Saturday, July 15, 2017
KSU FOOTBALL | John L. Smith excited for second season with Thorobreds
FRANKFORT, Kentucky -- The Kentucky State football team won the SIAC western division in its first year under head coach John L. Smith, and as he enters year two, the standards are set even higher.
The Thorobreds are picked to finish third in standings this season, but after a year of overachieving, coach Smith says his players are hungry for an outright conference championship.
Sports Night producer Garrett Moore spoke with Coach Smith, and Smith says he is happy to see the progress his players and program are making.
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WSSU Rams Women's Basketball Announces 2017 Signing Class
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- The Winston-Salem State University women's basketball team will welcome a stellar cast of newcomers to the team in the fall of 2017. The Rams will welcome a quartet of players who will look to build upon a promising effort by the team in its second season under the guidance of head coach L'Tona Lamonte. The Rams wasted little time in getting their signees as the team signed three student-athletes in the fall and one in April.
"I am excited for this recruiting class and the future of WSSU women's basketball. We focused on bringing in winners with high character, a strong work ethic, and great students," Lamonte said. "I look forward to meshing them with our returners and watching this team develop. Each player brings something different to the table, but they all have an understanding of basketball."
One area of concern that the Rams addressed was the backcourt. The Rams will welcome the duo of Teara Johnson and Nyona Shields. Both players come to Winston-Salem State with some impressive resumes. Johnson is a well-decorated athlete from Dudley High School in nearby Greensboro, N.C. During her career, she earned Metro 4A All-Conference honors twice and was named the team's offensive MVP during her senior season. She also earned both all-district and all-area honors during her career as well. Her accomplishments also extended to the classroom where she holds a 4.3 grade-point average and will come to college with 50 credit hours. Shield is a four-year starter from Union Pines High School where she led the team to a 93-20 overall record during her career and scored 1,657 total points with 500 assists and earned Cape Fear Valley (CFV) first team all-conference honors three times and she was also named the CFV Conference Player of the Year during her senior season. She was also a four-time CFV Academic All-Conference honoree as well.
The Rams will also look to bolster their front court with the additions of incoming freshmen Tamani Manning and Lenzi Brown. Manning is a 6'2" forward from William Fleming School Roanoke, Va. She will come to WSSU after a great high school career at William Fleming High after beginning her career at nearby Ben L. Smith High School in Greensboro, N.C. Her career includes 505 career points with 488 rebounds, and 38 total blocks. During her career, she led her team to a runner-up finish in the 2015-16 state championships and a regional appearance during the 2016-17 season. During her career, she led her teams to a combined 44-12 overall record with back-to-back Blue Ridge District championships. She is no stranger to WSSU as her brother, Shaquan Manning, was a member of the Rams' 2012 football team that reached the NCAA Division II National Championship Game. Joining her in the front court will be Brown, a 5'10" forward who comes to WSSU after attending Hopewell High School in Huntersville, N.C. She also spent time at Northside Christian Academy where she earned MAC All-Conference honors before completing her career at Hopewell High School.
The sole transfer among the Rams' newcomers is Ziara Doe, a 5'9" sophomore guard from Alabama State University. She is a graduate of Hilton Head Academy in Hardeeville, S.C. where she led the team to the 2015 South Carolina Independent Schools Association (SCISA) State Championship and earned All-Area Player of the Year and All-State honors. She also scored 1,900 points during her career. She played in 28 games with 11 starts for the Hornets and averaged 4.5 points per game.
The Rams and their recruiting class will look to build upon a solid 2016-17 season after a 14-14 overall record and finished third in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Southern Division. For more information on Rams women's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.
WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS
"I am excited for this recruiting class and the future of WSSU women's basketball. We focused on bringing in winners with high character, a strong work ethic, and great students," Lamonte said. "I look forward to meshing them with our returners and watching this team develop. Each player brings something different to the table, but they all have an understanding of basketball."
One area of concern that the Rams addressed was the backcourt. The Rams will welcome the duo of Teara Johnson and Nyona Shields. Both players come to Winston-Salem State with some impressive resumes. Johnson is a well-decorated athlete from Dudley High School in nearby Greensboro, N.C. During her career, she earned Metro 4A All-Conference honors twice and was named the team's offensive MVP during her senior season. She also earned both all-district and all-area honors during her career as well. Her accomplishments also extended to the classroom where she holds a 4.3 grade-point average and will come to college with 50 credit hours. Shield is a four-year starter from Union Pines High School where she led the team to a 93-20 overall record during her career and scored 1,657 total points with 500 assists and earned Cape Fear Valley (CFV) first team all-conference honors three times and she was also named the CFV Conference Player of the Year during her senior season. She was also a four-time CFV Academic All-Conference honoree as well.
The Rams will also look to bolster their front court with the additions of incoming freshmen Tamani Manning and Lenzi Brown. Manning is a 6'2" forward from William Fleming School Roanoke, Va. She will come to WSSU after a great high school career at William Fleming High after beginning her career at nearby Ben L. Smith High School in Greensboro, N.C. Her career includes 505 career points with 488 rebounds, and 38 total blocks. During her career, she led her team to a runner-up finish in the 2015-16 state championships and a regional appearance during the 2016-17 season. During her career, she led her teams to a combined 44-12 overall record with back-to-back Blue Ridge District championships. She is no stranger to WSSU as her brother, Shaquan Manning, was a member of the Rams' 2012 football team that reached the NCAA Division II National Championship Game. Joining her in the front court will be Brown, a 5'10" forward who comes to WSSU after attending Hopewell High School in Huntersville, N.C. She also spent time at Northside Christian Academy where she earned MAC All-Conference honors before completing her career at Hopewell High School.
The sole transfer among the Rams' newcomers is Ziara Doe, a 5'9" sophomore guard from Alabama State University. She is a graduate of Hilton Head Academy in Hardeeville, S.C. where she led the team to the 2015 South Carolina Independent Schools Association (SCISA) State Championship and earned All-Area Player of the Year and All-State honors. She also scored 1,900 points during her career. She played in 28 games with 11 starts for the Hornets and averaged 4.5 points per game.
The Rams and their recruiting class will look to build upon a solid 2016-17 season after a 14-14 overall record and finished third in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Southern Division. For more information on Rams women's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.
WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS
Jenkins warns SWAC of breakout season for ASU
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Alabama State football coach Brian Jenkins was fashionably late for the 2017 SWAC media day at the Birmingham Marriott, but was grinning from ear-to-ear.Jenkins spoke confidently about his team coming off his first losing season as a head coach.
The Hornets went 4-7 and suffered their first losing season since 2009, but Jenkins said his program is coming back with a vengeance.
“We’re really looking forward to playing this season,” Jenkins said. “They know how they felt and how I felt (about last season). You can tell that the feeling runs deep, because they haven’t repeated anything they did last year.”
Last year, the Hornets lost four games by seven points or less. They had leads in the fourth quarter against Texas Southern (31-27 loss) and Alabama A&M (42-41 overtime loss).
Hornets senior cornerback Ronnie Scott said the difference this season will paying attention to the smaller things.
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Picks to click: Four SWAC players sure to stand out this season
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- DeVante Kincade, QB, Grambling
The reigning SWAC Offensive Player of the Year guides a Grambling squad that is the heavy favorite to repeat as league champion. Kincade, who transferred from Ole Miss a year ago, is a capable runner but is at his best when attacking through the air. He posted an outstanding 31:4 touchdown-to-interception ratio last season to go with a league-best 3,022 passing yards. Kincade looked phenomenal in Grambling’s spring game, completing 38 of 47 passes for 502 yards and three scores.
Lenorris Footman, QB, Alcorn State
Footman was slowed by injury last season, but he could be primed for a big campaign in Year 2 under coach Fred McNair. When healthy, there are few players in the league who can match Footman’s ability to take over a game, particularly when he gets room to run. He gashed Southern in a losing effort for 147 yards and three touchdowns on the ground (in addition to 304 yards and two scores through the air). Three weeks later, he ran for 122 yards and three more scores against Alabama A&M.
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Can anybody catch Grambling in the SWAC? 'Everyone wants to exceed that standard'
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Grambling coach Broderick Fobbs doesn’t see the target on his team’s back, but he feels it.
After his Tigers went 10-0 against Southwestern Conference competition last season — including a come-from-behind win in the SWAC championship game — and then followed it up with a win in the Celebration Bowl, Fobbs knows everybody is gunning to take his team down a peg.
“Absolutely,” Fobbs said. “At the end of the day, every time you set the standard, everyone wants to exceed that standard. We understand that, that’s the reason we worked extremely hard.
“We don’t want to play the same way we played last year, we want to play better than we played last year. Of course we want the same result, but we realize we have to play better than we did last year in order to achieve so many goals.”
Grambling is expected to set the standard again this season. With several key pieces coming back, including SWAC Offensive Player of the Year Devante Kincade, Grambling was picked to win the SWAC west for the third consecutive year.
Asked if the gap between Grambling and the rest of the league is too big to overcome, Alcorn State coach Fred McNair was not so sure. McNair’s club was picked to win the SWAC east for the fourth straight year.
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After his Tigers went 10-0 against Southwestern Conference competition last season — including a come-from-behind win in the SWAC championship game — and then followed it up with a win in the Celebration Bowl, Fobbs knows everybody is gunning to take his team down a peg.
“Absolutely,” Fobbs said. “At the end of the day, every time you set the standard, everyone wants to exceed that standard. We understand that, that’s the reason we worked extremely hard.
“We don’t want to play the same way we played last year, we want to play better than we played last year. Of course we want the same result, but we realize we have to play better than we did last year in order to achieve so many goals.”
Grambling is expected to set the standard again this season. With several key pieces coming back, including SWAC Offensive Player of the Year Devante Kincade, Grambling was picked to win the SWAC west for the third consecutive year.
Asked if the gap between Grambling and the rest of the league is too big to overcome, Alcorn State coach Fred McNair was not so sure. McNair’s club was picked to win the SWAC east for the fourth straight year.
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Rabalais: The end of its title game and a seven-game slate makes this a big season of change in the SWAC
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — It’s a season of change in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and the reason for that change was summed up succinctly Friday by Southern coach Dawson Odums.
“At the end of the day,” Odums said at SWAC Media Day, “football is a business.”
For the SWAC, the business of continuing to put on a conference championship game no longer made financial sense. So this year’s game, Dec. 2 at NRG Stadium in Houston, will be the final edition of a game that made its debut in 1999 but in 2017 has outlived its usefulness.
Get your T-shirts and hats now, because when it’s gone, it’s gone for good.
From a business standpoint downsizing the conference schedule from nine to seven games also made financial sense for the SWAC’s members — at least for the time being.
More on that later. The biggest story for this season is the end of the championship game.
The SWAC, along with its playing partner the MEAC, has decided to put its nest egg in the Celebration Bowl’s basket. The game between the two conference champions, the de facto black college football national championship C, is moving this year into the Atlanta Falcons’ sparkling new $1.5 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the heart of Georgia’s capital city. The game kicks off at 11 a.m. Dec. 16 on ABC.
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“At the end of the day,” Odums said at SWAC Media Day, “football is a business.”
For the SWAC, the business of continuing to put on a conference championship game no longer made financial sense. So this year’s game, Dec. 2 at NRG Stadium in Houston, will be the final edition of a game that made its debut in 1999 but in 2017 has outlived its usefulness.
Get your T-shirts and hats now, because when it’s gone, it’s gone for good.
From a business standpoint downsizing the conference schedule from nine to seven games also made financial sense for the SWAC’s members — at least for the time being.
More on that later. The biggest story for this season is the end of the championship game.
The SWAC, along with its playing partner the MEAC, has decided to put its nest egg in the Celebration Bowl’s basket. The game between the two conference champions, the de facto black college football national championship C, is moving this year into the Atlanta Falcons’ sparkling new $1.5 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the heart of Georgia’s capital city. The game kicks off at 11 a.m. Dec. 16 on ABC.
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Alcorn ready to move on after turbulent off-season
Seven of the 21 players arrested in relation to the fight were found guilty of simple assault, a misdemeanor, and ordered to pay $100 restitution. They were also subject to the school's disciplinary board, which addressed each of the players individually.
In the end, the Braves' coach said he felt the players involved had been through enough.
"We're ready to move on from it," McNair said. "I feel like the university did things the right way, and those guys have done everything they've been asked to do, been compliant and handled it the way they should have handled it. Now I think they are anxious to get back on the field."
That's big news for a team that was voted as the overwhelming favorite to win the SWAC's Eastern Division in the annual preseason poll.
McNair's Braves are eager to erase the bad taste left in their mouths coming off a 27-20 loss to Grambling in the SWAC Championship. If they can stay healthy, they might very well get their chance.
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