The Morning Dish – Tuesday, October 28th
Melvin Crash: NC State senior forward Marcus Melvin can consider himself lucky, as he was not injured when his vehicle went down an embankment. Apparently Melvin pulled into traffic, hit a slick spot, and ended up jumping a curb, vaulting his SUV down a hill. Melvin was the Wolfpack’s second-leading scorer last season, averaging 13 points and 7 rebounds per game, and will not miss any practice.
Leaving the Green: North Texas officials have announced that JuCo transfer Mark Wilson has left the men’s basketball team for personal reasons, a few weeks shy of playing in his first game for the Mean Green. Wilson, a 6-3 guard who transferred from Highland Community College in Freeport, Illinois, had practiced for the past few weeks with Johnny Jones’ squad, and was expected to make an impact. Wilson was a NJCAA Second-Team All-American last season as a sophomore, averaging 22.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
Beenders Passes On: Long Island University lost a member of the school’s legacy over the weekend when Henry Beenders passed away. Beenders, 87, led the Blackbirds to the NIT championship in 1941, and was named captain of the squad the following year under head coach Clair Bee – a member of the Hall of Fame. Beenders, who came to the United States from the Netherlands at age eight, served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, Beenders played professionally in the Basketball Association of America (pre-NBA) for the Providence Steamrollers, the Philadelphia Warriors and the Boston Celtics clubs. The funeral is scheduled for today in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
Knight Missed Round Table: The Dallas Morning News ran an interesting piece on the NABC Coaching Summit. Responding to questions about speaking out on coaching ethics, Knight said, “I would have rather listened to Saddam Hussein speak on civil rights than some of the people that have spoken on ethics to this point. I spend enough time trying to do things and deal with problems. Probably nobody has worked more at it than I have. I finished that a long time ago.” Former Georgetown legend John Thompson said that Knight was one of the few coaches that didn’t need to attend the event, stating, “Just because he was not here does not mean that he will be inactive for the cause.”
Protestors Trial: Four North Carolina students are back in court facing disorderly conduct charges. Big deal, you say. Well, these were the four students that ran across the Tar Heels’ court in the Dean Dome carrying anti-war banners during a game, and were later arrested. The four students are claiming that expressing their dissenting opinion was more important than the possible negative effects of the interruption of play, and wanted to ensure that they got the attention of corporations and the media.
