Patience pays off as Grady's Peters signs with Texas Southern

New York, NY - Jabari Peters is an atypical New York City basketball standout.

He didn’t play AAU basketball until hooking up with New Heights just recently. He found a low-major Division I college that wanted him and didn’t opt for prep school to see if he could do better. He went to Grady, which hasn’t fielded a winning program in more than five years, yet never considered leaving.

“It shows it doesn’t matter where you go, it’s what you do where you are,” the Coney Island native said Monday night, hours after arriving at Texas Southern for summer classes to play for coach Tony Harvey.


Videographer: olabam; Jabari Peters averaged 27.1 points per game and put up 50 points on Brooklyn AA champion Lincoln as shown in this clip.

The reigning regular-season SWAC champions offered Peters a month ago and he signed two weeks later after passing the NCAA Clearinghouse, the result of his strong finish in the classroom.

“I spoke to the coaches and I felt it was a real good fit for me,” the 6-foot-3 shooting guard said. “When they told me I had the opportunity to come here and play right away, that was big. A lot of freshmen don’t get that opportunity. They won the conference last year; that was a big factor in me making my decision.”

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UConn Crushes Southern U. In NCAA Opener

UConn Crushes Southern U. In NCAA Opener

NORFOLK, VA - Let's be honest, if this was about something other than basketball, like pep bands and cheer squads, the top-seeded UConn women would be heading home today, the Huskies' run in the NCAA Tournament ended by a national powerhouse. But this wasn't a battle of the bands. There was only so much pep Southern University's world-class brass and percussion could pump into the Ted Constant Convocation Center Sunday. It stirred the crowd early and often, beginning an hour before the tip.

However, there wasn't much they could do for their basketball team against the Huskies. Tubas and trombones don't win tournaments. "They were very loud," UConn's Maya Moore said. "They were doing their best to distract us. But we were listening to Coach." Led by Tina Charles, who scored 22 points on 9-for-10 shooting with 11 rebounds and three blocks, the Huskies pounded No. 16 seed Southern 95-39 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Moore added 21 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

UConn rolls over Southern

NORFOLK, VA — Southern brought its hurricane defense north for Sunday’s first-round game of the NCAA women‘s basketball tournament. Problem was, the Jaguars ran into a Category 5 storm in top-seeded UConn, which blew out No. 16 seed Southern 95-39 in a first-round game of the Dayton region at the Constant Center. The Southwestern Athletic Conference champion and its rockin’ band refused to be discouraged by the 56-point beating suffered at the hands of the Huskies (34-0), who are looking to add a seventh national title to their legacy, which includes an NCAA-record 73 straight victories.

“We call our defense ‘hurricane,’ and we brought it,” Southern’s Ashley Augerson said, celebrating 21 Huskies turnovers. Southern (23-9) also forced UConn into two shot-clock violations. And despite having no following behind its bench, won over the local fan support that cheered the underdog. Despite the gritty effort, the Jaguars couldn’t hang with the eye of the storm, and that would be All-Americans Tina Charles and Maya Moore, who are battling each other for National Player of the Year honors. The 6-foot-4 Charles scored 22 on a pristine effort that left her without a miss in her first seven attempts, and Moore’s methodical afternoon produced 21 points and eight assists.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Southern, champions of the SWAC, are 0-4 all time in the NCAA Tournament. But the Jaguars played hard, just as they promised they would, giving the Huskies a tougher time in many ways than Northeastern or Seton Hall did during similar losses."

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NCAA: University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff 44, Duke 73

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff ends first NCAA Tournament experience with a 1-1 record, defeating Winthrop and falling to Duke 44-73.

Duke outmuscles UAPB

From the tip you could see that UAPB's lack of size would be an issue for the Golden Lions. They were outrebounded in this game 24-41, and that proved to be the difference in the game. Duke wins 73-44. In the first half, scoring points took a backseat to fouls as UAPB found themselves with several players in foul trouble before the midway point. The Duke Blue Devils looked untouchable as they shot 44 pct. from the field in the first half. Kyle Singler led the way with 13 points and 6 rebounds.

As for the Golden Lions, Terrance Calvin shot 66 pct. from the field and scored 7 of UAPB's 20 first half points. They were outrebounded in the first half 20-11 and committed 13 personal fouls. Duke led by 19 at halftime. In the second half it was much of the same for the Blue Devils. UAPB came out in a zone and shot the ball well but once again could not get to the freethrow line. Singler led Duke with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Blue Devils shot 28 freethrows for the game to the Golden Lions 7. No one on the Golden Lions roster scored in double figures.

Those "Enormously Heartening" Golden Lions

A friend and wise man posted this Facebook status update after UAPB won the NCAA play-in game on Tuesday:

"There was something enormously heartening about watching the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions beat Winthrop tonight. It reminded me of why I used to love March Madness (TM) even back when UCLA was winning every year. A bunch of kids you never heard of who didn't get 20 D1 offers each playing their hearts out for a shot at Duke. Chances slim and none, but hey they can say they did it."

Hear, hear! As uninspiring as the Hogs were this past season, UAPB has been that inspiring and then some. Everyone loves a Cinderella story. Well, it doesn't get much more Cinderella than the Golden Lions. The never-ending road trip with which they began the season caught the attention of the New York Times' basketball blog and Sports Illustrated. And not only did the Golden Lions play their first 14 games on the road (with most of those opponents belonging to major conferences such as the ACC and Big 12), but they began the year 0-11. And yet, here they are. Pretty amazing.

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Top-seeded Duke cruises into second round in Jacksonville ...

Arkansas-Pine Bluff had the success you would expect from a No. 16 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament — none. Duke, the top seed in the South region, built an early double-digit lead and coasted to a 73-44 victory over the overmatched Golden Lions on Friday night at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. No top seed has ever lost to a 16. “That didn’t cross our minds, the whole 1 vs. 16 thing,” said Duke senior guard Jon Scheyer, who scored 13 points. “We wanted to get a win and start it off right.”

Junior forward Kyle Singler led the Blue Devils with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Duke shot 51 percent from the floor and held Arkansas-Pine Bluff to 32percent. “Defensively, we were excellent,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who earned his 72nd NCAA Tournament victory, extending his NCAA record. “We’re more talented than they are, but I was happy with how my team played, and I’m happy that we’re moving on.” Duke (30-5) will advance to Sunday’s second round against eighth-seeded Cal or ninth-seeded Louisville. The tip-off time will be announced today.


Click HERE to watch UAPB vs. Duke.

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University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff wallops Winthrop

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Coach George Ivory now has an NCAA Tournament victory to add to his Golden Lions resume.

DAYTON, Ohio — Smiling Arkansas-Pine Bluff players plopped into the black folding chairs at courtside and checked their cell phones for congratulatory messages before heading out the arena door to get on yet another bus. Finally, the Golden Lions had found a road trip to their liking. Allen Smith scored 14 points Tuesday night, including a pair of 3-pointers during the Golden Lions' second-half surge to a 61-44 victory over Winthrop in the NCAA tournament's opening game.

The Golden Lions (18-15) will play Duke, the No. 1 seed in the South Regional, on Friday in Jacksonville, Fla. — a place they somehow missed during a season-opening jaunt that nearly did them in. "It seems like we play better on the road than we do at home because we're so used to being on the road," said center Lebaron Weathers."



Pine Bluff pumped to move on in NCAA

Excerpt: Against a lot of odds — their top scorer, Terrence Calvin, was on the bench most of the second half with four fouls, their well-muscled 6-foot-7 forward Tyree Glass was there, too, with an injury — Pine Bluff still pushed aside Winthrop 61-44 Tuesday night, March 16, in front of 8,205 in the NCAA tournament’s opening-round game at UD Arena. On Friday, it plays Duke, the No. 1 seed in the South Regional, in Jacksonville, Fla. It may seem a stretch to paint a David-versus-Goliath script for the opening-round game, but Winthrop has been to the NCAA tournament nine times and in 2007 knocked out Notre Dame.

This was Pine Bluff’s first trip ever to the tournament and everything was new to it. The Golden Lions played the entire first half without the NCAA tournament stickers affixed to their jerseys, which is protocol. They didn’t know. If Pine Bluff is just learning to dress for the Big Dance, it didn’t know the rigors of the road. Using a strategy the opposite of the Dayton Flyers, the Golden Lions played their entire nonconference schedule on the road against teams like Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, Missouri, Kansas State and Oregon.

NCAA photos

UD Arena gets new court for NCAA events

The NCAA has been sending supplies to the University of Dayton to make sure UD Arena would be amply stocked for the men’s and women’s basketball events being held there this month. “We’ve been getting NCAA (drinking) cups, basketballs, ball racks and coolers so the NCAA 'brand’ is prevalent,” said Tim O’Connell, UD Arena manager. “It’s like Christmas around here. We don’t have room for all the boxes.”

The biggest shipment of all, though, had to be transported by an 18-wheeler. The NCAA decided this year that all host venues for every round of the men’s tournament will have identical courts, and UD received a floor and methodically assembled it Sunday, March 14, after removing the arena’s portable court. The baskets at both ends were part of the delivery, too. The equipment will stay in place through the NCAA women’s regional final March 30.

Golden Lions win first NCAA Tournament game in program history

DAYTON, Ohio -- George Ivory remained calm and the attitude of his Arkansas-Pine Bluff players remained focused. But through the final 10-minute stretch of the second half, as each second ticked away and UAPB came closer to its first ever win in the NCAA Tournament, the realization took over each of them at different moments. Guard Terrance Calvin said he knew at halftime, guard Allen Smith said he knew with about 90 seconds left and forward Tyree Glass knew as soon as he hobbled out of the locker room to watch the final seconds roll off the clock. What he came out to see was the finishing touches put on UAPB's 61-44 win over Winthrop in the opening-round game Tuesday at University of Dayton Arena.

It was the first NCAA Tournament win for a team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 17 years and it makes UAPB the No. 16 seed in the South Regional, setting up a Friday matchup with No. 1 seed Duke in Jacksonville, Fla. "We were just flowing too good for us to lose," said Glass, who scored 10 points. Glass had gone down with 12 minutes left when he slammed his knee to the floor while driving to the basket. At that point, UAPB (18-15) was already without one starter. Calvin had picked up his fourth foul with 13:18 left and spent more than 10 minutes on the bench.

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