Graves Announces Nored Will Join Staff
Butler alumni and Alabama native Ronald Nored joins Matt Graves’ staff at USA. | collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com
South Alabama head basketball coach Matt Graves announced an addition to his staff on Tuesday. Homewood, Alabama native Ronald Nored will return to his home state to be an assistant coach for the Jags. Nored was a former Butler standout and comes back to the state after spending one season as the head coach at Brownsburg (Indiana) High School.
During his playing career, Nored set a record with 143 games played, including a school record 16 postseason games, while leading the Bulldogs to three Horizon League regular season championships, two league tournament titles and four consecutive trips to postseason tournament play. It included back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship title game. During his four years at Butler, they one 109 games and were 12-4 in postseason play.
During his senior season Nored led the Horizon league in assist/turnover ratio with 1.9, was second in assists per game with 5.2 and set a new school record with 193 assists which broke the previous record of 172. He ranks second in Butler’s career assists list with 497.
He was also only the second player in school history to record 400 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists in a career.
In his only season as a head coach, Nored’s team began 3-8 but rallied to finish 11-10 on the season.
Zaharion Named SBC Player Of The Week, FSU Game To Be Broadcast On ESPN3
South Alabama Jaguar outfielder Nick Zaharion was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week on Monday by conference officials. Zaharion hit .533 with three doubles, two home runs, nine RBI and five runs scored in the last four games including the weekend sweep of Arkansas State.
He reached base in each of the four games and recorded multiple hits in two of them. He also drove in multiple runs in three of the four games while tying a career high five RBI in Saturdays 20-2 win over ASU.
This is the second time Zaharion has been named the SBC PotW, previously it was on March 26 of last season.
For the season, he is batting .345 with three doubles, four home runs, 18 RBI and eight runs scored in nine Sun Belt games this season with a slugging percentage of .862.
It was also announced on Monday that the Jags game against #5 Florida State will be broadcast on ESPN3 from Tallahassee. First pitch is scheduled for 5pm Central at Dick HOwser Stadium. Along with ESPN3, the game will be broadcast on 105.5 FM WNSP and WNSP.com.
Mansa El Selected For WBCA’s “So You Want To Be A Coach” Program At Final Four
With the NCAA Basketball Tournament getting close to the end, a University of South Alabama women’s basketball player will be making an appearance at this weekend’s Final Four being held in New Orleans.
Senior Mansa El was one of just 50 student-athletes from around the country who was chosen last month to participate in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s 11th Annual “So You Want To Be A Coach” program. It’s a three day workshop that is scheduled to begin on Friday in conjunction with the WBCA National Convention in New Orleans.
This program’s mission is to assist female collegiate basketball players who are interested in pursuing a coaching career in women’s basketball. It gives them professional development and career advancement through education, skills enhancement, networking and opportunities for exposure. It also helps to increase awareness regarding the availability of talented female basketball players who want to become a coach.
There are six criteria an applicant must meet in order to be selected. They must have exhausted their final year of basketball eligibility at a four-year institution or graduated in the past year, they want to pursue a career in coaching, be a credit to the sport of women’s basketball both on and off the court, been nominated by their head coach, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 and be able to attend all three days of the program.
They also have to write an essay, submit her resume and have a letter of recommendation sent in for her.
El had to wait for over a month while all of the applications were evaluated and, just before the Sun Belt Tournament, she received the notice that she received an invitation.
El has been a member of the Lady Jaguar basketball team for the last three seasons, starting at point guard for the last two seasons. She is set to earn her degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in May and is looking to pursue a coaching position.
During the three day clinic, the selected participants will see several 45-minute on-court demonstrations that will be presented by some of the leading coaches in the game. They will also attend seminars on a variety of topics such as how to balance a coaching career and live, recruiting, how to hire a staff and preparing for interviews. They will also participate in mock interview sessions on Sunday to use what they ahve learned during the seminar. On Saturday morning, they will assist the WBCA coaches with the NCAA Youth Clinics.
Commissioner Benson Released Statement On WKU Departure Announcement
After Western Kentucky announced that they entered into an agreement with Conference USA to join the league on July 1, 2014, Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson released a statement.
“Today’s announcement that Western Kentucky University has accepted an invitation to join Conference USA is not a surprise given the communication that I have had with university officials and the rampant speculation over the past several months,” Benson said in the statement released by the conference office.”
“I have long understood the implications of the move and what it means for the Sun Belt Conference. In fact, the Sun Belt Conference has been preparing for this possibility for quite some time and with the support and guidance of the Sun Belt Conference board of directors, I will continue to make recommendations on what options the Sun Belt Conference has in terms of future members and divisional structure.”
“I remain confident that we have numerous options and that there are universities that have a strong desire to be members of the Sun Belt Conference. Last week’s additions to the Sun Belt of Appalachian State and Georgia Southern as all sports members and Idaho and New Mexico State as football-only members gives proof that there are universities that want to join the SBC and be part of its dynamic future.”
In 2013 the Sun Belt football season will consist of eight football teams. South Alabama, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisana-Monroe, Troy and Western Kentucky along with newcomers Georgia State and Texas State.
Currently the 2014 membership will include Appalachian State and Georgia Southern, who will be in the final year of their two-year transition from FCS to FBS. It will also include Idaho and New Mexico State as Western Kentucky will leave for C-USA.
Texas-Arlington and Arkansas-Little Rock both are Sun Belt members but do not sponsor football. Two top mentioned potential replacement schools for WKU have been James Madison and Liberty.
A timeframe for announcing any new members to the Sun Belt Conference is not known. Though it is known they intend to go to divisional play in football, which will require one more school who sponsors football in order to do so. That would pave the way to holding a conference championship game. This could happen as soon as 2014 unless the seemingly ever moving target of conference expansion continues to plague the Sun Belt.
Rubit Earns Honorable Mention All-America Honors From AP
Rubit added another honors to his shelf on Monday. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
Augustine Rubit has garnered yet another national honor this off season. This time he was named Honorable Mention All-America by The Associated Press on Monday.
Rubit is the first Jaguar since Terry Catledge in 1984 to receive an All-America status from the Associated Press.
He led the Sun Belt in rebounding with 10.5 per game and was second in scoring with 19.4 points per game and also second in the conference in double-doubles with 16. He is also the first player in Sun Belt history to lead the conference in rebounding for three consecutive years.
Rubit set a new school record for free throws in a season with 198 while ranking third school history for rebounds with 315 and seventh in points with 582 in one season. He also became the first Jaguar to be named to the All-Sun Belt First Team in consecutive seasons since 2008 and is only the sixth to earn all-conference recognition three times.
Congratulations Aug!
WKU to Conference USA
Western Kentucky has been invited to join Conference USA according to Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com. An official announcement is expected on Monday.
WKU will replace Tulsa who who is going to the conference formerly known as the Big East. This has not been officially announced yet.
The Hilltoppers would join C-USA on July 1, 2014.
James Madison and Liberty are reportedly the top candidates to replace Western Kentucky for the Sun Belt.
Appalachian State And Georgia Southern To Join Sun Belt
Many media outlets are reporting that two of the top FCS schools will be joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2015.
Appalachian State and Georgia Southern, who have combined to win nine FCS championships in football, will leave the Southern Conference for the Sun Belt. Both schools will join the conference in every sport except football beginning in 2014. The football programs will join in 2015 as they make the transition from FCS to FBS.
An announcement is scheduled for later this week by the schools and league officials.
The addition of these two schools will return the conference to 10 football members in 2015 with Arkansas State, Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy and Western Kentucky. Arkansas-Little Rock and Texas-Arlington, who will join in 2013-2014, do not sponsor football but will join in all other sports.
Appalachian State joined the Southern Conference in 1972 and has won or shared the league title 12 times, including seven of the last eight, with 20 appearances in the FCS playoffs. They commissioned a feasibility study two years ago about a transition to FBS. The result was that the program should seek membership in FBS.
Appalachian State won three FCS titles in a row from 2005-2007 under former head coach Jerry Moore and stunning fifth-ranked Michigan in the 2007 season opener, the first win for an FCS school against an AP Top 25 team.
Georgia Southern has won a record six FCS titles in 1985, ’86, ’89, 90, ’99 and 2000 and nine Southern Conference titles.
The students at Georgia Southern approved a $75 student fee increase to help make the move from FCS to FBS after the school announced their intentions to move to the FBS level last April. The university also announced a plan to expand Paulson Stadium by 6,300 seats.
Appalachian State would enter the Sun Belt with one of the highest average attendance for football. In 2011 a release by the NCAA showed that they led the FCS attendance records for the third time in four years with an average of 25,715 per game.
But they may not be the only schools added to the conference. It is expected that New Mexico State and Idaho may be added as football-only members of the conference. These two schools do not have a home as the WAC is set to dissolve this summer. This would expand the Sun Belt to 12 football schools and would make them eligible for a conference championship game.
Two weeks ago at the Sun Belt basketball tournament, Conference commissioner Karl Benson said that the majority of schools the Sun Belt was considering for expansion were in the FCS level.
On March 9th, Benson said about NMSU and Idaho. “They are in need of a conference and are being assessed. We are looking specifically for schools that will add stability and value. We also are exploring the possibility of football-only members, and it’s not just limited to NMSU and Idaho. We have created a lot of maps with different possibilities that would fit many of our needs including geography.”
But as the wheel of conference realignment continuing to turn, there is speculation that Western Kentucky may be the next Sun Belt school to defect from the conference for seemingly greener pastures in Conference USA. Only time will tell how this will eventually shake out.
Spring Football Practice Begins Thursday
Head coach Joey Jones working with the field goal unit during South Alabama’s Scrimmage on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The University of South Alabama football will take advantage of it’s location to open spring practice early. They will be one of the earliest schools to open spring practice in the nation, thanks to the more mild weather we experience in the southern portion of the US.
The Jags are set to hit the practice fields at 6am on Thursday in shorts and helmets for a two-hour workout. If you know the Jags, it’s not the only time they will hit the fields early in the morning either. Their Tuesday and Thursday dates will hit the field around 6am each time. Of the 15 practices they are allowed during the spring period, nine of them will be on Tuesday or Thursday.
They also have practices scheduled on Saturday’s and Sunday’s with one Saturday practice scheduled for 9am and the rest of them scheduled for around 9:45am. The Sunday practices are scheduled for 3pm. As always, these are tentative dates and are subject to change. (See bottom for complete schedule)
The Red-Blue game will be the only practice session that is not held on campus, but rather at Ladd-Peebles Stadium as in years past. The spring game is set to be the Jaguars final practice session of spring drills and will begin at 2pm on April 6.
The week of March 18th is spring break for the University and the team will have a break from practices as well. They are scheduled for a scrimmage on Thursday, March 7 then return to the practice field on Tuesday, March 19 after spring break.
Seven Jaguars will not be able to participate in spring drills when they being on Thursday due to injuries or recovering from injuries from last season. Ucambre Williams and Shaun Artz will not practice. Both are recovering from surgeries. Defensive backs Anthony Harris and Montell Garner, defensive lineman Randon Carnathan, running back Desmond Jones and tight end Jared Palmer will all miss at least part of and possibly all of spring practice.
DaMon Husband has informed head coach Joey Jones that he has decided not to play football. Husband, a 6’1″ 340-pound offensive lineman was a standout player for Williamson High School. He will continue pursuing his degree at the University.
Ceasare Johnson, who missed all of last season with a blood clot, is expected to be ready for the Jaguars first practice on Thursday. Johnson was redshirted in 2011 after transferring Coahoma (Miss.) Community College. As a sophomore, the 6’5″ 275-pound defensive lineman collected 70 tackles, 51 solo, and six sacks. Last spring he was voted the most-improved defensive lineman but developed the blood clots before fall camp began.
The Jags are expected to have 96 players on the spring roster with 55 on offense and 41 on defense. Coach Jones and Coach Matthews will have their largest group of players on the offensive line (16) and wide receiver (15).
Ross Metheny is the returning starter from last season. with C.J. Bennett transferring after last season, the Jags will still have five quarterbacks looking to get work at the position. Brandon Bridge, who had to sit out last season due to transfer rules, is one to watch in the group. Trey Fetner, Grant Powell and Kolt Peavey will also be working to improve and get more time.
In addition to new student-athletes joining the team, they will have new coaches on the field, all on defense. Defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer takes over for Bill Clark who accepted the head coaching position at Jacksonville State University. Sherrer will coach the defensive backs as well. Travis Pearson will coach the inside linebackers while Freddie Roach will coach the defensive ends and outside linebackers. Coach Brian Turner, the lone coach returning on the defensive side of the ball, will coach the interior defensive linemen.
“On defense, it will be about getting our guys out there working together. We’ve got a great staff, guys who care about each other and the whole staff, but we need to get them to know our players and our players get to know them,” Jones explained. “Obviously we’ll have some changes with a new staff coming in, and we will implement those, but it’s very similar to what we’ve done so they are not wholesale changes at all.”
“The number one thing I was looking for on defense was hiring a great coordinator, and we did that with Kevin Sherrer,” Jones continued. “Then we wanted to hire a couple of energetic guys up front because I felt that Kevin could coach the secondary extremely well. We needed someone to coach the hybrid position, the drop end so to speak, and I expect Freddie to do a great job with that. I think all those guys will bring great energy to the staff.”
Coach Jones is also moving Chase Smith to help coach the offensive linemen with offensive coordinator Robert Matthews.
“Putting in a spread offense took time the first year, and now that our staff has been together a year they know each other and the players know what to expect from the coaches,” Jones continued. “The whole key for us is to just get better, we have to get better on offense to have a chance next fall.’
“I think moving Chase to the offensive line to give Robert help is critical because you have five positions and only one coach even though that is half your offense. Having two offensive line coaches is really going to help us, and it will also allow Robert to move around and watch receivers, running backs and quarterbacks, which will help him from the overall standpoint of coaching the offense.”
Coach Jones summed up the excitement by saying, “We’re looking forward to it, I’m real excited about our staff and the prospects we have for the future.”
Thursday, Feb. 28th, 6 a.m. (helmets)
Saturday, March 2nd, 9 a.m.
Sunday, March 3rd, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, March 5th, 6 a.m.
Thursday, March 7th, 6 a.m. (scrimmage)
Tuesday, March 19th, 6 a.m.
Thursday, March 21st, 6 a.m.
Saturday, March 23rd,9:45 a.m.
Sunday, March 24th, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, March 26th, 6 a.m.
Thursday, March 28th, 6 a.m.
Saturday, March 30th, 2:45 p.m. (scrimmage)
Tuesday, April 2nd, 6 a.m.
Thursday, April 4th, 6 a.m.
Saturday, April 6th, kickoff at 2 p.m., @ Ladd-Peebles Stadium
15 Schools Contacted By Sun Belt Commissioner For Expansion
The Las Cruces Sun-Times reported that 15 schools have been contacted by the Sun belt about potential expansion. Reportedly, the 15 schools received emails from Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson about possible membership.
The schools reportedly contacted are Appalachian State (FCS Southern Conference), Delaware (FCS Colonial Athletic Association), Georgia Southern (FCS Southern Conference), Idaho (FBS WAC), Illinois State (FCS ), Jacksonville State (FCS Ohio Valley Conference), James Madison (FCS Colonial Athletic Association), Lamar (FCS Southland Conference), Liberty (FCS Big South Conference), Missouri State (FCS Missouri Valley Conference), New Mexico State (FBS WAC), Richmond (FCS Colonial Athletic Conference), Sam Houston State (FCS Southland Conference), Towson (FCS Colonial Athletic Association) and Tennessee-Chattanooga (FCS Southern Conference).
The Sun Belt Conference currently is set to lose four schools this summer which will leave the conference with 10 members, but only eight football schools. Two likely members that could join from the FCS ranks are Appalachian State and Georgia Southern. They both have a rich history in FCS play.
Two possible existing FBS members in Idaho and New Mexico State are looking for homes this coming football season since the WAC all but dissolved after the 2012 football season.
This could an interesting set of meetings during the basketball tournament in Hot Springs, Arkansas coming up soon.
SBC Presidents And AD’s To Discuss Membership At Tournament
During the Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament in Hot Springs, Ark., on March 9, the presidents and athletic directors of the member schools will meet to discuss future conference membership.
With the Conference loosing Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Middle Tennessee and North Texas to Conference USA this summer. Even though the conference will add Georgia State, Texas State and Texas-Arlington this summer, it will still leave the conference with 10 total schools and only eight schools who participate in football.
No prospective schools have been invited at this time, but the meetings will center around possible invitations to Appalachian State, Deleware, Georgia Southern, Idaho, James Madison and New Mexico State among others.
Though the conference has reiterated over the last couple of years that they strive to be a strong regional conference, they will be considering some schools that are outside of it’s current footprint. The schools that are already in the current conference footprint stand a better chance of receiving an invitation.