Category: SWAC

Grambling State women’s hoops adds TJ Royals to coaching staff

Staff

Courtesy of Grambling State Athletic Communications Grambling State University women’s basketball head coach Courtney Simmons has announced the addition of TJ Royals to her staff as an assistant coach. “Geno Auriemma once said ‘I don’t hire good coaches, I hire good people.’ And I’m fortunate to have Coach TJ Royals and his family join us,” said Simmons. “He brings a wealth of knowledge, love, and passion for the game. He has won championships in the SWAC and I am excited about the opportunity to grow with him.” Royals comes to…

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Former FAMU player Nasir Core making noise in the Big3

Brandon King

Since leaving the Highest of Seven Hills, former Florida A&M basketball player Nasir Core has plied his craft all over the world, playing for Achada Grande Volcanico in the Cape Verdian Praia League. Core helped the team ascend to the league’s second-best team and made it to the league’s semifinal round. In March 2022 he joined BC Teuta Durrës of the Albanian Basketball Superliga, the highest division of the Albanian Basketball League. His impact was felt immediately, as he helped Teuta win its fourth Albanian Supercup. Along the way, Core…

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UAPB women’s hoops names Roderick Woods as assistant coach

Brandon King

New Arkansas Pine Bluff women’s head basketball coach Erica Leak rounds out her coaching staff, as the program announced the hiring of Roderick “Rodd” Woods as an assistant coach.  “We are so excited to announce coach Woods as the final piece to our staff,” said Coach Leak. “Woods is a competitor, a strong recruiter, and a passionate coach whose experiences will serve him well here at UAPB. A connector by nature, who is experienced in leadership development and team development, embodies our ‘six C’s, (Character, Commitment, Confidence, Class, Courage Culture)’…

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Arkansas Pine Bluff names Xavier Johnson as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator

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The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women’s basketball coach, Erica Leak, has announced the hiring of Xavier Johnson as the program’s assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. “I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Coach Johnson to Golden Lions Nation,” Leak said. “He will bring an incredible amount of experience both on and off the court to our program. Xavier is an elite-level recruiter and teacher. Our student-athletes are going to thrive under his leadership. He brings great experience and knowledge of the women’s basketball circuit landscape to help continue our vision…

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UAPB women’s hoops adds Freddie Murray as Associate Head Coach

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Courtesy of Arkansas Pine Bluff Athletics The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women’s basketball head coach Erica Leak announced the addition of Freddie Murray as the Golden Lion’s newest Associate Head Coach, the program announced on Friday. Murray, who has a 20-plus-year career in coaching college basketball, brings a resume to the UAPB office that indicates success at various game levels.   Leak expressed her excitement about the addition, saying, “On behalf of the entire UAPB women’s basketball program, I am thrilled to welcome Freddie Murray to our coaching staff. Murray’s expertise…

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FAMU Basketball scheduling frozen in lieu of Patrick Crarey II contract ordeal

Brandon King

To say the Patrick Crarey era at FAMU has gotten off to an inauspicious start would be an understatement.  Since being introduced as the Rattlers’ new men’s basketball coach, it has been anything but smooth sailing. As was previously reported, Crarey’s contract was to be ratified on July 1, the day after former coach Robert McCullum’s contract was set to expire. In the interim of a ratification of his deal, Crarey had been operating under an agreement that according to Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tiffani Dawn Sykes…

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Alabama A&M women’s hoops recipient of sizablele donation

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 The Alabama A&M women’s basketball program received a large donation as the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ) donated a golf cart on Tuesday morning at the AAMU Event Center. “We have a walking campus,” Thornton said about the much-needed gift. “This golf cart will allow us to transport recruits, alumni and potential donors who come to visit our amazing campus. It has endless possibilities and we are so thankful to Dr. Catherine Coleman Flowers and the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice for is donation.” Thornton enters…

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Two-time SWAC DPOY Angel Jackson signs with Italian team

Brandon King

The career of Angel Jackson will continue across the pond.  Former Jackson State center signed a contract with Italian team Faenza Women’s Basketball. Faenza competes in Serie A, Lega Basket Femminile, which is Italy’s premier women’s basketball league.   Faenza ended the 2023-24 campaign with a 6-21 record.  Jackson started her collegiates career at USC before transferring to Jackson State for her final two amateur seasons. After a senior campaign in which he posted 10.0 points and 6.8 rebounds and was named SWAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second…

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FAMU Board of Trustees tables ratification of men’s basketball coach Patrick Crarey’s contract

Brandon King

According to their meeting on Monday, the FAMU Board of Trustees opted to table the ratification of the contract of men’s basketball coach Patrick Crarey II until their retreat in August. “At this point, given where we are and the concerns we all have about the process and the need for additional information, I move that we table this discussion until further notice from the chair of the appropriate date, and that can be as soon as our upcoming August retreat or before,” FAMU trustee Kelvin Lawson said. Crarey was…

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New FAMU men’s basketball coach Patrick Crarey II incites stakeholders by dismissing nearly the entire team

Brandon King

It seems that another Florida A&M coaching hire is mired in controversy. After a 2023-24 season that saw the Rattler men’s basketball team stumble to a 6-23 overall record and just 4-14 in SWAC play, FAMU and then coach Robert McCullum decided a mutual parting of the ways was in the best interest of all concerned parties and so began the search for the next person to lead FAMU men’s hoops. Patrick Crarey II was announced as the program’s 15th basketball coach on April 17 in a move that was…

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