Tuesday morning, the tarp was off the diamond at Southern University, where young ballplayers and event staff spent much of the day preparing Lee-Hines Field for the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.

Eight teams were pulling into town, and Barret Rey’s ballclub from Alcorn State was one of them. Rey sported a grin as the Braves’ practice ended. Sunlight bounced off his shiny bald head.

The weather is lovely — and if the forecasters are correct, it’ll stay that way through the weekend. By Sunday, we’ll crown a champion.

As Rey and the Braves geared up to face Grambling at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Rey confirmed he’d send his ace, Steve Easter, to the mound.

Said Rey, whose team won last year’s tournament in Shreveport: “I’m not going to change anything. I learned that from (Roger) Cador.”

Here we go.

After three-plus months of college baseball, the SWAC tournament begins Wednesday here in Baton Rouge, and we’ll got you covered. (C’mon; we’re The Advocate. Did you expect anything less?)

We’ll tweet and blog updates throughout the day, and we’ll live-tweet the Southern-Valley game, which (hopefully) gets under way at 3 p.m.

Follow us here, at twitter.com/perrynkeys.

For now, here is one man’s opinion on each team’s chances at winning the tournament:

1W) SOUTHERN
They’ve won 16 in a row. They’ve got all the ingredients. They’re at home. Can they execute in the clutch? Can they handle the pressure? We’re about to find out.
Odds: 4-1.

2W) PRAIRIE VIEW
The Panthers led the Western Division for much of this season. You cannot discount what they’ve done. Then again, they don’t lead the SWAC in any major statistical category.
Odds: 10-1.

3W) GRAMBLING
Please excuse the well-worn boxing term, but these guys have the puncher’s chance. Their offense is best in the conference. If they get a few pitching gems, watch out.
Odds: 8-1.

4W) TEXAS SOUTHERN
Keep in mind that this is the SWAC tournament, and that almost anything can happen. TSU has been a tough cookie, and Michael Robertson has won it before. Are these Tigers a longshot? Sure.
Odds: 20-1.

1E) JACKSON STATE
It’s the strangest thing: Each year, JSU has a great pitching staff, and its offense puts a lot of pressure on the infield. But the Tigers keep flaming out. Is this their year? Could be.
Odds: 10-1.

2E) ALCORN STATE
The reigning champions suffered through a brutal 3-17 start. But they’ve got a potent lineup — and as Barret Rey said, if their starters are on, this could get interesting.
Odds: 8-1.

3E) ALABAMA STATE
These guys are, if nothing else, intriguing. In their first year under Mervyl Melendez, the Hornets are better. But you get the sense that they’ll be really, really good … a year from now.
Odds: 30-1.

4E) MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE
No disrespect intended here. But if the Delta Devils defeat Southern on Wednesday, that’s a major, major upset. Don’t bank on it. They’re the fourth-best team in the East.
Odds: 50-1.

OK, so maybe we’re tempting fate here. Maybe we’re teasing the baseball gods a little.

But the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament begins Wednesday at Lee-Hines Field, and if our friends at the National Weather Service are correct, we should should be in the clear all week.

Here’s the forecast for Baton Rouge, from Wednesday through Sunday:

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. Calm wind.

Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. Wednesday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 90. Thursday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 62.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 91. Friday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 64.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 87. Saturday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 88. Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 65.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 88.

The last time the SWAC baseball tournament came to Baton Rouge, rain suspended play on the third night of the tournament, and a day later, Southern needed 4 hours and 32 minutes to outlast Grambling in a 12-inning thriller. The Jaguars had to make a quick turnaround for Sunday’s championship game, when they defeated Alcorn State.

The year before, in 2008, a storm blew through town on the first day of the tournament, forcing organizers to play catch-up on the second day (they considered using Pete Goldsby Field or the old Alex Box Stadium, but ultimately didn’t use either).

This time, it appears that the gods have spared Lee-Hines.

Of course, it’s south Louisiana, so you never know for sure.

ALSO …
In case you missed it, here’s the schedule for this week’s tournament. You’ve got two double-elimination brackets, followed by a single-game championship on Sunday:

BRACKET A
Grambling, Alcorn State, Misssippi Valley State, Southern
BRACKET B
Alabama State, Prairie View, Texas Southern, Jackson State

Wednesday
Game 1: Grambling vs. Alcorn State, 9 a.m.
Game 2: Alabama State vs. Prairie View, noon
Game 3: Mississippi Valley State vs. Southern, 3 p.m.
Game 4: Texas Southern vs. Jackson State, 6 p.m.

Thursday
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 9 a.m.
Game 6: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 4, noon
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3, 3 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.

Friday
Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 5, 9 a.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8, noon
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, 3 p.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 8, 6 p.m.

Saturday
Game 11A: Winner Game 11 vs. Loser Game 11, noon, if necessary
Game 12A: Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 12, noon or 3 p.m., if necessary

Sunday
Championship: Bracket A winner vs. Bracket B winner, 1 p.m.

Southern is open for postseason business.

No more bans for Stump Mitchell and his football team. No more waiting for Roman Banks and the men’s basketball team. Next year, they’ll be free to compete for Southwestern Athletic Conference championships.

The NCAA has notified the Southern athletic department that its APR-related penalties will be lifted for the 2012-13 season, opening the door the football and men’s basketball teams to compete in the postseason, Athletic Director William Broussard confirmed Thursday.

Both teams were banned from postseason play this season because of substandard APR scores, and this year, they were working to increase their multiyear scores to avoid more penalties.

Last month, however, the NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors approved a proposal to give “low-resource institutions,” including more time to comply with tougher APR requirements. The move essentially cleared the way for Southern and other schools to be penalty-free as they work toward fixing their APR issues.

The NCAA also gave scholarships back to the Southern football team and will allow Mitchell to spread them out among multiple players.

Last season, the Jaguars were allowed to have 54 players on athletic scholarship. This year, the team will have 58.73 scholarships, and can spread those scholarships among 80 players, Broussard said.

For teams in the Football Championship Subdivision, the usual maximum amount is 63 scholarships, to be spread among 85 players.

Last season, the football team had a multiyear APR score of 899 — one point shy of the NCAA’s then-benchmark for avoiding severe penalties.

The NCAA reduced the team’s scholarships, practice time and banned SU from the postseason. SWAC presidents and chancellors later voted to extend the ban to its conference championship game.

Southern finished 4-7 last fall in its second season under Mitchell.

The men’s basketball team had a multiyear score of 852, way below the NCAA’s 900 benchmark.

As a result, Banks’ first team — which surprised nearly everyone with a renaissance season, climbing from 10th place to second in the SWAC — was not eligible to play in the conference tournament.

In 2012-13, the Jaguars can.

Sunday afternoon at Lee-Hines Field, as the Southern baseball team capped the regular season with a 16-game winning streak, thanks to a three-game sweep of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the official temperature on The Bluff was 87 degrees.

The National Weather Service didn’t list a heat index, but if you ask any of the players or fans who were there, it was roughly between 105 degrees and … oh, let’s say … 8,436.

Almost as hot as the Jaguars themselves. The Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament begins May 16 at Lee-Hines, where the weather will surely be as steamy as the hot-sausage poboys.

But when Southern clinched the Western Division title Sunday, there were no dogpiles, no glove-throwing displays of jubilation.

The Jaguars enter the tournament as the No. 1 West seed, undoubtedly a heavy favorite. But they also seemed to know that this 16-game winning streak won’t do them any good when the postseason begins. They’ll have to survive, win and advance, right up until they’ve won the championship game and a berth in the NCAA regionals.

For now, however, there’s plenty to examine from another successful weekend at Lee-Hines.

A rundown of the highlights, bad signs and odd moments from a long, hot series:

THE GOOD
Look, when you win 16 in a row, there’s a whole lot of good.

Here’s a rundown on some of the best.

–Defense, defense, defense.
Southern committed two errors Sunday, but that truly doesn’t tell the story of how well its defense played all weekend. First baseman B.J. Rowry, right fielder D.J. Wallace and catcher Clint Ourso all made tough catches in foul territory, and third baseman Cameron McGriff charged several slow rollers to throw runners out at first.

But the shining star was shortstop Jeremy Lopez, who practically turned cartwheels all weekend, making play after play. He made several charge-and-throw plays, several long throws from deep in the hole, and one amazing stab at a line drive that would’ve given UAPB the go-ahead run Sunday.

Said Rowry, the first baseman: “I really didn’t know he could cover that much ground, actually. But he’s a real talent. I’m glad to have him on the team.”

–Situational hitting.
Example No. 1: In the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, Ourso delivered a two-out single up the middle, scoring two runs to give Southern a 7-0 lead. That proved to be important. SU nearly fell apart, but hung on for a 7-6 win.

Example No. 2: In a 13-4 win in Saturday’s second game, Southern scored 10 runs with two outs.

Example No. 3: In Sunday’s 11-1 series finale, the Jaguars answered a UAPB first-inning run and tied the score. Later, Rowry hit an opposite-field RBI single, and McGriff added a two-out RBI single. Finally, during four straight at-bats in the eighth, the Jaguars followed a sacrifice fly by drawing three straight walks. Translation: When they realized that UAPB reliver Elliot Jackson was struggling with command, they didn’t try to do too much.

–Pitching, pitching, pitching.
Jose De Leon’s fastball, typically electric and nearly unhittable, didn’t have its usual zip in Sunday’s hot, humid conditions.

So he went to his slider and changeup, and they both worked. That helped him get through seven innings.

Saturday, left-hander Jesse Holiday threw his second consecutive two-hitter. In other words, he’s warming up with the weather. Right-hander Brian Foster struggled in the fifth inning, but still picked up his eighth win of the season.

One other thing worth noting: The Jaguars’ top four starting pitchers — De Leon, Holiday, Foster and Daniel Garcia — have a combined 3.32 ERA and 1.24 WHIP.

Numbers like those can get you through a lot of postseason games. Southern has four top-of-the-line starters ready for the tournament. That, obviously, is good news.

THE BAD
Look, Southern has won 16 in a row, so there’s not a lot to nitpick here.

But the one glaring low point of this weekend came in the eighth inning of the first game. Until then, the Jaguars were cruising; they had a 7-0 lead, and Holiday was rarely in trouble.

Then their bullpen nearly gave it all away. Two otherwise dependable relievers, left-hander Zephan Rochelle and right-handed closer Josh Powell, simply could not find the strike zone.

UAPB sent 11 men to the plate. The Golden Lions drew four walks and were twice hit by pitches. They hit two infield singles — one of which could’ve been ruled an error, a possible sign of mental fatigue by the defense.

UAPB scored six runs and nearly rallied to defeat Southern. Keep in mind that the Lions needed to sweep SU to have a shot at reaching the SWAC tournament. Had they won that first game, the complexion of the entire series might have changed.

Yes, Southern escaped. Garcia also struggled with control but nailed down the win.

Why, then, is that lone inning so scary? Because it served as a reminder: Even with this winning streak, even after all this success, one bad inning can undo everything.

If the Jaguars falter once during the SWAC tournament, they’ll be in for a long week.

THE ODD
During that wild first game Saturday, umpires reversed two of their own calls during the first three innings.

First, they called a balk on UAPB starter Stanten Jones and awarded home plate to SU base runner DeMario Ellis. Then they conferred and rescinded the balk, sending Ellis back to third. He never scored.

Later, in the third inning, they originally ruled UAPB’s Christian Weeber safe on a play at first base. He had grounded to third baseman Cameron McGriff, whose throw to first was high — but B.J. Rowry leaped to catch it, then landed on the bag, before Weeber slid in safely.

Eventually, umpires called him out.

Just another weekend in the SWAC.

Let’s hope we don’t see this stuff at the tournament.

Speaking of the tournament, it begins May 16. Let’s get it on.

Yes, it was yet another super-strong weekend for the Southern baseball team. In thumping Jackson State twice to sweep their two-game series, the Jaguars extended their winning streak to 13 games and further established themselves as the probable favorite at the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament — which, of course, happens right at Lee-Hines Field.

But they weren’t the only group of Jaguars to have a productive weekend.

The football coaches — remember them? — had quite a little event on campus, as well.

The staff dreamed up, and executed, Southern’s first major Junior Day on Saturday afternoon, hosting area prospects who are currently high school juniors — guys who are only a few months away from their senior year, when the recruiting race truly gets hot.

The idea was born mostly out of necessity. In 2011, Southern signed no recruits from the Baton Rouge area, and only a handful from New Orleans. This year, the Jaguars grabbed a few recruits from Louisiana, but dove heavily into Florida for most of their signees.

Stump Mitchell and quarterbacks coach Chad Germany — a Baton Rouge native and former Capitol coach — did their best to reconnect with Louisiana schools with Junior Day.

Saturday, a host of players and parents were seen milling around the A.W. Mumford Field House.

This is not a complete list, but these guys were among them:

Donald Cage, WR, Redemptorist
Carlos Henderson, ATH, McDonogh 35
Tristan Cooper, WR, University High/Tampa (Fla.) Plant
Hakeem Deggs, DB, Plaquemine
Brandon Fields, WR, St. Michael the Archangel
Reggie Smith, OL, Ouachita Parish
Kenneth Santa Maria, OL, McDonogh 35
Jermaine Antoine, ATH, Loreauville
Bryan Walker, ATH, Sulphur
Jeremiah Guillory, OL, Hamilton Christian
Justin Kelley, RB/LB, Redemptorist
Larry Clark, WR, Scotlandville
Tanzel Smart, DL, Scotlandville
Quint Chaney, OL, Sumter Central
Donovan McCray, OL/DL, McKinley
Chris Weatherspoon, DB, Natchez (Miss.)
Dondre Dobbins, DB, Scotlandville
Donovan Logan, DL, Trinity Episcopal
Larry Cage, LB, Zachary
Chris Taylor, OL, Zachary
Dave White, DB, McKinley
Jarrell Rogers, DB, Episcopal
Leotis Washington, WR, Sumter Central
Josh Rogers, DB, Broadmoor
Brenton Terrance, ATH, Woodlawn
Miquel James, ATH, Jewel Sumner
Terence Blevins, DB, Sheffield
Murphy Nash, P, Southern Lab

How much of a difference did Junior Day make?

How many Louisiana players might consider Southern now, rather than bailing for an out-of-state program or a nearby rival? Who knows?

No known commitments were made, but of course, it’s very, very early on the recruiting calendar — especially on the Southwestern Athletic Conference level.

But for Southern, an event like this surely didn’t hurt.

The NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors approved a proposal Thursday to give “low-resource institutions” more time to comply with tougher academic requirements — a move that may wiped the slate clean for Southern, allowing its men’s basketball and football teams to avoid another postseason ban.

According to the new measure, low-resource institutions — many of them historically black colleges, including Southern — won’t have to hit the new four-year benchmark score of 930 on the Academic Progress Rate until 2016-17, one year later than all other schools.

And though the two-year averages will be waived for the low-resource schools, all institutions must maintain a four-year average of 900 to be eligible for championship events each of the next two seasons.

Athletic Director William Broussard said that although Southern had not received notification from the NCAA on Thursday, he believes the SU men’s basketball team — which served a postseason ban this year because of its substandard APR score — would essentially be clear from facing similar penalties next year.

“That’s my understanding of it,” Broussard said. “We’ve not received any direct contact from the NCAA to verify that. The initial memo that received from them (before Thursday’s vote) indicated that the situation was as such — that essentially, the slate would be wiped clean.”

Broussard said he isn’t sure if the SU football team has a chance at a clean slate.

The football team had a multiyear score of 899 last season — one point shy of the NCAA’s original benchmark for avoiding severe penalties.

“It’s a possibility. … As I said, we haven’t received any official notification,” Broussard said. “But we’re hopeful that it would apply to both (teams).”

The SU men’s basketball team had a multiyear score of 852 last season, leading to the postseason ban — as well as a reduction in practice time and the subtraction of two scholarships.

The team had a perfect 1,000 score during the fall semester under first-year coach Roman Banks, and expects to have another high score at the end of the spring semester.

Attempts to reach NCAA spokespersons were unsuccessful Thursday.

In a statement issued Thursday, NCAA President Mark Emmert said the governing body had an “obligation” to help low-resource schools make a successful transition toward meeting the tougher APR requirements.

Now, low-resource schools must maintain a four-year mark of 900 each of the next two seasons.

The cutline increases to 910 in 2014-15, 920 in 2015-16 and 930 in 2016-17. Two-year averages would not matter. They also will be required to submit a “meaningful APR improvement plan.”

Low-resource schools are defined by the NCAA as those ranked in the bottom 15 percentile, based on the combined average of institutional spending per student, athletic expenses per student-athlete and the average Pell Grant per student. Schools from the Football Bowl Subdivision cannot make the list.

The APR is calculated by adding the number of points accrued each semester by scholarship athletes on each team. The athlete receives one point per semester for staying in school and another point each semester for remaining eligible.

“It’s important to look at a variety of options and be as deliberative as we can to ensure our actions facilitate success, not limit it,” Emmert said in the statement.

Spring football is long gone. Stump Mitchell is still here. What’s left? Only baseball season, followed by a long, warm and — hey, let’s be honest — flat-out boring summer.

Thankfully, we’ve got a little something to break down. Southern has finalized dates and kickoff times for football season (except, of course, for the opener at New Mexico, which is out of SU’s hands), and that gives us all an excuse to scan the menu.

Mitchell, of course, is living in Make-Or-Break Land this season. There’s not much sense in belaboring the oft-reported facts, but here’s the nutshell: In two seasons, Mitchell owns a 6-16 record, and now, he enters the third and final guaranteed year of his contract.

Make-Or-Break Land? You bet. Mitchell himself has said he needs to win big in 2012.

Here lies his path to success (or failure), along with some noteworthy nuggets:

Sept. 1: at New Mexico (University Stadium, Albuquerque, N.M.), TBA
This is Bob Davie’s debut with the Lobos. Worth noting: New Mexico lost at home to FCS opponent Sam Houston State last season. Probably won’t happen again, but who knows?

Sept. 13: Mississippi Valley State (A.W. Mumford Stadium), 6 p.m.
Southern has confirmed that this will be Thursday night game on one of the ESPN platforms. The Jaguars’ only other Thursday game was in 2009 against Prairie View — Pete Richardson’s home finale.

Sept. 22: at Jackson State (Veterans Memorial, Jackson, Miss.), 4 p.m.
One of the best atmospheres in black college football. The 2010 game in Jackson was a 49-45 stunner, one of the most exiting in SWAC history. By the way, JSU has won three straight in this series.

Sept. 29 vs. Florida A&M (Georgia Dome, Atlanta), 2:30 p.m.
This, of course, is one of SU’s oldest most heated rivalries. And boy did the Jaguars flub last year’s meeting. Feel free to cringe as you recall how SU blew a 16-point lead and lost, 38-33. Yikes.

Oct. 6: at Alcorn State (Casem-Spinks Stadium, Lorman, Miss.), 2 p.m.
The Country Classic. This is the Jaguars’ first game in Lorman since Alcorn altered the stadium’s name to honor Marino Casem. Also … the Braves still don’t have a replacement for Melvin Spears.

Oct. 13: Texas Southern (homecoming), 5:30 p.m.
Two eye-openers here: 1) This will be Southern’s first Saturday home game. It has to be the latest in school history. 2) TSU has won three straight in this series. For different reasons, all three were SU stinkers.

Oct. 20: Arkansas-Pine Bluff (A.W. Mumford Stadium), 6 p.m.
Boy, oh, boy. Anyone remember last year’s game? The thrilling finish … the blocked extra-point attempt … SU’s one-point loss … the massive brawl … pepper spray … suspensions … ah, memories.

Oct. 27: vs. Prairie View (Independence Stadium, Shreveport), 4 p.m.
This is a designated home game for Prairie View. The teams played in Shreveport in ’07, when the Panthers won, 30-16. Another eye-opener: SU has lost five of the last six in this series. Say what?

Nov. 3: at Alabama A&M (Louis Crews Stadium, Huntsville, Ala.), 1 p.m.
Southern’s past two games against A&M were very, very different. The Bulldogs won at home in a romp in 2010. The Jaguars ambushed A&M, 21-3, last season. A&M went on to win the SWAC East.

Nov. 10: Alabama State (A.W. Mumford Stadium), 6 p.m.
Last year, when the Jaguars mounted a game-winning touchdown drive in the last minute at ASU, Mitchell had his first signature victory at Southern — and seemingly, the team had momentum going into the Bayou Classic. Whoops!

Nov. 24: vs. Grambling (Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans), 1:30 p.m.
If Stump Mitchell wins his first 10 games this season, but then loses the Bayou Classic, he might hold on to his job. Key word: might. SU has dropped four straight to Grambling, and here’s a little newsflash: To the Jaguar Nation, that goes over about as well as a right hook to the jaw.

Maybe worse.

Friday afternoon, the Cynthia Cooper-Dyke era will officially begin at Texas Southern.
As such, the women’s basketball landscape in the Southwestern Athletic Conference is about to get a whole lot rougher.

TSU has called a news conference Friday to introduce Cooper-Dyke as its new coach, giving her a chance to return home to Texas and turn the Lady Tigers into a winner.

You remember Cooper-Dyke, don’t you? Of course you do.

The former WNBA star spent five years turning Prairie View into one of the two powerhouse programs within the Southwestern Athletic Conference (the other, of course, is Southern).

The Lady Panthers went 86-72 overall under Cooper-Dyke, winning three straight regular-season championships and two SWAC tournament championships (2006-07, 2008-09).

Cooper-Dyke resigned in 2010 to take over at UNC-Wilmington, which reached the WNIT in back-to-back seasons on her watch.

Prairie View, meanwhile, kept on rolling. The school promoted Cooper-Dyke’s former assistant, Toyelle Wilson. Since then, the Lady Panthers haven’t dropped off a bit. At 29, Wilson led the team to an upset over Southern in the SWAC championship game last season. Last month, Prairie View won the tournament again, upending Mississippi Valley State.

Assuming that Cooper-Dyke turns TSU into a powerful program — there’s no reason to think otherwise — that makes for three super-tough teams: Texas Southern, Prairie View and Southern. And by the way, other teams like Mississippi Valley and Grambling could be on the way up, as well.

Valley won its first regular-season championship this season under longtime coach Nate Kilbert. And although Donnita Rogers was reassigned, Grambling signed a strong recruiting class and has one of the best facilities in the conference.

Translation: Sandy Pugh’s job could be a little tougher now.

The good news is, she’s back to coaching full-time.

Roman Banks was a little worried.

Fresh from a sparkling first season with the Southern men’s basketball team, Banks spent the early part of this offseason doing two things: accepting awards and recruiting players.

Last week, Banks was named Coach of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, thanks to the 13-win turnaround he engineered in his first year as the Jaguars’ coach. Banks knew, however, that he desperately needs a new crop of players next year — to replace seniors Quinton Doggett and Fred Coleman, and to fortify an already thin roster.

Wednesday night, when the spring signing period began, Banks hadn’t heard from most of his commitments, leading to a few tense moments.

By Friday night, however, four players had signed and faxed their national letters of intent. And the coach was happy. Banks said he got most of what he needed, including two scoring guards (Yondarius Johnson, of Plain Dealing; and Devonse Reed, of Dallas), a point guard (Chris Hyder, of Dallas) and a post player (Damian Goodwin, of suburban Atlanta).

“But I think all these guys can contribute right away,” Banks said, “and that’s what we need.”

Devonse Reed:
Reed, a 6-foot-4 guard from Wilmer Hutchins High School, was named Texas Class 3A player of the year after averaging 24.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. His team reached the 3A state semifinals this season.

Reed drew praise from opposing coaches for his ability to score on the perimeter and by posting up smaller guards.

“He’ll have to concentrate a little more on the defensive end. But it wouldn’t surprise me if this kid, as a freshman, can come in and make a difference,” Banks said. “He’ll come in and play some minutes behind Derick Beltran, and (Reed) can get to the rim.”

Beltran, the team’s leading scorer, will be a senior next season.

Chris Hyder:
Hyder, a 5-foot-10 point guard, helped lead South Oak Cliff High School to the Texas Class 4A state semifinals as a senior, averaging 11.0 points and 8.0 assists per game.

He was named the District 11-4A MVP.

“He’s definitely a playmaking guard. Very smart,” Banks said. “He’ll be able to adapt and run our offense very well. I don’t want to overstate myself, but he definitely reminds you of an Avery Johnson, making great passes and controlling the game.”

Signing a point guard was a must for Southern. Jameel Grace, who will be a senior, was the team’s only point guard on scholarship.

Yondarius Johnson:
If Johnson’s name sounds familiar, it should. The 6-foot-4 guard already played one season in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, for archrival Grambling (where current SU assistant Morris Scott was on staff at the time). Johnson averaged 5.1 points and 16.3 minutes at Grambling in 2010-11, shooting 35 percent from 3-point range. He left the school and played last season at Pearl River (Miss.) Community College.

“He can create his own shot. He’s a type of guy that, at the end of the shot clock, can break a defense down,” Banks said. “He can defend, he can find the rim, and he’s very competitive.”

Damian Goodwin:
Goodwin, a 6-foot-7 small forward and power forward, helped Columbia High School of Decatur, Ga., to its third consecutive Georgia Class 3A state title. Though he averaged fewer than 10 points, Goodwin had 10 rebounds in the state championship game.

“Very long and athletic,” Banks said of Goodwin. “He can step out and make 15-foot shots. I think that athletically, he is ready to contribute. He has a good knowledge of the game. He’ll have to get a little stronger — but his strength, and him adjusting speed of the game, will define his role as it relates to this year.”

Southern also had to have a post player in this year’s class. The team’s only scoring and rebounding threat last season was Doggett, who completed his eligibility.

Banks said he hopes to add at least one more player to the class before the signing period ends May 16.

“A Nation of Dominance,” a booster club in its third year supporting Southern athletics, will hold its annual golf scramble April 28 at Beaver Creek Golf Course in Zachary.

Check-in and registration begins at 6:30 p.m., and the event begins with an 8 a.m. shotgun start.

For information, call Donald Shelmire at (225) 226-2836, Muriel Hall at (225) 202-5745, Chuckie Wells at (225) 603-4261, or “Big” Willie Hughes at (225) 978-9645.