NORFOLK, Va. – Like a lot of teams across all NCAA divisions, it was an unceremonious end to the 2019-20 season for Norfolk State men's basketball. No chance for the NCAA Tournament spotlight. No chance to hang another banner by claiming the MEAC championship, something the Spartans were looking forward to doing after last year's heartbreaker in the tournament final.
 
And even though there will always be an asterisk next to the 2019-20 campaign in the record book for the way it ended, the season still happened. The Spartans still finished near the top of the MEAC standings, still topped a 21-10 Bowling Green team in overtime during non-conference play, and still finished at .500 or better overall for the eighth time in the last nine years.
 
"Although the halt to the end of season was disappointing, I am proud of our players' effort," head coach Robert Jones said. "With 11 new guys on the team, this could have easily been a rebuilding year for most programs. These student-athletes bought into the culture and fabric of the program to make this a special season."
 
The Spartans can only look back and think, "What if?" With one of the program's best defenses in its Division I era, could it have been enough to get NSU to the NCAA Tournament for the second time ever? This year's team finished with its second-best scoring defense (64.9) and field goal percentage defense (40.0) since making the D-I jump in 1997, and as the adage goes, anything can happen come (MEAC) tournament time.
 
They already had set the D-I mark for scoring margin (+5.6, topping last year's +4.1), and thanks in part to senior Jermaine Bishop, the team had an outside shot at topping the school record for 3-pointers set last year as well. The stoppage of the season due to the coronavirus also prevented Bishop from topping the individual school record for 3-pointers. Instead, he'll have to settle for a tie with Ralph Tally at 98. Rally, of course, set that record way back in 1986-87 not long after the 3-point line came to the college game.
 
Bishop, a first-team All-MEAC performer, took off once conference play began and proved to be one of the best players in the league. This year's team relied heavily on its guard foursome of Bishop, senior Steven Whitley (third-team All-MEAC), junior Devante Carter and sophomore Joe Bryant Jr. Carter finished just short of double figures at 9.7 points per game, while Bishop (15.6), Bryant (12.0) and Whitley (10.1) all reached that mark. Carter's scoring average was almost double the next highest scorer on the team.
 
"To finish one game out of first place with a whole new team is remarkable," said Jones. "A 12-4 MEAC record is nothing to sneeze at, and all credit goes to these student-athletes and all of the coaches and support staff. We accomplished many feats and broke some records along the way. Although this season will be the 'asterisk season,' I will forever remember the 2019-2020 men's basketball team."
 
Despite the unremarkable end to the season, the future looks bright for the Spartans, as it usually does despite the number of players gone from one year to the next. Teams across a variety of sports are currently waiting for the NCAA to work through decisions on eligibility for student-athletes who had their seasons cut short, especially winter sports like basketball, ice hockey, indoor track, wrestling, etc. (the organization has already come out and said spring sport athletes should get the year back).
 
But no matter what, NSU will bring back a solid squad, as just Whitley, Bishop and redshirt junior Kyonze Chavis were the only three players to walk on Senior Night. Bishop's plan on pursuing a waiver to play another year, after missing almost three full years, means NSU could very well bring back nine of its top 10 scorers regardless of what the NCAA decides with senior eligibility.
 
It's a shame the season had to end like it did, and end without the Spartans getting the chance to play even just one game in the MEAC tournament (only the No. 3-6 seeds on the men's side did not play their first game). But NSU will be right up there again next year. Just think, the start of the 2020-21 season is now roughly just seven and a half months away.
 
Some NSU numbers and DYKs to ponder…
• This year marked just the second time the program went undefeated at home in MEAC play. The only other time? 2012-13, when the Spartans finished undefeated in league play at 16-0.
 
• It has now been nine straight seasons of finishing in the top 4 in the MEAC standings for NSU, and 13 in the past 14 years. Only 14 teams in the country, including the Spartans, have finished in the top 4 of their respective conference standings each of the last nine seasons.
 
• And that one time during these past 14 seasons they did not have a top 4 finish in the MEAC? The Spartans turned around and won the MEAC tournament the following season. Go figure.
 
• What does NSU have in common with Murray State, Kansas, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Michigan State and Duke? NSU has never had a losing conference record since joining Division I. Only those six schools have a longer active streak of finishing without a losing conference record than the Spartans.
 
• They started the year with 10 newcomers (11, including Bishop, who had never played a game for NSU). Jones stated in preseason interviews that there would be a lot of mixing and matching lineups as they figured out their rotation.
 
• As a result, the Spartans had 14 different starting lineups this year. None was used more than five times.
 
• NSU owns a winning record against every other team in the MEAC. How many programs in D-I can make that claim? After some summer research, stay tuned next year to find the answer…