The Morning Dish – Tuesday, January 4th
Love Hurts:
Duke senior forward Randy Love will undergo surgery today to repair a broken bone in his
right foot. Love suffered the injury in the first half of Duke’s 62-54 victory against Clemson
Sunday, which happened to be his first career start. Love, who was a wide receiver for
Duke’s football team from 2000-03 and participated in the Green Bay Packers’ mini-camp last
summer, had two assists in 10 minutes against the Tigers. He was averaging 2.0 points and
2.4 rebounds per game for the Blue Devils.
St. John’s Shut Out of Big East Tourney: After banning itself from the 2004-05
postseason in the aftermath of the finding that a former player was given cash by an
athletic department employee, St. John’s received official news that it will not be eligible
to play in the Big East tournament either. Any team not eligible for the NCAA championship
is not eligible to compete in the conference tournament according to a Big East rule that
dates back 10 years to when Syracuse played in the tournament despite being on NCAA
probation. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese confirmed the ruling Monday and announced
that the fifth-seeded team will receive a bye into the quarterfinals in the 11-team
tournament to be held March 9-12.
Henson To Return:
New Mexico State head coach Lou Henson, whose right leg was paralyzed three months ago as a
result of viral encephalitis, an accute inflammation of the brain, will return to the court
in a wheelchair for the Aggies’ game against North Texas Saturday. Henson is 22 victories
shy of becoming only the fifth Division I coach to reach 800. A more important goal for the
73-year-old coaching icon is to walk again, which doctors are optimistic will be realized
with Henson’s continued rehab.
Simien Sunday? Not So Soon Says Self:
Injured Kansas star Wayne Simien told reporters he will attempt to play Sunday when the
Jayhawks travel to Kentucky, but head coach Bill Self has other ideas. Simien had surgery
Dec. 20 on his left, non-shooting thumb, an injury doctors said would sideline the senior
four to six weeks. Self stressed the fact that it has only been three weeks and the greater risk of
Simien re-injuring the thumb if he were to play without giving it ample time to heal. Self
made it sound as if Kansas will be without its leading scorer and rebounder for its first
true road test of the season.
Boeheim Promotes Stadium:
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim appears in a promotional television ad for a proposed new
stadium to be built in Manhattan’s West Side. The $1.4 million stadium plan would provide a
new home for the New York Jets and a venue that would help New York City attract large
events such as the Super Bowl and the Final Four. The ad will air in upstate markets for a
couple of weeks.
Tron Transfers:
Former Arizona State guard Tron Smith transferred from Tempe to UC Riverside, where he will
be eligible to play at the end of the 2005 fall semester. Smith starred at Moreno Valley
near Riverside during high school before heading to Arizona State. He appeared in 17 games
for the Sun Devils as a freshman, averaging 3.9 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.
Cowboys Bounce Back From Loss:
Oklahoma State used a dominating second half to pull away from upset-minded Texas A&M Corpus
Christi on the road last night, as the Cowboys rebounded from the first loss of the season
with an 86-61 victory. The Islanders, who knocked off Florida State in Tallahassee earlier
this season, led by seven midway through the first half and trailed by only three points at
the break. But Joey Graham scored eight of his game-high 20 points as part of a 13-0 Cowboys
run to start the second half and Corpus Christi failed to recover. Daniel Bobik added 12
points for the Cowboys in their final tuneup before the Big 12 season.
A Bit of a Shock:
Manhattan handed Wichita State its first loss of the season with a 64-59 triumph on the
road, holding the Shockers to 35 percent shooting and forcing 18 turnovers. Peter Mulligan
scored 27 points to lead the Jaspers, and C.J. Andersen chipped in 17 points and seven
boards. The Shockers’ 9-0 start matched the 1920-21 team’s for the best in school history.
Brownout in Providence:
Ryan Gomes scored 24 points and grabbed 15 boards as Providence defeated Brown in a battle
for Rhode Island bragging rights. Providence knocked off Rhode Island earlier this season.
It was the Friars’ fourth-straight win following a loss to Wichita State Dec. 11.
Let’s Play Three!:
It took Florida Atlantic three overtime periods to nab its second win of the season, a
104-101 victory at Mercer. Senior forward Mike Bell had 29 points and 15 rebounds in 47
minutes to help the Owls snap a four-game skid.
