College Notebook: Byrd finds new home at West Alabama

Former English High basketball player Jarell Byrd?s college basketball career has taken a turn.After playing for Wofford College in South Carolina his freshman and sophomore years, Byrd has transferred to the University of West Alabama, where he?ll play for new head coach Mark Downey. The Tigers open their season tonight at home against Stillman.Byrd said he had thought about leaving Wofford during the season last year and he made the decision three days after his final game. He said he and the head coach sat down and decided a transfer was best. He got his official release from Wofford.Byrd said he initially planned to go to the University of Charleston, but when that school?s coach, Downey, decided to leave and take the head coaching job at the University of West Alabama, Byrd went with him.The University of West Alabama is a Division 2 school and a member of the Gulf South Conference. Last year the Tigers finished 10-16 overall, 6-12 in the conference.Byrd said he thinks he?ll fit in well with the Tigers? style of play.?They play an up-tempo game. They want to get out and run all the time, press man-to-man with a little bit of zone. They play fast and move the ball,” he said.Byrd said the transition to a new school and a new basketball program is going well.?It was tough at first, when I first got down here, but the adjustment has been good. The coach and the team made it easier,” he said.Byrd said there are a few people back at Wofford that he?ll miss, but he can still stay in contact with them. As for the upcoming season, he?s excited and optimistic about playing on what he called a “super-talented” team.?I just want to play the best I can. I want to enjoy basketball again and win games as a team,” Byrd said. “I hope I can flourish in the system and do good things.”After graduating from English, Byrd attended St. Thomas More in Oakdale, Conn., as a post-graduate. He helped lead the team to the national prep school basketball championship, averaging 17 points and 13 rebounds per game. In his sophomore year at Division 1 Wofford, Byrd scored 136 points (he started two games).Maggie Carey of Swampscott/St. Mary?s, a freshman on the Emmanuel College women?s soccer team, was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week last week. Carey scored a huge insurance goal in the Saints? 3-0 GNAC tournament quarterfinal win over the University of St. Joseph (Conn.). It was her third goal of the season.The honors keep rolling in for WPI senior Megan Forti of Lynn/English High. Forti was named to the NEWMAC women?s soccer All-Academic First Team for the third time, tying Kristen Garza (2011) as the only WPI three-time first team selection. Forti holds the program record for points in a season with 35 (13 goals, 9 assists). She had three game-winners and a successful penalty kick this season.The Stonehill College women?s basketball team is off to a 1-1 start. In the opening-game win against Barry over the weekend, Tori Faieta of Lynn/St. Mary?s scored 19 points, including a three. Amy Pelletier of Beverly/Bishop Fenwick contributed 21 points and followed up that performance with a 20-point game against Nova Southeastern. Stonehill, which is ranked seventh in the USA Today Division II poll, lost that game.