The Morning Dish – Monday, November 17th
Former Desert General Dies: Former Arizona State coach Ned Wulk died of cancer Saturday night. Wulk led the Sun Devils to 25 years of success, compiling a 406-272 record. In 1961, 1963 and 1975, he led his teams to within one game of the Final Four. The Sun Devils honored Wulk in 1999 by naming the Wells Fargo Arena’s court the “Ned Wulk Court.” Wulk was a member of the Arizona State Hall of Fame and Pac-10 Hall of Honor. Born in Marion, Wis., Wulk was 83.
Healing Wildcat: Villanova’s senior guard Derrick Snowden, who underwent surgery Aug. 29 to repair a torn ACL, has been healing quickly and may be cleared to play sooner rather than later. Snowden may return as early as January, which would add much needed depth and experience to a talented but young backcourt. With sophomores Allan Ray and Randy Foye and freshman Michael Nardi, Villanova would have one of the best backcourts in the Big East with the addition of Snowden.
Life After West: No. 23 Xavier discovered how to score in the post without former Mr. Everything – David West. The Musketeers bombarded Mercer with a rain of three-pointers to start the semifinal game of the Black Coaches Association Classic in Cincinnati. But in the second half the Musketeers pounded the ball inside to senior forward Anthony Myles, who finished with 15 points, and Xavier won 72-58. Xavier moves on to play Oakland tonight in the championship game.
Worth His Weight In Gold: Senior Mike Helms of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies torched a strong Illinois-Chicago squad for 27 points in a BCA semifinal game. Helms started the season with 31 points against San Diego Saturday night in the first round. Helms guided the Golden Grizzlies to a 79-66 victory with 21 points in the second half. Illinois-Chicago coach Jimmy Collins had to be restrained after receiving a second technical foul and ejection late in the second half.
Consolation For Anteaters: In a BCA consolation game, UC-Irvine upended San Diego 65-60. Sophomore Jeff Gloger led the Anteaters to victory with 17 points, including four clutch free throws at crunch time. He gave UC-Irvine a three-point lead with under 20 seconds remaining and then extended the lead to five in the closing moments. Two transfers, JuCo transfer Brice Vounang and Illinois transfer Brett Melton, led San Diego. Vounang scored 16 points and added seven rebounds, and Melton contributed 13 points in the losing cause.
More Consolation: The Ohio Bobcats bounced back from a loss to Mercer in the first round of the BCA to defeat the Coppin State Eagles 51-47. Senior Jaivon Harris paced the Bobcats with 17 points and five rebounds. More impressively, he single-handedly put the game out of reach late in the second half with a seven-point scoring run after Coppin State had tied the game.
No More Bowties: New Hampshire defeated Mount Saint Mary’s 94-68 in an opening round game of the Guardians Classic. The game was the first season opener for Mount Saint Mary’s in half a century without legendary coach Jim Phelan at the helm. Known for making the bowtie an essential fashion accessory, Phelan retired midseason last year. He won 830 of the record 1,354 games he coached during his career.
Tonight’s Menu:
• No. 1 Connecticut begins its long quest for the NCAA title tonight in the first round of the Pre-season NIT against Yale. The No. 11 Texas Longhorns start their season against Brown in the NABC Classic. The Guardian Classic and Pre-season NIT feature several other first round games that include the likes of Minnesota, Richmond, South Carolina and Utah. Meanwhile, the BCA finishes up in Cincinnati, with the championship game pitting No. 23 Xavier against upset-minded Oakland.
