RALEIGH, March 14, 2008 – Steven Rush walked out the North Carolina A&T men’s basketball locker room following the Aggies 64-62 MEAC Tournament loss to Delaware State at the RBC Center and quickly sought out head Jerry Eaves to thank him for the opportunity to play for the Aggies over the last two years of his career.

Eaves returned Rush’s gesture with what has become a common refrain for the coach during the tail end of the season: “You turned this program around son. I don’t care what anyone says.”

Minutes later Jason Wills walked out of the locker room to more congratulations from Eaves although the coach had one more command of Wills. “I want you to get your education. Get it done.”

And with that, two important careers from the Eaves era at N.C. A&T came to an end. As Rush and Wills headed to the Aggies bus for the last time, their legacy in Eaves' eyes will not only be what they did on the court, but how much they did for the Aggies in the classroom and in the recruiting process.  

Rush and Wills along with five other seniors – Trahern Chaplin, Austin Ewing, Glenn Nelson, Patrick Gregg and Angelo Hernandez – are all headed toward receiving their college education. Five of the seven seniors will graduate in May. Two others will finish up in summer school. With the NCAA putting extra emphasis on graduating players who sign letters of intent, seven seniors graduating is a big deal for the men’s basketball program.

“I got to watch a great group of young men turn this program around,’’ said Eaves. “That’s what seniors are supposed to do. They are supposed to make the program better for the next person. Steve and Austin did a tremendous job in the classroom and were great spokesmen for the university when we brought kids in on official visits. A young man like Jason Wills came in when we were winning three games and turned us into one of the better programs in the conference. So I’m proud of all my seniors.”

Wills saw his career come to an end with a 13-point, six-rebound, and four-assist performance. Those numbers pretty much sums up his career. Wills’ versatility made him a valuable weapon for Eaves. Wills finished his career with more than 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 200 assists in his career, becoming the first player in the modern era of the program to post those numbers.

He finishes his career as the Aggies 13^th all-time leading scorer as well as the school’s fifth all-time rebounder. In fact, Wills led the Aggies in rebounding and assists this season. After debilitating attrition hit the program during the 2005-06 season, it Wills who rescued the program by putting together his best season as an Aggie. He averaged 14.7 points and 7.1 rebounds.

“He was our do-it all guy,’’ said Eaves, who watched Wills record 12 double-doubles in four years. “We’ve had Jason do so much since he has been here. He’s brought the ball up the floor, we’ve played him at center and we’ve played him at the small forward spot. We’ve played him everywhere and responded every time.”

Rush’s role over the last two years has been to put the ball in the basket from 20-feet out. No one will soon forget Rush’s junior year where it seemed he hit everything he put up. He hit a single-season school record 115 3-pointers and ranked third in the nation in 3-pointers made per game. Rush is third on the Aggies all-time list for 3-pointers made in a career. He hit 193 3-pointers in only 60 games played as an Aggie. He ends his career as the best free throw shooter in school history after hitting 85.5 percent of his career free throws.
Thomas Coleman

“He was a young who had a lot put on him,’’ said Eaves. “He probably got too much blame when we lost and too much praise we won. He took it all in stride; he’s a tremendous young man with a bright future ahead of him.”

With the seven seniors leaving, talk quickly turns to the Aggies future. Thomas Coleman will probably be looked upon as the key cornerstone in the Aggies future. Coleman shot 66.4 percent from the floor as a freshman and ranked second in the conference in blocks. Sophomore Robert Johnson also emerged as a key part of the Aggies future, finishing the season by starting the final two games.

Kam Shepherd, a 6-foot-8 freshman who didn’t play much this season, should figure into the rotation in 2008-09. With swingmen Ed Jones and Nick Wilson returning, the Aggies will be one of the longer teams in the league.

“We are going to go from one of the smaller teams in the conference to one of the bigger teams,’’ said Eaves. “We had some talented young men with great potential who didn’t play much this year because I believe young ones are supposed to learn from the seniors.

“I think that happened. You’re talking about a senior group here started their own study hall. We had some seniors who did a tremendous job in the classroom, so I like what our young players were able to see from my seniors.”