UDC FIREBIRDS - ALL-MET ELITE

UDC FIREBIRDS

Nigel Munson

All-MET

DEMATHA

By - HARRY JAFFE

The University of the District of Columbia might still be irrelevant in some quarters of the capital city, but the school's basketball team is becoming painfully relevant to competitors in the East Coast Conference of the NCAA'S Division II.

Halfway through the season, the Firebirds are undefeated in the conference with 11 straight wins. Their only loss was to Duquesne, a Division I team that didn't crush them. Not bad for a squad that racked up a 1-20 record three seasons ago.

"We're nationally ranked," says Jeff Ruland, who took over the coaching job in 2009, a year when his team was so depleted he had to play part of one game with four players. Now it's ranked 22 in the nation. "I think that's unbelievable."

True believers are starting to predict the Firebirds might win their conference and get an automatic bid to the NCAA II tournament. Think of it as a "Back Road to the Final Four" -- or mini-March Madness.

Reaching the championship, mini or major, would bring a measure of respect to a local institution that has been disrespected for decades. The city's land grant college, on precious ground above the Van Ness Metro on Connecticut Avenue, still has a reputation as second-rate, at best. Its concrete buildings have the look of Soviet-era Moscow. The Arts and Sciences Library looks like the head of a giant concrete Transformer. The buildings could use some ivy, but grass in the quad would help. UDC has a strong nursing program and a well-respected law school. That's about it.

President Allen Sessoms insists things are looking up for UDC. He's brought on Ken Bain, a well-known expert in college curriculum and teaching techniques, as provost. Next week UDC breaks ground on a $40 million student center. "This has to grow into a national university," Sessoms likes to say, on a par with state universities in Virginia and Maryland, but that's a bit of a pipe dream. Check back in a decade.

You can check back much sooner to see if the Firebirds are still atop their conference, which includes C.W. Post and the University of Bridgeport. Ruland is bent on the team's resurrection. A local star from his days with the Washington Bullets in the 1980s, Ruland has four seniors playing at the top of their games. Nigel Munson is the local standout. He played for DeMatha and Virginia Tech before transferring to UDC. Brandon Herbert is another transfer who's scorching the net.

D.C. has become a hot town for college hoops. Georgetown and the University of Maryland are aiming for invites to the NCAA Division I Tournament. George Washington and American occasionally field decent teams. Perhaps it's time to add the Firebirds to the mix. Check out their schedule, show up for a game; there's plenty of room in the stands, and seats go for $5. Building a fan base is not easy.

"You win and they will come," says Ruland, who's midway through a five-year contract. "It's good basketball."