The Morning Dish – Wednesday, October 20th
Price Released from Hospital: UConn freshman point guard A.J. Price, who has been in Hartford Hospital since October 4th for a brain hemorrhage, was released from the hospital yesterday. Price was in critical condition for 10 days in the hospital’s neurological intensive care unit. Price returned to his family’s home in Amityville, New York, where he is expected to stay for at least an additional week. Husky head coach Jim Calhoun did not speculate on when Price might return to school or to the team, but we’re certain he’s getting the redshirt paperwork ready. There is a possibility that Price can return to school this semester and complete his academic work.
Pearl Inks a Deal: Wisconsin-Milwaukee head coach Bruce Pearl has agreed to a five-year contract extension reportedly worth over $1.5 million. Pearl, a two-time Horizon League coach of the year, has a 60-32 record in three seasons at Milwaukee, where he replaced current Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan after the 2000-2001 season. Since then Pearl has taken the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament as the Horizon Tournament champion in 2002-03, and a Horizon League regular season crown and an NIT appearance last season. Pearl has a 291-78 record overall as a head coach, including a D-II championship and a runner-up at Southern Indiana, and was an assistant for 14 seasons at Iowa and Boston College, his alma mater.
Bull Extended: University of Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon has signed a contract extension that will keep him on the Bulls sideline through the 2008-09 season. Of course, terms were not disclosed. Witherspoon was the Mid-American Coach of the Year last season, and led the Bulls to a 17-12 record. He has a 41-97 record in five-plus seasons in Buffalo, having been named interim head coach midway through the 1999-2000 season. Buffalo is Witherspoon’s first D-I coaching assignment, though he was head coach at nearby Erie Community College for several seasons in the 1990’s.
Two Cougars Injured: They are falling fast for Dick Bennett’s Washington State Cougars. First, freshman center Chris Henry dislocated his right ankle in a pickup game last week, and Sunday freshman point guard Derrick Low broke a bone in his foot during practice. Low is scheduled to have surgery on the injury today, and it’s expected that he’ll miss six to eight weeks. Henry’s injury will keep him out for the beginning of the season, with a return of December 1st likely. Bennett had planned on using Low as his starting point guard, taking over for Marcus Moore, who graduated.
49er Down: Charlotte head coach Bobby Lutz announced that point guard Mitchell Baldwin will miss the next 2-3 weeks, due to a dislocated shoulder he suffered in practice Monday. As Baldwin was coming down from a layup drill, he collided with a teammate, causing the injury. Baldwin, a junior, will initially wear a sling for his arm, and then will start practicing again in two weeks with a shoulder harness. Baldwin averaged 5.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game last season as a reserve, though he played in all 30 games and averaged 19 minutes per contest.
Cardinal Guard Injured: Similar to the NFL, there should be cries to outlaw the preseason, as it only leads to injuries. The latest victim? Defending Pac-10 champion Stanford is without junior point guard Chris Hernandez, who suffered an ankle injury two weeks ago. New head coach Trent Johnson indicated that there was no timetable for the recovery of the oft-injured Hernandez. Hernandez missed the 2002-03 season with a broken left foot, which was re-injured later in the season, and he suffered from chronic back spasms last season, though he did average 10 points and 4.3 assists per game on the season.
Deacons Center Still Not 100%: Wake Forest junior center Eric Williams is causing concern in Winston-Salem, as he still has not been able to complete practices. Williams was in the hospital over the summer during the USA National 20-and-under tryouts for what was then described as food poisoning. The ailment caused the 285 pound big man to lose 15 pounds in one day due to severe dehydration, and head coach Skip Prosser is concerned that Williams is still feeling the effects. Williams averaged 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds last season for the Demon Deacons, leading them to a 21-10 record and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
Bearcat Departs: Cincinnati head coach Bob Huggins has announced that sophomore forward Mike Pilgrim has left the team. Pilgrim, a 6-8 forward, will transfer to another school. Pilgrim sat out last season to focus on academics, and had not played for the Bearcats. A Cincinnati native, Pilgrim was an all-conference selection in the New England Prep School League, averaging 13.5 points and 9 rebounds in 2002-03 for Brewster (N.H.) Academy.
Jaguars Dealt a Blow: The University of South Alabama has announced that senior forward Michael Phillips is academically ineligible for the fall semester. Phillips, USA’s fourth-leading scorer last season with 8.7 points per game, was expected to contribute as one of three returning starts from last season’s 12-16 squad. Phillips will miss at least six games prior to the end of the semester, including the December 2nd game against Mississippi State. The first game he’ll be eligible to return will be December 12th against Arkansas-Monticello.
Now Comcast is Getting Involved: When did college sports become so trendy on the tube? Or are we now getting close to the 500 channels of television everyone predicted in the early 90’s before we discovered the internet? Comcast has announced plans to launch a sports-only channel called Comcast SportsNet West, and will feature 52 Sacramento Kings games along with Fresno State, UC-Davis, and Sacramento State hoops games. Targets are that the channel will reach 700,000 households in north-central California. Fresno State officials are hoping the added exposure for the program in the state can raise the profile of the school and assist recruiting.
Now it’ll be His Fault: The successor to Iowa AD Bob Bowlsby at the helm of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee has been announced, and it will be Virginia AD Craig Littlepage. Littlepage’s term will start September 1st of 2005. Littlepage, who has been the athletic director at UVA since 2001, is an accomplished coach, having led Penn (his alma mater) and Rutgers for several seasons. Littlepage was also an assistant at Yale and Villanova, in addition to Virginia. So when your team’s bubble bursts, you’ll know who to call.
