Morgan State at Gophers (6 p.m. CT, Tuesday, ESPNU)U faces coach making best of his 2nd chance
Taking over at Morgan State after eight years in exile for a Cal scandal, Todd Bozeman led the team to a MEAC title.
Morgan State doesn't have Cal's prestige, TV contracts, weather or pay scale. And Todd Bozeman has a better chance of winning the lottery than recruiting future NBA lottery picks -- an annual feat for him when he coached Cal in the early '90s -- to the Baltimore-based historically black college that plays in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. But he's content to have a second chance, albeit as head coach of a midmajor program. Bozeman viewed recruiting as a "life or death" pursuit when he took over at Cal as a 29-year-old in 1993. In 1996, he resigned after admitting that he paid the parents of a player $30,000. In 1997, the NCAA banned any school from hiring him without permission for eight years.
After a lengthy hiatus that included a stint in pharmaceutical sales, a wiser Bozeman took over at Morgan State in 2006. And in three years, he took a team that won four games the season before he arrived to a conference championship at the conclusion of the 2008-09 season. The cherry on the sundae of Morgan State's redemption -- and Bozeman's -- was the school's first Division I NCAA tournament bid last season. Bozeman signed a new five-year contract in April. "We've just been trying to build slowly but surely and take positive steps every year," said Bozeman, whose team faces the Gophers tonight at Williams Arena.
U men gameday
Preview: Todd Bozeman has rebuilt Morgan State (5-3), taking the Bears to their first NCAA tournament appearance last season. The Gophers (5-3) hope to get their second victory in a row and continue to shake a startling three-game losing streak.
Key players: Reggie Holmes, a 6-4 guard, averages 24.6 points per game for Morgan State. Stat line for Minnesota's Damian Johnson: 11.6 points, 2.3 blocks and 2.4 steals per game.
Numbers: Minnesota is Morgan State's eighth road opponent in nine games. Entering the week, the Gophers had the Big Ten's top scoring defense (57.6 points allowed per game).
READ MORE, CLICK BLOG TITLE.
READ RELATED ARTICLES:
Gophers and Bears to Tangle at Williams
Bears Set To Face Golden Gophers Tuesday Night in ESPNU Televised Match-up
No comments:
Post a Comment