UNDER THE BANNER What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
ALCORN STATE, ALCORN STATE: The Braves and Lady Braves of Alcorn State have been picked as the preseason favorites to take men's and women's basketball titles in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in voting recently completed by the conference's coaches. If the coaches are right, Alcorn State also has best players in 6-8 forward Marcus Fleming and 5-11 forward Cherea Wood who were picked as preseason players of the year. Fleming, a 6-8 senior from Fayette, Ms., was the league's second best rebounder (7.9) and seventh leading scorer (16.6) a year ago. Wood ranked second in both scoring (18.2 ppg.) and rebounding (9.2) last season. Both earned all-conference honors. The 1999-2000 Alcorn men's team, under venerable head coach Dave Whitney, was the SWAC regular season champion but fell to eventual champion Jackson State in the conference tournament. The Lady Braves, under legendary mentor Shirley A. Walker, finished behind Grambling State in the regular season but routed the Lady Tigers in the tournament finals to earn an NCAA tournament berth.
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THE BLAND WAY: Hampton senior defensive tackle Michael Bland has been named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team, a designation for athletes who show exceptional dedication to community service and to the betterment of the communities in which they live. Bland, a Div. I-AA all-American candidate, has been active in the "Toys for Tots" and "Adopt-A-Family" organizations in his native Jackson, Ms., where he has also been active in speaking to school-age children about the importance of education. In Hampton, he has worked with the Guide Right program on various community service projects including tutoring and food drives.