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CO S P O RTS 7 ■■HaHssaeMBgaKi INSIDE MOREHOUSE, OCTOBER 2014 Devon Mann Focuses on Athletic and Academic Success BY ADD SEYMOUR JR. DEVON MANN approaches school-work the same way he deals with comerbacks - with a cool, calm demeanor that helps the a junior kinesiology major and Maroon Tigers wide receiver to be successful at both. “On the field and in the classroom, I have the same kind of mentality,” Mann said. “It’s a calm, focused and collected mentality. 1 try not to get overwhelmed or get too excited. Just get relaxed and find my groove so I can focus on what I have to do.” It has worked well for him. Mann has a 3.3 grade point average and has been one of the best wide receivers in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Mann’s focus comes from watching his parents work full-time jobs while attending college. He wanted to fol low in their footsteps. But it was his grandmother, whom he lived with in Tampa, Fla., and a former coach, who pointed him towards Morehouse - even as he had drawn interest from schools such as Georgia Southern and the Naval Academy. “My grandmother thought Morehouse would be a great opportunity for me to thrive as a student and an athlete,” Mann said “And I had a coach who went to Morris Brown College and he would always talk about how HBCUs are important to African Americans, about the fun, about the experience. He would always tell those stories. “And being that my parents are in Adanta, I thought Morehouse would be the perfect place.” It has been a good move. Mann was the team’s most valuable player last season after leading the team in recep tions, reception yardage and touchdown receptions. He has been solid this season, which has been highlighted by a three-touchdown, 203-yard receiving day against Central State. “He’s a great person and a phenomenal player,” said Leon Murray, the Maroon Tigers’ offensive coordinator. “He’s the kind of guy who can change a game in one play and he’s shown that so far this season. He’s good on the field and definitely does his work in the classroom. He means a lot to this team.” That’s a role that means a lot to Mann. He encour ages and helps his teammates on the field and with their studies. He’s aware of the stigma of athletes not caring about their academics and he said he and his teammates strive to be examples of why that isn’t true. “When you go to Morehouse, people expect noth ing but success and better things from you,” Mann said. “None of us want to be a disappointment by not doing those things. It actually pushes us harder because we know people are watching us and expect us to succeed.” As for his own future, his goal is to play in the NFL. But just as important is being seen as a scholar, he said. “Basically, I’ve seen what it takes to get to the next level and what it takes to be great in the classroom - discipline,” he said. “That’s what I like about being a student-athlete.” ■ ^orehoi/se Devon Mann Maroon Tigers Picked to Finish Third in the SIAC East; Austin Anderson Named Preseason All-SIAC BY ADD SEYMOUR JR. SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE Athletic Conference basketball coaches are expecting a resur gence in Morehouse basketball this season. After a lackluster campaign last season, the Maroon Tigers have been picked to finish third, just behind Clark Atlanta and Benedict in the SIAC’s Eastern Division this season. The Maroon Tigers finished 7-20 overall, 4-14 in the SIAC, putting them last in the East only a year after a 20-win season and an appearance in the SIAC cham pionship game. This season, a number of new faces should make for an exciting team, said head coach Grady Brewer ’80. “I’m very excited,” he said. “Last year was disap pointing, but that’s the beauty of basketball. You can come back and get another season to come play. We’re very long; we’re very athletic; we want to go to an up tempo type of game. We want to make our opponents adjust to what we are doing. We want to be exciting. We want to bring an exciting brand of basketball back to Forbes Arena.” Guard Austin Anderson will be important if that is to happen. The 6’ 2” junior kinesiology major from Inkster, Mich., was named to this year’s SIAC Preseason All-Conference Team after leading the Maroon Tigers last season in minutes played and fin ishing second on the team in scoring and assists. “Austin is the most consistent player returning from last year and has the most experience,” Brewer said. “He’s a very explosive guard who can score 20 to 25 points a game at any time. I hope Austin comes in with the mindset that he will be challenged in every game.” Austin Anderson The Maroon Tigers began preseason practice on Oct. 15 in preparation for their Nov. 7 exhibition with the Southeastern Conference’s Louisiana State University and another exhibition on Nov. 11 at Forbes Arena against Southern University. The regular season begins Nov. 14 against Lee University in Carrolton, Ga., with the team’s first regular season home game on Nov. 21 against Fisk University. “I think we are going to do pretty well,” Brewer said. “I look forward to working with the new people we have on board. Some of the guys who weren’t eli gible second semester last season are back So we look to be better than last season.” ■ CROSS COUNTRY Hill Believes Cross Country Team’s Slow Start Should Be a Memory Come Tournament Time BY ADD SEYMOUR JR. THINGS MAY HAVE STARTED out slowly for the Morehouse Cross Country team this year, but Head Coach Willie Hill says things are working out well enough now that this may be the best group that Morehouse has ever seen. “We went through a few ups and down earlier in the season when some people didn’t get their mileage in over the summer," Hill said. “So we had to slow some things down so some people could catch up. “Now we’ve gotten the foundation that we need," he said. “This is a group that has found their identity. They are really going to be a great team." The peak was the Robert Shumake Great American HBCU Cross Country Challenge, held Oct. 4 in Cary, N.C. The Maroon Tigers finished second overall as three Morehouse runners finished in the top 12 in the individual results. Dahir Mohammed, the team's only senior, was third, while Shinaola Agbede finished sixth, and Gerald Jones 12th. “Dahir is normally our leader," Hill said. “He was one who did not come back in shape, but now he’s back. He’s stepping up to be the leader and the runner he was last year. “Shinaola’s father is a coach and he instilled a number of things in him about understanding responsibility," Hill said. “He’s that person you can tell other people to follow as a runner. If you’re out there, three or four miles away and the coach isn’t there and you need to hear something, he‘s really helping his teammates with understanding that we're out here for a purpose.” The Maroon Tigers competed in the LaGrange College Panther Invitational the week before Homecoming. They will finish the regular season in South Georgia at the Valdosta Invitational. Then comes the true focus for the defending SIAC champs - the SIAC Championships Nov. 6-7; the NCAA South Regionals Nov. 21 -22; and the NCAA National Championship, Dec. 5-6. Hill is confident his squad will be ready. “They are the team to beat,” he said. “Most teams have one to two great runners. We have five, possibly eight. We don't have any injuries so far this year, so things look great for the program." ■