The Morning Dish – Monday, July 26th
Jimmy V Field Set: The matchups for the Jimmy V Classic have been set, and it looks like a dandy. Memphis will square off against Pittsburgh, while Oklahoma State will face Syracuse. In the first game, 2003 National Champion Syracuse faces last season’s Final Four squad from Oklahoma State. Memphis, which lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, features what is widely-regarded as the best incoming class in the nation, while Pitt is coming off its Sweet 16 appearance with 3 starters returning. The event, to be held December 7th at Madison Square Garden, is named after former North Carolina State head coach Jim Valvano, who died in 1993 due to cancer, and is organized by the V Foundation. The games will be broadcast on ESPN.
Schedule Shuffle: The Top of the World Tournament experienced some reshuffling Friday, when Winthop University backed out of the preseason event. University of Alaska Fairbanks, the host school, quickly found a replacement squad, the Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Mississippi State, who finished 26-4 last season, was a 2-seed in the Atlanta region in the NCAA Tournament, but lost to an upstart Xavier squad in the second round. The other participating schools are Central Florida, Western Michigan, New Mexico State, Utah State, Georgia Southern, and Portland. The event runs from November 18th-21st.
Bedford Arrested: Former Memphis (State) Tiger and Detroit Piston William Bedford has been arrested in Texas for failing to pay child support. Bedford, the 6th player taken overall in the NBA Draft out of Memphis State by the Phoenix Suns, is being held in Houston on a warrant for felony non-support of more than $300,000 in Michigan. Bedford played most of his career with the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, including their two championship seasons of 1989 and 1990. Bedford is just another case of misfortune stemming from the 1986 lottery. Most noted from that class is the tragic death of No. 2 overall pick Len Bias (Maryland) just 48 hours after his selection by the Boston Celtics due to a cocaine overdose. No. 3 pick Chris Washburn (NC State) was banned from the NBA in 1989 after 3 positive drug tests. No. 7 pick Roy Tarpley (Michigan) followed Washburn, and was banned from the NBA in 1991 due to drug use.
