The Morning Dish – Friday, July 23rd
Zowie! Gavitt’s in Maui!: Big East founder and former commissioner Dave Gavitt was named yesterday as the new chairman of the Maui Invitational. Gavitt, who coached Providence to the Final Four in 1973 and later became Providence’s AD, eventually becoming Big East Commissioner in 1979. Gavitt succeeds Wayne Duke, the former commissioner of the Big 8, who has been chairman of the event since 1990. The Maui Invitational, owned by KemperSports Marketing, has a contract through 2011 with ESPN and fields booked for the next two events. This year’s event, always hosted by Chaminade University, will feature a strong field with BYU, Iowa, Louisville, North Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee and Texas. The 2005 field looks even better, with six NCAA Champions in the field: Arizona (1997), Arkansas (1994), Connecticut (1999, 2004), Kansas (1988), Maryland (2002) and Michigan State (2000).
Buffalo Shooter Surrenders: Emmanuel Fisher, 20, accused of shooting Colorado forward Chris Copeland at a house party last December, turned himself in after a warrant was issued following his failure to appear in court. Fisher, who is facing attempted second-degree murder charges, will appear in court today to enter a plea. Fisher and two other men were at a house party in Boulder on December 14th, 2003, where Copeland was in attendance as a guest. Fisher and the two other men, Jonathan Martin and Jamar Johnson, both 19, were asked to leave, and upon leaving the premises, shot 15 rounds at the exterior of the house. Copeland was hit under the left armpit with a 9mm slug – no other party guests were injured. Johnson pleaded guilty to “menacing with a deadly weapon”, and will likely receive probation, while Martin has pleaded not guilty to “felony menacing”, and his trial will start November 15th.
Jump Start: 47 Indiana Hoosier fans have been told they need to get their lawsuit going. The fans, who filed suit against Indiana University following Bob Knight’s firing in September of 2000, specifically charge that the school violated public-access laws by having closed-door meetings to discuss Knight’s future at the university. Roy Graham, an attorney representing the fans, indicated that there were a few additional depositions that were needed, and due to extenuating circumstances, the plaintiffs haven’t been able to complete their discovery. Judge Cecile Blau of Clark County almost dismissed the case due to inactivity, and that attorneys for the fans never responded to a September 2002 filing by university lawyers. The school has two other cases pending: a FOIA case for documents about the firing from the Indianapolis Star (slated for September 8th), and a mistreatment claim by former assistant coach Ron Felling.
New Golden Eagle: Tennessee Tech head coach Mike Sutton has announced the hiring of former Kentucky guard Saul Smith, son of Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith, as an assistant coach. Sutton served as an assistant at Kentucky under Tubby Smith and coached Saul Smith during the Wildcats’ 1998 National Championship run. Saul Smith was a four-year letterwinner at guard, and was invited to the Houston Rockets summer camp out of college. Smith played two years with the NBDL’s Columbus Riverdragons, and recently worked on his father’s Kentucky staff while completing his coursework for his Economics degree. Coming full circle, Saul actually was considering attending Tennessee Tech out of high school, but chose to play for his father, then at Georgia. When Tubby was named the new head coach at Kentucky, Saul transferred to Lexington.
Alana comes to UMES: Maryland-Eastern Shore has announced the hiring of Chad Alana as an assistant on new head coach Lawrence Lessett’s coaching staff. Alana most recently was an Associate Agent with Magic Johnson International, and also has served as head coach of the Michigan Belles AAU team. Alana was also a successful high school coach in Michigan, leading Lansing Home School to the National Home School championship in 2003, and top-three finishes in 2002 and 2004. He studied business management at Liberty University, and has an Associate’s Degree from ITT Technical Institute.
Jayhawk Can Play Now: Alex Galindo, a 6-7 forward from St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, New Jersey, learned yesterday that he will be able to play for Kansas this season. Galindo, who originally committed to Texas-El Paso, received a release from his commitment after UTEP head coach Billy Gillispie left to take the Texas A&M head coaching position. Galindo required clearance from the Commissioners Conference Association to fully be cleared from his letter of intent. New Jayhawk Chester Giles, from Seattle, just went through the same process last month, as he was granted a release from Miami (Florida), after Perry Clark was fired at the end of March.
