10A • Daily Corinthian
Local schedule Today Basketball Thrasher @ Central, 6 (WXRZ) Biggersville @ Pine Grove, 6 Walnut @ Middleton, 6 Monday, Feb. 10 Basketball Bruce @ Central, 6 Tuesday, Feb. 11 Basketball Corinth @ Biggersville, 6 (WXRZ) Central @ Walnut, 6 Kossuth @ West Union, 6 Friday, Feb. 14 Basketball Tish Co. @ Biggersville, 6 Corinth @ Tupelo, 6 (WXRZ) Kossuth @ New Site, 6 Walnut @ Falkner, 6
Ole Miss releases signee Law of Florida
Sports
Friday, February 7, 2014
NE inks 35 on National Signing Day BY BLAKE D. LONG NEMCC Sports Information
BOONEVILLE — Ricky Smither bolstered his Northeast Mississippi Community College football team both on and off the field of competition with a tremendous class of young men that will take the field at Tiger Stadium this fall. Smither, who enters his seventh season as headman of the Tigers, inked 34 young men from across the South during the 2014 National Signing Day on Wednesday. “We’re really, really ecstatic about the guys we have that are signed,” Smither said. “I’m just really proud of the effort our staff has put out. Those
guys have done a tremendous job. We wanted to improve the integrity of the program so we got out and recruited some guys that are competing in the classroom as well.” Twenty-two high schools, 11 Mississippi counties and two other states were represented in this year’s signing class overall.
Local NE signees Jacob Meeks brings a powerful leg to the special teams lineup at Northeast. Meeks attended the 2013 College-Prep Showcase from December 7-8 after a stellar senior season for coach Brian Kelly at Kossuth High School and hit field
goals at that event from as long as 55 yards out. He was a MHSAA Class 3A secondteam All-State selection at place kicker by the MAC as a senior. Zane Lott will remain in his hometown after playing his prep ball at Tiger Stadium for coach Mike Mattox and the Booneville Blue Devils. In a predominantly run-heavy offense, Lott caught 11 passes for 121 yards, an average of 11 yards each reception, with one touchdown. He also added 31 tackles, two sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery for the MHSAA Division 1, Class 3A runner-up Blue Devils. Brannon Gamble put to-
gether a wonderful final campaign with the Tishomingo County Braves and coach Lanny Jones. The Iuka product averaged a whooping 21.7 yards per catch and totaled 758 yards and seven touchdowns. He also added 31 tackles as a two-way player.
Other Tiger Signees Darrion Abston, Olive Branch Anthony Amos, Horn Lake Donta Armstrong, Bruce Andrew Ashe, Pontotoc Tadarous Clinton, Rosa Fort Warren DeWalt, Olive Please see TIGERS | 11A
High expectations come with UT class Associated Press
Associated Press
D.J. Law, the high school football prospect from Florida who submitted signed national letters of intent to Utah and Mississippi, has been released from his obligation to Ole Miss. Rebels coach Hugh Freeze says the school’s compliance department is cooperating with the national letter of intent office and is “completely certain no wrongdoing occurred by our coaching or compliance staff.” A Utah spokeswoman says the school also was working with the NLI office. Freeze says after speaking with Law and his family, Ole Miss is releasing Law from his letter of intent. Law had publicly announced Wednesday that he planned to attend Utah, but both schools received signed letters of intent from him. The 5-foot-11, 186-pound Law is listed as an athlete by Rivals and a three-star prospect. Photo by Joel Counce
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee coach Butch Jones has shown that he can compete with the top Southeastern Conference programs on the recruiting trail. Now he just needs to turn the Volunteers into a winner on the field as well. One day after signing what was rated as a top-five class by multiple recruiting services, Jones understands much will be expected of this group. That much was evident Thursday as Jones spoke at recruiting celebrations in packed hotel ballrooms at Memphis and Nashville before accepting an award later in the day from the Tennessee Press Association as the state’s headliner of the year, given to the person or group who has generated the most positive news within the state over the previous year. Jones appreciates the way this recruiting class has excited a fan base that has endured
four consecutive losing seasons, something Tennessee hadn’t experienced since 1903-06. But he also is preaching patience. “This is a very, very good class, but everything is up to their personal growth and development,” Jones said. “These are 17- to 18-year-old individuals. Everyone’s going to develop differently at their own pace. We’ll be extremely, extremely young next year, but also very talented.” They’ll certainly be more talented after adding a class that was ranked fourth nationally by Scout and fifth by Rivals. Tennessee added two players - wide receiver Josh Malone and running back Jalen Hurd - who were rated as fivestar prospects by at least one recruiting service. Their class also includes 16 other players who were labeled as four-star prospects by multiple services.
Aggie Action 34 sign to play football Second half carries Texas A&M past Bulldogs at ICC Kossuth’s T.J. Essary (23) takes a knee to the face during the Aggies’ 85-56 win over Mantachie last Friday. Kossuth travels to West Union tonight for a twinbill.
BY ADAM GORE
Associated Press
LetsGoICC.com
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M, in citing a “sense of urgency” the Aggies said they repeated in every huddle, snapped a five-game losing streak with a 72-52 victory over Mississippi State on Wednesday night before 4,626 fans in Reed Arena. Jamal Jones led the Aggies with 20 points and fellow forward Kourtney Roberson followed with 14. The Aggies (13-9, 4-5 SEC) and Bulldogs (13-9, 3-6 SEC) had lost eight consecutive games between them entering the contest, and A&M avenged an 81-72 overtime loss in Starkville, Miss., on Jan. 18 that kicked off the Aggies’ losing streak.
FULTON — Fresh off their first playoff appearance in six years, Coach Jon Williams and the ICC football team welcomed 34 newcomers to the program on the first official day of the spring signing period. “We feel really strong about the class we signed,” said Williams. “We looked for a guy that is a great football player, a guy that wanted to be the best student he could be, a guy that was striving to be a better person, but most of all we looked for a guy that would be a valued family member. I believe we found that with this class and we are certainly excited about this summer.” JCGridiron’s top-rated defensive back Darius White (Grenada) and five of his teammates from the 2013 ICC football team signed to continue their football careers bringing the total to 19 players moving on to the next level. Name, Pos, High School D’Andre Belton, QB/ATH, Fairfield Central (SC) EJ Bounds, ATH, Water Valley Pierre Byrd, OL, Meridian RJ Clerk, ATH, NW Rankin RT Clerk, WR, NW Rankin Antonio Clifton, DB, Tupelo Greg Collins, TE, Leake Central Murphy Daniel, TE, North Pontotoc Bobby Dudley, OL, Scott County Tyler Floyd, OL, Booneville Ladarius Gallion, DL, West Point DeVonta Gates, RB, Baldwyn Kwadra Griggs, QB, Greenwood Ryan Golden, WR, Lake Cormorant James Hervey, DL, Calhoun City Kendarius Hibbler, DB, Rosa Fort Tyler Hood, RB, Smithville Reginald Hopson, OL, NE Lauderdale Jesse Hosket, QB, French Camp Eric Hunt, LB , Noxubee County Please see SIGNEES | 11A
“We’ve been talking about a sense of urgency in the past three days,” said A&M guard Alex Caruso, who tallied a game-high 10 assists. “Even with 3 minutes left and we were up by 15, we were saying, ‘Let’s have a sense of urgency.’” MSU, in playing its first game in history in College Station, traded leads with A&M until early in the second half, when the Aggies pulled away thanks to a relentless 16-0 run. A&M’s defense held the Bulldogs scoreless for more than 10 minutes in that stretch - from the 16:26 mark (36-35) to 6:08 (52-37). “I was really disappointed with our effort,” said Bulldogs
coach Rick Ray, whose program owns a 14-game road losing streak (including six this year) dating to last season. “I thought we had as bad a first half as we’ve had all season, but I was still optimistic, because as bad as we played it was still a tie ballgame (at 2626). “Then we played even worse in the second half. We’ve got to figure out where our competitive spirit is, especially on the defensive end, if we want to win ballgames.” The Aggies shot poorly from the 3-point line early (1 of 12 in the first half but 6 of 18 overall), but pulled away late by outscoring the Bulldogs 40-14 in the paint and 22-1 in
Please see VOLS | 11A
points off turnovers. “We finished around the basket, got some open 3-pointers and we made them, and we shared the ball,” said coach Billy Kennedy, who’s trying to lead the Aggies into the postseason for the first time in his three seasons. “We competed at a high level, and we haven’t done that the last couple of games. We got better.” The game’s highlight occurred when A&M freshman Davonte Fitzgerald blocked a fast-break layup attempt by Fred Thomas that prompted a roar from the sparse crowd more than midway through the second half, with A&M Please see BULLDOGS | 11A
Van Gundy: Some teams choosing to be bad Associated Press
The NBA’s Eastern Conference is awful — and it only appears to be getting worse, particularly at the bottom of the standings. The shortage of quality teams in the East has left the door open for mediocre squads to earn playoff berths. Only four teams in the conference have winning records. NBA analyst and former head coach Jeff Van Gundy said Thursday, “Some teams have made a conscious choice to be bad.” Van Gundy is talking about tanking games — and he believes it’s prevalent in the Eastern Conference this season. Overall, the East is 94-177 vs. the West entering Thursday night’s games. He wouldn’t say which teams he believes aren’t giving it their all in an effort to better
position themselves for a good pick in what looks to be a loaded 2014 NBA draft, but he said the problem is real. “It doesn’t necessarily mean the guys on the floor aren’t trying hard, but it means teams have put some really bad rosters on the floor,” Van Gundy said. “A lot of teams right now are happy with losing and that’s really too bad for the league. That’s too bad for the fans.” Especially for fans of teams that can’t make the playoffs in the East. If mediocre, or even sub-par, gets a team in the East into the postseason — that doesn’t say much about Detroit, New York, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Orlando and Milwaukee. They are currently bringing up the rear in the East. None of the teams have won 20 games and the All-Star break is next weekend.
Cleveland couldn’t even beat the Lakers on Wednesday night, even though Los Angeles was down to just four eligible players with 3:36 left in the game. On Thursday, the Cavaliers fired general manager Chris Grant. “I’ve never seen the discrepancy (in talent) like it is in the East,” Van Gundy said. “It’s as bad as it gets.” Van Gundy said the lottery system is part of the problem and needs to be changed. “What was set up to be a good thing is now being abused,” Van Gundy said. “You never want to give an incentive to losing in any sport.” LOST IN TRANSITION: Boston, Orlando and Philadelphia are among the teams in the midst of major rebuilding projects. Some, like the Celtics, have purposely taken on huge contracts this season in
hopes of clearing salary cap space for the future and adding draft picks in the process. The Magic, for instance, made no bones about the idea they were going to play young guys like rookie Victor Oladipo and allow them to develop. The same goes for the 76ers, who handed to reigns of the offense to Michael Carter-Williams. TALENT DEFICIENCIES: It’s hard to reach the playoffs or be a major factor when facing the Miami Heat with unproven starting lineups. In Philadelphia, the 76ers start Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young, Spencer Hawes, James Anderson and CarterWilliams. Philadelphia’s best player off the bench is either Tony Wroten or Lavoy Allen. But Philadelphia’s lineup is not dissimilar to the challenge other teams in the conference cellar face.