Hornet Chat

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Alabama State senior John Montgomery has played golf at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky., before. This time, he believes he can play a better round in the NCAA regionals.

“It’s awesome to go back,” he said. “I didn’t play too well (in 2009). I was a freshman and I was skinny and small. The course was intimidating. It was a new experience for me, playing with the best amateurs in the world.”

The course wasn’t the only thing intimidating. Montgomery, a Pittsburgh native, didn’t feel very comfortable in the clubhouse as an individual representing a historically black college.

“It was just me and my coach in Kentucky, at a private country club where we were getting a few funny looks,” he said. “They had dinners and stuff for all the players and we didn’t even go to any of that because it was really uncomfortable there. I’m glad to get to go back with the team and have my whole support group with me.”

The Hornets are making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA regionals after winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference Golf Championships on April 25.

Alabama State’s regional is one of six conducted at various sites throughout the country. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals on May 29-June 3 at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

And while finishing in the top five is almost certainly out of the question, the Hornets will be on the same stage with the best teams in the country.

“In the past, at least in my four years here, every team from the SWAC came in dead last,” Montgomery said. “By a lot. Like 30-40 strokes. There are 14 teams there and finishing in the top 10 would be a realistic goal. Obviously, the Cinderella story would be nice, if we could all play around par. But the course is tough, with conditions a lot of players aren’t going to be used to.”

Montgomery offered a few pointers to his teammates during Wednesday’s practice round. The course was extremely harsh to the senior when he made his first appearance there in 2009. He shot an 85 on the first day and was tied for 71st place among the 75 golfers. He shot a 90 and an 87 the final two rounds, finishing in last place by 50 strokes behind medalist Matt Hill of North Carolina State.

This story was originally published at: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20120517/SPORTS0403/305170021/1180

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Richard Amion never thought of himself as a basestealing threat, but he enters the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament as one of the nation’s best, giving the Alabama State offense a much-needed shot in the arm.

“I’m not like (teammate Ryan) Epperson,” said Amion, the Hornet freshman. “That guy can flat-out fly. My technique, really, is I take a bigger lead and force the pitcher to pick off. If that pickoff move is a little slow, I take a bigger lead. If anybody has a high leg kick, I’m going.

“I just focus on the front foot. As soon as the front moves, I’m taking off.”

Amion’s development as one of ASU’s top offensive threats is a huge reason the Hornets are optimistic about their chances this weekend. Win four games and the Hornets grab the conference’s automatic bid to an NCAA regional. Anything less and the season is over.

“We’re going to have to find our rhythm and it’s important for us as coaches to keep them upbeat,” ASU coach Mervyl Melendez said. “All the fundamental talks and the approach and all that is out the window. Now, it’s about the performance and keeping them focused on the goal.”

Amion, like many of the 18 freshmen on the Alabama State baseball team, came to Montgomery with uncertain expectations. He had signed with Melendez when the coach was at Bethune-Cookman. When Melendez accepted the job at Alabama State last June, Amion followed.

“The only reason I signed with that school is because of the coaching staff,” he said. “When I heard the whole coaching staff was coming here, instantly I knew I wanted to come here because wherever they go, they’re winners.”

There were no indications Amion would contribute early. A poor performance in the fall left him on the bench in the spring. Even after the first dozen games of the season, he had contributed little, recording two hits and no stolen bases.

“I started off on the bench,” he said. “They worked with me to teach me how to adjust to college pitching. I was always a free swinger. In high school, a lot of pitchers make mistakes and I just capitalize on their mistakes. In college, you may see one mistake every two at-bats. In high school, you see three or four in every at-bat.”

This story was originally published at: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20120516/SPORTS0403/305160051/1180

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“Contributions” is the sum total of all financial donations from big-money boosters who give to the athletic programs. Your Bobby Lowders. Your Paul Bryants. The guys who park in the nice donor spots right by the stadium on Saturdays and entertain in a luxury suite during the game. The guys who buy blocks of basketball tickets and never attend a game.

At the University of Alabama, those guys forked over more than $33 million in donations in 2010. Auburn’s boosters contributed $29 million. Troy’s gave $2.25 million. And UAB’s handed out more than $3 million.

And ASU? $109,506.

Nick Saban has that much in his couch cushions.

Of ASU’s athletic department operating budget, more than 72 percent (in excess of $6.5 million) was funded by the institution itself. Contributions and ticket sales accounted for less than 10 percent of department’s revenue.

You can’t compete at the FBS level with those numbers. And the reality is, they’re not going to improve.

Again, I base this statement on facts.

ASU’s attendance for football — the largest revenue-producing sport at the school — has remained rather steady over the past decade. For six of those 10 years, it has averaged from just more than 11,000 fans to just more than 12,000. There was a spike to more than 15,000 in 2008, and in 2009, a strange dip to about 6,000.

Total it all up, do a little long division, carry the one and you get: An average of about 11,500 fans per year attending ASU football games. That doesn’t cut it.

There were just two FBS schools last season to average 11,500 fans or fewer — Kent State and Eastern Michigan. They’re both terrible, lost far more than they won and were never competitive in any game against a BCS program.

That’s what you’re looking at if you make this move up — life as a filler game on a decent team’s schedule, willing to accept a guaranteed payout in exchange for your players being used as a punching bag for 60 football minutes. And all the while, you’ll struggle to pay the bills associated with life on that level — the extra compliance officers, the added academic counselors, the increased travel, etc.

It’s stupid, and I have no idea why any school tries it.

Why not move down to Division II, where Tuskegee and Albany State and dozens of other programs rake in the same amount of money from similar-sized fan bases but have half the expenses? Not to mention, you get to win a few games, can compete in a real playoff system and have a decent shot at winning a national title.

I get that it might look bad, and maybe some ignorant people will say it’s admitting failure. But it’s not.

It’s accepting reality.

This story was originally published at: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20120511/SPORTS0403/305110006/1180