The Morning Dish – Tuesday, August 19th
Dotson Update: Carlton Dotson, the former Baylor basketball player accused of murdering teammate Patrick Dennehy, spent the past weekend under a suicide watch in his Maryland jail cell. Dotson, who is awaiting an extradition trial to Texas, was found nude in his cell throwing objects through the bars. Dotson’s attorney, Grady Irvin, Jr., told the Washington Post that he’s sleeping on paper sheets for his own protection. Guards at the Kent County Detention Center in Chestertown, Maryland, have indicated that Dotson is sometimes a model prisoner, and at other times “he’s out there.”
Baylor Transfers: Baylor’s best player, preseason Wooden All-American Lawrence Roberts, has announced that he will be transferring to Mississippi State. Roberts, who has family in the Starkville area, still needs to obtain an NCAA waiver to avoid sitting out a year, and Mississippi State classes start tomorrow. Baylor has already provided a blanket waiver to all players that requested a release from the program. So far, seniors Matt Sayman and R.T. Guinn have said they would stay at Baylor. Baylor recruit Tyrone Nelson received a release from his national letter of intent, and has enrolled at Prairie View A&M, and John Lucas III now has Georgia and San Diego State sending overtures, and incoming freshman Carl Marshall has not affirmed his scholarship.
More Baylor: Patrick Dennehy had complained of threats to him and roommate Carlton Dotson to new assistant coach Abar Rouse the day he was murdered. Dennehy had told Rouse that he and Dotson were threatened by a friend of Baylor transfer Harvey Thomas, and Rouse passed it along to head coach Dave Bliss and other athletic department officials. Rouse was then surprised when other members of the coaching staff denied knowledge of the alleged threats. Rouse last week turned over tapes to the NCAA where Bliss plotted a cover story to blame violations on Dennehy. Thomas has since been cleared by investigators. And lastly, rumors are flying that Baylor might be booted from the Big 12, opening the door for the Big 12 to invite Arkansas to the conference.
Wildcat Schedule: Villanova is in the middle of a scheduling conflict with Temple. Having already had to switch around a date with Big 5-mate St. Joseph’s, Villanova is now trying to back out of the November 21st game against John Cheney’s Owls. However, back at the end of last season, 12 Villanova players were suspended for various lengths of time for illegal use of a campus phone card. Some of the suspensions carry over to this season, and Villanova isn’t keen on having a bunch of walk-ons and freshmen play Temple. Villanova, who also plays in the Maui Classic, had been nudged into playing more early-season games to ensure they have a respectable showing in Hawaii, so they scheduled two California schools to get some games under their belt. However the games are scheduled the same day as the Temple game. Whoops.
