In his first six seasons as head men’s basketball coach at Hampton University, Edward “Buck” Joyner Jr. has guided the Pirates to national prominence on more than one occasion – and that’s not even counting the magical run Hampton made last March en route to an improbable MEAC championship, an NCAA Tournament win, and national notoriety.
 
Despite going 8-8 in MEAC play last season and winding up with a No. 6 seed, the Pirates went on to win four games in six days in the conference tournament, taking their second MEAC Tournament crown under Joyner with an 82-61 win over Delaware State in the title game.
 
In claiming the MEAC crown, the Pirates upset the No. 3, No. 2, and No. 5 seeds.
 
The Pirates then wound up in the NCAA First Four in Dayton, Ohio to take on Manhattan. Hampton won that game 74-64 for the second NCAA Tournament win for the program at the Div. I level – and the first since the 2001 upset over Iowa State – before taking on No. 1 seed Kentucky in the second round.
 
The win gave the Pirates an unprecedented level of national exposure – exposure helped by a press conference soundbite from Joyner that went viral and made Hampton tournament darlings leading up to its second-round contest against Kentucky.
 
Hampton made its third postseason appearance under Joyner; in addition to NCAA appearances this past season and in 2011, the Pirates competed in the College Basketball Insider (CBI) Tournament in 2014.