The Real Sports episode had me on the edge of my seat, as one couldn’t help but laugh while the beneficiaries of the system, Rich Rodriguez (former University of Michigan football coach) and Billy Packer (CBS Sports commentator), were trying to defend a system that they themselves would never accept.  Both of these men have been made into millionaires from the labor of college athletes, and have a direct incentive to keep the money away from the players and their families.

The most interesting part of the show was when Bernard Goldberg interviewed former University of Massachusetts player Rigo Nunez.  Nunez shocked Goldberg by acknowledging that he and other players around the country were planning to sit out of the 1995 NCAA tournament.  To protest the fact that coaches were earning millions while many of the athletes’ families were in poverty, prominent players around the nation decided that they were going to have no part of the NCAA tournament that year.

Here’s how the conversation went down:

Nunez: At one point it was pretty organized among players that maybe the biggest impact that we can have, and the biggest opportunities for us to have a stand, will be prior to the NCAA tournament.

Goldberg: Well, how was that gonna happen?

Nunez: We were not gonna play.

Goldberg: What?

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Nunez: We were just gonna go to the middle of the court and sit down. Every game, in the whole country.

Goldberg: Because you weren’t getting paid?

Nunez: Because it was not fair to us.

In 1995, the black students at Rutgers University were angry that their president, Francis Lawrence, stated that African Americans may not have the “genetic hereditary background” to have high SAT scores.  Of course this statement angered the African American students at Rutgers, who decided to interfere with a nationally-televised basketball game that they happened to be playing against U. Mass (the school Nunez played for during the same year).

Quite a few students did a lot of talking, but when the time came to execute the planned protest, some of them got cold feet.  Half-time arrived, but rather than going to the middle of the court as planned, the students stayed in the stands.  One girl, however, decided that this opportunity wasn’t going to be wasted, and sat down in the middle of the court all alone.  When security asked her to move and threatened her with arrest, she refused to budge.  Eventually, other black students joined her and before long, hundreds of students were crowding the middle of the court.    The game had to be cancelled and both universities paid a huge financial price for the university president’s racism.

The point is that it typically only takes the courage of one man or woman to spark an entire revolution.  Rigo Nunez proves that there is a strong spirit within black athletes which opens the door for them to make progressive change.  If athletes were to come together and decide not to play, the entire NCAA would be forced to change its system.  All of their excuses for not paying athletes, along with their daunting list of complexities would suddenly become simple, because the players are the ones who bring in all the dough.

For their mothers at home who can barely feed their siblings, and for other young men behind them, one only hopes that the brothers on the court will take a chance and make history.  The NCAA is not going to give away billions of dollars easily, but the truth is that this money belongs to players and their families, not to greedy coaches and commentators who keep finding reasons not to share the revenue.  But it’s going to take a fight, because power and money are not things that people give away.  Power is only ceded when it is TAKEN.

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10. Pee Wee Kirkland Norfolk State University

Despite the fact that Kirkland never played an NBA game he is regarded as one of the best streetball players of all time and his legend still live on on streetball courts around the world.

9. Avery Johnson, Southern University

Avery Johnson was the point guard for the 1999 Championship, San Antonio Spurs and would later win coach of the year in 2006. Despite the fact that he never had any outstanding stats, his leadership ability and intelligence made him a factor on the court.

8. Darrell Armstrong, Fayetteville St.

Despite the fact that he wasn’t drafted, Armstrong would win both the NBA’s Six Man Of The Year and Most Improved Player in 1999 during a stellar career with the Orland Magic.

7. Earl Lloyd, West Va. St

Lloyd is the Jackie Robinson of basketball, the first African American NBA player to sign a contract in 1950. He would win one championship with Syracuse and later become the coach of the Detroit Pistons.

6. Rick Mahorn, Hampton

Rick Mahorn’s defense and rebounding were staples of the Detroit Piston “Bad Boy” days when they won two championships and would coach the WNBA’s Detorit Shock to a Championship as well.

5. Charles Oakley, Virginia Union

Though Oakley never won a championship he reached the finals once with the Knicks and dueled with friend and former teammate, Michael Jordan in the playoffs several times.

4. Ben Wallace, Virginia Union

Ben Wallace won a championship for the Pistons in 2004 with a style similar to Rick Mahorn’s with a focus on defense and rebounding.

3. Willis Reed, Grambling State

Reed won a championship with the New York Knicks in 1972, providing inspiration for the team with a historic return from a harsh injury in the Finals.

2. Earl “The Pearl” Monroe,

Otherwise known as “Black Jesus,” Monroe was a playground legend who transferred his skills to the NBA, winning a championship with fellow HBCU grad, Willis Reed.

1. Sam Jones, North Carolina Central University

Sam Jones won 10 championships with the Boston Celtics leading the team in scoring for 3 years.

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This is UAPB’s first trip to the NCAAs in school history. The Golden Lions entered the SWAC in 1997-98 and have qualified for the SWAC Tournament each of the last six years.

SEASON RECAP The Golden Lions opened the season with a 14-game road trip over the first two months of the season, playing the likes of Texas-El Paso, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, Missouri, and Kansas State – all teams that are in the 2010 NCAA Tournament field of 65.

UAPB finished second in the league race with a 14-4 conference record. In the Farmers Insurance SWAC Tournament, the Golden Lions defeated Mississippi Valley State (69-66), Alabama State (48-46), and Texas Southern (50-36) to win the tournament title for the first time. UAPB’s Allan Smith was named MVP.

SWAC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT The Golden Lions will become the ninth league school to participate in the NCAA Tournament.

This will be the 30th NCAA Tournament appearance by a Southwestern Athletic Conference school. Southern has the most appearances with seven, followed by Alcorn State (six), Mississippi Valley St. and Texas Southern (four each), Alabama State and Jackson State (three each), and Alabama A&M and Prairie View A&M (one each). The SWAC is 4-29 overall in the NCAA Tournament. Alcorn State has won three times, while Southern has earned one NCAA win.

The Braves of 2010 College Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Davey L. Whitney posted three NCAA Tournament wins in five years from 1980-84. Alcorn State posted wins in 1980 (70-62 over South Alabama), 1983 (81-75 over Xavier) and 1984 (79-60 over Houston Baptist). Southern, led by Head Coach Ben Jobe, was the last conference team to win an NCAA Tournament game, defeating Georgia Tech 93-78.

SWAC IN OPENING ROUND GAME Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff will become the fifth SWAC team to play in the opening round game.

2002 Alcorn State (lost to Siena 81-77)

2003 Texas Southern (lost to UNC – Asheville 92-84 (ot)

2005 Alabama A&M (lost 79-69 to Oakland)

2009 Alabama St. (lost to Morehead St. 58-43)

2010 Univ. Arkansas Pine Bluff vs. Winthrop

#2 UAPB 50, #5 TEXAS SOUTHERN 38

Tavaris Washington 14 points and tournament MVP Allen Smith added 11 as the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff defeated Texas Southern 50-36 in the Farmers Insurance SWAC Basketball Tournament Men’s Championship.

#2 seed UAPB (17-15) qualifies for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Texas Southern, the #5 seed, finished 17-16.

The lead changed hands seven times early with one tie, but the Golden Lions took the lead for good at the 5:53 mark on a three-pointer by George Davis and never trailed again. UAPB led 26-20 at halftime.

In the second half, Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff extended to a double-digit lead at 41-31 on a pair of free throws by Washington with 8:45 to play and maintained its double-digit lead the remainder of the game.

Deandre Hall and Junior Treasure led Texas Southern with 14 points each.

Garrison Johnson, Jackson State

Tramayne Moorer, Alabama State

Junior Treasure, Texas Southern

Deandre Hall, Texas Southern

Allen Smith, Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff

MVP: Allen Smith, UAPB

By Mark F. Gray

In one of my recent on air conversations with former Georgetown guard and current broadcaster Mark Tillmon – during The SportsGroove Radio Show (M-F 7-10 ET www.woldcnews.com) – we talked about how good this year’s addition of the young pups could be.

“If they can ever put two halves together and do it consistently there’s no telling how good this team can be,” he said.

Saturday, with President Obama in the house, the Hoyas put two halves together and put an old fashioned beat down on Duke. That Georgetown beat Duke didn’t tell the story. It was the nearly flawless performance and the precise execution that was the story of this contest. They put the pedal to the floor and drove the Blue Devils like a recalled Toyota never letting up.

Oh what a feeling!

An 89-77 final score was a cosmetic outcome given Georgetown shot 71.1 from the field and got whatever the wanted whenever they wanted against Coach K’s army. If the Blue Devils learned anything from this game is that strength doesn’t necessarily come in numbers. Duke had the deeper bench but the Hoyas had the best two players on the floor and they dominated the contest.

Greg Monroe showed the national TV audience why he was the nation’s top recruit two years ago. His athletic 21 points and five rebounds wore down Duke’s big men and should have NBA scouts rethinking Kentucky’s John Wall as the top pick in this year’s draft. The Blue Devils had no way to stop him in the paint and as he made seven of his 11 shots. However, in transition he was Usain Bolt turning the floor of the Verizon Center in Chinatown into his personal 100 meter final in Beijing crossing the finish line with authority at the rim.

But college basketball is about the guards and it was Georgetown backcourt who made the biggest statement. Chris Wright and Austin Freeman combined for 41 points and seven assists. Meanwhile, Duke’s guards – Jon Schyer and Nolan Smith shot just 11 of 29 from the field with only one assist. Had this been an MMA event the Blue Devil backcourt would have had to submit.

Georgetown made a statement by responding after a tough loss to Syracuse with a virtuoso performance against Duke. The Hoyas have set themselves up for a top four seed in any NCAA region barring a epic collapse. They will be a nightmare for teams who haven’t seen them to matchup against on short preparation come March.