The Morning Dish – Thursday, October 8th
Price Gets Good News: Connecticut freshman guard A.J. Price is slowly but surely recovering from an illness that put him in intensive care Saturday. Price has been upgraded from critical to serious, and a hospital spokesman said Price is improving but remains sleepy and still does not eat. Price is a major piece of Connecticut’s attempts to repeat as national champions, as the Huskies need Price to help make up for the losses of guards Ben Gordon and Taliek Brown. But first and foremost, Price needs to fully recover to get back to life’s normal routine.
Xavier Won’t Be Without Finn Long: Xavier coach Sean Miller suspended starting point guard Dedrick Finn earlier this week, but he said that Finn could return to the team quickly. He suspended Finn because of behavior detrimental to the team but would not offer specific details of the incident. While suspended, Finn will not accompany the team on a trip to the Bahamas. In addition to Finn, freshmen Churchill Odia and Boubacar Coly will miss the trip because of concerns about their student visas. Odia figures to be an important contributor to the Musketeers as a freshman.
Gopher in the Hole: Minnesota point guard Adam Boone could miss the entire season rehabilitating from surgery to repair a torn biceps. The former North Carolina transfer will be missed by the Gophers who must make up for the loss of superstar Kris Humphries, who left school for fame and fortune in the NBA. Minnesota could be in for a long season, following last year’s less than stellar campaign.
Valpo Finds Operations Director: Valparaiso coach Homer Drew completed his staff for this season by hiring Greg Tonagel as director of basketball operations. Tonagel played for Valparaiso for six seasons and now returns to coach the Crusaders, one of the more successful programs in the Mid-Continent Conference.
