Sport's page of Th Delta Statement

1. Sports The Delta Statement Thursday, September 4, 2014B1
Statesmen prepare for upcoming season
The Statesmen offense, led by quarterback Tyler Sullivan, look to make a big impact this season as they prepare for their season opener against Fort Valley State University. Photos by Elisabetta Zengaro
O.B. Taylor
Staff Writer
The Statesmen enter the
upcoming 2014 season
with high expectations
from head coach Todd
Cooley. They are looking to win
another GSC title after failing to
claim the title last year.
Cooley is in his second
year as the Statesmen’s football
coach, and he had a great season
last year. His spread offense
helped the Statesmen to a 7-3
mark with a 4-2 record in the
tough Gulf South Conference.
Despite the improvement from
a disastrous 2012 season under
Jamey Chadwell, the Statesmen
failed to make the postseason.
Redshirt Sophomore
quarterback Tyler Sullivan is
one of the returning starters for
the Statesmen this year. He had
a spectacular season in 2013,
throwing for 1,764 yards and
15 touchdowns. Sullivan also
rushed for four touchdowns last
season. He is looking for another
productive year if he stays
healthy.
Senior wide receiver Ricky
Hunt is also returning this season.
His effort pushed the Statesmen
to a great season last year making
68 catches, gaining 840 yards
and scoring seven touchdowns.
He will be a threat to opponents’
defensive backs this season if he
stays healthy.
The Statesmen also have
two other main receivers that
are returning this season.
Junior receiver Patrick
Bethley is returning for the
Statesmen and expecting a
great season. Last year, he
caught 39 passes, gaining
559 yards and scoring six
touchdowns.
Head Coach Todd Cooley and Athletic Director Ronnie Mayers cut the ribbon held by President LaForge. Photo by Elisabetta Zengaro
Another receiving corps
member, Casey Osborne,
is returning this season. He
also had a great season last
year, catching 64 passes for
836 yards and scoring eight
touchdowns. The 6’3, 205
pound Osborne will join Hunt
and Bethley in the Statesmen
receiving corps this coming
season. They will help
Sullivan push for big yardage
this season.
On the defensive side of
the ball, the Statesmen will
be led by senior linebacker
Rory Island. Island had a good
season last year collecting
76 tackles while sacking the
quarterback three times.
Senior defensive lineman
Diego Lubin will return to
the side after a year absence.
He will lead the Statesmen
defensive linemen corps this
season. He will become a
threat to opponents’ running
and passing game.
The Statesmen started
preseason practice in early
August with a lot of players
from last season returning.
They are currently preparing
for roster spots this coming
season with a tough schedule
ahead.
“Our expectation is to
win this year,” Coach Cooley
said.
The Statesmen are hoping
this coming season will be
a good one. To win the Gulf
South Conference, they have
to encounter tough sides
such as North Alabama, West
Alabama and Valdosta State.
The squad is looking forward
to meeting those teams.
The Statesmen will open the
2014 season at Fort Valley, Ga., to
play Fort Valley State University.
DSU installs turf at Parker Field
O.B. Taylor
Staff Writer
DSU athletics installed turf
in Parker-McCool Field
in preparation for the
2014 football season. The
project began in June and was
completed by the end of July.
The turf is called
GeoSurfaces Turf. It was made
by the Baton Rouge-based
company GeoSurfaces, Inc.
The turf also has a shock
pad which prevents concussions
and other serious injuries. It
also makes the turf softer than
FieldTurf and other types of turf.
Parker-McCool Field
became the fi rst Mississippi
stadium to have a shock pad
underneath the turf.
DSU Athletic Director
Ronnie Mayers said that the turf
project had been planned for six
or seven years.
“Athletic directors before
me tried to talk to people on
getting turf installed into Parker
Field,” Mayers said.
In early August, DSU
Athletics held an opening
ceremony for the GeoSurfaces
Turf at Parker-McCool Field.
The football team has held
several practice sessions on the
brand new turf since the opening
ceremony. The players “love” the
new turf.
“I love the turf we got
in Parker Field,” sophomore
quarterback Tyler Sullivan said.
Head Football Coach Todd
Cooley also loves the turf.
Over the last few years,
conditions on Parker Field’s
natural grass had been dreadful.
“The Delta is known for
having a rainy season during the
season,” Mayers said, “The rain
will make the grassy fi eld bad to
play on.”
In response, DSU athletics
installed turf into the stadium
this summer.
Mayers said that Parker
Field will host more events on
the new turf that natural grass
could not do.
“The band can practice on
it, there will be an intramural
championship for football in
the stadium and the soccer
team can use the stadium,” he
said.
The cost of the installation
of the GeoSurfaces Turf at
Parker Field was $750,000. It
is privately funded.
The turf has rubber infi ll but
less than FieldTurf and other turf
surfaces.
Parker Field has a
sidewalk which was made by
a construction group. Near the
sidewalks, there is a dirt sewage
which drains the water when it
rains.
Fans will experience the
new turf when the Statesmen
host their fi rst home game against
Central State University on Sept.
27 at 6 p.m. at Parker-McCool
Field. It will be held during Pig
Pickin’ Week.
Students can also check
the turf out themselves at Parker
Field anytime.
Team USA prepares for
Basketball World Cup
O.B. Taylor
Staff Writer
The United States
basketball team is making
preparations for the 2014
FIBA Basketball World
Cup which will be held in Spain.
The Americans won the
previous World Cup in 2010
when they beat the Turkish
national team 81-64 in the fi nal
to secure gold in the tournament.
They won gold at the 2012
Olympic Games which was held
in London. They are looking to
extend that run by attempting to
win the World Cup this year.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski
brought in new faces this year
into his World Cup squad
including Cleveland Cavaliers
guard Kyrie Irving, Houston
Rockets guard James Harden and
center Anthony Davis into the
side.
The pre-World Cup
campaign was off to a bad start
when forward Paul George
suffered a serious leg injury
during the Blue-White game
in Las Vegas on Aug. 1. He
underwent surgery to fi x the
dreadful injury. He could miss
the whole 2014-15 NBA season.
Krzyzewski made selection
to his side days after George’s
serious injury before preparing
for a tour this year. The side
contains all NBA players who
have less than fi ve years of
experience in the league.
In their fi rst match of their
tour, the Americans faced a
tough Brazilian side at the United
Center in Chicago. The Brazilian
side is led by Cavaliers forward
Anderson Varajao.
The Brazilians gave the
Americans some pressure in the
match, but it was not enough.
USA center Davis scored 20
points, and Harden scored 18
points in a 95-78 win over Brazil.
Despite the win, the
Chicago crowd was pleased to
see the return of Derrick Rose.
He scored 7 points while forcing
three turnovers, two assists, and
blocked a shot during his 22
minutes in the match
The next three matches
were riddled with American
dominance. The Americans
defeated the Dominican Republic
105-62 at Madison Square
Garden on Aug. 20. Two days
later at the same venue, they beat
the Puerto Ricans 112-86 with
guard Stephen Curry scoring 20
points in the game.
The Americans arrived in
Spain to train for their World
Cup campaign. Their fi nal
match of the tour was against
Slovenia in Gran Canaria,
Spain. They won easily 101-71
over the Slovenians with center
Davis dominating the match
with 18 points, nine rebounds,
fi ve blocks, and three steals.
The Americans are
placed in Group C with New
Zealand, Dominican Republic,
Finland, Turkey, and Ukraine.
Despite the Americans being
shorthanded because of
injuries, it should be an easy
group for them.
One of the players to
look out for in the World
Cup is center Davis. He was
the leading scorer in the tour
averaging 13.8 points per game
while averaging 6.5 rebounds
per game.
Warriors guard Curry is
also on the American squad
for the World Cup to look out
for. He is expected to shoot
3-pointers and drive to the
basket aggressively. He shot
60 percent from the three-point
line during the tour.