Written by Louis Fernandez, WRAL Sports Reporter

On Friday night, LeVelle Moton, the coach of North Carolina Central’s men’s basketball team, surpassed Floyd Brown to become the program’s most successful coach. Moton achieved his 252nd win as head coach with a dominant 102-50 triumph against the St. Andrews Knights, who were 0-1.

After the game, Moton stated that success is meaningless without the presence of loved ones to share it with and face challenges together.

For most of the game, the Eagles were in the lead and had control. They limited St. Andrews to only 19 points in the second half. Four players on the Eagles team scored ten or more points, with Fred Cleveland Jr. leading with 30 points in only 25 minutes.

Cleveland contributed four steals to the Eagles’ (6-7) performance. Ja’Darius Harris scored 16 points, shooting 4 of 10 and 7 of 8 from the free throw line, and also recorded five rebounds.

The Knights were led by Jalen Mcafee-Marion, who scored 16 points.

After being a player at NCCU from 1992-96, Moton became an assistant coach in 2007. He was then appointed as the 17th head coach for the team in March 2009.

Under his leadership, the Eagles have achieved victories in both the MEAC regular season and tournament a total of four times. Moton has been recognized as MEAC Coach of the Year on two separate occasions. He has successfully guided the Eagles to four appearances in the NCAA Tournament and one appearance in the NIT.

Moten was named the CIAA player of the year in 1996 and currently holds the third spot on the NCCU all-time scoring list with a total of 1,714 points.

Years ago, Moton recounted a conversation he had with his grandmother before achieving success in basketball.

I informed her that I planned to purchase a car for her and also buy her a magnificent mansion. She gave me a direct look and responded, “That’s all well and good, but if you are only remembered as a basketball player when you pass away, then you have not truly lived.” I have never forgotten her words. Therefore, I make an effort to give back to my community. People often ask me why I do so much, and the answer is that a lot was done for me.

In 1992, Moton completed his education at Enloe High School in Raleigh. Before becoming a coach at NCCU, Moton also coached at West Millbrook Middle School and Sanderson High School.

Source: wralsportsfan.com