Winston-Salem State Releases 2014-15 Men's Basketball Schedule

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- 12 home games, a participant from the NCAA DII Final Four, and an always tough CIAA slate, highlight the 2014-15 Winston-Salem State University Rams basketball schedule.

Winston-Salem State will open the season hosting Allen University on November 15th at the CE Gaines Center, before hitting the road for a tough USC–Aiken Tournament.

"We're also fortunate to once again begin our season at home on November 15th with a game versus Allen University", says first year head coach, James Wilhelmi

"We have an exciting and challenging schedule this year highlighted by our participation in a tournament hosted by 2014 NCAA Division II Final Four participant, the University of South Carolina – Aiken", says James Wilhelmi

WSSU will then host Barber Scotia on November 25th and Belmont Abbey on November 29th.

The Rams will face some tough out of conference competition in the month of December, as they will host Glenville State on December 1st before traveling to Fairmont State in West Virginia on December 13th and facing two DII powerhouses in back to back night in Boca Raton, FL on December 19 &20, in Lynn University and Barry University.

"Our schedule also features a pair of key regional contests versus Glenville State and Fairmont State", adds Wilhelmi.

When the New Year rolls around, the Rams will hit the road for a pair of CIAA contests: January 3rd at The Lincoln University and January 5th at Bowie State.

"As usual, there will be a lot of parity in the CIAA and we look forward to competing in one of the top leagues in Division II basketball after the first of the year", says Wilhelmi.

WSSU will return home for a brutal three game stretch in five days as they host the Trojans of Virginia State University (8th), Chowan University (10th) and Elizabeth City State (12th). The Rams will wrap up a five game home stand with St. Augustine's on January 17th and Shaw on January 21st.

Back to back road games at Fayetteville State (Jan. 24th) and Johnson C. Smith (Jan. 28th) will face the Rams before rounding out the month of January at home for a big CIAA showdown with Livingstone College on January 31st.

The final month of the regular season will see the Rams hit the road to start February with a three game trip at Virginia union on February 4th, at St. Augustine's on February 7th and at Shaw on February 11th.

WSSU will then return home for a pair of CIAA showdowns with Fayetteville State on February 14th and Johnson C. Smith on February 18th.

The Rams will wrap up the regular season on the road at Livingstone on February 21st.

Winston-Salem State will then prepare themselves for the CIAA Tournament and a chance to represent the conference in the NCAA DII Regionals, as the CIAA tournament returns to Charlotte February 24th through March 1st.

With six seniors on the roster including returning All-CIAA performers WyKevin Bazemore and Marquez Jones, and new leadership from head coach James Wilhelmi, the Next Chapter in WSSU Rams Basketball is set to take flight, and 2014-15 should be another great year to be a Ram.

COURTESY WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

FAMU's special teams coach Vasquez resigns

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Going out after one of the worst performances by his unit isn't the way special teams' coach Juan Vasquez wanted to leave the FAMU football team.

But on Monday, two days after two special teams' mistakes helped Coastal Carolina pull out a 48-3 victory in FAMU's home opener, Vasquez said he's resigned. He met with head coach Earl Holmes on Sunday to give him a two-week notice, Vasquez said.

Following the loss on Saturday, Holmes said he was going to make adjustment in his coaching staff, but he said he didn't fire Vasquez.

"I had some opportunities came up that were beneficial to me and I thought that was the best decision for me to make," Vasquez said. "It had nothing to do with coach Holmes or the team. It's just that the opportunity came up in the middle of the football season."

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Canzano: Former Trail Blazer Caldwell Jones answered one final question before his death

PORTLAND, OREGON  -- Caldwell Jones attended the 7:30 a.m. service at the Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia, on Sunday morning. After church, as he always does with his wife and three daughters, Jones went to brunch.

"We have a rule at the table," his wife, Vanessa, said. "No cell phones. We either play cards, or we ask someone in the group to give a synopsis of the church message or I give a writing prompt and we all write a short essay."

Caldwell Jones would be dead hours later after suffering a heart attack. He was 64. The former Trail Blazer known nicknamed "Pops" by Terry Porter will be remembered for his time as a basketball player, but Vanessa would like, too, for you to know about his final hours.

"I give the writing prompt," she said, "and everybody writes. Reading, writing, classical music, these were 'us' things."

Her husband had become an avid reader and was mentoring young children, who were learning to read. In fact, their three daughters — Zori (21), Maya (18) and Leah (13) — had all grown up with trips to bookstores and libraries with their father.

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Former Albany State/NBA Sixers center Caldwell Jones dies

The NBA, the Albany State University (Ga.) family and the sports world loses a gem with the passing of Caldwell Jones.

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- Caldwell Jones was a key member of the Philadelphia 76ers teams that reached the NBA Finals in 1977, 1980 and 1982. The 6-foot-11 center was a rugged defender and named to the NBA All-Defensive first team in 1981 and 1982.

Caldwell died Sunday after suffering a heart attack on a suburban Atlanta golf course. He was 64.

“Caldwell was a special person and was taken from us too early,” former Sixers player and coach Billy Cunningham told the National Basketball Retired Players Association, which announced his death. “He epitomized what a ‘team player’ was meant to be and didn’t care if he scored a point as long as we won.”

Jones was drafted by the 76ers out of Albany State (Ga.).  In his 17-year career, he averaged 7.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He also played for the Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs.

The 76ers released the following statement:

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ECSU Names Interim Head Basketball Coaches

ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina -- Elizabeth City State University has announced their head basketball coaches for the 2014-2015 school year.

Ron Woodard and Alico Dunk and will serve as interim head coaches for the ECSU basketball teams this fall. Coach Woodard will be at the helm of the Lady Vikings' program while Coach Dunk will take over the on the men's side.

Ron Woodard brings a wealth of knowledge to the Lady Vikings' program. He compiled a 120-92 record 11 seasons as the head men's basketball coach at Claflin University (Orangeburg, SC). He guided the program from the NAIA ranks, where Claflin won the Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in 2005, to Division II where in their first season of eligibility, the Panthers won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title (2009). During their transition year from NAIA to NCAA Division II (2007-08) Woodard's club posted the best record of any HBCU team with a 24-2 mark.

"I'm happy to be here and am thankful for the chance to be a head coach in the CIAA", says Woodard. "I look forward to an exciting year of Lady Viking basketball keeping in mind that our athletes are students first. Making sure that we stay focused in the classroom is very important to the overall success of our program."

He was named Coach of the Year in both the EIAC and SIAC and has previously served as an assistant coach at North Carolina Central and Kentucky State and was graduate assistant at his alma mater, Norfolk State University.

After five seasons and a record of 83-56 at the helm of the Lady Viking program, Alico Dunk will assume head coaching duties for the Vikings. Previously he spent sixth seasons as an assistant coach for the ECSU men's basketball team, including 2007 CIAA Tournament Champions.

"I would like to thank athletic administration for this great opportunity", states Dunk. "It is an honor to build on the solid foundation that has made ECSU one of the top programs in the CIAA. Our student-athletes will be equally dedicated to both success in the classroom and competitiveness on the court."

During his five year stint as coach of the women's team Coach Dunk built an impressive résumé. Under his guidance the Lady Vikings won the CIAA Northern Division twice and he was tabbed as the 2013 CIAA Coach of the Year after leading ECSU to the best record in school history of (24-4 , CIAA 15-1).

COURTESY ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION 

After easy win, A&T Aggies turn attention to Howard

GREENSBORO — N.C. A&T was an assuredly better team than Chowan on paper.

On the field, that sentiment was reaffirmed Saturday night in front of 13,184 at Aggie Stadium.

Before heading to the nation’s capital for its MEAC opener against Howard, the Aggies made a capital statement with 52 first-half points against the Division II Hawks in a 59-0 win.

The Aggies appeared to sprint the 100 meters around Irwin Belk Track, circling the field while Chowan looked like it was jogging the 3,200.

“We just had them outmanned from the opening play on,” A&T coach Rod Broadway said. “We played like we should play when you play an opponent like that.”

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In the FCS Huddle: Surpassing all the hype

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- Perhaps the beauty of Saturday's three FCS Top 25 matchups was that all three games were happening at the same time.

No matter where you turned, the furious action was surpassing all the expectations and hype.

Saturday will go down as one of the better days of the season no matter how good the conference races become in the next two months. No. 4 Montana at No. 1 North Dakota State, No. 2 Eastern Washington at No. 14 Montana State and No. 7 New Hampshire at No. 17 Richmond saw to it.

You can throw in No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana losing at Southeast Missouri State to make the day even more intriguing. But the trio of Top 25 games were enough to energize the FCS nation because highly anticipated matchups don't always satisfy, and these three were special.

North Dakota State's 22-10 win over Montana was great from the start because the two programs were on the field together for the first time since 2003. Montana is the most storied off all current FCS programs and NDSU has surpassed everyone in the division in the last four seasons.

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