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Campus Connection: Weekend WVU Sports Notebook
April 15, 2016 02:36 PM | Football
Those of you in Morgantown looking for something interesting to do on Saturday night might want to drive over to the Erickson Alumni Center to take in Saturday’s discussion “Intercollegiate Athletics: Current and Future Directions,” presented by the West Virginia University College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences.
The panel for Saturday’s event includes West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee, West Virginia University Director of Athletics Shane Lyons, Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock, Winthrop University President Dan Mahoney and Oregon Director of Athletics Rob Mullens, who is joining the conference via a live feed.
Lyons, Babcock, Mahoney and Mullens are CPASS alumni.
Veteran West Virginia University play-by-play announcer Tony Caridi will moderate the discussion, which is set to begin at 7 p.m.
The presentation is free and open to the general public.
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Bria Holmes
The Atlanta Dream made West Virginia’s Bria Holmes the 11th overall pick in the first round of last night’s WNBA draft, held inside Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Holmes is the first Mountaineer player to be taken in the first round, and she becomes the fifth WVU player drafted under veteran coach Mike Carey.
Carey’s other draft picks were guard Kate Bulger in 2004 (third round), guard Yolanda Paige in 2005 (second round), center Olayinka Sanni in 2008 (second round) and center Asya Bussie in 2014 (second round).
“Recruits want to see that we’re putting people in the draft,” Carey said. “Nowadays, they all think they’re going to the WNBA or the NBA, so this says we are putting some people in the WNBA.”
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Congratulations to Meg Bulger on her recent induction into the WPIAL Hall of Fame.
The former West Virginia University standout helped Oakland Catholic High to 120 victories during her four-year prep career and was a Parade All-American there.
At WVU, Bulger scored 1,655 points to rank fifth in school history.
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I continue to be amazed by the number of college basketball players transferring from four-year schools now on a yearly basis. Here is the latest list ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman has compiled of potential four-year transfers, including his top-10 available players:
If I was a college coach these days, I would strongly consider keeping at least one roster spot open, if possible, to keep up with all of the movement that’s going on.
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With Tubby Smith leaving Texas Tech for Memphis earlier this week, it looks like the Red Raiders could be targeting a coach that was just recently hired at UNLV:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2016/04/15/chris-beard-unlv-texas-tech-decision/83076838/
What an interesting dilemma for Chris Beard if, indeed, he is interested in returning to Lubbock.
With the Texas Tech job now open, that makes three new coaches West Virginia is going to be facing next season with Jamie Dixon now on board at TCU and Brad Underwood replacing Travis Ford at Oklahoma State.
Interestingly enough, all three schools replacing coaches played during the opening night of this year’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships in Kansas City.
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Yodny Cajuste
Our resident O-line expert Dale Wolfley really likes the way sophomore Yodny Cajuste is developing at left tackle this spring for the Mountaineers. The Wolfman was effusive in his praise of Cajuste during last Saturday’s practice, and he believes the Miami resident has an extremely high ceiling.
Overall, the offensive line is probably the biggest strength of this year’s team with veteran players manning all five spots heading into the fall. This year’s group has size (four of the five guys listed No. 1 on the spring depth chart weigh more than 300 pounds), athleticism, physicality, experience and intelligence - all of the qualities needed to be an effective group.
The coaching staff has worked hard recruiting and developing the players that make up this year’s offensive line, which, in my opinion, has the potential to be one of the stronger ones West Virginia has had in recent years.
On the other side of the ball, D-line is unquestionably the strength of this year’s defense heading into the fall, so two of strongest units on team are up front, and you know what they always say about football teams that are strong up front …
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New corners coach Blue Adams was asked recently his thoughts on working for a defensive coordinator in Tony Gibson who is known for bringing lots of pressure and his willingness to put his corners on an island in man coverage.
“It’s a challenge, but if we’re not playing the game for a challenge to win then why are we playing the game?” he replied. “It’s an opportunity to showcase, ‘Okay, look, I’m playing in a league that throws the ball as many times as they throw the ball. We play man coverage as many times as we play man coverage. Well, if I’m trying to get to the league, once I put this on my resume and I do it well, it’s a great resume to have.’”
Adams admits he’s still learning the defense and the way Gibson calls games. He said that will come in time.
“My job right now is to get my guys to execute and to put them into positions to be successful,” he said. “As fast as those calls roll off of Gibby’s tongue, I expect our techniques to be taken care of. I will get a feel for how Gibby calls games, but until I do, he just calls (the defenses) and I will make sure my guys are in a position to get it done.”
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With two weeks to go before the season ticket priority deadline date of Friday, April 29, the word is season ticket sales are slightly ahead of last year’s pace at this same time.
This year’s home football schedule features an attractive seven-game slate that includes Missouri (September 3), Youngstown State (September 10), Kansas State (October 1), TCU (October 22), Kansas (November 5), Oklahoma (November 19) and Baylor (December 3).
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The work on the East and North concourses at Milan Puskar Stadium continues. We recently posted a fly-over video of the entire area and what you saw was a little bit deceiving because a significant amount of progress has been made inside the two new concession and restroom buildings in terms of fixtures, utilities, plumbing and fire proofing.
It is also my understanding that the Southeast plaza is going to be a terrific place for Mountaineer fans to congregate with the ability to sit down and eat at high-top tables before, during and after games.
Preliminary site prep has already started on the West side of the stadium where construction work will transition once the East side is completed later this summer. I am told work crews are also beginning the process of installing the new seating fixtures for the field boxes. When this entire project is completed in 2017 it is going to be a significant upgrade for the 36-year-old facility.
In the meantime, the crown removal project is coming along nicely with the new turf installation nearing completion. If everything continues to go well and there are no weather delays, the new playing surface could become available for the team to use for offseason conditioning in a matter of a few weeks.
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Despite dropping two out of three last weekend to Furman, and falling 4-1 to Pitt earlier this week, the Mountaineer baseball team remains in the thick of the Big 12 race at 4-4 in conference play with a critical three-game series with Kansas State on the horizon this weekend in Morgantown.
First pitch for tonight’s game against the Wildcats is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.; Saturday’s game will get underway at 4 p.m. and Sunday’s game has been moved up to noon to accommodate Kansas State’s travel plans.
Despite some challenging weather conditions this month, the Mountaineers are still averaging more than 1,100 fans per game at Monongalia County Ballpark so far this season with some very appealing home games coming up against Marshall, Baylor, Virginia Tech, Texas and Maryland.
It’s not unrealistic for the Mountaineers to challenge last year’s season average of approximately 1,800 fans per game with strong turnouts in the games remaining.
As for this weekend, the forecast is calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s, so a trip up to the University Town Centre with the family for a little sun and fun might be worth considering.
Hopefully we see you at the ballpark.
Enjoy your weekend!
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