Tag: MikeCheck
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MikeCheck: Picked in preseason to finish last, Arkansas-Pine Bluff now poised to turn SWAC upside down
MEMPHIS – In no way does Cedric Thomas hide from the fact that his program was on the wrong side of college football history this time a year ago. Actually, Thomas embraces it as a necessary part of the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s journey to get here. But back then, barely a month into his…
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MikeCheck: Rookie Clarke packs outside-the-box mentality and skillset for Grizzlies’ training camp
After a breakout summer spent putting action behind those draft night words, Clarke will embark on his first NBA training camp on Oct. 1 as arguably the most intriguing player on the Grizzlies’ roster. That’s a lofty projection considering Memphis also drafted dynamic point guard Ja Morant with the No. 2 pick in June’s and…
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MikeCheck: As first training camp looms, Jenkins eager to guide young Grizzlies into bright future
Spend 10 minutes with Taylor Jenkins, and it is easy to come away with multiple vibes. Sensing a man in the midst of an identity crisis is absolutely not among them. Set to open his first training camp as an NBA head coach with the Memphis Grizzlies at the end of the month, Jenkins knows…
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MikeCheck: Southern Heritage Classic a boon for Memphis, an early ‘bowl game’ for Tennessee State-Jackson State rivalry
Welcome to the 30th annual Southern Heritage Classic, where even a relatively pivotal, season-defining football game between two major HBCU programs takes a backseat to a slate of concerts, pageants, community service initiatives, band performances and more that will rock Memphis this weekend.
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MikeCheck: As Grizz teammates advance in FIBA World Cup, Watanabe and Japan build for 2020
MEMPHIS – For a moment, the score didn’t matter. Yuta Watanabe only wanted his teammates on the court for Japan to focus on the vast experience, the global exposure and the growing expectations that lay ahead. Still, the magnitude of the moment wasn’t lost on Watanabe when that capacity crowd in Shanghai roared every time…
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MikeCheck: Who are Southern Jaguars? A proud HBCU program packing guts and grooves for Liberty Bowl trip to face Memphis
They are a prideful, plucky program in powder blue, gold and white uniforms. Plus, they’ve got a hip-shaking, funky marching band called the Human Jukebox. The Southern Heritage Classic arrives in town the following week as one of the top games on the HBCU football schedule. But Southern will bring a touch of soul to…
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MikeCheck: After answering national team calls, prideful Grizzlies thriving on FIBA World Cup stage
Essentially at the ‘now-or-never’ stage of his fledgling NBA career, forward Bruno Caboclo simply doesn’t back down from many challenges. The way Caboclo sees it, only one of two things can happen – and either outcome is personally productive. Several of Caboclo’s teammates on the Grizzlies’ roster share that sense of purpose as they spend…
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MikeCheck: No two ways about it … Alcorn State is the best team in HBCU football this season
BIRMINGHAM – The significance of that notorious number isn’t lost on Fred McNair. Recently seated at a media day table between two of the best players in FCS football this season, the Alcorn State coach was still struggling eight months later to make sense of that controversial call in the end zone of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz…
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MikeCheck: Team USA staff, players confident Jenkins will prove ideal fit as Grizzlies new coach
By all accounts, Jenkins blends a surgeon-like attention to detail with an in-your-face intensity. The Grizzlies and the league saw signs of that last month in Las Vegas. Three weeks after taking the job, Jenkins guided Memphis to the MGM Resorts Summer League championship while still working to finalize his staff and with No. 2…
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MikeCheck: Team USA workouts boost Jackson Jr.’s momentum for sophomore NBA season
Jackson is competing with the Select Team of NBA rising stars to help the USA National Team prepare for the FIBA World Cup qualifier that starts later this month in China. His presence at Team USA training camp makes Jackson the lone teenager among 30 NBA players gathered in Vegas – a talent crop that…