Tuesday, March 28, 2017

KALEEL SOLOMON

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#KALEEL Solomon and his Eastern Florida State Titans saw their cinderalla season end just short of the National Junior College Athletic Association national title.

#The Titans suffered an 84-58 loss to Hutchinson in the NJCAA Division I Tournament finale at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kansas, on Saturday.

#The team set a school record with 31 wins and finished as national runners-up for the first time in school history.

#“What a magical season for the coaching staff and the players,” said Jeff Carr, associate vice president of athletics at Eastern Florida State College. “We all thoroughly enjoyed their run and they should hold their heads high for the amazing accomplishments. We are very proud of the team and their achievements. Well done.”

#As a freshman, Solomon averaged 5.7 points per game and shot 39 per cent from three-point range in 36 games. He reached double figures in seven games this season, including a season high 19 points in a February matchup against ASA Miami.

#Solomon and his No. 6 ranked Titans received a bye into the second round in the third straight season the programme advanced to the tournament. The Titans received an at-large bid after finishing runner-up in the Region VIII Tournament.

#In their tournament debut, they won 87-74 over Monroe College and in the quarter-finals they won 65-45 over Motlow State. They advanced to the championship game with a 77-65 win over South Plains.

#Solomon was one of several Bahamians competing in the tournament for their respective universities.

#Daejour Adderley and his San Jacinto-Central Ravens, the top overall seed in the tournament, were eliminated in the quarter-finals. As the number one seed they received an automatic bye to the second round where they scored a 115-77 win over Connors State. They followed with a 98-82 upset loss to Northwest Florida State.

#It was their 21st tournament appearance in school history. San Jac earned the automatic bid to the national tournament after they won the Region XIV championship.

#Sebastian Gray and Robert Joseph were the first Bahamian players to hit the court in the tournament and led the No.23 ranked Northern Oklahoma-Enid Jets to an opening round upset win.

#The Jets scored a 95-90 win over No.10 Southern Idaho Golden Eagles. Gray finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots while Joseph added two points off the bench.

#In the second round, they were eliminated 82-76 at the hands of the Vinciennes Trailblazers, ranked No.7 in the bracket. Gray finished with seven points and 11 rebounds.

#Latrell Poitier and the No.13 St. Petersburg Titans were eliminated by the eventual national champion Hutchinson, 92-78.

#In the opening round they advanced with a 70-55 win over No.20 Highland.

#Each season, over 200 NJCAA Division I men’s basketball teams take aim towards the ultimate prize – a trip to Hutchinson, Kansas, for a chance to compete for a national championship. The 2017 season marks the 70th NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship – known as The Tournament.

#NJCAA Division I men’s basketball is comprised of 16 districts across the country and the champion of each district receives an automatic bid to The Tournament, which is a 24-team, single-elimination championship.

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#Davonte Jennings will be headed to the Junior College (NJCAA) route to continue his academic and athletic career in the fall.

#Jennings committed to the Seward County Community College Saints men’s basketball programme.

#The 6’1” point guard played locally in Grand Bahama with the St George’s Jaguars before concluding his high school years among the Bahamian pipeline of students at Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas.

#“Happy to have this young man join our programme! His growth at Sunrise Hoops over the years has been incredible,” Saints head coach Jason Sautter said on Twitter. “Can’t wait to see his continued growth in the future!”

#Jennings held the Jaguars to a national title in 2017 prior to his departure to Kansas. He spent three years in the Sunrise programme that also produced fellow Bahamian collegiate players Buddy Hield, Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr, Travis Munnings and many others.

#According to the Wichita Eagle, the school has also produced 76 Division I men’s basketball players, with all but three coming in the last decade, and concluded the year ranked as the No. 4 team in the United States.

#Jennings helped Sunrise to consecutive appearances at the Geico High School Nationals.

#Jennings earned his opportunity to join Sunrise after his performance at the Darrell Sears Showcase in Grand Bahama.

#Jennings told the Eagle he had a conversation with Hield prior to his decision to join the programme.

#“He told me, ‘It’s worth it,’” Jennings said to the Eagle. “He said, ‘They’re gonna work you hard, but it’s all gonna be worth it.’”

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#SHANEA Armbrister made a quick turnaround from the court to the sidelines with her first hire as a member of a collegiate coaching staff.

#The Bahamian national team standout is now the assistant coach of the Andrew College LadyTigers women’s basketball team, a National Junior College Athletic Association programme based in Cuthbert Georgia.

#“It is truly an honour and privilege to join coach [Courtney] Pritchett’s staff and the AC family,” Armbrister said in a press release. “I am thankful that he and the administration chose me to fill some big shoes. I believe in his vision for the programme, and I look forward to helping him take the programme to the next level and serving our student athletes both on and off of the court. Coach Pritchett has had an unbelievable impact on my life, even as I moved on to Georgia, we talked nearly every day. He believes in me and trusts me and I love Coach P”.

#According to Pritchett, Armbrister’s responsibilities will include coaching, player development and recruitment.

#“We are thrilled to have Shanea join our coaching staff. She is going to be able to connect really well with our student athletes and I am looking forward to watching her develop our players, especially our guards,” said Pritchett. “She has an outgoing and engaging personality, and I am confident that her unique ability to connect with individuals of all ages will bring a new energy to our efforts on the recruiting trail. Shanea holds a personal place in my heart, I feel like she is a part of my family. This will be a great opportunity for her.”

#The Lady Tigers compete in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association, the same conference where Armbrister received her start to her junior college career as a player with the Darton College Cavaliers.

#In her freshman season, she immediately became of the most dynamic freshmen in the NJCAA. The 6’2” wing was named a third-team All-American Association after she averaged 18.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Nationally, Armbrister ranked No. 23 in scoring average and No. 9 in free throw percentage (84.4). As a sophomore she averaged 26.9 points per game for the season, shooting 59 per cent from the field and 87 per cent from the free throw line. She also averaged 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

#Armbrister then progressed to the NCAA Division I level with the University of Georgia Lady Bulldogs in the Southeastern Conference.

#As a junior, she played in 21 games for the Bulldogs. After battling through a torn meniscus in the early part of the year she hit 45 per cent from three-point range, the best average on the team for players with 10 or more attempts. Over the season she averaged 2.2 points and one rebound per game.

#Her numbers improved last year as a senior when she received 16 starts and upped her averages across the board to 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 31 appearances. Her senior season was highlighted by the Bulldogs’ appearance at the locally hosted Junkanoo Jam, which gave Armbrister an opportunity to compete at home.

#For Team Bahamas on the international scene, Armbrister led the Bahamas to the Caribbean Basketball Championship 2015 title. It marked the third time that the Bahamas has won the title, but the first time since the organisers changed it from CARICOM to the CBC.

#Armbrister was named the championship game’s most valuable player after she led the Bahamas with a game-high 16 points, seven rebounds, four steals and one blocked shot in the 55-51 win over defending champions Jamaica.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Jaron Cornish

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#AN NCAA Division I programme will be the next step in the progression of the basketball career of Jaron Cornish.

#Cornish will debut for the Stony Brook Seawolves this fall as a junior college transfer, highlighting the programme’s 2017 recruiting class.

#“We are very excited to add Jaron to our basketball family,” said Seawolves head coach Jeff Boals. “He is a great addition to our team and the Stony Brook community. He will add great depth to our guard spot after graduating three starters from this year’s team.”

#Cornish transfers to Stony Brook after completing two NJCAA seasons with the Broward College Seahawks in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

#As a sophomore, he averaged 18.7 points and 4.5 assists per game on 42 percent from three point range. While leading his team in nearly every offensive category, Cornish was also one of the top players in the NJCAA and ranked in the top 50 Division I JUCO players in the nation in free throws made, made free throws per game, total points, steals and points per game. Cornish tallied 11 20-plus point games last season.

#Seahawks head coach Bob Starkman said Stony Brook is getting a great player: “He is one of the nicest, hardest working players I’ve ever coached. He has done everything I’ve asked and it has paid off for him.”

#During his Seahawk career, Cornish produced 800 points, 199 rebounds, 216 assists, 118 steals and 37 blocks. This year, Cornish started 30 of 31 games played and led the Seahawks in field goals (187), field goal attempts (408), three-pointers (60), three-point attempts (143), three-point percentage (42.0), points (581), assists (139) and steals (61). In the NJCAA Division 1 statistics, Cornish finished 21st in free throws (147), 26th in free throws per game (4.7), 40th in points, 46th in steals and 50th in points per game (18.7). Cornish finished second in the NJCAA Region 8 statistics in free throws per game (4.7), fifth in free throws, fifth in points, sixth in points per game, sixth in field goals, sixth in steals, seventh in steals per game (2.0), 10th in assists, 11th in field goals per game (6.0), 12th in three-point field goal percentage, 13th in assists per game (4.5), 18th in three-pointers, 21st in three-pointers per game (1.9), 26th in blocks (22), 33rd in blocks per game (0.7), 35th in free throw percentage (69.7), 37th in games played and 50th in field goal percentage (45.8). As a freshman, Cornish was selected to the Southern Conference All-Academic team. He started 10 of 31 games played, contributing 219 points, 83 rebounds, 77 assists, 57 steals and 15 blocks. Cornish finished fifth in the NJCAA Region 8 statistics in steals, eighth in steals per game (1.8), 27th in games played, 33rd in assists, 34th in assists per game (2.5), 41st in blocks and 47th in blocks per game (0.5). Cornish capped his career by being named first team All-Southern Conference. His contributions helped the Seahawks win the 2017 Southern Conference Tournament and advanced to the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Tournament for the first time since 2011.

#Cornish a native of Abaco, rose to national prominence with head coach Wayne Adderley’s Agape teams which reached a Hugh Campbell Final Four for the first time in school history in 2013.

#From there, he spent his final two years of high school at Champagnat Catholic High School in Hialeah, Florida. Alongside fellow Bahamians Nashad Mackey and Oswald Parker, he helped lead the Lions to statewide recognition.

#Cornish averaged 17.5 points, six assists and five rebounds per game as a senior as the Lions finished the season at 26-2 and lost in the Regional Semi-finals of the Florida High School Boys FHSAA basketball tournament.

#He was also named to the Miami Herald’s All-Dade first-team.

#Stony Brook finished the 2017 season with an 18-14 record and in the post season, lost in the opening round of the CBI. In 2016, they reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

COACH GREENE, far right, in the huddle.

Friday, December 18, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#BAHAMIAN basketball players have been making their presence felt in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and now Grand Bahamian former player Jamaal Greene is coming to the forefront as an assistant coach.

#Greene, 38, became the assistant coach in 2011 for the McLennan Community College Highlanders’ basketball programme in Waco, Texas.

Coach Jamaal Greene giving some instructions.

#Since joining the staff, Greene has helped lead the Highlanders to three second-place finishes and four North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference Championships, including three consecutive championships from 2016 to 2018.

#The Highlanders earned an 8-6 conference record in 2019 to attain the programme’s 17th consecutive Region V Tournament appearance, and they finished the season with an overall record of 22-9. McLennan’s success on the court garnered Greene the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) Junior College Assistant Coach of the Year honour in 2018.

#In 2016, Greene helped lead the Highlanders to the programme’s first appearance at the Division I NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas, since 1998.

#In Hutch (the well-known moniker for the tournament), the Highlanders defeated Marion Military Institute, marking the programme’s first national tournament victory.

#In Greene’s eight-year tenure with the Highlanders, the team has a combined record of 205-46 for an 82 winning percentage. Those teams have featured two NJCAA All-Americans and three NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete honourees.

#“I got into coaching after my senior year of playing college basketball in Arkansas,” said Greene, who played for Northwest College from 2000-02/2004-05: Harding University from 2004-05. “My former coach at the time offered me a position as a graduate assistant. He told me that he always saw in me as a coach and that I had the qualities to be a good coach.”

#Greene, who attended Bishop Michael Eldon, formerly Freeport High School, coached by Curt ‘Six’ Hollingsworth and Wayne Smith, left the Bahamas to complete his high school tenure with Coconut Creek High School in Florida, graduating in 2000.

#He then went on to play for Northwest College from 2000-02 before he played for Arkansas Tech University from 2003-04 and finally Northwest College.

#After his playing days were done, Greene spent four years as an assistant coach at Midland College. During his stint there, the Chaparrals made two consecutive trips to the NJCAA National Championships, captured three West Junior College Athletic Conference titles and compiled a 123-13 record in four years.

#The Caribbean Basketball Network named Greene the 2010-11 Coach of the Year for his tremendous work with student-athletes in the region.

#Before moving to Midland, Greene served as a graduate assistant coach at Harding University (Arkansas). He also worked as a colour commentator for NBA-TV for two years.

#Greene called it a rewarding experience so far.

#“Just like anything in life, you have your ups and downs, but I would not trade it for anything else in the world,” he stated. “They say once you find something you love, you will never work a day in your life.”

#Life, however, has not been the same since the coronavirus pandemic struck in March. But like other sporting disciplines that have been affected around the world, Greene said they are trying to get through the uncharted waters.

#“It is new to every programme across the country and the world,” Greene pointed out. “For us here, we do a great deal of testing of our student athletes and staff.

#“We have certain protocols that we have to follow and maintain. We teach our student athletes to always be resilient and fight through any adversity, and so far they are doing it.”

#The Highlanders will not know the true effect of the programme until their season officially gets underway on January 23, 2021.

#“I’m hoping that we can complete this season without having to shut it down because of the pandemic,” Greene projected. “If we can stay healthy, I truly like our chances for competing in the postseason for the championship.

#“Moving forward in the future, I hope that this pandemic will be the thing of the past and we all can get back to whatever the new normal is.”

#Once things get back to some type of normalcy, Greene said he would be looking at recruiting some Bahamian players for McLennan Community College.

#“I have coached a few players in the past,” Greene said. “With this pandemic, it has made recruiting very difficult all across the board.”

#While the pandemic has played a key factor this year, Greene said in the past the road to getting players from the Bahamas into colleges and universities in the United States has not been an easy one.

#“It has not been easy because of the lack of exposure, lack of proper training and facilities that student athletes in America have at their disposal,” he pointed out.

#“If you look at the trend you are seeing with up and coming Bahamian student athletes, a lot of them have left the Bahamas at adolescent years to come to high school or prep schools here in America.”

#As one of those who benefitted from the move, Greene said it has helped tremendously because of the opportunities and proper training.

#“That has allowed them now to be on an even playing field with American student athletes,” Greene said. “We all know if you give a Bahamian an even playing field we always shine and come out on top.”

#Greene, who also played on the Bahamas junior national basketball team that won silver and gold medals in 1998 and 2000 respectively, was a prime example of taking advantage of the opportunities that avail any other Bahamian.

#He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in communication management from Harding in 2005 and a master’s degree in kinesiology from Harding in 2007.

#But Greene, who is now married to Kari Greene and they are the proud parents of a daughter, Jayada, and a son, Kanaan, said he would certainly like to give back to the Bahamian basketball fraternity.

#“I would love to have the opportunity to get involved with and be a part of the national basketball programme back home in the Bahamas,” Greene said.

#“I was on the junior national teams many moons ago when I was coached by legendary coach Charlie ‘Softly’ Robins where we won a silver medal in Guyana and a gold right there in Nassau.

#“I had some of my fondest basketball memories playing on the junior national team. I feel with my knowledge and experience, I would love to help coaches and players back home in the Bahamas.”

#In the meantime, Greene is trying to niche his name as a collegiate coach in the USA.

Friday, December 4, 2020

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#MARK St Fort is on the move once again in the Japanese B-League and signed with his third team this season.

#St Fort signed with the Hiroshima Dragonflies for the remainder of the 2020- 21 season. Through 14 games this season, St Fort is averaging 10.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game on 70 percent shooting from the field and 43 percent shooting from three-point range. “Hiroshima Dragnflies has given me this opportunity and I thank them very much for their support. I am going to do my best to contribute to this team for as long as possible and help them be successful,” St Fort said in an official release issued by the team.

#Hiroshima is 4-12 on the season. “I am looking forward to playing in front of Dragonflies fans.”

#St Fort began the season with SeaHorses Mikawa but was released after just two games with the club. He went on to sign with the Niigata Albirex where he had his most productive stretch of the season where he was the team’s leading scorer in four games. He spent last season in Japan’s third division, the B3-League with the Saitama Broncos where he averaged 17.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. The B3-League has 11 teams made up of de facto semi-professional teams.