By By Jeff Byrd / staff writer
May 8, 2002
Alcorn State University picked up Meridian's Fred Cole on a basketball scholarship on Tuesday at the Meridian High library.
Cole helped lead the Wildcats to the State 5A Tournament semifinals. Cole averaged 10.1 points per game for the 21-12 Wildcats.
Meridian head coach Ernie Watson says that Cole will be a good fit for Alcorn but will need some time to develop.
Alcorn State won the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship this past season under legendary head coach Dave Whitney. They went to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Cole is excited about joining the Alcorn program.
At 6-foot-4, Cole rotated between small and power forward for the Wildcats. He was one of the team's best outside shooters and will probably play on the wing in college. Cole made 42.2 percent of his field goal attempts (116 out of 275) and also pulled down 4.5 rebounds per game.
Cole is academically qualified having posted a 3.0 grade point average and a 19 on the American College Test.
Cole wanted to go to a historic black college and Alcorn fit the bill.