GAME DAY: UMES @ Hampton - Starters (ESPNU)

UMES - Maroon uniform
00 - Obame Obame
3 - White
23 - Bradshaw
24 - Haley
32 - Hines

Hampton - White uniform
1 - Pellum
4 - Agbelese
5 - Tunnell
20 - Funches
32 - Morgan

I'm here... really, I am.

Wow, there is no way that it's been over two weeks since I last blogged - I feel horrible.  I've been crazy busy and of course when we're at home, I rarely get a chance to blog.  This past Saturday we were at Howard, but they didn't have wireless in the gym at all, so it was hard enough to load stats let alone blog!  I swear I'm going to try to update this more often.  Tyler talked to me the other day and he said he has a bunch of topics that he's going to write about, so I promise... we'll keep ya updated!

Tonight we're playing at Hampton... on ESPNU, make sure to check it out!!

Take A Kid to the Game 2011

Don't forget that this Saturday is the annual Take A Kid to the Game day!  There'll be a bouncy house, facepainting, caricatures, temporary tattoos, hot dogs/drinks, a poster making station, team autographs and MORE! Each child in attendance will also receive a free UMES prize.  Kids 12 and younger are FREE with a paid adult admission.

Click on the photo for more information.

(Oh, and all of this is FREE!)

Nike NCAA Campus Roar

 Help us win the Nike NCAA Campus Roar!  Submit a favorite UMES "roar" and see it made into a Nike t-shirt!

GAME DAY: UMES @ NCCU - Starters

UMES - Maroon uniforms
3 White
5 Bell
23 Bradshaw
24 Haley
32 Hines

NCCU - Gray uniforms
3 Clement
5 Leemow
12 Wilkerson
35 Chasten
42 Manns

TONIGHT'S GAME TIME CHANGED

Tonight's game at NCCU, originally scheduled for 7:30 p.m., has been moved up to 4 p.m. due to an impending winter storm.  For more information, please visit www.umeshawks.com or www.nccueaglepride.com.

North Carolina Central

 The concourse of the McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium had millions of black and white photos of former players in addition to the Alex Rivera Hall of Fame with trophies and more photos and different athletic gear.

I just noticed that I've been really bad with photos this trip, hopefully we can change that!

South Carolina State Photos

Just three photos from earlier...

Outside of the arena

Athletic trainer Randi Kaplan tapes Tyler Hines before the game

The guys stretch and warmup in the hallway

UMES @ South Carolina State - Starters

UMES - Maroon uniform
3 White
5 Bell
23 Bradshaw
24 Haley
32 Hines

South Carolina State - White uniform
1 Toombs
4 Porter
5 Sanders
12 Pitt
22 Bennett

Tip in about six minutes.

Travel/South Carolina State

It's been another long travel day for UMES basketball as we left the Hytche at approximately midnight.  After driving over eight hours, we landed at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. As a Midwest girl, I think I've only been to one maybe once or twice in my life, but I do know people who would have been super excited.  Once we sat at the table, Bret immediately reached for the Peg game.  The entire staff tried "winning." I was able to get it down to two pegs, Bret always got three and I'm not sure about the coaches.  It was just funny looking at their table and seeing all three of them just immersed in trying to figure it out.  The best part?  The little girl (probably about 4) at the table next to us definitely got it.  (Maybe she had help from her dad?)

After breakfast, we had a ton of hotel issues that had to be worked out.  Long story short, our whole travel party spent at least three hours in either the bus or one of the hotel meeting rooms.  I was so ready for just a bed and pillow!  Later in the afternoon we headed to practice at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center (Bret was extremely thankful that they call it the SHM!).

Coach Brown, who both played and coached at South Carolina State, told us the origins of the name... I was shocked.  Read more about it here.

Championship banners and an NCAA bid banner - both teams that Coach Brown was with

Athletic Trainer Randi Kaplan works to get Josh Bright back to health.

More Oklahoma photos

Just a few more last photos from our Oklahoma trip!

 The Lloyd Noble Center as we were pulling up for the game

 Ryan Minor - manager of the Delmarva Shorebirds

 Coach Nick Robinson goes over the scouting report before the game

 Dishawn Bradshaw, JoJo Swift, Freddy Obame Obame,  RJ Tucker, Tim Burns, Hillary Haley

 Coach Allen talks before the guys head out to the court

 Boomer (or Sooner?) Oklahoma had two identical mascots... Boomer and Sooner.  If you want to know the reason behind this, shoot me an email, it's quite interesting.

 National Anthem

 Captain's meeting

 Found this shirt at the airport.  Usually I feel like airports have all the same stuff (you know those yellow and green cowtipping shirts that can be found in Milwaukee, Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, everywhere!) but this shirt was quite unique and fun to read.

GAME DAY: UMES @ Oklahoma - Starters

UMES -Maroon uniform
3 White
11 Burns
23 Bradshaw
24 Haley
32 Hines

Oklahoma - White uniform
2 Pledger
4 Fitzgerald
14 Blair
21 Clark
34 Davis

Behind the Scenes!

As it seems everywhere we go, we are somehow linked to every single team we play.  Here the commonality comes in the fact that Coach Brown use to play for OU assistant coach Ben Betts at South Carolina State.  I've mentioned before to JB that I love the behind the scenes stuff at athletic facilities and seeing how different teams do things.  Long story short, he arranged for Coach Betts to give me a tour of the men's basketball portion of the Lloyd Noble Center.  Both the men's and women's basketball team are housed at the Noble Center and everything is just a mirror of the other side so everything is equal.

Many thanks and huge appreciation goes to Coach Betts for taking time out of his busy game day to do this for me!

 Men's practice gym

Sooners locker room, custom lockers form a U and can close to hide belongings.

A TV screen in the lockerroom provides daily information for the team.  Since it was game day, things such as shootaround, pre-game meal, tip time, etc. were shown.  It also had reminders on the bottom about upcoming travel games and community service.  This is a great feature that coaches can update on their computers.

 The other side of the lockerroom is a lounge for the players that included a refridgerator, sink, microwave, TV, computers, couches, games, etc.  It's definitely nicer than my apartment... when can I move in?

 There was a wall outside of the lockerroom with jerseys of former OU players who have made it to the NBA.  

Video room

Coaches' lounge... their lockerroom/lounge was similar to the player's but on a smaller scale.  My personal favorite was all the family photos hanging on the walls (I guess that's my female side coming out?)

Coach Betts also took me into their offices, but I didn't feel right taking pictures of their staff at work.  :-)  The lobby of their office was definitely nice and warm feeling however!

Thanks again Coach Betts!

Lloyd Noble Center - Photos

As the guys are in shootaround this morning, I decided to wander around a bit and take some photos.  Hope you enjoy them as much as I do/did!

  

Part of the OU weight room

More of the weight room

When we arrived, the lower part of the scoreboard was down to the court as they were testing something.  I joked that myself and trainer Randi Kaplan would be the only ones who would be able to play on this court since we could fit under it!

 How's this for nice plush courtside seating?

 There really didn't seem to be a bad seat in the house.  In person, you are a lot closer than this photo makes it seem (and this was the very last row, in the corner).

 The OU women's basketball team has been very successful in the past few years.  They had photos and trophies displayed in the concourse - photos from this area follow.

 Courtney Paris was a tremendous player for the Sooners.  Paris was drafted seventh overall in the 2009 WNBA Draft.

 The lobby of the Noble Center had a fun facts/history/game area.

 The "dots" are actually foot prints so you can see how you measure up to various Sooner athletes!

 Men's team photos and information in the concourse