Before being named interim coach, Hunter served as the Suns Player Development Coordinator. The first chance for the former Tiger to sit in the first seat will be Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings. Lindsey should come well prepared for the task at hand, during his 17-season NBA career, he played for the likes of Phil Jackson, Larry Brown, George Karl and Doug Collins.

Kyrie Irving

Saturday, November 10, 2012–“Killer instinct!” That’s what Daniel Gibson says the next step is in the maturation process for the young backcourt duo of Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters. It’s easy to see why Gibson would feel this way. The Cavaliers jumped out to an early 26-point lead Friday night vs. the Phoenix Suns, only to let the game slip away and lose 107-105.

Irving and Waiters exploited the Suns inside defense early and often to start the game, combining to start 6 of 6 from field and 4 of 4 from the FT line. In fact, Irving didn’t miss his first shot until 51 seconds remaining in the first half, while the rookie from Syracuse didn’t miss a shot until the 3^rd quarter.

Too bad the game didn’t end there.

The Suns would rally late in the game to spoil what was another example of the dominating potential the tandem possesses. The frustration was noticeable for each player after letting such a big lead slip away, but that’s the nature of the beast for young guards in the NBA.

For Coach Byron Scott’s sake, he’s hoping this is more of the exception than the norm when it comes to relinquishing massive leads, but he without a doubt has to be pleased with his new toys.

Irving would finish with 17 points, 8 assists and 4 boards with Waiters tallying 23 points and 2 assists.

In the past, the former Duke product had to carry the Cavs in scoring to give the team its best chance to win. Waiters is more than a capable scorer, but it’s his ability to initiate the offense with Irving off the ball that makes them dangerous.

Waiters’ screen and roll ability allows Irving, a natural scorer, to not only slide into more of a scoring role, but it also provides the 2011-12 Rookie of the Year with a much need break from time to time without a drop off in production.

Over the last four games, including vs. the Suns, Irving is averaging 24 PPG to Waiter’s 19 PPG. However, despite the offensive production from the two, the Cavs have been able to only muster one victory during the four game stretch.

It should also be noted each is shooting over 43% from downtown for the season, with Irving shooting at a 43% clip compared to Waiters 53% 3-point shooting.

A youthful backcourt hasn’t been this exciting since Jason Kidd and Jim Jackson were together in Dallas.

Not since Bob McAdoo and Ernie DiGregorio played for the Buffalo Braves has a franchise had two players win back-to-back Rookie of the Year awards. It’s very conceivable the Cavaliers duo could accomplish the feat and bring the excitement back to the city of Cleveland had in the LeBron James days.

November 1, 2012–The Suns will host the Pistons Friday night as both teams look to notch their 1^st win of the 2012-13 season. The young Pistons fell to the newly constructed Houston Rockets 105-96 in their season opener, while the Suns dropped their home opener Wednesday 87-85 to the Golden State Warriors. Here are tonight’s keys to victory.

Pistons

Rebound

Nothing against Greg Monroe, but let’s be honest, he’s not a center. Monroe is paired with Jason Maxiell to form one of the shortest frontcourts in the NBA, thus making it hard for the two to control the boards. Detroit was pounded on the glass by Houston and now must find a way to neutralize the size advantage the Suns have with Marcin Gortat and Luis Scola.

Pray

That Rodney Stuckey doesn’t shoot 1-10 from the field again. The Pistons will never be mistaken for an offensive juggernaut, but matters aren’t helped when you’re starting SHOOTING guard shoots 10% from the field. Stuckey is one of the few legit scoring threats the visiting team possesses and without his scoring punch, Detroit stands little chance to win.

Play the Rook

I mentioned Monroe was playing out of position earlier. The Pistons have the luxury of sliding the former Georgetown Hoya over to the power forward slot to play next to rookie lottery pick Andre Drummond if they choose. If nothing else Drummond has the ability to change shots at the rim, something Detroit could use. I never understood why teams draft players so high, only to sit them and stunt their growth. Drummond needs as much court time as possible to polish his raw game. 13 minutes in game one aren’t enough.

Suns

Protect the Ball

Phoenix came out sloppy in their season opener, turning the ball over 6 times in the 1^st quarter vs. Golden State and digging a hole they wouldn’t be able to get out of. There are a lot of new moving parts with this team and the Suns looked out of sync early vs. the Warriors. They did a great job fighting back, but they can’t afford to give teams extra possessions while they attempt to gel offensively.

Easy Baskets

Far too often in the home opener, point guard Goran Dragic was pushing the tempo without anyone filling the lanes and running with him. This team is too young and athletic to be held to 85 points overall and 11 fast-break points for the game. Dragic needs some running mates to help him create easy baskets, because they aren’t seasoned enough as a team at this point to out-execute opposing teams in the half-court.

Get Beasley Going

One of the Suns main objectives coming into the season was to help Michael Beasley become more of an efficient and dominant scorer. After game one, he was neither efficient nor dominant, scoring 8 points on 2-9 shooting from the field. One way to get Beasley going is to run the floor with Dragic to try and get some layups and dunks to help build his confidence. I was surprised to see Beasley benched in favor of PJ Tucker during “winning time” of the 4^th vs. the Warriors. He’s far too talented of a scorer to be sitting in crunch time, but he has to mature and not settle for jumpers so much.

Friday, November 2, 2012–

1st Quarter
The Pistons scorched the nets, shooting 50% from the field in the opening quarter. Jason Maxiell opened the game making 6 of his first 8 shot to help the Pistons take a 28-24 lead after the 12:00. Marcin Gortat scored 8 of the Suns 1st 12 points to keep the Suns in the game, while Michael Beasley struggled again, starting the game 1-5 from the field.

Key Notes:
Maxiell scored 11 of Pistons first 15 points to begin the game
Detroit scored 16 of their 28 1st quarter points in the paint

2nd Quarter
The Suns offense began the 2nd quarter stale and stagnant. Everyone was looking for the other player to shoot and it made for some poor shot selections. Phoenix caught fire midway through the 2nd, outscoring the Pistons 30-18. Luis Scola led the charge with 11 of the Suns 30 points in the quarter. Detroit’s Jonas Jerebko kept the Pistons in the game, making 4 of his 5 shots and scoring 9 of the Pistons 18 points in the quarter.

Key Notes:
Andre Drummond controlled the glass with five 2nd qtr rebounds

3rd Quarter
Neither team gave their head coach reason to believe that the offenses are in mid-season form. Both squads shot less than 37% for the quarter. The Suns settled for too many one pass and shot possessions, while Brandon Knight came alive for Detroit, scoring 7 points to go along with 3 assists.

Key Notes:
To Beasley’s credit, he came out shooting but with every missed shot, you could see his body language becoming more and more pessimistic. Beasley went 2-6 in the quarter, but rushed several shots while forcing the issue. His slow start is starting to affect other aspects of his game.

The teams combined to go 1-9 from downtown in the quarter.

4th Quarter
Shannon Brown gave the Suns the lift they needed in the 4th, scoring 10 of his 14 overall points in the quarter on 5 of 8 shooting. He and Gortat combined to shoot 7-10 from the field in the 4th as the Suns improve to 1-1 on the early season. Greg Monroe was off for most of the contest, but managed to score down the stretch when the Pistons needed baskets the most.

Key Notes:
Kyle Singler was on the floor for the Pistons in “winning time” instead of Rodney Stuckey.

Game Observations
* Rodney Stuckey is now 1-17 shooting this season from the field for the Pistons
* PJ Tucker has gained the trust of the Suns’ coaching staff. This is the 2nd straight game he has logged “winning time” minutes, subbing in for Beasley.
* You can see the frustration growing for the Kendall Marshall. He has yet to play this season, but the coaching staff remains very high on the UNC point guard.
* The Suns have defeated the Pistons for the 7th time in 8 contests, while holding Detroit to 88.5 PPG during that span.
* The Pistons have not won in US Airway Center since Feb 24, 2008.
* Marcin Gortat finished with 16 pts and 16 reb, his 6th career game with at least 16+ in each category

Jackson State wide receiver Rico Richardson received SWAC Player of the week honors as well as being named the CFPA national wide receiver of the week. Last week against Texas Southern, Richardson hauled in eight passes for 235 yards, breaking Tim Manning’s single game record, and three TDs. Clayton Moore (QB) and Joseph LeBeau (DE) each received a SWAC player of the week honors from CFPA. Moore was also named the SWAC Newcomer of the Week by the conference office.

The Jackson State women’s volleyball team went 3-0 against the Lady Jaguars Wednesday night. With more than 100 fans cheering them on, the Lady Tigers exploded into action against Southern with a total of 36 kills. Teammate Alexis Ford had a game-high of 5 kills and Angelica Kelly had seven digs

JANS -  The Jackson State University Division of Athletics will launch the 2012-2013 basketball season with a night of fun, games and fireworks when it hosts the first annual “JSU Basketball Madness” at 8 p.m., October 14, at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center on the JSU main campus.

“Basketball Madness is something new that we’re doing this year for our fans and supporters,” said Reginald Johnson, director of Basketball Operations. “It’s to show them how much we appreciate them and to get them excited about the upcoming basketball season at JSU.”

The night will consist of several activities and attractions, such as a dunk contest featuring members of the men’s basketball team, music by D.J. Unpredictable (97.7FM), and a fireworks show outside the Athletics and Assembly Center at the conclusion of the event. Other features of the night will include:

• 3-Point shoot out

• Alumni basketball game

• Greek Stroll

• JSU Baby Tigers miniature

skills competition

• Sonic Boom of the South

and J-Settes

• Tug of war

• Face painting

Additionally, fans will have an opportunity to meet and get autographs from the players and coaches of the men’s and women’s basketball teams. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Reginald Johnson at 601-979-5506 or Spencer McClenty at 601-979-1457.The Jackson State University Division of Athletics will launch the 2012-2013 basketball season with a night of fun, games and fireworks when it hosts the first annual “JSU Basketball Madness” at 8 p.m., October 14, at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center on the JSU main campus. “Basketball Madness is something new that we’re doing this year for our fans and supporters,” said Reginald Johnson, director of Basketball Operations. “It’s to show them how much we appreciate them and to get them excited about the upcoming basketball season at JSU.” The night will consist of several activities and attractions, such as a dunk contest featuring members of the men’s basketball team, music by D.J. Unpredictable (97.7FM), and a fireworks show outside the Athletics and Assembly Center at the conclusion of the event. Other features of the night will include: • 3-Point shoot out • Alumni basketball game • Greek Stroll • JSU Baby Tigers miniature skills competition • Sonic Boom of the South and J-Settes • Tug of war • Face painting Additionally, fans will have an opportunity to meet and get autographs from the players and coaches of the men’s and women’s basketball teams. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Reginald Johnson at 601-979-5506 or Spencer McClenty at 601-979-1457.

JANS – The Jackson Touchdown Club presented by C Spire Wireless will host the 8th Annual Jackson Touchdown Club Golf Classic on Thursday, October 4, 2012, at 1:30 PM at the Country Club of Canton in Canton.  Individual player fees are $100.00 per person and the format will be a four-person scramble with prizes for the top three teams, the longest drive, hole-in-one, putting/chipping contest, and closest-to-the-pin.  Registration will be held from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.  The Club will once again host the event to benefit the Club’s various charitable projects.

Hole & team sponsorships are also available.  A lunch buffet is included with player fees and will be held from 12 Noon until 1:15 PM.  Registrations will be accepted through Wednesday, October 3, 2012, at Noon.  The Jackson Touchdown Club is a 501 (c) 3 organization and a portion of sponsorships and/or player fees are tax deductible.  A tournament flyer and registration form is included with this release.  Over the past several years, members of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame were on hand to participate and play with individual members.

For more information on the golf tournament, contact Tournament Co-Chairmen Bruce Bartling at 601-856-1059 or Jay Philley at 601-540-5364.  For additional Club information, contact Glen Waddle, Secretary of the Jackson Touchdown Club, at 601-506-3186, or visit the Club’s web site at www.jacksontouchdownclub.com

JANS –  Tiger fans locally and across the country have something new to roar about.

Jackson State University has launched a TV and radio sports network that will reach an expanded radio audience and enable fans to enjoy home games on television and online.

“It was a major undertaking,” said Wesley Peterson, athletics media relations manager for JSU.  “We’ve been planning about a year for a 2013 launch, but we moved up the timetable and quickly tied everything together over the summer.”

JSU’s sports coverage on radio previously was provided through an outside agency that handled everything from the technical set-ups, travel to games and finding on-air talent. By launching its own sports network, JSU now controls all aspects of its sports properties, Peterson said.

Home football games are now being simulcast live online and on Hallelujah 95.5 FM radio. Delayed televised broadcasts of the Tiger games will be aired on Comcast Sports South television that covers the southeastern United States, Peterson said.

The delayed broadcasts, which will be televised immediately following the real-time games, will be followed by a JSU-TV produced show featuring game highlights and analysis by Tiger Coach Rick Comegy.

Keith Collins, JSU-TV station manager, said the new sports network “is one of the largest initiatives we’ve taken on. It’s a big, new year for JSU broadcasting.”

Spencer McClenty, JSU’s new media coordinator, has tapped his talent for announcing for both the video and radio broadcasts. Collins produces the broadcast

“The main difference is with radio you have to be much more descriptive. In TV, you have to be more analytical. So, you have to navigate between them,” McClenty said.

Peterson said preliminary results have been very positive.  “It’s gone very well so far; not a lot of hiccups.”

The new sports network also expands the number of radio stations that carry all JSU home and away games live from six to 12. About 30 stations will carry at least three or four homes, Peterson said.

The network, however, is not limiting its sports programming to football. According to Peterson, all JSU sports, from baseball to volleyball, will be covered for free online viewing.

“The kids love it,” Peterson said. “It’s been a labor of love, and it’s exciting to see the growth and direction we’re headed.”

We know everyone wants to know what’s going on in Memphis this weekend. Don’t worry, here’s everything you need to know.

Friday, September 7, 2012

NIKE Classic Coaches Luncheon

A salute to JSU head football coach Rick Comegy and TSU head football coach Rod Reed

Special guest speaker: Hon. Bernice B. Donald, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

By Invitation only.

Time:               12 PM

Location:         Memphis Marriott Downtown/Heritage Ballroom

Greek Showdown presented by Memphis Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Time:               7 PM

Location:         LeMoyne-Owen College/Bruce Hall

Tickets:            $15 advance admission, $20 at the door

For tickets and information, contact Adrienne Dobbins at (901) 603-9003 or email at adriennedobbins@ymail.com. Visit online atwww.memphisalumnaedst.org

Classic Comedy Jam

Rickey Smiley’s Laugh & Shout Experience featuring Rickey Smiley with Joe Willie & The Deuteronomaires

Time:               7:30 PM

Location:         Orpheum Theatre

Tickets:            $57.50 & $47.50 plus service charges. All seats reserved.

Tickets are now available at Ticketmaster outlets, Orpheum Theatre box office or online at www.ticketmaster.com.To charge by phone, call 1-800-745-3000

Classic R&B Concert

Classic performance of The O’Jays featuring special guest, comedian Jay Lamont

Time:               9 PM

Location:         Harrah’s Tunica/Event Center

Tickets:            $58 plus service charges. All seats reserved.

Tickets are available at Ticketmaster outlets or online at www.ticketmaster.com.To charge by phone, call 1-800-745-3000

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Classic Tailgate

Time:               8 AM

Location:         Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium parking lot and Tobey Park. 

Tailgating packages are now available at Ticketmaster outlets or online at www.ticketmaster.com.To charge by phone, call 1-800-745-3000. Contact Sherry Bell at (901) 729-4344

Ed “Too Tall” Jones Golf Classic Sponsored by Harrah’s Tunica

Time:               8 AM

Location:         The Links at Cottonwoods

Price:               $150 per person, includes green fee and ½ cart

For information, call (901) 398-6655.  Net proceeds to benefit the Southern Heritage Foundation. Registration forms can be found at: southernheritageclassic.com/pdfs/GolfRegistration2012SHC.pdf

Classic Parade Presented by the Orange Mound Parade Committee

Features area high school marching bands

Time:               10 AM

Location:         Along Park Avenue from Haynes to Airways

For information, contact Claudette Boyd at (901) 413-7109 or online at www.orangemound.vze.com

Classic Battle of the Bands

The competition will feature the best high school show bands in the region with show-stopping dance routines

Time:               10 AM

Location:         Whitehaven High School Stadium

Tickets:            $7 advance admission, $10 day of, plus service charges

Tickets are now available at Ticketmaster outlets or online at www.ticketmaster.com. To charge by phone, call 1-800-745-3000. For information, contact Walter Banks Jr. at walterbanksjr@aol.com or Andre Newsom at anewsom01@yahoo.comor (901) 230-6973

Classic Fashions & Brunch Presented by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women – Memphis Chapter

Time:               11 AM

Location:         Memphis Marriott East/Cotillion Ballroom

Tickets:            $50

For tickets and information, contact Bettye Boone at (901) 831-8739or online at www.ncbwmemphis.org

Classic College Fair Presented by Mayor A C Wharton Jr. and the City of Memphis Office of Youth Services

Regional college and university representatives will be on hand to provide information about attending college

Time:               12 PM

Location:         Pipkin Building at Tiger Lane/Fairgrounds

Tickets:            Free admission

For information and a list of participating schools, call (901) 636-6264 or visit their website at www.memphistn.gov.

Southern Heritage Classic presented by FedEx

JACKSON STATE vs. TENNESSEE STATE

Time:               6 PM

Location:         Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium

Tickets:            $18, $33 and $48, plus service charges. All seats reserved. 

Tickets are now available at Ticketmaster outlets including the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Box Office or online atwww.ticketmaster.com. To charge by phone, call 1-800-745-3000

AUTOZONE Halftime Show featuring JSU’s Sonic Boom of the South and TSU’s Aristocrat of Bands

Classic 5th Quarter

Grand finale for the Southern Heritage Classic football game featuring fireworks entertainment by Pyro Shows and a battle of the bands

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Classic Catwalk & Hair Show Produced by Tiffany Gary

Time:               3 PM

Location:         Esplanade Complex, 901 Cordova Station

Tickets:            $25 advance admission, $30 at the door

For tickets and information, call (901) 409-9740, email to tiffany.promo@gmail.com or online at www.classichairshow.com

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE

For more information on the 23rd Southern Heritage Classic presented by FedEx, go to http://www.southernheritageclassic.com/