Jitters over, SU Jaguars set to play Rice

Baton Rouge, Louisiana - The first-game jitters should be gone by now. Roman Banks and his Southern men’s basketball team took care of that Friday with a season-opening win at home against Dillard (67-48).

The road-game jitters should be gone by now.  Sure, the Jaguars might have lost at Texas A&M by 25 points, but they were outclassed, and they didn’t give up. The emotional roller coaster should be over now. Oh, Southern will undoubtedly go through the peak-and-valley routine many times between now and March, but it’s possible that nothing matches how Banks felt when he saw A&M coach Billy Kennedy on the sideline Sunday.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, when the Jaguars (1-1) face Rice at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, their minds should be centered on nothing more than basketball. Of course, it’s always supposed to be like that. But you had to forgive Banks for  ...

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No. 12 Baylor Bears Rolls Over Texas Southern, 77-57

WACO, Texas - The new Quincy is already getting comfortable on the court for No. 12 Baylor. Quincy Miller had an impressive debut with a game-high 17 points, including two 3-pointers when the Bears put the game away with 11 points in less than a minute, in a 77-57 victory over Texas Southern on Friday night.

"My teammates were looking for me to score, just looking for me every time," Miller said. "We were just feeling it. That's all I can say."

Returning senior starters Quincy Acy and Anthony Jones had 11 points each for Baylor while Cory Jefferson, who redshirted last season after playing as a freshman, had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jones led the Bears with 12 rebounds.



Box Score | Quotes | Photos  | Highlights 

Miller is a 6-foot-9 freshman power forward from Chicago whose senior season at Westchester Country Day in North Carolina was cut short by an ACL injury. He scored 12 points after halftime, when he was 5 of 6 from the field.

"We expect so much because we know he has that in him. ...

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Marshall Hosts Alabama State in Season Opener

HUNTINGTON, West Virginia – Marshall will begin its 99th season of men’s basketball on Friday at 7:30 p.m. as the Thundering Herd hosts Alabama State at the Cam Henderson Center. The first-ever meeting with the Hornets is Marshall’s first of eight opponents on the schedule that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season.

The Herd is coming off a 65-55 win over Northern Kentucky in its only exhibition game of the season. Marshall shot 56 percent from the field in the second half to pull away after trailing 32-27 at halftime. Most of the Herd roster shared playing time and senior guard Shaquille Johnson led the team with 16 points. The game gave the eight Marshall newcomers valuable playing time. Junior transfer Dennis Tinnon recorded 11 points and 11 rebounds and freshman Justin Coleman scored 15 points in 25 minutes of play.

Marshall is 76-23 all-time in season openers and has won its last five. Last season, the Herd opened the season with a 92-69 win over West Virginia Tech in Tom Herrion’s first game as the head coach at Marshall.

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Game Notes | Gametracker | Media Guide

Marshall's ambitious slate opens with NCAA tournament team - Alabama State

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Marshall will play a dozen games this season against teams that competed in last year's NCAA Tournament. There are, of course, Big East basketball behemoths like Syracuse, West Virginia and Cincinnati that Herd Coach Tom Herrion confidently added to an ambitious schedule.

There are lesser-known 2010 Big Dancers like Belmont, which Marshall plays twice - and that won 30 games last season - and Akron, a 23-win team a year ago. Then there is tonight's Henderson Center visitor: Alabama State.

A perk of Marshall's continued involvement with the Global Sports Shootout is that the program gets to feast on three relative unknowns before traveling elsewhere to take on a big dog.

In this year's event, the Herd will start with Alabama State, Jacksonville State and Northwestern State before playing at No. 21 Cincinnati on Nov. 25. The first three opponents averaged 13.3 wins last season and none finished with an RPI higher than 237.

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ASU men's basketball: Hornets open at Marshall tonight

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- The quest for another Southwestern Athletic Conference championship for the Alabama State men's basketball team begins tonight at Marshall University. Tipoff has been schedule for 6:30.

The Hornets will be led by seventh-year head coach Lewis Jackson, who has welcomed eight newcomers to team with a solid core of six returnees from the conference championship squad. He said he is ready to see this team hit the floor.

"It is always good to get the season kicked off," Jackson said. "We are excited and we have a group of guys that always seem eager to get on the floor. We are just excited about this opportunity."

ASU was able to defeat Fort Valley State 65-57 in an exhibition game to open the season. Kenderek Washington led the way with 21 points and Jeff Middlebrooks added 13 and freshman Luther Page had 10.

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SMU Mustangs Open Season At Home Against Alcorn State Saturday

SMU HOSTS ALCORN STATE BRAVES IN SEASON OPENER
Radio: KAAM 770 AM Ray Canaveri (Play-by-Play)
Location: Dallas, Texas (Moody Coliseum)
Live stats and streaming available on SMUMustangs.com

UPCOMING GAMES
SMU opens the season with three games in six days, beginning with Alcorn State in Moody Coliseum on Saturday at 12 p.m. The Mustangs travel to Little Rock, Ark., to face Arkansas-Little Rock in the first road test on Nov. 14 before hosting TCU on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
The Mustangs return three starters from last season, including the top two scorers in Christine Elliott (10.5 ppg) and Samantha Mahnesmith (10.2 ppg). Mahnesmith connected on 55 3-point attempts last season, marking just the 12th time a Mustang hit more than 50 in a season. Alisha Filmore also returns after starting 28 games last season. As a sophomore, Filmore led the conference shooting 41.4-percent from behind the 3-point arc. Akil Simpson earned Conference USA All-Freshman honors after scoring 4.9 points and grabbing 4.2 rebounds per game in her first collegiate campaign.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
ALCORN STATE: The Lady Braves return nine letterwinners and all five starters from last season's squad, which went 13-15 overall and 12-6 in the SWAC. Alcorn State also won seven of its last 10 games. Kiara Ruffin led the team last season with 17.79 points per game, but junior Carolinsia Crumbly was the only other player to average double-figures, scoring 14.65 points per game. As a team, Alcorn State averaged 59.3 points per game, while allowing 66.8. Series History: This is the first meeting.

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Texas Southern's Tony Harvey Gets a New Contract

HOUSTON, Texas - Texas Southern has rewarded men's basketball coach, Tony Harvey, with a new three-year contract that includes an option for an additional two years. Harvey, who led the Tigers to their first SWAC regular season title last season since 1998, has an overall record of 43-54 at TSU.

"It's a three-year contract with a two-year option," said Charles McClelland, TSU athletics director, in an interview with FOX 26 Sports. "It could be a total of five years. We did it based on the recent on-court success as well as the improved success in acacemics that has equated to approximately a 70% graduation rate for the men's basketball team."



McClleland said when Harvey signs the contract, it will be his first with the school. "He never had a contract," McClelland said. He has been working, up until this point, for a contract. "We never agreed on the terms. It was never about money."

Last season Harvey led TSU to a 16-2 record in conference play and his non-conference victories included a road win over Oregon State. Two years ago Harvey led the Tigers to the championship game in the SWAC postseason tournament.

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Roles have changed at SU ... but not expectations

Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- It’s been seven months since we’ve seen Sandy Pugh in the place she seems most comfortable: sitting on her trademark stool, clutching a whiteboard, surrounded by players during a timeout in crunch time of a women’s basketball game.

Only weeks after Southern’s season ended with a loss to Tulane in the WNIT, Pugh found herself in a new, very unfamiliar position, assuming the role of interim athletic director after SU fired Greg LaFleur.



The search for a permanent replacement continues, and Pugh has agreed to stay on as long as Southern needs her. But her extra duties meant one thing for the women’s basketball team: more heavy lifting for assistants Carlos Funchess and David Frank. Naturally, they answered the call.

Hey, vacations are overrated, right?

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Former Texas Southern University Coach Wins More than $700K in Federal Lawsuit Against School

Houston, TX - Surina Dixon, former women's basketball coach at Texas Southern University, won her federal lawsuit against the school and was awarded more than $700,000 in damages. Dixon's lawsuit concerned Title IX and Title VII claims of gender discrimination and retaliation.

Dixon was hired by TSU in March of 2008 and was fired three months later, having never coached a game at the school.

"The jury found in my client's favor today based on Surina Dixon's complaints of gender discrimination and retaliation for complaining about gender inequities and NCAA compliance issues," said Todd Slobin, Dixon's attorney, in an interview with FOX 26 Sports.

"The jury awarded approximately $730,000 and we'll seek interest and attorney's fees on that money."

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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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Rimmer signs with Alcorn State Braves

ASU Braves Coach Luther Riley

Lorman, MS - Former Piney Woods School point guard Xavian Rimmer, who earned second-team All-State honors this past season from The Clarion-Ledger, has signed to play basketball at Alcorn.

“Alcorn is really coming along with a great new coach in Coach (Luther) Riley,” said Rimmer. “It’s a great program that I would like to be a part of. I think we’re going to make things happen there.”

The 6-foot-2 Rimmer averaged 14.2 points, 5.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds, leading the Tornadoes to the Class 2A state title. He signed with Tennessee-Chattanooga, but after not qualifying academically because of his ACT score, he was released from his national letter-of-intent and was able to go elsewhere. He has since met the NCAA’s eligibility requirements and is expected to be eligible at Alcorn this fall.

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Former PVAMU Lady Panther Signs Pro Basketball Contract

Latara Darrett 

Prairie View, TX - Former Prairie View A&M women's basketball standout Latara Darrett has inked a professional contract overseas with the Italian team CUS Cagliari Pallacanestro.

Darrett was Prairie View A&M's leading scorer in the 2009-10 campaign with 15.7 points while pulling down 6.6 rebounds per outing. She was a five-time Southwestern Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Week and a two-time SWAC Player of the Week.

A native of Chino, Calif., the 5-10 guard scored 23 or more points on four occasions with a high of 29 versus Mississippi Valley State on Jan. 25, 2010.

"Latara is an incredible athlete and it was only (a matter of) time when this opportunity would come,” said head coach Toyelle Wilson. “Her passion was always to play professionally. She will do very well in one of the top premier leagues in Italy."



By Prairie View A&M University Sports Information

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.

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Los Angeles Lakers Roster Review: Trey Johnson

Vitals
Age: 26
NBA Experience: 2 years
Contract Status: Free Agent
2010-11 Averages: 4.2ppg, 1.3apg, 36% FG, 33% 3PT, 90% FT



Umm…yeah…so the Lakers lost Devin Ebanks to injury, they needed a new body to fill a roster spot so…bam! Heeeeerrrrrrrrresssssss’s Trey Johnson.

The only thing more shocking than the Lakers’ exit from the playoffs was Johnson’s entrance in said playoffs. Trey was one of the first men off the bench for Phil Jackson in the opening game of the 2011 playoffs. Otherwise there wasn’t too much to talk about with regards to Johnson’s brief stint as a Laker.

The former SWAC player of the year is a scorer pure and simple. Before being recalled from Bakersfield in the D-League, Johnson was dropping 25 a night in the NBA’s second tier.

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Ellis joins Mississippi Valley State coaching staff

Coach Brian Ellis

Crestview, FL - July 1 was a big day for Crestview native and former Baker basketball player B.J. Ellis as he was named an assistant basketball coach at Mississippi Valley State University, a NCAA Division I school in Itta Bena, Miss.

The Delta Devils are best known for football, or at least one football player, Jerry Rice, the National Football League’s all-time leading receiver. That doesn’t mean MVSU doesn’t take basketball seriously.

The Delta Devils are coached by former Kentucky star Sean Woods. And it was one of Woods’ college games that helped fan the fire Ellis has for basketball.

“I’ve always loved basketball,” he said. "And I can remember sitting down and watching the game between Duke and Kentucky (the NCAA tournament East Region finals) when my boss was playing at Kentucky. He hit the floater to put Kentucky up over Duke and then of course Christian Laettner hit the shot in the last second (to give Duke the win).

“It was one of the craziest shots I’ve ever seen in basketball. To think that I would be his assistant, his right-hand man is unbelievable.”

In his own way Ellis has taken a less traveled path from Baker to Mississippi Valley State.

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Banks trying to spur Southern rebound

Baton Rouge, LA - When the calendar turns to June and the temperature climbs close to 100 degrees, it’s usually high time for college basketball coaches to hit a beach. Or a golf course. Maybe both.

Roman Banks, for his part, hasn’t seen either. Behind a heavy door in the lower hallway of the F.G. Clark Activity Center, the new Southern men’s basketball coach is knee-deep in meetings.

In the past week alone, he’s had impromptu chats with players, meeting after meeting with his newly assembled staff and encounters with an untold number of other people associated with the Southern University athletic department. In other words, the new boss is a little busy. Then again, he has to be. His program has a lot of catching up to do.

“You have to get everybody acclimated to a new way of life,” Banks said. “You’re concerned about the game of basketball. But right now, we have to be concerned about getting everybody’s eligibility back so we can play the game of basketball.”

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TSU star works out for NBA Sacramento Kings

Sacramento, CA - Tuesday morning wasn't the first time Kevin Galloway wore a jersey with Sacramento on it. Before Galloway helped Texas Southern win the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season championship last year, he starred at Sacramento High School, earning The Bee's Player of the Year honor in 2005.

Galloway was at the Kings' practice facility as part of the team's final workout before Thursday's NBA draft. Galloway's college career began at USC in 2006, then continued at the College of Southern Idaho and Kentucky. He appeared to have found a home in Kentucky until the coach who recruited him, Billy Gillispie, was fired and replaced by John Calipari after the 2008-09 season.



Galloway ended up having a good senior season at Texas Southern, where he was the SWAC Newcomer of the Year after averaging 10.9 points, a conference-leading 6.3 assists (eighth in the NCAA) and 1.8 steals. His 6.9 rebounding average was second in the SWAC.

The 6-foot-7 guard enjoyed finishing his career at Texas Southern.

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Alcorn State's Luther Riley to host celebrity basketball camp

LORMAN, MS — New Alcorn State University men’s basketball coach Luther Riley has a message for local parents: Don’t miss out. Riley, who was named the Braves’ new hoops coach in April, is planning to bring his celebrity basketball camp to Alcorn State. And he’s trying to get many local children involved.

“Parents, if I were you, I wouldn’t miss out on this grand opportunity,” Riley said. “We have scholarships available for campers.”



The Luther Riley 2011 Celebrity Basketball Camp is open to boys ages 5 to 17 and takes place June 26-30. The camp will cost $135 for campers that will commute every day, and $200 for campers who plan to stay overnight. Overnight campers will stay in the school’s dorms on campus.

“I want every kid from ages 5 to 17 in Natchez that’s a young man to be at my camp,” Riley said. “But that’s only if you’re serious about basketball.”

The camp will feature L.A. Clippers guard Mo Williams and Sacramento Kings forward Demarcus Cousins, as well as other celebrities, Riley said. Riley himself is a certified Nike instructor.

“Anytime kids might be at the edge, where they didn’t make their high school or AAU teams, I can provide them that edge,” Riley said.

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JSU Football Receives Postseason Ban

Jackson State University head football coach
Rick Comegy is in final season of contract.

Nearly 90 percent, 16 of 18, of Jackson State University's athletic programs scored at or above the national average when the National Collegiate Athletic Association released its annual Academic Progress Rate (APR) report Tuesday, May 24. Two sports, football and baseball, failed to meet the standards.

Two JSU teams were nationally recognized for being in the top 10 percent, in regards to Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores and achievement. The women’s golf and tennis teams both received perfect APR scores of 1,000. Four other teams recorded scores of 970 and above: men’s tennis (970), volleyball (978), softball (982) and women’s cross country (994). Eight teams scored in the range 926-968: bowling (926), men’s indoor track (943), women’s indoor track (946), men’s outdoor track (946), men’s golf (946), soccer (963), women’s outdoor track (965) and men’s cross country (968). The women’s basketball team recorded a score of 917 and the men’s basketball team scored 906.

Football and baseball were the only two sports to fall below the national benchmark of 900. The football program scored 879 and the baseball team scored 888. The football team will be limited to 50.46 scholarships, 16 hours of practice time five days a week and a ban from post-season play (with the exception of the Southwestern Athletic Conference football championship game according to NCAA Bylaws). However, the final decision...

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SWAC takes big hit in latest APR report

Southern's head football coach Lyvonia “Stump” Mitchell
 was not with the Jaguars during the APR reporting period
-- 2006/07 through 2009/10. Former coach Pete Richardson
compiled a career record at SU of 134-62, including 5
SWAC Championships and 4 Black College National Titles.
Richardson was fired on Dec. 7, 2009 after 17 seasons
at Southern University.

INDIANAPOLIS -- NCAA President Mark Emmert expects athletes at historically black colleges and universities to make the grade -- and he's willing to help after seeing the results of the latest Academic Progress Rates.

The NCAA banned Jackson State and Southern of the Southwestern Athletic Conference from postseason play in football next season and did the same thing for Southern and Grambling in men's basketball, citing poor classroom performance by all three schools and a host of others in the SWAC and Mid-Eastern Athletic conferences.

The SWAC does not get an automatic bid to the NCAA's FCS playoffs, but its own conference title game could be affected. The NCAA released the penalties Tuesday. Southern became the first school to be banned from the postseason in two sports in the same year -- football and men's basketball -- because of academic performance.

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Melrose coach gets college offer (Alcorn State)

Memphis, TN - Melrose High boys basketball coach Jermaine Johnson is considering leaving the Golden Wildcats to accept a university position. Johnson told The Commercial Appeal on Saturday that he has been offered the associate head coaching position at Alcorn State University by new Braves coach Luther Riley, who was hired in March.

"It's the top SWAC school," said Johnson. "I told them I would let them know of my decision by Wednesday."

Johnson has been extremely successful during his time at Melrose, rebuilding a proud program that had stumbled prior to his arrival. His 2010 team finished 38-4 and won the class AAA title, the school's first state crown in 27 years. This past season, Melrose finished 27-8, losing to...


Videographer: charleyhorse30; Adonis Thomas Press Conference @ Memphis Melrose High School 10/28/2010. Coach Jermaine Johnson has produced four bluechip players in three seasons at Melrose High School in Chris Jones (Northwest Florida State College/Tennessee signee), Adonis Thomas (Memphis), Cedrick McAfee (Auburn) and Telvin Wikerson (SE Missouri).

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Alabama A&M continues search for men's basketball coach

HUNTSVILLE, AL - Alabama A&M could have a new men's basketball coach by the end of next week, a source close to the search committee told The Times Tuesday.

School officials, who were slowed by the recent tornado outbreak, are expected to conduct phone interviews with potential candidates today and Thursday. Based upon the phone interviews, the finalists will be brought on campus next week for additional interviews.

Two potential candidates,  former Butler High coach Jack Doss and Eugene Harris, who most recently served as the head coach at Florida A&M and has also coached at Auburn, Alabama and South Alabama, told The Times Tuesday afternoon they had not been contacted for phone interviews. John Douglas, who led Calhoun Community College to the junior college national championship game in ...

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