MVSU Sean Woods winning - more than just on court

Itta Bena, MS - Mississippi Valley State coach Sean Woods won’t enter the season with the goal of winning 20 games despite the fact that he’s got a team that may be favored to win the SWAC.

It’s easy to see why.

Just look at the schedule: at North Carolina, at Florida, at Wisconsin, at Notre Dame, at South Carolina, at Arkansas, at Northwestern, at Iowa State, at Ole Miss, at DePaul. That doesn’t even include a tournament out in Las Vegas. Woods, the former Kentucky star, won’t play at home until conference play. But wins are actually secondary for Woods and the Delta Devils men’s basketball program.

The priority? Earning paychecks as the sacrificial lambs to the big boys.

`That’s the major necessity for us,” Woods said. ``We’ve got to play buy games to keep the athletic department and my program afloat.” By his count, he’ll earn $778,000 for the 10 guarantee games he’s signed up for this season.

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Woods, Mississippi Valley Devils beat SWAC drum after singing gym blues

Coach Sean Woods makes sure you get it correct. The Mississippi Valley State basketball team didn't have the luxury of practicing in a high school gym. "Middle school," he said. "A middle school gym."

Heading into tonight's Southwestern Athletic Conference showdown with Jackson State, the Delta Devils have come quite a ways. Their basketball arena floor is no longer a bubbling, waterlogged mess. They no longer practice in that middle school gym. They don't play "home" games at county civic centers any more. And, they aren't thought of as a middle-of-the-pack team.

Picked to finish seventh in the 10-team conference before the season, Valley (7-13) is 6-1 in the league, tied atop the standings with Jackson State (10-9) and Texas Southern (8-10).

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Credits:
1. Videographer: AChicfmnc - MVSU Cor-J Cox goes airborne...
2. Videographer: AndyL168 - MVSU Satin Dolls in Action...
3. Videographer: AndyL168 - MVSU 3-D Dancers in Action...

Ex-Cat Woods makes his home on the road

MVSU Delta Devils Coach Sean Woods

MVSU Delta Devils' fans haven't seen them play

You'll have to forgive former Kentucky point guard Sean Woods if he feels little sympathy for his alma mater's early-season basketball schedule. More than once, UK Coach John Calipari lamented the rigors of a trip to Maui and just two home games in the first six for his freshman-oriented team.

Boo hoo, Woods might say. His Mississippi Valley State team plays its first 14 games on the road. The first home game is still more than three weeks away. This week is especially hellish for the Delta Devils with games at Mississippi on Monday, at Arkansas on Wednesday and at Kentucky on Saturday. "We have the toughest schedule in the country," Woods said in a telephone...

Razorbacks run past Devils

FAYETTEVILLE, AR — You wouldn't know it by the final score, but for a half the Arkansas Razorbacks had a devil of a time subduing the Delta Devils.

The Razorbacks — now 7-1 going into Saturday's ESPN2-televised game with No. 25 ranked Texas A&M in Dallas — only led the Mississippi Valley State University Delta Devils, 43-38 at half before breezing, 87-64, Wednesday night at Walton Arena.

The Delta Devils of the SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference) are only 1-8 but played Arkansas tough for awhile like they had played SEC member Georgia all the way before losing, 72-70 in Athens, Ga.

Former Cat Woods To Return To Rupp As Head Coach At Miss. Valley State

Going through some of the old footage from 1991 for a story on Sean Woods brought back a lot of memories of a really fun time to cover UK basketball. The road for Sean Woods has had more than it's share of twists and turns. He thought he was going to the NBA. I still think had he stuck with it, he would have been at worst, a back up in the NBA for a long time.

Sean is Sean. He doesn't look any older. The smile and big laugh are still there. "You know it's basketball, it's not work to me," says the head coach of Mississippi Valley State.

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Georgia survives MVSU scare in opener

ATHENS, GA -- Jeremy Price struggled to explain it. He’s just glad his late heroics were enough to save Georgia on Friday night. Price scored eight consecutive points in a 50-second span to help the Bulldogs open the season with a 72-70 victory over Mississippi Valley State at Stegeman Coliseum.

“It kind of just happened,” said Price, who finished with a game-high 20 points. “We needed somebody to step up and come through with some tough plays. It was just my time. I delivered when I needed to.” Price converted successive three-point plays and made a turnaround jumper in the lane to erase a seven-point deficit and give Georgia a 67-66 lead with 2:23 left in the game.

Georgia rallies to beat MVSU 72-70

ATHENS, Ga. -- Jeremy Price scored 20 points, including eight straight late in the game, and Georgia recovered to beat Mississippi Valley State 72-70 on Friday night in the season opener for each team. Georgia trailed 66-59 before Price closed the gap with back-to-back three-point plays. Price added another basket with 2:24 remaining to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the second half, 67-66.

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Orphans: Damaged floor leaves MVSU basketball without home court

As the countdown to practice draws near, Mississippi Valley State University’s Sean Woods is a Division I basketball coach with no court to practice on.

The floor in MVSU’s basketball gym, the Harrison HPER Complex, was seriously damaged because of a leak in the roof, so the playing surface must be replaced, Woods said. The school will have to fix the roof before a new surface goes down, and that apparently won’t happen before the Delta Devils begin practice Oct. 15.

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Mississippi Valley signs basketball All-American Ware

Delta Devils coach Sean Woods has signed the #1 ranked class in the MEAC/SWAC for 2010-11. Woods has complied a record 16-48 over his first two seasons including 24 money games scheduled at the other guy's arena.

Mississippi Valley State University Delta Devils basketball coach Sean Woods wrapped up an already impressive signing class with a bang by inking former East Mississippi Community College standout Rodricko "CoCo" Ware. Ware, a 2009-2010 National Junior College Athletic Association All-American first-team selection, ranked among the national leaders in scoring with 19.4 points per game and steals (2.5 spg) for the second straight year. The 6-foot-1 guard helped spark the 27-7 Lions to their school-first NJCAA Tournament appearance after claiming the NJCAA Region 23 championship and capturing the North Division regular-season crown and state runners-up.

Having started all 62 games of his community college career in helping the Lions to a 44-18 record the past two years, Ware totaled 1,196 career points (19.3 ppg), 382 rebounds (6.2 rpg), 168 steals (2.7 spg) and 120 assists (1.9 apg). Ware joins earlier signees Falando Jones (Mississippi Delta Community College/Greenwood), Jerome Harris (Spoon River Community College/Collins (Ill.) HS and Paul Crosby (Navarro Junior College/Holt (Mich.) HS). Valley returns four starters led by Shannon Behling, who averaged 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds.



Warning: You may want to turn your speakers off! Music may be inappropriate for most viewers! Coco Ware is #23.

Ware chose MVSU over Howard University and Alcorn State University, and his scoring prowess will give the Delta Devils a boost in returning to their Southwest Athletic Conference Tournament winning form of 2008. "CoCo Ware is a great addition to the MVSU program," Woods said. " He brings a wealth of basketball experience and athleticism that will fit in well with our style of basketball."

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Former UCLA 5-Star Recruit Signs With Mississippi Valley St‎ate

Mississippi Valley State University signed its first 5-star recruit since NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice playing days at the Valley. Chicago's Jerome Harris Jr. was ranked as the number one basketball point guard in the recruiting Class of 2009 by some recruiting services and opted out of UCLA.

Former UCLA recruit Jerome Harris, who left Ben Howland's program early in the season due to qualifying issues has signed to play for Mississippi Valley State of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Harris who was expected to be a one and done type of prospect is in route for a huge season at MVSU. Harris who left the program in November spent time at Spoon River Junior College, was rated as one of the top 3 juco point guards in the country.

MVSU Head Coach is former Kentucky standout point guard Sean Woods who spent some time in the NBA. Woods says Harris is a big time talent that can really make a name for himself this season as he has one of the toughest preseason schedules next season. Harris chose Mississippi Valley State over Texas, Minnesota, and USC.

Prior to signing at UCLA, Harris Jr., received offers from Central Michigan, St. Johns, Ohio State, Rutgers, UAB, Arizona, Florida State and Indiana University, among many other major programs too numerous to name.

The 6'-3" point guard, five-star recruit out of Collins High School (Chicago, IL), posses as one of the top players in the Midwest. ''I think I have great point guard skills,'' he said. "It's not rare, but I think I can be one of the ones to succeed. Although Harris is not banking on a future in the NBA, he does consider it a possibility. ''I think about it a lot, he said. I think if it did happen, that's a good life. I just have to work hard. I can never wake up one day and be like, `I'm this' or `I'm that.' "No matter where I'll be, even if I get to the NBA, I'll always keep working. You can always get better.''

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Mississippi Valley Delta Devils Deliver Statement to TSU

Texas Southern University head basketball coach Tony Harvey.

Mississippi Valley State basketball coach Sean Woods wanted this game in the worst way. His message to his players was well received by the Delta Devils as they blew out Texas Southern 62-44 Saturday night at the R.W. Harrison Complex in Itta Bena. Woods, whose team lost 74-73 at TSU four weeks ago, called this a "statement win." When asked why he put so much into this game, Woods didn't hold back: "They (TSU) are so arrogant. They've got a lot of talent, but, hey, so do we. I told our guys that we have just as much talent as they do. We've just got to put it all together and believe in ourselves."

With the win, MVSU moves to 8-19 overall, 7-7 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. TSU falls to 12-13, 8-5 in the SWAC. Valley led 30-23 at the break and controlled things for most of the second half. TSU made a little noise when it quickly trimmed an 11-point deficit to four. Travele Jones had a 3-point play to make it 40-36 with 11:38 left. But less than two minutes later, the Delta Devils pushed their lead to 15 before the Tigers knew what had hit them. Shannon Behling capped the home team's 11-0 run with a slam dunk and a layup in less than a 20-second span.

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MVSU basketball inks eight for 2009-2010

Help is on its way for Coach Sean Woods and the MVSU Delta Devils (7-11 SWAC, Overall 7-25) with first signing class.

ITTA BENA - The Mississippi Valley State Department of Athletics announced that it has signed eight student-athletes for the 2009-2010 season of Delta Devils' men's basketball. “This is where the revitalization and rebuild of our program begins,” said MVSU head coach Sean Woods. “We worked hard during the recruiting period and the players we signed should become important pieces of the program when they join us in the fall.”

Entering his second year as head coach, Woods - along with his staff - will be hoping that the eight signees will make immediate and intense impacts on the team. Along with the signees and an experienced group of returning players, Mississippi Valley State is in the midst of not only retooling, but restoring the pride and legacy known as Delta Devil basketball.

Below are the initial signees for the class of 2009-10:

Jason Sabb 6-foot-3 guard, Angelina Junior College in Lufkin, Texas.
Darian Donald 6-foot-5 forward from East Mississippi Community College.
Chris Hamblin 6-foot-6 forward, Western Nebraska Junior College.
Mark Holmes 6-foot-6 combo forward from Guerin College Prep School in Illinois.
Ricky Lamb 6-foot-6 combo player from Raines High School, Jacksonville,Florida.
Michael Mayo 6-foot-3 guard from Cochise College in Douglas, Arizona.
D'Angelo Jackson 6-foot-1 point guard from Arkansas-Fort Smith Community College.
Jason Holmes 6-foot-9 post player from Conchise College.

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First-year Valley coach dealing with tough 0-14 start

The schedule was successful, raising about $550,000 in guaranteed payouts, almost twice as much as the previous record. But--at the cost of a 0-13 record for the Delta Devils and first year Coach Sean Woods.

The losses for Mississippi Valley State's first-year coach Sean Woods have come with such regularity, even he's having trouble keeping count. "I never thought my coaching career would start at 0-13," Woods said Monday during a presentation to the Greenwood Rotary Club. Actually, the Delta Devils' season-opening string of defeats ran to 14 Saturday, when Valley dropped its preseason SWAC opener to Arkansas Pine-Bluff.

Woods, who starred as a player at one of the nation's premier basketball powerhouses, the University of Kentucky, isn't used to such futility. "When you lose that many games in a row ... you forget how to win," Woods said. Woods, 38, inherited two major obstacles when he took over in July as the head coach, replacing James Green, who had moved on to Jacksonville State.

The cupboard of talent was fairly bare, with only three players returning from last year's SWAC championship squad, and not much time to replenish it. And he was handed a killer non-conference schedule - the third toughest in the nation, according to Woods. Except for the season-opener against Tennessee-Chattanooga, all of the other dozen non-conference games were played on the road.

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NEXT: The Delta Devils will host Alabama A&M at 7:30 p.m., Saturday

Hardin-Simmons basketball coach named MVSU assistant

ABILENE, TEXAS — Hardin-Simmons basketball coach Dylan Howard has resigned to become an assistant coach at Mississippi Valley State. Howard had a 78-103 record in seven seasons at Hardin-Simmons. The Cowboys had winning seasons each of the past four years and went to the American Southwest Conference tournament three of the past four years, reaching the finals in 2007.

The move was announced Monday.

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