November 19, 2012
UC-D&E men postponed due to assistant's death
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The University of Charleston's men's basketball season opener against visiting Davis & Elkins scheduled for 7:30 tonight has been postponed to a later date this season.

The change came at the request of D&E athletic director Ronnie Palmer after the death of Senators assistant coach Roy F. Simms, a former Elkins High School star athlete in basketball and football.

Simms collapsed during Saturday afternoon's practice and was taken to Davis Memorial Hospital where he died, according to the InterMountain.com website. Simms, who had just taken the assistant coaching position at D&E earlier this year, was in need of both a kidney and heart transplant and was scheduled to go on the transplant list Nov. 30.

Simms earned 12 letters at Elkins High and earned a full Division I scholarship to the University of Detroit. He was co-captain of the basketball and baseball teams at Detroit and ran hurdles on the track team.

The Golden Eagles' next game is with Puerto Rico-Mayaguez at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. UC and D&E will play the women's game as scheduled at 5:30 p.m. today at Eddie King Gym on UC's campus.

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  • West Virginia State opens a new era under first-year women's coach David Smith at 5:30 p.m. today when the Yellow Jackets visit Seton Hill (Pa.).

    Smith has compiled a 30-year career mark of 575-271, ranking him seventh all-time among NCAA Division II coaches in number of wins. In 1996 he led Shippensburg to a runner-up finish in the NCAA tournament. Smith has taken squads to the NCAA tournament 14 times, including six trips while at Bellarmine, the most recent coming in 2008.

    The Yellow Jackets, who finished with an 11-16 record last season, were picked to finish 11th out of the 15 teams in the preseason coaches' poll, but return three of their top scorers. Jasmine Blanton averaged 15.5 points and had a team-high 96 assists, Asia Greenleaf, a former Parkersburg South High standout, chipped in 9.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and Jordan Brock, a former Winfield High standout, averaged 9.3 points.

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