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New year's hoops breakdown
Lut Williams
BCSP Editor
The holiday break gives the BCSP a chance to catch up on some of the basketball news
that's been happening around the black college ranks.
On the Div. I men's and women's sides, it's been the usual beatdowns handed out pre-New Year's by the upper-level programs. None was worse than the 72-20 drubbing Delaware State's women suffered at the hands of Syracuse last week (Jan. 22). The Lady Hornets scored 10 points in each half.
On the men's side, only Morgan State (7-4), Bethune-Cookman (7-5) and South Carolina State (6-3) will enter the new year with winning records. Keep in mind that the records for both B-CU, with four of its wins, and SCSU, with three of its victories, have come on the backs of Div. II programs.
Todd Bozeman's Morgan State squad, on the other hand, has gotten seven Div. I wins en route to its winning record including a big win on the road at Arkansas (Nov. 24).
MSU senior guard Reggie Holmes will enter the new year fourth in the nation in scoring at 24.9 points per game. Sophomore forward Kevin Thompson is currently second in the nation in rebounding at 13.4 per game. Thompson has posted double-doubles in nine of the Bears' 11 games including their last eight. Thompson had career-highs of 23 points and 25 rebounds vs. Towson on Dec. 22 and is averaging 14.5 points per game.
On the women's Div. I side, Florida A&M (6-3) of the MEAC and Southern (6-4) of the SWAC have winning marks.
FAMU, under second-year coach LeDawn Gibson, may have given a signal that it will challenge for MEAC honors as the Lady Rattlers have wins over Alabama and Florida of the SEC and South Florida en route to its 6-3 mark.
Southern, under ten-year coach Sandy Pugh, has three wins against Louisiana schools but lost to Florida, 62-35.
On the Div. II level, with so many new coaches, the men's CIAA race is taking on a new look.
Second-year coaches Lonnie Blow Jr.
at St. Augustine's (8-1) and Cleo Hill Jr.
at Shaw (5-2) have their teams off to the
best starts. St. Aug's only loss was an overtime decision
to Armstrong Atlantic to open the season. Shaw has losses
to West Alabama and Montevallo.
But the old-timers are not doing so bad. Steve Joyner of Johnson C. Smith, the dean of the league's coaches entering his 23rd season, has his CIAA defending champion Golden Bulls at 6-3 with losses already on the ledger to Bowie State and Elizabeth City State.
Eighth-year head coach Shawn Walker has the ECSU Vikings at 5-4 with close losses to Livingstone, Clark Atlanta and Shaw. Fifth-year coach James Stinson has Livingstone off to a 5-2 start with wins over ECSU, Bowie State and St. Paul's.
New coaches are in this year at Bowie State, Virginia State and Fayetteville State
On the CIAA women's side, J. C. Smith (9-1), under ninth-year head coach Vanessa Taylor, and Virginia State (8-1), under fourth-year head man James Hill, are setting the early pace with Shaw (6-1) and Elizabeth City State (6-2) not far behind.
VSU's only loss was just before the break to Felician by one point (52-51). JC Smith's loss was to Bowie State. Shaw, under Jacques Curtis, suffered its only loss to Virginia State. ECSU, under interim head coach Alico Dunk, has lost to JCSU and Shaw.
The SIAC sports the only team in national rankings. The Stillman men, 5-0 under second-year head coach Michael Grant, were ranked 25th in the Dec. 15th NABC Coaches Poll. The Tigers have defeated four SIAC teams and own a 77-75 win over SWAC member Alabama A&M.
Benedict (3-2), under veteran coach Fred Watson, is the only other SIAC team undefeated in conference play (2-0). The BC Tigers have losses to USC Aiken (82-74) and Augusta State (68-58). Augusta State is ranked third nationally.
Defending champion Fort Valley State (5-0, 3-0) under 25-year head coach Lonnie Bartley is setting the pace on the women's side, again. FVSU wing scorer Takesha Riggs (17.4 ppg.) is setting the scoring pace.
© 2009 Azeez Communications, Inc.