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May 31, 2008

PC to compete in Anaheim Classic over Thanksgiving weekend

Providence College is one of eight schools that will participate in the Anaheim Classic, a college basketball tournament played over Thanksgiving weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center adjacent to Disneyland. The games will be played on Nov. 27, 28 and 30.

Tournament pairings and game times will be announced at a later date. The complete tournament will air live on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.

Three of the eight schools earned berths in the 2008 NCAA Tournament -- Baylor of the Big 12, Cal State Fullerton of the Big West and St. Mary’s of the West Coast Conference. Two others -- Arizona State of the Pac-10 and Charlotte of the Atlantic 10 -- participated in the National Invitation Tournament. UTEP, of Conference USA, participated in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational (CBI).

Completing the field, in addition to PC, is Wake Forest of the ACC.

The Anaheim Classic features four games each day, with the two undefeated teams competing in the championship game on ESPN2 on Nov. 30.

Posted by Art Martone at 9:58 AM | Comments 1

May 30, 2008

Jim Calhoun treated for skin cancer, will remain at UConn

STORRS, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun is being treated for a second bout of skin cancer but expects to be on the bench this fall for his 22nd season with the Huskies.

"I want to coach basketball at UConn," the 66-year-old Hall of Famer said Friday. "At this moment I love what I do and feel very, very comfortable in doing that."

His physician, Dr. Jeffrey Spiro, attended the news conference with Calhoun and said he believes the coach is now cancer free and has a good prognosis.

Calhoun is to undergo six weeks of radiation treatments next month at the UConn Health Center to minimize any chance of the cancer returning. His doctors told him there will be short-term side effects from the radiation, but they expect Calhoun to return to his normal lifestyle, including coaching.

"I have one more step to go," Calhoun said. "I feel much, much better, thank God."

Calhoun said doctors determined last month that a lump in the upper right side of his neck near the jaw line was squamous cell cancer. He had surgery May 6 to remove the lump, several surrounding lymph nodes and part of his salivary gland. Subsequent tests revealed all the cancer had been removed.

Calhoun was first treated for squamous cell cancer last year when doctors found it on his cheek. Doctors told him the recurrence this spring is related to his prior skin cancer but not related to the prostate cancer he was treated for in 2003.

"Squamous cell cancer of the skin is not generally a very aggressive disease," Spiro said.

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common form of skin cancer, with more than 250,000 new cases a year in the United States.

At UConn, Calhoun has turned a regional program into a perennial national power that includes two NCAA titles (1999, 2004). Twenty-one former Huskies under Calhoun were drafted by the NBA, with 14 of those first-rounders. In 2006, UConn became the first school to have five players taken in the first two rounds of the draft.

Calhoun was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005 and has 750 wins during his 35-year coaching career. He was 248-137 during 14 years at Northeastern and is 502-191 at UConn.

Despite his latest health setback, Calhoun, a grandfather of six, said he never considered retiring.

"All I thought was how do we defeat this," Calhoun said. "I love my family, I love my life, I love my kids. I love what I do."

Posted by mikemcd at 2:16 PM

May 29, 2008

Louisville center quits basketball due to genetic disorder

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Louisville center Clarence Holloway has ended his career after being diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder marked by lengthened features and cardiovascular defects.

Holloway had hoped to return to the Cardinals in the fall after sitting out his freshman year following open-heart surgery to repair the wall of his aorta and the aortic valve.

The 7-foot-1 Holloway, who is from Chicago, will remain enrolled at Louisville.

Marfan syndrome is a disease of the connective tissue. Patients typically are tall and lean, with disproportionately long arms, legs, fingers and toes, plus a variety of skeletal, eye, lung and heart problems. Diagnosed patients who show signs of aorta trouble often are told to not exercise vigorously.

Holloway averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds at the Chicago Boy to Men Math and English Academy in 2006 and filed for the 2006 NBA draft before removing his name.

Posted by mikemcd at 3:02 PM

May 22, 2008

Friar news

BY KEVIN McNAMARA
Journal Sports Writer

We've been buried by coverage of the Boston Celtics' playoff run for a few weeks now (with no end in sight) so PC news is slim at the moment. Here are a few nuggets:

COACHING STAFF: Keno Davis is a few days away from announcing his coaching staff. It will contain Chris Davis and Rodell Davis from Drake, giving PC its first Midwest-based recruiters since the Rick Barnes Era. Barnes came with extensive ties in that area from his days at Ohio State.

Davis will also hire Pat Skerry, the URI assistant who's led an effort to stock that program with several good, young prospects. Skerry could be very useful right away since the New England area is set to produce one of its best classes of seniors and juniors in the last 10 years. Kevin Kurbec, the administrative asst. to Tim Welsh, is also expected to be on this staff.

RECRUITS: While the Friars say goodbye to Dwain Williams (a huge loss in my eyes; just ask Jim Calhoun) and Chuck Burch, they're set to welcome one recruit, big forward Bilal Dixon. He wasn't originally comfortable with the coaching switch but he really feels he fits in at PC right now. Keno Davis is also shopping for a guard for the fall. Right now the leads are few. Some could develop over the summer, perhaps, in the form of a sudden qualifier, European, D-2 transfer, ect.

INJURIES: Both Geoff McDermott (sprained knee) and Sharaud Curry (broken foot) are not allowed to play hoops right now. PC doesn't play next week so that's not a problem, but this is not good news. McDermott's knee can best be termed "balky." Rest won't make all his issues disappear. Curry had surgery in April and will miss most, if not all, of the summer. How close will he be to 100 percent in October for the start of practice? Who knows? But with no other PG in the program right now, this is Davis' biggest concern. He knows how Tim Welsh must have felt all last season.

SCHEDULE: The change in coaching staffs disrupted scheduling and the Friars are behind in the quest to secure games. Davis would like to create a four-team tourney hosted in Providence, ala the Fleet Classic, but that's not likely to happen for a few years. Bottom line? With games set against BC and URI, plus a strong tournament in Anaheim, the Friars might need only one other tough game. The problem is filling up the slate with weaker foes who've already been spoken for.

CHARITY: Finally, my most important note. Spoke with Ryan Gomes last week and just received correspondence for a charity dinner/golf tourney he is hosting in Southington, Conn., next month. Gomes has started a Hoops For Heart charity with a goal of preventing sudden cardiac arrests at basketball games. This has been an issue at AAU events and Gomes and his supporters, with a big shout out to Wayne Simone, would like a working defibrillator and someone trained to use one at every practice and game in Div. 1 college basketball.

Gomes is holding a charity dinner on June 16 and a golf outing June 17. Keno Davis, Tim Welsh and Billy Donovan are some of the coaches expected to attend. Gomes wants to welcome all PC fans to attend either event or donate to the cause.

Go to hoopsforhearthealth.org for additional information.

Posted by Kevin at 1:55 PM

May 9, 2008

Daniels prepares for draft

Will Daniels is in Las Vegas.

No, it is not to celebrate his graduation from URI, but rather to prepare for life after college. Daniels' agent, Andy Miller, has a number of his clients -- players hoping to be drafted -- in Vegas. They are working out and playing basketball while awaiting word on who will be invited to Orlando, the final pre-draft camp.

In other URI basketball news, word is leaking out for next year, although not from the Rams. The team prefers not to discuss its schedule until everything is in place. However, Central Connecticut and New Hampshire have announced they will be visiting the Ryan Center next season.

Also, work for a tournament Thanksgiving week is apparently virtually complete. That event will include four games, one at home, one on the road and then two at The Palestra in Philadelphia to determine the title. URI is set to host Hartford and visit Monmouth. Possible opponents at The Palestra include Penn State and Villanova.

"There's still a lot to do, but we're in better shape than we were at this time last year," one school official said of the scheduling situation.

Finally, there is no word yet on the final make up of next year's team. As it is, the team has one too many players with those returning and five signed for next year. There also is word of a possible transfer.

Current indications are that any cutbacks are likely to come from the new players signed for next year. Hakim McCullar and Will Martell, two little-used freshmen last season, both are working hard and making improvements and appear likely to stay.

In one interesting Atlantic 10 development, Shawn James of Duquesne, the brother of URI forward Delroy James, has hired an agent and thus will not return to school for his final season of eligibility.

Posted by pkenyon at 1:36 PM

St. Bonaventure losing two players, including top frosh Morgan

OLEAN, N.Y. (AP) - St. Bonaventure forward Matt Morgan, a two-time Atlantic 10 Conference rookie of the week last season, is one of two players who announced Friday they're transferring.

Freshman guard Hillary Haley is also leaving the school. St. Bonaventure did not provide reasons for their transfers or say where they were going.

"It's unfortunate that Hillary and Matt won't be a part of the resurgence of this program," said coach Mark Schmidt, who completed his first season with an 8-22 record. "We wish them the best not only in their college careers, but with all their future endeavors."

Morgan averaged 3.4 points in 28 games, but enjoyed an eight-game stretch when he averaged 10.4 points and five rebounds. Haley averaged 5.6 points and 2.4 rebounds over 29 games, including 14 starts.

The Bonnies added swingman Michael Davenport on Thursday when he signed a national letter of intent. Listed at 6-foot-3, Davenport averaged 11 points and five rebounds as a senior playing for Cincinnati's Archbishop Moeller High School last season.

Posted by mikemcd at 1:34 PM

May 1, 2008

Ohio State writes $2.74 million check to Jim O'Brien

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio State paid former men's basketball coach Jim O'Brien $2.74 million for improperly firing him for violating NCAA rules.

O'Brien's attorney, Joseph Murray, on Thursday confirmed the payment of $2.74 million. That amount represents the award, plus interest, he won in a lawsuit against the university in August 2006.

The Ohio Supreme Court refused to hear the university's appeal in February.

O'Brien was Ohio State's coach from 1998 to 2004. He was fired by then-athletic Andy Geiger for giving a Serbian recruit $6,000.

Posted by mikemcd at 1:07 PM