After an incredibly up and down league slate, the Mean Green entered the conference tournament as the 6 seed. The first opponent was the Arkansas State Indians. Despite having a season mired in turmoil, this figured to be a real test as ASU usually plays us tough.

Early on it was what you would expect with both sides trading punches. Midway thru the first half, Adam McCoy led a key 16-7 run, which gave us a 33-24 advantage with just a few minutes to go before intermission. At halftime the advantage was 38-31, but one had the feeling NT was gonna lay the hammer down. Josh White opened the 2^nd frame with five quick points and we were off and running. Adrian Banks got the lead under 10 briefly, but by and large the Mean Green laid waste to the Indians. McCoy had a monster game with 21 points. He was perfect from the field going 8-8 (including 5 treys). Keith Wooden, Ben Bell, and Josh also reached double figures.

The final score was 85-63 and included a few milestones. For the second straight season and only the fifth time in school history the Mean Green had reached the 20 win plateau. The ’07-08 campaign also highlighted our dominance in the SuperPit, as our 15 home wins set an all-time record for NT basketball. We had earned a few days off before traveling east to Mobile.

The season came to an end as we faced the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the quarterfinals of the SBC tourney. WKU blitzed us in the opening minutes as they rained in 5 early three pointers. Orlando Mendez-Valdez continued to be a Mean Green killer with his long range accuracy. For the most part we were severely outplayed the first 20 minutes, but we had the deficit under 10 at the half, so we had some hope. Early in the second half our senior leaders made one final charge as they closed the gap to 1.. After a timeout to collect themselves, WKU regained the advantage, led by Courtney Lee’s 21 points, going on a huge run themselves. Ben Bell had a big technical foul that went against him, helping the Toppers pile on the advantage. From that point on, we could never really trouble them again - despite a huge effort from Justin Howerton - and lost 84-70.

We had to say goodbye to some terrific seniors this season. Ben Bell had been a gritty warrior, leading us at the point for two years. Quincy Williams never had a losing a record in his four years on the squad, a mark that, if memory serves, hadn’t been accomplished in over 40 years – if ever – by a NT player. Keith Wooden gave his heart to the squad, despite having troubling injuries in both his years in the lineup. I’ll always remember how ecstatic he was when he held and kissed the SBC trophy back in ’07. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Dez Willingham, who was having a solid season, before his year ending injury.

As we look ahead, we have question marks, but a lot to be hopeful for as well. Our transfer George Odufuwa and the JUCO Tramiel should be the replacements up front. Harold Stewart has shown he can provide quality high energy minutes off the bench. Hogans has a solid defensive and rebounding set & Howerton showed some flashes as the season progressed. Our strength in the backcourt should only get better as Tristan, Collin and Josh come back off of their tremendous seasons. Adam McCoy could see the starting lineup at times as well, as he was really coming on late in the season. Dominique Johnson should be able to spell Josh at the point and Collin Mangrum comes back from injury and could help with solid play he showed in ’07.

The West seems more than winnable, and with the Eastern division in flux a conference title seems a reasonable goal. Times have not been this bright for Mean Green basketball in a generation. Bring on the schedule!