The Morning Dish – Monday, September 1st
Happy Labor Day! Enjoy some backyard grilling, and welcome to September.
Bliss in Prison?: Don’t get ahead of yourself. The ousted and disgraced former Baylor head coach stated that he would like to start making amends by volunteering at a Waco-area state jail for juveniles. Bliss, who applied for a volunteer intramural coaching position, was categorized as “upbeat and positive” by John Hopkins, superintendent of the McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility. However, Pamela Ward, public information officer for the Texas Youth Commission indicated that Bliss wouldn’t be brought aboard anytime soon, as his track record of working with the student athletes at Baylor could be called less than ethical. Bliss may be spending time in a different jail, as criminal charges may still be coming for his role in a cover-up during the Patrick Dennehy disappearance investigation.
Big Four?: The situation we’ve been watching for the past few weeks has boiled over. ESPN is reporting that head coach John Cheney has announced that his Temple squad will not play Villanova this season, costing the Big 5 a big game matchup. Villanova, who was scheduled to play Temple on November 21st, had been trying to switch the date, as they had also scheduled two California D-III schools (Claremont and Redlands College) the same day, on their way to the Maui Invitational. Chaney claims that the school wanted to get more games out of the way in order to get their full squad eligible, as several players are suspended for up to eight games due to the Villanova phone card scandal. A proposed date of December 28th was turned down because the school is on winter break.
Arkansas Split: The Arkansas Razorbacks, in the midst of a series of holiday weekend exhibition games in Mexico, lost Saturday to Belize Teane 73-69, but rallied later in the day to down La Salle (Mexico) 108-56. The fun conditions in Cancun included an un-air conditioned gym (with plenty of sweat slippage) under FIBA rules, with the trapezoid lane and longer 3-point distance. In the first game, Billy Pharis led the Hogs with 14 points and 10 boards, and Kendrick Davis led Arkansas scoring in the second game with 21 points.
Temple Guard Denied: Temple announced that recruit Jesus Verdejo has been rejected by the admissions department for enrollment in the fall semester. Verdejo, a 6-5 guard from Miami Christian High School, averaged 14 points per game for Puerto Rico in the Junior World Championships, and 18 points per game in the Global Games. While he can now be recruited by any other university, Verdejo can retake the SAT and get in on academic merit, or can be admitted for the winter semester as a Proposition 48 player, but would have to sit out 12 months.
Gonzaga Transfer Denied: Former Georgetown guard Drew Hall, who was trying to transfer to Gonzaga, was not admitted to the school. Hall, who averaged 3.5 points and 2 rebounds per game as a reserve point guard for the Hoyas last season, did not qualify academically at Gonzaga. Hall attended Montrose Christian Academy in Rockville, Maryland, with Baylor forward Harvey Thomas, who also recently transferred from Georgetown. Hall is now looking for another place to play.
