DSU's MEAC Tournament Preview

Well, well Hornet fans here we are at the 2012 MEAC Tournament from The Joel in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Sadly this will be the final year that Winston-Salem will host the MEAC Tournament because last month the MEAC Conference announced that the tournament will be held in Norfolk, Virginia next year through 2015.

Now, on to this week, starting tonight, the Delaware State Lady Hornets basketball team will play in the 1st round game versus the same team they beat last Thursday in a buzzer-beater wire to wire victory: South Carolina State University. I can tell South Carolina State is still fuming from their lost last week and will do what ever they can get their payback.

As for the lady hornets they are entering the MEAC riding a two game winning streak and looking to go for third straight win. If the lady hornets want to move on to the quarterfinals versus Howard, they will have make very good offensive plays especially when the shot clock is running down. Limit their turnovers because they make double-digit turnovers in almost every game win or lose, bring their defensive pressure to another level without fouling, and of course rebound, rebound rebound.

On to the Hornets men's basketball team, their quarterfinal game will not be until Thursday night. The #3 seed Hornets is probability still stinging from last Monday's bizarre controversial lost at the hands of Morgan State. They wish they were they were either the #2 seed or #1 seed if it wasn't for a technical foul that was called against the fans, the Hornets would stay in the race with one game left.

However, after last Thursday's win versus South Carolina State, coach Greg Jackson Sr. notices something was wrong with this picture, the Hornets were playing lazy on defense and not rebounding the ball because the Bulldogs made offensive rebounds and scoring second chance points. That is something that coach Jackson does not want to see happen in the MEAC Tournament. DSU will play their quarerfinal versus either Coppin State or Florida A&M Thursday night. I will like to see the Hornets play Florida A&M, because Coppin State is very good this season at three point shooting. Also remember back on February 11, the Hornets were down by double digits before Marques Oliver's game winning three point play help the Hornets win at the buzzer in Baltimore.

The key plays for DSU is similar to the lady hornets, limit their turnovers, make very good offensive plays with the shot clock running down, score points in the paint, cut down on the three point shots, plays very good defense without fouling, make your free throws, and rebound, rebound rebound. I don't know why I kept saying rebound like I'm a cheerleader but its the truth.

Also one more key play for both the DSU men's and women's basketball teams: will their bench production be enough to win the tournament? There's only way to find out and it begins tonight. Good luck to the Delaware State men's and women's basketball team in the MEAC Tournament. Let the madness begin. HORNETS!!!

Winning at the Right Time; Refuse to Quit

Even though the Hornets eight game winning streak came to an end on Saturday night at the hands of Gardner-Webb, the Delaware State men's basketball team is maturing and hitting all the right notes.

After suffering back to back heartbreaking defeats at the hands of University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Bethune-Cookman at home back in January, DSU were saying to themselves enough is enough.

DSU broke a eight game losing streak by beating Florida A&M at home by 14 on January 23rd, and since then the wins kept piling up:

-defeated North Carolina Central by 6 in their only meeting of the season

-held North Carolina A&T to one field goal over the final 13 minutes to win by 13 points in front a tough crowd of The Dawg Pound

-Hornets made a big statement at home vs 1st place Norfolk State without starters Tahj Tate and Kendall Gray due to injuries by winning by 17 points and kept MEAC pre-season player of the year Kyle O'Quinn in check

-DSU made another big statement by defeating the MEAC Tournament champion Hampton in a rivalry game building momentum for their five game road trip

The road trip was full of comebacks, defense, and fantastic finishes at the buzzer:

-Down 12 points to Coppin State with 4:57 left in the 2nd half, Delaware State went on a furious rally, by going a 13-3 run including a poster dunk by Tahj Tate and a game winning three point play (layup & free throw) by Marcus Oliver to complete the comeback leaving the Golden Eagle crowd stunned

-Down 11 points to Morgan State with under 10 minutes left DSU went on a 12-2 run to cut the lead the lead to one point. Then Marcus Oliver delivers again with the game winning tip shot at the buzzer leaving Bears fans crowd stunned

-Norfolk State was en route to winning the game at home but the Hornets stay in the game throughout the 2nd half. In the final seconds, Tyshawn Bell game winning three point shot was misfired until Tate's game tying put back forced overtime. During that overtime period, DSU outscored Norfolk State 14-4 to win the game by 10 points.

Coach Greg Jackson Sr. and his coaching staff is proud of his for their maturely and their defensive pressure since January. Still the Hornets have a long way to go in the regular season and heading into the MEAC Tournament come March 6th. The Hornets are playing with passion, pride, and giving MEAC teams a fight on every given night with chemistry.

Delaware State really miss Kendall Gray due to a knee injury and hoping he will be back for the MEAC Tournament. In the meantime Delaware State needs to fix some things as they start a new winning streak, start the game strong and finish strong, make your free throws down the stretch, and rebound, rebound, rebound.

Also DSU's main guys of Jay Threatt, Casey Walker, Oliver, Tate, James Marcellus, and Tyshawn Bell were playing a lot of minutes during their winning streak. That can only mean one thing, the bench production needs to step up in a huge because if not they will be in a lot of trouble.

The Free Fall Continues for the Lady Hornets

From 2003-2009 the Delaware State Lady Hornets basketball team were the team to watch in the MEAC Conference. Their defense made their MEAC opponents look silly on offense by forcing a lot a turnovers, missing shots left and right, and even made some of the players and coaches lose focus on the task at hand. Plus they finds ways to win games on offense almost every season including winning the 2007 MEAC Tournament Championship.

That was then, ever since 2009-2010 basketball season, the lady hornets team are trying to find an identity of who they are. Injuries, lack of offense, bad defense, losing good players, and trying to function at the wrong time  have lead to some very bad losses. Everytime the lady hornets dig a big hole, they can't seem to get out of no matter how hard they try.

Make no mistake Ed Davis and his coaching staff have good players but they don't a winning attitude about how chemistry works. If a team can't step up you will end up losing games in the worst way. Speaking of the worst way the lady hornets are almost dead last in the MEAC Conference standing through February 12. The lady hornets was not won a home game since December 11th when they rallied to beat St. Francis. Even though the lady Hornets won a road game vs. North Carolina Central back on January 28th, the lady hornets has lost 12 of their 13 games. They have made bad records this season on their shooting, turnovers, allowing more opponents points.


As the free fall continues, the frustrations just keeps on growing on the entire team. Makes me wonder, have they giving up on themselves? I don't think but they need to learn the Ed Davis system because trust me if they keep playing with no energy for the rest of this year and next season, then I don't know what the lady hornets will become five to 10 years from now if they don't know how to wake up.

Sorry for the Delay

Hey Hornet fans, its me Clarence Varnado (DSU Class of 2009). As you can tell I'm in a blog funk due to my computer being on the fritz since October 2011. None the less, my computer is fixed and ready to go. I will continue to write more Hornet blogs this year than ever before as I continue to bring you Delaware State Hornets Sports. As you can tell we have two new women's sports, Golf and Lacrosse, also we a successful recruitment during National Signing Day back on Wednesday, followed by Lady Hornets bowling and Equestrian continuing to maintain success this year. Last but not least, we have a new Hornet Mascot last month, his name is Too Fly. He will bring joy and excitement to any Delaware State event on campus. That's all for me right for right now but I do have more blogs on the way all year long so fasten your seat belts we are in for great 2K12. HORNETS!!!

A Nightmarish Road Trip

This is one nightmare that the Delaware State Hornets football team would like to forget. They went from 2-0 to losing three straight games to fall to 2-3 and it could get a whole lot worse if the Hornets don't find the answers and produce a decent season.

Lets face it, the Hornets were playing against three very tough schools, two MEAC Champions (South Carolina State and Florida A&M) and a NCAA National Champion runner up (University of Delaware). I was hoping DSU will give these schools a fight, instead these three school treated DSU like pushovers and made their victories into blow out laughers.

These stats made my eyes hurt so bad, that I had to drink some Vitamin A carrot juice just to realize what just happened. The Hornets were getting outscored by their opponents 148-7 and offense were just making too many mistakes making over 10 turnovers during that grueling road trip. Also injuries to the offensive line played a key part in a Hornets offensive woes including Jasshawn Jones not rushing for 100 yards yet this season, and without Justin Wilson, the rest of the wide receivers are forced to step and make plays but short passes and slants will not help the Hornets make scoring drives.

The defense once again were on the field for a long time, not to mention leaving huge gaps for their opponents to make 1st downs, gained a chunk of yards leading them to scoring points left and right. Also there was lack of communication in the secondary that needs to be fixed and now there is a huge gap in the linebacker position as Matt Spicer is out for the season due to a knee injury.

Head Coach Kermitt Blount knows that the Hornets are battered and bruise but they have to correct the mistakes quickly because they will take on 1st place Norfolk State later today at home. I will say this, if the Hornets don't find a way to get out of a funk, score touchdowns, make the right plays, and win games then they will be in for a long season. Also the nightmare of misery and another losing season will be lurking around the corner, but for this Hornets team, its a learning tool to live on.

Lady Hornets Can't Seem To Catch A Break

Two months has come and gone and so far the Delaware State Lady Hornets soccer team continued to find ways to lose games this season just like last season. No matter how hard they tried, how hard they play, the lady hornets soccer team can't seem to get that losing monkey off their backs.

For DSU head coach Nitan Soni, he is doing all he can to get the lady hornets to stay positive because they improve well on defense unlike last season, however on offense its a different story. The Hornets offense are getting outplayed by not putting enough shots on goal. In fact opponents have out shot DSU by a average of 17-8 per game, shutout five times, and has good chances to scored but couldn't. No wonder DSU has one win, 11 losses, and two ties this season.

There were some bright spots for DSU: The lady hornets scored 12 goals during their 12-0 victory over Lincoln University on back on September 10th. The most goals scored since September 16, 2007 versus Concordia University when the lady hornets scored eight. Also, goalkeeper Katelyn Koslosky is fifth in the nation in the saves category with a score of 78.0.

With four games left, I'm afraid that the coach Soni era may soon come to an end if the lady hornets don't find a way to win these final four games on offense including the Great West tournament.

One thing I will say is this, the lady hornets are improving on defense but if you don't win games on offense then you will have consecutive losing seasons since 2007 and that's something any hornet fan and Athletic Director Derek Carter don't want to see.

Blue Hens Gave Hornets a Reality Check

Last night, the Delaware State Hornets football team were ready to play the University of Delaware and hoping to give the Blue Hens a fight just like their first regular season meeting back in 2009. Instead, the Blue Hens were playing like it was November 2007 in a 45-0 victory over DSU.

All week long everyone thought that the Hornets and the Blue Hens will play a close game, however UD proved to DSU that they have a lot of work to do to be on UD's level.

Last night UD were heading into the game ranked #8 in the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) Rankings came right out the gates and showed the Hornets no mercy whats so ever.

DSU were out the sync from the start. The offense wasn't clicking all night because Justin Wilson wasn't playing due to a bad ankle, Darruis Jackson, Travis Tarplay was a non-factor, the running game from Jasshawn Jones was held to nine yards rushing the entire game and Nick Elko making two of the Hornets three turnovers. Also the defense were getting gunned down all over the field giving over 500+ yards, almost half of those yards involved the running game played by UD's running backs Walter Davis (109 yards rushing) and Andrew Pierce (106 yards rushing). Not to mention taking the DSU crowd out of the game.

As I watch the game while the Blue Hens were piling up the points, it almost felt like the playoff game of November 2007 when Joe Flacco, Omar Cuff, and the rest of the Blue Hens ran DSU out of the building in the Al Lavan era. Last night was similar only DSU did not scored a touchdown.

I thought the Hornets were ready to play the Blue Hens, instead they played slow couldn't pressure the quarterback, creating hole in their run defense, miscommunication in the secondary, and the offense couldn't even get pass their own 40 yard line let alone the UD 40 yard. Also the special teams couldn't return their kicks pass their own 20 yard to start their drive.

The Hornets will learned from this game and say to themselves that they have a long way to go in order to get on UD's playing level. They will meet again next year and 2013. For head coach Kermmit Blount it will be a good experience and teach the Hornets the problems they will have to solve throughout the rest of the season. After all the Hornets are still trying to forget the three straight losing seasons full of frustration and adversary.

As for the now UD, has turned DSU from contenders to pretenders for their 1st lost of the season.