On-court, off-court action in MEAC
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
The on-court basketball action is heating up in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference but there's action away from the courts as well.
Off the court, the past week had been a
particularly turbulent one as South Carolina
State and Morgan State are dealing with
incidents which could have a bearing on their new
coaches' futures.
SC State first-year head coach Jamal Brown missed his second and third games last week Saturday at Howard and Monday at Maryland-Eastern Shore. He missed his first game last Monday (Jan. 29), a home game vs. Norfolk State.
So far, school officials have only said that Brown is absent for "personal reasons." But a story in the Tuesday edition of the Orangeburg Times-Democrat quoted Brown as saying he was trying to resolve "family issues."
"Hopefully, things will be cleared up soon," Brown said in the story. At 32, Brown, a former SC State player and assistant coach, is the third-youngest head coach in NCAA Div. I basketball. After a sweep of their two road games, the Bulldogs are 2-1 playing under assistant coach Ray Martin, who has taken over in Brown's absence. They are currently at 6-5 in conference play and in fifth place.
The off-court issues involving first-year Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman are much better known.
Bozeman has been charged with misdemeanor assault following an altercation he reportedly had at a restaurant in Virginia following his team's last-minute 75-73 loss at Longwood in Farmville Saturday. The incident and its aftermath has been reported on all the wire services.
According to the restaurant manager, Bozeman "just went belligerent," after an order placed by an assistant coach for 52 philly cheesesteak sandwiches was not met. The Mulligan's Restaurant reportedly told the assistant coach they could fill the order with a variety of sandwiches. They were delivered to the assistant coach at the team's bus but Bozeman later showed up at the restaurant where the altercation ensued.
The manager said Bozeman used a string of profanities and then grabbed and shook a restaurant employee. He was given a refund and then boarded the bus for the return trip to Baltimore.
Bozeman said Monday that he would return to Farmville this week to turn himself in.
"I'm confident that the facts, when they come out, the record will be set straight," Bozeman told the Baltimore Sun said before Saturday's big upset win at MEAC leader, Delaware State. "I'm going to go down there and take care of it."
Morgan State spokesperson Clint Coleman told the Sun, "We believe that this whole incident grew out of a misunderstanding, and of course, we regret that it occurred. We are taking a wait-and-see approach to this."
Bozeman is no stranger to controversy. He spent eight-plus years serving a show-cause ban from the NCAA after he was found to have paid a player while he was head coach at Cal in 1996. The Morgan State job is his first in college basketball since then.
The Bears' win at DelSate was their fifth in a row and vaulted them into third place in the MEAC race as play in February begins. The Bears, who are 9-12 overall, are 7-3 in conference play. Last year under former head coach Butch Beard, the Bears finished 4-26 overall including a 4-14 mark in conference play.
"We were playing for him (Bozeman) tonight," said senior forward and MSU scoring leader Ron Timus, following the win over DelState. "We found out he was going to coach when we got on the bus."
Two other key players and a coach were ejected in MEAC games Monday.
Senior forward Darryl Hudson, was ejected from the Bison's game vs. North Carolina A&T in the first half after he was called for a flagrant foul. Hudson, who averages a team-best 15.3 points per game, did not score but the Bison went on to a 80-75 win over the Aggies behind a career-high 32 points including eight 3-pointers from senior guard Darek "Skip" Mitchell.
A&T head coach Jerry Eaves was also ejected in the game's final minute after he alleged a shot-clock violation occurred before a crucial Mitchell three pointer.
Standout freshman forward Matt Pilgrim of Hampton was ejected early from the Pirates' game Monday at home vs. Florida A&M for throwing an elbow. Pilgrim, who averages 10.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, went out with 13:56 left in the first half with five points and one rebound. The Pirates went on to knock off the Rattlers, 74-72 in overtime to move within a half-game of fifth place in the league.
FAMU, the only other conference team to defeat DelState this season, dropped games at Hampton and Norfolk State and fell to fourth place at 7-4.
At 8-3 in conference play, Norfolk State is currently second behind DelState (9-2).
© 2007 Azeez Communications, Inc.