A Fire Karl Hobbs Site: Coppin State 57, George Washington 53

What happens when a middle-of-the-pack Atlantic 11 team goes on a three-game losing streak thousands of miles from home, capped off by a 26-point loss to Hawaii and a narrow decision against a previously 1-10 MEAC squad whose only W came against Wilmington College? Well, among other things, the coach of that middle-of-the-pack team will be honored with possibly the first "FireThisCoach.com" Web site in Atlantic 11 poll history.

And so, meet Fire Karl Hobbs!, which was launched amid yesterday's Coppin State disaster, in a frenzy of pre-New-Year's cheer. Six posts in eight hours on Dec. 30! Pace yourself, guys.

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No state of complacency: Morgan State Bears

Teams are pressing forward after successful 2007-08 seasons

"Yes, we had success, but last year is last year," said the Bears' Todd Bozeman, 2008 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. "And while I appreciate [the award], it's not going to carry any weight this season." Morgan lost three key players but will bank on returning forward Marquise Kately (13.1 points per game) and guards Reggie Holmes (12.9) and Jermaine "Itchy" Bolden.

Kately, 6-5, is "the consummate team player," Bozeman said. "He rebounds, scores and covers for others on defense. Last year, he was even pressed to play point guard for two games." Morgan also corralled a handful of transfers who should help to put more distance between the Bears and their abysmal 2005-06 record of 4-26.

Though Morgan won the MEAC regular-season crown, it lost the tournament title game to Coppin State on a late basket by the Eagles' Tywain McKee. The Coppin star returns with an iffy supporting cast, but how can the Eagles top last year's wacky season in which they went 16-21 and still reached the play-in game of the NCAA tournament?

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New vision for Coppin State athletics

As AD, former NFL player Derrick Ramsey wants the school to become synonymous with the city.

At first glance, it seems an odd choice - Coppin State naming Derrick Ramsey as athletic director. Ramsey, an All-America football star in college, played nine years in the NFL. But Coppin has no football team. Ramsey last worked as Kentucky's deputy secretary of commerce, where he oversaw the state's Fish and Wildlife Service. Around Coppin, the only fish are the fried lake trout in North Avenue carryouts, and wildlife consists of a few squirrels that scrounge for food on the campus quad.

But yesterday, as Ramsey, 6 feet 6 inches, surveyed his new domain, he saw nothing but opportunity - a chance for Coppin to become Baltimore's hometown favorite. "This city is up for grabs," said Ramsey, 51. "There is no one school with which everyone identifies. Baltimore screams out for an institution to take it over, and we're going to do that with integrity and character."

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Mitchell talks Coppin's 2008 recruiting class

Guard Tywain McKee (Mark's Digital Photography)

Last season Fang Mitchell led the Coppin State men’s basketball team to one of the more improbable seasons in NCAA history. The Eagles suffered through a 20-loss season before catching fire down the stretch, winning 12 of their last 13 games, including an upset of Morgan State in the MEAC championship, which earned the team an NCAA tournament berth. It was the first time a 20-loss team made the tournament.

This season, Mitchell returns the team’s leading scorer Tywain McKee, to the roster. But Mitchell must replace the other four starters, all of whom graduated.

Mitchell will look to his 2008 recruiting class to help make up for that lost production. The Eagles are bringing in four freshmen this season: Loch Raven shooting guard Jordan Lee, Mount St. Joseph point guard Justin McCoy, Milwaukee Custer guard Michael Harper and Philadelphia North Catholic guard Lenny Young.

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ShootAround: Coppin State proves it's not the start, but the finish that counts

Tywain McKee will return to CSU for a second senior season (Prop. 48) to lead the Eagles (Mark's Digital Photography).

Going into the 2008 MEAC tournament, Coppin State was the longest of long shots. With a 12-20 overall record and a No. 7 seed, the Eagles were figured by few to have any chance of lasting more than a game or two. One Web site's formula put Coppin's chances of making the NCAA tournament at just 3 percent.

But speculative statistical algorithms are no match for March math. The Eagles won four games in five days, all in the final seconds, against the best teams in the league. All top-three seeds went down to defeat to the MEAC's mighty underdogs, as Coppin went from lost cause to the Big Dance, earning a spot in the NCAA play-in game.

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Former Kentucky QB named AD at Coppin State

Former University of Kentucky quarterback great Derrick Ramsey has been named athletic director at Coppin State University, the school announced on July 25. Ramsey, a native of Hastings, Florida, served as AD at Kentucky State from 1999 to 2003. He most recently worked for the Commonwealth of Kentucky as Deputy Secretary of Commerce.

Ramsey played tight end in the NFL from 1978 to 1987 for Oakland, New England and Detroit. He led the Cats to an SEC Championship in 1976 when Kentucky finished with a 10-1 record and #4 ranking in the final AP poll. Ramsey was named first team ALL-SEC and third-team All-American as QB in 1977 and had a long career in the NFL, playing in two Super Bowls.

Ramsey was inducted in the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame charter class of 1988.

Dr. Mary Wanza has been running the administrative side of Coppin's athletic department since June 2006, after Fang Mitchell resigned from the position to focus on his duties as men's basketball coach. Ramsey will be introduced at a news conference on a date to be determined.

Ramsey plans to keep his home in Kentucky and return to the Bluegrass someday.

Coppin State, Jackson State to be nationally televised

It appears from the following article that Coppin State University Eagles (MEAC) and Jackson State University Tigers (SWAC) will get a win-fall by having their game at Kansas being nationally televised. Regardless, the Tigers and Eagles will have severe difficulty in being competitive in this game. The 2007-08 Jayhawks won the school’s fifth national championship, winning their last 13 games to finish 37-3.

Entire Kansas Men’s Basketball Schedule to be Nationally Televised in 2008-09

“This will be as difficult a schedule as we will have played since we’ve been here,” said Kansas head coach Bill Self, who is 142-32 in five seasons at KU. “We’ve got a great home schedule with Tennessee, Temple, UMass, Siena, Kent State, Coppin State and Jackson State, all of whom will be picked at or near the top of their conferences. The Big 12 home schedule will be tough, with Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Texas from the south, in addition to the north schools.”

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Coppin State Earns Split With Georgetown, Lose 14-2, Win 10-8

Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University baseball team split a doubleheader with Coppin State on Wednesday, losing the first game, 10-8, and winning the second contest, 14-2, at Shirley Povich Field. The Hoyas fought back from a six-run deficit to make things interesting late in game one and used a nine-run second inning to coast in game two. Sophomore Billy Concannon earned his first win as a Hoya and eight players recorded multi-hit games during the nightcap.

Game 1
Trailing 8-2 going into the top of the seventh inning, the Hoyas mounted a comeback that almost saw them draw even. With one out, junior Greg Pustizzi singled to left field and sophomore Tom Elliott was hit by a pitch. After a fielder's choice resulted in the second out, sophomore Chip Malt singled to right field to bring home one run, while an errant throw by the Coppin State rightfielder resulted in a second run crossing the plate.

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Maryland survives against Coppin State

Photo: Coppin State University head coach Derek Brown watches action as the Lady Eagles gives the Terps all they could handle in NCAA Tournament game. CSU ends season at 22-12.

Rashida Suber scored 25 points and Shalamar Oakley had 20 for Coppin State, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions.

COLLEGE PARK, MD - The silence in the arena was as telling as the numbers on the scoreboard.

Playing at home against unheralded Coppin State, Maryland found itself locked in a duel with historic ramifications. Only once had a No. 1 seed lost in the opening round, and with 17 minutes left in the game, the mighty Terrapins were in danger of becoming the second such victim.

Maryland finally pulled away to an 80-66 victory Sunday, but the performance was uninspired, unimpressive and hardly worthy of a team that spent the entire season ranked in the top five.

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Brooks, SU dominate Coppin State

Photo: SU Coach Roger Candor.

The important part of Southern University’s 19-5 win over Coppin State came in getting a solid, knuckle-down start from junior right-hander Sherrard Brooks.

Brooks, who had struggled in three appearances, settled down after a rocky first inning, got out of a jam in the second and dominated from there until coming out after the sixth.

For a team with two starting pitchers, Chris Donaby and Seth Monaghan, out with injuries and still trying to build its bullpen, having Brooks gain confidence is a big help.

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Coppin State falls to Mount St. Mary's, 69-60

Mount St. Mary's gets first NCAA win in three tries to earn Friday game against UNC.

DAYTON, Ohio - The Mount finally got The Win.

Mount St. Mary's, a Maryland school known for getting drubbed in its previous two appearances in the NCAA tournament, got this one started with a nice-looking win Tuesday night in the opening game.

A 69-60 victory over Coppin State set up a daunting second game for the Mountaineers (19-14), who immediately started preparing for their next opponent.

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Banged-up Southern University to host Coppin State

The Southern University baseball team, which hosts Coppin State tonight and has a key Western Division series this weekend at Grambling, is in a world of hurt.

Eight position players and two starting pitchers have a variety of injuries.

SU (5-7) hosts Coppin State (2-14), a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, at 6 p.m. today at Lee-Hines Field.

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Short trip, rough road for Coppin State Lady Eagles

Photo: Coppin State 2008 MEAC Tournament Champions.

Not getting to travel bothers team more than magnitude of task vs. Terps

In the end, it didn't matter that the Coppin State women's team won its third Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title in four years, that it won 16 of its past 17 games or that it has one of the slickest backcourts in mid-major basketball.

The NCAA sentenced the 22-10 Eagles to a No. 16 seed in the Division I tournament and sent them down Interstate 95 to College Park for a Sunday afternoon, first-round matchup against top-seeded Maryland in the Spokane Regional.

Assembled in a large upstairs room in the school's cafeteria for the ESPN selection show, the Eagles let out a whoosh of disbelief, then clapped at the proceedings.

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Coppin's turnaround fueled by seniors

Photo: CSU 6-7 senior power forward Robert Pressley,#40, Waldorf, MD/Southern Maryland Christian Academy.

After a 4-19 start that included a 1-17 stretch, the Eagles leaned on their five seniors to spark a season-saving surge.

On the first Saturday in December, Fang Mitchell slumped on a wooden bench inside the Coppin Center, contemplating the direction his once-proud Coppin State basketball program was headed. The direction was not good.

The Eagles had just taken a 28-point pounding against Morgan State, the second-worst home loss in Mitchell's 22-year career. As the venerable coach sat there, he bemoaned the lack of leadership and passion, but especially the lack of defense.

"I'm trying to find five people that make the game important to them," he said.

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Coppin, Mount ready for date in Dayton

Photo: 6-2 Senior point guard Tywain McKee is from Philadelphia, PA, Bartram H.S.

Eagles, Mountaineers hit road for play-in game, chance to make history in tourney

Dayton, Ohio - On some levels, it doesn't make much sense. Two Baltimore-area teams, separated by 45 miles, traveled west almost 500 miles to be here yesterday. Tonight, they'll play an NCAA tournament game that, one could argue, is not really an NCAA tournament game.

It is a bizarre scenario, almost like holding a family get-together in a stranger's house in a state that no one involved has any connection to.

But, at the same time, there is so much at stake for Mount St. Mary's and Coppin State when the play-in game of the 2008 NCAA championship tips off inside the Dayton Arena that the peculiarity of it matters little.

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Call a timeout on NCAA selection committee

Group's decisions defy expectations by creating situations that make very little sense

You want wacko? How about the NCAA selection committee putting a couple of Baltimore-area teams in the play-in game tomorrow night in Dayton, Ohio?

Instead of sending Coppin State and Mount St. Mary's to Dayton, maybe they should reconsider and bus the Eagles and Mountaineers to College Park now that Comcast Center is available. Maryland will be playing in the National Invitation Tournament at Minnesota.

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NCAA men tournament backet breakdown: Team-by-team analysis

Mount St. Mary's College vs. Coppin State University, Dayton, OH (Tuesday, March 18, 2008)

16a. Mount St. Mary's

LOCATION // Emmitsburg

HOW THEY GOT HERE // Won Northeast Conference tournament.

RECORD, RPI // 18-14, 159th.

NCAA HISTORY // This is third appearance and first since 1999.

KEY PLAYERS // G Chris Vann (6-0, senior, 14.4 pts., 3.1 reb.); G Jeremy Goode (5-9, sophomore, 14.3 pts., 5.5 assists).

THE BUZZ // In the Northeast title game, Mount St. Mary's held Sacred Heart to 29 percent shooting, 10.5 percent from the three-point line.

16b. Coppin State

LOCATION // Baltimore.

HOW THEY GOT HERE // Won Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament.

RECORD, RPI // 16-20, 228th.

NCAA HISTORY // This is the fourth appearance, and first since 1997.

KEY PLAYERS // G Tywain McKee (6-2, senior, 16.6 pts., 4.3 reb.); F Antwan Harrison (6-3, senior, 9 pts., 2.3 reb.); F Julian Conyers (6-6, senior, 6.7 pts., 2.4 reb.).

THE BUZZ // Seeded seventh in the MEAC tournament, the Eagles won four games by a total of six points, capped by a stunning, 62-60 win over cross-town rival and regular-season champ Morgan State in the final.


UCLA vs. MVSU

16. Mississippi Valley State

LOCATION // Itta Bena, Miss.

HOW THEY GOT HERE // Won Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.

RECORD, RPI // 17-15, 223rd.

NCAA HISTORY // This is fourth appearance and first since 1996.

KEY PLAYERS // F Carl Lucas (6-5/Sr., 12.7 ppg., 5.5 rpg.); C Larry Cox (6-10/Sr., 12.4 ppg., 8 rpg.); G Stanford Speech (6-3/Sr., 10.8 ppg., 2.6 apg.).

THE BUZZ // No SWAC team has won an NCAA tournament first-round game since Southern shocked Georgia Tech in 1993. Jackson State drew Florida last season and lost 112-69.

After the thrill, into lion's den--Coppin State

Photo: CSU Coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell team becomes the first team with 20 losses to make the NCAA tournament.

Coppin-Mount St. Mary's winner plays North Carolina

Baltimore rippled with the excitement of March Madness last night when the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament bracket was unveiled. The shudder of reality will come later.

For Coppin State and Mount St. Mary's, two teams that beat the odds to reach the 65-team tournament, reality is a date in Dayton, Ohio, tomorrow night in a play-in game out of the East Regional.

Then there is this: Coppin (16-20) and Mount St. Mary's (18-14) are playing for the right to play North Carolina, the top-seeded team in the tournament, in a first-round game on Friday at Raleigh.

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Coppin State's unlikely run still has legs

Photo: Coppin State University head coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell club is back into the NCAA Tournament with an improbable upset of Morgan State.

When the final buzzer sounded, on the far end of the court, Reggie Holmes was sprawled alone on the hardwood, completely stunned. He couldn't believe his Morgan State team had just lost. The rest of the country, at least those tuning in on television, was also in a state of disbelief. But they weren't thinking about Morgan.

As the party continued at the other end of the court - as players in blue and yellow jerseys piled on top of each other, high like a Dagwood sandwich - the most unlikely of improbabilities had just unfolded. If we're being honest here, who really ever thought Coppin State had a chance?

But the public-address announcer's voice boomed. He made it official: "The Battle of Baltimore is over. For now." Coppin topped Morgan, its cross-town rival, 62-60, in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title game, putting a bold exclamation point on the most amazing turnaround in college basketball.

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Coppin State Eagles wins MEAC championship and NCAA berth

Photo: Senior guard Tywain McKee was unstoppable in the CSU Eagles upset of regular season MEAC champions, Morgan State University.

McKee scores 33, wins it for Eagles with :03 left

RALEIGH, N.C. - It ended the way Coppin State had hoped, the ball and the game in Tywain McKee's hands, and the clock running down last night in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship game.

Coppin couldn't have been in better hands.

McKee took Morgan State's Marquise Kately down the lane, then dropped in a floater with three seconds left to lift the seventh-seeded Eagles past the top-seeded Bears, 62-60, last night at the RBC Center.

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