Chris Cheeks, a 10-year coaching veteran, was named assistant men’s basketball coach for the Charlotte 49ers on Wednesday.

Cheeks, who played in college at Virginia Commonwealth, served mostly recently as an assistant at Georgia State. He also served as an assistant at his alma mater, VCU, and West Virginia.

Cheeks joins associate head coach Rob Moxley as new additions to head coach Bobby Lutz’s staff. Former assistant Benny Moss left to become head coach at UNC Wilmington and assistant Dalonte Hill took a similar position at Kansas State.

“He has proven to be an excellent recruiter and has natural ties to key areas that we love to recruit,” Lutz said of Cheeks. “Chris was a great player and has the ability to relate extremely well with today’s players and has a great feel for teaching the game.”

Said Cheeks: “Coach Lutz is one of the best coaches in the country and when I came to campus, it was unbelievable. I said to myself, ‘What recruit won’t want to come here?’

“I’m a positive person and I think we will have a great working relationship.”

While at West Virginia, Cheeks helped recruit the No. 1-rated class in the Big East in 2000, which is the only time in history that West Virginia boasted the league’s top class.

Seimone Augustus again missed out on the ultimate team honor in college basketball when her Louisiana State Tigers lost to Duke on Sunday in the semifinals of the NCAA women's tournament. 

But yesterday, she gained another individual honor, one that signals a new chapter in her life.

Augustus, a two-time player of the year who led L.S.U. to three consecutive Final Four appearances, was selected first in the Women's National Basketball Association draft, by the Minnesota Lynx.

Cappie Pondexter of Rutgers was taken second, by the Phoenix Mercury; and Monique Currie of Duke, fresh from a loss in overtime to Maryland in Tuesday's N.C.A.A. title game, went third, to the Charlotte Sting.

The Liberty selected Georgia's Sherill Baker, a guard, with the 12th pick.

Augustus led the nation in scoring this season and is the No. 2 career scorer at L.S.U. But she will look to make a new name for herself as a professional.

"I can relate it back to my freshman year when you aren't the star player," Augustus said in comments provided by the W.N.B.A. "You need to get into a comfort zone, need to learn your teammates, their personalities, see where you fit in, and mainly just find out what you can do and what you can't do and what is good for the team."

The draft was held in Boston, site of the Final Four. It was the first time in 10 years that the league held its draft at the same site where the national championship was decided.

As the No. 2 pick, Pondexter became the highest selection from Rutgers. Pondexter, a guard, averaged 21.6 points this season and was a first-team all-American. Pondexter will share a backcourt with the former Connecticut star Diana Taurasi.

"I think it's going to be great," Pondexter said through the league. "I've admired Taurasi for a long time, and just to have the opportunity to play with her, I think I will learn a lot and she can help me to be a great player as well."

Because of an off-season roster overhaul, this was perhaps one of the most important drafts for the Liberty, which had a pick in each of the draft's three rounds.

The Liberty shed three starters — Vickie Johnson, Elena Baranova and Crystal Robinson — in the off-season and acquired the free-agent forwards Barbara Farris and Iciss Tillis from the Detroit Shock.

The Liberty took Boston College forward Brooke Queenan in the second round and Missouri center Christelle N'Garsanet in the third.

"Our strategy going forward is to reinvent our team," Carol Blazejowski, the Liberty's vice president, said yesterday in a conference call with reporters. "We've got some great athletes that will bring size, basketball I.Q. and real excitement."

With the arrival of Farris and Tillis, Blazejowski went after a backcourt player in the draft, even though the Liberty is already led by guard Becky Hammon. Blazejowski said she was surprised that Baker was still available at the 12th spot.

Baker said she was happy the Liberty did not let her slip out of the 14-pick first round.

"I got a little emotional," Baker said of hearing her name called. "I mean, my eyes watered up a little bit. I didn't think I was going to get called first round, but I'm glad I did. I don't know what to say. I'm speechless."

Liberty Coach Pat Coyle said the organization drafted the kind of players it needed.

"Our goal going into this year was to get more athletic, to get bigger," she said in the conference call. "We accomplished those goals. When fans and you all have a chance to see Sherill Baker, Brooke Queenan and Christelle N'Garsanet, I think you all will agree with us. We really helped ourselves today."

The W.N.B.A. season starts May 20, with the Liberty at Connecticut.

Freshman Tyler Hansbrough, who led the Tar Heels to a surprising second-place finish in the ACC and a berth in the NCAA tournament, will return to the team for the 2006-07 season, coach Roy Williams said Wednesday.

"I never really considered leaving for the NBA after this season," Hansbrough, a 6-foot-9 forward who was the ACC's rookie of the year and a first-team all-conference choice, said in a statement.

Hansbrough's rapid rise as an impact player -- he averaged 18.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and shot 57.0 percent from the field -- made him a potential candidate for early entry into the NBA draft. Four underclassmen on the Tar Heels' 2005 national championship team -- Sean May, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants and Marvin Williams -- were taken in the first round of last summer's NBA draft.

Roy Williams said he talked to contacts in the NBA and learned Hansbrough would also likely have gone in the first round of this year's draft.

"I asked Tyler what he wanted to do," Roy Williams said in a statement. "He stated he easily wanted to stay in school. I agreed with that, but at the same time I wanted him to know he would definitely be a No. 1 draft choice this year and I wanted him to do what he wanted to do."

There still might be several underclassmen available in this summer's draft. Gonzaga's Adam Morrison, Connecticut's Rudy Gay and Texas' LaMarcus Aldridge could be among them.

49ers assistant among candidates

Charlotte 49ers assistant coach Bobby Kummer is among several candidates under consideration for the head coaching position at the University of Texas-San Antonio.Through a Charlotte team spokesman Wednesday, Kummer denied, however, that he has interviewed for the position.

UTSA athletics director Lynn Hickey told the San Antonio Express-News on Tuesday that she had spoken with Kummer about the Roadrunners' position.

Kummer, 31, is a former Charlotte player and an assistant with the 49ers this season. He was an assistant under former Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins from 1998 to 2004 and from 1996 to 1998 when Watkins coached at Charlotte. Hickey has worked with Kummer before. She was a senior associate athletics director/senior women's administrator at Texas A&M from 1994 to 1999.

Charlotte 49ers assistant coach Dalonte Hill departed for Kansas State on Tuesday to join new coach Bob Huggins' staff.

A bigger question remains, however: Will Michael Beasley follow?

Hill, a 2001 Charlotte graduate and former 49ers player, worked extensively on recruiting during his three seasons.

His departure leaves in limbo one of Charlotte's biggest recruiting prizes -- a verbal commitment by high school star Michael Beasley, a 6-foot-10, 220-pound junior at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy.

Beasley, who can't sign a national letter of intent until this fall, also plays for the DC Assault AAU team, with whom Hill served as an assistant coach in 2002 and 2003.

In an interview in January with the Observer, Beasley said Hill was one of several reasons he committed early with the 49ers.

"My friends ask me all the time, `What do you see in Charlotte?' I mean, what I see in Charlotte is the NBA," he said. "I figure if I can go there, I can make it a powerhouse team. I can bring Charlotte to the level of Duke, UNC and Syracuse."

Neither Beasley nor Oak Hill coach Steve Smith could be reached for comment late Tuesday.

Hill, 27, joins Huggins, who sat out this season after accepting a contract buyout from Cincinnati.

Huggins is already busy trying to land top high school talent. Teammates O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker, who play at North College Hill High in Cincinnati, now list Kansas State among their college choices.

Mayo and Walker are ranked by most recruiting analysts among the top five players in the 2007 class. Adding Beasley to that class could arguably make it one of the best ever.

During Hill's tenure as coach at Charlotte, the 49ers went 61-30 with two trips to the NCAA tournament and one National Invitation Tournament appearance.

Charlotte's incoming recruiting class includes the nation's top junior college point guard, Carlos Williams of Wabash Valley Junior College, and high school star David Booker, Mississippi's Mr. Basketball, who committed to the 49ers last weekend.

Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz, whose staff had three former 49ers players this season, wished Hill well.

"Dalonte has matured as a coach over the past three years. He obviously understands how our business works," Lutz said. "I am confident he will be successful at Kansas State."

Justin Doellman led the 10th-seeded Musketeers with 14 points. Justin Cage scored 13 and Burrell added 10 for XU (19-10).

Leemire Goldwire scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the second half for second-seeded Charlotte (18-13). De'Angelo Alexander added 12 for the 49ers. Xavier plays Fordham today.

• Fordham 64, La Salle 62: Bryant Dunston led a balanced Fordham offense with 19 points and the Rams (16-15) upset La Salle (18-10).

• Saint Joseph's 56, Saint Louis 37: Chet Stachitas scored 17 points Thursday, and Saint Joseph's (17-12) played nearly mistake-free during a 56-37 quarterfinal victory over Saint Louis (16-13) in the Atlantic 10 tournament. St. Joe's plays Temple today.

Sakellie Daniels scored 20 and Sabrina Gregory scored 10 for Charlotte (20-7, 13-3 Atlantic 10) in a 69-65 loss Sunday at George Washington. With the loss, the 49ers shared the Atlantic 10 regular-season title with the Colonials and will have the second seed in the A-10 tournament.

Rare loss for Vols

Tennessee lost at home to an unranked team for the second time in school history and first time in 22 years, falling 95-93 to Florida (20-7, 8-6 SEC) in overtime. Tennessee (25-4, 11-3) had never lost to an unranked team in Thompson-Boling Arena, which opened in 1987.

Other games

DAVIDSON 65, FURMAN 58, OT: Freshman Mercedes Robinson scored six of her eight in overtime for host Davidson (16-11, 12-6 Southern) against Furman (9-19, 5-13).

VIRGINIA TECH 76, WAKE FOREST 42: Freshman Deirdre Naughton led the Deacons (2-15, 3-11 ACC) with 10 points. The Hokies are 19-8, 6-8.

VIRGINIA 83, CLEMSON 64: Takisha Granberry scored 18 for Virginia (17-10, 5-9 ACC). Clemson is 8-20, 2-12.

No. 3 LOUISIANA STATE 62, MISSISSIPPI STATE 48: Seimone Augustus scored 27, leading host LSU (25-2, 13-1) to its second straight SEC title.

No. 4 MARYLAND 89, NORTHERN COLORADO 53: Kristi Toliver scored 17 and Crystal Langhorne had 16 for host Maryland (26-3).

No. 13 GEORGIA 74, AUBURN 61: Tasha Humphrey scored 22 for host Georgia (20-7, 10-4 SEC). Auburn is 13-14, 4-10.

FLORIDA STATE 71, No. 17 BOSTON COLLEGE 60: Ganiyat Adeduntan scored 20 for host Florida State (19-9, 10-4 ACC).

No. 17 TEMPLE 91, RHODE ISLAND 79: Candice Dupree scored 27 for Temple (21-7, 12-4 A-10).

No. 24 VANDERBILT 88, SOUTH CAROLINA 71: Dee Davis scored 14 for host Vanderbilt (19-9, 8-6 SEC). USC is (17-10, 7-7).

After a whirlwind tour of the East Coast, the UMass basketball team hosts three of its final four regular-season games at the Mullins Center. That run starts with a visit from the second-place Charlotte 49ers this Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The game against the A-10 newcomer is just the third-ever match-up between the teams. The game will also mark the first time the UMass men's team will play at the Mullins Center before the newly-installed video scoreboards.

• The Minutemen (11-12, 6-6) come into the game after a 72-64 win at St. Bonaventure on Sunday afternoon. UMass dominated in the post, outrebounding the Bonnies, 54-33 led by junior Rashaun Freeman (season-high 25 points and career-high 19 rebounds) and junior Stephane Lasme(11 points and career-high 15 rebounds). The duo combined to outrebound the entire Bonnies team, 34-33. With 19 rebounds, Freeman nearly became the first UMass player with 20 or more rebounds in nearly 30 years as Jim Town had 27 on Dec. 12, 1976. He had 11 offensive rebounds, the first double-figure mark off the offensive boards since Ajmal Basit in 1996. The win for UMass, was just their second on the road this season after five losses by just one possession away from home.
In their first season in the A-10, Charlotte has won five straight conference games and is 9-3 in the league. They are 16-9 overall winning five of their last six games -- with a narrow loss to ACC foe Wake Forest, 59-56 on Feb. 11. The 49ers feature the league's top rebounder in Curtis Withers (15.4 ppg, 11.3 rpg) and perhaps the league's top newcomer in transfer De'Angelo Alexander, who is scoring a team-high 16.4 points per game.

• UMassAthletics.com will carrying streaming video of the game. The game will be carried on the UMass Sports Network on 100.9 FM in Western Massachusetts and 830 AM and 95.9 FM in the Eastern portion of the state. Bob Behler and Kevin Kennedy call the action for UMass. Gametracker will be available on UMassAthletics.com and Charlotte49ers.com.

The Series With Charlotte
• UMass and Charlotte play for just the third time in history and first as members of the Atlantic 10. They have split the last two games both played on neutral courts.

• UMass won the last meeting on Jan. 15, 1998 as part of the Atlantic 10/Conference USA Challenge held at the Providence Civic Center, winning 68-62 in overtime. In that game, Lari Ketner and Charlton Clarke scored 15 points each, Tyrone Weeks had 15 rebounds and 9 points.Monty Mack had 12 points. UMass won despite shooting 38 percent from the floor. UMass had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Mack's tough angle shot missed. In the extra session, the Minutemen were efficient. Mack finished a fast break on a pass from Charlton Clarke to give UMass a 54-52 lead that it would never relinquish. Future NBA first-rounder DeMarco Johnson was held to 10 points for the Charlotte. Kelvin Price led the 49ers with 16 points.

• The first meeting came in 1974 at the Hall of Fame Tournament at the Springfield Civic Center with the 49ers beating UMass, 85-57.

• UMass head coach Travis Ford will be facing the 49ers for the first time in his coaching career. Charlotte's Bobby Lutz will be coaching against UMass for the first time as a head coach.

Home Sweet Home At Mullins
• UMass saw its 12-game home win streak at the Mullins Center end on Feb. 8. The Minutemen had not lost a home game in more than a year, last falling to Richmond on Jan. 29, 2005. When the streak was broken only 11 teams had longer home wins streaks in the nation. UMass had the longest home win streak in the A-10. That honor now belongs to George Washington which has won 13 in a row after their win over UMass on Feb. 15.

• UMass is now 8-1 at home this season. After the three-game road swing, UMass hosts three of its final four games at home, starting with the Feb. 22 game vs. Charlotte.

• The win streak stands as the second-longest home win streak in the history of the Mullins Center. The longest home win streak in the history of the Mullins Center came from the building's opening, as the Minutemen reeled off 27 wins starting with the debut game, a 64-59 win over West Virginia on Feb. 4, 1993. The streak lasted until late in the 1994-95 season when George Washington beat the Minutemen on Feb. 14, 1995.

• Those 27 games came after six wins in a row to close the Curry Hicks Cage, setting the overall UMass record for 33 home wins a row.

• UMass won 11 in a row after George Washington ended the record streak, giving UMass 38 wins in the arena's first 39 games. The Minutemen also won 10 in a row from Feb. 6, 1997 to Feb. 1, 1998. That streak was ended by Temple with a 61-47 win on Feb. 3, 1998.

• UMass is in its 14th season of play at the William D. Mullins Memorial Center, and has posted an all-time record of 124-48 (.723) in the building with a 8-1 mark this season. Last year, UMass was 12-5 at the Mullins Center as they hosted a school-record 17 games. The 12 home wins last season was the second-best total at the Mullins Center. The Minutemen were 14-0 in 1993-94 and 11-1 in 1994-95.

• With the addition of last year's 12-5 home record, UMass has not had a losing record at home since moving into the new arena in 1992-93. In fact, UMass has gone 22 straight seasons without having a losing record on its home court. The Minutemen also own a 71-31 (.696) all-time record in regular season Atlantic 10 Conference games at the Mullins Center, and a 3-1 mark in Atlantic 10 Tournament contests.

Ford-Tough At Home
• UMass head coach Travis Ford has been strong at home over the last two years winning 20 of the last 22 games he has coached at his home arena. He posted a 12-1 record at Eastern Kentucky's McBrayer Arena prior to this year's 8-1 start at the Mullins Center. Ford led his teams to 14 home wins with EKU closing the 2004-05 season with seven wins a row at home on their way to the NCAA Tournament. He has added seven more this season at UMass. Staff members Tim Maloney, Steve Middleton, James Altman and Austin Newton were all with EKU as well.

UMass Names Team Captains
• On Jan. 16, head coach Travis Ford announced the selections of team captains for the remainder of the season. Senior Jeff Viaggiano along with juniors Rashaun Freeman and Stephane Lasme were named team captains this season. Ford said, after the rough BC loss, these three players have taken on responsibility and leadership roles earning the right to be named captains.

The final score read Charlotte 81, Fordham 75. But it wasn’t a six-point game. It was a game of threes. And Charlotte won that game too, hitting 13 of its 20 three-point field goal attempts while Fordham was 11-for-26 from behind the arch as the Rams suffered their first Atlantic 10 loss in the Rose Hill Gym this year. The loss drops Fordham to 12-13 overall, 7-5 in the conference, while Charlotte improves to 16-9 overall, 9-3 in the A-10.

In the first nationally televised game ever in the Rose Hill Gym, the Rams and their fans gave the ESPN audience a reason to watch, with the noise in the Rose Hill Gym reaching epic proportions at many points throughout the game. The sellout crowd, Fordham’s first of the season, was treated to a classic Atlantic 10 game, with three lead changes in the second half and a 23-point, 10-rebound effort from Bryant Dunston, his eighth double-double of the year.

But it was a career-high 29 points from Charlotte’s Marcus Bennett, who almost doubled his previous career-high of 15, which proved to be the difference in the game.

“I’m very proud of my guys who hung in there and gave us a chance against a very good basketball team,” said Fordham head coach Dereck Whittenburg. “In the end we made a couple of defensive mistakes but I have to give credit to Marcus Bennett who hit some timely shots for them, some of them with a hand in his face.”

The Rams led 34-28 at the half, thanks to 16 first-half points from Dunston and 11 from Marcus Stout as Fordham shot 54.5% (6-11) from three-point land.

A three-pointer from Jermaine Anderson 1:21 into the second half gave Fordham a nine-point lead, 37-28, before the 49ers used a 9-2 run to make it a two-point game, 39-37, on a Curtis Withers three-pointer with 16:07 remaining.

Lay-ups from Dunston and Jermaine Anderson over the next 38 seconds helped the Rams build the lead back to six, 48-42, but Charlotte responded with three straight three-pointers, two from Bennett, to take its first lead of the day, 51-48, with 11:13 left in the game.

The 49ers would get the lead to five, 54-49, following another Bennett trifecta a minute later, when the Rams went on a 7-2 run to tie the game at 56 on a Jermaine Anderson three-pointer with 8:26 remaining.

Later in the period, De’Angelo Alexander tied the game for a third time in the half at 61 with a three-pointer with 5:12 left and Bennett would convert a lay-up 38 seconds later to give the 49ers the lead for good, 63-61.

Charlotte would build the lead to as many as nine, 73-64, with 1:18 left but the Rams wouldn’t back down, cutting the deficit to four, 75-71, 44 seconds later but Fordham would get no closer.

Fordham opened the game hot, jumping out to a 15-6 lead 4:35 into the contest, hitting five three-pointers, two each from Dunston and Marcus Stout.

The Rams would get the lead up to as many as 11, 19-8, with 11:24 left in the half before the 49ers began to whittle away, eventually cutting it to six, 27-21, on a Chris Nance jumper with 5:41 remaining in the period.

A Stout jumper and a Dunston lay-up put the Fordham lead back at ten, 31-21, 1:20 later but Charlotte outscored Fordham 7-3 over the final 2:40 to cut the Rams’ halftime lead to six, 34-28.

Jermaine Anderson finished with 21 points for Fordham, hitting four three-pointers, while Stout added 16 points, also connecting on four three-pointers, and Sebastian Greene finished with ten points and four rebounds.

Withers added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the 49ers while Alexander (11) and Nance (10) also finished in double figures.

The Rams will next be in action on Wednesday, February 22nd as they travel to Philadelphia to face the Saint Joseph’s University Hawks in an Atlantic 10 game at 7:00 p.m.

Notes
The loss drops Fordham’s record in the Rose Hill Gym to 7-3 overall, 5-1 in Atlantic 10 games…The 21 points scored by Jermaine Anderson brings his career total to 1,091, moving him into 21st place on the Fordham all-time scoring list…The eight double-doubles matches Bryant Dunston’s double-double total from last year…Charlotte’s Maurice Bennett and Fordham’s Marcus Stout were teammate at Renaissance High School in Michigan…The game was only the second meeting between Fordham and Charlotte, who joined the Atlantic 10 this year…Charlotte won the first match-up, 89-75, in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 17, 2000 in the first round of the CoSIDA Classic…The game marked the return to the Rose Hill Gym of two former WFUV announcers, Tony Reali and Spero Dedes who were on during the pre-game show and who took over the microphones for a while in the second half…Reali, a 2000 Fordham University graduate, is the host of ESPN’s Around the Horn, while Dedes, a 2001 Fordham graduate, serves as the play-by-play voice of the Los Angeles Lakers.