Mitchell Earns 400th Win at Coppin State in Eagles Victory over Nebraska Omaha

COACH RON "FANG" MITCHELL ACHIEVES ANOTHER CSU MILESTONE WITH
THE  EAGLES 93-83 WIN OVER UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT OMAHA MAVS
ON DECEMBER 30, 2011 IN THE ELGIN BAYLOR CLASSIC, KEY ARENA, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.  MITCHELL'S 400TH WIN AT COPPIN STATE MOVES HIS CAREER WINS TO 627.  CONGRATULATIONS COACH MITCHELL!!  GO EAGLES!!

SEATTLE, Washington (12/30/11) - Michael Harper led five players in double figures with a season-high 19 points and Coppin State defeated the University of Nebraska at Omaha Mavericks 93-83. The win earned head coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell his 400th career victory at CSU, on Friday in the Elgin Baylor Classic at Key Arena.

Harper, who had scored just 10 points in the previous four games, was 7-of-12 from the floor including making 5-of-10 from the three-point line.

Coach Mitchell, who is in his 26th season as the head coach of the Eagles, earned his 400th career win at Coppin State on his fourth try. He has 627 victories in his career including his time at Gloucester County College.

Coppin State, which improved to 5-8 with the win, scored a season-high 93 points and tied its season-high with 14 three-point baskets.  Tony Gallo scored 17 points for CSU, while Akeem Ellis added 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Logan Wiens scored 15 points and Antonio Williams had 13 points and nine rebounds.

The Eagles used the long ball to seize control of the game early in the second half.

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Hartnell's Thomas signs D-I letter with Coppin State Eagles

Salinas, California -- Daryl Thomas, a sophomore guard on the Hartnell College men's basketball team, has signed a national letter-of-intent to play basketball at Division-I Coppin State University in Baltimore, MD. Thomas is the first Hartnell player from a local high school to sign a letter-of-intent to play D-I basketball since Eric Petty from North Salinas High signed to play at Mississippi Valley State University in 2008.

"I really don't care too much about my individual stats," Thomas said. "I'm more worried about helping this team win conference and getting to the state tournament. We have a really good defensive style of play this year, and I think we can go far."

The former Monterey Toreadore red-shirted his first year at Hartnell, and made second-team all- conference last season.

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Fang Mitchell gets three more years with Coppin State University

Legendary Coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell

At 5 o'clock on a fall morning in 2009, Coppin State University basketball coach Fang Mitchell drove then-sophomore Michael Harper to the hospital for surgery on his wrist. Harper, from Milwaukee, appreciated the show of support — then and now.

When Harper finishes his college career next season for the Eagles, Mitchell will be there for him again, just like Harper would want it.

"If they were bringing in a new coach in my fourth year, it would mean a whole new system, a new personality, a different look on the team," Harper said. "Him not coming back would have been horrible."

After two months of uncertainty, Mitchell is coming back for his 26th season and more. Francine Stokes McElveen, the senior advisor to the president for legal affairs, acknowledged Tuesday that Coppin has given Mitchell a new, three-year contract that will allow the legendary 63-year-old coach to finish his career at...

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B-CU ends 2-game skid via mercy rule on ESPNU

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- In a nationally televised match-up between the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's first- and last-place teams, Bethune-Cookman stumbled early against cellar-dwelling Coppin State before roaring back to claim the win via the old skunk rule.

Friday's game at Jackie Robinson Ballpark was called on account of the NCAA's 10-run rule with B-CU up 16-6 after seven innings.

ESPNU cameras were watching as the Wildcats (23-19, 10-0), dressed in pink jerseys to promote breast cancer awareness, fell behind 4-0 in the first inning.

B-CU starter GabrielHernandez gave up four straight hits on his first 16 pitches against Coppin State (4-30, 1-8), allowing thre e runs to score. Wildcats coach Mervyl Melendez said Hernandez "pitches with a lot of passion" and after allowing one more hit in the inning to fall behind 4-0, Melendez said Hernandez got mad, "commanded his fastball" and turned things around.

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Coppin State basketball coach Fang Mitchell agrees to new deal

Longtime Eagles coach will return for 26th season next fall

Baltimore, MD - Faced with a mandate to reverse Coppin State's long, painful slide to basketball mediocrity, Fang Mitchell rebuilt the program almost overnight and delivered the program's first winning season in seven years in 2010-11. Now, apparently, he will get a chance to continue the turnaround.

The iconic coach said Tuesday that he has agreed in principle on a new contract that will allow him to reap the dividends of his 2010 recruiting class of precocious junior college players. "I want to be able to coach the guys I brought in," Mitchell said Tuesday.

• Pictures: Fang Mitchell 

Mitchell's job security has been in question for more than a year, and it took more than a month after the 2010-11 season ended to arrive at a resolution for next season. Mitchell said he had reached "common ground" in his negotiation with university president Reginald Avery and that he expected the contract to be finalized this week.

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Gerber chooses Coppin State Eagles

Gerber, who placed center field and catcher for the Tide last season, batted .328 with 21 runs scored and 11-for-12 in stolen bases.

Pottsville, PA - When Cheyenne Gerber visited Coppin State, she knew the Baltimore, Md., school was right for her. When the Eagles' softball coaches saw Gerber play last summer, they knew she was right for them. So the Pottsville Area High School (Pa.) senior signed her letter-of-intent recently to play softball for Division I Coppin State.

"Ever since I was little, I wanted to do something big in softball and go Division I,'' Gerber said Friday.

Coppin State participates in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Eagles are 9-12 this season, 2-4 in the MEAC. The roster features a pair of senior catchers: Stacey Burgos and Amber Miller. Gerber, an accomplished outfielder for most of her career, became the Crimson Tide's starting catcher last season. She joined the Sellersville Belles 18-and-under team last summer to learn her new position better.

"The (Coppin State) coach saw me at a showcase, we talked there and scheduled a visit,'' she said. "I felt really at home with the campus and how everything was set up.

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Howard Lady Bison Rallies 6-5 Win Over CSU in Eight Innings

BALTIMORE, MD. – The Lady Bison softball team secured the game-winning runs at the top of the eighth inning and blocked Coppin State from scoring the tying run at the plate, landing them the thrilling 6-5 win on Monday at the Coppin State field.

Rebecca Kirshner was placed on second utilizing international tie-breaker rules and advanced to third courtesy of Carly Martin’s sac fly to right field. Trina Kindred and Samantha Gatson went on to bring in the final two runs of the game, giving Howard (12-21, 3-3 MEAC) the 6-4 lead.

Melanie Buck gave Coppin State (8-11, 2-4 MEAC) one run with an RBI single to shallow centerfield. Howard prevented Tiffani Whaley from scoring from first base and caught her at the plate for the final out on the relay throw from Kindred.

The win gave Howard the series as the Lady Bison took the 2-3 advantage over the Lady Eagles. Both teams went even at the plate with 11 hits each.

Martin pitched the complete game and walked one in addition to striking out seven batters, marking a season-high.

Lorae Robinson led the Bison with three hits and scored two runs while Marisa Coats, Emily Johnson, and Kirshner added two hits each. Coats chimed in with two RBI.

The Lady Bison softball team will take on Morgan State on April 30 followed by Maryland Eastern Shore on May 7 before heading to Daytona, Fla. for the MEAC Tournament on May 12.

Visit www.howard-bison.com for more information on Howard softball.



By Tiffany White, Sports Information Assistant
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Mitchell, Coppin still at odds

The awkward, three-week standoff between Fang Mitchell and Coppin State University shows no sign of relenting anytime soon. Mitchell, the iconic coach who lifted Coppin to basketball prominence in the 1990s, declined an offer from the university on March 17 to return for his 26th season.

 At the time, he said the offer was not in good faith, but declined to go further. Since then, he has communicated only minimally with university president Reginald Avery, and he had to cancel a Tuesday meeting because of the death of his father-in-law, Rudolph Lewis, on Monday. Now, there will be no talks before the funeral on Tuesday.

All of which leaves Mitchell twisting in the wind. Technically, his contract doesn’t expire until June 30.


Videographer: Andazmedia

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Mitchell calls Coppin's contract offer 'unacceptable'‎

Coppin State University Athletic Director Derrick Ramsey

Baltimore, MD -- Fang Mitchell rejected an offer Thursday to remain as coach of Coppin State's men's basketball team, saying the contract was "unacceptable" but that negotiations will continue.

"It wasn't done in good faith," Mitchell said of the offer after a scheduled meeting with university president Reginald Avery.

Mitchell has coached at Coppin for 25 years, won 395 games, gone to four NCAA tournaments and captured 10 regular-season championships in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

He declined to say why the contract was unacceptable, but he said he expected negotiations to resume next week.

Asked if he believed he could still get a deal to remain at Coppin, he said, "Yes, in talking with the president, we should be able to get it done."

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NSU tops Coppin State to face Hampton in MEAC semis

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Norfolk State coach Anthony Evans admitted drawing up a play for a game-winning shot "hardly ever works."

"It didn't work this time either," Evans said. The plan was for freshman sharpshooter Pendarvis Williams to inbound the ball from the baseline, then race to the corner, where he would launch a 3-pointer. If it missed, Plan B was that the league's leading rebounder, Kyle O'Quinn, would have a chance at scoring off an offensive rebound.

But Coppin State overplayed Williams, denying him the ball, and it was up to senior guard Rob Hampton to make something happen. That was Plan C. And it worked.



Seeing a flash of daylight in the lane from just beyond the top of the key, the 6-foot-4 Hampton sliced his body through three defenders and banked home a layup with two seconds remaining as sixth-seeded Norfolk State upset third-seeded Coppin State 55-53 in a Thursday night quarterfinal game in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament.

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Coppin State's Coach Fang Mitchell future unknown heading into regular-season finale

25 Years, 620 Victories, 10 MEAC Championships, 4 NCAA Tournaments and too
 many money games against the NCAA Top 25 to count -- provides
Ron "Fang" Mitchell with "Legendary Statue" in East Baltimore at Coppin State University
 and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.  No doubt, Coach Mitchell still has game!

Endings are usually bittersweet, often unwelcomed and sometimes contentious.

That might best describe the potential end of Ron "Fang" Mitchell's 25-year basketball stewardship at Coppin State University. If this is his farewell script, it will not be a good one for the man who built a dominating Division I program in West Baltimore in the 1990s, only to see it sputter and stall in the last decade.

Mitchell's departure this year is not certain. But his contract expires at the end of the season, the athletic director says he hasn't made a decision to retain -- or remove -- the coach, and Mitchell himself speaks only in cryptic phrases, if at all, about his job status.

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FAMU guard McKelton scores her 1,000th point in win over Coppin State

With 46.9 left on the clock Monday night, Tameka McKelton walked to the free-throw line. She seemed relaxed. She hit the two shots. They were mere formality as the Florida A&M women's basketball team was about to wrap up a 73-62 victory over Coppin State University.

More importantly, the foul shots were McKelton's 20th and 21st points of the night as she became the first junior in a decade to score 1,000 career points at FAMU. The night's work at the Lawson Center was enough to give McKelton a career total of 1,011 points on a night that she obviously was pressured more by the probability of the milestone than anything that the Eagles did defensively.

FAMU protects home floor vs. Coppin State

Florida A&M might want to put up a sign outside the Lawson Center that lets visiting teams know that they're likely to come out of the place nicknamed the snake pit with a loss. Or so it seems.

Coppin State University became the sixth team to find out that the Rattlers are very protective when it comes to their home court. FAMU used the long ball in the second half to build a 14-point cushion then held off a late surge by the Eagles for a 60-58 victory.

The Eagles became the second consecutive team of the top three in the MEAC standings to stumble...


Videographer: atomicdog1983; FAMU vs. MSU, 2/5/11.

Grandmother should inspire FAMU fans to pack Lawson Center

His men's basketball team had just taken down Morgan State University, the team that the rest of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference had been looking up to for the past two seasons. Florida A&M head basketball coach Eugene Harris couldn't help feeling a little proud Saturday night. FAMU had won its eighth game in the Lawson Center for an 8-1 home record.

So you're feeling real good about this, eh coach? "Our motto is we're going to defend to the end," seems a good enough response. It was a beauty to watch. Just like Harris said, every player on the floor brought some hustle. Larry Jackson matched up tough against the Bears' two big men. Yannick Crowder was swatting rejections all over the place.

Let Harris tell it for those who weren't there.

PHOTO GALLERY: FAMU vs. Coppin State


Videographer: cvc318; SCSU VS. FAMU-- HALFTIME

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Hampton Keeps Coppin Winless In MEAC

BALTIMORE -- Kwame Morgan scored 17 points, including a pair of key 3-pointers in the second half, as Hampton defeated Coppin State 67-59 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game on Saturday.

The lead changed hands five times in the first 2:10 of the second half. Jordan Ellis hit a pair of 3-pointers and Akeem Ellis one for Coppin State, and Morgan and Brandon Tunnell connected for the Pirates (12-3, 2-0).

After the Eagles (5-8, 0-2) took their final lead of the game, Morgan sank another 3 to put Hampton on top 44-43 with 13:39 remaining. That began a 14-2 run that included two dunks by Koron Reed and gave the Pirates a 55-45 advantage with 9:48 left.

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Coppin State finds Wrong Gym

Coach Fang Mitchell plays 66% of Eagle games on the road

Since he has been at Coppin State, Coach Fang Mitchell has played 66 percent of his games on the road - half the MEAC games and practically all the nonconference games when his team collects guarantees to play the big boys in their arenas.

Amazingly, Coppin had never shown up at the wrong gym - until last week. Even though it was supposed to play UConn in Hartford on Dec. 20, the team was instructed to show up in Storrs the night before to practice, according to Mitchell. The gym was closed.

Eventually, Coppin got inside. They had one ball for half-an-hour. Eventually, they got enough balls to conduct a practice. And played the game the next night at the XL Center in Hartford. Coppin lost, 76-64, not a bad result against a really good team.

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MEAC's Suber, Oakley and Butler invited to WNBA Pre-Draft Camp

Photo: CSU's Rashida Suber, 5-8 shooting guard, Reading H.S./Reading, PA.

BALTIMORE, MD -- Coppin State seniors Rashida Suber and Shalamar Oakley have each been invited to the Women's National Basketball Association pre-draft camp held at the University of Tampa April 4-5.

The pre-draft camp will be held at the Bob Martinez Center located on the campus of the University of Tampa and will give WNBA coaches and general managers an opportunity to evaluate the skills of the approximately 40 prospects that will be attending the camp.

The camp will consist of on-court sessions, games and team interviews conducted by the head coach and general manager.

Suber led the Eagles averaging 17.9 points per game, while Oakley was second on the team averaging 17.5 per contest.

Photo: CSU's Shalamar Oakley, 5-6 point guard, Woodrow Wilson H.S./Camden, N.J.

Oakley was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2007-08 as well as earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the conference tournament.

Suber earned the conference's player of the year honor in 2006-07 and was a three-time first team All-MEAC selection.

Oakley, Suber and Hampton University's Rachel Butler are both profiled in the wnba.com draft section of the website.

Photo: Hampton University's senior guard Rachael Butler, Lincoln High School, Dallas, Texas.

Hampton University's Lady Pirate 5-8 shooting guard Rachael Butler is the only other MEAC player profiled on the WNBA pre-draft website. Butler was: Second Team All-MEAC selection for the third consecutive year (2007, 2006, 2005)...Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Rookie of the Year (2005). Butler also averaged 13.3 ppg., 4.8 rpg., and 1.5 apg., and played in 115 games in her stellar four year career for the Lady Pirates.

The WNBA draft will be held on April 9 at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla., and will be televised live beginning at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.

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With Brown leading the way, Coppin State finds consistent success

Photo: Coach Derek Brown celebrates the 2008 MEAC Women's Basketball Tournament Championship with his CSU Lady Eagles and fans at the RBC Center.

The low-key coach and his unsung basketball team will huddle one more time today, roll up their sleeves and go to work. When Coppin State meets Maryland at Comcast Center in a women's NCAA tournament game, it will be the Eagles' latest milestone on the road to prominence.

This game marks four postseason tournaments in four years for the Coppin women, three in the NCAA. It marks the end of a golden era for senior guards Rashida Suber and Shalamar Oakley.

As much as anything, it underscores the job coach Derek Brown has done since taking over the team in mid season nine years ago amid a coaching controversy. He has come a long way since working as a jail guard in Camden, N.J., but he's not above mopping the floor before the Eagles practice at 5 a.m. each day.

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Coppin State late free throws end NSU's season, 67-65

Photo: Coppin State's hero--Tywain McKee.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Tywain McKee scored a game-high 26 points and scored the game’s final four points from the free throw line to give No. 7 seed Coppin State a 67-65 win over No. 3 Norfolk State in a MEAC Tournament semifinal on Friday night at the RBC Center.

The Spartans’ season ends at 16-15. The Eagles (15-20) move into Saturday night’s tournament final against No. 1 Morgan State.

NSU staged a furious second-half rally. Trailing by eight points at halftime and by as many as 13 in the second half, the Spartans roared back behind a 3-point barrage led by Tony Murphy (Paterson, N.J.). Murphy drilled five of his six 3-pointers in the second stanza and Corey Lyons (Bronx, N.Y.) also hit one. The fourth of Murphy’s long-range bombs tied the game at 50-all, and his fifth trey gave NSU a 57-53 lead with 8:46 remaining.


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Back to old school

Photo: Raheem DeVaughn was nominated for a Grammy this year for "Woman," a single from his album. The former Coppin State University student career has taken off and he is on track to major stardom.

Young R&B singer espouses love over misogyny

Raheem DeVaughn isn't one of those snooty musicians who doesn't like to be labeled. In fact, the rising young singer and songwriter goes out of his way to supply interested observers with a handy description of his place in the musical cosmos. "R&B hippie neo-soul rock star" is DeVaughn's preferred handle, and while he might be jumping the gun on the rock-star part, DeVaughn has otherwise nailed his sound.

"I wanted to create a body of work that's my version of the Marvin Gaye albums," says DeVaughn. "The reality is I grew up on Babyface and Boyz II Men and Jodeci, but I definitely identify more with the old-school artists."

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Raheem DeVaughn - She's not you


Raheem DeVaughn - Woman

Oakley Scores 25 in CSU Eagle Win at Florida A&M

Photo: Shalamar Oakley, 5-6 point guard, Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson H.S.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Senior Shalamar Oakley paced five players in double figures in points with 25 and Coppin State extended its winning streak to four straight with an 85-64 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over Florida A&M on Monday in Gaither Gymnasium.

Oakley was 11-of-19 from the floor and also added nine points, three assists and one steal. Danielle Anders had 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Rashida Suber scored 13 points and dished out a career-high 10 assists. Jennifer Martin and Whitney Cunningham each scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Eagles.

Coppin State (15-11, 9-3 MEAC), which won for the ninth time in the last 10 games, shot 60.0 percent from the floor in the second half and outscored the Rattlers 52-32.

Florida A&M (11-13, 2-9 MEAC) shot only 32.9 percent from the floor for the game and was 1-of-17 from beyond the three-point arc.

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Oakley was a transfer from Hofstra University to Coppin State University and has completed her undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice (3.2 GPA) and is in graduate school. She has aspirations of playing basketball professionally in the WNBA or overseas. Oakley was an All-MEAC rookie and All-MEAC first team scholar-athlete .

'Fang' Mitchell, among 13 to enter Gloucester County (N.J.) Sports Hall of Fame

Photo: Ron "Fang" Mitchell, head basketball coach Coppin State University - 21 years; (29 years experience), native of Philadelphia, PA; graduate of Coppin State University.

Coppin State University men's basketball coach Ron "Fang' Mitchell, along with former Washington Township High football star Mike Koerner will be among the 13 inductees to the Gloucester County Sports Hall of Fame during the 28th annual Induction Banquet on March 18, 2008 at Auletto's Caterers in Almonesson, New Jersey, the executive committee has announced.

Tickets for the 28th Annual Banquet are available by calling (856) 435-3367.

Ron "Fang" Mitchell (Gloucester CC): The longtime Coppin State men's basketball coach, Mitchell has earned a reputation as one of the nation's top collegiate coaches. Entering this season, he was Coppin's all-time winningest coach with 318 career victories, three NCAA tournament appearances, two NIT bids, six 20-win seasons, and a share of nine Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles in the 1990s.

Mitchell was a former star player at Gloucester County College, averaging 23 points per game his sophomore season. He later coached the GCC men's basketball teams to a career record of 227-45 from 1978 to 1986, winning four regional junior college titles and 10 Garden State Conference crowns.

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