9/9/09
Cecil College Names Rashad Brooks Head Men's Basketball Coach
Cecil College has named Rashad Brooks interim head men's basketball coach. Brooks replaces Bill Lewit who resigned from Cecil after 14 seasons to accept another position.
As one of Lewit's first recruits, Brooks earned an associate degree from Cecil in 1999 and returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach a year ago. He served as a varsity head basketball coach at Washington High School in Princess Anne. Md., in 2003-04, and has coached in various youth leagues. Brooks takes over a team which was regularly among the nation's elite junior college programs under Lewit's guidance. In addition to winning 80 percent of their games coached by Lewit (354-89), the Seahawks have made six trips to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Tournament since 1999, highlighted by capturing the 2006 national championship. Brooks will serve as the interim head coach for the balance of the 2009-10 season. The college will evaluate its plans for next year at the close of the season.
"We expect Coach Brooks to step in and just take the reins of the program," said Ed Durham, Cecil College athletic director. "We certainly don't want him to feel any pressure and walk in the shadows of Coach Lewit. The athletic department and the administration have the fullest confidence in Coach Brooks that he will do a fantastic job. We are going to offer him all the support that we have and help him get planted in his job and move forward."
Brooks is the only player in Cecil history to surpass 1,000 points (1,067), 350 assists (363) and 300 rebounds (301) for his career. In his sophomore season, 1998-99, Brooks was selected First Team All-Maryland JUCO Athletic Conference, First Team All-Region XX, and Third Team NJCAA All-American. He and his third-year teammate, and fellow co-captain D.J. Wootson, led the 1998-99 Seahawks to a 25-8 record, their first-ever No. 1 national ranking, a region championship, and a berth in the NJCAA Division II Tournament, where they advanced to the national semifinals. Brooks scored a career-high 47 points in a 105-98 victory over the Community College of Philadelphia.
Following his graduation from Cecil, Brooks transferred to the University of Louisville and played two seasons under Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum on a basketball scholarship. In his junior season, he helped the Cardinals advance to the NCAA Division I Tournament as a key reserve. As a senior, he had several double-digit scoring games, including a career-high 21 points against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and was named the team's Most Improved Player. After earning a bachelor's degree in sociology from Louisville, Brooks played professionally in Argentina. A native of Hampton, Va., Brooks moved to Maryland's Eastern Shore during his sophomore year of high school. He graduated from Mardela Springs High School in 1996 and was an all-conference player who was picked to play in the Bayside Senior All-Star Game.
Cecil has been nationally ranked in the top 10 every year from 1997-98 through 2008-09, including being No. 1 in the country at some point in eight different years. Lewit led the Seahawks to seven Maryland JUCO Athletic Conference championships in the regular season and five more in the postseason. Thirty-eight of his players have signed NCAA Division I scholarships and 30 have earned Division II scholarships.
"We appreciate the 14 fabulous years that Bill Lewit has provided not only this institution and its basketball program, but the community as a whole," said Durham. "His record is impeccable and not matched by anyone I know of in our region and conference. In addition to being a basketball coach, he was our director of enrollment support services. He was an ambassador to Cecil College not only in the basketball sense, but also in the overall academic and college process. You can honestly say that Bill Lewit bled the green and gold from all aspects of the college as a whole."
7/29/09
Former Cecil Grad and Assistant Coach, Jareem Dowling, Continues to Represent Cecil Well
Former Seahawk player and Assistant Coach of the men's basketball team, Jareem Dowling, recently led his Virgin Islands U-17 men's basketball team to a bronze medal at the 2009 Centrobasket Tournament in Mexico. Follow the link to The Virgin Islands Daily News to read about Coach Dowling and his team.
7/23/09
Former Seahawk, Keyron Sheard, Continues Stellar Play
Follow the link to read an article from the Asbury Park Press about Keyron Sheard.
