Former Tulsa Coach Wojcik accepts College of Charleston Head Coaching job

Doug Wojcik has been named the head men's basketball coach at the College of Charleston. Wojcik previously spent the last seven seasons at the University of Tulsa where he became the all-time winningest head coach in program history with 140 career wins, surpassing legendary coaches Clarence Iba (137) and Nolan Richardson (119). He held a career winning percentage of 60 percent and an average of 20 wins per season with the Golden Hurricane.

Wojcik spent 15 years as an assistant coach at his alma mater Navy along with stops at Notre Dame, North Carolina and Michigan State. He spent two seasons with Michigan State under Tom Izzo before his appointment at Tulsa. Wojcik was instrumental in their run to the 2005 NCAA Final Four, defeating Old Dominion, Vermont, Duke and Kentucky before losing to eventual national champion North Carolina in the semifinals. MSU finished the season with a 26-7 record and a 13-3 Big Ten Conference mark.

A formal press conference to introduce Wojcik is set for Wednesday, April 4 at 1 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena.

Mt.St.Mary's has interest in another Prospect for 2013-2014!!

Jalen Branford G,5-11 Reading(PA) HS receiving offer from Mt.St.Mary's. Plays AAU For York Ballers.
Branford avgd. 19.5ppg. Played on same AAU Team as fellow Mountaineer Kelvin Parker.

Mt.St.Mary's University have several recruit offers out for 2012-2013 recruiting year...

4 Star Recruit Offered a scholarship by MSM..
Tariq Carey,G,6-2 Newark,NJ (St.Benedict's Prep)- Receiving offers from: Iona, LaSalle, Manhattan, Marshall, Mt.St.Mary's, Richmond, SMU, TCU, Creighton and Wagner.Tariq plays AAU Ball for Team Jersey.

Emile Blackman,G,6-4 Dix Hills,NY (Half Hollows Hills West HS)-Offers From: College of Charleston, Fairfield, Marist, Mt.St.Mary's, Siena, LIU, Norfolk St., Wagner, UMASS, Fordham,Hofstra and Quinnipiac.
Blackman plays AAU Ball for Riverside Hawks.

Denzel Richardson,G,6-3 Towson,MD (Calvert Hall) Receiving offers from: Cornell,UMBC,UMASS and Mt.St.Mary's,Morgan St., and Towson. Denzel is rated a Top Maryland Uncommitted Senior for 2012-2013 by MDHigh.com

Dondre Whitmore,G,5-9 Bryn Mawr,PA (Harcum College) Avg. 11.4ppg and 4.8 apg this past season. Receiving offers from: Fordham, Iona, Mt.St.Mary's and Robert Morris

Tremaine Bowman,G.5-10 York,PA (Central York HS).

Mt.St.Mary's University Interested in 2 More Prospects for 2013-2014 Recruiting Class

Warren Powers,F,6-5 Ellicott City,MD (Glenelg Country School)
Brandon Eddlestone,F,6-8 Slidell,La. (Northshore HS)


Eddlestone is considered a Highly regarded Forward from a Great athletic school!!

Duquesne Dukes Head Coaching rumors....Robert Morris HC Andy Toole a possibility?

A bunch of names have started to surface in the quest to replace Ron Everhart at Duquesne. Here are some that I’ve heard.

Orlando Antigua – Assistant Coach Kentucky. Knows the Pittsburgh area – played at Pitt (1991-1995) and spent five seasons as an assistant there. Was also an assistant to John Calipari at Memphis. Played for the Globetrotters for seven seasons – was better known as “Hurricane”.

Matt Driscoll – Head Coach North Florida. Is a Pittsburgh native who has coached at LaRoche College (Pittsburgh), and his alma mater Northgate High School in Pittsburgh. Has improved his win total in each of his three seasons at UNF. Was also an assistant at Baylor, Wyoming, and Clemson.

Gary Waters – Head Coach Cleveland State. His squad went 22-11 this past season an lost in the NIT to eventual champ Stanford. Has also been the head coach at Kent State and Rutgers. Has 293 career wins in 16 seasons as a head coach.

Dino Gaudio – Former Head Coach Wake Forest. Went 61-31 in three seasons at Wake. Has also been the head coach at Army and Loyola (MD). Is close with Duquesne Greg Amodio – both worked together at Xavier. He’s rumored to have said he’s not interested, but I keep hearing his name anyway.

Andy Toole – Head Coach Robert Morris. Has been at the helm at RMU (in Pittsburgh) for the past two years. Has won 44 games during that stretch. Not sure if the lure of the A-10 can drag him across town.

CAA School Towson has a Great Recruiting Class for 2012-2013

Nobody would have blamed Pat Skerry and his staff at Towson for being happy with what they'd already done recruiting in the class of 2012.

But, Skerry and his staff are a greedy bunch and Thursday they pulled a major score by landing a commitment from 6-foot-1 combo guard Jerome Hairston.

A native of Salem (Va.) who is attending Arden (N.C.) Christ School, Hairston is the #114 player in the class of 2012 RIvals150 for good reason.

Creative off the dribble, he's an excellent pull-up jump shooter with deep range. A willing creator for others, Hairston would have been a major target for point guard starved high majors had he taken his recruitment into the spring.

Hairston joins a class that already includes tough point guard Frank Mason and intriguing power forward Barrington Alston.

Wagner Loses Top Notch Big Man!!

Raritan senior forward Mike Aaman was granted his release from his Letter of Intent by Wagner officially on Thursday morning, which allows him to start setting up official visits for other schools, and he has 10-plus programs interested in him.

While Wagner has named a new coach, Bashir Mason, to replace the departed Dan Hurley, who is now the head coach at the University of Rhode Island, Aaman did not list Wagner among the teams he is initially looking at. Aaman said on Thursday morning that Monmouth University, Iona, LaSalle, Tulsa and Rhode Island are schools he is initially considering now that the process is open again. Aaman can still take up to five official visits because he did not take any, not even to Wagner, before committing to Wagner shortly before his junior season began. Aaman has a strong bond with the Hurley brothers, who were the main selling point of him initially signing with Wagner, so it’s clear that he is still considering playing for them by listing Rhode Island as an option.

Looks as if Big Man will follow the Hurley Brothers i'm sure!

Interested in Mt.St.Mary's University (Emmitsburg,MD) Sports news?

Interested in Mt.St.Mary's athletics? Here is a Great Fan Blog... www.themountfanblog.com
Raff does an exceptional job!!

Northeast Conference Eligible Transfer Class 2012-2013

Fairleigh Dickinson:
Mustafaa Jones,G,6-3/Jr. (Hartford)
Yves Jules,G,6-2/Jr. (Hofstra)

Mt.St.Mary's:
Sam Prescott,G,6-3/Jr. (Marist)
Rashad Whack,G,6-2/Jr. (George Mason)

Quinnipiac:
Garvey Young,G,6-5/Jr. (Vermont)

Wagner:
Dwaun Anderson,G,6-4/So. (Michigan St.)

Watch out for the NEC in the coming years!!

Davidson Sophmore Forward Earns All-America Honorable Mention

DAVIDSON, N.C. - Davidson men's basketball forward De'Mon Brooks has been named Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention. Brooks was voted the Southern Conference Player of the Year by the league's coaches and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the SoCon Tournament in leading Davidson to its 11th tournament title and NCAA appearance. The sophomore averaged 15.7 points and 6.2 rebounds a game while shooting a team-best 53 percent from the floor this season. He scored 20 or more points in nine games and collected two double-doubles. Brooks ranked fourth in the SoCon in scoring, 10th in rebounding and seventh in field goal percentage. Davidson finished the campaign with a 25-8 overall record, marking the fourth time in the last six seasons the Wildcats have posted 25 or more wins. Davidson returns all five starters and the top eight scorers and rebounders from the 2011-12 squad.

Mid-Major Top 25

Record Points Previous       1. Murray State (30) 30-1 772 1 Ohio Valley     2. Creighton (1) 28-5 742 2 Missouri Valley     3. Wichita State 27-5 704 3 Missouri Valley     4. Saint Mary's 27-5 682 5 West Coast     5. VCU 28-6 642 7 Colonial Athletic     6. Gonzaga 25-6 604 4 West Coast     7. Drexel 27-6 572 6 Colonial Athletic     8. Long Beach State 24-8 564 8 Big West     9. Harvard 26-4 531 10 Ivy League   10. Middle Tennessee 25-6 499 11 Sun Belt   11. Oral Roberts 27-6 451 9 Summit   12. Iona 25-7 422 12 Metro Atlantic   13. Belmont 27-7 412 13 Atlantic Sun   14. Montana 25-6 327 14 Big Sky   15. Davidson 25-7 317 16 Southern   16. Ohio 27-7 298 24 Mid-American   17. Weber State 24-6 290 15 Big Sky   18. George Mason 24-9 235 18 Colonial Athletic   19. South Dakota State 27-7 197 20 Summit   20. BYU 25-8 128 17 West Coast   21. Valparaiso 22-11 124 19 Horizon   22. UT-Arlington 24-8 96 21 Southland   23. Loyola Maryland 24-8 87 23 Metro Atlantic   24. LIU-Brooklyn 24-8 71 22 Northeast   25. Norfolk State 25-9 47 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:  Lehigh 45, Akron 35, Illinois State 33, Penn 30, Denver 26, Wagner 23, Detroit 15, Buffalo 8, Cleveland State 8, Robert Morris 8, Old Dominion 6, Tennessee State 5, UNC-Ashville 5, Bucknell 4, Butler 4, Stony Brook 4, Loyola Marymount 3, Mississippi Valley State 3, San Francisco 3, USC Upstate 1, Fairfield 1, Lamar 1, Manhattan 1, Mercer 1, Vermont 1.

Kadeem Green Transfer's to Ohio U.

ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio Men’s Basketball has announced the signing of Kadeem Green, a 6-8, 210-pound forward. Green will join the Bobcats for the spring quarter after transferring from Missouri.

Green, a Toronto native, attended United Faith Christian Academy in North Carolina. He then chose to enroll at Missouri over Iowa State, Memphis, Wake Forest and VCU.

Green redshirted during the 2010-11 season and he played in 11 games, averaging 10.5 minutes per contest, this year. During his time with the Tigers, he averaged 3.0 points and 3.1 rebounds, while shooting 71 percent from the floor.

“Kadeem is a long, athletic post player that fits into our system very well and we are excited to have him join our family,” Head Coach John Groce said. “His versatility on both ends of the court will be an extraordinary asset for this team. Having followed him since high school, we are very familiar with ability and progression. He is also an exemplary student-athlete, going above and beyond in the classroom.”

Green suffered a season-ending Achilles injury during his senior year of high school but helped United Faith to consecutive state championships during his time there. He was an all-conference honoree for the Falcons that averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds per game prior to the injury.

During his junior season, Green averaged 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots as United Faith went 32-5.  That year culminated in a North Carolina Class 1A state championship and his squad defeated John Wall and United Faith Academy in the title game.

Green is a big-time athlete that runs the floor and can finish inside with athletic scoring moves. He has demonstrated on numerous occasions an ability to get to the rim off the dribble and out-pace opponents in transition. His great length (7-1 wingspan) allows him to be a factor on the glass at both ends of the floor.

Green has a “basketball body” that with continued growth and development in the weight room will pay dividends. He has shown an ability to score in the post with good strength and has comfortable shooting range out on the perimeter. His athleticism allows him to defend both forward positions.

West Coast Conference Adds Pacific "Back" 2013-14

WCC to add Pacific in 2013-14

By JOSH DUBOW, AP Sports WriterMar 28, 10:04 pm EDT

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—The University of Pacific will return to the West Coast Conference more than four decades after leaving the league.

Pacific formally accepted an invitation Wednesday to leave the Big West conference and become the 10th school in the WCC. The Tigers will officially join the WCC on July 1, 2013, and start play in nine sports in the 2013-14 academic year.

“It’s a very big day,” Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich said in a phone interview after the welcoming news conference in Stockton. “Everyone is excited to welcome Pacific back. They’re a great fit and add a lot of value for us. The time was right to add a 10th school now.”

The WCC had recently expanded to nine schools when BYU officially joined last summer. By adding a 10th team, the league can go back to having travel partners in sports like men’s and women’s basketball.

Zaninovich said no final decisions have been made in terms of travel partners or scheduling but said there will be an 18-game league schedule in basketball. That should be beneficial to many of the schools that sometimes struggle to find Division I opponents, especially for home games.

The most likely travel option may be to have Pacific partner with one of the three Bay Area schools: San Francisco, Santa Clara or Saint Mary’s. With Gonzaga and Portland as partners in the Northwest, and Loyola Marymountand Pepperdine both in the Los Angeles area, BYU would likely team withSan Diego as the fifth set of partners.

The schools also must decide whether to change the format of the conference basketball tournament, which currently gives the top two teams in the regular season byes until the semifinals.

The WCC got three teams into this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament in conference champion Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga and BYU, and two teams into the women’s tournament in champion Gonzaga and BYU.

With recent on-court success and expansion raising the profile of the league, Zaninovich said it is uncertain whether it still makes sense to “protect” the top regular season teams.

“That will be an important discussion,” he said. “It’s a little different conference than when that model was put in play. We’ll have to decide how much to reward the conference season versus other models.”

Pacific was a founding member of the California Basketball Association, which later became the WCC, in 1952-53 and remained in the conference until 1971.

Pacific has had success in men’s basketball recently, going to three straight NCAA tournaments from 2004-06. The Tigers won first-round games the first two years before losing in overtime to fourth-seeded Boston Collegein the first round in 2006.

Pacific also won two national championships in women’s volleyball in the 1980s.

“We feel that Pacific is coming home by joining the WCC, where we have such a rich history,” athletic director Ted Leland said. “We look forward to competing with this amazing set of institutions.”

Despite losing Pacific, the Big West will still have 10 schools, all public. Hawaii joins the conference this July and San Diego State joins next summer in all sports but football.

“While no conference wishes for the departure of a member, it is understandable for Pacific to move its athletics programs into the West Coast Conference, which is comprised of all private institutions,” commissioner Dennis Farrell said.

Former NBA Star Danny Manning Set to Coach Tulsa

NEW ORLEANS (AP)—Danny Manning has agreed to become the head coach at Tulsa, the second assistant from Kansas coach Bill Self’s staff to announce their departure during the week of the Final Four.

Manning will help lead the Jayhawks in New Orleans before taking over at Tulsa, where Self once served as head coach. Kansas plays Ohio State in the national semifinals Saturday night.

“Right now my focus is on Kansas and its participation in the Final Four,” Manning said in a statement released by Tulsa on Thursday. “We’ve worked extremely hard to get to this point and we want to keep it going for another few days.”

Manning’s move comes on the heels of Barry Hinson’s decision to take over the head job at Southern Illinois on Wednesday. Hinson had served the past two years as the director of basketball operations at Kansas. He also plans to be with the Jayhawks in New Orleans.Tulsa officials are planning an introductory news conference for next week.

“Danny Manning is one of the most accomplished, humble people you’ll ever meet,” Self said in a statement. “He’s done more in his life through the athletic world than just about anybody, but you would never know it in visiting with him as he never ever talks about himself.

“He’s been around basketball his whole life, played for so many coaches, been able to steal from everybody and has developed a vast knowledge that will certainly play a huge role in his success as a head coach,” Self said. “He will lead Tulsa to great heights athletically and be competing for championships in a very short amount of time.”

Manning takes over for Doug Wojcik, who was fired by Tulsa on March 11 after four 20-win seasons and three postseason appearances, though none in the NCAA tournament. Tulsa hasn’t made the field since 2003, the second of back-to-back trips to the second round.

The Golden Hurricane is even further removed from the heights it reached under Self, who was coach from 1997-2000 and led the program to a 32-5 record and regional final in 1998.

Still, Manning takes over a program on solid footing.

The Golden Hurricane have had six straight winning seasons, four of them of at least 20 wins, including back-to-back 25-win campaigns that included trips to the CBI and NIT. Tulsa went 17-14 this past season, losing in triple-overtime to Marshall in the Conference USA tournament.

Tulsa returns four of its five leading scorers next season, including dynamic guard Jordan Clarkson, who averaged better than 16 points during his sophomore year.

“We are extremely excited to have Danny,” Tulsa athletic director Ross Parmley said. “His 15 years in the NBA combined with the last nine years under one of the best coaches in the country, have helped mold him into a great teacher and coach of basketball. He most definitely brings the excitement, the style of basketball and character that we were looking for in our head coach.”

Few players are so closely connected to a school as Manning to Kansas.

The program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, he remains ninth on the NCAA’s career scoring list with 2,951 points. Manning was a consensus All-American in 1987 and ’88, and led the Jayhawks—the team coined “Danny and the Miracles”—to the 1988 NCAA championship.

He was the Big 8’s player of the year three consecutive seasons.

Manning became the top pick in the 1988 draft and averaged 14 points over 15 seasons with seven NBA franchises. He returned to Kansas upon his retirement from playing, and became one of the most visible assistants at a program that has had John Calipari, Kevin Stallings, Tim Jankovich and other future head coaches sitting on its bench.

Manning, who is notoriously media shy, has earned a reputation as a solid recruiter and one of the elite coaches of big men. Under his tutelage, Thomas Robinson went from backup forward to a first-team All-American, and Jeff Withey from the bench to one of the Big 12’s top defenders.

Manning has also worked with future NBA players Wayne Simien, Julian Wright, Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson, Cole Aldrich, Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris.

“I’m excited and looking forward to being the head basketball coach at The University of Tulsa,” Manning said. “I’d also like to thank Coach Self for giving me the chance to be a part of his staff for the past nine years. I have learned a tremendous amount about the game and the profession from him and all of the members of his staff.”

New Mt.St.Mary's University Head Coach Jamion Christian Sends FIRST Recruit Offer

According to VirginiaPreps.com 2013-2014 Offer Sent....

Matthew Hatfield
VirginiaPreps.com

The Norcom Greyhounds (Portsmouth, VA) are no strangers to producing College Basketball talents. Before Vernon Macklin went on to play at Florida and Ben Finney at nearby Old Dominion, each won Eastern District Player of the Year honors with the Greyhounds. Norcom also won back-to-back state titles in 2010 and 2011 behind the versatile Dorian Finney-Smith, who is now at Virginia Tech.

Norcom has another prospect attracting Division I looks inMalique Trent, a 6-foot-2 guard from the Class of 2013 who made a significant impact in his first year as a starter with the Greyhounds. This past season, Trent averaged 19.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game on a Greyhounds team that won the Eastern District Tournament for the fifth time in six years.

Trent recently picked up his second D-1 offer and it comes from Mount St. Mary's, which has been a pipeline for Tidewater talents in recent years and that trend shouldn't stop with their hire of new Head Coach Jamion Christian. The 30-year-old Christian is a graduate of New Kent High School, where he led his team to an undefeated season and state title in 2000, and has been a major part of nationally-recognized recruiting classes at both William & Mary and VCU as an assistant coach.

Rod Johnson
Norcom's Malique Trent holds two offers

"Coach Christian called me to inform me that he had gotten the Head Coaching job at Mount St. Mary's and he instantly said 'Malique Trent, I want you to be the first 2013 recruit I offer.' I was kind of really hoping he would say that, too," Trent told VirginiaPreps.com.

"He said he likes my energy, level of intensity and that I work inside and outside the paint."

Chosen First Team All-Eastern District during his junior season, Trent also led Norcom in three-point shooting. He scored 18 points in their victory over Norview in the Eastern District Tournament Championship.

After being a seldom-used sophomore, Trent started to open some eyes last summer on the AAU circuit while playing for the Wave Basketball Club. His confidence rose, and he'll enter his senior season as one of the top offensive threats in the Eastern Region.

"I feel like my strength as a player is the heart I play with and my will to win," believes Trent. "I'll do all that I can do in order to win. I think I need to work on my on-ball defense because I can get very lazy at times on defense."

Trent's first offer came from Appalachian State, where he's being recruited by assistant Kellan Sampson, who played at Oklahoma when his dad, Kelvin Sampson, coached the Sooners. Others that have expressed interest in him thus far include VCU, Old Dominion, Norfolk State, James Madison, Florida Atlantic and Elon