Michael Grant Brings Wealth Of Experience To Samford Coaching Staff

COACH MICHAEL GRANT
Courtesy: COPPIN STATE ATHLETICS

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The Samford University athletic department officially announced Tuesday that former head coach at Coppin State University, Stillman College and Southern University, Michael Grant, has joined the Bulldogs' basketball program as the special assistant to the head coach.

Grant comes to Samford from Coppin State University where he spent the previous three seasons as head coach.

2017-18 Samford Basketball Schedule

In 2015-16, his Eagle squad advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2016 MEAC Basketball Tournament for the second straight season after upsetting North Carolina A&T in double overtime in the opening round. The Eagles finished second in the MEAC in 3-pointers made, including making a 3-point field goal in 190 consecutive games.

Throughout his career, Grant has helped schools win a number of conference championships and has qualified for the NCAA and NAIA national tournaments.

An 18-year veteran who has won 56 percent of his games, Grant was hired at Coppin State from Division II Stillman College, where he was the head coach for six years. Grant was also the head coach from 2003-05 at Southern University (La.) where he replaced the legendary Ben Jobe and from 1996-2003 at Central State University.

During his career, Grant's teams have posted winning records 12 times and won at least 20 games in a season four times. In addition to his duties as head basketball coach at Stillman, Grant also served the college as the assistant director of athletics. More importantly, he has graduated over 80 percent of his student-athletes during his career.

Grant began his coaching career at his alma mater, Malone College in Ohio, where he first studied under Hal Smith as a student assistant. Grant then served on Smith's staff in 1985 as a full-time assistant before heading to the University of Michigan as a graduate assistant where he helped coach and develop his younger brother Gary Grant, who eventually became the Big Ten Player of the Year in 1988. Gary Grant was the 14th overall player chosen in the 1988 NBA draft.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Grant also coached at Kentucky State University, Alleghany College, Cleveland State University, and the University of Toledo.

He is a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) congress. Also during his career, Grant was the SIAC Basketball Chair, a member of the NCAA Division II Regional Advisory Committee and a NAIA National Championship Tournament Committee Member.

Grant and his wife, Charmane, have three children: Chris, Raynesha and Lauren.

The Samford University basketball team will begin play in its highly-anticipated 2017-18 campaign Nov. 10, as the Bulldogs travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for a marquee season-opening matchup against the Arkansas Razorback to be held at historic Bud Walton Arena.

For quick score updates, breaking news and links to all of your favorite articles featuring the Bulldogs, please follow @SamfordHoopsFOE and @Samford_Sports on Twitter.

SAMFORD UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Winless DSU prepares to host MEAC foe Howard Bison on Saturday

DOVER, Delaware -- A bye week did not help snap the Delaware State football team’s losing streak.

But now the Hornets do get to play the last team they have beaten.

Delaware State’s losing streak moved to 16 games this past weekend after a 44-3 defeat to MEAC leader North Carolina A&T. Despite the fact the Hornets were idle a week before, they were not able to keep up with the Aggies.



The Hornets will welcome Howard to Alumni Stadium on Saturday at 2 p.m. Delaware State downed the Bison in the final game of the 2015 season, which is still its most recent win and is to date the only victory of coach Kenny Carter’s head coaching career.

Howard brings a 2-3 overall record into this year’s contest (1-1 in the MEAC).
Like they have been most of the season, the Hornets were hurt through the air against North Carolina A&T last weekend. Aggies quarterback Lamar Raynard completed 20-of-26 passes for 324 and three touchdowns, while wide receiver Elijah Bell had nine catches for 178 yards.

CONTINUE READING

Even with a healthy Austin Howard, Southern rotated John Lampley in as a dual-threat option

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Senior quarterback Austin Howard made it through his first entire game without an injury scare in the 2017 season, but he wasn’t on the field for the whole game.

Southern rotated true freshman quarterback John Lampley into the game for several series as a sort of change-of-pace option behind Howard.

Coach Dawson Odums gave two reasons for the decision to use Lampley with a healthy Howard at his disposal.

“It really gives us a chance to take some of the pounding off Austin and yet utilize John’s legs,” Odums said. “And John can throw the ball, you can’t just sit on his running.”

“I thought he played well. What we asked him to do, I thought he managed that part of the game.”

Southern used Lampley much in the same fashion that it did with Deonte Shorts last season — as a more mobile option that gives defenses another wrinkle to prepare for.

CONTINUE READING

Southern bringing back the art of the tight end with new offensive formations

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- There’s a renaissance taking place on the Bluff.

When Southern took the field Saturday it did so with three freshman wide receivers, all of whom coordinator Chennis Berry described as being short enough that he could “eat lunch off the top of their heads.”

The Jaguars are confident in their undersized rookies, but they know they won’t be able to carry the load by themselves.



It’s time to bring back the art of using the tight end.

“We’ve got very good tight ends, and I think that’s a lost art in football, especially at the college level,” said coach Dawson Odums. “It gives us a chance to create that surface, give us some angles, allow us to create more gaps and allow us to run the football and make (the defense) have to adjust.

“You have to spend so much time on that as a defensive coordinator. You’re sitting over there thinking, ‘What are we going to have to do to it?’ You have to waste at least a period a day at practice working on just that, and that takes away from something else. And we might not even do it, but you still have to practice it.”

CONTINUE READING

from THE EDITOR: Through the Eyes of a Fallen Rattler

DWIGHT FLOYD
GAME REPORT

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- If you are a Morgan State Bear you are still wondering how the referees could give the ball back to South Carolina State after Morgan recovers a fumble for a touchdown and the refs inadvertently blow the whistle post-fumble. Florida A&M may have wished for such a whistle, but it never came. The Rattlers gained almost 500 yards of offense, but that same offense was generous in giving the other team 21 points by way of three critical errors.

In Tallahassee, Florida and around the country, there are fans who are depressed, frustrated, angry, and ready to fire THE HEAD COACH. The centerpiece of the Tallahassee community has fallen, dare I say once again, and there is no belief that the leader has any charisma, strategy, or wisdom to bring us the victory.

We want our players to have character. We have adopted the motto, the idea, that they must be winners in the classroom, in life, and on the field. Truly accomplishing this would be a great victory, namely because in most places the success of the individual player is secondary. That is, the real slogan for most of football at every level is based on success on the field, then in the classroom, and maybe in life.

CONTINUE READING

XULA Athletics is NAIA COC 5-Star winner for 2016-17

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana has received a silver rating — an improvement from the previous year — among the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' Champions of Character Five-Star Award winners for 2016-17.

NAIA members receive points in character training, conduct in competition, academic focus, character recognition and character promotion. Points also are earned based on exceptional student-athlete grade-point averages throughout the course of the academic year.

XULA received a bronze rating for 2015-16.

"Xavier Athletics is excited to move up in the NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Award standings," said Director of Athletics & Recreation Jason Horn. "Our coaches and student-athletes are striving to return to the gold level."

Through the Champions of Character program, the NAIA seeks to create an environment in which every student-athlete, coach, official and spectator is committed to the true spirit of competition through five core values: integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.

XULA is one of four Gulf Coast Athletic Conference members to receive the Five-Star Award for 2016-17. The others are Dillard, Edward Waters and Talladega. The GCAC was one of 18 conferences to earn a Five-Star Award.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold 

Tomasoni digs up a GCAC Defender of the Week award

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Juliana Tomasoni on Monday received the fourth Gulf Coast Athletic Conference weekly volleyball award of her career, but her first for defense.

Tomasoni was named Defender of the Week for Oct. 2-8 after averaging five digs per set and handling 47-of-47 service receptions without an error during the Gold Nuggets' 2-0 week — home victories against William Carey and Philander Smith. Tomasoni — an outside hitter from Nova Trento, Brazil, and a graduate of two-year Northeastern Oklahoma A&M — was part of a defensive effort that limited Philander Smith to a minus-.110 hitting percentage.

This is Tomasoni's second GCAC award of 2017. The other three of her career were for Attacker of the Week.

XULA (13-2) will visit Spring Hill (16-2) at 6 p.m. Thursday in a matchup of league leaders. The Gold Nuggets hold a two-match lead in the loss column against Dillard in the GCAC; the Badgers are the top team in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference of NCAA Division II.

The Gold Nuggets will play their next five matches on the road before returning home to face SUNO at 6 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Convocation Center.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold