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GREENSBORO — Once upon a time, when the two kids from Greensboro were looking for a place to play college basketball, they chose N.C. A&T on faith.

They believed in coach Jerry Eaves, then coming off his third season. They believed they could help him bring a beleaguered program back to prominence. They believed things would get better. After seasons of 1-26, 3-25, 6-24 and 6-23 they couldn't get much worse.

So Tavarus Alston, a point guard from Smith, and Robert Johnson, a power forward from Dudley, became teammates at A&T.

Now they're seniors, and in their three seasons the Aggies have won 15 games twice and finished 16-16 last season — A&T's first .500 record in 14 years and the most victories in 15 years.

"This program is much different. We're just better," said Johnson, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound forward who averaged 9.8 points per game last season. "We play harder as a team and we know what it takes now to win a little bit. We've matured.

"Me and Tavarus and (senior center) James Porter, when we started off things weren't so good," Johnson added, "and to finally work our way to accomplish something special this year, that would be something memorable."

Johnson's idea of "something special" is ambitious: a winning record, a MEAC championship and the Holy Grail — an NCAA tournament berth.

"The big goal is to win the MEAC tournament," said Alston, a slender 6-foot point guard who averaged 11.1 points and 3.2 assists per game last season. "That's the No. 1 goal: winning the conference to get to the NCAA tournament.

"Getting to the NCAA tournament would mean a lot," the senior said. "I'd leave out of here knowing I'd helped the program. When I came in, the program wasn't that good. They only won (six) games the year before. But from my freshman year until now, the program has really moved up in terms of winning percentage."

The Aggies have also moved up in terms of talent, Eaves said.

Seniors Alston, Johnson, Porter — a 6-9 center who redshirted last season after starting 15 games the year before — and guard Dwane Joshua are the Aggies' most experienced players. Junior center Thomas Coleman averaged 7.7 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds per game last season.

Sophomore guards Marc Hill and Nic Simpson played significant minutes last season, and Eaves likes his five-man freshman class: forwards Austin Witter and DeMetrius Upchurch and guards Adrian Powell, Lawrence Smith and R.J. Buck.

"I think when it's all said and done at the end of their four years," Eaves said, "it could be my best recruiting class."

Alston believes it already.

"They're all good shooters, and they're big and strong," the point guard said. "Compared to me as a freshman, I wasn't as strong as they are as freshmen."

The Aggies will again play at a frantic pace, Eaves said, using pressure defense to create transition offense. Alston said A&T might take more 3-point shots than 2-pointers.

And, once again, A&T will play a brutal early-season schedule to get ready for its MEAC games.

How brutal? Starting next week, the Aggies will play seven games in 13 days. Six of them are on the road.

They finish the stretch with three road games in four days: at Texas-El Paso; at New Mexico State in Las Cruces; and at Lamar in Beaumont, Texas.

"That's going to be very challenging," Eaves said. "We have those three in four days over Thanksgiving weekend. I did it that way for our young team. We'll get off to a rough start. No question. But I really want to over-challenge them early."

Eaves said the early schedule is essential to toughen his freshmen.

"Youth must grow," he said. "You just have to be willing to grow through the mistakes you know you're going to have."

And Eaves would prefer they learn before the MEAC season starts. That way, his tested team will have a chance to cash in on the seniors' lofty goals of a meaningful March.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com