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A break in play was anything but for Arkansas-Pine Bluff during Wednesday's 83-64 loss to No. 19 Iowa State.
Early into the second half, Golden Lions head coach Solomon Bozeman called a timeout and made his players run from baseline to baseline before returning to the bench:
If Bozeman wanted to send a message to his team, then it may not have resonated. Arkansas-Pine Bluff trailed by 20 points, 44-24, when the timeout was called and did little to eat into the deficit for the remainder of the game.
When your team is en route to an eighth loss in nine games, sometimes drastic steps are required. Mid-game wind sprints may not be the most sensible strategy to deploy, though.
Shaqir O'Neal, the 18-year-old son of Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, has committed to play college basketball at Texas Southern.
He announced his decision in an Instagram post Friday.
"You can expect a lot of buckets," O'Neal said in an interview with Overtime (h/t ESPN's Myron Medcalf). "I'm trying to get to the league."
O'Neal also said he picked Texas Southern because he wants to help "change the narrative" about high-profile athletes pursuing a future at historically Black colleges and universities.
Shaqir's older brother Shareef is currently enrolled at LSU after spending two seasons at UCLA. He averaged 2.8 points and 4.4 rebounds in 10 games during the 2020-21 campaign.
A 6'5" shooting guard, O'Neal is graduating from Union Grove High School this spring. He's rated as a 3-star prospect and No. 55 player at his position in the 2021 recruiting class, per 247Sports composite rankings.
The Tigers currently compete in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Head coach Johnny Jones has gone 57-39 in his first three seasons with the program.
Texas Southern made the NCAA men's basketball tournament as a No. 16 seed this season after winning the SWAC tournament. It defeated Mount St. Mary's in the First Four game before losing to No. 1 seed Michigan.
Alabama State University named former NBA All-Star Mo Williams as its new head basketball coach Tuesday.
"We are excited about the direction of our men's basketball program as we moved forward into this new era," athletic director Jennifer Lynne Williams said in a statement. "Mo Williams checked the boxes that we were looking for in the next head coach of Alabama State men's basketball, and his passion and leadership speak volumes. He is no stranger to the South, having played high school basketball in Mississippi and college basketball in Alabama.
"I want to thank the (members of selection) committee for all of their hard work during this process, as they vetted many qualified applicants for the position. Over the last few weeks and during this national pandemic, they took time away from their daily schedules to find the right fit for Alabama State men's basketball."
Williams has been an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge since 2018. Northridge has gone 28-38 during Williams' tenure under Mark Gottfried, who coached him while he was at Alabama.
"It's a great day to be a Hornet," Williams said. "I am extremely excited to become part of the family, and I am looking forward to the challenge. Go Hornets!"
Alabama State went 8-24 in 2019-20, leading to the resignation of longtime coach Lewis Jackson. He led the program to two NCAA tournament berths in 15 seasons but had not posted a winning record since 2014-15.
Williams will be taking over the program at an uncertain time, given the coronavirus pandemic's threat to the upcoming college basketball season. College commissioners have said they will not resume sports until it is safe for the student body to return to campuses. It's unclear if it will be deemed safe to congregate thousands of students in a confined area until there is a vaccine, which is not expected until 2021.
A virtual press conference will be held next week to formally introduce Williams.
