our bigs typically get a lot of rim touches and lob threats out of the pick-and-roll, so Yel’s ability to shoot close to 40% from three gives him a huge ceiling and adds a much-needed element to our froncourt.” Very few of Norfolk State’s offenses have been predicated on the three-point shot, but last season’s 27.6% 3PA/FGA ratio ranked 360th nationally and was the lowest mark during Jones’ tenure. The addition of Deeng should help open up space for the Spartans’ new cavalcade of guards.
Valparaiso transfer Devon Ellis, a 6’7”, 225-pound incoming senior, will also bring scoring and versatility to the frontcourt. “One of the guys we’re most excited about adding is Devon Ellis,” says Jones. “He’s super skilled, athletic, can shoot the three, shoot the mid-range, and rebound. He plays with an edge, so we’re really excited about what he can do at the stretch-four.”
With the House v. NCAA settlement officially approved earlier this week, Norfolk State can fill up to three more scholarships on its current roster. However, as of early June, this year’s squad already looks poised to once again rank as the top HBCU in the nation.
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