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Ragland Signs with UTEP
Wednesday 11-10-2010 4:53pm ET
Chillicothe swingman-guard Jalen Ragland signed his national letter of intent to attend the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Wednesday.
Ragland is entering his senior season and is relieved to have his college plans settled before the Cavs' season tips off. Ragland made his decision in August to play for the Division 1 school. He said it was important to make his decision early so he could concentrate on helping the Cavaliers "... win the state championship." The Cavs won the title Division 2 title in 2008, the spring of Ragland's freshman year.
Ragland is undecided on his major, but says he's leaning toward sports therapy or sports marketing.
The Miners are members of Conference USA and are coached by Tim Floyd. Floyd formerly coached the Chicago Bulls and USC Tronjans. Floys and Cavs assistant coach Dave Hammond were college teammates. He said Ragland's decision was made before Hammond could tell him about his association with Floyd.
One former UTEP star to make it to the NBA is Tim Hardway.
Cavs Head Coach Gary Kellough says Ragland's shooting ability and his quiet demeanor has helped him pick up the moniker of "The Silent Assassin" by his opponents.
Ragland's father Steve was a basketball star at Ohio University Chillicothe in the 1980s credited the late Craig Hitchens for encouraging him to allow Jalen to participate in AAU basketball. Ragland said Hitchens saw potential in his son and felt he'd have a great opportunity to get a scholarship through AAU play. The 6'6" Ragland averaged 20ppg in AAU games this summer.
Hear Dan Ramey's interview with Jalen Ragland:  Click Here
Rags to Sign with UTEP November 10th
Tuesday 11-02-2010 9:43am ET
In August, Chillicothe Basketball's Jalen Ragland gave his verbal commitment to the University of Texas at El Paso. On November 10th, he'll sign his national letter of intent.
The signing ceremony will take place at 3:30pm in the CHS cafeteria.
The 6'6" senior guard averaged 10.3 ppg for the Cavaliers last winter, but Cavs Coach Gary Kellough says in AAU play this summer, Jalen has had some 35 and 40 point games.
Kellough added Ragland entertained offers from Tulane, Duquense, IUPUI, Dayton, Marshall and most all of the MAC teams.
Ragland will play for former Chicago Bulls coach Tim Floyd. Last season, the Miners had their season cut short by second place finisher Butler in the NCAA tournament last March.
UTEP is a member of Conference USA.
It's Official: Hitchens Gains Eligibility with JMU
Thursday 10-07-2010 5:11pm ET
It's official Anthony Humpty Hitchens has been granted permission to play for the James Madison Dukes beginning this season.
Hitchens enrolled at JMU (Harrisonburg, Virginia) after being granted a release from his scholarship by the University of Akron last May and since has been waiting for the ruling from the NCAA.
Hitchens is one of four players who departed the Zips program last spring.
As one of the main cogs for the Chillicothe Basketball state championship team, Hitchens also helped guide Akron to a Mid American Conference title and an NCAA tournament appearance his freshman season, saw limited action last season as the Zips fell short to Ohio University in the MAC final.
James Madison will host an exhibition game on Sunday October 31st, before participating in the 2010 O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas (11/12, 9pm ET on ESPNU) and then at The Citadel at Charleston, South Carolina the following weekend.
CLICK HERE for the JMU 2010-11 Schedule.
(The Official New Release)
HARRISONBURG, Va., Oct. 7, 2010 – James Madison junior men’s basketball player Humpty Hitchens (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe) was ruled eligible by the NCAA on Thursday for the 2010-11 season following a transfer from the University of Akron during the summer.
The NCAA typically requires all Division I transfers to sit out one full year of residency, however in Hitchens’ case, he was granted a waiver due to precedent staying true to form of other similar circumstances. He will have two full seasons of eligibility with the Dukes.
“Obviously our program is ecstatic first and foremost for Humpty that he has immediate eligibility,” commented third-year JMU head coach Matt Brady. “Humpty for our basketball program is a terrific person first and a terrific basketball player second. More critically, he’s a young guy with excellent leadership skills and an insatiable desire to win.”
Hitchens, a 5-9 guard, saw extensive action in his first two seasons at Akron, appearing in 33 games with 22 starts as a sophomore and averaging 8.5 points per game while leading the team with 91 assists. He had 14 double-figure games for the Zips and entered the season as an Honorable Mention Preseason Mid-Major All-American by CollegeInsider.com. He finished the season ranked fourth in the Mid-American Conference in league play with a 1.84 assist-to-turnover ratio.
As a freshman, he was named to the All-Mid-American Conference Freshman Team after appearing in 35 games with 30 consecutive starts and averaging 8.8 points per game while again leading the team with 78 assists. An ankle sprain limited him in Akron's MAC Tournament run. He will be the lone JMU player with NCAA Championship experience, having played seven minutes as a freshman for the 13th-seeded Zips in a 77-64 opening-round loss to fourth-seeded Gonzaga in 2009. He finished the season with 17 double-figure outings, including his career high of 23 against North Carolina A&T.
At Chillicothe High School, he was named First Team All-State in Division II after leading the Cavaliers to a 25-2 record and the state championship. Hitchins scored 24 points in a 70-69 overtime win in the 2008 title game over Toledo Libbey High School, which included current JMU junior Julius Wells. Hitchens averaged 21.7 points, 6.0 assists, and 5.0 rebounds as a senior and amassed 1,753 points in his four-year scholastic career.
Hitchens Closer to Playing at JMU
Thursday 10-07-2010 3:06pm ET
While there's no official news release from James Madison University or the NCAA yet (3:03pm ET), we're being told Anthony Humpty Hitchens has been granted permission to play for the Dukes beginning this season.
Hitchens enrolled at JMU (Harrisonburg, Virginia) after being granted a release from his scholarship by the University of Akron last May and since has been waiting for the ruling from the NCAA.
Under NCAA rules for transfer, a Division I athlete must sit out a year unless granted an exception. However, there have been exceptions, which have allowed players under certain circumstances to be declared eligible for play.
Hitchens is one of four players who departed the Zips program last spring.
As one of the main cogs for the Chillicothe Basketball state championship team, Hitchens also helped guide Akron to a Mid American Conference title and an NCAA tournament appearance his freshman season, saw limited action last season as the Zips fell short to Ohio University in the MAC final.
James Madison will host an exhibition game on Sunday October 31st, before participating in the 2010 O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas (11/12, 9pm ET on ESPNU) and then at The Citadel at Charleston, South Carolina the following weekend.
Ragland talks UTEP on Dan & Mike
Tuesday 08-31-2010 11:55am ET
 Jalen talked about the decision on WBEX's "Dan & Mike in the Morning".
 Click HereCavs' Jalen Ragland Headed to UTEP
Monday 08-30-2010 11:09pm ET
Giving the school a verbal commitment, Chillicothe's Jalen Ragland returned from a weekend visit to the University of Texas at El Paso knowing he'd be heading there after graduation.
The 6'6" senior guard averaged 10.3 ppg for the Cavaliers last winter, but Cavs Coach Gary Kellough says in AAU play this summer, Jalen has had some 35 and 40 point games.
Kellough added Ragland entertained offers from Tulane, Duquense, IUPUI, Dayton, Marshall and most all of the MAC teams.
Ragland will play for former Chicago Bulls coach Tim Floyd. Last season, the Miners had their season cut short by second place finisher Butler in the NCAA tournament last March.
UTEP is a member of Conference USA.
Ragland plans to sign his national letter of intent in November.
Hitchens Talks About Fresh Start at JMU
Monday 07-05-2010 10:48am ET
While at the present time, he may be sitting out the upcoming college basketball season, Chillicothe's Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens has a fresh outlook in a new home.
Hitchens was granted release from his scholarship by the University of Akron this spring, and last month he transferred to Virginia's James Madison University.
Some speculated Hitchens desire for a transfer came with the passing of his father Craig in April of this year, but the all-time leading scorer in Chillicothe High School basketball says it all began in April of 2009 when the coach who brought him to Akron, Jeff Boals, left for a similar position at Ohio State. Hitchens said his head coach, Keith Dambrot and Boals were rumored to be heading to Xavier in a package deal. Shortly thereafter, Boals was introduced as the newest member of Thad Matta's staff for the Buckeyes.
Hitchens explains he had such a great relationship with coach Boals he began thinking about a transfer. He and coach Dambrot discussed the move (by Boals) and Humpty stayed at Akron. Five players decided to leave the Zips program this spring.
Hitchens will likely have to sit out the 2010 season. No decision on his appeal for exemption has been made by the NCAA.
Humpty says there are six or seven Ohio natives playing at James Madison, many Hitchens has played with or against over the past five years in college, AAU or high school. Columbus Northland's Devon Moore played against Chillicothe at OU-C, Julius Wells was on the Toledo Libbey team with OSU's William Buford when the Cavs took the Cowboys in overtime for the 2008 D2 state championship. A.J. Davies (transferred from Wyoming) Rashawn Goins (Cleveland AAU) Travon Flores (All-Ohio).
Hump says there were enough familiar faces at James Madison it kind of "felt like home" during his official visit to the campus.
Hitchens will play for Matt Brady, head coach of the Dukes in the Colonial Athletic Conference. Brady has had experience at Marist and St. Joseph's, including Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West.
Hitchens is currently recovering from foot surgery fixing the foot he injured during Akron's MAC Championship run his freshman year.
Click Here to hear Dan Ramey's interview with Hitchens in its entirety.
Hitchens Commits to James Madison
Thursday 06-17-2010 2:00pm ET
Chillicothe Boys Basketball coach Gary Kellough confirms Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens is headed to James Madison University in in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Hitchens was granted his release from the University of Akron last month, allowing him to move to another school. He made a verbal commitment to James Madison Thursday.
At press time, it remains unknown if Hitchens will be eligible to play this coming season.
James Madison is a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dukes finished 13-21 last season.
Hitchens will see some familiar faces attending JMU are Devon Moore of Northland and Julius Wells who played against Hitchens and the Cavaliers in the 2008 state championship game for Toledo Libbey.
James Madison visited Ohio State last November as part of the Pre-Season NIT, falling to the Buckeyes 72-44.
Hitchens during the 2009 MAC Tournament
Hitchens Receives Release from Akron, Awaiting Transfer
Tuesday 05-18-2010 12:29am ET
Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens has been granted his release from the University of Akron basketball program.
A press release posted last Friday on GoZips.com, was the first public acknowledgment Hitchens was leaving the university.
Hitchens, who helped guide Akron to a Mid American Conference title and an NCAA tournament appearance his freshman season, saw limited action last season as the Zips fell short to Ohio University in the MAC final.
He logged minutes in 35 games for the Zips his freshman year second most in Akron history averaging 8.8ppg, leading the team in assists and was second in steals. Last season, he started 22 of 33 games averaging 8.5ppg.
Under NCAA rules for transfer, a Division I athlete must sit out a year unless granted an exception.
Speculation of a possible transfer for Hitchens began shortly after the coach who recruited him, Jeff Boals departed the Akron program for a position with Ohio State in April 2009.
Hitchens, fellow sophomores Ronnie Steward and Steve Sweich and redshirt freshman Alex Sullivan have recently left Akron.
In the past month, the Zips have welcomed two transfers, small forward Chauncy Gilliam from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County and forward Quincy Diggs from the University of New Orleans.
2010 Coach K's Camp of Champions Coming
Wednesday 05-12-2010 12:37pm ET
 The 2010 Coach K’s Boys Basketball Camp of Champions is scheduled for the first week of June inside Hatton Memorial Gymnasium.
Session 1: June 7, 8, 9 and 10 from 9am-12pm daily for grades 2, 3, 4 and 5 (present grade 2009-10)
Session 2: June 7, 8, 9 and 10 from 1pm-4pm daily for grades 6, 7 and 8 (present grades 2009-10)
Eligibility: All area schools. Grades 2-8 (school year 2009-10)
Tuition: $35:00 (includes Camp T-shirts)
Applications will be accepted until first day of camp. Mail in early so t-shirts can be ordered ahead of time. Return applications along with payment by mail or bring to the first day of camp.
Make checks payable to: Gary H. Kellough and mail to: 8040 State Route 772, Chillicothe,Ohio 45601. Questions, call 740-775-4112.
Get a camp application click here
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