Fang Mitchell

Fang Mitchell clearly remembers his first win as Coppin State's basketball coach. It came in 1986 and was played at the Community College of Baltimore. "We were 0-9 at the time and it came against North Carolina A&T, which was dominating the conference. They had won seven straight championships," Mitchell, now in his 25th season at Coppin State, recalled Friday. "It was a very big win in many ways. I had come from Gloucester Community where we had only lost 45 games [in eight years]

Fang Mitchell clearly remembers his first win as Coppin State's basketball coach. It came in 1986 and was played at the Community College of Baltimore. "We were 0-9 at the time and it came against North Carolina A&T, which was dominating the conference. They had won seven straight championships," Mitchell, now in his 25th season at Coppin State, recalled Friday. "It was a very big win in many ways. I had come from Gloucester Community where we had only lost 45 games [in eight years]

At 5 o'clock on a fall morning in 2009, Coppin State University basketball coach Fang Mitchell drove then-sophomore Michael Harper to the hospital for surgery on his wrist. Harper, from Milwaukee, appreciated the show of support — then and now. When Harper finishes his college career next season for the Eagles, Mitchell will be there for him again, just like Harper would want it. "If they were bringing in a new coach in my fourth year, it would mean a whole new system, a new personality, a different look on the team," Harper said.

At 5 o'clock on a fall morning in 2009, Coppin State University basketball coach Fang Mitchell drove then-sophomore Michael Harper to the hospital for surgery on his wrist. Harper, from Milwaukee, appreciated the show of support — then and now. When Harper finishes his college career next season for the Eagles, Mitchell will be there for him again, just like Harper would want it. "If they were bringing in a new coach in my fourth year, it would mean a whole new system, a new personality, a different look on the team," Harper said.

Faced with a mandate to reverse Coppin State's long, painful slide to basketball mediocrity, Fang Mitchell rebuilt the program almost overnight and delivered the program's first winning season in seven years in 2010-11. Now, apparently, he will get a chance to continue the turnaround. The iconic coach said Tuesday that he has agreed in principle on a new contract that will allow him to reap the dividends of his 2010 recruiting class of precocious junior college players. "I want to be able to coach the guys I brought in," Mitchell said Tuesday.

THE REASON the NCAA basketball tournament is one of the most endearing spectacles in sport is because over the course of a few weekends in March, there are dozens of chances for David to topple Goliath.Baltimore's Coppin State played the role of David yesterday.The Eagles' men's basketball team, coached by Fang Mitchell, upset the University of South Carolina, ranked fifth in the nation. It was only the third time in the 59-year history of the tournament that a No. 15 first-round seed has defeated a No. 2 first-round seed.

It was nearly three years ago when Coppin State College men's basketball coach Ronald L. "Fang" Mitchell was faced with what appeared to be an easy decision. Florida International University had offered a contract worth $150,000 -- a 50 percent salary increase -- as well as a job for his wife, Yvonne.From Coppin President Calvin W. Burnett came an offer to retain his current position at basically the same pay, asking the popular coach to choose the tiny West North Avenue school over a spacious campus and the sunshine of South Florida.

As the clock inches toward 11 p.m., the Coppin State basketball team approaches the end of the grueling, three-hour practice.Coach Fang Mitchell has been on his feet for much of the session. His voice has ranged from a whisper that's barely audible four feet away to a roar that could be heard in the offices surrounding the gym.But at this particular moment, the day is taking its toll. And as the team runs its full-court defensive drills, Mitchell sluggishly ambles over to a courtside seat, buries his face into his hands and shakes his head.

Fang Mitchell traveled the highway of life as if it were a demolition derby. A trail of players collided with the Coppin State College men's basketball coach, and the sport's establishment steered clear of him. Then Fang married Yvonne, and she became his cushion as he tried bumper cars. People get jostled, but everyone stays in the game. "I'm truth and justice," Mitchell said. "She was mercy and grace. I'm a strong believer that you need balance in your life, and that's what she gave me."

THIS REGION's best-known basketball coach, Ronald L. "Fang" Mitchell, put his money where his mouth is recently. He demonstrated his devotion to Coppin State College by sending in a check to help clear Coppin President Calvin W. Burnett of impropriety for doling out $33,500 in consulting fees to former state Sen. Larry Young.It was a gesture from the heart, but it missed the point of this fuss over Mr. Young.Elected lawmakers aren't supposed to be squeezing money out of state colleges under the pretext of acting as "consultants" for work that is a normal part of their jobs.

Faced with a mandate to reverse Coppin State's long, painful slide to basketball mediocrity, Fang Mitchell rebuilt the program almost overnight and delivered the program's first winning season in seven years in 2010-11. Now, apparently, he will get a chance to continue the turnaround. The iconic coach said Tuesday that he has agreed in principle on a new contract that will allow him to reap the dividends of his 2010 recruiting class of precocious junior college players. "I want to be able to coach the guys I brought in," Mitchell said Tuesday.

Fang Mitchell rejected an offer Thursday to remain as coach of Coppin State's men's basketball team, saying the contract was "unacceptable" but that negotiations will continue. "It wasn't done in good faith," Mitchell said of the offer after a scheduled meeting with university president Reginald Avery. Mitchell has coached at Coppin for 25 years, won 395 games, gone to four NCAA tournaments and captured 10 regular-season championships in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Coppin State's Jordan Lee didn't play the first time the Eagles played Morgan State this season, and he was scoreless in five minutes of the first half Thursday night. The second half, it turned out, was all he needed. Lee, Coppin's version of Instant Offense, erupted for 19 second-half points and helped deliver a 73-60 victory over the rival Bears in front of an announced — and raucous — 3,118. The victory sends the Eagles (16-13, 11-5) into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament as the third seed.

Endings are usually bittersweet, often unwelcomed and sometimes contentious. That might best describe the potential end of Ron "Fang" Mitchell's 25-year basketball stewardship at Coppin State University. If this is his farewell script, it will not be a good one for the man who built a dominating Division I program in West Baltimore in the 1990s, only to see it sputter and stall in the last decade. Mitchell's departure this year is not certain. But his contract expires at the end of the season, the athletic director says he hasn't made a decision to retain — or remove — the coach, and Mitchell himself speaks only in cryptic phrases, if at all, about his job status.

Coppin State lists Antonio Williams as a 6-foot-6 forward, although by his own admission, he probably is a shade under that. Whatever his true height, Williams played like a giant Saturday night, grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds in Coppin's 88-70 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rout of North Carolina A&T in the Physical Education Complex. His athleticism and quickness were too much for Aggies big man Thomas Coleman (6-9), who scored 21 points but answered Williams' strength inside with just eight rebounds.

Fang Mitchell opened his second arena in 24 years at Coppin State on Saturday. When he emerged from his locker room in the early evening, he had to ask directions to the interview area in the spanking new Physical Education Complex. Home-court advantage it isn't, at least not yet. In fact, Morgan State came away with all the perks in an 80-67 win that opened a new era at Coppin before an announced 3,189 and another Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference basketball season. Perks? Reggie Holmes celebrated the first dunk of his four-year career at Morgan, courtesy of a breakaway pass from freshman DeWayne Jackson, and scored a game-high 24 points.

Well, that about wraps up another season in the worst college basketball state in America. Barring a major upset by Maryland in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, only one of the state's nine Division I men's programs will qualify for the NCAA tournament.The local populace should be delighted.This qualifies as a banner year.If not for Fang Mitchell and Coppin State, we'd be looking at a two-year drought. Five state schools -- Loyola, UMBC, UMES, Morgan State and Mount St. Mary's -- have never been to the Division I tournament.

Fang Mitchell opened his second arena in 24 years at Coppin State on Saturday. When he emerged from his locker room in the early evening, he had to ask directions to the interview area in the spanking new Physical Education Complex. Home-court advantage it isn't, at least not yet. In fact, Morgan State came away with all the perks in an 80-67 win that opened a new era at Coppin before an announced 3,189 and another Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference basketball season. Perks?