GAME NOTES
BALTIMORE – Coppin State's men's basketball team opens the New Year as well as MEAC play when it hosts Savannah State on Saturday, January 5 at 4 pm. Fans can watch the game live on CoppinStateSports.com and listen to audio on WNST and Fox Sports Williamsport. Two days later, CSU will travel to play Delaware State in a 7:30 pm start.
The Basics
Teams: Coppin State (0-15) vs. Savannah State (3-11)
When: Saturday, January 5, 2019 | 4 pm
Where: Baltimore, Md. (PEC Arena)
Series History: Savannah State Leads, 6-1
Video: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/coppin-state-tube
Audio: https://radio.securenetsystems.net/v5/index.cfm?stationCallSign=CSU
Live Stats: https://coppinstatesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Teams: Coppin State (0-15) at Delaware State (3-10)
When: Monday, January 7, 2019 | 7:30 pm
Where: Dover, Del. (Memorial Hall)
Series History: Coppin State Leads, 46-25
Video: https://www.nmnathletics.com//flexReg/Register.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=12900&
Live Stats: http://www.dsuhornets.com/liveStats/v2/basketball/index.dbml?GAME_STAT_ID=3190787&db_oem_id=12900
Coppin Contributors
Coppin showcases a well-balanced scoring attack with seven players averaging over five points per game and ten players with over 10 minutes per game. Dejuan Clayton leads the Eagles with 10.2 points with Lamar Morgan right behind at 9.9 points. Playing well as of late all around the court has been Justin Steers who has raised his points average to 6.7. Cedric Council has received the last two MEAC Defensive Player of the Week awards and with 29 rebounds the last two games, now is tops on CSU with 5.6 boards per game. He also puts up 5.9 points and a block per game. Also vital to the rotation are Nigel Marshall (5.6 ppg), Taqwain Drummond (5.4 ppg), Chad Andrews-Fulton (5.2 ppg), Kent Auslander and Ibn Williams. Lucian Brownlee and Brendan Medley-Bacon could also see major minutes.
Scouting Savannah State
Saturday's game should feature a lot of 3-pointers as Savannah and Coppin rank 1-2, respectively in the MEAC in the category. 58.2% of the Tigers's shot come from distance and they've made 28.5% of them, helping them to 77.1 points per game. They do however allow opponents to make 37.3% of their shots and 100.1 points per game. Six players score over eight points per game with Jaquan Dotson (13.2), Zach Sellers (11.8) and Zaquavian Smith (10.0) leading the way. Dotson also leads the team in rebounding (6.4) while Sellers has dished out nearly five assists per game. Coppin will also need to be wary of Jahlin Smith (8.9), Collins Joseph (8.7) and Tyrell Harper (8.1) on the offensive end.
Inside the Hornets Nest
Delaware State lost its last two games on the road after defeating In-State rival Delaware, 73-71 on December 19. CSU Alums Eric Skeeters & Stephen Stewart are new at the helm of the Hornets program with Skeeters being the head coach after assisting UMBC to an NCAA Tournament upset over Virginia last season. Stewart is plastered all over the Coppin record books where he was a two-time MEAC Player of the Year. DSU is led by Kevin Larkin's 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Saleik Edwards also averages in double figures with 12.2 points. Pinky Wiley is the primary distributor with four assists per game and he can also score the rock with 8.6 points per night. Jonathan Mitchell (7.6), Fahim Jenneto (7.0) and Ameer Bennett (7.0) are also threats to score.
Last Time Out
Coppin nearly came away with a major upset as it suffered a heartbreaking, 63-56 loss at Notre Dame last Saturday. Dejuan Clayton led the Eagles in scoring with 15 points while Cedric Council had 12 points to go with a career-high 17 rebounds for his second career double-double. Coppin outshot Notre Dame, 36.1% to 33.9% and outrebounded the Irish, 48-37. The 33.9% shooting was a season-low by a CSU opponent. The Eagles held a 47-38 lead with 9:53 left in the game but Notre Dame closed it out with a 25-9 run. Lamar Morgan added eight points for the Eagles while Justin Steers tallied four points, five rebounds and three blocks in just 12 minutes. Brendan Medley-Bacon was a force on the boards with six rebounds in just seven minutes.
Brutal Non-Conference Schedule
Throughout the years, Coppin State has played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation, and this season is no exception. Playing teams from an NCAA-high ten different States, the Eagles played the second-toughest non-conference schedule according to the College Basketball Power Index (BPI). No other MEAC team ranks in the top 20 with Savannah State coming in at 24 as of December 19.
BPI Non-Conference Schedule Ranks
1. Texas Southern (9 States covered)
2. Coppin State (10 States covered)
3. Southern University (8 States covered)
4. North Florida (6 States Covered)
5. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8 States Covered)
This information was taken from ESPN article on December 17 "Why they do it: Toughest nonconference hoops schedules"
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 46 games 117 (2.5 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 7.8 points per game in the last ten games to lift his scoring average to 6.7 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 had another 13 points to go with a career-high seven rebounds at Louisiana Monroe.
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 3x by MEAC for Defensive Efforts
On December 4, 2018, Cedric Council was named the MEAC Co-Defensive 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.
Three weeks later, Council once again received the award after coming down with 9 points and 12 rebounds at #20 Houston on December 23. This past Wednesday, Council was a repeat winner after grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds at Notre Dame on December 29.
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 102 games the last three-plus seasons, coming off the bench in all but one game (December 23, 2018 at #20 Houston) 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.
Making His First Start
After coming off the bench in his first 101 career games at Coppin State, senior guard Lucian Brownlee made his first career start at 20th-ranked Houston on December 23, 2018. Playing in 19 minutes, Brownlee recorded a season-high eight points with a pair of 3-pointers and two rebounds.
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.
