VUU'S GILBERT WINS GAINES AWARD: Salisbury, NC (April 11, 2016) – The National Sports

Media Association (NSMA) has named Virginia Union University women’s head basketball coach AnnMarie Gilbert and James Jones, Yale University head men’s basketball coach, as the 2015-16 Big House Gaines College Basketball Coaches of the Year. Gilbert & Jones will be recognized at the NSMA’s 57th Awards Ban-

quet on June 20 in Salisbury, NC. "We are pleased to recognize Coach Jones and Coach Gilbert for the outstanding jobs they did this sea-son," NSMA executive director Dave Goren said. "Both of their teams had historic seasons and truly deserve this award." Gilbert finished her first season atVirginia Unionwith a 28-3 record. The Panthers won both the CIAA Northern Division title and the CIAA Tournament cham-pionship, before winning three games in the NCAA Di-vision II Tournament (Atlantic Region Champions) and making it all the way to the Elite Eight (national quarter-finals). The Gaines Awards are named for Winston-Salem State University head men’s basketball coach Clarence ‘Big House’ Gaines. During 47 seasons as WSSU's head coach, Gaines’s teams won 828 games, including the 1967 NCAA Division II national championship.

For the Week oF April 12 - 18, 2016

© AZEEZ Communications, Inc. Vol. XXII, No. 37

NFL DRAFT JUST TWO WEEKS AWAY; SPRING CHAMPIONSHIPS GET UNDERWAY

A STEAL?: NC Central defensive back Ryan Smith is a talent that some feel should be a late round pick in the NFL Draft.

NFL Combine Photo

NFL DRAFT FORECASTS

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UNDER THE BANNERWHAT'S GOING ON IN AND AROUND BLACK COLLEGE SPORTS

BCSP NotesBenedict sweeps SIAC tennis titles JONESBORO, Ga. – Benedict swept the 2016 Southern Intercol-legiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Women's and Men's Tennis Cham-pionships Saturday afternoon at the Clayton County International Tennis Complex. The Tiger women defeated Tuskegee 5-1 and the top seeded Benedict men defeated Morehouse, 6-1 to take their second consecutive title. Both teams will represent the SIAC in the upcoming NCAA Division II playoffs. Benedict swept the women's doubles and held Tuskegee to just one win in singles after Reida North defeated Karla Flores 6-2, 6-4, and 3-6 intheNo.1position.TheTigersgottheirfinaltwowinsinsinglesfromDanielle Rios with set scores of 5-7, 6-3, and 6-4 over Navilla Paul at No. 3 to secure the tournament title. Benedict swept the top four men's singles and Brandon Sanders and Philippian Stamps gave Morehouse its only win with an 8-6 victory over Takudswa Muswere and Zibusiso Ndimande at No. 2 in doubles play. RioswasnamedtheSIACWomen'sTennisChampionshipMVPandNathaniel Pinkney wasMVPforthemen.Gary Taylor was selected as

the Most Outstanding Coach.

WOmEN'S ALL-TOURNAmENT SINGLES\Reicia North, TUS Navilla Paul, TUS Tori Pradier, CAUDaniella Rios, BEN Danyelle Copeland, BEN Esther Zelaya, BEN

WOmEN'S ALL-TOURNAmENT DOUBLES\Reicia North/monica Thomas, TUSDanielle Rios/Danyelle Copeland, BENKarla Flores/Esther Zelaya, BEN

mEN'S mVP COACH OF THE YEAR Nathaniel Pinkney, BEN Gary Taylor, BEN

mEN'S ALL-TOURNAmENT SINGLES Everette Reese, mHC Terrell Green, mHC Yonuwaba Pumpa, STLTakudswa muswere, BEN Zibusiso Ndimande, BEN Nathaniel Pinkney, BEN

mEN'S ALL-TOURNAmENT DOUBLES Brandon Sanders/Philippian Stamps, mHCNathaniel Pinkey/Quentin Eloise, mHCJustin Payton/Juan Hernandez, mHC

Gilbert

SIAC Southern IntercollIgIateathletIc conference

CONF ALLEAST W L W L Albany State 9 3 11 29Claflin 10 5 17 23Paine 9 5 20 16Benedict 6 6 22 11Morehouse 4 11 16 21ClarkAtlanta 3 11 7 28WESTSpring HIll 13 2 22 14Miles 12 3 25 12Stillman 10 5 16 21KentuckyState 6 10 11 23Tuskegee 5 7 9 20LeMoyne-Owen 6 11 6 29Lane 0 15 1 29

PLAYERS OF THE WEEKPLAYER Aaron Williams, Sr., 1B/DH, MILES - Had two 3-hitgamesin3-1week.Hit.642(9-of-14)with2doubles,5runsandaRBI.Nick Vitale,6-2,Sr., CF, STILLMAN - In4-0week,hit7-of-15(.467)with7runs,2RBI,7runs.PITCHERDakota Todd, Jr., RHP, STILLMAN - Pitched complete game vs. KSU win on earned runs giving up six hits with three Ks.

Central IntercollegIateathletIc aSSocIatIonCIAA SWAC SouthweStern

athletIc conference

DIV ALLEASTERN W L W L AlabamaState 15 0 23 12JacksonState 6 6 17 15AlcornState 6 6 7 20AlabamaA&M 3 8 6 28miss. Valley State 2 12 4 24WESTERNGramblingState 11 4 13 16ArkansasPineBluff 8 4 11 19TexasSouthern 9 6 15 15PrairieView 4 10 9 19Southern 3 11 8 21

PLAYERS OF THE WEEKHITTERDondrayas Harris, Jr., OF., SOUTHERN - Hit .769 (10-of-13)with 5RBI in fourgames. Had two doubles, two triples, 1 HR for 19 total bases. Hit for cycle vs. GSU.PITCHERCharles Philpott, Jr., RHP, PRAIRIE VIEW A&M -Struckout12in8inningsallowed 2 hits and walked four. Improved to 1-4 on the season.

mId eaSternathletIc conferenceMEAC

CONF ALLNORTHERN W L W LNorfolkState 7 4 13 15DelawareState 6 5 6 24CoppinState 6 6 8 22Maryland-E.Shore 4 8 9 22SOUTHERNFloridaA&M 11 1 21 10Bethune-Cookman 7 5 14 19NCCentral 5 7 17 18SavannahState 4 8 9 24NCA&T 3 9 8 27

PLAYERS OF THE WEEKPLAYER Kyle Vaas, Sr., DH, NSU - Went4-for-7(.571)with two doubles, one triple, four RBI, two runs scored in two wins.Nathan Bond, Sr., OF, B-CU - Hit .647 (11-for-17) in four games vs. Sav. State. Belted2-run HR.PITCHER Matt Outman, Jr., P, NSU - Threw a complete game allowing three hits vs. DelState. Fanned seven in shutout win.ROOKIEDanny Rodriguez, Jr., RHP, B-CU - Went 8-for-17with2RBI,3runs.

CONF ALL W L W LChowan 11 4 17 20Winston-SalemState 5 3 18 17St.Augustine's 7 5 12 27VirginiaState 3 8 4 26Lincoln 1 7 5 22

PLAYERS OF THE WEEKOFFENSENA. PITCHER NADEFENSENACOACHNA

2 0 1 6 B L A C K C O L L E G E B A S E B A L L (Results, Standings and Weekly Honors)

mId eaSternathletIc conferenceMEAC

CONF ALLNORTHERN W L W LDelawareState 10 2 17 16NorfolkState 5 2 11 17MorganState 5 3 10 21Hampton 4 5 12 22Maryland-E.Shore 2 5 8 19CoppinState 2 7 2 22Howard 1 5 5 23SOUTHERNFloridaA&M 9 0 21 20SavannahState 6 0 16 17Bethune-Cookman 6 3 11 26NCA&T 2 7 13 23S.C.State 1 5 4 17NCCentral 0 9 3 34

PLAYERS OF THE WEEKPLAYER Brianna Harris, So., SS, SAV. ST. - Hit .615 in threewinsoverNCCU.Had8hits,3doubles,1triple,8runsscoredand5RBI.Added 2 steals. PITCHER Kenya Pereira, Jr., P, FAMU - Had3.25ERAinthreegames.Allowedtworunsin7.0inningsand had 9 Ks in win over NC A&T.ROOKIECortni Jones, Fr., 3B, SAV. ST. - Went6-for-12 in three wins over NCCU with one run and two doubles.

SWAC SouthweSternathletIc conference

DIV ALLEASTERN W L W L AlabamaState 9 0 18 19AlcornState 8 4 12 21Miss.ValleyState 7 5 11 21AlabamaA&M 5 7 7 26JacksonState 3 5 6 20WESTERNTexasSouthern 10 2 17 13PrairieView 6 6 9 18ArkansasPineBluff 3 9 12 28Southern 1 7 4 15GramblingState 1 8 4 23

PLAYERS OF THE WEEKHITTERTonney Hawkins, So., OF., UAPB - In fivegames,hit.571(8-for-14)with2RBI,1 triple and two runs scored. Had three multi-hit games. PITCHERLaurie Rodriguez, So, P, TEXAS SOUTHERN - In three appearances, posted 2-1 record in 14.1 innings, giving upsevenhits,4runs,strikingout15withERAof1.46.Leadsconferenceinfewesthitsperstart(6.79),runspergame(3.55)andbattingaverageagainst(.254).

Central IntercollegIateathletIc aSSocIatIonCIAA

DIV CONF ALLNORTH W L W L W LChowan 2 0 8 0 19 12VirginiaState 2 1 7 2 9 13VIrginiaUnion 5 3 8 6 8 9BowieState 1 1 5 3 9 17Lincoln 0 0 0 6 0 6ElizabethCityState 0 5 2 9 3 16SOUTHJ.C.Smith 5 1 8 4 9 11Winston-SalemState 3 1 8 2 21 18Shaw 3 1 4 6 9 24FayettevilleState 1 1 5 3 13 17St.Augustine's 2 2 4 6 5 19Livingstone 0 8 1 13 5 18

PLAYERS OF THE WEEKOFFENSIVENADEFENSIVENAPITCHERNACOACHNA

SIAC Southern IntercollIgIateathletIc conference

CONF ALLEAST W L W L SpringHIll 20 0 33 14AlbanyState 9 2 11 20Claflin 14 5 22 17Tuskegee 8 4 10 27Miles 7 4 7 6Stillman 12 7 12 10Benedict 5 3 5 5KentuckyState 6 5 7 6Lane 7 13 15 15ClarkAtlanta 4 15 7 26FortValleyState 2 15 2 25LeMoyne-Owen 2 17 2 18Paine 1 12 1 13

PLAYERS OF THE WEEKPLAYER & PITCHER Kaylin FInch, Fr., P/SS, TUS - Hit .733(11-for-15)infourgameswithfiveruns,fiveRBI,onedoubleandtwoHRs.Alsofinisedthe week 2-1 on mound with three complete games,a3.00ERAallowing20hitsin21innings,givingup13runs,7earnedwith16Ks,11intwoconferencegames.

2 0 1 6 B L A C K C O L L E G E S O F T B A L L (Results, Standings and Weekly Honors)

PLAYER / POS / SCHOOL / SIZE RATED AT THE POSITION PROJECTEDJohntaHebert,RB,PrairieView-5-9,195 55th FreeAgentDarryanRagsdale,RB,AlcornState-5-10,187 69th FreeAgentAnthonyJordan,RB,Bethune-Cookman-5-11,212 72nd FreeAgentJohnGibbsJr.,QB,AlcornState-6-5,226 28th FreeAgentAntonioHamilton,FS,SCState-6-0,192 36th FreeAgentAkilBlount,ILB,FloridaA&M-6-2,238 25th FreeAgentCoryCarter,P,TexasSouthern5-9,200 9th FreeAgentTorianWhite,OT,Hampton-6-6,318 35th FreeAgentShaqAnthony,OG,TennesseeState-6-4,290 40th FreeAgentDeonKing,OLB,NorfolkState-6-2,218 49th FreeAgentGabeTerry,OLB,TennesseeState-6-2,225 65th FreeAgentWillieQuinn,WR,Southern-5-5,155 102nd FreeAgentDennisNorfleet,WR,Tuskegee-5-6,159 147th FreeAgent

CIAAGOLF (M) April14-16 Charlotte,NC LarkhavenGolfClubOUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD (M & W)April 22-23 Charlotte, NC J. C. Smith UniversityBASEBALLApril28-30 Cary,NC USA Baseball Training ComplexSOFTBALLApril28-30 Raleigh,NC WalnutCreekComplexTENNIS (M & W) April28-30 Raleigh,NC MillbrookExchangeTennisCenter

MEACGOLF (M) April 21-23 Savannah, GA Crosswinds Golf ClubTENNIS (M & W) April 21-23 Norfolk, VA Folks-Stevens Tennis Center OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD (M & W) May5-7 Greensboro,NC NCA&TStateUniversityBASEBALLmay 19-22 Salisbury, mD Perdue StadiumSOFTBALLmay 12-14 Orm. Beach, FL Ormond Beach Sports Complex

SIACOUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD (M & W) April14-16 RockHill,SC Winthrop Univ. - Belk Track Cmplx. GOLF (M) April18-20 Tucker,GA HeritageGolfLinksSOFTBALLApril28-30 Hampton,GA LovejoySoftballComplexBASEBALLApril28-May1 Ozark,AL Eagle Stadium

SWACTENNIS (M & W) April15-17 NewOrleans,LA CityParkTennisCenterGOLF (W)April18-19 Alexanderia,LA LinksontheBayouGolfClubGOLF (M) April18-20 Alexandria,LA OakWIngGolfClubOUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD (M & W) May6-8 Huntsville,AL LouisCrewsStadiumSOFTBALLmay 11-14 Irondale, AL Shea Brothers Softball Complex BASEBALLMay18-22 NewOrleans,LA Wesley Barrow Stadium

SPRING CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE

STAT CORNERWHO ARE THE BEST PERFORmERS IN BLACK COLLEGE SPORTS

DraftablesLUT WILLIAMSBCSP Editor There appear to be only two football players from the black college ranks – both from South Carolina State – surely to be taken in the upcom-ing April 28-30, 2016 NFL Draft in Chicago. Bulldogs' defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and tight end Temarrick Hemingway are both rated just inside or outside the top ten at their re-spective positions, a good grade for getting into the seven-round draft set for the three-day confab at the Auditorium Theater. This will be the 81st NFL draft of eligible players. Hargrave, Hemingway and North Carolina Central defensive back Ryan Smith were the three black college players among the 332 invited to February's Combine and they continue as the three most likely to go two weeks from now in the draft. Hargrave (6-1, 309), a two-time MEAC de-fensive player of the year and FCS all-American, has been getting rave reviews since his season ended in November. Hefirsthadastandoutperformanceinprac-tices leading up to January's East/West Shrine Game in Tampa, Florida. He dominated the one-on-one drills and was rated by some to have been the best player there showing an excellent combi-nation of quickness and power. That would not be surprising to MEAC coaches and fans who watched him dominate play at the line of scrimmage for the last two years. He racked up 29.5 sacks over that span while posting 45.5 tackles for losses. He continued with an impressive performance at the Combine where he ran 4.93 in the 40-yard dash, had 29 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press, had a 34.5-inch vertical jump and 109-inch (9'1") broad jump. Representatives from 23 NFL teams -- in-cluding defensive line coaches from the Cincin-nati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans -- descended on Or-

angeburg, S. C. for South Caro-lina State's pro day on March 30, primarily to get another close-up look at Hargrave. Chad Reuter, a draft analyst at NFL.com, rates Hargrave the fifth most explosive player inthe entire draft. He is rated well inside the top 100 prospects overall by both CBS Sports.com's NFLDraftScout.com (83rd up from 93rd) and Draftek, and is rated tenth by Draftek as a 4-3 defensive tackle and 11th by NFL DraftScout.com. Hargrave is expected to be taken by the third round though both indicate he is rising up draft boards. Hargrave's teammate Hemingway (6-4, 241),anMEACfirstteamer,hasalsobeenput-ting up eye-opening performances and getting great reviews. He had three best marks for tight ends at the Combine. His 40 time of 4.71 seconds, his 6.88 seconds in the 3-cone drill and 11.5 seconds in the 60-yard shuttle topped all oth-ers at the position. Scouts like his quickness off the ball and long, easy gait and believe he will be a nightmare matchup for linebackers at

the next level and could even play at wide receiver. Because of his size, they are con-cerned about his blocking ability on the line. In a draft not thought to be full of talent at tight end, Draftek has him as the ninth best at the position while NFL DraftScout.com has him one better at eighth. His projection as the 214th best prospect in the draft by Draft-ek translates to a sixth-round selection. NFL DraftScout.comprojectshimtothefifthround. Smith ran a sub-4-5 time at the Combine (4.47) while jumping 36 inches in the vertical jump and 122 inches (10'1") in the broad jump. He is rated the 35th and 39th cornerback by the two services but an interview on NFL DraftS-cout.com says he is a top 100 prospect and will be a steal for whoever drafts or signs him.

DRAFT MATES?: South Carolina State teammates, defensive tackleJavonHargrave(l.)andtightendTemarrickHemingway(r.),areexpectedtobethefirsttwoblackcollegeplayerstakenintheApril28-30NFLDraft.

The Best of the Rest From NFL DraftScout.com