The News Argus, December, 2003
{Bw.S.S.U.-
ipports
STAR from page 9
Valparaiso coach who takes over at
Baylor. The program is reeling after the
murder of Patrick Dennehy allegedly at
the hands of teammate Carlton Dotson
and the taf>e of former coach Dave Bliss
telling assistants to cover up violations
by falsely telling NCAA investigators
that Dennehy was dealing drugs.
15, Bill Cosby was the guest speaker at
a Baylor pep rally attended by 20,000 stu
dents. Why Cosby? "It had to do with the
fact that I’m 66 years old and 1 have love
for each and every one of you," he told
them.
16, The NCAA waived the 1-year ineli
gibility rule for players wishing to trans
fer from Baylor. The Bears' top three
returning scorers (John Lucas III,
Oklahoma State; Lawrence Roberts,
Mississippi State; and Kenny Taylor,
Texas) all bolted. Taylor's Longhorns visit
Baylor on Feb. 10, with Lucas making his
return 2 weeks later.
17, Scott Drew's father, Homer, has
returned from retirement to retake the
reins at Valpo.
18, "The strange thing to me is we've
lost 36 games the last 2 years. We only
added one freshman (Reyshawn Terry)
and he was second-team all-state.
The fans need to understand that ol'
Roy ain't that good," said new North
Carolina coach Roy Williams.
19, The Tar Heels have enough talent
that they'd win 15 games with Larry Fine
as head coach. Throw in Williams, who
should be worth five to seven victories,
and this is a 20-win team with realistic
Sweet 16 expectations.
Point guard Raymond Felton was
named the ACC's preseason player of the
year.
20, Duke (yawn) has been pegged to
win the conference. The Blue Devils have
won an unprecedented five consecutive
ACC Tournaments. 21, The most intrigu
ing player on the Dookies’ roster is 6-8
freshman forward Luol Deng, considered
the best high schotil player in the land
last year not named LeBron James. 22,
Michigan's biggest win in years came in
September when it successfully appealed
an NCAA postseason ban in 2004. The
Wolves return four starters, including Big
Ten freshman of the year Daniel Horton,
as coach Tommy Amaker continues to try
to bail out of the Ed Martin/booster scan
dal.
23, "We have to do what we're sup
posed to do and that's make it to the
NCAA Tournament," said Amaker.
24, The Big East has returned to one
division for its 14 teams. Only the top 12
qualify for the conference tournament.
25, Connecticut is the Big East coaches'
preseason pick to win the conference.
26, Junior Emeka Okafor, UConn's
shot-blocking machine, is on pace to
graduate with a degree in finance this
semester. "Certainly, he’s enriched our
teams, our coaching staff," said coach Jim
Calhoun. "We're a better university
because of him."
27, Connecticut's Charlie Villanueva,
who withdrew his commitment from
Illinois after Bill Self bolted for KU, is the
pick for Big East preseason rookie of the
year.
28, Villanueva and Duke's Luol Deng
were high school teammates at Blair
Academy in Blairstown, N.J. They were
coached by Joe Mantegna. No, not THAT
Joe Mantegna.
29, Notre Dame's backcourt of junior
Chris Thomas and sophomore Chris
Quinn should make the students quickly
forget about the dreadful football team.
Thomas, one of the best point guards in
the nation, reversed his decision to enter
the NBA draft. 30, Another Sweet 16
berth will be a challenge for the Irish,
who lost perimeter threats Matt Carroll
(Hatboro-Horsham) and Dan Miller
(RanccKas Valley). They play Villanova at
the Wachovia Center on Jan. "'0.
31, The NIT's third-place game has
been discontinued. Hearts are heavy
everywhere.
32, After Jim Harrick, Georgia needed
discipline and that's exactly what it got in
new coach Dennis Felton. "I knew he was
demanding," said athletic director Vince
Dooley, "1 didn't know he was quite as
demanding as he is.
But that's OK."
33, Georgia's leading rebounder, Steve
Thomas, couldn’t hack Felton's style and
was promptly kicked off the team. If any
player breaks a rule, the entire team gets
to go for a 6 a.m. run.
34, Beginning next season, the three-
point line will be 20 feet, 6 ? inches, a
shade more than 9 inches farther than the
current mark of 19-9. 35, Yes, there still is
a Conference USA and Cincinnati,
Louisville and Marquette are its best
teams.
36, Cincinnati should get better as the
season progresses if transfers Robert
Whaley (center), James White (forward)
and Nick Williams (guard) jell. They
should create space for Jason Maxiell
(11.7 ppg), the Bearcats' leading returning
scorer.-
37, Louisville once again will be good.
But how good depends greatly on fresh
man point guard Brandon Jenkins and
junior-college transfer Nate Daniels.
38, How old does this make you feel?
Patrick Ewing's son, Pat Ewing Jr., is a
freshman at Indiana.
39, Big things are expected at Wichita
State, which hasn't been to the NCAA
Tournament since 1988. (Eddie Fogler
was the coach. God, I need a life.) Junior
forward Jamar Howard is the kind of
midmajor player who nobody knows
about until the middle of March.
40, Arizona's Isaiah Fox added to his
steals total when he pocketed $2.58
worth of grub from a campus store. Fox
was charged with misdemeanor shoplift
ing for grabbing a bagel, some cream
cheese and a candy bar. ,
41, The real story in Arizona is fresh
man Mustafa Shakur (Friends Central),
w'ho will start at point guard for the
Wildcats, who return only two starters
(shooting guard Salim Stoudamire and
center Channing Frye).
42, Shakur is being compared to former
Wildcat Mike Bibby, who also was a
freshman when he guided Arizona to the
national title in 1997.
43, Illinois sophomore guard Dee
Brown on the media's choice for presea
son player of the year: "I wasn't expecting
it. If someone would have told me 1
would be the preseason player of the
year, 1 would have laughed and told
them they were lying."
44. The league's coaches tabbed
Wisconsin junior Devin Harris.
Michigan State was the consensus pre-
season favorite.
45. Ever heard of Belmont College?
It's in Nashville, Tenn., and has never
been to the NCAA Tournament. The
reason you're reading about it is that it
, returns the nation's leading field goal
shooter (Adam Mark, 67.0 percent)
and leading free throw shooter (Steve
Drabyn, 95.1).
46. Penn's Jeff Schiffner, a senior, led
the nation by shooting 49.3 percent
from three-point range. Cornell and
Princeton will be the Quakers' top
challengers in the Ivy League.
47. Columbia hired Villanova assis
tant Joe Jones in an attempt to revive
its dormant program. His brother.
James, is the Yale coach. Their first
meeting is Jan. 16 at Columbia.
48. New Mexico State's James Moore
might be the best player in the Sun Belt
Conference, but the best name belongs to
Middle Tennessee's Tommy Gunn.
Naturally, he's a shooting guard.
49. Selection Sunday is March 14 and
the play-in game is 2 days later at
Dayton. The regionals are March 25 (East
and West) and March 26 (South and
Midwest). The Final Four, in San
Antonio, begins April 3.
50. The national champion pick:
Connecticut. The Huskies' biggest ques
tion is how well (or even if) senior point
guard Taliek Brown develops into a floor
leader. UConn has more tools than Home
Depot and a reasonable schedule that
should keep the Huskies fresh.
Merm Christmas
and
Happy Holiaays
rrom the Winston-Salem State Universitu
Join the Argus! Meetings are Tuesdays at 11 a.m.
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