HBCU
Morgan Coaching Job Still Open and Attractive
THE AFRO — One of the nation’s top recruiters on Mark Turgeon’s bench was one of the first interviews for the Morgan State basketball job, sources tell the AFRO. University of Maryland assistant coach Kevin Broadus interviewed for the Bears coaching vacancy after the University decided not to renew Todd Bozeman’s contract.
By Mark F. Gray
One of the nation’s top recruiters on Mark Turgeon’s bench was one of the first interviews for the Morgan State basketball job, sources tell the AFRO. University of Maryland assistant coach Kevin Broadus interviewed for the Bears coaching vacancy after the University decided not to renew Todd Bozeman’s contract.
Broadus, who is rated as one of the 10 best recruiters in America, interviewed for the job prior to the Final Four according to an AFRO source. After meeting with athletic director Ed Scott and President David Wilson, there seems to be “mutual interest” if financial terms can be reached. He would seem to be a perfect fit at the northeast Baltimore school since Morgan needs to improve its talent base and rebuild its ties with AAU programs on either side of the parkway.
Morgan has struggled in recent years because they haven’t been able to successfully recruit the D.M.V. region, which was key to their run of contention during the mid-2000’s. Broadus has ties with all of the major programs and maintains solid relationships from his days recruiting for Georgetown. He was a member of John Thompson III staff that went to the Final Four in 2007 and has also been a vital cog helping the Terps consistently rank in the top 20 nationally in recruiting. He was instrumental in helping sign local players such as Anthony Cowan and Bruno Fernando.
Broadus led Binghamton University to an America East championship and NCAA appearance in 2009. He understands HBCU sports culture after playing a season at Grambling before finishing his Hall of Fame career at Bowie State.
Broadus would appear to be the perfect candidate for the job, although he will basically have to start from scratch.
This article originally appeared in The Afro.
Community
Salesian Coach Knew Angel Jackson Could Play in WNBA
Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson. “If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said. That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.
The Richmond Standard
Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson.
“If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said.
That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.
Jackson’s success came as little surprise to Pezzola, who last year led the Pride to their 8th North Coast Section championship since he took over the program in 2008-2009. In 2019, Pezzola commended Jackson as “a very coachable kid” from the time she arrived at Salesian.
Tomekia Reed, her coach at Jackson State, shared similar sentiments, noting Jackson worked “very hard” to reach this moment.
“She came into our program doing great things and never looked back,” Reed told the Clarion Ledger. “She has trusted our leadership as we were able to develop her into an amazing player. I have watched her improve tremendously over the years.”
The 6’-6” Jackson played three seasons at the University of Southern California before transferring to Jackson State. She was ranked 10th in the NCAA in blocked shots and averaged 10 points per game in her final college season.
She finished her collegiate career with 1,047 points and was twice named Southwestern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
As the 36th pick, Jackson was the final pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. In a television interview, Jackson said she didn’t expect to be picked, and called the moment “surreal.”
“It made me feel so appreciative that HBCU is getting back on the map again,” she said.
All she could do in that moment was cry.
“I called my mom immediately, and she started crying,” Jackson said. “It was the best moment you can feel as a young lady.”
There’s no stopping Jackson now. “The sky is the limit,” she said.
Her high school coach agrees.
“I knew that Angel could do it,” Coach Pezzola told the Richmond Standard this week. “We are so proud of Angel and what she has accomplished. It was an honor and joy to coach Angel at Salesian.”
Community
Laphonza Butler Becomes California’s Newest U.S. Senator
Two days after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that Laphonza Butler would fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late Dianne Feinstein, the new senator was sworn in on Capitol Hill by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
Replacing the Late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Butler Becomes the 3rd Black Woman to Serve in Upper Chamber
By Lauren Victoria Burke,
NNPA Newswire contributor
Two days after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that Laphonza Butler would fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late Dianne Feinstein, the new senator was sworn in on Capitol Hill by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
Flanked by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and California Sen. Alex Padilla as she took the oath, Butler than received a round of applause by senators of both parties.
After the swearing-in, President Joe Biden called Butler to congratulate her, the White House said.
“I am honored to accept Gov. Newsom’s nomination to be a U.S. Senator for a state I have long called home,” Butler said in a statement Monday. “I am humbled by the Governor’s trust. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s leadership and legacy are immeasurable. I will do my best to honor her by devoting my time and energy to serving the people of California and the people of this great nation.”
She will be the third Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, preceded by Illinois’s Carol Mosely Braun, and current V.P. Kamala Harris. Butler is also the first openly lesbian Black U.S. senator: Her wife, Neneki Lee, held the Bible during Butler’s swearing-in.
Since 2021, Butler has been serving as the president of EMILY’s List. The fundraising platform supports and funds women candidates and amplifies issues that disproportionately impact women.
Before that she was involved in labor organizing, elected president of California’s largest union, Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
“As the president of SEIU 2015, Laphonza Butler led the fight for fair wages and respect for home care workers,” said Mary Kay Henry, current SEIU president, in a statement Monday. “As president of SEIU California, she was a driving force in winning the first statewide $15 an hour minimum wage in the nation. She has been a strong ally electing pro-women candidates as president of Emily’s List.”
Fellow California Sen. Alex Padilla also expressed strong support for Butler. “Throughout her career, Laphonza Butler has been a strong voice for working families, LGBTQ rights, and a champion for increasing women’s representation in politics. I’m honored to welcome her to the United States Senate,” Padilla wrote in a statement. “Governor Newsom’s swift action ensures that Californians maintain full representation in the Senate as we navigate a narrow Democratic majority. I look forward to working together to deliver for the people of California.”
Newsom’s decision was not on the political radar screen of most prognosticators.
With the selection of Butler, the decision by California’s Governor did not include any of the currently announced candidates for U.S. Senate in 2024 in California. Those current candidates include veteran members of Congress Barbara Lee and Adam Schiff and relative newcomer Katie Porter.
“As we mourn the enormous loss of Senator Feinstein, the very freedoms she fought for — reproductive freedom, equal protection, and safety from gun violence — have never been under greater assault. Laphonza will carry the baton left by Senator Feinstein, continue to break glass ceilings, and fight for all Californians in Washington, D.C.,” wrote Gov. Newsom in a statement released on the evening of October 1 announcing Butler’s appointment.
Butler will be the only Black woman in the Senate. But Delaware Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester is expected to win the Senate seat vacated by Senator Tom Carper. Carper announced he would not run for re-election in 2024 and Rochester announced shortly afterwards that she would run for Carper’s seat.
Butler formally became another addition to the Congressional Black Caucus when she was welcomed with a swearing in by those members later on Tuesday.
Butler grew up in Magnolia, Miss., one of four siblings raised by a single mother. Her father, who suffered from heart disease, passed away when Butler was 16. She attended Jackson State University, an HBCU, graduating in 2001.
Community
Historic Black University: Multiple Suspects Sought After Shooting Incident at Morgan State University
Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley and Morgan State University Police Chief Lance Hatcher told reporters that the incident happened around 9:25 p.m. when university police officers, on their regular patrol, detected gunfire from the campus. The victims, aged between 18 and 22, which include four men and a woman, sustained injuries that are reported to be non-life-threatening.
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire
Baltimore police are intensifying their search for multiple suspects involved in a shooting incident that occurred on the campus of Morgan State University, leaving five individuals injured. Among the victims, four are students of the historically Black institution.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley and Morgan State University Police Chief Lance Hatcher told reporters that the incident happened around 9:25 p.m. when university police officers, on their regular patrol, detected gunfire from the campus. The victims, aged between 18 and 22, which include four men and a woman, sustained injuries that are reported to be non-life-threatening.
“The entire city of Baltimore’s heart aches for the Morgan community, for the victims and their families, and for our city as a whole,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott stated.
Multiple windows were shattered during the incident, and school officials said they immediately began active shooter response protocols. Worley said police systematically cleared buildings in pursuit of those responsible. While there are indications that it could have been more than one shooter, authorities could not confirm whether multiple assailants were involved.
Hatcher said university police received notification of the shooting at approximately 9:27 p.m. and sent the first public safety alert to the community at 9:30 p.m., followed by four other notifications.
At approximately 11:45 p.m., city police announced via Twitter that the incident was no longer an “active shooter situation.” University officials announced via social media that the shelter-in-place order had been lifted, and shuttle services resumed at around 12:30 a.m.
Worley emphasized that SWAT officers meticulously combed through every floor of the buildings they searched, conducting two sweeps, before lifting the shelter-in-place order.
Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward and assist in their efforts to bring those responsible to justice.
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