BCSP Notes . . .
New hoops coaches named
Alcorn State Athletic Director, Dr. Darren J. Hamilton introduced alumnus and veteran NBA player and coach Larry Smith as the new head men's basketball coach at a press conference last week. Thunderous applause rang throughout the room when Smith took his place behind the podium to address the audience. "It feels good to come back home," Smith said
Dubbed "Mr. Mean" for his rebounding style, Smith, 50, stated his
first priority would be recruiting "because there are good players out there.
We just have to find them." He signed a four-year contract for a
reported $125.000.
A four-year letterman at Alcorn State, Smith was part of the undefeated 1979-80 basketball team coached by the legendary Davey L. Whitney. He led all Division I players in rebounding as a senior with a 15.1 average and also averaged 20.1 points per game. Smith was the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) Player and Athlete of the Year in his final two seasons, as ASU went 56-3 over that period and 24-0 in the league. He scored 1,852 points (16.7 ppg) and pulled down 1,234 rebounds (11.1 rpg) in his four years.
In 1980, he was selected as a 2nd round pick in the NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. In an NBA career that spanned 13 years, he played for the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs.
During his rookie year, Smith received NBA All-Rookie First Team Honors and became the first rookie since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to finish among the top three rebounders in one season, when he averaged 12.1 boards a game. At the end of his NBA playing career, Smith had posted 5,904 points, 8,125 rebounds (3,401 offensive and 4,724 defensive), 457 blocks, 941 assists and 699 steals.
As an assistant coach, he was a part of back-to-back championships with the Houston Rockets during the 1993-1994 and 1994-1995 seasons. In his last coaching job, he was an assistant coach for the WNBA's L.A. Sparks.
Saint Augustine's has named Lonnie Blow Jr. as its new head men's basketball coach. The announcement came during a press conference last week on campus.
Blow comes to the Falcon program from
Norfolk State where he was an assistant coach
from 2006-08 following a brief stint at
Hampton from 2005-06. While at Hampton, Blow helped direct
the Pirates to the Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference championship and to the NCAA Tournament
during the 2005-06 season.
Blow's coaching philosophy places emphasis on playing hard, smart and together while setting high standards for academics. He was highly recommended for the Falcon coaching position by such notables as former University of Maryland coach Charles "Lefty" Driesell and renowned AAU coach "Boo" Williams.
Prior to coaching college, Blow was the head basketball coach at Granby (Va.) High School from 1995 to 2005, and the men's assistant coach at Maury (Va.) High School from 1984-1995. At Granby, he coached the boys' team to a state title and was named AAA state coach of the year in 2000.
Before entering the coaching profession, Blow was an outstanding college basketball player from 1979-1982 at Virginia Wesleyan College. He was named Dixie Conference Player of the Year during the 1980-81 season. Blow was also a two-time All-American and All-South Atlantic Region player, and a three-time All-Dixie Conference player, including two selections to the first team.
Blow received his undergraduate degree from Virginia Wesleyan College and is currently pursuing his master's in counseling/higher education from Old Dominion University.
Florida A&M announced last week that LeDawn S. Gibson, the former head girls basketball coach at nationally-regarded Winter Haven (Fla.) High School, had been appointed the school's new women's basketball coach replacing Debra Clark.
"We are pleased that we found someone that
we believe is a good fit for our program," said
Athletic Director Bill Hayes. "She is a talented coach who
has demonstrated from year-to-year that she has what
it takes to lead us to a championship." The
FAMU Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a
three-year contract for Gibson with an annual salary
of $90,000.
Gibson, 39, who led Winter Haven High for 12 seasons, elevated the Blue Devils' program to a perennial contender for the state honors and vaulted them to Top 25 status in the USA Today National High School rankings.
The Blue Devils were ranked No.1 in the State of Florida for nine straight seasons (2000-08), while finishing in the USA TODAY Top 10 High School National rankings this past season (2007-08).
Winter Haven's clubs were ranked in the USA TODAY Girls High School Basketball Top 15 in both 2004-05 and 2006-07. The 2006-07 Class 5A Coach of the Year, Gibson was a six-time Lakeland Ledger Coach of the Year and was cited by the Winter Haven News Chief as its' Girls Coach of the Year from 1999 through 2008.
In her 12 seasons at Winter Haven, the Blue Devils compiled a scintillating 331-48 record, highlighted by two state championships in 2005 (Class 4A) and 2007 (Class 5A), seven Finals appearances, eight Final Four appearances overall, plus nine district and eight regional titles.
This past March, Winter Haven finished 30-3 overall, reaching the State finals for the fifth consecutive season, dropping a hard-fought decision to Naples Barron Collier High, just a year after winning the state title.
Twenty-seven (27) of her players advanced to collegiate basketball careers, twelve (12) playing on the NCAA Division One level for such programs as Connecticut, Kentucky, Memphis, South Florida and Indiana. Two of her players LaQwesha Gamble (2005) and Tiffany Hayes (2008) were named Florida Miss Basketball.
Gibson is a graduate of Winter Haven High School and she holds an A.A. in Elementary Education from Polk Community College, a B.S. degree in Organizational Management from Warner Southern College in Lakeland, and an M.S. in Educational Leadership from Argosy University in Tampa.
© 2008 Azeez Communications, Inc.