Report: Cleveland State Hires Cornelius Jackson as Assistant Coach

According to The Beckley (WV) Register-Herald, Cleveland State has hired Tennessee-Martin assistant coach Cornelius Jackson to replace Jayson Gee, who left the program to become head coach at Longwood.

Jackson, a former player at Tennessee and Marshall, has spent the last four years as an assistant at UT Martin under Jason James. He has been the recruiting coordinator for the Skyhawks for the last three years and has been the assistant head coach for the past two years.

Prior to joining the Skyhawks, Jackson was an assistant at West Virginia State for six season from 2003-2009.

Cleveland State Offers Scholarship to Satchel Pierce

The Cleveland State men's basketball team has extended a scholarship offer to Satchel Pierce of Saltsburg (PA) Kiski School, 247Sports.com reports.

Pierce, a 6-11 center, also has offers from Drexel, Duquesne, FIU, James Madison, Kent State, Miami (OH), Rider and Seton Hall and has received interest from from DePaul, Duke, Indiana, Miami (FL), Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, South Florida, UCF, and West Virginia.

A Barberton, OH native, Pierce averaged 10.6 points, 17.5 rebounds and 9.7 blocked shots per game last season for the Kiski School.

Cleveland State offers scholarship to Jordan Tribble

The Cleveland State men's basketball team has extended a scholarship offer to Jordan Tribble of Georgetown, KY, Coast2CoastHoops.com reports.

A 6-9 shot-blocking center, Tribble will spend next season at a prep school and reclassify to the class of 2014.

Tribble also holds offers from Cincinnati, Minnesota, North Florida and South Florida.

Cleveland State to play in Keightley Classic

The Cleveland State men’s basketball team will visit Rupp Arena on Nov. 25 to face the University of Kentucky as part of the Keightley Classic.

CSU will also play Robert Morris at home and Eastern Michigan and Texas-Arlington (Nov. 15) on the road.

UK, which won the national championship in 2012, had a disappointing year last season, losing to Robert Morris in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

The Wildcats are expected to be loaded again next season as they have the number one incoming recruiting class in country - including six McDonald's All-Americans - and are the top ranked team in ESPN's 2013-14 preseason top 25.

In March, CSU head coach Gary Waters said the Vikings will have home games next year against Western Illinois, Akron, and Ball State, and road games at Drexel, Ohio State, Kent State and Toledo.

Jackson to participate in Knicks, Heat Summer Camps

Former Cleveland State standout Cedric Jackson will participate in the New York Knicks and Miami Heat free agent summer camps, Newstalk ZB in Zew Zealand reports.

Jackson, 27, who had a brief stint in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards in 2010, has spent the past two seasons in the Australian National Basketball League.

He was named the Most Valuable Player this past season in the NBL after leading the league in assists (7.2 per game) and steals (2.8 per game), and finishing in the top ten in scoring (15.6 points per game). He also led the New Zealand Breakers to its second consecutive NBL championship.

Last year, Jackson played on the Spurs summer league team.

Report: Josh Ivory to transfer

Cleveland State freshman guard Josh Ivory will transfer out of the program, according to Jeff Goodman's transfer list.

Ivory played in 30 games with the Vikings last season, averaging 1.3 points in 8.9 minutes per game.

Report: St. Ignatius' Derek Sloan headed to Cleveland State

Saint Ignatius senior forward Derek Sloan has accepted a preferred walk-on opportunity at Cleveland State, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The 6-foot-5 Sloan is expected to redshirt his first year and then go on athletic scholarship the following year.

Known as a fierce defender, Sloan averaged 15 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season, helping the Wildcats to a 21-4 record and a district final appearance.

Sloan chose the Vikings over Walsh University and Fairmont State. He also had an offer on the table from Division I Bryant University.

Report: Jalen James to Visit Cleveland State

Former Illinois recruit Jalen James has scheduled a visit to Cleveland State.

James, a 6-foot-2 point guard from La Lumiere High School (IN), will visit CSU on the weekend of April 26-28, according to Scott Burgess of ChicagoHoops.com.

He has also scheduled visits with San Jose State (April 19-21) and George Mason (May 3-5).

A three-star recruit by Rivals.com, James reportedly holds offers from Alabama, Arkansas and Auburn.

Jayson Gee Named Head Coach at Longwood

Updated: April 3

Jayson Gee, who has been the associated head coach at Cleveland State for the past seven years, is leaving the program to become the head coach at Longwood University in Farmville, Va..

Gee, 47, will formally be introduced on campus on April 10.

"I am extremely excited and blessed to have been afforded the opportunity to join the Longwood University family," Gee said in a press release. "This is truly a 'defining moment' for me and my entire family. I look forward to connecting with the Farmville community and the entire Lancer Nation."

Gee was a successful head coach at the Division II level, guiding his Alma-mater, the University of Charleston to a 160-55 record in seven seasons from 1997-2002.

He has also spent time as an assistant at Ohio, Youngstown State and St. Bonaventure.

Cedric Jackson Named MVP in Australia

Former Cleveland State standout Cedric Jackson was named the Most Valuable Player in the Australian National Basketball League on Sunday.

Jackson, 27, who had a brief stint in the NBA in 2010, is in his second season with the New Zealand Breakers.

In the league's 28-game season, Jackson led the NBL in assists (7.2 per game) and steals (2.8), and also finished in the top 10 in scoring (15.6).

In November, Jackson recorded the Breakers' first triple-double (28 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) against Melbourne while matching up against former Syracuse star Jonny Flynn.

Jackson finished fourth in the MVP voting last season.

The Breakers, the defending NBL champions, finished with the best record in the league at 24-4 and will open the playoffs on Thursday against Sydney in a best-of-three series.

Photo courtesy of NBL.com