SWAC preseason awards: A clean slate and a rush to fill the void

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- While history tends to repeat itself in some ways — take, for example, Texas Southern, who is once again the clear favorite to win the SWAC — the world of college basketball as a whole is ever-changing. Just look at last year’s All-SWAC First Team. Not a single player remains for 2017-18.

That means the three returning members of the second-team — Reginal Johnson of Alcorn State, Texas Southern’s Kevin Scott, and Jared Sam at Southern — will be in the mix for first-team and Player of the Year honors.

Here are our complete projections for the 2017-18 SWAC awards. Compare them to the league’s picks, which were announced Thursday during the SWAC’s annual media teleconference.

Player of the Year—Reginal Johnson, Sr., Alcorn State

This year, a number of players could fit the bill for the preseason top performer. Yet Johnson has shown his dominance in the SWAC for years now. 15.6 points per game in the low post led him to be named HBCU All-American last year. He is a willing rebounder with a tremendous upside.

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FAMU homecoming game brings pageantry to Bragg

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- A week-long celebration reaches its climax Saturday.

Florida A&M’s football team will battle conference titan North Carolina A&T at 3 p.m. in Bragg Memorial Stadium for its annual homecoming game in front of what should be a sold-out crowd.

The game will be a challenge, for sure, but FAMU’s homecoming kicked off earlier this week – the Rattlers have been in celebration mode much longer than the lead-up to the game.

Still, it’s not homecoming without a football game at the end of the week, and this season’s contest promises to be as packed as it has been in recent years.

Chris Asa, associate athletic director for tickets and corporate sales at FAMU, said the turnout for the game should rival the 26,044 who came out to watch the Rattlers’ 2016 homecoming win over Hampton. Attendance for last season’s homecoming was the highest since 2010.

“We’ve got our hands full here for homecoming,” said football head coach Alex Wood.



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Unbeaten A&T heads to Florida A&M for another homecoming

Who: No. 11/15 N.C. A&T (6-0, 3-0 MEAC) at Florida A&M (2-4, 1-2)

When: 3 p.m. Saturday

Where: Bragg Memorial Stadium (25,500), Tallahassee, Fla.

Radio: WCOG-93.7; WCOG-1320

At stake: The Aggies are chasing history. Since joining the MEAC as a founding member in 1971, A&T has never started a season 7-0. The only 7-0 starts in A&T’s 93-year history came in 1927 when the Aggies finished 8-0, and in 1943 when they finished 7-0. … For the Rattlers, it’s homecoming week at Florida A&M, which guarantees a sellout crowd. The program is in the third year of coach Alex Woods’ rebuilding project, but this is a fanbase that expects to win.

Quarterbacks: A&T junior Lamar Raynard is the league’s top passer, averaging 272 yards per game with a 69.7 completion percentage. He’s thrown for 17 touchdowns and just 1 interception. Last week, he became the first Aggies QB with two 300-yard passing games in a single season. … FAMU sophomore Ryan Stanley ranks second to Raynard in yardage, completion percentage and TDs among MEAC quarterbacks, and he’s an elusive and quick scrambler. Stanley leads a potent offense. The Rattlers rolled up 485 yards at Norfolk State last week, but lost because of five turnovers.

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Former NSU walk-on Anthony Smith leads stout Norfolk State defense against Hampton

NORFOLK, Virginia -- No scholarship offers, one opportunity.

Coming out of Maury, Anthony Smith talked to one school to pursue football: Norfolk State.

The Spartans offered him a spot as a preferred walk-on, he took it, and now Smith is a redshirt senior linebacker, a scholarship athlete and the leading tackler for Norfolk State (2-3 overall, 2-0 MEAC).

The Spartans host Hampton (3-2, 2-0) at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Battle of the Bay.

"I'm a fighter," said Smith, who has 51 tackles, including 2.5 for loss. "I just can't quit no matter what."

Before he learned that, Smith spent his first two years on the bench or on special teams. Smith spoke with former NSU standout Keenan Lambert about whether or not to continue playing.

"I knew him from when I was growing up," Smith said. Lambert also played at Maury, graduated from NSU in 2015 and played five games for the Oakland Raiders.

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Georgia Tech Basketball Preview: Florida A&M

HEAD COACH ROBERT McCULLUM
FLORIDA A&M MEN'S BASKETBALL

ATLANTA, Georgia -- Georgia Tech and Florida A&M will meet for the seventh time on Dec. 17, the first game for the Yellow Jackets coming out of fall semester final exams. All of the prior meetings have occurred in Atlanta (Tech is 6-0), but this will be the first one in McCamish Pavilion. The Rattlers are under new leadership this season, with former Tech assistant Robert McCullum at the helm. This is the 10th in a series of previews of the Yellow Jackets' non-conference opponents.

Location: Tallahassee, Fla.
Conference: Mid-Eastern Atlantic (MEAC)
Home arena: Alfred Lawson, Jr. Multipurpose Center (9,639)
2016-17 Record: 7-23, 2-12 in the MEAC (10th)
Post-Season: Lost to Savannah State in the First Round of MEAC Tournament, 82-78
NCAA Postseason Appearances (Last): Three (2007)
All-time series record: 6-0, Georgia Tech (last meeting in 2011)
Head coach: Robert McCullum (first season)
Starters returning/lost: 4/1
Top scorer returning: Desmond Williams (16.2)
Top rebounder returning: Desmond Williams (6.1)

Quick preview for 2017-18

First-year head coach Robert McCullum, a former assistant coach at Georgia Tech, was brought in to lead Florida A&M into a new era. Luckily for McCullum, all but one starter from last season has eligibility left and will help lead a young squad forward. Playing 14 of their first 17 games on the road, the Rattlers will need to have a road warrior mentality for the majority of the season. With tough non-conference games against Stephen F. Austin, Mercer, Georgia Tech and Texas, FAMU will be battle-tested when MEAC play begins. 

Desmond Williams, Marcus Barham, Nicholas Severado and Derrick Dandridge all return from last season’s lineup and will look to be the mainstay upperclassmen as the team rebuilds.

Quick recap of 2016-17

It was a disappointing year for Florida A&M (7-23 overall and 2-12 in conference), which started from the get-go when it fell into a 2-11 hole, and the Rattlers lost 10 straight games heading into the new year. Although it seemed that A&M was able to right the ship, beginning MEAC action 3-0, a 2-5 stretch toward the middle of conference slate and a heartbreaking 77-65 double-overtime loss to Norfolk State would derail the team’s momentum.

Leading the Rattlers’ offense was Desmond Williams and Marcus Barham, who finished as the lone players in double digits with 16.2 and 12.6 points per game, respectively. Williams also led the team on the glass, grabbing 6.1 rebounds per game, and at the charity stripe, attempting a team-best 172 free throws.

Greatest Program Accomplishment

After starting off the year 1-10 in 2003-04, Florida A&M went on an impressive run late in the season finish 15-17 (10-8 MEAC) and make only its second berth in the NCAA Tournament and its first since 1999. Led by Terrence Woods, who averaged 20.3 points per game that season off 40.3 percent shooting from three-point range, the Rattlers would face Lehigh in the opening game.

Thanks to 21 points from Woods and a double-double from Michael Harper (11 points, 12 rebounds), A&M overcame Lehigh 72-57 to get its first NCAA Division I Tournament victory in front of nearly 8,000 fans at the University of Dayton. Unfortunately for the Rattlers, they would have to face No. 1-seeded Kentucky, which ended A&M’s run with a 96-76 defeat.

Greatest player in program history

Hailing from Tampa, Fla., Jerome James played for Florida A&M from 1995-98. The 7-foot-1 center played 81 games for the Rattlers, averaging 16.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.5 blocks for his career while shooting 49.5 percent from the field. En route to back-to-back all-MEAC honors, James solidified himself as the greatest rim-protector in A&M history, leading Division I with 4.6 blocks per game in 1997-98.

James declared for the 1998 NBA draft after that season and was selected in the second round (36th overall) by the Sacramento Kings. He appeared in 16 games (partially due to that year’s NBA lockout) before playing overseas.

Place to visit on campus or in the city

Right on the campus of Florida A&M is the Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum, housed within Carnegie Library. The center contains regalia and printed material that focuses on information “significant to African Americans and their experiences and contributions in Florida and the Southeastern United States.” One of only 10 such archives in the U.S. and one of the largest repositories of African-American history in the southeast, the center offers students and tourists a unique education in the region’s history.

GEORGIA TECH ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Motivated Mullins: How fatherhood, fresh start at Grambling State inspires Mullins

GRAMBLING, Louisiana –Anfernee Mullins thought how he worked would take him straight to his ultimate goal.

What he found out in three short years was everyone is susceptible to unforeseeable curves in the road, despite believing he controlled his life and what he would get out of it through his physical ability and work ethic.

Life comes at you fast. And it’s humbling. And in the darkest days, the strongest inspiration can come out of the most unpredictable of circumstances.

Taking the field at the Cotton Bowl wearing the all-white road uniforms of Grambling State and the black helmet with the gold “G” last Saturday, Mullins never saw that coming for himself out of high school, the last time he played in a football game. He couldn’t have been happier the curve came.

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from THE EDITOR: FAMU Rattlers versus N.C. A&T Aggies Pregame Analysis

DWIGHT FLOYD
GAME REPORT

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Okay, here’s my bet. If the Rattlers win, I’ll shave my head!

The Aggies are undefeated at 6-0. The Rattlers are 2-5 having defeated 2 winless teams in Savannah State and Texas Southern. Texas Southern was hit by a hurricane and has not recovered. Savannah State simply doesn’t have enough talent, but has been competitive in the MEAC. Given the circumstances most will assume that the Aggies will trounce on the Rattlers early and often.

For the last two years the Aggies have dominated the Rattlers. In fact, the last time the Aggies visited Tallahassee they left some of their starters home. In this Saturday’s game don’t expect the Aggies to be so kind. They will show their intent from the very beginning, which is to out strike the Rattlers in the first half and put this game away by halftime.

Interestingly, the Aggies strong suit is ...

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