The Morning Dish – Wednesday, November 17th
Former Cardinal Passes On: Former Louisville star Larry Williams was found dead over the weekend. He was 48. Williams, who escaped the mean streets of Chicago to play for Denny Crum from 1975-79, was found Saturday in a Louisville motel. The cause of death was not announced, though the Jefferson County Coroner’s office announced that there was no sign of foul play. Williams was drafted by the Denver Nuggets, but was later released, and later played professionally in the CBA and in Europe. He most recently was executive director of the Plymouth Community Renewal Center in a Louisville suburb, though he resigned for health reasons a few months ago. Williams’ wife Nancy died in 1990 due to breast cancer, and their son Larry, Jr. currently plays for Chattanooga State Technical Community College.
Top Cowboy Extended: The University of Wyoming has announced that the contract of head coach Steve McClain has been extended for one season, keeping McClain in Laramie through the 2009-2010 season. The school also extended the contract of women’s head coach Joe Legerski one year, through the 2008-09 season. While a raise wasn’t included, McClain will make just over $150k per year, plus the usual package of incentives, side deals, and media appearances. McClain has a 111-69 record in seven seasons for the Cowboys, his first head coaching gig, including one NCAA appearance and 3 NIT appearances. Prior to coming to Wyoming, McClain was an assistant under Billy Tubbs for four seasons at TCU.
Fang Medically Cleared: Coppin State head coach Ron “Fang” Mitchell, who underwent surgery to remove a benign tumor from his chest a month ago, has been medically cleared to coach the Eagles in their season opener against Kentucky on Saturday. Mitchell will be under medical supervision, and is not expected to resume his athletic director position until he receives medical clearance to return to a full schedule, expected next month. Following complaints of shortness of breath, doctors removed a tumor the size of a fist on October 19th at University of Maryland Medical Center. Mitchell, who has been at Coppin State for 19 seasons, is the school’s all-time winningest coach.
Appendix? What Appendix?: Illinois head coach Bruce Weber shocked anyone who has ever had an appendectomy by returning to work less than 24-hours after surgery to remove the inflamed vestigial organ Monday. Weber had the surgery Monday afternoon after a build up of pain over the weekend. Now in practice, no member of the Illini squad is going to be able to opt out due to an injury. While children can recover from an appendectomy in a little as three days, it’s not uncommon for an adult to be out of commission for up to two weeks. Weber will coach the Illini in their season opener against Delaware State on Friday.
Another Bull Gone: The University of South Florida announced yesterday that recent JuCo transfer Maurice Mobley has left the team for undisclosed reasons. Mobley, a 6-5 forward, arrived on campus this fall from Parkland (Illinois) Community College, where he averaged 12 points and almost 9 rebounds per contest last season. In a statement, head coach Robert McCullum said that Mobley was going to focus on academics. This news comes on the heels of last week’s announcement that USF senior guard and second-leading scorer Bradley Mosely will miss the season due to renal cell cancer.
Pirate Suspended, ARRRGH!: East Carolina announced yesterday that senior center Moussa Badiane will be suspended for one game for playing in a non-certified summer league. Badiane, who is the Pirates’ top returning rebounder, participated in the same Raleigh Parks and Rec Chavis League that led to the one game suspension for North Carolina’s Raymond Felton. Two N.C. State players also participated in the league, but were able to show NCAA investigators documents from the league that claimed it was approved by the NCAA, which in fact it was not, something the Parks Department denies. Badiane will miss the opening round of the BCA Invitational later tonight against Pepperdine, at host school N.C. State’s RBC Center.
In Like Finn: Xavier announced that junior point guard Dedrick Finn has been given clearance to resume practice, following a knee injury late last month. Finn, who was suspended earlier this season for violation of team rules, sprained his knee in practice his first day back from suspension. It is likely that he’ll see some action in Friday’s opener against Oakland, but it may be a week or two before last season’s top returning scorer will be able to start.
Boone Still Waiting: As if the Minnesota Golden Gophers haven’t had enough of injury and ineligibility, now Dean Monson’s squad is awaiting word as to whether they’ll ever see senior point guard Adam Boone on the court this season. Boone, who tore his right biceps tendon in practice, is recovering from surgery, and is not expected back until February, if at all. Boone had applied for a medical redshirt status for the season and a sixth year of eligibility, but has not heard yet from the NCAA. If allowed, Boone will sit out the season rehabbing – otherwise he may be able to suit up for a few games at less than one-hundred percent. Complicating the situation is that Boone sat out a year due to transferring from North Carolina. The NCAA is expected to announce their decision before the end of the year.
