Coppin State men’s basketball has spent the last decade trudging through the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, making little noise.
The Eagles dismissed former head coach Juan Dixon in March after six seasons, having watched his program compile a record of 51-131 and only crack double-digit wins once. The team hasn’t earned an NCAA Tournament bid since Fang Mitchell’s 28-year reign from 1986-2014.
Enter Larry Stewart, one of Coppin State’s own. He led the 1990 Eagles to the school’s first appearance in March Madness as a No. 15 seed before departing to play in the pros, where he split the next decade and a half between playing in the NBA and overseas. Now, he looks to right the school’s ship by improving on last year’s 9-23 season.
Stewart comes to Coppin after stints as an assistant at Bowie State, Morgan State and Maryland Eastern Shore.
“I knew the guys who would be returning from the previous year, so I knew I had to build around that,” he said on Glenn Clark Radio Nov. 3. “And just being in this league and already being an assistant coach, your job is a little bit different when you’re doing a lot of recruiting, so I was already in contact with a lot of [other players].”
Stewart won’t have to shoulder the same expectations as any contenders while he rebuilds. He won’t be joined by the majority of last year’s key contributors, most notably 20-point-per-game scorer Sam Sessoms. He, along with the next six of last year’s top scorers, have moved on, with the exception of redshirt senior Justin Winston (8.1 points per game in 2022-23).
The margins of the roster have been filled out by freshmen, indicative of the new regime, but Stewart will be joined by just enough veterans to maintain the infrastructure he seeks.
“You have Greg [Spurlock], you have Isaiah Gross, you have Justin Winston, you have Malik Battle, and you also have Luka [Tekavcic],” he said. “We have five guys who have played Division I basketball, they’ve been here at Coppin, so they know the lay of the land. They know how to get things done. It was kind of lucky, having a few guys who wanted to come back.”
The Eagles opened the season with a 100-55 loss at Virginia Tech on Nov. 6. Stewart took his freshmen guards for a spin, starting three in Zahree Harrison, Preist Ryan and Camaren Sparrow.
The coach is using these opportunities to separate the players based on how committed they are to their roles and the team, which he’ll use in mapping his rotation as the season moves along.
“I have a few guys who could step up and fill that [go-to guy] role,” Stewart said. “… Good players are consistent. You just have to get them into that mindset. There’s a difference between a lion and a deer, we want all lions.”
Sparrow, a prospect out of New Town High School, has already caught Stewart’s eye as a multi-tool guard with two-way potential. He’ll profile as the kind of young player who’s good enough to earn a spot on the court but still has to prove his long-term value in order to maintain steady minutes.
“I think he’s one of my best,” the coach said. “He’s the kind of guy who’s on the floor who can do multiple things. He can defend, he can shoot it, he can put it on the floor, but my biggest thing that I am happy about is he’s locked in on what he’s doing defensively. I know he’s going to have a great, long career. He just has to stay committed to the things that he is doing right now.”
Stewart recognizes the daunting road ahead of him to be an incredible opportunity. He, along with his brother, assistant coach Stephen Stewart, will have to balance patience with his players with his pillars of commitment as they move on from Game 1.
“I’m not the type of guy who’s going to reflect long,” he said. “I know how blessed I am, I know the opportunity I have in front of me, so I admit I thought about that for a while, but now it’s game time.”
For more from Stewart, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Coppin State Athletics