AKEEM HOOD, north carolina central university

It would be easy to overlook a player from North Carolina Central when scanning for players to watch out for. The Eagles wrapped out their first year of DI baseball in 2009, just their third season of baseball overall since 1975, with a 6-35 season in which they lost more than a handful of those games by a double digit margin. Yet, Rome wasn't built in a day so can't expect an overnight zero to hero transformation unless you have the help of a computer created woman who has the intelligence of Albert Einstein and the attitude of David Lee Roth.

As the Eagles' program is built from the bottom up, one of the foundations will be sophomore outfielder Akeem Hood. Last season Hood was named to the Ping!Baseball Freshman team after he made an immediate impact as NCCU's leadoff hitter. He led the team in batting average (.322), runs scored (25), hits (47), total bases (59) and stolen bases (16). Hood's batting average only dropped below.300 three times all season long and he finished the season with an eight-game hitting streak which he promptly extended to eleven after going 6-for-13 (.462 BA) with a triple in the 2010 Eagle Baseball Classic. A couple more players of Hood's caliber and the Eagles could quickly find a reversal of fortune in the boxscores.

Despite his stupendous speed which allowed him to swipe three bases in a game twice last season, Ping!Baseball was able to catch up with the Hood for a quick Q&A:

Ping!Baseball: The Eagles had a rough season last year going 6-35.  What has the team been doing to ensure an improvement over last year's season?

Hood: This season some things we have been doing differently than last is coming together more as a unit. Also just working harder this year. We definitely have guys that want to be successful as a team and will do anything to succeed.

Ping!Baseball: How about yourself?  You had a pretty impressive debut, but surely you're not to be content to rest on your laurels.   What parts of your
game have you been focusing on improving?

Hood: The part of my game I have been really focusing on this off-season are the mental aspects of baseball. Simply because to be the player that I want to be must have a great mentality and quick instincts to help out the team.

Ping!Baseball: Despite having a down record on the field I'm sure there were plenty of good times off the diamond.  What is your best memory from last year's
season?

Hood: Some of my best memories last year were definitely the road trips. Just hanging out with the guys, pulling practical jokes on each other and laughing. These things may seem small but they will never be forgotten in my eyes.

Ping!Baseball: Are there any professional players that you model your game after?

Hood: To be honest no. I want to just be the player that was always known to work hard, sprinting on and off the field no matter what the score is, the player that always had a smile on his face and always tried to stay on the positive side. Also a player that would lead by example more than just talking a big game.

Ping!Baseball: As far as the 2010 schedule goes, are the any matchups or series that you are looking particularly  forward too?

Hood: Yes, I am looking forward to playing at ECU this year. One by good friends and high school teammates pitches for them. Also because a lot of my friends from high school are pirates so I will have a pretty good fan base at the game showing me support.

Ping!Baseball: What has been your favorite class at NCCU so far?

Hood: My favorite class at NCCU so far is introduction to sports management. Not only is it my major but its something i could definitely see myself doing down the road.

Ping!Baseball: If someone snuck into your locker and swiped your mp3 player, what song would you fear they would find out of embarrassment?  Everyone has some ridiculous song they love to hate.

Hood: I would have to say "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana.

Ping!Baseball: What reality TV show could you clean up on if given the chance?

Hood:"The Real World", ever since i was younger i always wondered what would happened to me or what would i do if i was stuck in a house with six other strangers for four months.