The Morning Dish – Saturday, May 10th:
Bosh Bolting: It’s official. Georgia Tech freshman forward Chris Bosh will enter the NBA Draft. He has not retained an agent as of yet, thus allowing him to return to Atlanta for his sophomore season if he chooses. However most pundits have Bosh projected as a lottery pick, so a return is doubtful.
So is Lorbek: Michigan State University announced today that freshman forward Erazem Lorbek, a native of Slovenia, will enter the NBA Draft. Unlike Bosh, Lorbek has already hired an agent, so he cannot return to East Lansing. Lorbek averaged 6 points and 3 rebounds per game, but kicked it up a notch in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 11.5 points and 5 rebounds in four tournament games.
And This Guy, Too: Mississippi State has announced that recruit Travis Outlaw has made himself eligible for the NBA Draft. Outlaw, a forward from Starkville High School, has not retained an agent, and can thus withdraw from the draft by June 19th and enter college with full eligibility. Outlaw, is the second McDonald’s All-American Bulldog recruit to enter the draft prior to enrolling. In 1999, Jonathan Bender (also a MSU recruit) entered the draft and was signed 5th overall by the Indiana Pacers.
Promotion: Arkansas-Pine Bluff has removed the “interim” tag from head coach Van Holt. Holt presided over a 4-24 record last season after replacing the fired Harold Blevins over the summer. Progress was everything, as the Golden Lions ended a 25-game losing streak in February, and going 4-6 from that point on.
Returning: George Mason University announced that Scott Cherry is returning as an assistant coach after a one-year stint with Tennessee Tech. Cherry spent the previous three seasons with the Patriots before jumping to the Ohio Valley Conference school. Cherry takes the place of GMU assistant Mike Gillian, who was hired as the head coach of Division II Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. (Longwood is making the leap to Division I for the 2004-05 season.) Cherry is a graduate at North Carolina under Dean Smith, was a part of the 1993 National Championship squad, and played professionally in Cyprus for one season.
Returning?: Various reports have former UCLA coach Steve Lavin joining Purdue as an assistant. Lavin, who was an assistant to Gene Keady in West Lafayette from 1989-91, would like to join the staff and become the eventual head coach after Keady retires, expected after the 2004-05 season. This story came to light after Southern Illinois coach (and longtime Keady assistant) Bruce Weber took the Illinois head coaching position last week, making it unlikely that he would succeed Keady at Purdue. It is also reported that Lavin is mulling offers as a television analyst from ESPN, Fox Sports Net, and CBS.
