The Morning Dish – Friday, September 5th
Cosby Performs: More than 20,000 Baylor students, faculty, and fans filled Floyd Casey Stadium last night to be entertained by comedian Bill Cosby, who performed a free concert to help the healing process at Baylor University after the death of basketball player Patrick Dennehy. Cosby, wearing a yellow “Baylor Track and Field” shirt said, “Tonight, it’s about you. We’re going to have fun.” Prior to the 90-minute performance, a half-hour long video tribute to Dennehy, new head coach Scott Drew, and Baylor was displayed.
Date Set: The date for Carlton Dotson’s extradition hearing has been set by Maryland officials for September 18th. Dotson, who is accused of killing Baylor teammate Patrick Dennehy in June, will plead his case against extradition in the office of the secretary of state in Annapolis. A recommendation will then be made to Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich, who will then decide whether to sign a rendition warrant, which would allow Texas to extradite Dotson to face charges. Earlier this week Texas Governor Rick Perry signed an extradition warrant to bring Dotson back to Texas.
NABC Summit: College basketball coaches must attend a mandatory meeting of the National Association of Basketball Coaches set for October 15th, two days before practice for the upcoming season can begin. Faced with an incredible amount of offseason controversy, the meeting is to discuss unethical conduct in the profession. Since February, we’ve had the Jim Harrick academic scandal at Georgia, the Jan van Breda Kolff scandal at St. Bonaventure, the Larry Eustachy misconduct at Iowa State, improper recruiting at Auburn, a potential scandal at Missouri, and of course, the Dave Bliss situation at Baylor.
Baylor Tapes: The Baylor University committee charged with investigating wrongdoing within the men’s basketball program has turned over the famous tapes made by former assistant Abar Rouse to authorities. The tapes, which Rouse made secretly at the end of July, have former head coach Dave Bliss conspiring to cover up NCAA rules violations by blaming the deceased Patrick Dennehy, and portraying him as dealing drugs to pay for his scholarship, which was later revealed to have been paid by Bliss himself. McLennan County prosecutors don’t yet know what type of charges, if any, would result from the tapes, but at least one Baylor player, R.T. Guinn, followed Bliss’ advice and initially lied to investigators.
Auburn Offers?: The Birmingham News reported yesterday that an Auburn assistant coach offered recruit Chadd Moore $50,000 and a car to sign with the Tigers and offered Jackie Butler cash as well, a claim that is the crux of an NCAA investigation into the Auburn men’s basketball program. Current assistant Shannon Weaver and former assistant Mike Wilson were named by the NCAA of making improper offers to recruits, but the report did not state what specific violations each was being accused with. Wilson left Auburn for a position at Richmond in 2001, but was fired due to resume inaccuracies. Head coach Cliff Ellis, who was not named in the report, was “very disappointed” in the charges, which must be responded to by November 5th. Moore, from Huntsville, Alabama, signed with Cincinnati, and Butler, a McComb, Mississippi high school player, later signed with Mississippi State.
Washington Out: Minnesota recruit Wesley Washington was not admitted to the university, and yesterday returned to his California home. Washington, the two-time California High School Division II player of the year at Santa Ana Mater Dei, will have his letter of intent voided and will have instant eligibility with another school. Gopher head coach Don Monson stated that Washington could be enrolled in Minnesota for the winter semester, but a spokesperson for Washington said that the family was furious with Minnesota, and that he would not be returning. Washington signed his letter of intent nine months ago, was approved by the NCAA initial eligibility clearinghouse, and was surprised when earlier this week there was trouble with his application.
New Home: Former Tennessee forward Elgrace Wilborn, who was dismissed from the team for breaking teammate Brandon Crump’s jaw during a June altercation, has announced that he will be transferring to Western Kentucky. Wilborn, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault charges as part of a diversion program, will sit out this season under NCAA transfer rules, and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. Three weeks ago, Wilborn announced that he was transferring to Nebraska.
