BY MIKE POTTER : The Herald-Sun
mpotter@heraldsun.com
Feb 11, 2003 : 11:28 pm ET

Michael Noel said he’s not concerned with how many points he scores in a game as long as N.C. Central wins.

What the Eagles senior point guard does want to know are his assist and steal totals.

The Eagles have plenty of scorers right now, as they appear to be en route to their first winning season in three years.

But they have to have someone to keep things under control, the proverbial "coach on the floor," if you will.

And Noel has been that man.

"Petey has been our most improved player since last season," said Eagles coach Phil Spence, whose team finished 9-18 last season but was 13-10 after Tuesday’s loss to Elizabeth City State. "He’s a great young man on and off the court.

"He’s got good leadership skills and toughness, and he knows and understands the game. Petey is a real team player."

The 5-11, 170-pound Noel — who said the "Petey" nickname came from a grandmother who gave all her grandchildren nicknames, and he’s not sure how he got that one — is averaging 6.0 points, 3.0 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals in an average 23 minutes per game.

Last season, when Spence essentially was playing nine players instead of his current 13-man rotation, Noel averaged 7.6 points, 3.9 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 28 minutes.

Noel said he’d rather have the five extra minutes of rest and win.

"I feel real good about this year’s team," said Noel, who played two seasons at Surry Community College, earning junior college All-American honors before transferring to NCCU. "I think we’re coming together at the right time. Fortunately, we haven’t had too many major injuries.

"This season, we had a lot of returning players, and most of the new ones weren’t brand new to college basketball. I’m just happy to be able to give the team what it needs. I don’t have to score a lot of points. I just have to get the ball to the guys who can score."

That has turned out to be quite a balanced effort except for All-CIAA senior Shawn Ray, whose average has hovered around the 17-point mark most of the season.

"People might say I’m the ‘go-to’ guy because I can score, but Petey is the glue on this team," Ray said. "He’s become a lot more vocal on the floor this year. We’ve developed a close friendship on and off the court, and I think that has helped our performance."

Fellow senior Corey Tabron also had high praise for Noel.

"Petey’s biggest asset is playing under control," Tabron said. "He makes things happen. I saw him play at Surry when I was playing at Hagerstown [Junior College]. He’s real a floor general, you know?"

Despite his obvious point-guard skills, Noel hasn’t been playing basketball since he was knee-high. Football was the sport in his family.

"All the men in my family were football players," said the former running back, who became a two-sport standout at Winston-Salem Reynolds after beginning organized basketball in his sophomore season. "I heard from a few Division I-AA schools like Elon and North Carolina A&T and Appalachian State about playing football, but my grades weren’t what they should have been.

"I was just going to Livingstone to be a regular student until [Surry] coach Tony Searcy called me about going there to play."

Noel responded to the challenge by averaging 18 points, eight assists and four steals as a freshman, then helping lead Surry to the best season in school history as a sophomore. When it was time to move on, Noel said the decision to go to NCCU was easy even though his mother, Debra Smith, had gone to Winston-Salem State.

"Central was perfect for me," Noel said. "It wasn’t too far from home, and the program was kind of struggling when I got here."

Noel has been a big part of the turnaround.

"I believe this team is better because we’ve got some leaders who have a sense of urgency," Noel said. "I’m a senior, and it’s now or never. We’re on track to win the Western Division championship, and that was our first goal. Then we’ll focus on the CIAA Tournament.

"One difference this year is that we’ve got players who believe in Coach’s system. He has taught me a lot. The main thing is to be smart and do everything with a purpose. That applies on and off the basketball court."

Noel is on track to graduate in December with a degree in criminal justice.

"I’m thinking about applying to law school," he said. "But I also might want to be a drug enforcement agent. We’ve got to keep working hard to keep drugs away from kids."