***Undefeated Big East powers Cincinnati and South Florida are preparing for an Oct. 15 battle on ESPN. Read about it here.***
Greg Schiano says he’s “hoping” that true freshman QB Tom Savage will start Saturday against Texas Southern in the Homecoming game.
“I hope he does. He has been practicing for two days now. I guess the only way that would preclude him from playing is if something took a turn in the other direction. Right now, he is on the way up, Schiano said Monday.
Savage suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter of the win against Florida International Sept. 19. To read more of this story, click here
New York point guard Lamont “Momo” Jones spent the last couple of days visiting Florida and will land in Arizona Thursday night.
The 5-foot-11 Jones got his release from USC after Tim Floyd stepped down and will likely land at Arizona or Florida. Memphis is also interested but sources say he likely won’t land there.
Jones’ Godfather is on the Arizona staff.
GORDON TEARS TENDON
Drew Gordon of UCLA partially tore the patellar tendon in his right To read more of this story, click here
South Florida finished 14th in the 16-team Big East last season, but head coach Stan Heath believes things will be much better this season.
The Bulls have secured an impressive recruiting class that includes 6-11 JUCO forward Jarrid Famous, forward Toarlyn Fitzpatrick and guards Mike Burwell Jr., Jordan Dumars and Shaun Noriega. Anthony Crater, who transferred from Ohio State last December, can suit up Dec. 12
Junior transfer Ron Anderson, a 6-8 forward from Kansas State, will have to sit out next year as per transfer regulations.
“I think we can improve a lot,” Heath said by phone. “We didn’t have much depth last season. We had significant injuries. With a full roster where we can play for 40 minutes, I think it really gives us a different situation out there on the court. We return some key players. We add some key players. Anthony Crater, a transfer from Ohio State, should help us.” To read more of this story, click here
After South Florida head coach Stan Heath visited with recruit Jarrid Famous Sunday night, the news is that Famous is still planning on attending the school.
“There didn’t have to be any smoothing over,” Westchester Community College coach Tyrone Mushatt, who also attended the meeting, told Greg Auman of the St. Petersburg Times. “There won’t be any confusion about this. He’s going to South Florida.”
WCC assistant Mickey Carey had previously said the 6-foot-11 Famous wanted to get out of his Letter of Intent because he hadn’t heard from Heath in some time and hadn’t been informed of the departure of assistants Dan Hipsher and Byron Samuels.
“I can only go by what Jarrid has told me, and the comments that were made [from Carey] were never comments that Jarrid made to me,” Heath told the St. Pete Times.
Famous, who did not answer his cell phone and is reportedly ill, averaged 25.2 points and 13.7 rebounds last year at WCC. He chose USF over Arizona, Missouri and Seton Hall. He is due to arrive at USF June 25.
Lance Stephenson still hasn’t picked a college, but he is scheduled to play hoops on Thursday.
The 6-foot-5 Stephenson is one of several high-profile players who will compete in the 2nd Annual Frankie Williams Charity Classic at the Theodore D. Young Community Center in Greenburgh, N.Y. (See game info below.)
The event is slated to feature Kevin Parrom (South Kent/Arizona), Sean Kilpatrick (White Plains HS/Cincinnati), Dante Taylor (National Christian Academy/Pittsburgh), Durand Scott (Rice/Miami), Omari Lawrence (South Kent/St John’s) and Sherrod Wright (Mt. Vernon/George Mason). To read more of this story, click here
The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that one of Derrick Rose’s former Chicago Simeon teammates may have taken his SAT for him.
‘‘ [The NCAA] thinks that [former Simeon player Kevin Johnson] took [the SAT test] for him,” Luther Topps, who coached Rose’s club basketball team with Derrick’s brother Reggie, told the newspaper.
Topps said he and Simeon coach Robert Smith don’t know anything firsthand.
‘‘[Smith and I] didn’t know anything about his test,’’ Topps said. ‘‘Reggie moved me and him out of the way long before that, as soon as the money got involved.’’ To read more of this story, click here
Jarrid Famous wants out of his Letter of Intent to South Florida, multiple sources said Tuesday.
“Jarrid Famous is trying to get out of his letter,” one source with direct knowledge said.
The 6-foot-11 Famous chose South Florida last month over Arizona, Missouri and Seton Hall and could end up at one of those places if he gets out. Arizona appears to be a likely destination.
Famous’ father, however, told the St. Petersburg Times that his son would attend South Florida.
“Jarrid is going to South Florida. He’s not switching schools,” the father said. “He’s going to South Florida, no doubt about it.”
Famous is reportedly upset because he hasn’t heard from USF head coach Stan Heath. He also wasn’t notified of the coaching changes at USF which saw the departure of Byron Samuels, who helped recruit Famous, and of Dan Hipsher, now at Alabama. To read more of this story, click here
There is a great deal of news coming out of the basketball office at Westchester Community College, and some of it is very sad.
Head coach Winston Nicholas passed away Monday morning after a long battle with cancer, according to assistant coach Mickey Carey.
“Coach Nicholas passed away this morning,” he said Monday by phone. To read more of this story, click here
Memphis head coach Josh Pastner has offered assistant coaching jobs to Willis Wilson, the former head coach at Rice University, and Glynn Cyprien, a longtime assistant at Kentucky, Arkansas, New Mexico State and Oklahoma State.
Their hirings are pending approval of the University and Tennessee State Board of Regents.
“Willis and Glynn are two great additions to our staff, and I’m looking forward to them coming on board,” said Pastner. “Both are energetic, hard workers, and they will give that extra effort to help this program be successful. That’s the kind of people I was looking for when I searched to find the right mix for this program.” To read more of this story, click here
NEW YORK – Daniel Orton will play for Kentucky next year, and he believes there’s no telling how far the ‘Cats can go.
The 6-foot-10, 260-pound center from Oklahoma City (OK) Bishop McGuinness said Thursday at the Jordan Brand Classic practice that he would remain at Kentucky despite the recent coaching change.
“I’m still at Kentucky, I’m still at Kentucky,” said Orton, the No. 4 center in the Class of 2009. “I’m going to stay here.”
When asked if he ever considered leaving after John Calipari took over for the fired Billy Gillispie, Orton said, “There was that time that from when Coach G got fired, I was little frustrated with everything. There was a thought of having to go back through the recruiting process, which is a little stressful. But I just kind of dealt with it all.”
In the end, he opted to stay with Calipari: “Coach Cal’s a great guy and he just seems like a great coach,” Orton said.
In related news, Calipari announced that he had added former Kentucky stars Tony Delk and Scott Padgett to the staff, according to reports. To read more of this story, click here
