Harris commits to Bethune-Cookman

SUFFOLK, Virginia -- Senior Lady Bulldog Camary Harris has decided where to play her college basketball.

Bethune-Cookman University will be getting a strong King’s Fork High School guard in Harris. This week, she decided she wanted to end her college recruitment and take her talents down to Dayton Beach, Fla., in the fall of 2018.

Harris was the starting point guard on an all-time historic King’s Fork girls’ basketball team. She orchestrated the offense and made plays for her teammates, which saw them playing for the 4A state championship back in March. What made Harris’ play so impressive last season was that she worked her way from an ACL injury. Because of her solid play at the point guard position, she started to spark the interest of NCAA Division I coaches. She was offered by both BCU and Hampton University and decided to roll with BCU.

“The reason I decided to go ahead and commit to BCU is because it was a very family oriented environment,” the senior Lady Bulldog said. “Everyone was really friendly and respectful to one another. The women’s basketball program is really good, and the coaching staff is wonderful.”

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UH hoops to open season vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff

HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Hawaii basketball team will open its 2017-18 season against a very familiar foe.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff is the first official opponent on the Rainbow Warriors’ schedule Nov. 10, UH announced in revealing the order of its Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic opponents today. It is the second time in four years UH slotted the Golden Lions of the SWAC for its opener (2014-15), and in all it will be the sixth trip in eight years to Manoa for UAPB.

UH follows with games against North Dakota (Nov. 12) of the Big Sky and Troy (Nov. 13) of the Sun Belt in the round-robin tournament format. It hasn’t yet been announced if the last game of the tournament will be a late-night game in the ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon as in recent seasons.

Troy previously put out the field for the Rainbow Classic as part of its schedule but the order of opponents was unknown.

Pine Bluff went 7-25 last season, but North Dakota and Troy made the NCAA Tournament as 15 seeds. UH beat UAPB 64-44 last season and lost to Troy 65-63 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

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ASU, Tuskegee stars receive national preseason honors

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Head coaches Brian Jenkins and Willie Slater aren’t the only recognizable names competing in the rekindled Tuskegee-Alabama State rivalry game Sept. 2 at ASU Stadium.

Senior Sam Baptiste, Jonah McCutcheon and Osband Thompson made the Black College Football player of the year watch list and landed on the BOXTOROW preseason All-American team this week.

Baptiste earned first-team All-SWAC honors for the Hornets last season after helping clear run lanes for the conference’s top rushing attack led by 1,200-yard rusher Khalid Thomas. The 6-foot-4, 340-pound lineman out of Waycross, Georgia has the look of someone who could join another ASU lineman in the NFL.

The Oakland Raiders drafted Jylan Ware in the seventh round last April. Baptiste is on an early path to get that prized phone call next spring.

Right now, Baptiste and the ASU offense is preparing to find ways to move the ball on a Tuskegee defense led by Thompson and McCutcheon.

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Takeaways from Jackson State's final fall scrimmage

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Tony Hughes said Thursday that his Tigers aren’t anywhere close to being a finished product.

Jackson State held its third fall scrimmage on the campus of Germantown High School, and although Hughes liked the intensity and physicality he saw, he said he didn’t think his team was ready for the season opener against TCU in two weeks.

“We still have a lot of stuff to clean up,” Hughes said.

Here’s a few highlights and observations from that third scrimmage.

Backfield rising

Depth in the defensive backfield was the only real question mark on that side of the football coming into camp, and the Tigers have found some answers thanks to some young players.

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Alcorn Braves Unveil Challenging 2017-18 Basketball Schedule

LORMAN, Mississippi -- Going up against four NCAA Tournament teams from last year in the non-conference slate, the Alcorn State University men's basketball program released its 2017-18 schedule Thursday.

Alcorn will play a total of 14 home games including nine SWAC contests at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.

The Braves will go on the road to face 2016-17 NCAA Tournament teams in Vanderbilt, Iowa State, Creighton and Baylor. Alcorn will also head to LSU, Northern Iowa, Central Arkansas and Tulane non-conference.

"We put together a very challenging schedule this year that will show us what we're made of early. We have a really young team, but we still want to compete and play at a high level," said head coach Montez Robinson. "The goal for us is to stay healthy and be prepared for conference play."

The season opener is set for Friday, Nov. 10 at LSU. After five road games, the Braves will play their home opener against Yale on Wednesday, Nov. 22.

Alcorn will also host non-conference games against Concordia (AL), Rust College, Fisk University and Blue Mountain College.

SWAC play will begin Monday, Jan. 1 when the Braves head to Prairie View A&M. Alcorn's first conference home game is against Jackson State on Saturday, Jan. 6.

The conference will repeat its double round robin format where each school plays each other twice (once home, once away). The top-eight teams in the final standings will qualify for the SWAC Championships beginning Tuesday, March 6.

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Imhotep graduate one of MEAC’s top running backs

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- The start of college football season is right around the corner for many Black colleges. There are a number of great players among the ranks of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Mike Waters is a name to remember as the season unfolds. Waters, an All-Public League standout at Imhotep Charter, is a terrific running back for Delaware State. A year ago, Waters really showcased his talent as a freshman. He led the Hornets in rushing with 820 yards while scoring five touchdowns. He set a school freshman record with that rushing mark. Waters finished third in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in rushing.



The 5-foot-10, 190-pound sophomore made third-team All-MEAC. He also was named Hero College Sports FCS freshman All-America.

He broke the Hornets’ freshman single-game record with 224 yards rushing on 30 attempts against Howard University last season. Big things are expected from him this season. He had a tremendous scholastic career, leading Imhotep Charter to its first PIAA state championship in school history. He had an impressive 201 yards and scored three touchdowns in a 40-3 victory over Erie Cathedral to capture the state crown. Waters has been named preseason All-MEAC second-team.

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PVAMU Football To Open 2018 Season At Rice On August 25

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- The Prairie View A&M University football team will open the 2018 season at Rice on Saturday, August 25.

It will be the second time in three seasons the Panthers and Owls will meet on the gridiron. In 2016, Prairie View A&M gained 457 total yards in the 65-44 loss.

The game will be played in Week Zero, which is allowed under NCAA rules because Rice plays at Hawaii that season.

"It's a great game for us to open the 2018 season," said PVAMU head coach Willie Simmons. "Anytime we can play FBS teams in our area, it helps us. It allows our fans to travel to the game. We had a really good following last year at Rice. For us to be able to schedule games of this magnitude with so many good teams within driving distance of Prairie View is great for our program. It will be a good measuring stick for us and a good gauge for where we are as a team to start the season."

The 2017 Panthers will open the season at Texas Southern in Labor Day Classic XXXIII on Sept. 2 at 8 p.m.



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