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BCSP Notes . . .
- Southern's Woods 32nd Pick in Baseball Draft; Eight Others Make the List
Southern University shortstop slugger Michael
Woods was chosen in the first round of last week's Major
League Baseball Draft going to the Detroit Tigers with the 32nd
pick of the first round. He was the first of four Southern players
to go in the draft among nine black college players.
Woods, who finished third in the nation in
batting, hitting .450 for the 43-12 Jaguars, was the second of
the Sandwich Picks in the first round. This year there were 14
of the picks given to teams for signing of their free agents
by other teams.
Woods finished second among Div. I players with
27 doubles, an average of .57 per game and was among
the nation's stolen base leaders with 32. He was the
SWAC's Most Outstanding Hitter and Player of the Year as well as
the SWAC Tournament's Outstanding Hitter and Most
Valuable Player.
He is known for a lightning-quick bat that sprays the
ball to all fields, a strong, accurate arm and speed that is
expected to allow him to steal bases at the major league level. He is
also experimenting with switch-hitting.
Woods, 21, a junior, hit 13 homers and drove in 53
runs this year. Southern head coach Roger Cador
said he didn't expect Woods to return for his senior year because of
the amount of interest and attention he was getting from
top major league scouts. Baseball America rated him as the
15th-best prospect in the nation and the third-best college
athlete available in the draft.
"We were very surprised he was available,"
Detroit scout Greg Smith said. "He's very athletic a
top-of-the-order kind of guy. We're excited to get him at No. 32."
It was all the way to the 16th round before the
Chicago Cubs selected Florida A&M outfielder
Dwaine Bacon with the 468th pick. Southern centerfielder
Marcus Chandler, who hit eight triples for the Jags this
season, went in the 17th round to Kansas City (505th pick).
After Atlanta took Jackson State catcher
Dewayne Jones in the 22nd round (675th pick), Southern left
fielder Franco Blackburn was the first of two 27th round
selections. Blackburn, who went to Florida with the 812th selection,
hit .327 and knocked 10 home runs while batting third
the Southern line-up behind Woods and Chandler. Atlanta
took right-handed pitcher Cesar Montes De Oca
of Bethune-Cookman with the 825th pick.
Oca, a Venezuela native, who finished the season 7-4 with an ERA of 3.04, said he
would rather return to school next year and help his team defend
its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title and advance to
the regional tournament.
Norfolk State left-hander Claudell Clark
went to Pittsburgh in the 28th round with the 834th pick, Houston
took right-hander Brian Middleton inthe 31st round (926th
pick) and Southern righty Torik Harrison was taken by Florida
in the 33rd round (992nd pick). Harrison was picked as
the SWAC's Pitcher of the Year after going 8-0 in the
regular season for the Jaguars.
- After Some Controversy, Butch Beard Named Morgan State Hoops Coach
Morgan State named former Howard
basketball coach Alfred "Butch" Beard
Tuesday as their new head coach but not before putting out a fire related to offering the job
to another person.
Beard, 54, a former star player at the University
of Louisville who played ten years in the NBA, has also
served as head coach of the NBA's New Jersey Nets and as
an assistant with the Washington Wizards, New York Knicks
and Dallas Mavericks. The hiring was announced by
Athletic Director Dr. David Y. Thomas at a 10 a.m. press
conference on the Morgan State campus. The announcement of
his selection ends a three-month search for a successor to
Chris Fuller, whose contract was not renewed following six
seasons.
Beard, 54, had been the top candidate since
mid-April, and was offered the job in mid-May. He had also
interviewed for the head coaching vacancy at Duquesne and was
reportedly considering an assistant's job in the NBA had
current Denver assistant, John Lucas got one of the NBA
head coaching vacancies.
In the meantime, Morgan State's vice president of
student affairs, Recardo Perry, sent a blank contract to
longtime South Carolina State assistant coach
Francis Simmons on June 1. The confusion is related to what that contract
meant. Simmons made changes to it and faxed it back to Perry
only to be later told that the job was offered to Beard. Simmons
then faxed the contract to The Baltimore Sun
newspaper triggering a story about the fiasco.
In the story, Morgan State athletic director
Dr. David Y. Thomas said that Simmons, 52, acted prematurely
and apparently was sent the contract for information
purposes only. He also questioned why Simmons would forward
the blank contract to the newspaper. Simmons said he was
in fact offered the job, talked with Perry about a
three-year contract and made a counterproposal after consulting
with his agent.
- Florida A&M to Induct 11 to Hall of Fame
The Florida A&M Sports Hall of Fame committee
has selected 11 persons for induction during ceremonies
Friday, August 31.
This year's group, which will be the 25th class
of inductees since the FAMU Sports Hall of Fame was
founded in 1976, will also be saluted at halftime of the
season-opening football game against Delaware
State on September 1.
Heading the class of 2001 will be forward
Cathy Robinson and guard Natalie
White, the dynamic duo that carried the Florida A&M Rattlerettes to three
conference titles and a school-best 24-6 record in 1994-95.
Robinson stands as the school's all-time leading scorer and
rebounder in women's basketball history, while White, who twice
led the nation in steals, presently reigns as NCAA
Division One's career steals leader in women's basketball.
Joining this scintillating basketball duo will be
the "FAMU Famed Final Four," the quartet of
John Cuyler, Charles "Trick Shot"
White, Willie Irvin and Thomas
Hogan, who banded together to win the 1952
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference Basketball Tournament. This foursome played a man short (due to foul
trouble) through five minutes of regulation play and two
overtimes, to edge Alabama State, 71-67, in that now fabled
final game on Alabama State's home court.
Also selected for induction was Floyd
Kelly (baseball), Rudy Givens (football),
Bill McCray (swimming), Bennie Moore (football) and
Nehemiah Chambers (supporter of athletics).
© 2001 Azeez Communications, Inc.
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