The Roost

Big South announces television info for conference tournament

The Big South tournament semifinals Thursday night at Kimbel Arena will be televised on ESPNU with Jon Sciambi and LaPhonso Ellis on the call.

Sciambi and Ellis will also call the championship game Saturday on ESPN2.

Kimbel Arena is hosting at least the first two rounds of the tournament. If Coastal Carolina were to lose in that time, the championship game would then be moved to the home of the highest remaining seed.

Big South announces postseason basketball awards

The Big South announced its postseason awards Monday, and senior Chad Gray was the lone representation from league champion Coastal Carolina.

Sophomore Sam McLaurin was recognized for academics, but Gray was the only Chanticleer to make first or second team all-Big South.

Liberty's Jesse Sanders was named the conference's player of the year, while Flames coach Dale Layer was named coach of the year.

CCU coach Cliff Ellis admitted he was a bit surprised his team wasn't more represented.

"Somewhat surprised, disappointed that we didn't have more, but proud of those that got the accolades," Ellis said. "Chad getting all-conference and Sam getting all-academic, proud of that. But at the same time, we're focusing on what we've got to do, and that may be some good locker room fodder to get the team fired up."

Suspended junior guard Desmond Holloway, meanwhile, was not on the ballot. Big South assistant commissioner Mark Simpson said the member institutions determine who is nominated, so it was Coastal's call not to have Holloway on the ballot.

First-Team All-Conference

Jesse Sanders, G, Jr., Liberty

Austin Kenon, G, Sr., VMI

Chad Gray, F, Sr., Coastal Carolina

Jamarco Warren, G, Sr., Charleston Southern

Matt Dickey, G, Jr., UNC Asheville

Second-Team All-Conference

Nick Barbour, G, Jr., High Point

Kelvin Martin, F, Jr., Charleston Southern

John Brown, F, R-Jr., Liberty

J.P. Primm, G, Jr., UNC Asheville

Evan Gordon, G, Soph., Liberty

All-Freshman Team

D.J. Covington, F/C, VMI

Sheldon Strickland, G, Charleston Southern

Luke Davis, G, Gardner-Webb

Rodney Glasgow, G, VMI

Jareal Smith, G, Radford

All-Academic Team

Sam McLaurin, F, R-Soph., Coastal Carolina

Jon Moore, G, Sr., Gardner-Webb

David Campbell, G, Sr., High Point

Jeremy Anderson, G, R-Jr., Liberty

Walt Allen, F, R-Sr., Presbyterian College

Evan Faulkner, G, Soph., Radford

Matt Dickey, G, Jr., UNC Asheville

Player of the Year

Jesse Sanders, G, Jr., Liberty

Freshman of the Year

D.J. Covington, F/C, VMI

Defensive Player of the Year

Kelvin Martin, F, Jr., Charleston Southern

Coach of the Year

Dale Layer, Liberty

Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Walt Allen, F, R-Sr., Presbyterian College

Ellis releases statement in response to New York Times story

In response to the New York Times story published earlier this week about the Coastal Carolina basketball program, Chanticleers coach Cliff Ellis issued a written statement through the school's media relations department Saturday.

"The New York Times recently wrote an article about me and my basketball program. There are falsehoods in this story that are designed to paint a picture of things that are not true. I have retained a lawyer, Mr. Tommy Brittain, to see what recourse we have with these falsehoods. Mr. Brittain not only is a lawyer, but he has served as the chairman of the Board of Trustees at Wofford College and understands the nature of these kinds of stories.

"I will have no further comment on this story for the present time, and I will be devoting my entire energy on coaching this basketball team in the Big South tournament."

The Times story delved into Ellis' recruiting history and reported that an associate director for NCAA enforcement has been in Conway investigating whether suspended junior guard Desmond Holloway received impermissible benefits, as was alleged by former CCU reserve Marcus Macellari.

Update on Frawley

The word coming out of the Coastal Carolina baseball program today is that junior catcher Tucker Frawley's knee injury does not look as bad as coach Gary Gilmore initially feared Sunday night.

As of now no MRI is scheduled, and the Chanticleers will instead take a day-to-day approach with Frawley, who was hurt after a collision with a baserunner on a throw to the plate as Indiana scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 16th inning Sunday.

After playing in the first three games of the season (including two starts), he sat out the second half of the Chants' mixed double-header Sunday against Virginia Tech as freshman John Fidanza made his second straight start. With Fidanza the only other healthy catcher on the roster, the extended loss of Frawley would have been a big blow to the team.

But it looks like he has a chance to return sooner than expected. When that will be is still to be determined, though.

| Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com

CCU gets spotlight in USA Today

The attention continues to pour in for Coastal Carolina athletics.

From national radio interviews for basketball coach Cliff Ellis to growing recognition for his program in the national rankings to a feature on the front of the USA Today sports section today about the athletic department as a whole, the Chanticleers are building a national profile.

As CCU athletic director Hunter Yurachek told USA Today's Andy Gardiner in the article, "I like to think of us as a sleeping giant who is no longer sleeping."

To read the story in full, go to: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/bigsouth/2011-02-08-coastal-carolina_N.htm

It touches not only on the basketball team's 20-game winning streak and rising national stock, but also on the rise of Coastal Carolina baseball and football.

| Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com

Another Big South honor for Holloway

Desmond Holloway's consistency is starting to extend beyond the basketball court and box score as he has a rapidly growing collection of Big South honors now.

Coastal Carolina's junior standout was named the conference's player of the week for the second time in three weeks and third time overall after leading the Chanticleers to wins over Liberty and VMI.

Holloway's week started with a 16-point, seven-rebound, five-steal performance Thursday in a 77-71 win over Liberty, which trailed CCU by only one game in the league standings at the time. He then followed with 22 points and a career-high 15 rebounds Saturday in a 99-86 win over VMI.

The Chants (22-2, 13-0 Big South) have won 20 straight games -- second best in Division I behind Ohio State. Holloway has contributed to that success by leading the conference in scoring at 19.0 points per game.

And this probably isn't the last award he'll garner this season ...

| Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com

Chants enjoy big gains in polls

With two more convincing wins last week, Coastal Carolina has caught the attention of several additional voters and taken another big step in the polls toward top-25 status.

The Chanticleers check in this week with 26 points in the Associated Press poll -- third-most among teams left outside the top-25 -- and 15 points in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.

Here's a look at the media who voted for CCU in the AP poll this time and where they slotted the Chants:

Steve DeShazo -- Fredericksburg (Va.) Free Lance-Star -- 21

Mark Berman -- Roanoke (Va.) Times -- 22

John Feinstein -- National Public Radio -- 23

Pete Gilbert -- WBAL-TV in Baltimore --23

Terry Hutchens -- Indianapolis Star -- 24

Ryan Thorburn -- Daily Camera in Boulder, Col. -- 24

Elton Alexander -- Cleveland Plain Dealer -- 25

Dave Borges -- New Haven (Conn.) Register -- 25

Scott Johnson -- Daily Herald in Everett, Wash. -- 25

Dave Mackall -- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review -- 25

George Schroeder -- Eugene (Ore.) Register-Guard -- 25

John Shinn -- Norman (Okla.) Transcript -- 25

Dick Vitale -- ABC-ESPN -- 25

Also, here's what Borges wrote, explaining his vote:

http://borgesblognhr.blogspot.com/2011/02/coastal-carolina-on-my-mind.html 

And here are the polls in full:

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings



| Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com

Full CCU Football Signing Day List

Coastal Carolina has received all the National Letters of Intent it was expecting from football recruits today. In all, the Chanticleers are adding 19 new players in addition to two transfers who are already on campus. If you've been following along, The Roost has profiled almost all of these guys by now with a couple more profiles to come later tonight hopefully.

Coach David Bennett will talk about the recruiting class at 4 p.m., so check back later tonight at www.thesunnews.com for video and comments from the coach.

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown / High School (Previous School)
Datarius Allen	DB	5-10	170	Cocoa, Fla. / Cocoa HS
DeMario Bennett *	WR	6-2	190	Douglas, Ga. / Coffee County HS (Univ. of South Carolina)
Quinn Backus	S/OLB	5-10	195	Greenwood, S.C. / Greenwood HS
Colton Blackburn	H/FB	6-2	220	Newland, N.C. / Avery County HS
Anthony Burton	S	6-1	170	Rougemont, N.C. / Northern HS
Aaron Conatser	OL	6-6	255	Perry, Ga. / Perry HS
Kevin Hart #	OL	6-4	265	Cornelius, N.C. / Hopewell HS (Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy)
De'angelo Henderson	RB	5-9	190	Summerville, S.C. / Summerville HS
Calvin Hollenhorst	DL	6-4	235	Ashburn, Va. / Stone Bridge HS
John Israel	WR	6-1	185	Florence, S.C. / Wilson HS
John Masley	H/FB	6-1	245	Jacksonville, Fla. / Bishop Kenny HS
Aaron McFarland	DE	6-1	215	Bailey, N.C. / Southern Nash HS
Tre'Sean McQueen	LB	6-0	220	Loganville, Ga. / Grayson HS
Thomas Pauciello	TE	6-6	230	Trumbull, Conn. / Trumbull HS
Michael Quick	LS	6-1	200	Florence, S.C. / West Florence HS
Miles Rankin	S	6-1	185	Atlanta, Ga. / Banneker HS
Denzel Rice	DB/Ath.	6-1	180	Winston-Salem, N.C. / Jacket Integrated Academy at Carver HS
Rick Rivers	CB	6-1	170	Cocoa, Fla. / Cocoa HS
Alex Ross	QB	6-1	200	Alpharetta, Ga. / Buford HS
Alkeem Thomas	LB	5-11	200	Wilson, N.C. / Southern Nash HS
Craig Weick	TE	6-5	215	Moore, S.C. / Byrnes HS

*Bennett is enrolled at CCU and will have sophomore status next season.

#Hart is enrolled at CCU and will be a true freshman next season.

CCU Football Recruit Profile | S Miles Rankin (Ga.)

**As National Signing Day arrives, The Roost will continue to introduce Coastal Carolina's 2011 football recruiting class one by one.**

Miles Rankin made a quick impression on the coaching staff at Banneker High School in Atlanta, Ga., this past season after transferring in from California.

"He came in and he established himself the first practice," Banneker football coach Ed Gosa told The Sun News. "We said, 'Whoa, who's this kid?'"

Coastal Carolina will hope he can make a similar first impression in Conway as Rankin, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound defensive back/running back, faxed in his National Letter of Intent to the Chanticleers on Wednesday.

"Fantastic young man, natural leader," Gosa said.

Rankin had 102 tackles, four sacks and three interceptions this past season while also rushing for 1,232 yards and six touchdowns in 115 carries. He will be a defensive back at CCU, Gosa said. And along with fellow incoming safeties Datarius Allen (Fla.) and Anthony Burton (N.C.), he addresses one of the Chants' greatest needs.

"He's very football knowledgeable. He knows where to go, what to do. He stood out as a leader for us this year," Gosa said.

And he'll be looking to make an early impact after choosing the Chants over Eastern Kentucky.

"He's not looking to redshirt. He's looking to come in and play," Gosa said. "He'll do whatever he can to get on the field and [contribute]."

| Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com

CCU Football Recruit Profile | CB Rick Rivers (Fla.)

**As National Signing Day arrives, The Roost will continue to introduce Coastal Carolina's 2011 football recruiting class one by one.**

A week after Cocoa (Fla.) High School teammate Datarius Allen took a recruiting visit to Coastal Carolina, Rick Rivers took one of his own. And on Wednesday, he joined in Allen in faxing in his National Letter of Intent to the Chanticleers.

Rivers, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound cornerback, had 59 tackles and two interceptions last season for Cocoa and was a three-year starter on three state championship teams there.

"Rick has just got unlimited potential," Cocoa football coach John Wilkinson said. "... 6-1 corners are very hard to come by. He's got real long arms, great ball skills, he can run. He was a shutdown guy for us. We always put him on the best receiver we played through the playoffs and the state championship."

Rivers rose to the occasion on the season's biggest stage, blocking an extra point to help Cocoa win the state championship game 14-13.

He had offers from a number of schools, including Illinois State, Jacksonville State, Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman, according to Wilkinson, who thinks the cornerback will transition smoothly to the college level.

"I think he can come in right away and compete for time somewhere in the secondary," Wilkinson said.

| Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com