The Morning Dish – Wednesday, September 15th
Skinner Extended: Boston College announced yesterday that they have extended the contract of head coach Al Skinner through the 2009-10 season. Skinner, who has been with the Eagles since 1997, has a 122-95 record as head coach in Boston, and has a 236-211 overall record, including nine seasons as head coach of Rhode Island. Skinner has overseen the best run ever on Chestnut Hill, as he has won 90 games in the past four seasons with 3 NCAA Tournament appearances. Boston College won the Big East Tournament championship in 2000-01, when the Eagles were 27-5 and Skinner was named national Coach of the Year. As always, terms were not disclosed.
Giannini Names Staff: New La Salle head coach Dr. John Giannini yesterday announced his coaching staff for the upcoming campaign. Steve Seymoour, Horace “Pappy” Owens, and Harris Adler were introduced yesterday as the new mentors for the Explorers, who have seen their share of offseason troubles. Seymour, who was most recently an assistant for Siena, was previously head coach at Drexel, and is known for his Philadelphia recruiting ability. Owens, the former 1979 McDonald’s All-America from Philadelphia, has been the coach of several AAU programs in the Philadelphia area, most notably the Philadelphia Phoenix. Owens played at Rhode Island, and was a 3rd-round pick by the New Jersey Nets in 1983, playing one season professionally. Adler was an assistant at Penn the past two seasons, and previously was an assistant at Centenary, and Salem County Community College (Carneys Point, NJ).
New Assistant Lumberjack: Stephen F. Austin announced yesterday that Michael Lewis has been named as an assistant on head coach Danny Kaspar’s Lumberjack coaching staff. Lewis, a player on Bobby Knight’s last Indiana squad, was a four-year player, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors in 1999-2000, his senior season. Lewis has spent the past two seasons as a grad assistant on Knight’s Texas Tech team, following two seasons of playing professionally in the CBA, USBL and in Europe. Lewis replaces Rennie Bailey, who resigned to accept the top assistant’s position at Louisiana-Lafayette.
More Trouble for Azubuike: There’s even more turmoil in the life of Kentucky junior guard Kalenna Azubuike, as his father is now facing additional counts of fraud. Kenneth Azubuike was already facing an 18-count indictment for wire, bank, and bankruptcy fraud related to an investment scam in the Azubuike’s hometown of Tulsa. Now the elder Azubuike is facing three additional counts, relating to falsifying bank records and loan applications. Azubuike will be in a pre-trial hearing later today, and the trial is slated to begin on September 27th.
