The Morning Dish – Wednesday, May 11th
Romar Hires Former Husky Star: Washington coach Lorenzo Romar hired Paul Fortier to be an assistant coach. Fortier comes to Washington after working at Cornell as an assistant for the past two seasons. He is one of Washington’s all-time leading scorers, playing four years at Washington in the early 1980s. The Huskies made the NCAA Tournament each season Fortier started.
Rebel Assistant Gets Own Job: Mississippi assistant coach Eric Bozeman will leave the Rebels to coach Division II Southern Arkansas. Bozeman had been an assistant to coach Rod Barnes for seven years. He also has been a coach at Henderson State.
Pair of Young Bearcats Off the Team: Cincinnati officials announced that freshman guard Vincent Banks has left the team because of personal reasons and freshman forward Roy Bright has been dismissed. School officials kicked off Bright because of an incident in which he had a firearm on campus. Police are investigating the matter. He was Cincinnati’s most productive freshman last season, averaging 4.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Banks, meanwhile, was a prolific scorer in high school, but he entered school ineligible to play because he did not meet NCAA academic standards.
Tiger Tests Value: Auburn freshman guard Toney Douglas announced that he will enter the NBA Draft to evaluate his stock among NBA scouts. But he will not hire an agent and said he will return to the Tigers if he isn’t projected to be a first-round pick. Douglas averaged 16.9 points per game last season and was one of the best freshmen in the country.
More SEC Draft News: Kentucky freshman center Randolph Morris will also enter the NBA Draft without hiring an agent. The rash of underclassmen entering the draft could be a product of serious talks among NBA officials of instituting an age limit next year. At 6-10, Morris is a talented forward, but he could use another year or two under coach Tubby Smith to become a bona fide star at power forward. He averaged 8.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season for the Wildcats.
Gator Big Man has Back Surgery: Florida junior center Adrian Moss has surgery to fix two herniated discs that caused pain during this past season and limited Moss’ effectiveness. Originally in the starting lineup to start the season, Moss struggled all season, averaging only 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He missed nine games and saw only limited action during the final stretch of the season because of the back pain. Team officials expect Moss to be fully healed well before next season.
Air Force to Stop Revolving Door: Entering the 2005-06 season, Air Force will have had three different coaches in three seasons. And school officials are tired of the changes. Last year’s coach, Chris Mooney, bolted for Richmond only five days after signing a five-year contract that contained no buyout clause. The next coach will have a buyout clause, which would force another school or the team’s next coach to pay restitution if the coach leaves before the contract expires. Mooney had replaced Joe Scott, who left Air Force to return to his alma mater, Princeton, as head coach. He also did not have a buyout clause.
Judge Tosses Ohio State-Related Lawsuit: A Franklin County, Ohio, judge dismissed a lawsuit by Kathleen Salyers against her former employers. Salyers claimed she had an oral agreement to take care of former Buckeye Boban Savovic for $1,000 per month. She says she never received payments from Dan and Kim Roslovic, Ohio State boosters who are now divorced. As part of Salyers’ lawsuit, she revealed that former Buckeye coach Jim O’Brien paid a recruit $6,000. School officials fired O’Brien when the report surfaced. The judge dismissed Salyers’ lawsuit because Ohio state law dictates that contracts that extend more than a year must be in writing.
Meanwhile, O’Brien is in the midst of suing the university for breach of contract. He claims the university fired him before undergoing a complete NCAA investigation to determine the nature of the violations.
Huskies Pass Graduation Goal: Connecticut lifted an unsatisfactory Academic Progress Rate score to a more acceptable mark after submitting more information to the NCAA. The APR is part of the NCAA’s attempt to emphasize academic success and progress throughout collegiate athletics. Connecticut’s men’s basketball team had originally earned an 852 score, but the new score is 889. While schools adjust to the system, the minimum score for men’s basketball is 875. But the eventual standard will be 925, so Connecticut still has some work to do to avoid penalties in upcoming years.
