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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Putting on pads brings out beast in JSU defense

Jackson State took the football field in shoulder pads for the first time of preseason camp Wednesday. And the defense was more than appreciative.

The unit looked like it couldn't wait to hit someone despite orders not to tackle to the ground - to just wrap up. Those instructions never really set in as running backs and wide receivers were popped repeatedly throughout the day. Defensive end Sam Washington and outside linebacker Ryan Rich had the hits of the day during an inside running drill.

"Defensively, if you're not striking somebody, practice is not the same," JSU coach Rick Comegy said. "Defense always has that extra flow about them when they think they're going to hit somebody and do their craft."

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Former Delaware State coach dies of cancer

Photo: Coach Jeff Battle, husband to Joyce Battle.

Joyce Battle, the wife of Associate Head Coach Jeff Battle of the Wake Forest University men's basketball program, died yesterday of breast cancer at age 44.

The cancer was first diagnosed more than eight years ago, before Jeff Battle left his job as assistant coach at Xavier to accompany Coach Skip Prosser to Wake Forest in April 2001. After Prosser died July 26, 2007, Battle remained at Wake Forest as an assistant to Coach Dino Gaudio.

Joyce Battle was a standout point guard at Fayetteville State University and later an assistant coach at Delaware State University, where she met Jeff Battle. She coached the couple's son, Jordan, 14, in youth basketball. Most recently, she taught and coached basketball at a middle school in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Jeff Battle, known nationally as one of college basketball's top assistant coaches, begins his eighth season at Wake Forest as associate head coach and his 24th season overall in the coaching profession. He served as an assistant coach at Delaware State University for three seasons (1991-93) before advancing to Loyola, Xavier and Wake Forest.

FRANK DISCUSSION: Grambling's Broadway pushes Warren to improve

#23 GSU Tigers RB Frank Warren had an outstanding Freshman season rushing for a team high 901 yards.

Grambling coach Rod Broadway’s insistence that “last year doesn’t matter” extends beyond the Tigers’ up-in-the-air quarterback competition. The sentiment holds true for the entire team.

Sophomore Frank Warren burst onto the scene last year at Grambling as a true freshman, rushing for a team-high 901 net yards and five touchdowns, good for third in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. With another 99 yards he would have become Grambling’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Brad Hill in 2001, and just the second Tigers running back to achieve the feat since 1993.

None of that seems to concern Broadway...

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In it to win it: New SCSU President encourages fans to support all Bulldog athletics

SCSU President Dr. George E. Cooper

New South Carolina State President George Cooper looks like someone with an extensive athletic background. He has a slender but imposing 6-2 frame similar to a sprinter and starts his day at 5 a.m. by sauntering around the track at the Lorry H. Dawkins Track and Field Facility.

Ask about Cooper and his athletic prowess, however, and it’s considerably on the modest side. “I’m the non-athlete in my family,” he said. “As a youngster, I swam in the intramural leagues in Tallahassee, Fla. I was second and third and didn’t win. I’ve been an avid racquetball player. A, B class racquetball player. Played in some state tournaments there.

“For the last 2 1/2 years, I’ve been an avid golfer and I plan to go on the Senior PGA circuit sometime in the next few months. That’s my aspiration. I don’t play that well.”

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S.C. State dons full gear

By SCSU Sports Information

South Carolina State worked out in full pads for the first time Wednesday during its 9 a.m. drill that lasted a little over two hours. The Bulldogs did not have live hitting in the workout.

“We had a really good practice,” said Pough. “It was our first day in full pads and I thought the players moved around pretty good. We got a ways to go yet, but all-in-all, I think we are moving forward a little each day. Enthusiasm and the intensity level remain high.”

The Bulldogs added another phase of the kicking game during Wednesday’s drill, giving attention to kickoffs for the first time, according to Pough. “We devoted some time to kickoffs,” said Pough, “taking a look at both our kickers to see which one is consistent and which has the stronger leg. It’s early, but I think we will do well in that department.” Pough noted that his team also emphasized some situational drills in the team’s offensive and defensive passing game.

SC State begins alternating two-a-day workouts Thursday, with an 8:30 a.m. practice and a 7 p.m. evening session. The Bulldogs will hold their annual “Press Day” Friday, beginning at 9 a.m., and conduct their first scrimmage that evening, beginning at 7 o’clock.

NCCU Eagles eager to fly

N.C. Central begins second season as FCS program

DURHAM - Coach Mose Rison walked out to N.C. Central's practice field late Monday evening, thinking he would arrive ahead of players for the first preseason football practice. It was 8:40 p.m., almost an hour before practice was scheduled to begin under the new practice facility lights. Players buzzed about as if they had discovered gold buried in the end zone.

Eagles head football coach Mose Rison is preparing for a strong second season at the NCAA FCS Division I level.

"They were juiced," Rison said on Tuesday evening before the team's second practice, which was open to the media and just as euphoric. Added sophomore running back Tim Shankle: "It was a lot of smiles on people's faces."

A new season has arrived for the Eagles, and Rison and his players are ecstatic about their second year as an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) program.

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AAMU Bulldogs' defensive tackles taking committee approach

But Askew hopes someone steps up to "be the big dog"

Every few plays, Renaldo Askew jogs his 6-foot-2, 266-pound frame off the field to talk with Alabama A&M defensive line coach Ben Blacknall. It's a common theme for Askew and the rest of the defensive tackles. The unit hasn't been dominant since All-Southwestern Athletic Conference tackle Kevin Lockhart finished his career two years ago. Blacknall's job is to make sure progress is being made, and that's why he's in constant contact with his players.

"If we're going to be successful on defense," Blacknall said, "our tackles have to play well." Askew and Whitney Garrett, the lone senior, are the current starters. Frank Kearse and Marcus Powe will also see a lot of playing time. Askew said the group has gotten Blacknall's message. "There's a lot of pressure on us," he said. "Every day. Every practice. Every meeting. We've got to stay together and do what we've got to do."

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Southern University: Hungry Jaguars

Receivers ready to step into starting roles

Southern wide receivers coach Eric Dooley describes his group as hungry. They ought to be. “The next guy has to step up. They’re feeding off the opportunity to play,” Dooley said. The Jaguars have 12 wide receivers in preseason camp, and only two of them caught balls last season.

Del Roberts, 5-9/190, Wide Receiver/Punt Returner, Tallahassee, FL/UNC.

Those two are senior Del Roberts (42 catches, 474 yards, two touchdowns) and junior Juamorris Stewart (23 catches, 237 yards, one TD). Though neither has put together a dominant season, the roommates were on the preseason All-Southwestern Athletic Conference teams, with Roberts, a former North Carolina transfer, on the first team and Stewart, a former Southern Miss transfer, on the second team.

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FAMU kickers have big cleats to fill

This season, for the first time since 2004, someone other than Wesley Taylor will be kicking the football for the Florida A&M football team. After handling all kicking duties for the Rattlers the past three seasons, the three-time All-MEAC kicker/punter graduated, leaving a void in the special teams unit for first-year coach Joe Taylor.

But after Wednesday's afternoon practice solely spent on the special-teams unit, Taylor was left pleased with the state of his kicking game.

South Florida transfer Trevor Scott, the lone transfer to FAMU in the offseason, did well kicking but didn't fare as well punting the ball. Enter incoming freshman William Platt. Platt showed enough strength in his leg to get the praise of his head coach on the team's second day of practice.

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Southern: Running backs coming on strong

Jaguars RB Brian Threat

Southern University junior running back Brian Threat, who took a financial accounting exam Monday at Pensacola (Fla.) Junior College, reported to camp and took a physical Tuesday. Threat is expected back at practice today. He said he was able to take the final exam early, as the class concludes Friday. He said he didn’t want to miss anymore practice.

Threat (45 carries, 172 yards, two touchdowns) and senior Kendrick Smith (38 carries, 161 yards) are the most veteran running backs in camp as the team replaces All-Southwestern Athletic Conference second-teamer Darren Coates. “It helps as far as experience-wise, but the younger guys are picking it up,” SU coach Pete Richardson said.

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Alabama State Hornets' QB battle heats up

Anthony Speight or Reid Herchenbach?

That's the question that will dog the Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow and offensive coordinator Ben Noonan over the next couple of weeks, as they attempt to name a starting quarterback. And they're already preparing themselves for a tough decision.

"We're going to chart everything," Barlow said. "Everything those two do will be charted, and I'm talking about in both individual and team drills. All of it. When we make a decision, we want to have the stats to support it. We think it's going to be that close."

There seems to be little doubt that Herchenbach and Speight are the top two choices for the position. In just four days of practice this fall, they've separated themselves from second-year QBs Devin Dominquez and Brandon Dowdell.

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Ex-Grambling State University A.D. to Lead D.C. Athletics

D.C. Public Schools has named Troy Mathieu, a former athletic director at Grambling State University, its new director of athletics. Prior to arriving at Grambling in 2006, Mathieu spent nine years as the assistant superintendent for athletics for the Dallas Independent School District, which oversees about three times as many students as DCPS.

Mathieu, 44, said he accepted the position "primarily because of the challenge of it. . . . It's a very similar situation to 1997 when we started in Dallas, and they hadn't invested back into the system. That prepared me to take on this challenge."

Mathieu's appointment ends a lengthy search that has kept DCPS athletics in limbo for nearly a year. He replaces Allen Chin, who reached an agreement to step down in February, six months after he learned that D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee did not intend to keep him. Chin headed DCPS athletics for 17 years.

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Talkative transfer takes aim at JSU Tigers' tailback role

Tigers Running Back Bloi-Dei Dorzan

Juco product Bloi-Dei Dorzan 1 of 5 newcomers vying for key starting spot in Jackson State backfield

The Lackawanna Community College pipeline is alive and well at Jackson State. Sometimes the connection works better than others. Dennis Coit has blossomed into a can't-live-without defensive tackle from the Pennsylvania school.

Quarterback A.J. McKenna quit, then came back, then quit again before ever playing a regular-season game. Oliver McNeil is somewhere in the middle as he fights for a starting spot in the secondary this season. Newcomer Bloi-Dei Dorzan hopes to follow Coit's lead heading into his first season with the Tigers. And there's plenty of opportunity to do so.

Dorzan is one of five tailbacks brought in to compete for the vacancy left by the departure of Erik Haw, Lavarius Giles and Cody Hull.

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DSU releases 2008/09 men's basketball schedule

DOVER, DE – Twenty-three teams from nine different conferences highlight the 2008-09 Delaware State Men’s Basketball slate as announced by Head Coach Greg Jackson, today. Featuring 10 teams which reached postseason play during the 2007-08 season, the 2008-09 schedule will pit the Hornets against three teams ranked in last season’s final Top 25 (Connecticut, Notre Dame, West Virginia) as well as three former NCAA Division I Champions (Kentucky, Connecticut, Maryland).

"Once again, Coach Jackson and his staff have put together a tremendous schedule," said DSU Director of Athletics Rick Costello. "The opportunity for our student-athletes to play some of the premier programs in the NCAA will only make our program stronger."

"This is one of our toughest schedules to date," said Jackson. "This year’s schedule is going to give our program the best shot at grabbing a fourth regular season MEAC Championship over the past five years. We are going to play some of the top programs in the nation with teams like UConn, Maryland and Kentucky – all of which have won national championships.

We’ve got an exciting home schedule with a number of tough MEAC foes and an exciting and challenging road schedule that rivals any program’s in the nation. We look forward to the challenge and I know it will be fun for our fans and players alike."

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DSU 2008/09 Men's Basketball Schedule

Nov. 14-15, Hornet Classic, (Delaware State University, Wilmington University, Cheyney University, Coppin State)
Nov. 17, at Lehigh
Nov. 19 , at Dayton
Nov. 22, at Kentucky
Nov. 25, at West Virginia
Nov. 28, vs. Oakland (in Las Vegas), 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 29. vs. Longwood/Southeast Missouri (in Las Vegas)

Dec. 1, at UConn
Dec. 4, vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore*
Dec. 6, at Richmond
Dec. 12, at Maryland
Dec. 14, at Rutgers
Dec. 20, at Notre Dame

Jan. 10, vs. South Carolina State*
Jan. 12, vs. Winston-Salem State
Jan. 17, at Norfolk State*
Jan. 19, at North Carolina A&T*
Jan. 24, vs. Bethune-Cookman*
Jan. 26, vs. Florida A&M*
Jan. 31, vs. Coppin State*

Feb. 2, vs. Morgan State*
Feb. 7, at Hampton*
Feb. 9, at Howard*
Feb. 14, vs. Norfolk State*
Feb. 16, vs. North Carolina A&T*
Feb. 21, at Bethune-Cookman*
Feb. 23, at Florida A&M*
Feb. 28, at Morgan State*

March 5, at Maryland-Eastern Shore*
March 9-14, MEAC Basketball Tournament , Winston-Salem, N.C.

* MEAC games

FAMU names Carrington new swim coach

Douglas Carrington, the assistant swim coach at Florida A&M for the past four years, has been named the head coach. Carrington was a member of the swim team at FAMU and a team captain. The 26-year-old native of Wappingers Falls, N.Y., replaces E. Newton Jackson, who had been interim swim coach. “This is a dream to me,” Carrington said. “I get the opportunity to provide the same environment when I was an athlete.

“It’s an opportunity for me to do positive things with our university — a great opportunity for me to give back.” Clifton Huff, special assistant to Athletic Director William Hayes, said what he liked most about Carrington is the “solid” relationship he has with the athletes.

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Alabama A&M notebook: Bulldogs top running back carted off with bad ankle

Running back Ulysses Banks, who was named to the All-SWAC preseason team, sustained an ankle injury early on in Tuesday's practice and had to be carted off the field. Banks, who rushed for almost 900 yards and nine touchdowns, while hauling in 20 passes for 285 yards and two more scores, was injured during the Oklahoma drills which feature two defensive players against three offensive players.

#17 AAMU Bulldogs RB Ulysses Banks, 5-8/172, sophomore, Birmingham, AL/Parker H.S.

A&M coach Anthony Jones said Banks would be given ample time to recover. "We don't think it's serious, but it's serious enough that we're going to hold him out a couple of days," Jones said. With Banks out, Anthony Green and Ray Hudson will get the bulk of the work at running back.

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Former TSU lineman found dead in his apartment

Courtesy Tennessee State University Athletics

Qudus Adeboyejo, 23, a former offensive lineman for the Tennessee State University Tigers, was found in his off campus apartment Monday evening by his roommate. Adeboyejo was immediately rushed to St. Thomas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“Qudus was a hard working, dedicated young man. Students, faculty staff and administrators will miss him. He was a valued member of the TSU Tigers Football Team,” said Head Football Coach James Webster.

Adeboyejo, a Matteson, Illinois native, was scheduled to graduate from TSU in December 2008. He was majoring in human performance and sports science with a concentration in physical sciences.

“It is devastating anytime society is faced with the loss of a promising young life. Qudus was part of the TSU family. We extend our deepest sympathy to his family and friends,” said Athletics Director Teresa Phillips.

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Mr. Adeboyejo was a graduate of Rich Central High School (Olympia Fields, IL), located in Cook County, a part of the Chicago Metro Area.

UAPB Golden Lions hold first practice

While Monte Coleman wasn’t in a hurry Monday, he wanted his team to be. In UAPB’s first practice of the season, Coleman, the team’s defensive coordinator and first-year head coach, was looking for one main component from his players: hustle. On a day to test his players conditioning and get his players implemented into the grind of football, Coleman was looking for those who would bust it from drill to drill.

“That’s about all I was looking for,” Coleman said. “We’re going to make mistakes. The young guys don’t know the plays, but they can hustle.”

That’s exactly what the Golden Lions did in the morning practice. Starting at 8:15 Monday morning, UAPB’s first session of the season was a conditioning test. Each player had to run 20 100-yard dashes. On the squad of more than 80-players not one person passed out our quit running. Every player completed it.

UAPB M4 Marching Band


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A&M unit in good hands

Receiving trio has Bulldogs looking to go to the air

Thomas Harris led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in receiving yards per game last season. Rashad Johnson had only 17 catches, but four of them went for touchdowns, including a 65-yarder, one of the longest in the league. Gerald Stockdale not only caught three touchdown passes, but also threw another one.

Meet Alabama A&M's wide receivers.

Their names aren't of the household variety, but their talent, according to A&M receivers coach Roger Totten, is unlimited. "We feel like we have three of the best receivers in the conference," said Totten, who made a huge impact after coming over from Mississippi Valley State last season. "If we can find two more, we may have the best group in the league."

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