Baylor Cruises Past Prairie View in NCAA First Round

WACO, Texas - Brittney Griner and Baylor still find ways to entertain the home folks, even in blowouts.

Griner's record 15th career dunk was the first of several crowd-rousing plays with the game well in hand in the second half, and the defending champion Lady Bears opened the NCAA tournament with an 82-40 win over Prairie View A&M on Sunday night.

Griner finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks, but the Lady Panthers will remember the time they were on the court when the 6-foot-8 star threw in a one-handed reverse to send the fans into a frenzy.

"It was amazing. It was amazing," said Prairie View guard Jeanette Jackson. "We got star struck."

The Lady Bears (33-1), the overall No. 1 seed, won their 31st straight game since an early season loss to Stanford, another top seed. Baylor plays eighth-seeded Florida State in the second round on Tuesday night. Odyssey Sims had 12 points and 10 assists, and Destiny Williams had nine points and 10 rebounds

Gabrielle Scott led Prairie View with 14 points. The Lady Panthers (17-15) lost as a No. 16 seed for the third year in a row. Two of them were against Baylor in Waco, and the other was to Connecticut.

"This one game doesn't justify our season," Prairie View coach Toyelle Wilson said. "Baylor was a lot bigger than us. They had a lot more ammo. They played like the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament."

Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Baylor Photos
AP Photos | NCAA Highlights

Griner's latest dunk - she had two in the NCAA tournament last year - came right after Prairie View had scored to make it 49-26. Sims found Griner alone under the basket and threw a pass three-quarters of the length of the floor. Griner caught it, turned under the basket and dunked with one hand on the other side of the rim.

"It was a little energizer," Griner said. "We definitely started playing with more energy after that."

A few minutes after Griner's dunk, Prairie View's Tanisha Lacey took the ball away from Griner and tried to shoot over her. Griner didn't even let the shot get out of Lacey's hand, stuffing it out of bounds.

With the crowd still wildly cheering the block, Sims got a steal and threw the ball ahead to Kimetria Hayden, who converted a three-point play for Baylor's first 30-point lead. Sims pleased the crowd again a few minutes later when she almost kicked the ball out of bounds on a fast break, but saved it to Brooklyn Pope. Sims was waiting for a return pass under the basket, and the layup put Baylor ahead 62-28.

A 3-pointer from Sims made it 70-30 with 9:07 remaining, and when Sims and Griner left the game less than 3 minutes later, Griner had as many points as the Lady Panthers.

Attendance: 9,540

COURTESY  BAYLOR UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Alabama's Rumph visits SCSU Bulldogs Spring Football Practice

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  --   South Carolina State continued spring football drills Sunday afternoon with a two-hour session in which the Bulldogs continued installation of the offensive and defensive schemes the team hopes to use in the fall.

“We are still working at completing our installations,” said head coach Buddy Pough. “We are trying to get all of the parts of our offense and defense completed. Once we complete that, we can proceed to go about the task of lining up our team activity.”

Sunday's session was the second in should pads for Pough's team and he noted the players had responded well to the added equipment.

“The players have handled things quite well,” he said. “They are working hard and showing a lot of enthusiasm and seem to be enjoying things. And, I'm glad because we all know that it's going to require hard work if we are to redeem ourselves next year. Each day we are out here, we want to make progress and improve our chances of having a good season.”

The Bulldogs are coming off a 5-6 overall season and a 4-4 showing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. It was the team's first losing season in 12 years and the first losing campaign in Pough's 11-year tenure.

A surprise visitor attended Sunday's Bulldog practice. Coach Chris Rumph, who began his college coaching career as a Pough assistant and is now the defensive line coach at national champion Alabama, stopped by and was invited by Pough to address the team briefly. The St. Matthews native and former Calhoun CounAlabama's Rumph visits SCSU Bulldogs Spring Football Practicety head coach, who also coached at Clemson after leaving Pough's staff, has been a part of two national championship teams at Alabama the last three seasons.

SC State returns to the field Tuesday at 6:45 a.m. The Bulldogs will also practice Thursday and Friday before taking an Easter break, according to Pough.


COURTESY SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMTION.

New leaders take on the A&T men’s basketball mantle

GREENBORO, North Carolina  --  Late in N.C. A&T’s 79-48 loss to Louisville in the NCAA tournament’s second round Thursday, after both teams had pulled their starters in favor of rarely used backups, Aggies coach Cy Alexander pulled guards Lamont Middleton and Jeremy Underwood together for a meeting by the bench.
 

This is your team now, he told them, and you’ve got some lofty expectations to uphold.

 

“They have to push all our incoming recruits very, very hard, because they know what it takes to win a championship,” Alexander said. “It’s going to be a plus what we’ve gone through. They understand the level of commitment.

 

“They’re champions, and they now understand what it takes.”

 

With seven seniors leaving, Middleton, Underwood and freshman forward Bruce Beckford are the only players returning next year who averaged more than 10 minutes a game for the Aggies this season.

 

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‘Ahead of the game,’ LeMay signs with N.C.A&T Aggies

FORT UNION, Virginia --  Shaq LeMay is bound for Greensboro after a season of prep football at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia.

The former four-sport Southern Vance athlete signed Wednesday to play at North Carolina A&T in the fall.

The Aggies finished third a season ago in the MEAC of the FCS, formerly Division I-AA, under head coach Rod Broadway.

LeMay said Broadway and Aggie assistant coach Trei Oliver were instrumental in his recruitment.
“It’s a dream,” said LeMay. “I always wanted to play Division I football. And it came true.”

LeMay expects to line up at either free safety or the athlete position on offense, playing both receiver and running back.

LeMay had plenty of competition at Fork Union, which finished the season 10-2 including a nationally-televised loss to Hermitage High School of Richmond, Va.

Fork Union routinely produces FBS (Division I-A) players. The team’s quarterback, Christian Hackenberg, is headed to Penn State next season and was offered scholarships by Alabama, Florida and South Carolina among other schools, according to ESPN.

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Duke Beats Talented Hampton Team in NCAA First Round

DURHAM, North Carolina -- Heading into Sunday’s first round NCAA matchup with Hampton University, Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie was well aware of the ability of the team she was about to face.

“Hampton is the greatest No. 15 seed I have ever seen in my life,” said McCallie. “They are absolutely terrific.”

In their 67-51 win the Duke players and fans also learned how good Hampton was and how the intensity of the game gets turned up in NCAA play.

“I’ve been a mid-major coach before and I am sorry for Hampton that they are a 15 seed,” said McCallie, who led her Blue Devils to their 31st win of the season against just two losses. “They are trying to get their first NCAA victory and they should have been a higher seed, they earned that by what they did over the season, they earned that by who they beat, they did everything right and they had to come play Duke at Duke. They are a fantastic team and some of those women can play on any team. They might be the most athletic team we played including some of our ACC teams.”

Those student-athletes from Hampton just happened to meet a Duke team that heralds some of the best women’s basketball players in the country.

This is a Duke team that lost just two games all season and captured the ACC Tournament title with a two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year in Elizabeth Williams, the ACC Tournament MVP in Alexis Jones and the third leading three-point shooter in the country in Tricia Liston.

That threesome proved to be the difference in the game as Liston led all scorers with 20 points, Williams poured in another 18 and Jones tallied 11 points while dishing out 10 assists. The Blue Devils needed everything these players and their teammates could offer in order to hold off a very athletic and hustling Hampton University team that captured 28 victories and went through the MEAC season with a perfect 16-0 record.

At the end of the first half, it looked like all the hustling and work by Hampton just would not be enough to overcome the No. 5 ranked Blue Devils. A 32-15 lead and a poor shooting performance by the Pirates of just 21.2 percent (7-of-33) made it look like the Pirates would be making a quick return trip home.

Postgame Press Conference l Interviews: Liston l Peters l Box Score l Photos

But after Hampton cut their early 19-point lead to six, the Blue Devils (31-2) needed a late 21-8 run to secure their 20th straight NCAA tournament-opening victory. They will play seventh-seeded Oklahoma State (22-10) on Tuesday night in the second round.

"The last thing you want is to get the impression that things are easy, because they're just not," McCallie said. "This is a winners' tournament. They've won their tournament. They've won their league. They've won big games. ... You just have to know that, as we talk to the team, there's a competitor's mentality that is very different than a fan's mentality."

Keiara Avant had 18 points for Hampton (28-6). Avant's jumper with just over 10 minutes left capped a furious 27-14 rally that pulled the Pirates to 46-40.

They clawed back because they made a determined effort to attack the rim and work the ball inside, instead of settling for lower-percentage shots.

"We said we were taking too many jump shots. It was important that we get to the hole, try to get them in foul trouble," Avant said. "We knew if we could get inside, get them in foul trouble, that we definitely had a shot at coming back."

But Duke locked down defensively - forcing Hampton to miss 12 of its next 15 shots - and scored on five straight trips to regain some separation and end the Pirates' 19-game winning streak.

Williams hit back-to-back layups before Liston's scoop shot made it 52-42 and put Duke up by double figures for good.

"It was really important to get paint shots, especially in a game like this," Williams said. "We want to create contact, try to get to the foul line and try to get the easiest shots we can get."Haley Peters finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Duke, which shot 50 percent in the second half and overcame some early struggles on the boards to outrebound Hampton by eight.

The Blue Devils stretched their home winning streak to 19 games and improved to 7-1 since losing Atlantic Coast Conference co-player of the year Chelsea Gray to a season-ending knee injury.

Olivia Allen finished with 15 points for the Pirates, but Nicole Hampton - who averages 12 points - had just two on 1-of-15 shooting while playing through what coach David Six said was a foot injury.

Hampton came in leading the nation by allowing an average of 47.2 points, and Duke became just the third opponent to score more than 60 against the Pirates.

"They had great ball pressure and we had to do some things that we hadn't done in the past couple of games," Liston said. "This will really help us grow and prepare us for our next game."

Neither team believed Hampton - which has wins over three opponents from major conferences - deserved such a poor seed, with McCallie saying afterward that the Pirates "should have been a higher seed" based on those non-conference victories.

"I said that nothing this weekend would make me think I was a 15 seed," Six said. "My mind still hasn't changed. We weren't a 15 seed."

The Pirates certainly showed how far they've come in the three years since their last visit to Duke - a 72-37 loss in the first round three years ago in which the teams had the same seeds as this year.

For a while, it looked as though that was going to happen to the Pirates again after the Blue Devils used a Williams-fueled 16-2 run to open a 19-point lead and seemingly break the game open.

The Virginia Beach, Va., native scored eight points during the burst before Liston's layup with just under 2 minutes left made it 32-13. Three of the Pirates' previous five opponents failed to crack 30 in an entire game.

"It's hard when you double down and you make a good play and they reverse it and they get a 3," Six said. "It deflates you a little bit. That being said, I thought that in the second half, we got after them defensively and forced them to turn the ball over - if they can be rattled. I thought that they showed that our defense was affecting them a little bit."

COURTESY GODUKE.COM

Five-a-Side: Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Terron Armstead

TERRON  ARMSTEAD
(COURTESY UAPB ATHLETICS)

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas  --  He affectionately drew the nickname "Terronnosaurus Rex," but Arkansas-Pine Bluff senior Terron Armstead more resembled a raptor at the NFL Combine last month.

Armstead basically flew down the runway while he clocked 4.71 seconds in the 40-yard dash - a new Combine record for offensive linemen.

Add in Armstead's other measurables at the Combine, including 31 reps with the 225-pound bench press and a broad jump of 9 feet, 4 inches, plus his performances at the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl, and he has been one of the fastest risers across NFL draft boards in the last two months.

The 6-5, 306-pound Armstead has gone from being considered a late-round pick on the final day of the April 25-27 draft to a second- or third-round selection on the second day.

Armstead turned heads with the record run at the Combine, but it was equally important for the Southwestern Athletic Conference product to have a 1.64- second time in the first 10-yard split because offensive linemen generally don't have to run any farther down the field on a play. His fast split ranked second to Oklahoma's Lane Johnson among O-linemen.

Considered to have a high ceiling, Armstead has worked hard to polish his game since Arkansas-Pine Bluff ended its season in December with a win in the SWAC Championship Game. The Illinois native, who is represented by agent David Butz Jr. of SportsStars, Inc., in New York, has worked with UAPB offensive line coach Damon Nivens and at the highly regarded Athletes' Performance training institute in Florida.

Armstead is still trying to close the gap on the level of competition he faced in college, but NFL.com has compared Armstead to Houston Texans offensive tackle Duane Brown and CBSSports.com likens him to Joe Staley of the San Francisco 49ers.

In Five-a-Side - In the FCS Huddle's monthly feature of "five questions, five answers" with an influential person in the FCS - Armstead discusses his world- wind year and the upcoming draft.

Let's kick off:

TSN: Can you talk about your performance at the East-West Shrine Game, then the Senior Bowl and then the NFL Combine, and just how it's changed the NFL's perspective of you?

TA: Well, I really just went into the all-star games with sort of a chip on my shoulder being from a small school. I had to go and answer the question of level of competition. That really was my main focus, just to show everyone that I would be able to compete at a high level against the bigger-school guys.

TSN: How do view the importance of the Senior Bowl, the East-West Shrine Game and the Combine to what you accomplished during your career at Pine Bluff?

TA: Those all-star games were more of a personal thing; my career at Pine Bluff was all team-oriented. We won a conference championship this (past) year, so that was by far the biggest accomplishment of my football career. But those all-star games were just a personal thing, an individual thing, just to show you can compete against a bunch of all-stars really.

TSN: Obviously, you've risen on the draft boards and are being projected for the second or third round. What does that mean to you?

TA: It means a lot to be in this situation, an opportunity to be looking to get drafted. It's all a blessing, a great thing, a great opportunity. Any college player would be aiming to be a first-round draft pick, so, of course, I'm aiming to go as high as I possibly can.

TSN: Coming from the FCS level, do you feel like you have to do more to attract the NFL's attention?

TA: Of course, you have to pop out on film, you have to separate yourself. There's a lot of great players in my conference, so there's good competition, good talent. But coming from a small school, you have to stick out like a sore thumb - that's what they call it.

TSN: Can you describe your style of play?

TA: I'm an agile offensive lineman, I like to move, get up to the second level. I understand angles, I like to get out in an open field on screens or sweeps or tosses, but I also can get down in the pile game. I like I call myself a well-balanced, well-rounded player.




COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF PINE BLUFF SPORTS INFORMATION

RB Tillery has big day in Southern scrimmage

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  There may be more than five months until Southern opens its football season Aug. 30 at the University of Houston, but one running back has already begun to emerge as the clear frontrunner in the backfield.

Sophomore Lenard Tillery shined in Southern’s spring scrimmage finale Saturday, busting out for 111 yards on 18 carries to easily lead all rushers on the afternoon. Southern ranked last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2012, averaging just 79.5 yards per game on the ground.

But behind a rejuvenated O-line and a new offensive system, first-year coach Dawson Odums thinks 2013 may be a different story.

“I think we ran the ball the best we’ve ran it since we’ve been here,” Odums said after Saturday’s scrimmage. “Lenard Tillery ran the ball really well, and he is going to be a great running back for us going into the fall.”

The rest of the running backs combined for just 60 yards, compared to Tillery’s 6.2 yard-per-carry average. The McKinley High alum called his outing Saturday “decent at best,” but his efforts clearly impressed Odums, who tabbed Tillery as the lead man for the starting job heading into the fall.

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TSU Has Strong Showing at Baskin Weems Relays

COLUMBIA, South Carolina – The Tennessee State men’s and women’s track teams competed against 29 opponents in Saturday’s Baskin Weems Relays and secured 12 top-five finishes.

 

In the field events, Ashontae Jackson won the women’s long jump with a leap of 5.52 meters, which was nearly half a meter farther than the competition.

 

The Tigerbelles also performed well in the triple jump as Ja’Lyn Burr and Felicia Oladakun placed second and fourth, respectively, with hops of 11.4 and 11.33 meters.

 

Angel Davis was another standout performer for TSU, as the freshman had the second-longest discus toss of the day at 38.99 meters.

For the Flying Tigers, Jason Griffin cracked the top-five in the 110-meter hurdles by placing fourth with a final time of 15.18 seconds.

In the men’s high jump, Tennessee State dominated the competition as Daryl Rice won the event with a leap of two meters and Sean Jenkins took second with a jump of 1.95 meters.

The Flying Tigers were nearly just as successful in the long jump as Tyler Anderson won the event with a final of 6.71 meters. Teammate Royce Dates leapt 6.46 meters, which was good enough for fifth place.

Anderson also finished fifth in the triple jump, skipping 13.53 meters.

In the track events, Quanisha Sales placed third in the women’s 200-meter dash with a time of 25.52 seconds. She then paired with Jackson, Clairwin Dameus and Diera Taylor to take home second in the 4x100 meter relay.

Oteia Prince also finished second in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase, completing the event in 10:29.35.

 

TSU will take a weekend off of competitions to prepare for the Pepsi- Florida Relays in Gainesville, Fla. on April 5.

 

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Defense dominates Southern’s spring game

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  Southern closed spring football camp Saturday with a 121-play scrimmage at A.W. Mumford Stadium, and surprisingly the defense stole the show.

Ending its first preseason under first-year head coach Dawson Odums, who previously was defensive coordinator, the second-team defense kept the first-team offense out of the end zone.

The scrimmage began with the first-team offense backed up to its 3-yard-line against the second-team defense. Both units rotated starters and reserves for a couple of rounds before moving the ball to the 45 for the same drill.

The final period of the scrimmage was a red-zone drill, with the offense beginning just 20 yards from the end zone. Drives led by senior quarterback Dray Joseph and the rest of the starters never resulted in points; the only offensive scores came from the second-teamers, when quarterback Wynton Perro was at the helm.

Joseph ended the scrimmage 12-of-24 for 118 yards and an interception but was upbeat afterward.

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XU produces NAIA's best time this season at LSU Relays

DEVINN ROLLAND

BATON ROUGE, La. — Xavier University of Louisiana's Devinn Rolland, Zahri Jackson, Tramaine Shannon and Chartia Hurt ran the NAIA's fastest 1,600-meter relay time this season at the LSU Relays on Saturday.

The four runners finished in 3 minutes, 54.13 seconds — the Gold Nuggets' fastest time since Xavier revived its track and field program in 2010. Rolland, Jackson, Shannon and Hurt met the A-qualifying standard for the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Marion, Ind., in May.

Xavier placed sixth out of 13 entries and finished ahead of five NCAA Division I teams.

Jackson also met the A-qualifying standard in the 800-meter run. She finished fifth out of 31 entries in a career-best 2:12.01. LSU's Laura Carleton won in 2:11.08.

Rolland met the NAIA's B-standard in the 100 for the second time this season, finishing eighth out of 50 sprinters in 12.17. Rolland also met the B-standard with a long jump of 5.55 meters (18 feet, 2½ inches) and placed 11th out of 34 entries. She met the A-standard in the long jump three previous times this season.

Chelsea James, Shannon, Hurt and Rolland finished third out of six teams in the 800-meter relay in a season-best 1:41.28. Catherine Fakler ran a season-best 2:22.01 in the 800 and placed 13th. Shannon ran a season-best 1:00.43 in the 400 and placed 28th out of 42 entries.

The Rush and Nuggets will not compete next week during Xavier's spring break. They'll resume competition April 5 in the Mississippi College Twilight Invitational at Clinton, Miss.
Here are all of Xavier's Saturday results from the LSU Relays:

    
Women
800: Zahri Jackson, 5th in 2:12:01; Catherine Fakler, 13th in 2:22.01.
800 Relay: Chelsea James, Tramaine Shannon, Chartia Hurt, Devinn Rolland, 3rd in 1:41.28
100: Devinn Rolland, 8th in 12.17; Chelsea James, 24th in 12.54
1,600 Relay: Devinn Rolland, Zahri Jackson, Tramaine Shannon, Chartia Hurt, 6th in 3:54.13
Long Jump: Devinn Rolland, 11th in 5.55 meters (18 feet, 2½ inches)
400: Tramaine Shannon, 28th in 1:00.43; Chartia Hurt, 33rd in 1:01.77


Men
Long Jump: Christopher Kennie, 13th in 6.23 meters (20 feet, 5¼ inches)

Results (PDF file)

By Ed Cassiere, SID
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS

2013 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships April 13 at Tad Gormley Stadium, New Orleans Field Events: 8:45 a.m. Track Events: 9:30 a.m. Meet Information

 

Dr. Boyce Watkins: March Madness Revenue Exceeds $1 Billion, Players Get Harmed in the Process

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina  -- In case you’re not aware, the NCAA is big, really big. This professional sports league that disguises itself as being amateur is rolling in money and profitability. Much of this excess is driven by the fact that their competitors, the NFL, NBA and Major League baseball, have one line item in their budgets that the NCAA does not have: The cost of compensating their players.

For the first time ever, ad revenue from March Madness has crossed the $1 billion dollar mark. According to Kantar Media, no other professional sports league has surpassed this number. The NFL took in in a “measly” $976 million and the NBA was even more embarrassing at $537 million. Oh, Major League Baseball was barely worth mentioning, at $354 million.

Now considering that the league with the lowest post-season revenue has players making as much as $30 million dollars per year, you can only imagine how much the mother of a college athlete might benefit if her child were able to negotiate his fair market value.

Even more interesting is the way that the NCAA has played with our heads. They market their improved graduation rates as if that’s fair compensation to a player whose siblings are still living in the projects. I’m sure that a player’s hungry relatives will be glad to hear that a $3 million dollar salary has been traded in for a nice degree in General Studies that could get the player an assistant manager’s job at Applebee’s.

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Dr. Boyce Watkins is a faculty affiliate at the College Sport Research Institute at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

FAMU Rattlers test out new scheme

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  --  From the tone of offensive coordinator Quinn Gray’s voice, this wasn’t an ordinary test run Saturday morning on the FAMU football practice field.

“It isn’t good enough,” Gray shouted to the players on offense after a whistle was blown on two consecutive plays. “You’ve got to do better.”

The Rattlers spent most of the hour they were on the field — wearing helmets and pads – trying to get the hang of the new offensive scheme Gray is introducing. They managed to get in 40 plays before lightning halted the morning workout.

Even with the weather interruption, head coach Earl Holmes said he saw enough to begin getting a feel for who will make his first depth chart. Every player, except starting quarterback Damien Fleming, is being given an opportunity to compete for a position, he said.

“We are looking for who is going to line up and play; alignment, assignment and execution,” Holmes said. “That’s all we are looking...

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Jenkins pleased with B-CU's opening day of spring practice

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  --  Bethune-Cookman football coach Brian Jenkins said he was happy to get on the field for the first day of spring practice.

And he liked what he saw Saturday.

It was good to get it going,'' Jenkins said, speaking after the afternoon practice at the Wildcats' refurbished campus practice field.

“The guys moved around pretty well. They've been training hard in the offseason,'' Jenkins said. "They've been very focused and detailed about everything that they've been doing thus far, and it's carried over into our first day of practice, which is exciting in my mind.''

Jenkins did not make players available for comment or allow the News-Journal to take photographs.

“No pictures,'' he said when asked why a photographer was turned away from practice.

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Florida A&M University Holmes Adds NFL Experience

EARL HOLMES
HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
FAMU RATTLERS

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  --  Five former NFL players with coaching experience on the high school level will join Earl Holmes’ staff of assistants to begin his era as head football coach at FAMU.

The Democrat also learned Wednesday night that Edwin Pata, a former assistant under Joe Taylor who Holmes replaced, will return to coach the offensive line.

Two of the new coaches, Levon Kirkland and Ernie Mills, were teammates with Holmes when they played for the Pittsburg Steelers during the 1990s.

Pata, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant at FIU, will coach the offensive line. The other former NFL players expected to become position coaches are Elijah Williams, Chris Cash, and former FSU defniensive back Corey Fuller.

It wasn’t immediately clear when Mills and Fuller, who turned around the East Gadsden football program, will officially join the staff.

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2013 FAMU RATTLERS FOOTBALL STAFF

Earl Holmes, Head Coach
George Small, Associate Head Coach
Quinn Gray, Offensive Coordinator/QB
Juan Vasquez, Special Teams
Edwin Pata, Offensive Line
Levon Kirland, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Ernie Mills, Wide Receivers
Elijah Williams, Running Backs
Chris Cash, Secondary
Corey Fuller, Secondary
William Bennett, Videographer
Deidre Butler, Administrative Assistant
Greg Hankton, Equipment Manager

(Click each name for bio or related article)

Hampton University women face daunting challenge in powerful Duke

DURHAM, N.C. — At Hampton University World Basketball Headquarters, they've been a mite peeved about their seed in the NCAA women's tournament since it was announced Monday. They have an advocate in Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie.

"Hampton is the greatest No. 15 seed I've ever seen in my life," McCallie said, in advance of Sunday's first-round game against her second-seeded Blue Devils. "They are absolutely terrific. It's the best Hampton team, I think, that's ever been there in the history of the program."

McCallie mentioned how Hampton (28-5) hadn't been tested in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play. That's a bit of a stretch, though only two of the Lady Pirates' final 14 wins were by single digits.

"They belong in the ACC," McCallie said. "They're an ACC team."

She added, "Hampton could have beaten a ton of our teams in the ACC. … If you put them in the ACC, they're as good as most ACC teams, and as athletic as any of them."

The Lady Pirates appreciate the compliment, but they face an XL-sized challenge in Duke (30-2), the ACC regular-season and tournament champs on their home floor.

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Apopka's mighty mite Jevric Blocker taking talent to SIAC and Benedict College Tigers

APOPKA, Florida -- The path to college football wasn't exactly an easy route for Jevric Blocker.

He's had to overcome obstacles all along the way, but the star weapon from this past season's Florida Class 8A state champion Apopka Blue Darters has finally found his home at the next level.

Blocker, the the 5-foot-4, 142-pound running back — in pads we assume — has signed to play at Benedict College, an historically black liberal arts college in Columbia, S.C. The Tigers compete at the NCAA Division II level.




"This is a big stress relief," Blocker said of finally making his college choice. "We went and visited and I did a lot of research on the head coach [James Woody] and the academics. I plan to major in business and they had all of the intangibles for me to be successful."

Blocker was the fourth-leading rusher among Central Florida running backs this past season, running for 1,704 yards. He also scored 27 touchdowns and played a vital role in the Darters run to the state crown.





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B-CU gets back to fundamentals for spring football practice

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  --  Brian Jenkins had to think about it. Is this his most experienced team since he became Bethune-Cookman's head football coach after the 2009 season?

“That's a good question,'' he said. “I'm not sure.''

 

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Wildcats have lost some key players, but the majority of the starters from last year's 9-3 team are back.

 

Still, spring is a time of rebirth, and that's how Jenkins views spring practice, which is scheduled to get under way Saturday at the Wildcats' refurbished practice field on campus.

 

“We're just going to work on fundamentals,” Jenkins said. “This team is untested. It hasn't done anything yet.''

 

The Wildcats are scheduled to have 12 practices before ending with a spring scrimmage April 20 at either New Smyrna Beach Stadium or Municipal Stadium. B-CU athletic spokesman Bryan Harvey said the Wildcats have not set a time or venue for the scrimmage, which will be open to the public. The Wildcats' practices are not open to the public.

 

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2013 B-CU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

 

 Date                       Opponent                             

Sun, Sep 01	Tennessee State	Nashville, Tenn.	TBA
Sat, Sep 07	Virginia Union	Daytona Beach, Fla.	4:00 p.m.
Sat, Sep 14	Florida International	Miami, Fla.	TBA
Sat, Sep 21	Florida State	Tallahassee, Fla.	TBA
Sat, Oct 05	Delaware State *	Dover, Del.	TBA
Sat, Oct 12	Howard *	Washington, D.C.	1:00 p.m.
Sat, Oct 19	Savannah State *	Daytona Beach, Fla.	4:00 p.m.
Homecoming
Sat, Oct 26	South Carolina State *	Daytona Beach, Fla.	4:00 p.m.
Sat, Nov 02	North Carolina Central *	Durham, N.C.	2:00 p.m.
Sat, Nov 09	Norfolk State *	Daytona Beach, Fla.	4:00 p.m.
Sat, Nov 16	Hampton *	Daytona Beach, Fla.	4:00 p.m.
Sat, Nov 23	Florida A&M *	Orlando, Fla.	TBA

XU Nuggets' sprint medley quartet places third at LSU Relays

Coach Joseph Moses — on the left side of the back row — and some of his
 Xavier track and field athletes posed for a team photo February 14 outside
the  new Convocation Center. Front row, from left: Chelsea James,
Chartia Hurt, Tayler Louis, Devinn Rolland, Tramaine Shannon, Zahri
Jackson  and Hannah Flanagan. Back row, from left: Moses, Kwame Jackson, 
Briana Simms, Chris Kenner, Catherine Fakler and David Holobowicz.
(Click photo to enlarge)

BATON ROUGE, La. — Xavier University of Louisiana's Chelsea James, Devinn Rolland, Chartia Hurt and Zahri Jackson placed third Friday out of 12 teams in the women's 1,600-meter sprint medley relay at the LSU Relays.

The Gold Nuggets, the only non-NCAA Division I team in the relay, finished in 4 minutes, 3.36 seconds — less than 4½ seconds behind LSU, which won in 3:59.11. Louisiana-Monroe was second in 4:01.12, and Jackson State was fourth in 4:08.44. Tulane, Arkansas State and Nicholls State were among the other relay squads that Xavier beat.

The Nuggets' Catherine Fakler ran 1,500 meters in a career-best 4:50.52 to place seventh out of 31 runners. She finished ahead of 17 NCAA D-I runners. Freshman David Holobowicz, competing for the first time as a collegian at 5,000 meters, placed 15th in 16:44.82, the fastest by a Gold Rush runner this season.

There is no team scoring in the two-day meet, which will conclude Saturday. Field events will start at 10 a.m., track events at 1 p.m.

Results (PDF file)

Here are all of Xavier's Friday results from the LSU Relays:

Women
1,600 Sprint Medley Relay: Chelsea James, Devinn Rolland, Chartia Hurt, Zahri Jackson, 3rd in 4:03:36
1,500: Catherine Fakler, 5th in 4:50.52
5,000: Hannah Finnegan, did not finish

Men
5,000: David Holobowicz, 15th in 16:44.82

By Ed Cassiere, SID
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 

TSU Football Holds Pro Day

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Tennessee State football conducted its' annual pro day on Friday at the TSU Indoor Practice Facility.
 

Over 20 scouts from the National Football League (NFL) were in attendance as well as a crowd of about 250.

The Tigers had scouts from numerous NFL teams including the Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots.

Most of the 2012 TSU seniors participated including Rogers Gaines, Travis James, Sherman Carter and junior Trabis Ward.
 

Follow TSU Athletics on Facebook.com/TSUTigers, Twitter @TSU_Tigers and YouTube
 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Claflin University Decides to go in Different Directions with their Men's and Women's Basketball Programs

Orangeburg, SC -  Claflin University has decided to move in a different direction in terms of leadership for both its men's and women's basketball programs.

"I personally want to thank Coach Ron Woodard and Coach Tiffany Tucker for their contributions to the University as the men's and women's head coach, respectively. I wish them well in their future endeavors, commented Dr. Jerome Fitch, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, at Claflin University.

The University has named Terrence Jenkins and Dont'e McChester as interim head coaches for the men's and women's basketball programs respectively.

The University will begin a national search for the men's and women's programs. " Our goal is to find coaches with the right fit for Claflin University and we will take deliberate speed to identify them," said Dr. Jerome Fitch.

COURTESY CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Booker T. hires former NSU aide as head coach

NORFOLK, Virginia  --  Jim Flowers led Lafayette-Winona Middle School to the city football championship this past fall.

Booker T. Washington hopes he has similar success in high school.

Flowers, a former Norfolk State player and assistant coach, was hired to coach the Bookers on Thursday - his first head-coaching position in high school.

Flowers also was an assistant coach at Hampton University and Maury High.

"I'm old and I've been around a long time," joked Flowers, who didn't want to disclose his age but said he coached under Darnell Moore and the late Dick Price at Norfolk State. "But I appreciate this opportunity and I look forward to the challenge to continue the success that's already been established here."

Flowers replaces Che Jacobs, who was 21-20 in four seasons. He led the Bookers to the playoffs in 2011, the school's first postseason appearance since 2004 and first winning season since 2003.

Flowers had applied for the Booker T. Washington job before.

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Southwest Guilford basketball star commits to WSSU

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --  Terrell Leach, a standout point guard at Southwest Guilford, has committed to play basketball at Winston-Salem State, coach Guy Shavers of Southwest said Thursday.

Leach (6-foot, 175) is the second guard to commit for play for coach Bobby Collins next season, joining combination guard Jamison Jeffers of Burlington.

The commitments should help offset the losses of three starters from this season’s 21-7 team, including point guard Marcus Wells, a four-year starter, and leading scorer Justin Glover.

Leach helped the Cowboys to a 27-1 record this past season, with the only loss to Reagan in the NCHSAA 4-A playoffs. He averaged 30 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

 

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WSSU Notes: QB position under scrutiny

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --  One of the most watched positions this spring at WSSU is quarterback.

Expected starter Anthony Carrothers , who was 2-0 as a starter in the 2012 playoffs, has been sharing time with DeShean Townsend and E.J. Abrams-Ward . The Rams lost Kam Smith , who was 32-4 in three seasons as the starter.

Carrothers hasn’t been 100 percent and will need surgery on his left, non-throwing shoulder after spring practice. Townsend is in his third season with the Rams but hasn’t played much, and Abrams-Ward, 22, hasn’t played quarterback since he was at Thomasville High School.

“You have to let them three guys compete,” Coach Connell Maynor said. “So we’ll let them battle, and you have to throw them into the fire to get reps.”

Abrams-Ward (6-5, 230) signed with Tennessee but redshirted there in 2008 and will have four seasons of eligibility at WSSU.

“He just has to get in and work with us a lot more, but he’ll have the summer and the offseason to watch film and study and to shake that rust off,” Maynor said. “He may be a year away, but we’ll see.”

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Ram Ramblings: WSSU spring practice "Rome wasn't built in a day"

I certainly didn’t feel out of place at WSSU spring football practice on Wednesday with my bulky sling I was wearing after shoulder surgery last week.

At least six probable starters for the Rams will miss spring practice while recovering from surgeries or other injuries.

The first injured player I ran into was Nate Hartung, who was riding a stationary bike while watching fellow offensive lineman go through drills. Hartung, who is 380 pounds on a good day, had ankle surgery and is taking the spring off so he’ll be ready for practice in the fall.

The injuries aren’t limited to just the players. Assistant coach Daren Hart was on crutches and wearing a bulky knee brace but he continued to coach the defensive backs from the sidelines.

There is certainly a different feel at spring practice this year, mainly because the Rams lost 22 seniors from last season’s 14-1 team. Several of the leaders are no longer there so it’s up to the younger guys to increase their roles.

There will be plenty of reconstruction this spring as Coach Connell Maynor and his staff shuffles around personal trying to find the right players for the right positions.

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Search Begins for New PVAMU Athletic Director

FRED WASHINGTON
PVAMU

 PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas  --  PVAMU President George C. Wright announced Wednesday that Fred Washington, who serves as vice president auxiliary services as well as athletic director, will step down from the director post to focus on auxiliary operations. He will remain a member of the University’s executive staff.

“It has been my distinct privilege and honor to have served as athletic director for an institution filled with athletes who perform well on and off the field. I cannot express fully how much I have appreciated the opportunity to be a part of this great sports tradition and how much I have learned from the coaches, staff and students,” Washington stated.

According to Wright, the search for the University’s next athletic director will begin immediately. The search will accept qualified candidates from across the country that are experienced and able to lead the program while adhering to National Collegiate Athletic Association, Southwestern Athletic Conference and University regulations.

 “I commend Fred Washington for his leadership and vision in directing our athletic program.
Indeed we have celebrated many accomplishments during his tenure,” said Wright. “We are cultivating our legacy as a school that embodies the spirit of champions. This is due in no small part to Mr. Washington’s leadership and tenacity. We greatly appreciate his efforts.”

Washington became athletic director in 2009 after serving in the role as interim for 11 months. During his tenure the department garnered 11 championships including a football championship in 2009, the first in 45 years. The overall success continued and in 2012 Southwestern Athletic Conference Championships by the baseball, women's basketball and bowling teams led to Prairie View sweeping the season ending awards for 2011-12. The Panthers captured the Sadie Magee/Barbara Jacket Award, the C.D. Henry Award and the James Frank Award which were presented at the spring meetings en route to claiming the overall Commissioner's Cup.

The women’s basketball team defeated Mississippi Valley 100-87 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship to earn their third-consecutive SWAC Conference Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They will play number one seed Baylor on Sunday.

COURTESY PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION