College Quotebook – December 11th – December 17th
by Nicholas Lozito
Coach Grieves Loss Of Player
“One of my greatest fears as a coach was realized today. These players are like family to me and to each other. It’s hard to even comprehend how something like this could happen.”
— Columbus State (Georgia) head coach Herbert Greene after one of his players, Jed Bedford, died during practice. The Muscogee County coroner’s office told Columbus State, a Division II school, that cardiac arrest was the cause of death. Bedford was averaging 21.4 points on the season and led all of Division II with 135 3-pointers last season.
All-American Denials
“All I can say is that we have not ever received any impermissible benefits, including cash, from any of our coaches.”
— Missouri players Arthur Johnson and Rickey Paulding, both Hoopville second-team preseason all-Americans, deny claims made by former teammate Ricky Clemons that they received money from an assistant coach. Both players gave the same statement to the press.
“I would never tell any client to lie, including Ricky Clemons, and did not tell him or suggest to him to lie about anything.”
— Ricky Clemons claimed that he was told to deny receiving money by an assistant coach and his attorney, Wally Bley, if asked by prosecutors. Bley, quoted above, denied Clemons’ statement.
More Mizzou Mess
“We do that with photos quite frequently if there is something in the photo we don’t like.”
— Missouri’s Director of Athletic Media Relations Chad Moller explains why Ricky Clemons was cut out of a media guide photo. In the manipulated picture, Clemons’ shadow is slightly visible on the court, but his body has been replaced with courtside spectators.
A Coach For The Ages
“… he molded us from boys to men.”
— David Thompson on the death of his former North Carolina State head coach Norm Sloan, who died on Tuesday at the age of 77 of pulmonary fibrosis.
“You think Stormin’ Norman was tough. You ought to meet his wife. She was his inspiration. Together, they were unstoppable.”
— Sloan’s granddaughter Blake Nichols
Coach Retracts Remarks
“Eric Harmon … should be ashamed. Actually, he should be fired for putting people on the floor who performed the way they did today.”
— Bowling Green head coach Dan Dakich called for the firing of Eric Harmon, the Mid-American Conference’s director of officiating, after a loss to Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne. Dakich apologized two days later.
“Commenting on officials is not something a coach should ever do…. Eric, who has been a friend of mine and whom I still consider to be a close friend, had nothing to do with that situation.”
Knight Furious After Win
“I might be too old to coach, because I … these are things that I just … I have a tough time handling.”
— Head coach Bobby Knight after his Texas Tech squad had a 15-point lead trimmed to four in the second half against TCU.
Self Alive, Despite Funeral
“I wore black to tell the guys that it’s over, it’s a funeral of Bill Self in that he’s no longer the coach here.”
— Current Illinois head coach Bruce Weber, frustrated with constant talk about his predecessor Bill Self, wore all black into the Fighting Illini locker room on Thursday and announced Self’s funeral.
“My wife handed me the paper and said you’re not going to believe this. Once I did, the first thing I did was check my pulse and realized that I was still alive and said this is one funeral I’ll delay as long as I possibly can. But I wasn’t offended.”
— Self, now head coach at Kansas, responds to reading the story in a Kansas newspaper
Lying Room Only
“We just got tired of standing up. It’s pretty cool to be here for the record. That’s the reason we came.”
— Mike Morgan watched part of Saturday’s game between Kentucky and Michigan State while lying on his back. With a record-setting 78,129 fans in attendance at Detroit’s Ford Field, many fans had a tough time seeing the elevated court, so they watched on the video boards.
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