NEW Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram shoots over Phoenix Suns centre Deandre Ayton.

Thursday, January 7, 2021

#DEANDRE Ayton has placed a greater emphasis on the defensive end of the floor as a part of the Phoenix Suns’ transition to their new look roster.

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#Ayton’s offensive numbers are down from previous seasons, but the Suns headed into last night’s game with the Atlanta Hawks at 5-2, second in the Western Conference standings.

#The third year centre has averaged 13.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.

#“I really don’t care about offence. I’m just the anchor for the defence. I let the game come to me. Finding my way around the offence is just being more of a threat, I’m not really tripping about offence,” he said following a New Year’s eve win over the Utah Jazz.

#“Our defence is winning games. That’s what the Suns need to have. When we get punched in the mouth, what do we do? How do we answer back? We already got offence. I’ve never seen so many shooters on one team. The offence isn’t my thing, I’d rather defence more than anything.”

#The Suns are currently first in the NBA in opponents-points-per-game (100.6), fifth in defensive rating (104.4), and seventh in opponent field goal percentage.

#“It’s us being together and going out there and competing. That’s just us being together, going out there and competing. We’re just putting our heads down, not believing in the hype, playing hard every night, playing together, making sure our defence is winning games for us and we’ll be fine,” Ayton said. “We want to compete from the beginning to the end of the game and we will run you into the dirt, it doesn’t matter.”

#Despite his improvement on the defensive end, Suns head coach Monty Williams wants to see his centre taking advantage of his mismatches on the offensive end as well.

#Ayton had back-to-back 20-point games for the first time this season when he posted 22 points and 11 rebounds on January 1 against the Denver Nuggets and 24 points and eight rebounds against the LA Clippers. “He’s starting to dominate in the paint, especially on the switches. It kind of takes him a minute to figure out what teams are doing on the pick and roll but then once he figures that out his steals have been fundamental and offensive rebounding has helped us,” Williams said. “We just have to figure it out from the jump and take advantage of his ability to score down there and generate offence for our shooters. That’s what DA can do, he can punish switches and generate open threes for our guys.”

Thursday, January 7, 2021

Mike Strachan

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#MIKE Strachan’s recruitment profile is set to receive a boost with his invitation to the 2021 National Football League Player Association (NFLPA) Collegiate Bowl.

#The 10th edition of the annual all-star game was cancelled in November 2020, but the organisation will host a virtual programme for draft prospects and invitees, January 13-14.

#The game traditionally invites approximately 100 draft prospects either targeted late in the draft or undrafted free agents.

#“Although we will not hold your typical showcase, we are confident that our alternative approach – an innovative, virtual experience intended to educate, equip and empower participants — will still allow us to strategically engage with this year’s class of prospects as well as our stakeholders, broadcast partners and NFL club personnel.”

#Notable alumni from the bowl include Tarik Cohen (Chicago Bears), Shaquil Griffin (Seattle Seahawks), Kendall Hinton (Denver Broncos), Marquez Valdes- Scantling (Green Bay Packers), Avery Williamson (Pittsburgh Steelers) among others.

#According to its website, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl showcases players for nearly 200 scouts, player personnel staff, general managers and head coaches from all 32 NFL teams.

#“Unlike other all-star games, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl not only provides future union members the opportunity to showcase their skills in front of professional coaches and scouts but also equips them with knowledge of the business side of football. As the union for NFL players, we believe our messaging, guidance and holistic approach will best prepare participants for their future professional football careers. We also take pride in providing the premier platform for collegiate talent from major Division-I schools as well as smaller universities and HBCUs.”

#Strachan, the Grand Bahama native and former University of Charleston Cougars wide receiver, declared for the draft in December.

#The 86th edition of the draft takes place April 29 – May 1, 2021.

#Strachan signed with DEC Management in November and also recently joined The Society brand and marketing agency.

#The 6’5” 225-pound two sport star (athletics), was recently listed among Yahoo! Sports’ top “small school” prospects for the 2021 NFL draft and a preseason All-American.

#In his junior season, Strachan rewrote the record books and boosted his stock for pro scouts.

#He was named an NCAA Division II Second Team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association and to the 2019 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America team.

#He finished with 78 receptions for 1,319 yards and 19 touchdowns in his final season with the Golden Eagles.

#He finished his career with a share of the all-time Charleston touchdown record of 27. He set new school records, led the Mountain East Conference in each category and was second in all of DII in both receiving yards and touchdowns. He currently holds school records in receiving yards, breaking his own previous record of 1,007 set in 2018. His 19 receiving touchdowns broke the 70-year record of 13 held by Charlie Hubbard in 1950.

#His 78 receptions broke the record of 60 set by Terrance Spencer in 2006. He also achieved Division II Top-10 marks for the 2019 season in receiving touchdowns (second), receiving yards (sixth), receptions (ninth), and receiving yards per game (fifth).

PETER Gilcud presents Fredrick King Jr with his Andros shirt.

As of Thursday, January 7, 2021

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FREDRICK King goes up for a block against a Doris Johnson player in the GSSSA Championships. Photos: 10th Year Seniors

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#Fredrick King Jr will make Bahamian basketball history as the country’s first student athlete to enrol in one of the National Basketball Association’s global academies.

#King is set to leave New Providence today en route to the NBA Academy Latin America programme in Mexico City, Mexico.

#NBA Academy Latin America is an elite basketball training centre in Mexico City for the top prospects throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, Canada and South America.

#The academy is a partnership between the NBA, CONADE (Mexico’s National Commission for Physical Culture and Sport) and the Mexican Basketball Federation.

#King made the official announcement at the Bahamas Elite Sports Academy campus yesterday.

#“I just want to thank everyone who has helped me on this journey, I appreciate the support and the love. I was very happy, I just had no idea I could get this far in the game yet.

#“I feel confident, I just need to pick up on things quickly and work even harder now.”

#The 16-year-old 6’9”, 210-pound forward said he patterns his game after the reigning two time NBA MVP, but looks to expand his development at the academy.

#“I try to pattern my game after Giannis Antetokounmpo,” he said. “I can rebound, run the floor, play above the rim and just be athletic. I can play inside or out, but I know I have to learn how to shoot better.”

#A native of Mangrove Cay, Andros, King matriculated to New Providence and joined Mark Hanna’s programme at DW Davis.

#As a member of the Royals, King helped the team to multiple GSSSA and Father Marcian Peters Tournament championships.

#He then went on to play for Kevin Johnson and the CI Gibson Rattlers.

#“My game, it’s gotten better everytime I practice, I just try to learn as much as I can and to get better with everything that I do, “King said.

#“[My coaches] They played a big role because I believed if I never made the move to Nassau I would not have become this good and I would not be here today.”

#King’s stepfather, Carson Lundy, echoed those sentiments and said he is just one example of the deep talent pool in the family islands.

#“The journey started from Mangrove Cay where coach Smith saw his talent and she said to me she thought he should further his skills.

#“So we took her advice and sent him to DW Davis with coach Hanna, then he went to CI Gibson with coach Johnson, then I got the call from Mr Curry here at BESA about this opportunity with the NBA Academy – so said, so done,” he said.

#“I want to give special thanks to the Smiths, Mr Craig Smith, his wife, their son Chad Smith, they took over the guardianship of Fredrick for two years and they did a wonderful job. I just want the Bahamian people to know there are a lot of elite athletes in the Bahamas. We just need to have persons who are able to look out for them and further their development.

#President and CEO of Bahamas Elite Sports Academy, Rodney Curry, said King’s opportunity came about as a result of the organisation’s amendment to the COVID-19 pandemic and hosting a virtual showcase.

#“It’s an historic event to have our first Bahamian student athlete go abroad to attend an NBA Academy. Every year at Bahamas Elite we host our basketball showcase, where we showcase some of the best talent in The Bahamas.

#“But this year we were unable to because of COVID-19 and we had to take a different direction and do a ‘Cyber Showcase’ and today the result of that showcase is this young man having the ability to further his studies and his skills,” he said. “Hats off to this young man and we hope that he continues to work hard as he has been doing throughout his years.”

#He added that any donations towards King’s cause can be made at www.bahamaselite.org under the “donate” tab on the home page. “It is very expensive for this young man and his family. Any assistance that corporate Bahamas can lend will be appreciated,” Curry said.

#“We are trying to help this family as best as we can so if anyone wants to assist they can contact the academy because we need to invest in our athletes, and this family can use as much assistance as possible.

#Bahamas Basketball Federation President, Mario Bowleg, said King is well on his way to being the latest Bahamian on the path to the NBA.

#“The BBF is proud of Bahamas Elite Sports Academy for having the platform for Fredrick King to showcase his talent and give him the opportunity to be the first Bahamian student athlete to attend the NBA Academy. As we are aware in this country, we have two NBA players, many in the NCAA in the pipeline that will be in the NBA. I believe this opportunity for Fredrick will allow us to have another player in the pipeline that stands a great chance of making it to the NBA,” he said.

#“It shows the great improvement in the development of the game and the players in this country. When I got the call from the NBA Academy I was excited and I’m just happy that this day is here and Fredrick has an opportunity to better his skills at a high level toward becoming a collegiate or professional basketball player.”

#NBA Academy is an elite basketball development initiative that provides top high school-age prospects from outside the US with a holistic approach to player development. The NBA Academy programme includes six academies across Australia, China, India, Mexico and Senegal for top male and female prospects from their respective countries and continents.

#The programme focuses on health and wellness, character development and life skills, and gives prospects the opportunity to learn the game from outside coaches who the NBA hires with professional, collegiate and international coaching experience.

#As part of the programme, the prospects compete against top competition throughout the year and have an opportunity to be selected for travel teams that play in international tournaments and exhibition games.

#Depending on the location of the academy, prospects either attend a local public school or receive a scholarship to a local private school, and receive additional academic support as needed.

#“We forged a close relationship with the NBA Academy and we have been trying for a number of years to see how we can get a Bahamian in the academy,” BESA Chairman Peter Gilcud said. “It’s a team effort that makes it happen. He is the latest in the lineage of great players to come from Andros.”

SACRAMENTO Kings guard Chavano “Buddy” Hield in action against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco on Monday night. Last night against the Bulls, he scored 10 points with three rebounds, three assists and a steal in 35 minutes. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

As of Thursday, January 7, 2021

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#By MICHAEL WAGAMAN

#Associated Press

#SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Buddy Hield converted a four-point play with 38 seconds left to make up for a horrible shooting night, and the Sacramento Kings held off the Chicago Bulls 128-124 on Wednesday.

#Hield missed 12 of his first 14 shots and was 1 of 8 on 3-pointers before hitting one from the top of the arc and getting fouled by former Kings teammate Garrett Temple.

#Hield sank the free throw and finished with 10 points.

#First-round draft pick Tyrese Haliburton scored 15 of his season-high 17 points in the fourth quarter and made a key steal in the backcourt. Haliburton followed Hield’s pivotal 3 with one of his own against a pair of Chicago defenders to help the Kings end a three-game losing streak.

#Marvin Bagley III had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Sacramento, which played most of the game without De’Aaron Fox. The point guard strained his right hamstring midway through the first quarter and did not return.

#Richaun Holmes had 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Kings. Harrison Barnes added 20 points.

#Coby White had a career-high 36 points and seven assists for the Bulls. Zach Lavine scored 32 and Wendell Carter Jr added 11 points and a career-best 17 rebounds. Hield’s game-winning shot bailed out the Kings after Sacramento blew a 12-point lead in the first half and trailed with 6 minutes remaining.

#Haliburton’s 3-pointer was equally big, coming just before Harrison Barnes missed a pair of free throws for Sacramento.

#Lavine countered with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 127-124 with 2.6 seconds remaining.

#Before the game, players from both teams locked arms with their teammates during the national anthem. That followed a pattern set by other teams around the NBA after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the results of last November’s presidential election.

#TIP-INS

#Bulls: Denzel Valentine had seven points in the final 3:51 of the first quarter. … Carter was called for defensive three seconds, resulting in a technical foul. … Temple scored 11 points in 33 minutes.

#Kings: Coach Luke Walton lost a challenge after Bagley was whistled for a foul early in the fourth quarter. … Jabari Parker missed a second consecutive game for personal reasons.

#UP NEXT

#Bulls: Visit the Lakers in Los Angeles on Friday.

#Kings: Host the Raptors on Friday. Toronto has won six straight against Sacramento dating to 2016.

\ Friday, January 8, 2021

FRANCO MILLER JR

Charles Bain

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#THE NCAA college basketball season continues to be in flux due to consistent cancellations and several Bahamian players continue to see their programmes affected.

#Franco Miller Jr’s Florida Gulf Coast Eagles and Charles Bain’s Robert Morris Colonials both had games postponed this week due to positive tests within their respective programmes.

#The Eagles have not played since December 22 and had their ASUN conference opening home series against North Alabama January 1-2 and a road trip to Liberty January 8-9 were postponed due to a positive COVID-19 result and contact tracing within the programme’s Tier 1 group.

#The official ASUN opener for the Eagles will now be January 15-16 against Bellarmine at home at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida.

#“While we are disappointed not to be playing this week, this is an unfortunate scenario that has played out through all of college sports this year,” said Eagles head coach Michael Fly.

#“I appreciate all the work our Athletics Sports Medicine unit, the University medical staff, and the Florida Department of Health have done to keep our student athletes and staff safe. We will undertake the appropriate measures so that we can return to play following the 14-day period.”

#“Every missed opportunity to compete disappoints us. We want our student athletes to play,” said ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart. “Postponing play is the safe and responsible step, but always disappointing. We have plans to adjust and will work throughout the season to maximise the playing options for all ASUN student athletes.”

#In his first season with the Eagles, Miller – the redshirt sophomore guard – is averaging 6.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

#Bain and the Colonials had a January 2 matchup against Milwaukee postponed and now the series between RMU and IUPUI this weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana has been cancelled due to positive COVID-19 tests within the RMU programme.

#Bain entered his senior season as RMU’s active leader in points (742) and rebounds (385) with a chance to become the 16th member of RMU 1,000- point, 500-rebound club.

#He has struggled this season and played in just three of six games. He has yet to score in double figures this season and has averaged 5.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game thus far.

Friday, January 8, 2021

Jonquel Jones

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#JONQUEL Jones celebrated her 27th birthday with a double double the following night to lead another dominant performance for her UMMC Ekaterinburg Foxes in the Russian Premier League.

#Jones finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds (both team highs) in a 99-42 win over Nika Syktyvkar Wednesday in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

#She shot 6-11 from the floor, made her only three point attempt and also added three blocks with three assists in just over 25 minutes.

#The Foxes are the only undefeated team in the league at 10-0. Eleven games remain in the regular season which concludes March 11.

#Through six games, Jones is averaging 19.8 points, 10 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game.

#The Foxes returned from the midseason break after they finished EuroLeague Group C first round play at 3-0 at the FIBA designated bubble in Girona, Spain. The second EuroLeague group round hub matches will be played January 19-22.

#Last season, Jones’ first with the club, Ekaterinburg captured their second consecutive and fifth EuroLeague title with a 91-67 win over Dynamo Kursk in Sopron, Hungary.

#She appeared in eight games averaging 19.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

#UMMC has won five EuroLeague titles (2003, 2013, 2016, 2018 and 2019) and are perennial Final Four competitors.

Monday, December 10, 2018

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#ROLANDO ‘Lonnie’ Greene, in his first year as head coach of the University of Kentucky Wildcats’ track and field team, liked what he saw from freshman sprinter Devine Parker in her collegiate debut at the Hoosier open indoor meet in Lexington, Kentucky, on Friday.

#The St Anne’s High School graduate posted one of the nine victories and was also third in the 60 metres as she helped to mark the official welcome meet for Greene from Purdue University and his new coaching staff that includes fellow Bahamian “Golden Girl” Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie.

#At the same time, it was a reunion of sorts as Greene and Ferguson-McKenzie re-connected with Norbert Elliott, now the new head coach at Purdue University. Elliott, likewise, got some sterling performances from sprinter Samson Colebrooke and jumper Tamar Greene.

#But if that wasn’t enough for the Bahamian connection, high jumper Etienne Jyles soared to victory for Indiana University.

#Parker was impressive

#After placing second in her heat of the 60 metres in 7.53 seconds to advance to the final with the third fastest time, the clock malfunctioned in the final and her time was not recorded for her third place. Greene said if the clock was working properly, he felt Parker would have punched her ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships, scheduled for March 8-9 in Birmingham, Alabama.

#But Parker came back in the 200m and easily won in 24.20 in her introduction to the 200m one-lap bank track.

#“She had a very good performance. I thought her 60m was a very good race in the final as the race timed in 7.1. In my mind, it looked like that as she was a very close third,” Greene said.

#The 200m, she won, but I thought she was a little bit conservative being her first time running on a bank track. But for the most part, she did a very good job. For her inaugural freshman campaign, I was very pleased with it. There’s a whole lot more to come from her.”

#With her next meet scheduled for January 11 in a home meet in Kentucky, Greene said he has his money on Parker qualifying for NCAAs in the 60m, but the 200m is a long shot.

#Colebrooke has

#surprising performances

#Queen’s College graduate Samson Colebrooke, making his junior debut for Purdue University after he completed his two-year tenure at Barton Community College, won his heat of the men’s 60m in 6.72 for the fastest qualifying time in the final. However, he had to settle for second in the final with identical times of 6.68 with Indiana University’s Rikko Brathwaite.

#The 21-year-old Colebrooke, taking advantage of an increase in his size, came back and pulled off the victory in the men’s 300m in 33.87.

#“What we did with him was to increase his size in the weight room and so that was a surprised opener,” Elliott reflected. “He’s been working out really well. We knew that he would run fast, but he surpassed our expectations. He trains with our Big Ten champion Was Williams, a CARIFTA champion from Jamaica. So he’s literally training to run well, but I didn’t think he would run that fast.”

#Greene double

#dips in top five

#In his double duties on the field for Purdue University, Greene soared to a fifth place finish in the men’s long jump with a leap of 6.84 metres or 22-feet, 5 1/4-inches. His team-mate Jah Strange won with a distance of 7.15m (23-5 1/2).

#Greene bounced back in the triple jump, clearing 15.76m (51-8 1/2) for third place. The winner was Indiana University’s Eric Bethea with a best of 15.82m (51-11).

#“This is Tamar’s completion of year one because he came to us last spring and we didn’t have a whole lot of time to train and prepare him,” Elliott said. “He sort of jumped right into it without a whole lot of preparation because he had some visa issues and he was working on those things to get over here.

#“So this is really the end of year one, but he’s had the fall to train and now Tamar is showing the kind of fitness that we know he could have shown, had he had time to train when he first came to us. So we look at Tamar to have a really great year.”

#Elliott projected that both Samson and Greene are potential Big Ten Conference champions. “Both of them are capable of qualifying for the National Championships and anybody who qualifies for the National Championships is an elite athlete,” said Elliott, a former elite athlete himself in the men’s triple jump at the University of Texas-El Paso.

#“Both of those two guys were among the Bahamas’ top junior athletes, so they are definitely two athletes we look forward to seeing compete in the future. Our goal is to just make sure they stay healthy.”

#Etienne wins

#In the men’s high jump, Etienne took the title with a leap of 2.15m (7-0 1/2). He passed his first three attempts at 1.92m (6-3 1/2), 1.97m (6-5 1/2) and 2.01m (6-7) on his first attempt and cleared his opening height at 2.05m (6-8 3/4) on his first attempt. He passed again at 2.09m (6-10 1/4) and 2.12m (6-11 1/2) before he returned to action to clear 2.15m (7-0 1/2) on his second attempt.

#With only two misses left, he couldn’t clear 2.22m (7-3 1/4), but it was good enough for the 2016 New York State champion for Stony Brook School to hold onto the win. His nearest rival was Rahman Minor of Kentucky with his best of 2.09m (6-10 1/4).

#Happy Reunion

#The meet turned out to be a true Bahamian connection with coaches Greene and Elliott, who a year ago were the head and assistant coaches at Purdue, while Ferguson-McKenzie was an assistant at the University of Houston. Now Greene is the head coach at Kentucky with Ferguson-McKenzie as his assistant and Elliott moved up to take over as the head coach at Purdue.

#“It was a really special moment to be back with them,” said Elliott, who was also a coach of Ferguson-McKenzie when she competed at the University of Georgia. “It came down to the 4 x 400m relay and for a minute there, I thought we would have won. But we finished second behind Kentucky. That would have been some serious bragging rights that I would have had on Lonnie. But his kids came out on top.”

#For Greene, the feeling was more reminiscent of his time at Purdue. “It was great. It was great. We normally win that meet in December and to be in that facility in another school, it was weird,” Greene pointed out.

#“Every time they would mention someone from Purdue, I would say ‘oh that’s my kid.’ But I had to catch myself. Norbert is doing a great job as the athletic director in track and field. It was good to see my friend at the end of the day and compete competitively against him.

#“In my humble opinion, it was good. Everybody at the meet was asking about the colours I was wearing. They were so used to me being in black and gold and now I’m in blue and white. They say those colours don’t even look normal on me. But it was a good meet and it was good to go up against one hell of a coach in Norbert Elliott.”

#The two schools will be at the Razorback Invitational January 25-26 in Fayetteville, Arkansas and again at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, South Carolina February 8-9.

Rolando ‘Lonnie’ Greene (left) is shown with athletes Devyenne Charlton and Carmiesha Cox and coach Norbert Elliott.

October 12, 2018

#ROLANDO ‘Lonnie’ Greene is grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to move from one head coaching job in college track and field to another.

#In his transition from Purdue University to the University of Kentucky, Greene intends to continue to strengthen his Bahamian connection with his coaching staff and the athletes on the team.

#Over the weekend while here to participate in the Bahamas Athletic Foundation’s Coaches Professional Development Conference at SuperClubs Breezes, Greene shared a passionate interview on his road to success from a sub-par jumper at AF Adderley High School to one of the elite coaches in the NCAA Division One ranks.

#“When I went to college at Murray State University, I was a bio-chemist major out of AF Adderley,” Greene said. “When I went there, the biological science and physics was great. I never took chemistry in high school, so it ran me out of the bio-chemistry class. I realised that I couldn’t be successful there.

#“So I ended up not knowing what to do and so I went into career planning and placement and they gave me this multi-talented test to do. I took it and the professor said with the talent that I have, I need to be working with people. I looked at this dude and I said I wanted to be a doctor. That was my flesh, but God had something else in plan and in store for me.”

#At grad school at Southwest Missouri State University, Greene said he called Patrick Bailey, who was at Central State Missouri, and he encouraged him to pursue his new found dream of becoming an athletic coach and after he engulfed himself in everything that had to do with the sport, he finally got his first break as an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas.

#“For me, did I ever think I would be a college coach, ‘no,’ but I know I’m in the place where God would have me to be,” he said. “I know that, so I’m just going to continue to be a good steward of what he has blessed me with, holding people to the highest expectations.”

#Trying to hold back the tears in his eyes, Greene said he could not have had a better experience than he did for the past six years as the head coach at Purdue where he transformed the Boilermakers’ athletic team as the toast of the Big Ten Conference where he earned a number of individual accolades.

#“I’m grateful for that opportunity,” he said. “They gave me a shot, they gave me an opportunity when I knew I was ready. I went there for the interview and after I got the job, I was ‘Lord, why did I get this job. Why couldn’t I get a Texas or Florida or a programme that was banging.

#“But I think when I looked back at it all, he did it that way because of the impact that he was going to allow me to make. I think it was great that way. I interviewed for the Texas job. Notre Dame wanted me to come this year, but I told them I wasn’t interested. Then Kentucky and the way they orchestrated it, I just had to work on some things from a professional standpoint.”

#That came as a result of the journey that he went through at Purdue. “I would not have done it any other way,” Greene reflected. “I thought we were successful, I thought we were making an impact, I thought we were graduating kids with some engineering degrees, business degrees and we had kids that were 10, 12, 16 times All-America.

#Bahamian Devynne Charlton, just to name one, was 12-time Big Ten champion, 12-time first team All-American, Athlete of the Year on numerous occasions.

#One of the highlights during his tenure in Purdue, according to Greene, was not winning titles or helping his athletes to shine, but it was when one of his former athletes returned and introduced his son, whom he named Rolando after him.

#“When he said coach Rolando, I want you to meet Rolando, I just broke,” Greene stated. “He could have named his son after his dad, but he named his son after me. And this was a Caucasian kid, this wasn’t a black kid. After I pulled myself together, I asked him how is the kid going to go around with a black name and the father said to me, ‘he’s going to be fine.’ He lives in North Dakota as an engineer.

#“Watching Devynne run 7.8 for the 60m hurdles, watching her just barely losing the NCAA title in the 100 hurdles, knowing that she came to us running 13.8 and now running 12.6 and is one of the better hurdlers in the world and watching her make the World Championships as a student in college, knowing that she is getting a marine biology degree.

#Those were considered some of his highlights, coupled with watching another Bahamian Carmiesha Cox go to graduate school and work on her MBA and being a multi-time All-American. Those are the things that Greene said he will cherish for the rest of his life.

#If there was any low point on his pathway, Greene said he had to ask his wife, LaTayna Stewart-Greene, to give up a principal job and follow him to Purdue where he had to convince the athletes there not only to be the best they can be, but at the same token, try not to finish last in the conference.

#“The proof is in the puddling because Purdue is now a nationally respected institution ranked in NCAA division one track and field,” he pointed out.

#Looking back at all of the successes at Purdue, Green said he could not have done it without the coaching staff that he was blessed with. He attributed a lot of his successes to persons like fellow Bahamian Norbert Elliott and his wife, who served as assistant coaches. Now in his departure, Norbert Elliott has assumed the head coaching job at Purdue.

#“Norbert was one of my heroes in track and field. When Norbert came home from UTEP as a junior or senior, he came home for high school nationals and I was jumping with a hamstring injury and everybody was gravitating to Wendell Lawrence and Dudson Higgins,” Greene recalled.

#“Norbert saw me and he called me to the fence. He asked me what happened to my hamstring and I told him I pulled it. He said move your approach three feet back and run. He said tear the hamstring and jump. That simple advice allowed me to jump 49-feet, 2-inches to get a scholarship to go to college.”

#Surprisingly their paths crossed again in the United States where they were assistant coaches. In their conversations, they both agreed that if either of them got the call as a head coach, they would seek each other out to work as their assistant.

#“God just had it that I got the call first at Purdue and when I called him and asked him if he was ready to put his money where his mouth was, he said ‘let’s do it,'” Greene said. “It was great. But I was amazed at the end of my tenure at Purdue how God worked it out where he put all the cards in my hands and I was able to recommend Norbert Elliott to take over and I gave them all of the reasons why.

#“So that the programme don’t die, I recommended that they give him the chair. They might lose a body or two, but they won’t have a mad exodus out of Purdue. God just gave me a voice and I was able to use it for good and he was the one. Purdue got it right when they hired him to take over as the head coach after I left.They got it right. The men will be great. The women might take a step back, but they will get it together.”

#From one Bahamian assistant to another, Greene said it didn’t take rocket science for him to lure “Golden Girl” Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie from the University of Houston as an assistant to join him at Kentucky.

#“She’s a Bahamian. They told me I had to hire a woman. She’s a Bahamian, but I knew she was out there, so she would have had to tell me no,” Greene stressed. “Charity begins at the house. Charity begins at home. She’s a home girl. I’ve known Debbie from she was a little girl at St Andrew’s School and I tried to recruit her back then, but I was just too young for coach Pancho (Frank Rahming) to entrust her to me, so they sent her to Norbert, who was an assistant at the University of Georgia.”

#Whenever their paths crossed at meets, Greene said he always treated Ferguson to a “turkey leg” meal and so when the opportunity presented itself this year for her to work with him at Kentucky, he couldn’t resist and she quite naturally accepted the offer.

#“She’s doing an excellent job right now,” Greene said. “She’s the conduit between myself and coach Hall. So when you have an opportunity to help another Bahamian, who wouldn’t. I know I would. You tell me you’re from the 242, I would help you. It’s just the Bahamian pride, but I know she will do it in an excellent way.”

#Like he did at Purdue where he had some outstanding Bahamian talent, Greene believes that they have the next real deal in Bahamian sprints in Divine Parker, who is in her freshman year after competing for St Anne’s School.

#“That’s our next sprint queen,” Greene quipped without hesitation. “I don’t care what nobody says, I don’t care who you see holding the trophy, that’s the Bahamas’ next sprint queen, in my opinion. She works directly with coach Hall, but he’s excellent with what he does. She is buying in like there’s no tomorrow.

#“She’s going to be the next one. Shaunae Miller-Uibo is taking the Bahamas to great heights and will continue to do that, but I think Divine is the next one. We have some others out there doing some stuff, but I think Divine will be the next sprint queen in the country. I won’t be surprised if she’s not at the World Championships next year. She’s looking that good and she’s only been with us for about five weeks.”

#Although he’s living out one of his passions as a head coach, Greene believes that if he wasn’t coaching, he believes at age 51 years old, he probably would be in ministry preaching the gospel.

#“I probably would be in the pulpit somewhere. I don’t know if it would have been here or in the US, I would be in ministry,” he said. “But the way I look at ministry, I believe I’m doing it now because I remember when one of my athlete’s father was dying from cancer, I was able to pray with him and make him to understand that his father was healed because he went to a better place.

#“To have a kid walk into my office and ask me to pray for their mother, I believe I am in ministry. I don’t have to stand in the pulpit, but I know I can preach the word if I have to. So if I wasn’t coaching, I would be in people’s business preaching the word of God. I just want to be someone who wants to make an impact.”

#Motivated by a message on purpose he heard from the late Dr Myles Munroe while he was in college, Greene said he asked God to show him his purpose and it wasn’t medicine or law, two fields he was eager to pursue at the time. He said it was making an impact as a coach and that is what he is doing now.

#“I always wanted to retire at age 65, so I think I have about 13 years left to fulfil that,” he stated. “Five years from now, I hope to still be coaching, 10 years from now, I want to continue. 15 years, me and my wife will probably be trying to figure out what we will be doing with our grandchildren.”

#But, in the meantime as a Bahamian, Greene said if the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations calls him today to coach the national team, he will jump to the opportunity in a heartbeat.

#“I would be here tomorrow if they say ‘Lonnie would you be one of our coaches'”, he insisted. “Barring any emergency that would affect my wife or my children or one of my athletes, I would be there every day of the week and twice on Sunday. It will be an honour. Anytime you get to serve your country in any which way, it is an honour. I don’t care how simple or advanced, it is an honour.”

Monday, December 10, 2018

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#ROLANDO ‘Lonnie’ Greene, in his first year as head coach of the University of Kentucky Wildcats’ track and field team, liked what he saw from freshman sprinter Devine Parker in her collegiate debut at the Hoosier open indoor meet in Lexington, Kentucky, on Friday.

#The St Anne’s High School graduate posted one of the nine victories and was also third in the 60 metres as she helped to mark the official welcome meet for Greene from Purdue University and his new coaching staff that includes fellow Bahamian “Golden Girl” Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie.

#At the same time, it was a reunion of sorts as Greene and Ferguson-McKenzie re-connected with Norbert Elliott, now the new head coach at Purdue University. Elliott, likewise, got some sterling performances from sprinter Samson Colebrooke and jumper Tamar Greene.

#But if that wasn’t enough for the Bahamian connection, high jumper Etienne Jyles soared to victory for Indiana University.

#Parker was impressive

#After placing second in her heat of the 60 metres in 7.53 seconds to advance to the final with the third fastest time, the clock malfunctioned in the final and her time was not recorded for her third place. Greene said if the clock was working properly, he felt Parker would have punched her ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships, scheduled for March 8-9 in Birmingham, Alabama.

#But Parker came back in the 200m and easily won in 24.20 in her introduction to the 200m one-lap bank track.

#“She had a very good performance. I thought her 60m was a very good race in the final as the race timed in 7.1. In my mind, it looked like that as she was a very close third,” Greene said.

#The 200m, she won, but I thought she was a little bit conservative being her first time running on a bank track. But for the most part, she did a very good job. For her inaugural freshman campaign, I was very pleased with it. There’s a whole lot more to come from her.”

#With her next meet scheduled for January 11 in a home meet in Kentucky, Greene said he has his money on Parker qualifying for NCAAs in the 60m, but the 200m is a long shot.

#Colebrooke has

#surprising performances

#Queen’s College graduate Samson Colebrooke, making his junior debut for Purdue University after he completed his two-year tenure at Barton Community College, won his heat of the men’s 60m in 6.72 for the fastest qualifying time in the final. However, he had to settle for second in the final with identical times of 6.68 with Indiana University’s Rikko Brathwaite.

#The 21-year-old Colebrooke, taking advantage of an increase in his size, came back and pulled off the victory in the men’s 300m in 33.87.

#“What we did with him was to increase his size in the weight room and so that was a surprised opener,” Elliott reflected. “He’s been working out really well. We knew that he would run fast, but he surpassed our expectations. He trains with our Big Ten champion Was Williams, a CARIFTA champion from Jamaica. So he’s literally training to run well, but I didn’t think he would run that fast.”

#Greene double

#dips in top five

#In his double duties on the field for Purdue University, Greene soared to a fifth place finish in the men’s long jump with a leap of 6.84 metres or 22-feet, 5 1/4-inches. His team-mate Jah Strange won with a distance of 7.15m (23-5 1/2).

#Greene bounced back in the triple jump, clearing 15.76m (51-8 1/2) for third place. The winner was Indiana University’s Eric Bethea with a best of 15.82m (51-11).

#“This is Tamar’s completion of year one because he came to us last spring and we didn’t have a whole lot of time to train and prepare him,” Elliott said. “He sort of jumped right into it without a whole lot of preparation because he had some visa issues and he was working on those things to get over here.

#“So this is really the end of year one, but he’s had the fall to train and now Tamar is showing the kind of fitness that we know he could have shown, had he had time to train when he first came to us. So we look at Tamar to have a really great year.”

#Elliott projected that both Samson and Greene are potential Big Ten Conference champions. “Both of them are capable of qualifying for the National Championships and anybody who qualifies for the National Championships is an elite athlete,” said Elliott, a former elite athlete himself in the men’s triple jump at the University of Texas-El Paso.

#“Both of those two guys were among the Bahamas’ top junior athletes, so they are definitely two athletes we look forward to seeing compete in the future. Our goal is to just make sure they stay healthy.”

#Etienne wins

#In the men’s high jump, Etienne took the title with a leap of 2.15m (7-0 1/2). He passed his first three attempts at 1.92m (6-3 1/2), 1.97m (6-5 1/2) and 2.01m (6-7) on his first attempt and cleared his opening height at 2.05m (6-8 3/4) on his first attempt. He passed again at 2.09m (6-10 1/4) and 2.12m (6-11 1/2) before he returned to action to clear 2.15m (7-0 1/2) on his second attempt.

#With only two misses left, he couldn’t clear 2.22m (7-3 1/4), but it was good enough for the 2016 New York State champion for Stony Brook School to hold onto the win. His nearest rival was Rahman Minor of Kentucky with his best of 2.09m (6-10 1/4).

#Happy Reunion

#The meet turned out to be a true Bahamian connection with coaches Greene and Elliott, who a year ago were the head and assistant coaches at Purdue, while Ferguson-McKenzie was an assistant at the University of Houston. Now Greene is the head coach at Kentucky with Ferguson-McKenzie as his assistant and Elliott moved up to take over as the head coach at Purdue.

#“It was a really special moment to be back with them,” said Elliott, who was also a coach of Ferguson-McKenzie when she competed at the University of Georgia. “It came down to the 4 x 400m relay and for a minute there, I thought we would have won. But we finished second behind Kentucky. That would have been some serious bragging rights that I would have had on Lonnie. But his kids came out on top.”

#For Greene, the feeling was more reminiscent of his time at Purdue. “It was great. It was great. We normally win that meet in December and to be in that facility in another school, it was weird,” Greene pointed out.

#“Every time they would mention someone from Purdue, I would say ‘oh that’s my kid.’ But I had to catch myself. Norbert is doing a great job as the athletic director in track and field. It was good to see my friend at the end of the day and compete competitively against him.

#“In my humble opinion, it was good. Everybody at the meet was asking about the colours I was wearing. They were so used to me being in black and gold and now I’m in blue and white. They say those colours don’t even look normal on me. But it was a good meet and it was good to go up against one hell of a coach in Norbert Elliott.”

#The two schools will be at the Razorback Invitational January 25-26 in Fayetteville, Arkansas and again at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, South Carolina February 8-9.

Clockwise from left: Rolando Greene, Debbie Ferguson, Megan Moss, Devynne Charlton and Jaida Knowles.

Friday, January 8, 2021

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#Their season won’t start until next weekend but, by then, head coach Rolando ‘Lonnie’ Greene expects to be out of his coronavirus pandemic quarantine and back on the sidelines with his University of Kentucky Wildcats track and field team.

#Greene, who now heads a Bahamian connection of coaches and athletes for the Wildcats after he left his coaching chores with the Boilermakers at Purdue University in 2018, has been confined to home for the past week as he recuperates from the symptoms of the deadly virus.

#“The Bahamian girls have had great falls,” said Greene as he looks ahead to the participation of sophomore quarter-miler Megan Moss, freshman sprinter Jaida Knowles and volunteer assistant and professional hurdler Devynne Charlton as they prepare to compete in the McCravy Green Invitational (Indoors) next weekend.

#“I haven’t seen them since they got back from the Christmas break because I was diagnosed with COVID-19. I have been quarantined and away from everybody. My assistants were handling everything.”

#Prior to the break, Greene said Moss was in phenomenal shape and she constantly communicated with him on her progress when she was in Chicago over the Christmas holidays.

#“She is in some phenomenal shape right now,” he said of the 18-year-old who was named The Tribune’s Junior Female Athlete of the Year after running her season’s best of 24.09 seconds in the 200m and 52.58 in the 400m before the pandemic struck in March.

#“The key is to keep Megan healthy. Once she does that, she will be fine.”

#As for Knowles, who was joining her former St Augustine’s College team-mate in her first year at Kentucky, Greene said she suffered a slight injury just before Thanksgiving, but they managed to get her properly healed and ready to compete again.

#“I haven’t seen her since she came back here either,” Greene said. “But I’m expecting great things from her. I’m one of those coaches, if I recruit you on a scholarship, I expect you to perform both academically and athletically.

#“Jaida is a fine young woman. She’s just like (Megan) Moss.

#“But I think they are going to be fine. We’re going to be fine as a programme. We just need to be patient and cook the broth the proper way and not get ahead of ourselves.”

#As he reflected on his own personal battle with COVID-19, Greene asked Bahamians to protect themselves because “the virus is real.

#“Don’t let no one tell this isn’t real. This stuff is real. I have everything. Every symptom. I got so emotional the other day that I told my wife, LaTayna, that if I die, she will have enough money to take care of herself and the boys (Cameron, Isaiah and Jacob). That’s what I felt like, like I was dying. “I don’t have any breathing issues. I’m good. Don’t let those intellectuals try to tell you otherwise. I’m a man of faith, but the virus is real. I’m living it right now.”

#On day four of going through the easy stages, Greene said he slipped and fell in his bathroom and suffered a bruised nose. He said he felt better whenever he got to use the bathroom.

#“This stuff is real,” he stressed. “When I get through this, I will tell my full story of what I had to go through. I’ve documented everything and I will post it. So protect yourself.”

#With some very good assistants, including Bahamian “Golden Girl” Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, who came over from the University of Houston, Greene said he was able to monitor everything from home as they worked with the athletes as they prepare for their first meet next weekend.

#Also expected to compete in the meet is Charlton, who serves as a volunteer assistant, as she trains for the postponed 2020 Olympic Games that is expected to be held this year in Tokyo, Japan.

#“I was really looking forward to her competing in the World Indoors, but this virus has got the whole world on a standstill, so they cancelled the World Indoors,” said Greene of Charlton, who came over from Purdue University to train with her former Boilermakers’ head coach after she graduated.

#“So all we can do is take our time and get ready for Tokyo. We’ll adjust training and just get ready for Tokyo. She’s doing exceedingly well. She will be just fine this year.”

#Greene is also expecting to be “fine” after he completes his quarantine period this weekend. He said he probably won’t make any personal contact with the team until Monday or Tuesday just as a precaution.

#“I don’t have to be there. It’s just like we haven’t missed a beat,” he said. “But the kids have been calling and texting asking me if I’m okay. So that has blessed my heart.

#“Megan texted me and said coach I haven’t seen you since I got back. So it’s things like that has helped me to get through my ordeal. As a team, we will be okay.”

#The 54-year-old Greene said unlike him, because of his age, he’s more receptive to the symptoms than his athletes.

#Kentucky is competing in a bubble with the other schools in the Southeastern Conference where they all have to compete on the same weekend.

#“I thought we had a very good team to compete at Nationals this year, but delay doesn’t mean denial,” Greene said. “We still have a team to make a push at it.”

#Kentucky’s home meet next weekend will only allow them to accommodate about 450 persons, including the athletes, coaches and officials, although they can hold over 3,000.

#“They will warm up in the stadium and then come into the indoor stadium to compete,” Greene said. “It won’t be like the regular track meet. We won’t have a whole lot of people all over the place.

#“The kids who are going to be competitive will be competitive. I remember Sydney Cartwright when he was coaching in the Big Ten at Minnesota and I was at Arkansas. He said if you put horses on the track, they will run. So that stayed with me. The SEC is that type of league. You put them on the track and they will run. We are very competitive.”

#Before he went to Purdue in 2012, Greene served previously for 16 seasons as an assistant in the SEC, so he said he’s quite familiar with the competitiveness of what is arguably the toughest in college sports.

#After graduating with his B.S. from Murray State in 1989, Greene began his tenure with Missouri State University from 1991-95, the University of Minnesota from 1995-96 and the University of Arkansas from 2000-2012.

#While he is expected to be back with the Wildcats when they host the McCravy Green Invitational next weekend, Kentucky has at least three more meets to compete in before they get ready for the SEC Championships, scheduled for February 25-27 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

#If all plans for the rest of the season go through and they have any qualifiers, the indoor season will conclude with the NCAA Indoor Championships March 11-13 also in Fayetteville, Arkansas.