Despite the recent struggles the Texas Longhorns' men's basketball team has faced over the last few weeks, senior center Shaquille "Shaq" Cleare has done his part to give them a fighting chance on a nightly basis.
Cleare, who transferred to Texas in 2014 from Maryland, has averaged double-digit figures over the last four games, including a career-high 23 points in an 84-83 win over Oklahoma on Monday, which snapped a five-game losing streak.
"Shaq has been our most consistent person this year, our most consistent teammate," said Texas coach Shaka Smart. "He's been by far our most selfless player on our team."
Cleare lost 40 pounds this offseason, and has showed improved quickness and conditioning this season. Prior to this year, Cleare was occasionally criticized for being out of shape.
"He was talking to some of our younger players recently and said, 'this is the first year that I'm actually in college,'" Smart said. "What he meant was understanding what really goes into being a high level, successful college basketball player."
Cleare, who is averaging a career-high 21.3 minutes per game this season has found consistent success in the post as of late.
He's played over 25 minutes five times so far and has still been able to produce late, which is something he had struggled with in the past.
"It's a great feeling," Cleare said after Monday's game. "But, I'm surrounded by great guards. A lot of guys play with selfish guys, my guys are great. They share the ball well and they put me in good positions down low."
Cleare is just one of two seniors on this year's team. This has forced him to step into a leadership role for Texas.
Although it's a role he is still adjusting to, coach Smart said that 'Shaq' is a quick learner who is improving quickly.
"It's important, we want him to speak up even more," Smart said. "Because he knows a lot more than other guys. When he does speak up, it carries a lot of weight."
With the Big12/ SEC Challenge against Georgia coming up on Saturday, Texas will need more of Cleare's leadership to get past the Bulldogs.
Cleare, a native of Andros, is currently averaging 8.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

A press conference was recently held to announce that The Bahamas will host the IAAF World Relays on April 22 and April 23 at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium where world classed athletes will compete for the coveted Golden Baton. The press conference was held at the foyer of the National Stadium. The World Relays, governed by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), will feature hundreds athletes from many countries.

Minister of Youth Sports and Culture, Hon. Daniel Johnson is shown arriving at the press conference and greeting, Rev. Carl Campbell, Nassau Methodist Church.

Tanya Smith-Cartwright

J.Sawyer and Associates

Bahamian national record holder in the women's 100 meters (m) hurdles Pedrya Seymour continued her strong start to the 2016-2017 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) indoor track and field season, clocking a blazing personal best time of 7.98 seconds in the women's 60m hurdles on Saturday.
With that stunning run at the Rod McCravy Memorial in Lexington, Kentucky, Seymour is now second in the NCAA Division I rankings, and fourth in the world. She is also second on Illinois' all-time list.
Before the final, redshirt junior at Illinois Seymour set what was then a personal best in the prelims, running 8.09 seconds.
"She finds herself in a place where she knows what it takes to perform at a high level," Illinois Associate Head Coach Randy Gillon said of Seymour. "She has high
expectations for herself.
We train with high expectations, so when it comes to competition, she knows how to get herself ready for that level of performance and competition."
While Seymour was the top collegiate finisher in the race, Adidas athlete Kendra Harrison, the world record holder in the women's 100m hurdles, won in 7.75 seconds. She was followed by Puma athlete Leah Nugent in 7.96 seconds.
Bahamian Devynne Charlton, a junior at Purdue, also ran in Saturday's final. She finished the race in fourth in 8.05 seconds after running 8.09 seconds in the heats. Fellow Purdue junior, Bahamian Carmiesha Cox, ran a personal best time of 7.41 to finish fifth in the women's 60m. She ran 7.44 seconds in the heats. The personal best run of 7.41 seconds moves Cox from fourth into a tie for third in school history. Cox was eighth overall in the women's 200m in 23.94 seconds. Cox also ran the third leg of the women's 4x400m team for Purdue, and helped them bring home a fourth-place finish with a time of 3:37.56. That time is the third-fastest in school history.
Running in the men's 400m for Purdue, sophomore Kinard Rolle was among the top competitors. He ran out front in the second heat and ended up with a time of 47.54 seconds, which was second in his heat and third overall. The winning time was posted by another Bahamian, Henri Delauze, a junior at Miami. Delauze finished first overall in 47.42 seconds. He came back in the men's 4x400m for Miami, and helped them to an eighth place finish in 3:12.16. Rolle ran the men's 4x400m for Purdue, and helped them to a sixth place finish in a time of 3:10.38. Fellow Purdue sophomore, Bahamian Keanu Pennerman, finished 10th overall in the men's 60m, in 6.86 seconds, and 18th overall in the men's 200m in 22.04 seconds.
Bahamian Kirk Lewis, a junior at Clemson, finished second in his heat of the men's 60m hurdles, in 8.01 seconds. He came back in the final, and finished fourth overall, in a personal best run of 7.88 seconds.
Bahamian Dannielle Gibson, a senior at Penn State, was ninth overall in the women's long jump with a best jump of 5.59m (18 feet 4-1/4 inches), and finished second in the women's triple jump with a best jump of 12.88m (42 feet 3-1/4 inches). Baylor's senior Brianna Richardson won with a leap of 13m flat (42 feet 8 inches).
Over at the Auburn Invitational at the Birmingham Metro CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama, Auburn sophomore Xavier Coakley finished third in the men's 60m hurdles in 8.05 seconds. Auburn senior Teray Smith was second in the men's 200m in 21.08 seconds. Alabama junior Jereem Richards won in 20.57 seconds. Bahamian Jenae Ambrose, a sophomore at Auburn, finished ninth overall in the women's 60m in 7.55 seconds, just missing out on a spot in the final.
At the Cherry & Silver Invitational at the Albuquerque Convention Center, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Samson Colebrook from Barton County Community College, finished second overall in the men's 200m in a personal best time of 21.47 seconds. In the men's long jump at that same meet, Bahamian Alfredo Smith, also from Barton County Community College, finished eighth overall with a best leap of 6.96m (22 feet 10 feet).
Over at the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Virginia, East Tennessee State University senior Katrina Seymour was fourth overall, in 55 seconds flat.
In the 60m hurdles, Pedrya Seymour continues to show progression. After her stunning run at Rod McCravy Memorial, she is just now just one, one hundredth of a second off Devynne Charlton's national record indoors.
Last weekend at the Illini Classic in Chicago, Illinois, USA, she won the women's 60m hurdles in 8.20 seconds, after running 8.13 seconds in the heats. This week, she lowered her personal best to 7.98 seconds.
In Chicago last week, it was a 1-3 Illinois sweep as sophomore Jayla Stewart finished second in 8.52 seconds, and junior Kortni Smyers-Jones was third in 8.60 seconds.
"Both Bloch-Jones and Seymour will be two of the people that will be a major factor at the end of the season at the national level," Garner said of the pair this weekend. "A year ago, it was the Meyo Invite before we showed this ability in the hurdles, and this year it's showing in mid-January. They're working hard for Coach Gillon and it's paying off."
Last season, Seymour was a 2016 Outdoor All-American in the 100m hurdles and a 2016 Indoor All-American in the 60m hurdles.
She qualified for the 100m hurdles final at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and was a Big Ten runner-up.

Bahamian baseball player Jervis "Champ" Stuart continues to make a name for himself as a pro, and now, the 24-year-old has another opportunity to move up the New York Mets' prospect list next month.
This week, Stuart was one of 13 minor league players that received an invitation to the club's Major League spring training, which begins February 19 in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
The players selected will make up the Mets' Grapefruit League team this season. Organized Grapefruit League play begins on February 24.
The Mets will play their first game the following day against the Washington Nationals.
Following a stellar regular season last year, Stuart was named to the Scottsdale Scorpions' roster for the Offseason Arizona Fall League, which usually is made up of Double-A and Triple-A players.
In 19 games, Stuart hit .300 with 12 runs scored, five RBI, 12 stolen bases an On Base Percentage (OBP) of .329 with one home run.
"He rates at the top of the scouting scale as a runner," said MLB.com writer Johnathan Mayo of Stuart's emergence. "A former multi-spot standout, the other parts of his game are a bit raw, but he's not without tools. He's willing to work counts and draw walks, knowing his job is to get on base. He has some strength, unlike some pure speed guys, giving hope that there's some hitting ability to be unlocked."
Last year was a huge one in terms of Champ's ascension to the top of the prospect pool. His season was highlighted by his appearance as a pinch runner in the final Grapefruit League game for the Mets in spring training. He also had a stellar season with the Port St. Lucie Mets in Single-A Advanced. Stuart's effort eventually led to a Double-A call up with the Binhamton Mets.
Through 114 games in both leagues, Stuart hit .240 with 34 RBI and eight home runs.
"There's a lot of room for improvement to get better. I went up to Double-A last year, but there's definitely more in the tank and more room for improvement," said Stuart on his recent success. "I'm definitely looking forward to it."
Prio to his time with the Scorpions, Stuart was one of 10 Bahamians who competed for Team Great Britain at the World Baseball Classic Qualifier in June in Brooklyn, New York.