FAMU basketball coach on NCAA sanctions: 'We're moving the needle in the right direction'

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- The Florida A&M men's basketball team was hit the hardest after the release of the latest NCAA APR scores, and head coach Bryon Samuels said the team is already making strides to erase the sanctions levied against the team.

APR scores, provided and tracked by the NCAA, take eligibility and retention rates into account and provide team-based scores. Teams need multiyear (taken over four years) scores of 930 to participate in the 2015-16 postseason.

FAMU's basketball team has a score of 905 and is one of four teams nationwide facing a Level Three penalty, which includes financial aid penalties, a postseason ban, penalties restricting the amount of coaches available to the team, a reduction in games and other self-imposed restrictions.

Samuels said with the help of FAMU president Elmira Mangum and interim athletic director D'Wayne Robinson, the team is already taking steps to get out from under the sanctions by recruiting strong, academically-inclined athletes.

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GSU hoops coach has plan to turn around Tigers

GRAMBLING. Louisiana  –  What happened on a normal December road trip to the Pacific Northwest is something Shawn Walker will figuratively clutch between his fingers for quite some time.

Walker, in his first year as Grambling’s basketball coach at the time, endured a brutal three-day stretch where he witnessed Oregon State and Washington beat “the life out of his team.”

“That has to stop,” Walker thought.

The results, a nine-point first half against Oregon State and a 13-point first half against Washington, weren’t too surprising considering the Tigers were less than two years removed from an 0-28 season.

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Ravens pleased they snagged TSU's rookie cornerback Tray Walker

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- When the Ravens drafted Texas Southern cornerback Tray Walker in the fourth round of the NFL draft, they understood that he was in demand in the middle rounds.

Although he was regarded as a sleeper after not being invited to the NFL scouting combine, Walker had shined at the NFL super regional combine. A big press cornerback at 6 feet 2, 200 pounds with 4.42 speed in the 40-yard dash, Walker had visited the Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons. Walker also had private workouts with the Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans.



The Ravens faced competition for Walker. So, they were pleased to be able to land him where they did with the 136th overall selection of the draft.

"He’s a guy that we had targeted," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who praised general manager Ozzie Newsome and assistant general manager Eric DeCosta. "We really hoped to get him in the draft. He’s a guy that we wanted to get in the mid-rounds. We were looking to try to draft him, and we were able to do it.

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Dismissed Clemson DE Ebenezer Ogundeko transfers to Tennessee State

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Sophomore defensive end Ebenezer Ogundeko, who was dismissed from Clemson on May 19, tweeted this past weekend that he’s found a new place to play.

Ogundeko announced he would continue his career at Tennessee State, a member of the Football Championship Subdivision. He will be eligible immediately.

Ogundeko was dismissed from Clemson after he was arrested and charged with one count of financial transaction fraud. According to police, Ogundeko had manipulated the magnetic strip on the back of his own credit card so that it was actually charging a different card number than his own.



Ogundeko’s case is still ongoing.

Ogundeko redshirted in 2013 and appeared in seven games for the Tigers last season, making five tackles while playing on defense and special teams.

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TSU's Cheeseborough to Lead Team USA at Pan Am Game

CHANDRA CHEESEBOROUGH
Director of Track and Field
Tennessee State University

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Tennessee State track and field coach Chandra Cheeseborough will lead Team USA at the and Pan American Games this summer as one of the squad’s assistant coaches.

The Track & Field portion of the Pan American Games takes place July 20-26, 2015 in Toronto, Canada at CIBC Pan/Parapan Am Athletics Stadium at York University. The third-largest international multi-sport Games, the 2015 Pan American Games will welcome over 7,000 athletes from across the Americas and the Caribbean.

Cheeseborough has coached at TSU since 1994 and has led the track and field program to eight Ohio Valley Conference Track and Field Championships. The titles include: 2001 (outdoor), 2002 (indoor and outdoor), 2003 (indoor), 2008 (indoor and outdoor), 2014 (Indoor), and the 2015 (Outdoor) crowns. She is also a eight-time OVC Coach of the Year.

A regular in the international coaching ranks, Cheeseborough was named the sprinter's coach for the 2008 USA Team that competed in the Beijing, China Olympics. USA captured 23 medals which included 10 gold, eight silver, five bronze medals.

In 2009, she served as the women's head coach for Team USA at the 2009 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Berlin, Germany. At the IAAF under Cheeseborough, the team collected 22 medals overall, winning more than any other country to dominate the placing table with 231 points. Team USA registered 10 gold, six silver and six bronze medals along with several outstanding performances.

As an athlete under legendary coach Edward S. Temple, the Jacksonville, Florida native was named to three United States Olympic teams. She placed sixth as a 17-year old in the 100-meter dash in Montreal (1976). She qualified for the ill-fated 1980 Olympic team that did not compete because of a boycott. In 1984, at the Los Angeles games, she made Olympic history by running a leg on two gold-medal relay teams and was the silver medalist in the 400-meters.

The selection as assistant coach for the 2015 Pan American Games will be the first appointment at the event of her career. She previously coached the USA junior team in 1999.

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WSSU gets Division I basketball transfer from East Carolina

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Winston-Salem State added some much-needed help on the frontline with the addition of 6-7, 245-pound forward Keith Armstrong.

Armstrong, 22, is a transfer from East Carolina where he played in just 11 games totaling 36 minutes last season. He is expected to graduate from East Carolina this month, and will have one season of eligibility remaining.

“I’m really looking forward to this opportunity,” Armstrong said Monday. “I know all about the CIAA because my grandmother (Alyce Johns) went to St. Paul’s. So I know how competitive the conference is.”

Armstrong, who will earn his degree in communications, decided to use his final season at a Division II school.

One advantage Armstrong had in the recruiting process was his roommate at East Carolina was Michel-Ofik Nzege, a former WSSU player. Nzege played one season for WSSU before transferring to East Carolina after the 2012-13 season.

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NCCU's Adrian Wilkins entering 2015 NFL Supplemental Draft

NEW YORK, New York -- The 2015 NFL Supplemental Draft is not going to be a one-man show.

North Carolina Central wide receiver/kick returner Adrian Wilkins became the second player to enter this year's supplemental draft, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pounder is mostly known for his return abilities and averaged more than 20 yards per kick return last season for the NCCU Eagles. Wilkins also added 50 catches for 540 yards and three touchdowns as a wideout. His best season might have been in 2013, though, when the speedster had five special teams touchdowns (three on kickoffs, two on punt returns) and led the team in receiving en route to first-team All-MEAC honors.

Wilkins joins West Georgia's Darrius Caldwell in the 2015 NFL Supplemental Draft.

Held in July several months after the main NFL draft, the supplemental draft allows ...



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