Men's Hoops to Battle UNC Greensboro Spartans Wednesday Night on ESPN3

GAME NOTES

The Basics
Teams: Coppin State Eagles (0-11) at UNC Greensboro Spartans (8-2) 
Date & Time: Wednesday, December 12, 2018 | 7:00 pm
Location: Greensboro, N.C. | Greensboro Coliseum
Series History: First Meeting
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=233183   
Video: http://www.espn.com/watch/search/coppin   
Audio: http://uncgspartans.leanplayer.com/?DB_OEM_ID=32200
 
Coppin Contributors
Lamar Morgan and Dejuan Clayton currently lead the Eagles with 10.0 points per game while freshmen Nigel Marshall and Justin Steers coming on recently with an identical 6.7 points per game.  Marshall is coming off a week where he scored in double figures in both games including 11 points and eight rebounds last game against Tennessee State.  Steers has put up nearly nine points per game in the last seven with a 16 point outing at Rider.  Following the freshman duo is Cedric Council who was recently named the MEAC Defensive Player of the Week with his 5.4 points and 4.1 rebounds to go with 14 blocked shots.  For the Eagles to win this game, they must get contributions from Chad Andrews-Fulton who is putting up five points and four rebounds but came up big in each of CSU's five wins a year ago.  Ibn Williams has spelled Clayton at the point and is averaging nearly five points.
 
Scouting the Spartans
UNC Greensboro is off to an 8-2 start while shooting 51% from the field as a team and 37% from three-point range.  The Spartans are led by three players scoring in double figures with Francis Alonso going for nearly 20 points per game while shooting an impressive 52.5% from the floor and 47.8% from deep.  Alonso also averages nearly three assists per game, tying for second on the team with Isaiah Miller who puts up 13.2 points per game.  Kyrin Galloway has also shown a knack for scoring the ball with 13.0 points per game on 59% shooting and 47.8% from downtown.  Coppin will also need to look out for Demetrius Troy (8.9 ppg), Eric Hamilton (7.5 ppg), James Dickey (7.1 ppg) and Kaleb Hunter (6.7 ppg) on the defensive end.  Dickey has been a beast underneath with 7.8 rebounds and 2 blocks per game.
 
Last Time Out
Coppin suffered a disappointing loss at home against Tennessee State, 64-55, on Sunday afternoon.  Lamar Morgan led the Eagles with 12 points along with three 3-pointers while Nigel Marshall had an impressive all-around game with 11 points and a season-high eight rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.  Dejuan Clayton also finished with nine as Cedric Council scored eight, all of which came in the first half.  Justin Steers was very efficient in his ten minutes of action, compiling seven points while making both of his field goals and 2-of-3 from the line.  The Eagles turned the ball over 23 times which led to 25 points for the Tigers.
 
Lights Out Lamar
In his first season at Coppin State in 2017-18 after transferring from Mineral Area College in Missouri, Lamar Morgan was named Third Team All-MEAC and proved to be one of the top 3-point shooters in the Nation.  With range up to 30 feet, Morgan made an impressive 37.0% of his shots from behind-the-arc, and this clip rose to 42.6% in conference play.  An astonishing 77.3% of hit shot attempts last season came from behind-the-arc and he made at least five triples in eight different games, including a season-high eight against Hampton.    Morgan also sunk seven three's in games against Connecticut and Morgan State.
 
Morgan led the Eagles last season with 12.3 points per game last season to go with 5.1 rebounds but in conference action, Morgan put up 15.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.  His eight 3-pointers against Hampton were the 3rd-most in school-history and his 88 trifectas were the 4th most in CSU single-season history.
 
Morgan highlights the Preseason All-MEAC Second team coming into this year.
 
CSU Career 3-Pt FG's Made
1. Keith Carmichael ('95)                        118 games              285 (2.4 per game)
2. Tywain McKee ('09)                            127 games              233 (1.8 per game)
10. Tariq Cephas ('14)                            124 games              152 (1.2 per game)
NR. Lamar Morgan                               42 games               111 (2.6 per game)
 
Clayton on the Comeback Trail
Dejuan Clayton had a sensation freshman year during the 2016-17 season, averaging 12.4 points along with a team-high 3.1 assists en route to being named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team.  Clayton started last season off strong, recording 20 points at Cleveland State before going down with a season-ending injury at Central Connecticut State.
 
Despite playing in just six games last season, Clayton still garnered the respect from the rest of the conference as he was named Preseason All-MEAC coming into this season.
 
Steers Adds to Philly-Coppin Tradition
Freshman Justin Steers has come on strong as of light, averaging 8.3 points per game in the last seven games to lift his scoring average to 6.7 points for the season to rank third on the team.  This included a team-high 16 points and two blocks at Rider as well as a team-high ten points against UMBC.  Steers played just 17 minutes last game due to injury but put up 6 points, 3 rebounds and two steals.
 
Steers is one of two players from Philadelphia on the roster (Chad Andrews-Fulton) to join the likes of CSU legends Larry Stewart & Stephen Stewart as well as Antoine Brockington, Reggie Isaac, Terquin Mott and Tywain McKee. 
 
Council Honored by MEAC for Defensive Efforts
On December 4, 2018, Cedric Council was named the MEAC Co-Player of the Week.  In games at James Madison and against UMBC, Council averaged 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals while putting up 6.5 points per game.  Council swatted away four shots and swiped a pair of steals while scoring nine points in a loss to the Dukes.
 
Council's Block Party
In his first season at Coppin after transferring from Gordon State College in Georgia, Cedric Council proved to be one of the top shot blockers in the MEAC, averaging nearly one per game with a team-high 30.  No other Eagles player had more than 13 blocks in the year.  Council swatted away a season-high five blocks at Ohio University and had multiple blocks in five other games.

Andrews-Fulton 'The X-Factor'
Head Coach Juan Dixon calls Chad Andrews-Fulton the 'heart and soul of the team.'  Last season, the senior forward also proved to be an X-Factor in regards to the team's success.  For the season, Andrews-Fulton averaged 6.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, but in victories, put up 15.0 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting nearly 63% from the floor.
 
Sweet Lou, the Microwave
Of the team's five seniors/graduate students, only guard Lucian Brownlee has been at Coppin more than two years.  In fact, only him and redshirt sophomore Dejuan Clayton have been with the Eagles for two full seasons, and Clayton missed most of last year with an injury.  Brownlee has played in 100 games the last three-plus seasons, coming off the bench in each game to provide a scoring spark.  Brownlee averaged a career-high 4.9 points last season with a huge game against Bethune-Cookman where he went off for 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting and seven 3-pointers in only 23 minutes of playing time.  The coaching staff calls Brownlee 'The Microwave' due to his ability to score the ball rapidly in a short amount of time. With 32 games on the 2018-19 schedule including a MEAC Tournament game, should Brownlee play in each game, he will rank tied for fifth in games played at Coppin State with Taariq Cephas ('15) with 124 games.
 
Family Ties
Graduate student Kent Auslander is playing in his second season at Coppin after transferring in from the University of Maryland where he was a walk-on for two seasons, playing in nine games.  Auslander is the younger brother of John Auslander who is in his second season at the Eagles' Associate Head Coach.  The older Auslander was also a letterwinner at Maryland and saw action in 27 games in three seasons.
 
Playing Together Again
Freshmen Nigel Marshall and Ibn Williams are teammates once again, having played four years of high school ball together, in two different States.  For three seasons, the duo played under coach Bob Hurley at the famed St. Anthony's High School in Jersey City, N.J.  The school closed following the 2016-17 season, forcing Marshall and Williams to searching for a new home, which they found at Bishop McNamara High School. Both guards earned All-Conference accolades in the WCAC, which is arguably the toughest high school basketball conferences in the country.
 
Big Man on Campus
Standing seven-feet tall, freshman and Baltimore native Brendan Medley-Bacon will add a different dynamic to the Coppin lineup this season.  Medley-Bacon is the first seven-footer at Coppin since the 2004-05 season (Henry Colter) and just the third in CSU history.  Jason Iacona stood 7-1 and played at Coppin from 1997 to 2001.
 
From the Land Down Under
Freshman Giir Ring was born in Egypt but spent nearly all of his life in Sydney, Australia.  Ring played his prep school ball in Scottsdale, Arizona at Bella Vista College Preparatory School.  Ring is also the cousin on Minnesota Timberwolves forward Luol Deng.
 
Tuesdays on WNST 1570 AM
Every Tuesday morning during the season, head coach Juan Dixon and selected coaches and players will be interviewed by Nestor Aparicio on WNST 1570 AM. WNST will air all Coppin home men's and women's basketball games this season as well as selected road games. Games will also be aired on Fox Sports Williamsport
as well as CSU's UStream channel.
 
Preseason Prognostics
Coppin State was picked to finish 9th of 12 teams in the 2018-19 MEAC Preseason Poll. Lamar Morgan, who received 3rd Team All-MEAC honors last season, headlined the Preseason Second Team.  Dejuan Clayton, who missed nearly all of last season with an injury, earned Third Team accolades.  Bethune-Cookman was picked to win the MEAC, followed by defending Tournament Champions North Carolina Central, Norfolk State, Howard and North Carolina A&T.  RJ Cole of Howard University was named the Preseason MEAC Player of the Year.
 
Juan Dixon in 2nd Season as Head Coach
Coppin State University Director of Athletics Derek Carter announced on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 that Juan Dixon had been named the seventh head coach in Coppin State University men's basketball history. Dixon comes to Baltimore from the University of the District of Columbia, where he posted a 3-25 record in his only season with the Firebirds women's basketball team in 2016-17. Prior to UDC, Dixon served as the Special Assistant to the Head Coach on the Men's Basketball coaching staff at his alma mater, University of Maryland. One of the most celebrated student-athletes in Maryland history, Dixon remains the all-time leading scorer in program history (2,269 points) after leading the Terrapins to their first national title in 2002 as a senior. He holds six different records in program history, ranging from points, games played, steals and 3-pointers. The Most Outstanding Player of the 2002 NCAA Final Four and ACC Player of the Year, Dixon earned two All-America selections, three First Team All-ACC awards and two All-ACC Tournament selections throughout his illustrious career. He averaged 16.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 steals in 141 games from 1998-2002. Dixon was drafted with the 17th pick of the 2002 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards, where he spent three seasons. He signed with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2005, and he averaged a career-high 12.3 points during his first season with the team. After stops in Toronto and Detroit, Dixon wrapped up his nine-year NBA career with the Wizards in 2008-09.