If you want a second chance, better be a big time college athlete.

We all want second chances in life, and everyone should get a second chance. However, at some point, if one does not make the most of that second chance, then that person doesn't deserve a third one because they have not truly learned the lessons of their mistake.

Let's take, for instance, former Oregon Ducks QB Jeremiah Masoli. He is suspended by Oregon Head Coach Chip Kelly for possessing Marijuana and then a few months later, breaks into a fraternity house and steals a laptop. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of Misdemeanor Burglary. What's the difference. He still broke the law a second time and Kelly rightly dismissed him from the team. This was the "Senior Leader" of the Oregon Football team. Masoli's behavior was not the leadership the Ducks needed.

OK, Masoli breaks the law twice. For the rest of us average Joes, there would be no third chance. We'd be in the slammer for a few years or at least we would have killed our chances of ever getting a good job and making a good living. However, for Masoli, since he's a big-time college athlete, he gets a third chance.

Masoli will enroll at Ole Miss and took Head Coach Huston Nutt's offer to come on the team as a Walk On. He has one year of eligibility left and will enroll in OLE Miss Graduate School in their Parks and Recreation Management Program. It's fine that he is continuing his education, but how many more transgressions will it take before someone says "no more." He's extremely lucky and I'm sure he knows it.

However, I question whether or not he has truly learned from his mistakes. A person who has learned the lessons of their errors does not repeat those errors. He is a Walk On, but may have a chance to play and can certainly help the Rebels. I don't think it is sending the right message though. I'm rooting for him. All he needs to do is keep his nose clean. That really isn't that hard to do. One thing is for sure, he needs to thank God every day that God gave him the talent to play major college football and excel at it because he wouldn't be getting this third opportunity otherwise.

Homeschooled Bowler Earns College Scholarship

He had dreams of playing College Football, but spinal injuries to himself and his brother led 17 year old Harry Haynes of Grayson, GA to pursue another college sport: Bowling.

Haynes has only been doing competitive bowling for two years. His parents, both Gwinnett County school teachers, knew nothing about the sport but would take the Haynes brothers to the bowling alley and watch them "throw the ball". However, Harry's mother read an email about a home school bowling league. The Haynes brothers joined the league, then joined a more competitive league 3 years ago. They, along with two other boys, call their team "Elite Four", and rose to the top of the league beating 15 other teams.

When Harry started bowling competitively two years ago, his average was 130. Now he bowls in the Summer League at the Brunswick Zone bowling alley in Lilburn with an average of 202. Haynes got training from a registered coach and also studied the proper techniques by watching YouTube videos. Both he and his brother, who suffered the same spinal injuries as he did, toppled 120 pairs from all over Georgia to win the Greater Atlanta City Tournament.

Haynes calls his younger brother his best friend. "We feed off each other", the younger Haynes said. "When one of us gets a strike, the other will". With the brotherly duo's success, Harry Haynes decided to look into bowling in college. Sharon Shortell, the Director of the Junior League at the Brunswick Zone, gave Haynes a list of colleges that offer bowling scholarships. Haynes chose Campbellsville University, a small Southern Baptist college in Campbellsville, KY. Haynes amazed the Campbellsville coaching staff with a 198 average at his audition and earned a bowling scholarship. He is planning to study Mass Communications and to turn Pro after graduation. "I enjoy what I do, so I'm glad I got injured in a way", Haynes said. Credit for information in this article is given to the Gwinnett Daily Post. More information can be obtained by going to www.gwinnettdailypost.com.

Former UGA Football Greats Giving Back to Community

Something very special will be taking place at the University of Georgia the weekend of July 16-17. It's the annual Countdown to Kickoff event benefiting several local charities including children's Health care of Atlanta, Children's Tumor Foundation, Georgia Transplant Foundation and the UGA College of Education's Pediatric Exercise and Motor Development Clinic.

This is a time when the Bulldog Nation can get up and close to their favorite players from both the 1980 National Championship Team as well as those players from more recent years. Players such as former QB David Greene, who led the Bulldogs to an SEC Championship in 2002 and a graduate of South Gwinnett High School. Matt Stinchcomb will also be there. A former All SEC lineman with the Dogs, Stinchcomb played in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders and prepped at Gwinnett County's Parkview High School. "We are all from the state of Georgia and we all had the opportunity to play and attend the University of Georgia and given the experiences we had, you want to find a way to somehow contribute back to not just your school but also your state", Stinchcomb said.

It's a time when parents and their children can take part in actual football drills with the former players and get autographs from them as well. Other former Bulldog players that will be at the event include former Linebacker Rennie Curran, who was drafted this past April by the Tennessee Titans, Buck Belue (1980), Joe Cox, Garrsion Hurst, Kregg Lumpkin, as well as two other members from the 1980 team, Frank Ross and Amp Arnold. "Getting out their and being able to interact with the kids and the families, that is what this is all about", former QB David Greene said.

The Fan Festival on July 17 is open to 1,500 people and tickets are $25 a person or $75 for a family of four. Fans can order tickets by going to www.ugakickoff.com. Information in this article was obtained from the Gwinnett Daily Post newspaper.

Former Buford High Star Getting it Done For Lady Diamond Dogs

Continuing our theme of covering former Gwinnett County prep student-athletes excelling at the college level, we want to highlight the young career of UGA Sophomore Ashley Razey, the starting catcher on the University of Georgia Lady Dogs Softball Team.

Razey, a former star player at Buford High School, started out her college career at Southern Mississippi, where she appeared in 54 games making 51 starts and batted .301 in 153 at-bats with eight doubles, six home runs and 28 RBI. during her Freshman year. This year, Razey is getting it done on the diamond for the Lady Dogs. She has played in 53 games and started 52 of them. She is batting.293 with 43 hits (10 of them doubles), 12 home runs and 41 RBIs. She has a slugging percentage of .605 and a fielding percentage of .994.

The Lady Dogs are currently 43-11 overall and 18-8 in the SEC, and Razey has definitely been a big part of their success. Before Razey began playing in college, she was a stand out at Buford High School helping the Lady Wolves win the 2007 and 2008 Class AA State Championship. Razey was named Player of the Year by three different newspapers: The Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Gainsville Times and Gwinnett Daily Post for her performance at the plate as she batted .510 with 10 homers and 47 RBIs. Razy also set 9 Buford school records, including batting .510 in 2007, a career slugging percentage of .775 and 16 home runs in her career as a Lady Wolf. Razey is among the explosion of talented female softball players coming out of Gwinnett County high schools.

Thanks to the work of Razey, as well as the other members of the Lady Dogs Softball Team, UGA will be hosting a regional in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The 5'11 Sophomore from Buford will hopefully continue her good work on the diamond and help the Lady Dogs return to the 2010 NCAA College World Series.

Former Collins Hill Stand Out Having All-American Career At Shorter

In the next few postings, we will focus on former Gwinnett student-athletes who are excelling at the collegiate level. One young lady is enjoying an All-American career at Shorter College, an NAIA school located in Rome, GA.

She is Libby Munson, and she is a starting pitcher on the Shorter Lady Hawks Softball Team. She is an NAIA All-American and has a record of 22-3 on the season for Shorter, who is now 42-12 on the season and ranked #18 in the NAIA top 25. Her most recent success came when she pitched both games against SSAC rival Brenau University and led the Lady Hawks to a sweep of the 2 game series. In game 1, Munson pitched a 1 hitter en route to a 2-0 win striking out 7 and only walking one batter. In fact, her control was so good that 58 of her 87 pitches were strikes and she didn't allow any Golden Tigers past first base.

In game two, Munson continued her good work as she struck out five Golden Tigers and gave up five hits. she helped her team offensively as well, going 2 for 3 with two RBIs in game two. The Lady Hawks are now in second place, just half a game behind Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) leader Auburn-Montgomery. Munson finished the day having pitched 14 scoreless innings and allowing only six hits in the two-game sweep of Brenau. The Lady Hawks will be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming SSAC Tournament.

Munson had a tremendous high school career leading Collins Hill High School to a Georgia State Championship her Junior year and leading the Eagles to a second place finish in State her Senior year. Congratulations to Gwinnett's own Libby Munson for a fantastic collegiate career so far with much more success to come.

Former Berkmar High Standout Contributing For Berry

From time to time here on College Sports, we want to recognize the accomplishments of student-athletes from the Gwinnett County, Georgia area. This county, located on the northeast side of Atlanta, has produced a plethora of talented of student-athletes who have gone on to excel both in college and in the pros.

One of these fine student-athletes is Cory Pits, a Junior Outfielder on the Berry College Baseball Team. Pitts came to Berry from Berkmar High School in Lilburn, Georgia, located in the southwest part of Gwinnett County. Pitts had an excellent career at Berkmar and took his talents to Rome, Georgia to play for the Vikings. During the 2009 season, Pitts played in 57 games and started 8 of them. He led the team in sacrifice bunts with 29 and ended last year's season with a .306 slugging percentage from 36 at bats. He drove in two runs against Southern Wesleyan back on 4/18/2009.

This year, Pitts is a Red Shirt Junior majoring in Communications and Journalism. He is the son of Travis and Vickie Pitts. he has three brothers, Shane, Julian and Casey, and three sisters, Shaquera, Kenady and Journey. His father Travis played college baseball at Howard University and his Uncle, Nicki Pitts, played football at UGA.

Berry is currently 20-16 over all this year. They still are competing in the Southern States athletic Conference (SSAC) but are not eligible to compete in the post season do to their transitioning from NAIA to NCAA Div. lll. along with Pitts, there other a few other players on the Berry roster from Gwinnett County, and there will be more on them in later postings here on College Sports.

Who Are the Best All-Time Starting 5 in Bryan History

As an alum of Bryan College, I have always followed their sports teams ever since I came there in 1990 and walked on the Soccer Team. Bryan Athletics wasn't very good back then as far as wins and losses were concerned, but the school had several student-athletes who excelled tremendously both on the field and court as well as in the class room.

I witnessed first hand some of the exploits of the athletes when I was the Public Address Announcer during Bryan Men's Basketball home games from 1992-94. Mark Pack was one of the greatest players wo ever ware a Bryan uniform. He was a two-time NCCAA and NAIA All-American during his three years there on the hill in Dayton, TN. He was a prolific three point shooter. During his last year, he hit 13 in one game. clay Causey was a solid point guard for the Lions as well, along with fellow Louisiana native Jason Martinez.

One of the greatest moments in my sporting life was doing the PA duties for a game in which Bryan trailed Covenant College by 31 points. Led by the scoring of Pack and Martinez, scoring 31 and 32 points respectively, the Lions scored 78 points in the second half and capped off the dramatic come from behind victory with the winning bucket by Jeremy "Jay Train" Sperring. The final was 101-100, and at that time, it was the second greatest come from behind victory in ALL of college basketball including NCAA Div. l. Sperring happened to have gone to grammar School with me from third grade to sixth grade. I actually played against him in high school. Sperring was an NAIA Scholar Athlete and an NAIA Academic All-American.

Other great players come to mind, such as Travis Dotterer, John Spears, Jeff Van Der Mark and Mitchell Byrd. Of course, these were, are and always will be great friends of mine. There were great Bryan players in the 80s, before my time at BC, players such as Dean Ropp, Dave Zuberer, Ron Cox, Rick Torbit and the Landice brothers. The Landice brothers, along with Ropp and Torbit, have been inducted into the Bryan Hall of Fame. Incidentally, Rick Torbit was the creator of the instructioanl video series called "Better Basketball" which has been endorsed by NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry. There have been great players after my time at BC. In the late 90s and the early part of this century, Randy Evans and Jason Beschta come to mind. There are great current players as well such as DeMond Craig and Scott Newton.

My whole reason for mentioning all this is that I want to pick the best all-time starting 5 and best all-time sixth man in Bryan history. Any of you who played at Bryan or went to the school and were privileged to have watched these great players need to post your comments at the "post a comment" section at the end of this article. I would love to hear your feedback.

FDU Wins Womens Bowling Title

When you think of college sports, bowling might not come to mind. However, Men's' and Women's' Bowling are both sanctioned sports of the NCAA.
Last week, Fairleigh Dickinson University, a school of 6,000 students located in Teaneck, NJ, won a National Championship in Women's' Bowling by defeating Nebraska in a best of seven game series. The match was televised by ESPN. The Knights won the last two games of an extremely tight best of seven match to win their first title since 2006.

In the NCAA Championships, the Baker system was used. It's a system in which a team's five bowlers rotate through frames. The second game was tied until Nebraska left the seventh and eighth frames open. FDU took advantage and rolled two strikes to win that game 209-167. Nebraska won the next two games. Nebraska "rolled" the Knights 221-167 in the first game. That prompted FDU Head Coach Mike LoPresti to instruct his team to use different balls to adapt to the lanes.

The Corn huskers went ton to win the next two games and game 5 by the score of 221-201. FDU won the next game tying the series 3-3. In the deciding game, FDU Sophomore Kristina Mickelson, who entered the match in the second game, rolled two key strikes. Her teammate, Canadian Vickie Calberry, did the same thing. FDU Senior Erica Perez closed out the match and sealed the victory for the Knight s as she knocked down the last three pins, sparking a jubilant celebration last Saturday night for FDU. Perez is a native of Carteret, NJ, about 10 miles from the Brunswick Zone Caroller Lanes where the Championship was being held. The final score in game seven was 208-174 in favor of FDU.

"It was a perfect ending to a dream come true," Perez said. This was only the second time in the tournament's seven year history that the championship match went to seven games. "What a privilege everyone had here tonight," FDU Head Coach Mike LoPresti said. "This was, in my opinion, the best NCAA match ever."

Minor collegiate sports like bowling are hardly noticed by the fans and the media. Yours truly would not have known about it had he not watched some of the replay on ESPN last Sunday, April 11. The student-athletes who participate in these sports deserve to be recognized just as much as those who play the major, high visibility sports. We aim to do that here at kgussports.blogspot.com. For more info on this story, the reader can go to www.ncaachampionships.com.

NCAA Stands For "No Celebrating Athletic Achievement"

Yesterday, the NCAA made it official that they would penalize any player who makes a "taunting" gesture while running to score a touchdown. This can be things like high-stepping into the end zone and other gestures of celebration. Most of you have watched NFL games and seen those celebrations. Those displays of celebration won't be tolerated in NCAA College Football.

I don't have a problem with penalties for "hot doggin it". I don't like it. It's silly. The Miami Hurricane teams of the late 80s and early 90s started all of this in my opinion. However, I do have a problem with taking away the touchdown. The NCAA is saying they will nullify the touchdown if the player, while running to score, does a celebration display before he reaches the end zone. They call it a "Live Ball Penalty".
Come on now! They earned the TD. No one could catch them. Just penalize them on the next kick off like they've already been doing.

The NCAA is also giving the officials the freedom to make a "judgement call", meaning if they feel it warrants a penalty, they can call it. Pointing in the air to thank God for the touchdown, as one player did during last year's Georgia/LSU game, does not in my mind define a celebration display. However, if the official sees it differently, he can rule that it does and take away the rightly earned touchdown. Just penalize on the kick off. Don't become the "No Celebrating Athletic Achievement Association".

Pitcher Throws Perfect Game

It is an event in Baseball that rarely happens even at the Major League level. But for Senior Trey Krier, a pitcher on the Mount Marty College Baseball Team, the rare event became a reality. Last Saturday, Krier became the 19th pitcher in NAIA history to pitch a perfect game as he led the Lancers to a 5-0 shutout of Briar Cliff College (IA). Mount Mary went on to sweep the two game series as they won game two 15-11.

One amazing thing about the perfect game performance is that Krier drew 10 fly balls on a day when the wind was blowing straight out to Center Field. During game two, 5 home runs were hit and 26 runs were scored between the two teams. Mount Marty catcher Josh Wenande described it this way: "That’s definitely not the way you would draw it up with the wind blowing like it was, but he, with his change up, he was getting a lot of balls,” Wenande said.

Being that it was a DH, both games only went 7 innings. MMC's Josh Damewood led off the top of the second inning with a home run. Krier struck out two of three batters in the bottom frame, and Mount Mary scored two more runs in the third. As the fifth inning rolled around, Krier still had not allowed a hit or walk. The Briar Cliff team sensed they were about to be on the wrong end of history. "The first time I really thought about it was the fifth inning. Briar Cliff was kinda getting wound up about being no-hit,” Mount Mary Catcher Josh Wenande said. “In the sixth, they were really talking.”

When the game reached the bottom 7th , both pitcher and catcher began to realize just what was taking place. “I’ve never really been nervous out there pitching, but I was pretty shaken out there for a little bit,” Krier said. Wenande had caught no hitters before, but the highest level was Pewee League. He wanted to make sure he made the right pitch calls. “I never had any trouble until the last hitter, just with pitch-calling,” Wenande said. "Here is the perfect game, and I want to call an inside fastball, but things are going through my mind. Is (the batter) going to hit it? Is (Krier) going to leave the ball over the middle of the plate and the guy get a base hit or something?”

After the final out, Wenande didn't know how to celebrate. "I’m kinda running out there not really knowing ... Do I jump up and down? Do I scream and yell, knowing with that second game was coming up,” he said. “The coaching staff did a good job of keeping us focused.” Unfortunately for Briar Cliff starter Nathanael Olson, he would get the loss in spite of striking out 10 batters in the game.

As mentioned earlier, Mount Marty went on to win game two of the DH 15-11, thus sweeping the two game series against Briar Cliff. Mount Marty, an NAIA school in Yankton, SD, competes in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). They have an overall record of 20-8 and 7-1 in GPAC play. They travel to Blair, NE Saturday for a DH against GPAC opponent Dana College. For more information on this story, you can go to www.naia.org.

Duke Wins Fourth National Title For Coach K, But Butler Comes Oh So Close

It will go down as one of the greatest national championship games in the history of College Basketball. You had the classic Hoosiers, David v Goliath, whatever you want to call it match up. Unfortunately for Butler, Reality bit them, but barely.

Gordon Hewyard's half-court heave very nearly banked in at the buzzer, but the blue Devils of Duke survived to win Coach K's fourth national title. Coach K is now tied for second all time in number of national championships won along with Adolph Rupp, who won four with Kentucky. By winning his fourth title, Coach K passes his mentor, Bobby Knight, who won three while at Indiana.

Many people hate Duke and wanted nothing more than for them to fall to reality's version of Hoosiers. But as ESPN's Dick Vitale said, Duke does everything right. They play team basketball. They share the basketball. They play great defense, and the players go to class above all else. "I cant understand why so many people hate Duke except for the fact that when your on top of the mountain, they always want to knock you down", Vitale said. He's right. I also wanted Butler to win. As I mentioned in previous articles, Butler represents the underdogs, the Mom & Pop businesses, the average Joes, which includes 95% of America. But if it cant happen, I would rather have Duke win because they represent what college sports is all about: the athletes are students first. They are truly "Student-Athletes" at Duke.

Butler has shown the nation that you can win with defense. They played great team defense through out the whole tournament including Monday night's national title game. The experts at ESPN: Dick Vitale, Digger Phelps, Hubert Davis and others, thought Butler couldn't hold Duke under 70 points and would have to score more. they did hold the Devils under 70 and they controlled the tempo of the game. they played great defense and they shot 13-18 from the charity stripe. That's 75%, which is what you are suppose to shoot. Butler showed the nation that you don;t have to have McDonalds All-Americans or one and done guys to win.

We know that Duke is the champion, but where does Butler go from here. The Bulldogs' coach, Brad Stephens, said it best: "We were one shot away from winning a national championship. I don't know how much more that furthers the program, but not very much", Stephens said. In other words, you cant get any closer to the top than they did. Coach K said that this game was a "bench mark" game. He said people will get to know Butler not just as a basketball program but as a school. They will know Butler in a way they wouldn't have had the team not made it to the title game. He said that was "scary good".

I mentioned earlier that Butler shot 13-18 from the free throw line. It was a good shooting percentage. But for one player from Snellville, Ga in Gwinnett County, two of those 5 misses must be painful. Senior Avery Jukes, the pride of South Gwinnett High School in Snellville, missed two free throws in the second half which proved to be the difference, although three other free throws were missed. However, it can be argued that Butler wouldn't have had the chance in the end had it not been for the play of Jukes in the first half as he scored 10 crucial points to give his team a chance. We of Gwinnett County, Georgia salute you, Avery Jukes. You've done us proud! Interestingly enough, another former Gwinnett basketball star will be trying to win a national championship Tuesday ngiht as UCONN's Maya Moore, the pride of Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, GA in Gwinnett County, will try to lead the Huskies to another title to go 78-0 in two years.

With the exception of Jukes, Butler returns everybody from this year's squad and will certainly be in the pre-season top 5. Now that they have reached the Finals and come so close to winning it all, quality recruits will take notice. Actually, Butler has been a solid program dating back to 2000. In 2003, they beat Mississippi St. and Louisville to reach the Sweet 16. The Hoosiers comparison might ware off in a few years just as it has at Gonzaga. Higher expectations will be in order, but that is what Butler wants. Go Dawgs!

Former Gwinnett Prep Star Going to the Final Four

When former South Gwinnett Forward Avery Jukes transferred from Alabama to Butler University back in 2007, he probably never thought he would reach the Final Four. But the Hoosiers miracle happened. The Bulldogs are in the Final Four, which is being held in the University's home town; Indianapolis. Jukes is certainly glad he made the move from Tuscaloosa to Indy.

Jukes was a former high school teammate of Lewis Williams at South Gwinnett. Williams went right into the NBA with the 76ers. He was also a teammate of Mike Mercer, who went to Georgia but transferred to South Florida. While at South Gwinnett, Jukes earned All-State honors as well as being named to the Nike All-American Team his Senior year. He signed with Alabama out of high school but played in only three games his Freshman year. It is most certain that the lack of playing time factored in his decision to transfer to Butler.

Although he doesn't start, Jukes is a key man off the bench and performs his role well. He has played in everyone of the Bulldogs' contests and started 1 game. He averages 2.8 points per game and has 5 steals and 4 blocked shots on the year. Jukes will be part of NCAA Tournament history this year in that for the first time since UCLA in 1972, a school from the city where the Final Four is being held will actually be in the Final Four itself. The semis are in Indy this year and Butler University is located in Indiana's capitol, about 7 miles from the site of the Final Four, Lucas Oil Stadium.

However, Jukes will not be the only Gwinnett player in the classic. Michigan State's Chris Allen, a former star at Meadowcreek High School in Gwinnett County (GA), is making his second straight appearance in the Final Four as a Spartan. In fact, the two will face each other as Michigan St. will take on Butler in front of their home fans. To my knowledge, this may be the first time more than one player from Gwinnett County, Georgia will be participating in the same Final Four.

It's the Most Wonderful time of the Year

It's finally here again, the NCAA Tournament. to me, this is the most exciting annual sporting event in the country. While realistically about only 8-10 teams have a real shot of winning the national title, the other teams in the tournament provide a plethora of excitement and entertainment.

Since the field was expanded to 64 teams back in 1985, there have been several buzzer beaters, a few low seeds toppling the giants of the game, and great individual performances. This year will be no exception. My favorite part of the tournament is seeing a 13, 14, and sometimes even a 15th seed knock off a 4, 3, or 2 seed in the first round. I route for a lower seeded team to go further, like UT-Chattanooga did back in 1997 when the beat 3 seeded Georgia in the first round and then Illinois in the second round. The Mocs lost to God Shamgod and the Providence Friars in the Sweet 16, but it was still a great run for UTC.

George Mason, an 11 seed, shocked the nation by making it all the way to the Final Four back in 2006. I don't see anyone Mid-Major doing that this year, but I would love for it to happen. I think the Panthers of Northern Iowa can get by UNLV. The have great guard play, a good inside game and they play great defense limiting their opponents to around 60 points a game. San Diego St., an 11 seed, has a good chance to knock off the 6 seeded Vols of Tennessee. They have one of the best scorers and rebounders in the country in Freshman forward Kawhi Leonard. Houston is making its first appearance in the Big Dance since 1992. This is a program that has been irrelevant for the past 25 years. However, back in the early 80s, they were in the Final Four three years in a row and losing in that epic championship game to Jimmy V's NC. St. team on a last second dunk by Lorenzo Charles. Ironically, Houston was known as Phi Slama Jama due to their prowess with the slam dunk. Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, Hakeem "The Dream" Alojouan were the stars. The Cougars play Maryland in the first round. Houston can put up points. They are won of the highest scoring teams in the country. However, they are also one of the worst defensive teams. They may be a tough out for Maryland, but I think the Terps will prevail.

As for my Final Four picks, I have Kansas, Kansas St., Duke and Kentucky. Yes, you heard me right. The Sunflower State rivalry on the biggest stage of the game, the Final Four. The Jayhawks will prevail again though and will move on to the national championship where they will beat Kentucky and cut down the nets Monday Night April 5. I have filled out my bracket. In fact, I have filled out several. The first day of the tournament (not counting the Tuesday play in game), Thursday, is like Christmas Day to me. It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Richmond's Anderson Weaving a Web of Winning Basketball

This year the Atlantic 10 Conference is slated to have maybe 5 or 6 teams get at large bids into this year's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, more commonly known as "The Big Dance" or "March Madness". The Spiders of the University of Richmond are one of those teams, and Suwanee, GA native Kevin Anderson is a big reason why.

Anderson is one of many former high school student athletes from Gwinnett County, Georgia, about 25 miles northeast of Atlanta. The Peachtree Ridge High School product is leading the Richmond Spiders in scoring with 17.5 points per game and is an 82% free throw shooter. Earlier today, Anderson scored 17 points in a double overtime loss to Xavier at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, where the Musketeers are 27-1 over the past two seasons. Anderson had 29 points leading the Spiders to a win against Xavier in their first meeting in Richmond. Richmond came into today's game against Xavier ranked #24 in the country having won back to back games against ranked opponents. That is the first time since the 1957-58 season the Spiders have won back to back games against ranked teams. Before today's loss to Xavier, Richmond was in a three way tie for first place in the Atlantic 10 with Xavier and Temple University. It is safe to say that Kevin Anderson is a major reason for Richmond's success.

Anderson, a junior, is already 13th on Richmond's all time scoring list with 1,419 points and 21 points away from 10th all-time. With three or four games possibly in the Atlantic 10 Tournament and possibly the NCAA Tournament, Anderson is bound to surpass that mark. With one more year remaining, Kevin Anderson has a very good chance of becoming Richmond's all-time leading scorer before his career as a Spider is over.. Here is a list of some of Kevin Anderson's accomplishments while at the University of Richmond:

During his Sophomore Year:

Named Second-Team Atlantic 10 All-Conference
Two-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
Became the fourth Spider sophomore to reach 800 points and finished the season with 930 points
Finished the season with 598 points, which ranks ninth on the school's single-season list
Anderson is one of two sophomores to make the single-season scoring list, along with all-time leading scorer Johnny Newman
Scored in double-figures in 34 of the 36 games and has scored in double-figures in 45 of his last 47 games going back to his freshman year

This year, his Junior year, Anderson is 5th in the Atlantic 10 in scoring with 17.5 PPG, 6th in Field Goal Percentage (46%), third in free throw percentage at 82%, second in steals with a total of 55 (2.0 per game), and third in the conference in minutes played at 36.7 per game.

Richmond is currently 22-7 overall and 11-3 in A-10 play and sitting in second place. They have wins over SEC opponents Mississippi St. and Florida and a win over Missouri, out of the Big Xll. Kevin Anderson, out of Suwanee, Ga in Gwinnett County and Peachtree Ridge High School, has a lot to do with the Spiders' success. It is amazing to me how Georgia and Georgia Tech missed on this young man, one of many young male and female student-athletes from the athletic-talent rich area of Gwinnett County, Georgia.

Downey Should Be a Candidate for the National Player of the Year

There are several players in College Basketball who can be considered for National Player of the Year; Damian James of Texas, John Wall and Demarcus Cousins of Kentucky among others. However, there is one who I think deserves this award more than anyone else, South Carolina's Devin Downey.

The Senior PG from Chester, SC is averaging 28.8 points per game and is already one of 11 finalists for the Bob Cousey Award. Downey is also a candidate for the Oscar Robinson Trophy. Downey has played big time in big games. He scored 30 points in the Cocks upset win over #1 ranked Kentucky, and also grabbed 11 rebounds. A couple of nights later, Downey poured in 34 points in a win over Georgia. The Gamecocks have a good shot of making it into the NCAA Tournament if they finish strong during their last few games of the regular season and win a few games in the SEC Tournament. Much of that will depend if Downey can keep up this performance. I cast my vote for National Player of the Year for Devin Downey of South Carolina. That's my opinion, and I welcome yours.

NCAA Cracking Down on Taunting Touchdowns in 2011

This past week, the NCAA endorsed a proposal by the rules committee on college football that players who taunt players of the opposing team as they are running for a touchdown should be penalized for taunting by nullifying the touchdown. I'm surprised this wasn't already a rule by now being that they are already throwing flags for taunting after things such as a sack, reception or interception.

This may not be popular with most fans, but I agree with the ruling. Student-athletes need to learn respect for their opponents and for the game. People will say that things like trash talking and taunting gives the players a psychological edge over their opponent. They say "If you can back it up, what's wrong with it". If you are breaking away to score an easy touchdown. The fact that you scored the TD is enough of an edge against your opponent anyway. If your team is the more talented and better team, you don't need any more competitive edge than that. Therefore, a psychological edge (taunting, trash talking, etc.) is unnecessary. Besides, remember Leon Lett in the 1993 Super Bowl? If he'd tucked the ball away like he should have, he would have scored, but he had to tease the Bills and Don Bebe made him pay. Yeah, the Cowboys won big, but what if the game had been closer and the play was a deciding factor.

Besides, I'm a purist. I still feel if you don't have respect for your opponent, then you don't have respect for the game itself. The game is bigger than you. It's not about you, it's about your team, the opposing team, and the game of football. I agree with the University of Oregon Athletic Director and former Ducks Football Coach Mike Belloti. this is what he had to say: "Our committee firmly believes in the team concept of college football,” Said Belloti, who chairs the committee. "Taunting and prolonged individual acts have no place in our game, and our officials have generally handled these rules well. This is just another step in maintaining our game’s image and reflecting the ideals of the NCAA overall.”

Before it can be on the books in time for the 2011 season, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel must approve the new rule. I have a pretty good feeling that they will give it the go ahead. If the NCAA approves the rule change, look for it to be inserted into the rule book for High School Football as well. There is probably even more instances of taunting at that level. You can put the blame on the University of Maimi Hurricane teams of the late 80s and early 90s for these new unsportsman like rules, They were the ones who started all of the "celebration demonstrations" and taunting of opposing players and teams. Before the beginning of the 1992 College Football Season, the NCAA produced a video showing examples of taunting and unsportsman like conduct. Just about all of those examples involved Miami players. I like the rule, but I welcome your opinion. Feel free to post your comment. Some information in this post was obtained from the NCAA web site www.ncaa.org.

College Athletics Making an Eternal Difference: The NCCAA

When most people think of American college athletics, they think of schools like North Carolina, Notre Dame, Southern Cal, Georgia and other big schools who have a history of championship caliber athletics. These schools are members of the National College Athletic Association (NCAA), which was founded back during the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Other smaller colleges became members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), which is about as old as the NCAA. However, another college athletic association is making a lasting difference in the lives of it's student-athletes, coaches and the communities where it's member institutions reside. It is the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA).

According to its mission statement, the NCCAA was incorporated "to provide a Christian-based organization that functions uniquely as a national and international agency for the promotion of outreach and ministry and for the maintenance, enhancement and promotion of intercollegiate athletic competition with a Christian perspective".
It was founded in Canton, Ohio in 1968, and during that year ,launched its first national tournament in men's basketball in Detroit, Michigan. Lee College (now Lee University) won that first NCCAA national tournament.

There are currently 96 member schools in the NCCAA, and most of these institutions also have memberships in the NAIA and NCAA Div. ll and lll. The NCCAA is divided into two divisions: liberal arts colleges, which offer athletic scholarships, and Bible colleges, who like NCAA Div. lll, do not offer athletic scholarships. The Bible colleges have done well against the liberal arts schools, but in 1975, the Bible colleges decided to go along with a plan to place them in the Div. ll level while the liberal arts schools stayed at Div. l. In 1973, the NCCAA decided to add national competitions in sports such as men's soccer, cross country and track & field. Today, the NCCAA holds national competitions in 23 different sports for both men and women. Some former and current member institutions have produced both professional and Olympic athletes.

As exciting as the athletic competition is in the NCCAA, the organization believes that there are more important things than winning a national tournament. The NCCAA exists for outreach and ministry. As part of every NCCAA national tournament, each participating team is required to participate in a Christian Service Project (CSP). These are opportunities in which student-athletes and coaches go out into the community of the city in which the tournament is held and participate in a variety of service projects. CSPs include visiting children's hospitals, serving the Salvation Army, Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs, Habitat for Humanity, doing yard work around the community, writing to soldiers overseas, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, reading to children in public schools, visiting the elderly in nursing homes, and much more. NCCAA student-athletes and coaches have devoted thousands of hours to these projects, thus "being doers of the Word, and not hearers only" (James 1:22).

Many former NCCAA student-athletes and coaches have gone on to more prominant, and even famous roles. Here are a few examples. Dr. Homer Drew was president of the NCCAA from 1985-87 and coached men's basketball at Bethel College in Indiana during that time. Eleven years later, Dr. Drew would go down in NCAA Tournament history as he would lead the Crusaders of Valparaiso University to an improbable upset win over Mississippi on a last second shot by his son, Bryce Drew.
All Christians in America and around the world know of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA., which was founded by the late Jerry Fallwell in 1971. Nine years later, the men's basketball team of Liberty Baptist College, as it was then known, won its first NCCAA national championship. Though Liberty is now an NCAA Div. l school and no longer a member of the NCCAA, there first and, as far as I know, only national championship came as an NCCAA member. Los Angeles Dodger fans will know the name of Kevin Malone, the club's General Manager. What they don't know is that Malone went to Tennessee Temple University, an NCCAA Div. l school in Chattanooga, TN. The NCCAA's first national tournament in any sport was in 1968 and it was in Men's Basketball. Since then, Tennessee Temple has won 7 NCCAA national titles in Men's Basketball, the most of any member school.
Another former member school, Azuza Pacific University, has produced four Olympic athletes, one former NFL running back and one MLS soccer player. Track and Field star Brian Clay, an APU alum, won a gold medal at both the 2008 and 2004 Summer Olympics. In the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, Clay posted the best score in Olympic history in his event. The other three Olympians from APU were Shot Put and Discus Thrower Vivian Chukwuemeka (06), Cyclist Julie Ertel (99) and Track & Field star Innocent Egbunike (86 & 93). Christian Okoye was a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs back in the late 80s, and former APU Soccer star Steven Lenhart is a member of the Columbus Crew of the MLS.

Another former NCCAA student-athlete will be getting a lot of attention in the next few months as the NFL tries to avoid a possible work stoppage. DeMorris Smith, the head of the NFL's Players Association, is an alum of NCCAA/NAIA member Cedarville University, where he ran Track. Those who know high school sports in the state of Georgia will no the name of Dr. Ralph Swearngin, who is currently the president of the Georgia High School Association (GHSA). From 1987-89, Dr. Swearngin, who was at member school Atlanta Christian College at the time, served as president of the NCCAA. There are many other former NCCAA student-athletes and coaches making a difference for Christ. They are fulfilling the goals of the NCCAA. As it states on the organization's web site, "the NCCAA game plan is to produce true winners: a game plan that will carry an individual through his or her entire life. The game plan is devised to draw out the student-athlete’s greatest potential – body, mind and spirit". For more information on the NCCAA and its member institutions, the reader can go to www.thenccaa.org.

Volleyball Coach Approaching Milestone: Will Reach 800 Career Wins In Fall of 2010

No matter what sport you are coaching and no matter what level, to reach the milestone of 800 wins is an incredible accomplishment and worthy of mention. That is why this article will be dedicated to the accomplishments of Dr. Vickie Denny, the Head Volleyball Coach at Clearwater Christian College in Clearwater, FL.

This past Fall, the Lady Cougars finished the season with a record of 45-4 en route to an NCCAA Div. ll National Championship for the fourth year in a row. Clearwater Christian competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Div. ll level. The Lady Cougars defeated several Junior College teams during the regular season, and they also defeated a few NCAA Div. ll and lll colleges as well. Clearwater marched through the NCCAA Regional and National Tournaments to the National Final, where they defeated Lincon Christian 3 games to 2 (25-12, 25-23, 24-26, 23-25, 17-15) to win the National Title. That last win gave Coach Denny 798 wins in her 27 year coaching career.

Clearwater Christian does not get the publicity that the big schools get, but this team has proven they can compete and beat just about any school in the NCCAA, NAIA, NCAA Div. ll & lll and the NJCAA. It is not far fetched that the Lady Cougars, if given the opportunity, could knock off some NCAA Div. l schools as well. Under Coach Denny's guidance, the Clearwater Christian Womens' Volleyball program has won nine NCCAA Div. ll National Titles and finished National Runner Up twice. Nine National Titles, including four in a row, that is amazing at any level. This most recent national title in 2009 is their 9th in the last 15 years.

The team loses three seniors who have all won three national titles, but 9 underclassmen return in 2010 for what should be another strong team gunning for their 5th national title in a row. Coach Denny will probably reach her milestone of 800 wins early in the 2010 campaign, but more important to her is to see young women grow in their love for the Lord and in their love for the sport of Volleyball. In reflecting on the accomplishments of the 2009 team, Coach Denny gave all thanks and praise to God: "We are very thankful for the successful season that the Lord gave us. With only four players coming back from last year’s championship team, I was amazed at how well our new players came in and contributed immediately", Coach Denny said. "The Lord brought in some great new players to help us keep up our winning tradition. This year was especially rewarding because the team strived to do all things with excellence as unto the Lord and not unto man.”

The success of the Clearwater Christian Womens' Volleyball Program should be right up there with the UCLA Men's Basketball Program's 11 national championships. To win one national title alone is a great accomplishment, but to win 10 over a period of 23 years and 4 in a row is astounding, no matter what the level of play is. Though she doesn't seek it, Clearwater Christian Head Coach Vickie Denny should be considered for induction into the United States Volleyball Hall of Fame. With the 800 win mark approaching, Denny ranks near the top of the list of most wins of all college volleyball coaches. Information in this article was obtained from the CCC web site www.clearwater.edu/athletics.

Former Georgia Quarterback Teaching the Next Generation

Those of us Georgia fans remember when Quincy Carter, out of SW Dekalb High School, decided to stop playing Minor League Baseball and come play football at UGA, we were all excited. We thought we would win a national title. That didn't exactly happen, but Carter gave us some good years.

He then went on to the Dallas Cowboys where he had a decent run, until problems with drugs basically put him out of the league. However, Carter is making the most of his time away from playing professional football. He is starting a school for high school quarterbacks so they can live the dream he was fortunate to live. He hopes that these young college and pro QB hopefuls don't make the same mistake he did. His school will be located in Gwinnett County, Georgia, on the northeast side of Atlanta. There is a plethora of good high school talent in the county, particularly at quarterback. Carter will be able to impart his wisdom and instruction to these young men so they can go on to become, hopefully, great college and pro quarterbacks, but more importantly, good citizens who will make the right choices and make a positive contribution to society.

As for Quincy Carter himself, he is trying to get back into professional football, particularly in the CFL. The Canadian game is suited for his talents. He certainly could start for a team in the Arena League or the new United Football League (UFL). It is better to get paid playing football than to not. Let's hope that Carter will get a second chance to play the game he loves. He has certainly taken the right step in making a positive difference in the lives of high school quarterbacks by founding his QB school. More information on this article can be found by going to georgiahighschoolsportstalk.blogspot.com.

Catamounts Mounting Serious Run at Big Dance

Selection Sunday will be here before you know it. Over 300 schools all across America are fighting to see their name up on the board come 6pm March 15. For some, the question is not whether or not their name will be called, but what seed they will be and where they will go. For others, however, the next five weeks will determine if their spot is in the Big Dance or the NIT.

One such team is Western Carolina University out of the Southern conference. They are one of several mid-majors who are, as they say, on the bubble. They have a 50/50 chance of getting in. So far, for the most part, the Catamounts have done all they can do to give themselves at least a faint possibility of an at-large bid. They are currently 16-4 overall and 6-2 in SoCon play, sitting in second place behind College of Charleston.
WCU has already scored a major upset this year, defeating Louisville at Freedom Hall 91-83. There are games against top 25 opponents didn't go so well. They lost to No. 3 Texas 71-44 and to Clemson 79-57. However, they have already beaten College of Charleston, who scored a monumental upset over North Carolina a week ago. That, along with the win over Louisville, should help their RPI. The negative part is that they have some "softies" on their schedule, some non-Div. l schools such as St. Catherine's College and Berea College.

The bracket buster game coming up in February is a crucial game for the Catamounts. They will probably play somebody like St. Mary's or Northern Iowa. Right now, the Panthers of UNI are ranked #14. Should the Catamounts be paired up with UNI and they pull off the upset, that will go a long way towards helping WCU get an at-large bid assuming they take care of business in the rest of their SoCon games and do well in the SoCon Tournament. One big reason for the Catamounts' success is the play of Junior Guard Mike Williams. Williams scored 24 points in the Catamounts upset over Louisville. Another Catamount that has been come through big time is Senior Guard Jake Robinson. The Canton, NC native scored 23 in the Louisville upset, including 3 straight three pointers to spear head a big run in the second half of that game. Robinson came into his Senior season having made 194 career three pointers, ranking him third all time in school history. He has probably by now moved into second place behind the all time leader, Anquell McCollum, a current assistant coach with the Catamounts who finished his career in 1996 with 245 three pointers.

No doubt Western Carolina is a team to keep an eye on should they make the field of 65. They have 11 regular season games to go. Should they go 8-3 during that stretch, including a win in the bracket buster game, that would put them at 24-7 going into the SoCon Tournament. They are an excellent bet to win the tournament, thus giving them an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Should the Catamounts get in, it will be the first time WCU has made the tournament since 1996. That year, they were a 16th seed and nearly upset #1 seeded Purdue, losing by a score of 73-71. Should they get in this year, they will make their first round opponent very nervous.

Two Former Gwinnett County Stars Lead Clearwater Christian to National Title

I want to take this time to highlight the accomplishments of two former Gwinnett County area high school soccer players who led their team, Clearwater Christian College, to a National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Div. ll National Title last Fall. It was the first national title won by the school's Mens' Soccer program.

They both hale from my alma matre, Killian Hill Christian School.
Matt Tewes is a Sophomore Defender on the CCC squad who earned Second Team All-Region honors his Freshman year in 2008. This past season, Tewes improved on that performance by being named NCCAA First Team All-American. Tewes had 1 goal and 1 assist for a total of 3 points during the 2009 season. That may not sound like a lot, but Tewes is a tenacious defender who anchored the Cougars' defense. His performance during his Freshman year earned the respect of Head Coach
James whitaker, so much so that Whitaker named Tewes a team captain: "Matt will be counted on to lead our team in the back. His speed, toughness, and much improved ball possession will make our defensive unit tough to beat", Coach Whitaker said. "He was a 2nd Team All-Region player last season and will serve as our sophomore captain".

Tewes' high school and college teammate, Sophomore Defender Mac Hilderbrand, finished the 2009 season with 4 goals and 3 assists for a total of 11 points. Both of these players played big roles in the Cougars' run to a record of 15-2-4 and a national championship. Their alma matre, Killian Hill Christian School, doesn't get the recognition the other Gwinnett area schools and their student-athletes get because they don't play those schools and their current competition isn't quite as good, but that does not take away from the accomplishments of Tewes and Hilderbrand or those of their former teammates at KHCS. There have been several former KHCS student-athletes who have earned college athletic scholarships. They have done and are currently doing well at the college level. And of course, they are from the county that produces possibly more college athletes than any other county in the country, Gwinnett County, Georgia.

Oregon Tech Survives Eastern Oregon Comeback

The Hustiln Owls of Oregon Tech, ranked #3 in the NAIA Div. ll Top 25, jumped out to a 20 point lead and were seemingly cruising to an easy victory over #18 ranked Eastern Oregon University.

However, poor free throw shooting by Oregon Tech in the second half opened the door for EOU to mount a huge comeback, cutting O.I.T's lead to one point with under a minute left. The Hustlin Owls held on to win 72-67, giving Head Coach Danny Miles victory #895 on his storied coaching career. Up until Oregon Tech Senior Guard Justin Parnell sank two critical free throws with under 30 seconds left, plus 2 at the end of the game, the Hustlin Owls were 13-28 from the free throw line. Teams that shoot around 50% from the foul line lose games much more often than they win.

As for Eastern Oregon, they shot brilliantly from the charity stripe. They were 20-24 for 83%. If O.I.T hadn't built up a big lead in the first half, Danny Miles would probably have to have waited to get win #895.
Oregon Tech officially finished 17-32 from the foul line. What helped save Oregon Tech in this game was their being able to force 13 turnovers from the Mountaineers to Oregon Tech's 6. This game is one big example of the importance of foul shooting.EOU's excellent foul shooting gave them a chance while Oregon Tech's poor foul shooting nearly did them in.
One other footnote to this game. Eastern Oregon came into this game with a 30 game losing streak to Oregon Tech at the Hustlin Owls' home court. Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, that streak is now at 31, possibility a national record.

If the Hustlin Owls want to win another conference title, let alone another national championship, they must improve their woeful free throw shooting. "We came inot this game shooing 74% on the season. If we had made 7 more foul shots, we would have won this game by 12 against a very good team", O.I.T. Head Coach Danny Miles said.
Shooting as low as 50% from the foul line won't get it done in the rugged Cascade Collegiate Athletic Conference, arguably the toughest conference in the nation at the NAIA Div. ll level.

Derrick Dooley Will Do Well For The Vols

Both Derrick Dooley and Lane Kiffin are about the same age. They both are sons of football coaches. Dooley's father, Vince Dooley, was a legendary college coach at Georgia. Kiffin's father, Monty Kiffin, was the innovator of the "Tampa Two" defensive scheme and was the Defensive Coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they won the Super Bowl over the Raiders a few years ago.

Also, neither Lane Kiffin or Derrick Dooley had great records as head coaches. When Kiffin was the Head Coach of the Oakland Raiders, he went 5-15. When Dooley was at LA Tech, he went 17-20 in his tenure there. As far as coaching college football goes, Dooley may have more quality experience. He was an assistant coach at LSU under Nick Saban when the Tigers won the National Championship in 2003. Dooley has been around College Football since his first breath. He has seen how his father went about coaching the Georgia Bulldogs. He has the idea of what to do and what not to do. He recently got a ringing endorsement from his former boss, Nick Saban.

In my opinion, one major thing Derrick Dooley has under his belt is that he began his college head coaching career at a program that did not have lofty expectations. Fans and boosters at LA Tech did not expect Dooley to bring home a national championship or a BCS bowl. However, in Knoxville, they are expecting to compete for the SEC Championship year in and year out. It was good for Derrick Dooley that he got experience as a head coach at LA Tech first before he took on a job like that of Tennessee.

The best thing I like about Derrick Dooley is that unlike his predecessor, he has class, just like his father did. He will compete and win at Tennessee without making silly comments about fellow SEC coaches and making unfounded accusations. He, like Vince. will run a clean program. Some may draw a comparison of the hiring of Derrick Dooley to the hiring of Mike Shula at Alabama after Dennis Franchione abruptly left, much like the way Lane Kiffin left Tennessee. Shula had the coaching pedigree, being the son of the winningest coach in the NFL, Don Shula. Alabama was Mike Shula's first college head coaching job, a tough place to cut your teeth at. As we all know, it didn't go so well.

Fortunately for Derrick Dooley, he cut his teeth at a smaller school. This will make the transition to the "big time" more easier. It will be a strange feeling for Dooley when he brings his Tennessee Vols between the hedges next Fall. It was the place his father had so much success. As a Georgia fan, I still don't think much of Tennessee, but I think I can root for them a little more since they have a good man at the helm.

Former Gwinnett Starts Keeping Georgia in the SEC Mix

Throughout this blog, I have given you stories of how student-athletes from Gwinnett County, Georgia have gone on to have great college and pro careers. there are three members of the Georgia Men's Basketball Team who are playing huge rolls in the Bulldogs' surprising success under first year Head Coach Mark Fox.

Senior Guard Ricky McPhee has gone from being a Georgia walk-on to becoming a vital cog in the success of the Dawgs. He hales from Lilburn, GA in Gwinnett County, and played his high school ball at Parkview High school. He started out at Gardner-Webb University, a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, where he averaged 8.6 PPG and scored at least 20 points on three occasions in the 2006-07 season, including a 22 point performance against Texas Tech.

After that, it was time for a new challenge for McPhee. He transferred to Georgia in 2008 and was a walk-on until earning a scholarship for the 2009-10 campaign. As mentioned above, McPhee has had tremendous success while at UGA. Last year, he played very important roles in the Dawgs' wins over Vanderbilt and Florida. McPhee was 5 for 7 from beyond the arc in their win over Mississippi St. last year. This year, McPhee has continued his good work for Georgia. In a crucial non-conference game against Illinois in December 2009, McPhee went 2-6 from beyond the arc, one of those being the difference in a 70-67 win over their Big 10 opponents. He also 4-7 treys in a big win over GA. Tech.

Trey Tompkins is undoubtedly the "Go t Guy" for the Dawgs. He prepped at the Wesleyan School in Norcross, GA (Gwinnett County) before goign to the famed Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. He also spent part of the 09 Summer playing for the U-19 USA Team in the U-19 world Championships in Aukland, New Zeland, where the U.S Team went undefeated on their way to the championship, and Tompkins was second on the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game. During his Freshman year at Georgia last year, Tompkins was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team, as voted by the league’s 12 coaches. He led Georgia in rebounding with the highest total for a UGA freshman (7.4/game) in 11 years. He was ranked second among Georgia players in scoring at 12.6 points per contest. He also led the Bulldogs in blocked shots with 31.

This year, Tompkins has continued his fine work for the Dawgs. He scored 20 points and went 6-12 from the field in the Dawgs' upset win over arch rival Georgia Tech. He had 21 points against Illinois in the Dawgs' 70-67 win. He also had 6 important defensive rebounds in that game. Only a Sophomore, Tompkins will only improve as he helps to lead Georgia to an NCAA Tournament berth.

Ebuka Anyaorah is s 6'4 R-Freshamn Guard for the Dawgs and comes from N. Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, GA, where he was second in Gwinnett County in scoring (26.3 PPG) behind fellow teammate Trey Tompkins. He sat out last year due to a stress fracture in his right tibia for which he had surgery to repair. This year, he averages about 15 minutes a game and provides depth for the Dawgs at the guard position. He is only a Red Shirt Sophomore and will only continue to improve. These three Gwinnett players, Ricky McPhee, Trey Tompkins and Ebuka Anyaorah, will continue to make more noise in the SEC. They will hopefully lead Georgia to a winning record in the conference and a berth in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. the Dawgs are currently 8-7 over all and 0-2 in conference play, with big wins over Illinois and Georgia Tech. In their two SEC losses to Kentucky and Ole Miss, the Dawgs were in both games and had chances to win. If they can have an above 500 record in the SEC with say, a win over Kentucky and Tennessee, plus a good showing in the SEC tourney, the possibility exists for the Dawgs to be in the "Big Dance" come March.

Eureka Football Players Receive Conference Awards

As I've mentioned many times on this College Sports blog, there are thousands of college student-athletes who excel on and off the field and court, but do not get the recognition because they don't play for "big time" programs.

In this article, I want to recognize some football players from Eureka College, an NCAA Div. lll school located in Eureka, ILL. Ten Eureka players recently received recognition from the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. Headlining the list was Eureka SR QB Nick Lindsey. Lindsey had a tremendous Senior season to finish his four year career with the Red Devils. He led the UMAC with 317.4 yards of total offense per game, and passed for 2,471 yards and 23 touchdowns (second among UMAC quarterbacks). Lindsey also rushed for 703 yards, which was sixth in the UMAC for rushing yards and first among UMAC quarterbacks.

Eureka Sophomore WR Wes Schmidgall led the league with 1,247 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. A transfer from the NAIA's Culver-Stockton College in Missouri, Schmidgall averaged 124.7 receiving yards per game, which was the fifth-highest total in all of Division III. Freshman Kicker Travis Huber made First Team All-UMAC. The Morton, ILL native finished his Freshman year with a perfect 6-for-6 on field goal attempts, and set Eureka's all time record for longest FG made when he converted a 43-yard field goal against Crown College on Nov. 7.

Two Eureka Senior defensive players made First Team All-UMAC. they are Linebacker Matt Knake and Corner Back Cody Troutman. Knake led the league in tackles with 105, including 45 solo tackles. Knake also led the Red Devils with 12 tackles for loss. Troutman finished his four year career in a Red Devils uniform with an outstanding season in 09. The Normal, ILL native finished the season with 77 tackles and led the team with interceptions with four. In fact, Eureka went 3-0 in games in which Troutman made an interception.

Five Eureka players earned Second team UMAC honors. Lineman Todd Stewart helped the Red Devil Offense gain 4,296 yards of total offense in 2009, which was third in the UMAC. Jr. tight End Dillon Reed set new personal records this season with 36 catches for 497 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Rounding out (but certainly not least) the list of Eureka stand outs are Rosney Beverly, DeMarco Neal and Mike Minehan. All three are defensive players and earned Second Team All-UMAC honors.

Overall, the 2009 season for Eureka was a struggle. The Red Devils went 3-6 overall and 2-5 in conference play. However, regardless of the final record, to have 10 players to make All-Conference is truly an accomplishment. To find out more about Eureka College and the Red Devils, you can visit the school's athletic web site at www.eureka.edu/athletics. I have had the pleasure of meeting Eureka's Athletic Director Paul Bryant, who I helped as a Clothing Consultant at my place of work; K&G Men's Fashion Store in Atlanta. If you are a high school student-athlete and are interested in playing sports in college, contact Paul Bryant at pbryant@eureka.edu <pbryant@eureka.edu.