The Morning Dish – Tuesday, October 19th
Nicholls State Coach Resigns: Nicholls State head coach Ricky Blanton resigned unexpectedly yesterday, a few days after the start of practice for his third season. In a statement through the university, Blanton cited family issues as the reason for his departure. Blanton’s record at Nicholls State, his first D-I head coaching position, was 9-46 in two seasons, including a 6-21 record last year. Blanton, who played on LSU’s 1986 Final Four team, replaced current LSU assistant Rickey Broussard in June of 2002. Athletic Director Rob Bernardi did not announce an interim head coach.
Tiger Finished: Princeton forward Spencer Gloger has seen the end of his collegiate career come early. Gloger was denied a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA prior to Princeton’s start of practice Saturday. Gloger, a native of Santa Margarita, California, first appeared on the Princeton campus for the 1999-2000 season, setting an Ivy League record with 10 3-pointers against Alabama-Birmingham. After that season, several assistant coaches left for greener pastures, including current head coach Joe Scott, so Gloger transferred back near home to UCLA, where he sat out a year. Missing Princeton, he then transferred back to Princeton, sitting out another year. Then he was declared academically ineligible midway through the 2002-03 season, and then got into an offseason car accident, causing him to miss last season with a severed wrist tendon.
Vitale Follows Through: Everyone remembers Cory Clouse’s half court shot at Cincinnati’s Midnight Madness ten years ago, where ESPN paid for the Cincinnati student’s tuition and housing, and Dick Vitale promised to pay for Clouse’s books. It turns out that Vitale had never paid Clouse, though not from a lack of trying. Vitale had been trying to contact Clouse to find out the amount owed, and Clouse’s efforts at contacting Vitale were stymied by ESPN gatekeepers. When an article ran in the Cincinnati Enquirer with Clouse’s plight, Vitale contacted the paper and made arrangements to get a hold of Clouse and complete payment.
Achilles Knee for Trojan: Southern California point guard Dwayne Shackleford injured his knee Saturday in the Trojans’ first practice, and will now miss up to five weeks. Shackleford, a JuCo transfer from Allegany College (Cumberland, Maryland), will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery today to repair his lateral meniscus. Shackleford may be able to return in time for UC’s season opener is November 22nd against UC Irvine.
Husker Don’t: Nebraska suffered a key injury to junior Wes Wilkinson in practice Saturday. Wilkinson, a 6-9 forward who averaged 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds, broke a bone in his foot during drills, according to head coach Barry Collier. Wilkinson, a former Nebraska Mr. Basketball, is expected to miss at least a month with the injury, making him questionable for the season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on November 23rd.
Closing Ceremonies: Southeast Missouri State will hold a ceremony this weekend officially retiring the Indians nickname, and the Otahkians nickname for the women’s teams. The Indians name has been associated with the program since 1922, and the Otahkians name was first used in 1972 by women’s teams to honor a Cherokee woman who died on the Trail of Tears march to Oklahoma in the 1800’s. The university board of regents had announced in June that Redhawks would be the new name for all school teams effective January 1st, following a study that found the old nicknames offensive to some American Indians. Native American musician Bill Miller, a Mohican Indian from Wisconsin, will perform at the ceremony Friday night, which is intended to retire the nicknames with dignity, rather than at halftime of a football game. Also scheduled to perform are the Intertribal Native American Dancers from Oklahoma, and activist Carol Spindel, author of “Dancing at Halftime” will speak. Spindel has long been attempting to stop the University of Illinois from using their Chief Illiniwek mascot.
