Busy times for Southern University’s Banks

Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- You’ll have to forgive Roman Banks if he’s a little short on sleep these days. The man has quite a lot on his mind. Originally, the first-year Southern men’s basketball coach planned on starting preseason practice Friday - but he adjusted on the fly, and with good reason.

At 9 a.m. Saturday, Banks - who finished a stellar career at Northwestern State in 1992 - will be inducted into the university’s “N Club” Hall of Fame. He and his family planned to leave Baton Rouge late Friday night, accept what Banks called “a tremendous honor,” then pack up the car and head back to SU, where the team will crank up its first practice together at 6 p.m. inside the F.G. Clark Activity Center.



“I got the call out of the blue,” said Banks, fresh from an eight-year stint at Southeastern Louisiana. “I know several years ago, when I would go up there, they would tell me my time is coming up. I guess I got voted in there when my time came up. I’m just glad to know that the body of work that you did over time, that people respect it and appreciate it.”

READ MORE

Flagler Palm Coast hoops' Certain signs with Southern University

PALM COAST, FL -- Lawrence Certain Jr. went from a Flagler Palm Coast graduate to a freshman student-athlete at Southern University with a stroke of a pen Thursday.

"This is a dream come true," said the 6-foot-7 power forward, who averaged 16.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game as a senior. "It looks like a good fit for me. They want to make a big turnaround with their program, get into the NCAA Tournament, and I hope I can help."

Certain's parents -- Tina and Lawrence -- younger sister Taylor, along with FPC coach Gary McDaniel and athletic director Steve DeAugustino, joined friends and assistant coaches Mark Odle and Lloyd Finley for the ceremony at the high school.

Southern's new head coach, Roman Banks, sent the paperwork, which gives Certain a full scholarship -- tuition, room, board, books -- for four years. "I've known Coach Banks a while," McDaniel said. "He's a dynamic first-year coach, and I'm certain he will do a great job.

READ MORE

Banks’ time at Southern University arrives

Baton Rouge, LA - A decade ago, when Southern University was looking for a new men’s basketball coach, Roman Banks hoped to prove he was the right man for the job. An assistant to Tommy Green for five seasons, Banks served as interim head coach while SU looked for Green’s replacement. But he didn’t get the full-time gig. That, instead, went to Ben Jobe for the second time.

Banks — whose father (Cleophus Banks), brother (Carlos Sample) and godfather (Bob Love) all played at SU — later conceded he was stung by the snub. “We would tell him: In spite of politics, in spite of all the personal agendas, your time will come at Southern,” Cleophus Banks said. “Just wait and be patient.”

A decade later, Banks finally has the job. But here’s the thing: The Southern job is a whole lot tougher than it was in 2001. The Jaguars are short on firepower. In losing three seniors, they lost 50 percent of last year’s scoring and 36 percent of last year’s rebounds.



READ MORE

Southern U’s Banks talks with players for first time

Baton Rouge, LA - His day was a virtual parade of handshakes, paperwork and face-to-face meetings with officials at Southern University — but as the sun crept closer to the Mississippi River, Roman Banks had one more important matter to handle Thursday.

It was, he said, the most enjoyable part of his first full day on campus as the new men’s basketball coach. It was, arguably, the most important part of the day. At about 5:30 p.m., he met with his new players. Together, he said, they had to restore pride to a hurting program.

“I remember when Southern, I thought, was one of the best programs in the state,” Banks said later. “I always dreamed of coaching and hopefully having a chance to bring that pride, that enthusiasm back to the (F.G. Clark) Activity Center. ... It always made Southern very appealing to me.”

READ MORE, CLICK TITLE.
VISIT: SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AND A&M COLLEGE
VISIT: SUJAGUARS

Southern University names Banks new head basketball coach

Coach Roman Banks

The Southern University Department of Athletics is proud to announce Roman Banks as its new head men's basketball coach. He will officially take over the men's program on May 1, 2011.

His appointment is conditional, pending confirmation by the Southern University Board of Supervisors at its upcoming meeting on April 29, 2011.

Roman Banks replaces Rob Spivery, who coached the Jaguars from 2005 through this past season.

Banks has served as Southeastern Louisiana University's men's associate head basketball coach the past five years, and spent eight years total on the coaching staff.

Banks comes to Southern with a keen knowledge of the Baton Rouge community and surrounding Ark-La-Tex regions, along with his knowledge of recruiting and game preparation. He was worked extensively on athletic projects, including fundraisers with the community and has coached and lectured at numerous basketball camps throughout the state. He also brings a true knowledge and conception of the game of basketball and what the game brings to the community -- socially as well as economically. He also brings a strong work ethic.

During his tenure in Hammond, Banks was part of a program that produced seven winning seasons (the most of any Division I school in the state of Louisiana) and 140 total wins (second to LSU's 144 wins from 2003-11). He played a vital role in the Lions' defensive effort in 2004-05 as Southeastern finished fourth in the nation in scoring defense (55.8 ppg) and produced the school's first Southland Conference Tournament championship and berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Banks played a key role in the recruitment of several of the Lions' standout players, highlighted by 2005-06 SLC Player of the Year Ricky Woods, along with All-Conference selections Daryl Cohen, Kevyn Green and Terry Bryant.

Regarded as one of the top recruiters in Louisiana, Banks spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Southern University where he served as the Jaguars' chief recruiter. While at Southern, he was responsible for the recruitment of two-time Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year Adarrial Smylie and Dionte Harvey, the 1997-98 SWAC Newcomer of the Year.

Banks played basketball at Northwestern State and was the Demons' point guard in their upset win over Kentucky at Rupp Arena. He finished his career as the school's all-time leader in assists while ranking second in steals and seventh in scoring. He led the Demons in four categories as a senior in 1991-92, including a 16.2 scoring average, was named honorable mention All-Southland Conference and was a third-team All-Louisiana selection by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

Banks was named to the All-Southland Conference second team in 1989-90 after averaging 14.7 points and dishing out a career-high 157 assists. He helped the Demons to their first winning season in five years and helped the team establish 23 school records while leading the nation in team scoring, averaging 95.0 points per game.

Banks started his coaching career at Shreveport's Green Oaks High School before spending two years at Southern University-Shreveport, where he was the Athletic Director and head men's basketball coach.

A native of Shreveport, Banks was a three-time All-District 2-4A selection at Captain Shreve High School where he averaged 22.7 points and 7.6 assists as a senior in helping lead the Gators to a 28-7 record.

Banks, a member of the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches, is married to the former Tiffaney McCoy, a school teacher in the Tangipahoa Parish School System. They are the parents of two children, a son Tre'lun (15) and a daughter Kennedi (9).

Banks gets Southern men's basketball job

Thursday morning, Roman Banks pulled out of his driveway in Hammond and headed west toward Southern University, where he agreed to become the new men's basketball coach. Along the way, his car might have been on Interstate 12. But at some point, Banks' head started to wander down Memory Lane.

Banks, who has two family members in the SU Hall of Fame, started to think of his days as an assistant there from 1996-2002. There was the time the Jaguars got thumped at Alabama A&M. "They came to us a couple weeks later," he said. "Our guys just put on a clinic. One of our better wins in school history. It was special to me." There was the time in late 1998, when Texas A&M came into the F.G. Clark Activity Center.

READ MORE, CLICK TITLE.

By Southern University and A&M College
VISIT: SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
VISIT: SUSPORTS