BCSP Notes . . .
Virginia Union basketball: Rich get richer
NCAA Div. II national men's basketball champion
Virginia Union will be the new address of
Brad Byerson, who spent the past two years at West
Virginia University.
Byerson has three seasons of eligibility remaining and
is eligible immediately at VUU because he is switching from
an NCAA Div. I to a Div. II program. The 6-7 250-pounder
from Thomas Dale High School in Richmond was the 2003
Richmond Times-Dispatch player of the year. He was redshirted as
a freshman at WVU and played in 13 games (a total of 36
minutes) in 2004-05.
"I haven't seen him play that much recently, but I thought he was an outstanding high-school prospect," VUU coach Dave Robbins said of Byerson, who scored 1,679 points and grabbed 1,104 rebounds at Thomas Dale. "I can't imagine him not being a dominant player for us. He's really a super catch."
The Panthers lost a pair of 6-4 inside starters, Ralph Brown and Antwan Walton, and point guard Luqman Jaaber from the 30-4 team that captured the national title.
Botts will not return to Delaware State football
Delaware State head football coach
Al Lavan announced last week that senior quarterback and projected starter
Bryan Botts, one of the keys to the Hornets
hopes in 2005, has left the school and will not return to the team.
"Bryan recently informed me that he will not return to the university this fall
due to personal reasons," Lavan said. "He said he wanted to return home to California
to be with his family and girlfriend."
Botts, a 6-2, 215-pounder from Lockwood, Ca., who participated in the Hornets' spring 2005 football camp, appeared in nine games last season -- starting seven -- and completed 143-of-249 passes for 1,826 yards. He also threw 12 touchdown passes with nine interceptions, as he guided the team to a 4-3 mark in his starts. In Delaware State's 34-30 loss to Morgan State last October 23, Botts set school records with 37 completions and 430 passing yards.
"Obviously it's tough to lose your starting quarterback prior to the season, but we will make adjustments and move forward," said Lavan.
Hampton duo ranked among the best?
Hampton University's record-setting backfield of
Alonzo Coleman (South Boston, Va.) and Ardell
Daniels (Sarasota, Fla.) is ranked as the third-best
running back tandem in the nation in the preseason rankings issued by the
Sports Network.
Despite being the only pair of backs to both rush for more than 1,000 yards
in 2004, the twosome was listed behind duos from defending national champion
James Madison and Western Kentucky. Individually, Coleman is listed as the 10th
best returning running back.
The two became the first pair of running backs at Hampton to rush for more than 1,000-yards in the same season. Coleman was named first team All-MEAC for the second straight season after finishing second in the league in total rushing yards with 1,133 yards becoming the first player at Hampton to begin his career with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. In addition, the junior added 13 rushing touchdowns and seven 100-yard rushing games, including a career-high 209-yard, three touchdown performance against Jackson State of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
Daniels added 1,098 yards and scored a league-best 18 touchdowns, 15 coming on the ground. The senior back ended the year with four 100-yard rushing games, closing out the regular season with a career-high 191 yards at Savannah State.
Veteran Albany State radio broadcaster passes
Fred "Doc" Suttles, the legendary voice of the
Albany State University Golden Rams, has died. Suttles, 75, passed Saturday, June 4, at the Phoebe
Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany after suffering a heart attack, according to
family members.
For the past 39 football seasons, Suttles broadcasted the exciting action of ASU Golden Rams football on WQVE V-105.5. Funeral services were held Friday, June 10.
A Centerville, Ala., native, Suttles began his broadcasting career in 1960, at WJLD in Birmingham, Ala. He moved to Albany, Ga. in 1965, and began working at WJAZ playing gospel, jazz and the blues. He was a radio personality, concert promoter and general manager in the Albany radio market. He saw an opportunity to give radio exposure to black college football in Southwest Georgia and began broadcasting Albany State football games in 1966.
Suttles was inducted into the Albany State Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, and was honored for a lifetime of achievement by the Albany State Department of Athletics during the 2003 Fountain City Classic football game. He was also inducted as an honorary member of the ASU National Alumni Hall of Fame in 1983.
Sports information veteran John Holley, succumbs
John Holley, a North Carolina Central
graduate and one of the African-American pioneers in the field of sports information and the person for whom
the CIAA Sports Information Director of the Year Award is named, passed last
week after complications with diabetes.
Holley was a veteran publications, public relations and sports information practitioner with more than 25 years of experience in the field.
A native of Baltimore, Md., Holley directed the public information, publications and sports information programs at Albany State for 14 years and held public relations posts at Morgan State, Mansfield, and Lincoln (Mo.). Holley also served as sports information director at Morehead State and Norfolk State.
His funeral was held Saturday in Baltimore.
© 2005 Azeez Communications, Inc.