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February 28, 2019 | Vol. 93, No. 20

Blake Sandlin/The News

NEWS SGA CANDIDATES’ DEBATE

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SPORTS RACERS PARTICIPATE IN MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK

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FEATURES STUDENTS RAISE MONEY TO FIGHT CANCER

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OPINION MURRAY STATE TALKS MENTAL HEALTH

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News

SGA Candidates’ Debate

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Date:

March 4

Presidential Candidates Trey Book

Time: 7 p.m. - 8p.m.

Junior from Henderson, Kentucky “I’m running for President because Murray State has given me so much. I believe in this great university and each of our students. It’s time for me to give back to this outstanding university. I am prepared to stand strong for the students of Murray State as we continue to improve the lives of each and every person on this campus.”

Place: Alexander Hall Presented by:

M

THE MURR AY STATE

NEWS

Executive Vice President Candidates Kailey Bold

“When students, alumni and community members think of Murray State, the first thing that usually comes to mind is community.

It is Murray State’s most unique quality and probably its most valuable selling point. I am running for SGA Executive Vice President because I want to continue building a community that brings tradition and fresh ideas together as one. I believe I have both the experience and passion to lead Campus Activities Board into a new era of engaging and student centered events that will be sure to boost energy on campus, increasing both recruitment and retention rates.”

Alicia Hubbard

Junior from Belleville, Illinois “I will be running for SGA President because Murray State University is in need of new ideas for enrollment, unity and even diversity. I want to help those that are voiceless to open up and to empower those that lack the confidence to speak up. I believe that in the current state of the University, we are in need of a different perspective of leadership. ”

Vice President of Administration Vice President of Finance Candidate Candidates Bennett Estes

Warren Norman

Sophomore from Millstadt, Illinois

Junior from Paducah, KY

Sophomore from Henderson, Kentucky

Ernest ‘E’ Kenty

Junior from Birmingham, Alabama “I am running because I hear the complaints of the students and faculty on how the campus currently is. I also hear the glorious memories of alumni when they come back to campus. I want to be the change that everyone is waiting for. Faith without works is dead - let’s get to work.”

February 28, 2019

“I am running for Vice President of Administration because I not only want to keep our Murray State SGA organized and current, but also to hold our members accountable. Whether this be in attendance or just making sure our members do their jobs to the best of their

abilities. I believe that SGA is in a

very good position, but that we can continue to move forward with making Murray State the nicest and all around best college campus in Kentucky.”

Kelsey Calhoun

Junior from Jackson, Tennessee

“I am running for Vice President of Finance to help make a difference on campus by representing the student body. I will make sure the financial needs of student government are met and voiced. I plan to remain focused on the accuracy and transparency of the student body financial reports and uses of the funds in my next year of office.”

“I am running for Vice President of Administration so that I may continue to be a voice for my fellow students.”

Milli Cecil/The News

News

February 28, 2019

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Dunker’s Challenge encourages students to give back Alexis Schindler Staff writer aschindler1@murraystate.edu

Murray State encouraged students to help other students with financial needs through the revamped version of the Dunker’s Challenge Scholarship.

The scholarship is awarded based on the student’s need and how much is donated to the fund.

A new addition to aid the scholarship fund is the #DunkersChallenge Campaign. Over 120 students have given money in support of the campaign since it began in 2018.

“The #DunkersChallenge is a challenge to get 200 students, faculty and staff to give a donation to the Dunker’s Challenge Student Education Emergency Fund,” Tradae Moore, director of annual giving, said.

“Over $3,000 has been raised in support of the #DunkersChallenge.”

The campaign began on Feb. 15 and ended Feb. 22.

The goal of 200 was not met with only 60 students participating.

The scholarship started in 2010 when Abigail Hensley, then assistant director of annual giving, and Interim President Bob Jackson, then executive director of development and governmental relations, saw there was a need for a better campaign that encouraged all students to give back.

“We created Dunker’s Challenge originally as a student giving campaign to reward students who participated, so if they gave $10 they would be put into the scholarship system to receive the Dunker’s Challenge Scholarship,” Hensley, now director of development in Hutson School of Agriculture, said.

“That is how we kind of gained the momentum of Dunker’s Challenge from the very beginning.”

The scholarship no longer enters students who give to the challenge to receive the scholarship.

Instead, the scholarship gives students in situations that could prevent them from continuing their education at Murray State a chance.

This includes students who need help paying for tuition, transportation, housing, books or application fees. It is also for students who are living on campus and need emergency housing and dining services during a semester or holiday break. Due to this, the name is no longer Dunker’s Challenge Scholarship, but Dunker’s Challenge Student Education Emergency Fund.

“The Dunker’s Challenge Student Education Emergency Fund is a University-wide initiative coordinated between the Murray State University Foundation and the offices of Student Affairs, Student Engagement and Success, Financial Aid and

University Advancement,” according to the Murray State website.

One student has been awarded the scholarship since it has changed.

“The emergency piece of it is really the big factor they look at to determine if a student is eligible and if their emergency is greater need,” Hensley said. “Emergencies can happen throughout the academic year, so anytime that a student faces a situation that they just don’t have any control over they need to go to the Office of Student Engagement & Success and talk to Mrs. Peggy Whaley about the potential opportunity to receive the Dunker’s Challenge Student Education Emergency Scholarship.”

The scholarship was created not only to promote student giving, but as a way to gather student information as well. It has created a way for the University to gather information such as phone numbers, email addresses and student leadership involvement.

This information is used to connect to students and build a bond.

Donations for the Fund can be given online at murraystate.edu/giving, over the phone with a student caller or through a direct mail piece. When writing a check donation, the giver needs to write the check to the “MSU Foundation” and put “Dunker’s Challenge” in the memo line.

MacKenzie O’Donley/The News

The Dunker’s Challenge Student Education Emergency Scholarship was created to aid students with financial need.

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Opinion

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Editorial Board Blake Sandlin Interim Editor-in-Chief 270-809-6877 bsandlin1@murraystate.edu Bryce Anglin Production Manager 270-809-5874 zanglin@murraystate.edu Daniella Tebib News Editor 270-809-4468 dtebib@murraystate.edu Sara Howell Features Editor 270-809-5871 showell6@murraystate.edu Gage Johnson Sports Editor 270-809-4481 gjohnson17@murraystate.edu Megan Reynolds Opinion Editor 270-809-5873 mreynolds12@murraystate.edu David Wallace Chief Copy Editor 270-809-5876 dwallace15@murraystate.edu Connor Dame Ad Sales and Circulation Manager 270-809-4478 cdame2@murraystate.edu Brock Kirk Photography Editor 270-809-5878 jkirk11@murraystate.edu Kalea Anderson Chief Videographer 270-809-5878 kanderson29@murraystate.edu Dr. Stephanie Anderson Adviser • 270-809-3937 sanderson37@murraystate.edu 2609 University Station Murray State University Murray, Kentucky 42071-3301 msunews1927@gmail.com Fax: (270) 809-3175

TheNews.org

February 28, 2019 Our View

Murray State talks mental health Society views mental health with a hypocritical eye, pretending that “it’s okay to not be okay” when, in reality, it’s still something people won’t admit they fear.

As much as Murray State would like to be an outlier in that fact, it simply isn’t. While many opportunities are offered on campus for those suffering from mental health issues, most students don’t realize that the school offers those services.

Not only does it offer those services, but it offers them completely free of charge.

Of course, students cannot be blamed for being unaware of these opportunities, the University doesn’t advertise for them. Just a teensy little pamphlet (if that) at the beginning of each school year and they send us on our anxious little way.

We live in an age of “make believe.” The society around us constantly tells us that it is okay to feel down, to feel numb, to not even know what you’re feeling. They tell us that, but when we come to them, crying and on our knees because we don’t know what is happening inside our own head, they turn away and pretend that we aren’t there.

Society pats us on the shoulder and says, “Everyone gets stressed sometimes,” as if they know it’s as simple as that.

As frustrating as it is that Murray State doesn’t advertise their mental health services more, it is comforting to know that the community on campus is much more welcoming to those suffering than the rest of the world.

Murray State offers counseling

at the Oakley Applied Science Building. The Counseling Center is completely free for students.

The only people who have to know that you utilize those services are you and your counselor.

Most of the counselors have already completed their schooling, and a select few are graduate students getting experience before they officially enter the workforce.

Wells Hall is home to the Psychological Center on campus, where students can see clinicians about their struggles.

Both the Counseling Center and the Psychological Center are great opportunities with counselors that are wonderful at what they do.

Students will never feel pressured to talk about anything they don’t want to and the counselors themselves excel in learning a student’s background and treating them with nothing but respect.

The Counseling Center is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and welcomes walk-ins. Staff are also on hand for phone calls from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The University also works with students who’ve been facing their anxiety, depression and other struggles through the Student Disability Services office on the third floor of Wells Hall.

This is where students can go to get permission to have service animals and emotional support animals on campus. It’s also a great resource for those facing other challenges who might need other accommodations.

Another phenomenal opportunity offered by the University is monthly pet therapy. The Humane

Autumn Brown/The News

Society works with Murray State to bring in dogs, cats and even rabbits to Alexander Hall. Students can come in at any time the event is running and destress through some cuddle time.

While these opportunities are excellent and the campus is generally great about mental health and its stigma, there is still so much that can be done.

The University needs to promote the opportunities it offers more than it does now. They do no one any good if people aren’t even aware of their existence.

Once students learn about them, that’s when they can put them to

Cheers to “Black Panther” The Marvel film highlighting African heritage took home three Oscars and four other nominations.

The News welcomes commentaries and letters to the editor. Submissions should be 600 words or less, and contributors should include phone numbers for verification. Please include hometown, classification and title or relationship to the University. The News reserves the right to edit for style, length and content. No anonymous contributions will be accepted. All contributions should be turned in by noon on Monday of each week via email to atraylor@murraystate.edu.

use.

Finding help is such an important aspect of confronting your own mental health. Murray State has opened this opportunity up, now it just needs to be advertised.

Raising awareness for mental health and its importance is another step that needs to be taken.

Holding events specifically meant to make students aware of the struggles going on around themselves and those they could be facing on their own is a great start.

Raising that awareness is the greatest thing we as a university can do to change the stigma on mental health.

Jeers to scandal in McCracken County McCracken County High School is under fire after several reports of sex abuse, child pornography and sexual misconduct.

Contributions to The News are the opinion of the author and not that of The Murray State News.

The News is a designated public forum. Student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. The paper offers a hands-on learning environment for students interested in journalism. The campus press should be free from censorship and advance approval of copy and its editors should develop their editorial and news policies.

The News strives to be the University community’s source for information. Our goal is to present that information in a fair and unbiased manner and provide a free and open forum for expression and debate.

The News is prepared and edited by students and is an official publication of Murray State University. The first copy is free. Additional copies are available for 25 cents at 111 Wilson Hall.

Opinion

February 28, 2019

Page 5a

Black History Month is for all Americans Contributing writer wmulligan@murraystate.edu

ized that what we Irish faced pales in comparison to what African-Americans have faced and still face far too often. I study the African-American experience because it is a part of American history that we might want to ignore. My hope is that it does not get ignored because, in a very real way, it is our assessment as a nation.

When we announced our arrival on the world stage as a nation we proudly declared, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is to insure these rights that governments are instituted among men.” The man, Thomas Jefferson, who wrote this held hundreds of human beings in bondage. The new nation held several million. BUT – we had stated our founding principle as EQUALITY from the Creator. More than any group, other than Native Americans, the experience of AfricanAmericans is the test of how well we are doing in living up to what we announced to the world as our founding principle. We all have to study and understand that experience if we are to have any sense of what we are as a nation and how we are doing in terms of our goals. In 1776, all men may have been created equal,

but they were far from it.

How much progress have we made? How can we do more? We need to study African-American history as a way of charting our progress as a nation toward our self-defined goal.

For example, NASA has finally acknowledged Katherine Johnson and her female AfricanAmerican colleagues who did the mathematical calculations for early NASA flights. NASA even had her check their early computers for accuracy. Ponder that for a minute. Inferior, good Lord, NO. Why did we not know this at the time? Why were she and her colleagues not celebrated then? Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) was an accomplished mathematician and astronomer who published an almanac in 1792. He was born a free black. He wrote and published an almanac in 1792.

There is a long history of accomplishment in difficult, if not near-impossible circumstances. American history is replete with women like Katherine Johnson and men like Benjamin Banneker. They happen to be black. We honor white people who overcame less.

Their lives and many others reveal the great reality our imperfect founders declared – All men (people) are created equal. African-American History Month reminds us of that basic and important American principle.

“

It is impossible to understand American history without coming to grips with the AfricanAmerican experience.

-William Mulligan, professor of history

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Thanks to the opinion editor for the invitation and encouragement to write about African-American History Month.

I am often asked about my interest in AfricanAmerican history – why do you research AfricanAmericans during the Civil War in west Kentucky?

Why are you teaching a course on AfricanAmerican history - you’re white/Irish? The same questions, posed in different ways, with different degrees of wonder over many years. There is no simple answer, and there is a simple answer. The short answer is that it is impossible to understand American history without coming to grips with the African-American experience. I say come to grips with instead of understand because the vicious racism and violence directed at African-Americans over centuries defies understanding, lest understanding somehow absolve.

I am a historian who studies the American experience and have been trying to understand it for more than 50 years now.

I have focused my original research on people and communities left out of the main narrative. I first became interested in history when I read my father’s high school history

textbook. It referred to the United States as a great Protestant nation.

Where did I, a Catholic, fit in? Why had my grandfather, who fought in both World Wars, my father and all my uncles but one fight in World War II for this Protestant nation? When I began my career as a historian I quickly noticed that white ethnics, women, and most of all, people of color were largely excluded from the core narrative and in older works treated with contempt or dismissal.

Before he became president, Woodrow Wilson wrote a multi-volume history of the U.S. that refers to happy slaves benefiting from their contact with superior Europeans.

That, I was certain, could not be right.

Having spent my career doing that, I confidently state: It is not possible to understand American history at the most basic level without dealing with the African-American experience – i.e. AfricanAmerican history. It cannot be done. The experience and history of white and black Americans are so interwoven that neither can be understood without a serious effort to understand the other. Being Irish, it turns out, is part of it, in that I am aware of the prejudice, discrimination and violence my ancestors faced and have largely overcome. I dealt with it directly, if briefly, in graduate school. I quickly real-

SUB MI T

William Mulligan

mreynolds12@murraystate.edu Savannah Jane Walton/The News

News

Page 6a

February 28, 2019

Murray State bolsters programs in multiple fields New global languages track approved by CPE Spanish and culture for health care professionals in fall 2019. hpenrod1@murraystate.edu “We would also point out that adding a language Murray State gained major to complement approval for a new proanother major is becoming gram in the global lanincreasingly popular; curguages department that rently, 50 percent of our will build the translation language majors are douand interpretation track. ble majors,” Menchinger

The Council for and Romero-Gonzalez Postsecondary Education said. approved Japanese Lilli Hanik, sophoand Spanish programs, more from Fisherville, including Japanese and Kentucky, said she is excitSpanish laned about this guage tracks, new program J a p a n e s e because it and Spanish will open teaching ceropportunitifications and ties for stuJapanese and dents wantSpanish intering to pursue pretation and a career in translation interpretracks. tation and The protranslation. gram will be “I hope available for to see classstudents in fall es direct2019. ed towards B r e n t translation Menchinger, rather than chair of the understandglobal laning what is guages and going on,” theatre arts Hanik said. department, “Also, ones and Tanya tailored more R o m e r o towards Richard Thompson/The News Gonzalez, speaking and a s s i s t a n t Students attend Robert Fritz’s SPA 202 class. translating professor of speech other Spanish and global lanthan just writing.”

Branden Clayton, guages coordinator, said freshman from Island, The department crethe program was designed Kentucky, said he’s excitated specialized courses to build on Murray State’s ed this new program will for the interpretation and unique global languagexpand the options the translation tracks. It cules department. Murray global languages departtivates hands-on activities State’s Japanese program ment has, as well as proby converting existing is very competitive with vide real-world applicacourses into service-learnits focus on languages tions. ing courses. Menchinger proficiency, which makes and Romero-Gonzalez “It gives a better outlook this new program ideal for said these courses give for the future,” Clayton incoming students in the students hands-on expesaid. “Many students ask global languages departrience that also provides what they will do with forment. community service while eign languages after col In addition to being making them more comlege, and instructing and able to minor in Chinese, petitive for the job market. translating are ever-growSpanish, French, German ing fields.”

Students interested in and Japanese, they will It will also add more the new program should offer 18 credit hour cercontact Brent Menchinger beginner-level courses for tificates in these languagor Tanya Romerospecialized fields, such as es which will tie in with Gonzalez. Their contact basic Spanish and culture placement exams and 100 information can be found for occupational safe-level classes. on TheNews.org. ty and health and basic Haley Penrod Staff writer

“For example, if a student places into SPA 202, and they earn an A or a B, they can then apply for back-credit for SPA 101, 102 and 201,” Menchinger and Romero-Gonzalez said. “Essentially, they will earn 12 credits for the price and time of 3. After taking two more 3-credit courses, they can apply for a certificate. They can also apply these credits as part of their undergraduate degree.”

Bachelor’s degree added in civil and sustainability engineering Daniella Tebib News Editor

dtebib@murraystate.edu

Students can now obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in civil and sustainability engineering as of Feb. 25.

With the program, students will gain skills in areas including structural analysis and design, steel and concrete design, highway design, transportation systems, stormwater control, wastewater treatment and site remediation.

Coursework in construction management estimating will also be included, according to the press release.

The knowledge students gain will allow them to become licensed civil engineers after graduating, according to the press release.

Danny Claiborne, chair of the Institute of Engineering, said he believes as the engineering and other related

programs continue to grow, they will provide access to civil engineering education for people in the region at a lower cost than other universities.

“The new civil and sustainability engineering program joins an already-strong engineering program in engineering physics, with tracks in aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and advanced physics, which has been EAC/ABET-accredited for over 25 years,” Claiborne said.

With this degree, students will be prepared for graduate programs and a variety of job opportunities. Students could be eligible to work with engineering consulting firms as a civil engineer, engineering designer or field engineer. Other options students would be able to explore are working with local, state and fed-

eral agencies, according to the press release.

Some students are excited about the new program and what it will offer.

“It’s definitely impressive that Murray’s STEM field is making strides to include as many choices as possible,” Ed Ellis IV, freshman from Evansville, Indiana, said.

Amy Olshansky, freshman from Louisville, Kentucky, said she is excited about the new program, but hopes to see a focus on specific areas.

“I prefer a larger focus on sustainability, as I have a vested interest in the environment,” Olshansky said. “Along with that, I enjoy learning about the architectural aspects of civil structures, so I’d enjoy assignments that let me show a creative side.”

Students interested in the program can find more information at TheNews.org.

Photo courtesy of Murray State University

The University created a Bachelor of Science degree in civil and sustainability engineering.

News

February 28, 2019

Page 7a

Legislators prioritize university pension plans

Ciara Benham

Staff writer

cbenham@murraystate.edu

A bill that would allow universities in Kentucky to opt out of the state pension plan was passed by the House State and Local Government Committee.

House Bill 358 was passed on Feb. 21 in an attempt to resolve issues that pension plans cause in university budgets.

This piece of legislation applies to regional universities including Murray State University, Morehead State University, Kentucky State University, Eastern Kentucky University, Northern Kentucky University, Kentucky Community and Technical College System and the Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corporation.

The bill would require all new hires to be moved into a university-sponsored

defined contribution plan, allow current employees to opt out of their current pension plan and freeze the pension rate for one year.

Interim President Bob Jackson said Murray State University supports the passage of the bill in its current form, but the bill is not finalized.

“This bill is still in the House of Representatives and must be passed by both the House and Senate in order to become law,” Jackson said. “Several components of this bill are still being amended and until we see a final version, we cannot state decisively our support of HB 358.”

University employees are currently a part of the Kentucky Employees Retirement System. The current system requires employers to contribute 49 percent of employees’ wages toward their pension, but without the oneyear freeze, the rates would

rise to 84 percent.

Rep. James Tipton, R-House District 53, sponsored this bill on behalf of regional institutions. He said he sponsored the bill for the financial benefits that it would have for universities like Murray State.

“The General Assembly passed legislation in 2019 to freeze their rate for fiscal year 2018-19, saving them millions of dollars,” Tipton said. “HB 358 would also freeze the rate for fiscal year 2019-20. However, this practice cannot continue. HB 358 will give schools like Murray State an option to consider moving forward. Each school will make their decision based on the projected costs of the buyout.”

The bill also gives other local organizations the opportunity to withdraw their involvement in the Kentucky Retirement System.

“Provided that the KERS

employer contribution rate shall be 49.47% of pay in fiscal year 2019-20 for regional mental health programs, local and district health departments, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, child advocacy centers, state supported universities and community colleges, and any other agency eligible to voluntarily cease participating in the Kentucky Employees Retirement System pursuant to KRS 61.522,” according to HB 358.

The bill is facing some criticisms by lawmakers for the lack of actuarial data supporting these changes.

An actuarial analysis, a type of asset to liability analysis used by financial companies to ensure they have the funds to pay required liabilities, was not provided with the presentation of the bill.

Those in opposition say it is difficult to know the

Colton Colglazier/The News

full fiscal impact without this data. However, an analysis will supposedly be conducted by the KRS. Supporters of this bill said that the bill would have financial benefits for both universities and students. HB 358 could potentially lower tuition costs for students and help increase university budgets.

“This bill can benefit universities by giving them

certainty over what their future costs for retirement will be and reduce their costs for new employees,” Tipton said. “This bill will benefit students by allowing the schools to stabilize their future costs and financial situation. It should also help to stabilize future tuition increases.”

HB 358 will take effect 90 days after the governor signs it, should it pass.

Sports

Page 8a

February 28, 2019

Racer Athletics participates in OVC Mental Health Awareness Week Gage Johnson Sports Editor gjohnson17@murraystate.edu

From Monday, Feb. 18 through Sunday, Feb. 24, Murray State Athletics lended a helping hand by participating in the OVC’s Mental Health Awareness Week.

All throughout Racer sports last week, each program donned green shirts in support of mental health awareness.

Murray State women’s basketball was one of the many programs to wear the shirts.

Head Coach Rechelle Turner believes it’s critical to spread awareness of mental health problems.

“It was great that our team could participate in wearing green to support Mental Health Week,” Turner said. “It is vital that as many people as possible help bring attention to this critical issue.”

The hashtag OVrCometheStigma represented a conference-wide initiative, as other OVC schools showed their support by way of wristbands, headbands and shirts. The conference has also tackled the issue by informing students and staff at universities what they can do to help.

This is the second-straight year that the conference has looked to spread the word about mental health issues.

Alathea Sellers, a senior on the Murray State rifle team and a member of the OVC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, said the committee believes mental health problems should be at the forefront of public discourse.

“At a conference level, the OVC SAAC’s focus has been the well-being of student-athletes,” Sellers said. “Mental health tends to get lost in the push for physical health not only for student-athletes but for all students. For the past two years, we wanted to push that mental health is just as important to well-being as physical health.”

The conference communicated with counseling centers across all universities and its student-athletes in order to promote activities to shine a light on mental health.

Cole Manion, a junior on the Murray State men’s golf team and the OVC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, believes Murray State is doing a good job of offering help to those that are in need. He thinks it’s important to create an atmosphere in which students feel comfortable receiving help.

“Murray State currently provides fantastic resources for those who struggle with mental health issues,” Manion said. “The individuals at the Women’s Center and at Counseling Services are there to help every student with the mental and emotional problems that seem to be very common among college students. I believe that one goal of the University community should be to promote the services that are already in place so students know that they have an avenue to help them with their mental problems.

Also, it should be the goal of every member of life at the university to try to continue to foster an environment that encourages students to seek help when they need it.”

As a part of the committee, Manion strives to make sure every student in need has the services necessary made available to them.

“It is my goal, as well as that of our campus SAAC, to try to serve the student population of Murray State as well as possible,” Manion said. “Being able to raise awareness for mental health allows us to promote a healthy community at Murray State where no student is judged for the problems they face. It is my goal to create an environment at this university where no student feels alone when facing a difficult time in his or her life, and our work to help raise awareness for mental health is part of achieving this goal.”

Photo Courtesy of @RacerWTennis/Twitter

Murray State tennis posed for a picture to show the OVC Mental Healh Awareness slogan #OVrComeStigma.

Photo courtesy of @racersWBBcoach/Twitter

Murray State women’s basketball wears the #OVrCometheStigma shirts before practicing.

February 28, 2019

Sports

Page 9a

Referee numbers decline amid safety concerns Keenan Hall Staff writer khall16@murraystate.edu

The National Association of Sports Officials reported that there is a shortage in the number of new referees and officials nationwide after many across the country have questioned the quality of officials in sports this year.

In the spring of 2017, the NASO surveyed over 17,400 referees to help increase quality officiating in multiple sports. Officials were surveyed from a mixture of sports, including baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, football, volleyball and more.

The research discovered the main reason for the decline was spectators threatening the referees. Officials have been berated and threatened by their peers, making them fear for their safety.

These problems aren’t isolated. Even this year, several intramural basketball teams at Murray State failed to qualify for the intramural playoffs because of poor sportsmanship in the regular season.

The Director of Sports and Officials for the National Federation of State High School

Associations in Indianapolis, Indiana, Theresia Wynns, expressed that sportsmanship is getting out of control in today’s sports.

“If you talk to referees from any sport, generally they will talk about sportsmanship and how it has become a prominent issue,” Wynns said. “So when officials quit, and there is no one available to take their place, contests have to be canceled.”

In 2017, there was a decrease in the lowest concentration of newly licensed officials between the ages of 15 and 70. The participants in the survey noted an average age of 53 years old.

The lack of sportsmanship is a significant reason why referees are declining among all age groups. Out of over 12,800 male respondents from the survey, 47 percent said they had felt unsafe or feared for their safety while officiating.

From over 1,000 female respondents, 44 percent said they also feared for their safety because of administrators’, players’ and spectators’ behavior.

The survey also showcased 57 percent of referees believe that sportsmanship is getting worse. The majority of survey respondents

THE MURRAY STATE NEWS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

officiate at the high school varsity level.

Coincidentally, sportsmanship is at its worst in youth sports.

“It has to start at the school and school district level,” Wynns said. “They have to take a stand about what they are going to allow and what they are not going to allow.”

The ones receiving most of the blame for poor sportsmanship are parents. Of the respondents from the survey that officiate in Kentucky, 40 percent of referees agree parents are the worst when it comes to sportsmanship.

However, over half of the participants believe it is the coach’s duty to increase sportsmanship.

“Lack of sportsmanship comes from spectators in the stands, players on the field, to coaches on the sideline,” Wynns said. “They have to realize they can’t play those games without having licensed officials.”

Wynns said communicating what good sportmanship is should help school administrators and athletic directors avoid putting more stress on the officials assigned to specific contests.

“They have to make sure they commu-

Intramural basketball season comes to an end Keith Jaco

Senior Tamdra Lawrence earned two gold medals at the OVC Indoor Championship for track and field. She set a new school record and an OVC Championship meet record in the 60m with a time of 7.41 seconds and took first in the 200m with a season-best time of 24.12 seconds.

Tamdra Lawrence Senior Sprinter Track & Field

Rosalyn Churchman /The News

nicate what is appropriate, and then follow up on inappropriate behavior,” Wynns said.

“The school districts have to make a statement and then follow it up with action.”

To neutralize the decline in referees, some universities offer licensed officials courses.

Murray State offered an online football and basketball officiating course this semester; although, if that isn’t a viable option, contacting your state sports office can provide you with ways to get licensed.

“The National Federation is hosting a recruitment program where we’re targeting first responders and we’ve had a great number respond to that program,” Wynns said. “People that are used to working under duress in intense situations.”

Wynns mentioned that every state has its own official recruitment program you have to go through, but it’s not for everyone. There’s a certain level of motivation and commitment to become a referee. Contacting the state’s office is the first step.

“It’s just a matter of locating and working with people who understand what it means to be an official, and getting the job done in a professional manner,” Wynns said.

Staff writer rjaco@murraystate.edu

Murray State intramurals offer students on campus a chance to participate in numerous competitive sports seasons throughout the school year.

The beginning of every spring semester starts with a month-long basketball season, and includes Greek Life teams, teams from residential colleges and independent teams.

Teams that participated in the season were awarded a chance to partake in a basketball postseason if their team managed to score a sportsmanship rating of seven or above.

Sportsmanship is measured on a 1-10 scale and factors in player and coach behavior as well as fan support throughout the season.

From Monday, Feb. 18 to Thursday, Feb. 21, teams that met the sportsmanship rating requirement participated in a week-long tournament to see which men’s

and women’s teams would be crowned IM champions.

On Thursday, Feb. 21, the men’s bracket held semifinal games at 8 p.m. as teams looked to secure a spot in the championship game in Racer Arena at 9 p.m.

In semifinal action, Pi Kappa Alpha defeated the Backpack Boyz in a narrow contest by a score of 51-45, while Far From Athletic took care of Sigma Phi Epsilon 49-38.

In the championship game, a back-and-forth battle resulted in a 51-47 Pi Kappa Alpha victory, allowing the team to finish the seaon with a perfect 11-0 record.

Junior Brock Costello, a team member on Pi Kappa Alpha, was proud of his team’s effort and results this season.

“I honestly didn’t expect to win the whole thing at the first of the season,” Costello said. “Winning the fraternity division was our main goal, and we knew that teams like Lambda Chi, Sig Ep and Sig Chi usually

had stacked teams, so we prepared for that and we just continued to play hard until the season was over.

I’ve never went undefeated before, so it was quite a sight, but the chapter was excited as well.”

On the women’s side, semifinal games were held on Wednesday, Feb. 20.

White College took down the Soccer Gurlz 52-46 and the Regents Rhinos secured a spot in the championship game after a default from Springer-Franklin.

At 9 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21, the Regents Rhinos took on White College in the north gym of Carr Health to determine the champion.

In a tight battle that came down to the wire, the Regents Rhinos defeated White College 33-28 to be crowned the women’s division champions.

Murray State intramurals will hold two more seasons this semester in volleyball and soccer. The intramural volleyball season will begin on Monday, Feb. 25.

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Page 10a

February 28, 2019

Staying ‘Up ‘til Dawn’ Students raise money to fight cancer Alexis Schindler Staff writer aschindler1@murraystate.edu

Throughout the 2018-19 school year, Murray State students have been fundraising with the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in St. Jude’s nationwide college Up ‘til Dawn event.

This year, the goal for the student-led fundraiser was $50,000; students surpassed that goal and ended with a total of $50,335.34.

The money that was raised will go to providing red blood cell transfusions and pediatric crutches to kids that need them, meals for the families of the patients and toys for the recreational areas in the Hospital.

Emily Leonard, senior and executive director of Up ‘til Dawn from St. Louis, Missouri, said she got involved with St. Jude because the mission has always been close to her heart.

“I love children and have been working with three and four-year-olds since high school,” Leonard said. “I also try to volunteer at St. Louis Children’s hospital whenever possible.”

All the fundraising led up to the all-night event held at Racer Arena last Friday, Feb 22. Students stayed up

from midnight to 6 a.m. to honor the St. Jude patients.

Nathan Iler, junior from Louisville, Kentucky and the event coordinator and logistics chairman of the Murray State St. Jude fundraising executive team, said this event is something that is bigger than all of us.

“The six hours we are up represents a child going through chemotherapy or the parent waiting up with that child, the travel times and all these other different things,” Iler said.

“It’s just a small way of saying we see your struggles, we’re here for you and we’re ready to fight this with you.”

Although a majority of the money came from what students raised themselves, some of it was from local businesses such as the Murray-Calloway County Hospital, Pella Corporation and several restaurants.

As many as 346 people registered for the event, a majority of whom were Greek affiliated. They were required to divide up into teams of six, and out of the 47 teams involved Alpha Gamma Delta I, Sigma Sigma Sigma I and Sigma Chi I raised the most money for the fundraiser.

The total amount of money raised during Up ‘til Dawn was $50,335.34.

Alpha Gamma Delta raised $5,745, Sigma Sigma Sigma raised $4,176 and Sigma Chi raised $3,843. The money raised during this fundraiser

I figure if I can give back to kids battling cancer then I have no right to do anything other than that.

-Dagan Spink, senior hit close to home for some students.

Madi Moore, senior from Carbondale, Illinois said the event supports a great cause.

“I personally have a cousin who had Hodgkin’s lymphoma and has had to go to St. Jude’s before, so I know

what all of the money goes toward,” Moore said.

Many students participating in this event had reasons close to heart to do so.

Dagan Spink, senior from Louisville, Kentucky and co-sponsorship chairman of the fundraising executive team, said he had a cousin that died of cancer at age 15.

“She’s only one of three cases that we know of in the world, and the only one in a female, so it was very difficult to treat because there’s not a whole lot of knowledge about it,” Spink said. “I figure if I can give back to kids battling cancer then I have no right to do anything other than that.”

This all-night event was a way for the students to celebrate their fundraising success together as well.

However, there was a requirement for entry into the event.

According to the St. Jude website, “Each participant must raise $100, or teams must raise $600, in order to gain entrance to the allnight challenge.”

The teams competed against one another throughout the night in games

Photo courtesy of Emily Leonard

Chase Hendrickson got his head shaved by his fraternity brother Austin Zinobile. such as a real-life version of Hungry Hungry Hippos and a scavenger hunt; they danced the night away with zumba and silent disco.

Several students had their heads shaved that night for the cause.

The fundraiser was set up by an executive board of about 22 Murray State students. The board spent September through October of last year recruiting for the fundraiser.

Fundraising for St. Jude not only benefited the children and families, but made an emotional impact to Murray State students and allowed them to grow.

“This experience has helped me learn more about why this cause is so important, and allowed me the opportunity to visit St. Jude and earn more experience in sales, fundraising, leadership and event planning,” Spink said.

The St. Jude Up ‘til Dawn fundraiser is open to anyone who wants to be a part of it.

Mary Kathryn Curtis, senior from Mayfield, Kentucky, said it’s important to reach out.

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions,” Curtis said. “Get involved as soon as you can because it will make the world of difference.”

Photo courtesy of Emily Leonard

Features

February 28, 2019

Page 11a

Helping hands Nonprofit organization packs menstrual supplies for teens Claire Smith Staff writer csmith110@murraystate.edu

Feminine hygiene products can be expensive, but one group is trying to make life a little easier for students in middle and high school.

Clutch, a nonprofit organization, has dedicated itself to putting these products in public school bathrooms to serve underprivileged students.

The organization hosted a packing party on Saturday, Feb. 23, in celebration of its first birthday.

A packing party is when members of the organization and the community come together to create the clutches that will go into each school.

The 1,000 clutches filled at Saturday’s party will go to the schools the organization currently serves.

Each clutch contains four pads or tampons, four panty liners, a flushable wipe and an encouraging quote.

Kristen Farley, senior from Murray, started Clutch in February 2018.

“I was talking to my sister one day about how there were no internship opportunities that I thought were going to make a difference in the community,” Farley said.

Her sister then suggested that she make her own.

“She had heard an article on NPR about how girls were having to use toilet paper instead of using pads or tampons, which is not at all acceptable,” Farley said. “Especially if you are trying to focus on an algebra test.”

She said Clutch will send its packages to Uganda with a program that travels there to build wells.

“They give care packages to the mothers which currently don’t include feminine hygiene products or moist flushable wipes, so we will be providing them on an upcoming trip,” Farley said.

Lauren Couch, Clutch’s vice president from Murray, said her family got together to help the vision come to life.

“We try to host packing parties at least quarterly,” Couch said. “Or if we get a very large donation that may prompt us to host a packing party as

well.”

Clutch serves eight schools in and around Murray.

These schools are Murray, Calloway County, Graves County, Marshall County and Carlisle County school systems.

“We are expanding into McCracken County this spring,” Couch said. “We also have a wonderful partnership with the Gentry House to provide products to families experiencing homelessness.”

Kelsey Patterson, senior from Russellville, Kentucky, said this was her first time participating in a packing party.

“I found out about the program through the Peace Corps Prep program,” Patterson said. “I do honestly think there should be more programs like this.”

Donations for Clutch can be dropped off at Vine Street Salon, Murray Art Guild, 120 Mason Hall on campus or Murray Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Items can include tampons, pads, flushable wipes, panty liners and small zipper bags such as Ipsy bags.

Photos courtesy of Kristen Farley

Clutches were filled with pads or tampons, pantyliners, a moist flushable wipe and an encourageing quote.

Page 12a

news

February 28, 2019

OVC TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

Blake Sandlin, Gage Johnson, Milli Cecil/The News

A special publication of The Murray State News

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Page 2b

February 28, 2019

Making Morant

Blake Sandlin/The News

Ja Morant’s ascent from small town kid to big stage star Blake Sandlin Interim Editor-In-Chief bsandlin1@murraystate.edu

There are two sides to Ja Morant’s turbulent, yet providential story.

There’s the side the world is seeing – the acrobatic highlight dunks, the outlandish ball control and breathtaking court vision, the breakneck speed and athleticism. The side of a guy who’s averaging 24.3 ppg and 10.2 apg, and is on pace to become the first Division I player ever to average 20 points and 10 assists per game for an entire season.

Then, there’s the side few have seen, but many are now learning about.

The kid who spent countless hours training with his father, Tee, on their backyard basketball court, jumping on tractor tires and

perfecting his ball handling.

The boy who would sometimes sneak in the car with his dad on school days to watch his adult rec-league games.

And of course, the same boy who, despite his relentless work ethic and unbelievable high school stat lines, had to watch helplessly as his friends and teammates received the high-major college scholarships and notoriety he desired.

What to some onlookers looks like a meteoric rise from nothing, Morant and the tight-knit family who raised him always knew there was something special about that wiry kid from Dalzell, South Carolina, even if nobody else did.

Dalzell, a quaint, rural town of 2,260 on the outskirts of Sumter, South Carolina, is largely made

up of miles of farmland.

There’s few restaurants and no grocery stores, having just a couple of Dollar General stores scattered around amongst some gas stations.

The Morant family’s reputation as athletes didn’t begin with Ja. His grandfather and his uncle were drafted into the MLB, while Ja’s mother, Jamie, was a two-sport athlete with softball and basketball. His father, Tee, played DII basketball at Claflin University and came just short of fulfilling his NBA dreams.

“The DNA was incredible,” Tee said. “I will claim our DNA is incredible. Did I say our DNA is incredible? He’s got an incredible genetic line as far as athletics. But once he took the basketball, it was all basketball, all workouts, all everything.”

DNA aside, Jamie knew

long before now that she had something special in Ja. “My wife will tell you she knew Ja was going to be great when he was in her belly,” Tee said. “She actually said that. I guess that’s that woman intuition.

But, at the same time, you second-guessing her now?”

But, Ja’s success can’t be solely attributed to his unique pedigree. It started with work ethic – one that was fostered within him from as early as 2 years old.

“He was probably like 2, and we had a sectional,” Tee said. “Anytime he did something wrong, I put an in-house [basketball] goal that we had behind the sectional, and then threw two basketballs back there and a bottle of milk. So either he was going to shoot the basketballs, or drink the milk and go to sleep.”

Despite his basketball skills not being fully devel-

oped, he made the biggest leaps during his infancy.

The bulldogged resiliency and fearlessness that’s become a trademark of Ja’s on the basketball court was actually forged on a different stage.

As young as 4 years old, Ja would dress up like Michael Jackson and perform in front of big crowds at cookouts, in front of friends or just in his living room.

“Ja was full-blown Michael Jackson with the jacket, the hat, doing all of it,” Carol Morant, Ja’s aunt, said. “We would call him out, and he would get in full performance and have everybody watch his performances. So he’s been performing for a long time in different capacities. He’s known how to entertain from a young age.”

Tee would often pressure him to perform in front

of the crowds intentionally, in order for him to build up his confidence. Ja never folded under pressure and always delivered a show.

“If you can perform there under a controlled environment, well, when the bright lights came on, you wasn’t nervous,” Tee said.

Ja believes the moonwalking days helped prepare him for the pressures of performing fearlessly in front of thousands.

“I don’t be nervous,” Ja said. “So, I feel like that helped. They used to make me dance sometimes, but I got used to it. I already knew what he was going to say and stuff, so I’d just do it on my own.”

The precocious child soon translated his confidence to the hardwood.

Because there were no leagues available for a 6-year-old at that time, Ja played up in a 7-to-9-year-

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February 28, 2019 old league. What he lacked in stature, he made up for in surprisingly accurate passing ability and ball handling.

“A 6-year-old playing against 9-year-olds was still scoring,” Tee said.

“He’s scoring buckets and making passes that 9 year olds don’t see yet, like I wasn’t expecting this ball.”

A family friend of the Morants, April Rogers, watched Ja grow up. He and his friends would sometimes spend days at her house dancing and having fun, or chowing down on Rogers’ peach cobbler, one of his favorite dishes.

“At that age we were wondering why he was even playing with those kids because he could dribble at that time and he could shoot at that time,” Rogers said. “We were so amazed, and we watched him grow over the years.”

And grow he did. While he was still one of the smallest players on the court, the confidence and self-esteem he cultivated in the backyard carried them through and no one had to look hard to see it.

At 9 years old, playing for the South Carolina Ravens, Ja was nailing three after

“Wilbur walked over to me at halftime and said, ‘Tee Morant, do you see how Ja is doing them?’”

Tee said. “I said, ‘Yeah, he’s just showing off too much.’ And Wilbur said, ‘Remember this: the boy is 9 years old playing against 10 and 11-year-olds, and he’s got the confidence to do what he’s doing. If you don’t believe nothing else I say or listen to anything else I say, listen to this: let him go. He’ll be fine, because he’ll have the confidence to do whatever he wants during a game. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’”

Even after games, Ja’s perfectionist nature was on display. No matter how many assists, points or wins he raked in, he had an insatiable desire to keep improving. Tee and other coaches would make Ja and his teammates critique and grade their individual games on the drive home in order to improve their basketball IQ’s.

Ja would oftentimes judge himself harshly even when he played exceptionally, leading the other players to adjust their own grades accordingly.

“There’s a lot of times we’d get out the van I’d be

Blake Sandlin/The News

Tee Morant drives more than nine hours to watch his son play. three in a defender’s face.

When he hit a shot, he would flash WWE wrestler John Cena’s patented “You Can’t See Me” hand sign arrogantly, much to his father’s displeasure.

Tee screamed for Ja to stop showboating during that game, where Tee said he would ultimately finish with around 25 points.

At halftime, Tee ran into an older man named Wilbur Singleton, who played for Wake Forest years before.

like, ‘Why the hell you give yourself a five? You had like three turnovers, you had like 25 points and eight assists,’” Tee said. “But that was just me being real. I never gave him the seal of approval. I always told him he was overrated and all that. My wife would be like, ‘Why you always tell him that?’ I’d be like, ‘Because I got to keep him hungry.’ And now, people asking me, ‘Why’s your boy so hungry?’ And I say, ‘Because I haven’t been

feeding him [crap].’”

Ja’s IQ was even manifested in the virtual world.

His uncle, Phil Morant, used to babysit Ja and his cousins while his father was working. They spent their time playing the popular basketball video game “NBA 2K.” Even as early as 9, Phil said he could spot Ja’s unique intelligence for the game by the way he utilized the players according to their skillsets.

“He started following Russell Westbrook,” Phil said. “If you remember, Russell Westbrook would always dribble real fast to the free throw line and pull up. So he’s doing this, and I’m checking out his IQ. And I’m telling Tee, ‘He is using everybody the way they’re supposed to be used.’ I’m trying to figure out who the hell I can funnel the ball to to make him lose this game, then he started beating me and it was over with from there.

I don’t even play him no more.”

Although his IQ kept inflating, his small stature remained constant. Ja was around 5 feet, 5 inches through middle school.

Tee began to worry that his son may never have a future in basketball.

“I was nervous,” Tee said. “I was like, ‘I’m gonna have to teach this boy a whole lot of step-backs so he can get a shot off.’”

Fortunately for Ja, he started to hit a growth spurt after middle school.

By the time he reached high school, he had skyrocketed to about 5 feet, 10 inches, and by his junior year he stood six foot. As he began to grow, his natural athleticism started to show. Tee kept his son out of AAU for most of the summer of his ninth grade year in order to train.

To develop his speed and athleticism, Ja trained with resistance parachutes, drilled defensive slides, ran hills and elevated his vertical leap by jumping on tractor tires. As his vertical increased, Tee would increase the jumps on the tractor tires to maximize the drill’s effectiveness.

The additional training paid dividends. Ja performed his first in-game dunk the summer of his 9th-grade year. That’s when Tee realized his son

was cut from a different cloth.

And so began the ascent of Ja Morant. His work in the backyard with his dad accelerated as he advanced through his career at Crestwood High School in Sumter, South Carolina. Yet as his skillset advanced, his humility stayed the same.

When Dwyane Edwards, Ja’s high school coach at Crestwood, considered bringing him up for varsity when Ja was a sophomore, Ja told his coach he needed another year to prove himself with the junior varsity team.

“He knew where he was,” Rogers said. “He knew where his level was.

If he was somebody that was real cocky and didn’t care about the team winning, he would’ve just been thinking about himself and he would’ve jumped at that opportunity. He would’ve made sure he got himself playing time.”

That extra year of development at a lower level afforded Ja the opportunity to improve all facets of his game, and by the time he reached the varsity level, he did just that. Ja averaged an astonishing 27 points, eight assists and eight rebounds in two consecutive seasons at Crestwood, but if you asked his coach, it was the intangibles that made him special.

“If you put four other guys around him, he’s gonna make them better,” Edwards said. “I always tell them all the time, that’s why I always liked Magic [Johnson], because Magic always got the most out of his guys, and that’s Ja. To be honest, you could have an average player, but playing on a team with Ja Morant, he could make it seem like you’re a pretty good player because he’s going to get them involved.”

Throughout high school, Edwards said Ja’s game was one step ahead of other players. His extraordinary vision and basketball IQ allowed him to make passes no one saw coming, not even his own teammates.

But, it wasn’t how he did it; it was the way he did it.

Crestwood’s offense was very similar to the Racers’ now – defined by run-andgun transition play and a

Page 3b lot of freedom of movement for players.

“I had an offense, but if you’ve got Ja Morant and you got the floor spacing or on a break or whatever, he’s gonna make the best decision when it comes down to trying to get that basket,” Edwards said. “He had that freedom with me.”

Anyone you talk to around Dalzell raves about that same work ethic Edwards described.

However, even as Ja terrorized teams in South Carolina his senior year, he oddly didn’t attract the same power-five offers that some of his friends and AAU teammates did.

Blake Sandlin/The News

Sophomore guard Ja Morant passes the ball in a Murray State home game.

Even the untrained eye of the casual fan noticed Ja’s ability to lead an offense almost single handedly.

“You could see it all on the floor,” Rogers said. “He was a general on the floor at all times, and I remember him even calling timeouts at times because I sometimes sat behind the bench. I remember him calling timeouts at times and telling the coaches, ‘They’re doing so and so and so and so, so we need to do so and so and so and so.’ That’s the way it went.

They went back out there and did it.”

Edwards knows a thing or two about talent evaluation. As an assistant coach at Crestwood High, he coached a team consisting of Ja’s father Tee, as well as NBA great Ray Allen.

He said Ja’s tireless work ethic in high school directly correlated to his success on the court.

“Ja would practice with me, then he’d go home and practice with his daddy after practice,” Edwards said. “You couldn’t open the gym enough for Ja Morant. You couldn’t open it enough. ‘Coach, can you open the gym this Sunday?

Can you ask coach Brown?’

We’d finish up, then he’d go to the backyard with his daddy and shoot some more.”

Ja watched as players like Zion Williamson and Devontae Shuler – two South Carolina players who played on the same AAU team as Ja the summer of his freshman year – raked in national hype and a plethora of DI offers, while Ja – yes, the same Ja that averaged 27, eight and eight – had just two offers from South Carolina State and Maryland EasternShore following his junior campaign.

The teenage Morant was baffled, and so were the family and friends around him.

“We was stumped pretty much,” Tee said. “It felt like our hands was tied, and somebody was like beating the hell out of our child. He’s putting everything out there. He’s showing the work. He’s showing how good he is. But at the same time, what are [scouts] seeing that we’re not seeing?”

Though he was distraught, he didn’t show it.

He continued to work in silence, praying he would ultimately see the fruits of his labor. Through it all, though, it was his relationship with his mother and father that helped him endure. The Morants had a mantra, “These four walls,”

,

see MORANT page 4

MORANT From Page 3 meaning anything that didn’t affect the bond between the tight-knit family was none of their concern.

Tee did his best to console his son. He constantly reminded him that “cream would always rise to the top.” Jamie was quick to remind him he was “beneath no one,” a phrase Morant has tattooed on his left arm.

While Tee and Jamie were working fervently to encourage their son, it was the spiritual support of Ja’s grandmother, Linda Smalley, that gave him the boost he needed to endure the trials that plagued his high school path.

Affectionately known as “Mama Lin” around the Morant household, Ja’s grandmother never showed him how to improve his jumper, never trained with him on the basketball court and never complained about his play or concerned herself with wins and losses.

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Page 4b What she did do, however, was give Ja the encouragement to keep going through the good times and the bad – and for a young, confused and troubled Ja Morant, that support was paramount. She didn’t do it for Ja Morant, the athlete.

She did it for Ja Morant, the person.

“I don’t care how the performance was or if it was sports, Mama Lin had encouraging words always,” Tee said. “That’s the crazy thing, because I work at a barbershop and I tell a lot of people that there ain’t too many grandmas out there these days that are willing to drop everything for their grandchild… Mama Lin was never pushing the envelope as far as him being an NBA player or Hall of Famer or anything; Mama Lin was pushing for him to follow God’s plan.”

Smalley, who lives in Appling, Georgia, would sometimes get texts from Ja asking for prayer or a simple scripture to get him through his day. Smalley said Ja told her he felt like God had big plans for him, even though his current

struggles weren’t reflecting that.

“There was times when I used to go back to Georgia and stuff, she used to take me and my cousins to church,” Ja said. “I know everytime she could just feel when something was up or anything, and she would just tell my mom to give me a prayer or scripture to read. I just got so comfortable with it that times when I felt like the Devil is trying to attack me or anything, I’ll just go to her.”

Smalley knew her grandson’s struggles wouldn’t last forever.

“With God’s plan, nobody can stop it,” Smalley said.

“It can’t even stop itself.”

And it didn’t. Even when the high-major offers never came, Ja stuck to God’s plan. Anyone who’s paid an inkling of attention to college basketball this season knows how that plan’s played out.

Former Murray State basketball assistant James Kane serendipitously stumbled upon Ja playing 3-on-3 in the side room at an AAU tournament while he was searching for a snack. Kane

was actually scouting current Racer freshman Tevin Brown. Ja wasn’t even listed on the camp’s official roster. Kane immediately called Murray State Head Coach Matt McMahon, and the Racer coaching staff made Ja their top priority.

From that moment on, Ja finally received the one thing he’d been craving: loyalty. He took a visit to Murray State on Sept.

1, 2016, and committed to the school that day. He was scheduled to take his official visit to the University of South Carolina weeks later, but it was the love and commitment Murray State showed him that ultimately sold Ja on the school.

“Ja says this is where he want to be at, and he graded it out and was like, ‘This is why: They never lied to us,’” Tee said.

A lot has changed since then.

Ja is currently leading the country in assists at 10.2 per game, and just recently broke the OVC single-season assist record. He’s added a handful of emphatic highlight-reel dunks to his resume and is the toast

February 28, 2019 of SportsCenter most nights following games. He’s busted into the national conversation, and is currently projected by several mock drafts to be drafted second in the 2019 NBA Draft.

But some things never change.

Ja still texts “Mama Lin” to ask for prayer and scripture on occasion and FaceTimes his parents constantly. He still visits April Rogers’ house when he has a hankering for her coveted peach cobbler. He’s still infatuated by Russell Westbrook skill, and will soon go from controlling him in video games to facing off toe-to-toe.

He still hasn’t forgotten about Dalzell, and his old high school coach hopes Dalzell doesn’t forget about him anytime soon.

“I want him to just show kids, and it doesn’t have to be basketball, that if you’ve got goals or you’ve got a dream you’re working towards that you can make it,” Edwards said.

“That’s what Ja Morant owes Crestwood. Just be there and show them that he made it.”

Even as national acclaim rains down on him and he’s met with endless lines of fans yearning for photos and autographs after games, Ja is acutely aware that this isn’t the end goal. There’s a reason his father kept him hungry, and it’s only a matter of time before there’s a full-course meal waiting.

“Since I’ve been playing, I don’t think I’ve ever heard my dad say, ‘Boy, you a great player,’” Morant said.

“It’s always just something with him. He always just tells me about the bad stuff.

As of now, with all the attention I’m getting and stuff, and the people calling me overrated, it’s really nothing new that I haven’t heard from him. It really doesn’t faze me anymore what the fans say. I really think it’s just them poking the bear.

That’s when I show how I really play.”

There are two sides to Ja Morant. Each tells its own story, but together they’re emblematic of one complete picture – one depicting a man primed to make it so that he can finally give back to those who helped make him.

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Page 5b

Racers look to defend OVC title Keith Jaco

first in the OVC in scoring offense, averaging 87.6 ppg. They also lead the conference in threepoint field goals per game, averaging 10.6 per contest.

The Bruins are also riding the longest current winning streak in the OVC, winning 11 straight and 14 of their last 15.

Murray State will look to cool down the Bruins at the Ford Center for the second year in a row as the Racers come in as likely underdogs. Murray State is playing its best basketball as of late, putting their own winning streak together, rattling off seven-straight wins and holding opponents to an OVC-best 67.7 points per game.

leading turnover margin at plus-4.14. APSU can get the job done on the offenrjaco@murraystate.edu sive side of the ball as

well, leading the OVC in Conference tournathree-point field goal perment play is a time for centage by shooting 38.5 upsets, buzzer beaters and percent from deep.

Cinderella teams waltzing Another team worthy of into the Big Dance. praise and recognition for This year, the Murray its season in the OVC is State Racers will look to JSU. The Gamecocks have fight off seven other hunposted impressive wins gry OVC foes en route in OVC play, defeating to its second-consecuBelmont twice before taktive OVC Championship ing down Murray State in a and NCAA tournament 88-68 blowout. With mulappearance. tiple standout wins under With noticeable changtheir belt, the Gamecocks es from the team that also have their share of stormed the Ford Center bad losses, suffering an a season ago, sophomore 18-point defeat to Eastern guard Ja Morant will look Kentucky, as well as dropto lead the Racers into ping a close one to UT the NCAA tournament Martin, each on the road. with another stellar per The final formance week of the in the OVC regular season Tournament. will decide the The OVC final four seeds Tournament of the tournawill begin on ment as EKU, Wednesday, UT Martin March 6, and and Southern will include I l l i n o i s the top eight Edwardsville teams of the are currently OVC. Byes tied for eighth will be given in the division. to the top Eastern four teams, Illinois and while the Morehead State first and second-seeded Blake Sandlin/The News share a spot in fifth, but will teams will Junior forward Darnell Cowart backs down his defender against EKU. be tasked with receive byes through the first two The Racers will need to matchups against teams in win out to ensure a No. the top four of the OVC as rounds.

Murray State Racers and 2 seed and byes through the Panthers host JSU, and Belmont are currently tied the first two rounds in the Eagles host Murray atop the OVC, with Austin the OVC Tournament. State on Thursday, Feb. Peay looming one game Murray State is coming 28. behind in second place. off a statement win over EKU and UT Martin The Governors will look Southeast Missouri State will be interesting sleepto knock off the Racers in in which they scored ers if they make it into each team’s final game of 103 points and had three the tournament as each the season to force a tie guards with over 15 points team holds a win over JSU apiece. If the Racers can this season. The emerfor the second seed.

Following a dou- get consistent scoring gence of junior transfer ble-overtime win over across their starting line- guard Craig Randall II has Eastern Kentucky last up, they’ll be a dangerous provided a spark for the Skyhawk offense. Senior weekend, Jacksonville force come March.

The Austin Peay forward Nick Mayo has State has all but locked in its spot for the fourth Governors have a chance produced a solid final seed in the tournament, to shake things up this year year in OVC play for the pending a JSU win and in the OVC Tournament Colonels, averaging an an Austin Peay loss next as they return sophomore OVC second-best 23.3 forward Terry Taylor ppg.

Saturday, March 2.

Belmont was chosen as with a stronger support- The OVC Tournament will begin Wednesday, the preseason favorite in ing cast than a year ago. the OVC and hasn’t disap- The Governors rank in March 6, and will conpointed despite two early the top three in scoring clude Saturday, March season losses to JSU. defense and steals while 9, at the Ford Center in The Bruins are currently also sporting an OVC- Evansville, Indiana.

Staff writer

Gage Johnson/The News

Freshman guard Macey Turley drives to the basket against EKU.

Racers fighting for Tourney spot Gage Johnson Sports Editor gjohnson17@murraystate.edu

After being picked to finish last in the preseason OVC polls, Murray State women’s basketball is now in a position to shock the conference in postseason play.

“As a coaching staff we didn’t feel we were 12th preseason,” Head Coach Rechelle Turner said. “We felt like we knew what we had in this recruiting class and we also knew what we had with Evelyn [Adebayo].

We felt like we could make a run. We didn’t know how big of a run we would make this year, but our goal was to take a huge step this year.”

With games against Morehead State and Austin Peay left on their regular season slate, the Racers are almost guaranteed a spot in the OVC Tournament.

There is a dog fight in the middle of the OVC with Murray State and Jacksonville State tied for sixth place, and SIUE and Southeast Missouri State tied for eighth.

There are three scenarios in which the Racers could make the tournament. If Murray State defeats Morehead State on Thursday, Feb. 28, and SEMO or SIUE loses, the Racers are in. If SEMO or SIUE loses both of its last two games, Murray State will clinch a spot in

Evansville. Another way to clinch an OVC Tournament bid is if the Racers win their last two games of the regular season.

While it may not be necessary to be able to make the tournament, Turner thought the final four games of the season were mustwin, including this week’s matchup against Morehead State and Austin Peay.

“We told them that we have four games left and we have to win them all,” Turner said. “I believe that.

If that’s pressure, then that’s part of it. We’re not going to sugarcoat things. We put ourselves in this position by the way we played at the beginning of the season, so we’ve got to pull our way out of it and the way to do that is to win these next four games. They’ve answered the call on the first two.”

If the season were to end on Thursday, Feb. 28, Belmont, Tennessee Tech, UT Martin and Morehead State would be the top four teams in the conference.

Belmont is the reigning OVC Champion, and is currently riding a 14-game winning streak. The Bruins are 22-5 (15-1) and are led

by OVC Player of the Year candidate, senior guard Darby Maggard (17.0 ppg).

The other three teams at the top of the conference are all tied for second place, owning 11-5 OVC records.

While the Racers may be considered underdogs

at 12-15 (8-8), the phrase should be used with caution. Outside of blowout losses to SIUE (71-54) and Morehead State (81-63), Murray State’s average margin of loss in conference play is 6.5, with one of those losses being a seven-point loss to Belmont.

A crucial factor to Murray State’s play has been finding offense from other Racers outside of junior forward Evelyn Adebayo (18.4 ppg) and freshman guard Macey Turley (13.4 ppg).

Junior guard Janika GriffithWallace has taken on the role of a third primary scorer, scoring in double figures in seven of their last eight games.

When Griffith-Wallace and other players like freshman guard Lex Mayes and sophomore forward Briana Crane get in on the offensive action, Turner thinks they are capable of defeating anyone.

“When we make shots, we defensively play well enough that we can win and play with anybody,” Turner said.

Coming into the most crucial part of the season, Turner and company want to continue to shock teams across the conference.

“Our motto all year long has been to prove people wrong,” Turner said. “We wanted to prove people wrong; all the doubters that didn’t think we were going to be able to compete and those that did vote us last.”

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February 28, 2019

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Ballin’ for a budget Daniella Tebib News Editor dtebib@murraystate.edu

Freshman guard Ja Morant’s success has not only brought attention to Murray State men’s basketball, but has also helped the University financially.

Since Morant joined the team in 2017, the University has seen an increase in ticket sales, publicity and overall economic gain.

Shawn Touney, director of communication, said the team has had a major impact on Murray State’s advertising value equivalency.

“There’s about a six-week stretch from December 1 through roughly the third week of January where we had roughly $46 million in what they call an advertising value equivalency,” Touney said. “So, it was the amount of earned media, if you could put a dollar or figure on that, [which was] $46 million through mentions of Murray State University on TV, radio, newspaper, in just a seven-week timeframe.”

Touney also said this has been positive for Murray State’s alumni development, fundraising, recruitment efforts and students.

Martin Milkman, professor of economics, said the University is also receiving a lot of free publicity from the team’s success.

“Every time that we play, whether

it’s home or away, we have some ads for Murray State so the University can get its name out there,” Milkman said. “This results long term in more applicants and enrollment at Murray State. I don’t know anybody who has been able to quantify that. But, I do know that at other schools, when they have tremendous success… they had a tremendous pickup in enrollment afterwards.”

Milkman said another way Morant and the team have impacted Murray State financially is through ticket sales.

Between the 2016-17 and 2018-19 basketball seasons, overall attendance has increased by 32,881 people, according to Murray State season statistics.

Not only has Murray State reaped benefits, but the city of Murray has also seen an impact.

“I think the city in general is getting benefits because some people come from out of town,” Milkman said. “A lot of them will spend the night, so our hotels are benefiting. Some people, even if they don’t spend the night, eat here. So, there is economic impact from that. They may also buy some souvenirs at the games, which directly impacts Murray State as well.”

Milkman said he believes if Murray State wins the OVC Tournament, the University can expect to see an even bigger financial impact.

Photo by Gage Johnson/TheNews

Murray State celebrates a UT Martin road victory with Racer fans.

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Racers in need of third scorer for OVC Tourney Adam Redfern Staff writer aredfern@murraystate.edu Murray State’s women’s basketball team is sitting at a 12-15 (8-8) record with the help of its two leading scorers, but in the midst of a postseason push the team needs another consistent scorer to slip into the OVC tournament.

The Racers are getting 18.3 ppg out of junior forward Evelyn Adebayo and 13.4 ppg from freshman forward Macey Turley. However, oftentimes its the inability for the Racers to find offense out of the rest of their team that costs them.

“It seems like we have two players step up each game, but we still can’t get that third or fourth player,” Turner said. “It is the inconsistency of the scoring that has really put us in a hole, but defensively our kids continue to come out and compete each and every night.

If we can put both of those ends of the the floor together we would be a tough out.”

The Racers’ offense has predominantly gone through Adebayo, though some games Turley has led the pack. Adebayo has led the Racers in scoring in 18 of their 28 games this season, and Turley has led them in scoring in six games.

At times a third option for Murray State has been sophomore guard Janika Griffith-Wallace. Griffith-Wallace has led the Racers in scoring in four games and averages 10.9 ppg. While she is shooting 36 percent from the field and

33 percent from three on the season, she has scored in double digits in seven of the Racers’ last eight games.

Another possible scorer could be freshman guard Lex Mayes. Mayes has the third-most minutes on the team with 844 minutes played, but is averaging 7.5 ppg. This could be due to fewer shot attempts than her fellow starters. Mayes has only shot 175 shots, with 131 coming from three. She’s shown she is capable of being the solution to the offense, shooting 37 percent from behind the arc.

Turner wants her team to not be afraid when it comes to the offensive side of the ball.

“I believe we need to get more shot attempts up; that is one thing we don’t do is getting enough shot attempts,” Turner said. “We need more quantity.

Sometimes we don’t take good shots, and sometimes we wait for the perfect shot and that is not gonna come. We need to work on finding a happy medium and pick up our pace of play a little bit. We have kids going out there doing what we need them to do, but we just don’t have enough.”

With the OVC tournament around the corner, the Racers are looking to make a run at the OVC title. With one or two more consistent scorers outside of Turley and Adebayo, Murray State could be a dangerous team in the postseason this year.

Whether it is Griffith-Wallace, Mayes, or another Racer on the roster, a third scorer is crucial to pushing the team to the next level.

Photo by Gage Johnson/TheNews

Sophomore guard Janika Griffith-Wallace drives to the paint in a pick-and-roll.

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February 28, 2019

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OVC Tournament returns to Ford Center February 28, 2019

Keith Jaco Staff writer rjaco@murraystate.edu The Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, will be the site of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament once again this season as the Murray State men’s and women’s basketball team look to capture an OVC Championship.

The Racers are far from strangers to playing at the Ford Center in Evansville.

The Racers women’s basketball team snuck in with the eighth seed last season, coming up short in the first round to Belmont 88-64.

Murray State’s men’s basketball team took down Jacksonville State in the semifinals last year before being crowned OVC Champions following a statement win over Belmont 68-51 in front of a packed crowd of Murray State fans.

Before the 2018 OVC Tournament, a trip to the NCAA tournament ran through Nashville, Tennessee, at the Municipal Auditorium in downtown Nashville. In recent years, many fans and teams complained of the unfairness of playing in Nashville, as Belmont was guaranteed a home game-like atmosphere every postseason.

friends and I to all enjoy a fun-filled weekend of Racer basketball in Evansville.”

This year will be no different for Murray State as the Racers enter the final week of the season as favorites to make another deep run and possibly clinch their second-consecutive OVC Championship.

M u r r a y State sophomore Christian Barnhill is eager to get the chance to go back home and experience another OVC Tournament.

“I’m super excited for this year’s tournament,” Barnhill said. “I’ll definitely be going back since it’s in my hometown and we have an even better chance of going to the Big Dance this year with Ja [Morant]. I know it’s going to be hyped up, too, with all of the attention Ja is getting right now.”

The OVC will Photo courtesy of Nyttend Tournament begin Wednesday, The Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, will be home to the OVC Tournament again this season.

March 6, with the Racer fans made sure to which allowed for each first game featuring the No. support their team with this game to have a home-game 5 seed taking on the No. 8 change, bringing in hoards atmosphere and the short seed at 6:30 p.m. at the Ford of Murray State faithfuls drive also allowed for my Center.

While the new venue was not ideal for every team in the OVC, teams like Murray State reaped the benefits with massive crowds.

The drive from Murray to Evansville was much like the trip to Nashville, yet no team was guaranteed a favorable crowd.

to witness the Racers’ 16th OVC Championship in 2018.

Murray State senior Alex Millay thoroughly enjoyed his first trip to the OVC tournament last season.

“I really enjoyed my first OVC Tournament experience last year,” Millay said.

“Racer nation travels well,

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February 28, 2019

Gilmore answers call as ‘next man up’ Keenan Hall Staff writer khall16@murraystate.edu

Late in conference play, Murray State men’s basketball sophomore forward Devin Gilmore has been a reliable factor off the bench for the Racers after logging 30 career minutes coming into this season.

In non-conference play, Gilmore averaged 9.0 minutes per game, but since the Racers’ game against Tennessee State on Jan. 26, he’s averaged 14.1 mpg. In a season-high 22 minutes of action against Eastern Kentucky, Gilmore went perfect from the floor scoring 12 points, seven rebounds and one steal.

Gilmore attributes his change in play to his mentality in practice.

“I took the approach that practice is just like a game but 10 times tough-

has been er,” Gilmore said. reassuring,” “Coach wants us Gilmore to practice hard said. “I was so when game surprised at time comes, it’s first at my second nature to role, but all us.” year my goal Head Coach has been Matt McMahon to increase spoke highly of that. It was Gilmore after frustrating one of his best at first, but games of the year against I had my EKU. mom and my coaching “His abilstaff in my ity to finish ear encourplays around aging me to the basket and stay consisway above the tent.” rim is critical,” McMahon said.

T h e “Also, we were Picayune, struggling in the Mississippi, first half on the native takes defensive glass, Blake Sandlin/The News a d v a n t a g e but Gilmore was Sophomore forward Devin Gilmore dunks the ball against SEMO. of his athterrific in the leticism and Terrell Miller last year year ready to contribute second half on the weak quick jumping ability to and senior forward for his teammates and side. He grabbed a lot of effectively rebound with Anthony Smith to injucoaches. defensive rebounds for the bigs on the floor. He ry early in the season, “Coach put some trust us.” is only 6 foot, 6 inchGilmore came into the in me to perform and that es, weighing in at 200 After losing bigs like

pounds, but has the sixthmost total rebounds in conference play. Gilmore is tied for fourth place in blocks against OVC opponents.

“With Devin’s athleticism, he has been outstanding contesting shots around the basket over the last eight games,” McMahon said. “It’s a big part of our defense.

When we do get beat, we can have guys step up and make the next play.”

Gilmore has appeared in 19 games this season, surpassing his freshman total of 13. Although he only averages 3.5 ppg, his athleticism allows him to affect the game in different areas.

“The more Gilmore gets to play, the more experience he will get.

He will continue to make improvement,” McMahon said. “He earned his way onto the floor through his performance in practice.”

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Murray State offense ready to run in Evansville Blake Sandlin Interim Editor-In-Chief bsandlin1@murraystate.edu

You don’t have to be a basketball savant to notice Murray State men’s basketball’s uniquely upbeat, high-flying offense that has wreaked havoc across the OVC this season.

Half personnel, half philosophy, Murray State’s offense has flourished this season under Head Coach Matt McMahon’s stewardship. The Racers are ranked No. 2 in the OVC in scoring offense at 83 ppg and lead the conference in field goal percentage at over 49 percent per contest.

For as lauded as players like sophomore guard Ja Morant and company have been this year – and justifiably so – it’s the freedom and up-tempo style Murray State plays with that enables the cast of Racers to shine.

And no one has their fingerprints on that play style more than McMahon.

The fourth-year Racer skipper spent four years under former Murray State Head Coach Steve Prohm as an assistant. Even before that, McMahon was blazing his own trail in the college ranks as a point guard for Appalachian State under famed Head Coach Buzz Peterson.

McMahon credits both of those coaches with influencing his current coaching philosophy, but it was his time working with Prohm that exposed him to innovative coaching strategies.

“I really learned a lot

under coach Prohm; he’s really innovative on the offensive end of the floor,” McMahon said. “We ran some different actions back during his time that now have become really common in today’s game, and the NBA game even, that weren’t when he started using some of those.”

Years later, the student has become the teacher, although he’s quick to admit he has plenty more to learn.

“I think if you want to become the best you’re capable of being [you have to learn],” McMahon added. “I want all our players always in that mindset, I want to try to become the best coach I can be. I think you have to be committed to always learning and trying to get better, so there’s tons of coaches that I’ve stolen from or studied.”

The byproduct of this medley of philosophies is an up-tempo offense that thrives in transition, fueled by athletic play makers like Morant and senior guard Shaq Buchanan, and even prolific shooters like freshman guard Tevin Brown that can often make defenses pay in transition when Morant draws a crowd of defenders.

McMahon even encourages his players to play fast in practice, sometimes forcing them to play with a 15-second shot clock.

“When I was blessed to get the job when I first got back here to Murray, we didn’t have the personnel to play at that [fast] pace, so we had to play a

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slow, grind-it-out half-court offense, because that’s what gave us the best chance to win our first year,” McMahon said. “With players like a Ja Morant and Shaq Buchanan, we want to play extremely fast, but we also want to be smart about it. I think there’s a certain balance you want to have to where you’re very effective in transition, but you also want to be able to execute in the halfcourt.”

It’s no secret Murray State has been gifted a plethora of elite point guards over the years – most recently, players like Isaiah Canaan, Cameron Payne, Jonathan Stark and now Morant.

But does this proclivity for elite talent at the point guard position reflect a specific coaching philosophy that requires a certain skillset, or has McMahon and his predecessors just gotten lucky over the years?

While McMahon admits he does have a certain prototype in mind when recruiting, he knows he’s been fortunate to have found players that have led some to label Murray State “Point Guard University.”

“There are certain traits that we think are incredibly important as we’ve looked to identify who we’re going to bring in at that position,” McMahon said. “I think the reputation here for many, many years, going back before I was here, is the tradition of great guards who have come through the program.”

An imperative trait for any great coach is the ability to make adjustments.

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For Murray State, who lost 36.5 ppg with the departure of Stark and Terrell Miller, adaptability was paramount. Apart from losing a large portion of offensive firepower, the Racers had to switch from a two-guard system to a traditional oneguard system.

“I think we have a core foundation to our offensive and defensive philosophies, but I think that’s part of our job as coaches to tweak it each year based on the personnel that we have,” McMahon said.

Apart from the change at guard, the Racers also have to deal with various skill sets and body types from their forwards.

McMahon noted that every year demands re-evaluation, citing bigs like former forward Jarvis Williams, who thrived above the rim, and now, junior forward Darnell Cowart, whose skill lies in his brilliant footwork and post moves. These tiny differences have a colossal affect on the team’s identi-

ty.

“Just looking at the last five years, when you have a monster athlete like a Jarvis Williams in the post, there’s certain things you can do offensively,” McMahon said. “Bring in Terrell Miller, who’s one of the best three-point shooters in school history, there’s certain things you want to do to spread the floor offensively. Now with Darnell, with his skill around the basket, we want to adjust and have more back-tothe-basket opportunities for him where he’s really skilled and capable with scoring with either hand.”

One of the most critical elements of McMahon’s offense is spacing. Whether it’s a top-of-the-key screen to start a possession, or Morant’s ability to create it manually by breaking down defenses, the Racers are able to exploit defenses and get high-quality shots inside.

That’s why players like freshman forward KJ

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Williams and junior forward Darnell Cowart have been so efficient with their touches. Williams leads the OVC in field goal percentage at 68 percent, and Cowart comes in shortly after at No. 6 in the conference with a 55 percent clip. “[Morant’s] a magician with the ball,” McMahon said. “He’s got a great understanding of our offense, and we try to give him great freedom to play.

If you ever have a player like Ja Morant, I don’t want him handcuffed by play calls and things of that nature. I hope we’re able to teach guys how to play so that he can go out there and make the plays.”

It seems like McMahon’s players are heeding his instructions. The Racers have solidified their spot in the OVC tournament, and will enter with the intention of ending the 2018-19 season exactly like the year prior: hoisting an OVC Championship trophy above their shoulders.

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February 28, 2019