GAME NOTES
BALTIMORE – Coppin State's men's basketball team will the road for a pair of games prior to the Christmas holiday as they take on Louisiana-Monroe on Friday, December 21 before facing 20
th-ranked Houston Sunday, December 23. Tipoff against the Warhawks is set for 8 pm with the clash with the Cougars goes off at 4 pm.
The Basics
Teams: Coppin State (0-12) at Louisiana Monroe (5-4)
Date & Time: Friday, December 21, 2018 | 8:00 PM
Location: Monroe, Louisiana (Fant-Ewing Coliseum)
Series History: ULM Leads, 1-0
Live Stats: https://ulmwarhawks.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Video: https://ulmwarhawks.com/watch/?Live=1130&type=Live
Audio: http://streamdb3web.securenetsystems.net/v5/KLIP&playSessionID=22EC81A9-FA63-154E-219B233DB24B788B&launchFrom=stick
Teams: Coppin State at #20 Houston Cougars (10-0)
Date & Time: Sunday, December 23, 2018 | 4 PM
Location: Houston, Texas (Fertitta Center)
Series History: First Meeting
Live Stats: https://uhcougars.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Video: https://uhcougars.com/watch/?Live=78&type=Live
Audio: https://uhcougars.com/watch/?Live=90&type=Live
Coppin Contributors
The backcourt duo of
Dejuan Clayton and
Lamar Morgan lead the team in scoring at 10.1 and 9.8 points per game, respectively, while followed up by a pair of freshmen in
Nigel Marshall (6.5) and
Justin Steers (6.4).
Cedric Council and
Chad Andrews-Fulton both put up just five points while ranking as the team's top rebounders. Council has also been a solid shot blocker with a team-high 14 blocks. Also playing consistent minutes in the rotation have been
Taqwain Drummond,
Ibn Williams,
Kent Auslander, Lucian Brownlee and
Brendan Medley-Bacon.
Last Time Out
Coppin grabbed a season-high 40 rebounds but it could not capitalize on the extra opportunities as it fell at UNC Greensboro, 77-54. Despite pulling down 15 offensive rebounds, the Eagles managed just seven second-chance points while shooting 32.8% from the field while the Spartans made 49.1% of their shots and 9-of-21 (42.9%) from 3-point range.
Dejuan Clayton led CSU with 11 points while
Chad Andrews-Fulton and
Lamar Morgan added eight points apiece. Andrews-Fulton led all players with a career-high 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Taqwain Drummond chipped in with seven points and a career-high eight rebounds.
Scouting the Warhawks
ULM is coming off a back-to-back wins over Grambling and Stephen F. Austin and will host Nicholls State tonight before hosting Coppin on Friday. Michael Ertel (21 points) and JD Williams (19 points) combined for 40 points in a win over SFA over the weekend while Daishon Smith also finished in double figures with 14 points and seven assists. Williams also had a team-high nine rebounds with Travis Munnings adding 8 points and four assists. Tyree White was also a factor on the glass with eight rebounds. Smith leads the team with 17.0 points per game while Munnings, Ertel and Williams putting up nearly 14, 13 and 12 points each. Andre Washington is the leading rebounder with just over seven per night.
A Look at #20 Houston
The Cougars have won 10-straight games to open the season and are ranked 20th in the Coaches Poll and sit 21st in the AP Poll. They host Utah State Thursday night just prior to their matchup with CSU Sunday afternoon. Armoni Brooks and Corey Davis average 15.8 and 15.7 points, respectively and both have been impressive from 3-point range. Brooks is also tops on the team with 7.2 rebounds per game. Also averaging double figures is Galen Robinson at 10.1 and he also dishes out nearly six assists per game with Davis going for nearly four per contest. Cedric Alley and Nate Hinton are also major threats to score the rock while Breaon Brady has made 70.7% of his field goals to go with 5.3 rebounds. Coppin will also need to be aware of Brison Greshman with his 5.5 rebounds and two blocked shots per game.
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 43 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 7.7 points per game in the last eight games to lift his scoring average to 6.4 points for the season to rank fourth 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 101 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.
