Freshmen a part of game plan

The transition from a high school to a college basketball team, is what six freshman athletes on the Florida A&M University men's basketball team have been trying to adjust to.

"We ran in high school, but not like this," said Cecil Bent, power forward from Atlanta, Ga.

Bent said his biggest adjustment was getting in shape and realizing the game is much faster in college.

Dale Hughes, a small guard from Columbus, Miss., agreed. FULL STORY

NCAA talking about rules to protect 7th-graders in basketball recruiting

It has come to this in college basketball: The NCAA is weighing whether to officially designate seventh- and eighth-graders as "prospective student-athletes."

The move, backed by the new Championships/Sports Management Cabinet, is intended to help insulate youngsters from recruiters by limiting the contacts by coaches at some camps and clinics. It's also intended to limit contact by e-mail, letters and phone calls, according to Joan Cronan, women's athletic director at Tennessee and a member of the management cabinet.

"The whole idea was to eliminate unappropriate recruiting," said Cronan, also president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. "Some of the real early commitments made people stop and think how early should we be recruiting. … It's more to protect (young athletes)." FULL STORY

Coach's pay draws ire from college watchdog group

A faculty watchdog group sounded an alarm Tuesday over a $420,000 compensation package for a Kansas State assistant basketball coach, saying it represents a "new day" in the escalation of college coaches' salaries.

"Higher education should quickly rethink the merits of this professional athletics model," the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics said in a statement, "before it becomes a benchmark for the next round of athletic budget escalation and further separation of athletics from academics."

The group, representing 56 major-college faculty senates, has become a voice for reform in college athletics.

Dalonte Hill became one of the nation's best-paid assistants when K-State made him the Wildcats' associate head coach in April 2007 for an annual $150,000 in salary and an additional $250,000 for media appearances and other services. The five-year contract raises his auxiliary compensation to $270,000 annually starting this coming season. FULL STORY

WSSU struggling to stay on the path to Division I

Winston-Salem State University is finding that a move to the NCAA's top division comes at a steep price.

And that cost is starting to put a crimp in the school's overall budget as the transition to full membership in Division I continues.

In the first two years of the five-year transition period, the WSSU athletics department had deficits of $163,400 in 2006-07 and $768,244 in 2007-08 -- amounts that were covered by the school's general fund, according to Chancellor Donald Reaves.

The projected deficit for athletics this year -- according to a copy of the university's budget obtained by the Journal -- is $1.5 million. That would raise the total deficit for the first three years to nearly $2.6 million. FULL STORY

MEAC Announces Preseason Basketball Honors

The MEAC announced its men’s basketball preseason All-MEAC team and basketball predictions Wednesday at the 2008 MEAC Basketball Press luncheon held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Coppin State’s Tywain McKee was selected as the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year while the Morgan State Bears were picked to finish first in the preseason poll.

A former Rookie of the Year and first-team All-MEAC selection throughout his collegiate career, McKee averaged 16.6 points and 4.4 rebounds for the Eagles last year. He led Coppin State to their fourth MEAC Tournament title and recorded 33 points and shot 6-of-8 3-pointers to seal the 62-60 win over Morgan State. McKee was named to the All-MEAC Tournament Team and was selected as the 2008 Most Outstanding Performer. FULL STORY