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The Morning Dish - Thursday, May 12th

Nicholls State on Probation: NCAA officials placed Nicholls State on probation for four years following revelations that an academic adviser and assistant football coach completed schoolwork for several athletes, including two basketball players. The offenders remained nameless, but the report cited three former Nicholls State employees, including a former basketball coach. As a result, the men’s basketball team will forfeit games and cut scholarships for four years.

Clemson Trying to Catch Up: Clemson officials are trying to close the gap between the Tigers’ facilities and those of other ACC programs. They plan to add a scoreboard that can show replays and in-game statistics, among other things. Coach Oliver Purnell said the addition to Littlejohn Coliseum will help him attract recruits to the school. Clemson recently completed a $31 million renovation of the arena.

Indiana Didn’t Break Rules: Indiana trustees did not break state law while meeting to contemplate the fate of former coach Bob Knight, according to a judge. The ruling was a product of a lawsuit filed by 46 basketball fans who challenged Knight’s firing. The judge ruled that the trustees did not violate Indiana’s open door law because no more than four trustees met with former president Myles Brand at one time. The judge added that even if the trustees violated the open door law, only Brand had the power to fire Knight.

The Morning Dish - Wednesday, May 11th

Romar Hires Former Husky Star: Washington coach Lorenzo Romar hired Paul Fortier to be an assistant coach. Fortier comes to Washington after working at Cornell as an assistant for the past two seasons. He is one of Washington’s all-time leading scorers, playing four years at Washington in the early 1980s. The Huskies made the NCAA Tournament each season Fortier started.

Rebel Assistant Gets Own Job: Mississippi assistant coach Eric Bozeman will leave the Rebels to coach Division II Southern Arkansas. Bozeman had been an assistant to coach Rod Barnes for seven years. He also has been a coach at Henderson State.

Pair of Young Bearcats Off the Team: Cincinnati officials announced that freshman guard Vincent Banks has left the team because of personal reasons and freshman forward Roy Bright has been dismissed. School officials kicked off Bright because of an incident in which he had a firearm on campus. Police are investigating the matter. He was Cincinnati’s most productive freshman last season, averaging 4.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Banks, meanwhile, was a prolific scorer in high school, but he entered school ineligible to play because he did not meet NCAA academic standards.

Tiger Tests Value: Auburn freshman guard Toney Douglas announced that he will enter the NBA Draft to evaluate his stock among NBA scouts. But he will not hire an agent and said he will return to the Tigers if he isn’t projected to be a first-round pick. Douglas averaged 16.9 points per game last season and was one of the best freshmen in the country.

More SEC Draft News: Kentucky freshman center Randolph Morris will also enter the NBA Draft without hiring an agent. The rash of underclassmen entering the draft could be a product of serious talks among NBA officials of instituting an age limit next year. At 6-10, Morris is a talented forward, but he could use another year or two under coach Tubby Smith to become a bona fide star at power forward. He averaged 8.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season for the Wildcats.

Gator Big Man has Back Surgery: Florida junior center Adrian Moss has surgery to fix two herniated discs that caused pain during this past season and limited Moss’ effectiveness. Originally in the starting lineup to start the season, Moss struggled all season, averaging only 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He missed nine games and saw only limited action during the final stretch of the season because of the back pain. Team officials expect Moss to be fully healed well before next season.

Air Force to Stop Revolving Door: Entering the 2005-06 season, Air Force will have had three different coaches in three seasons. And school officials are tired of the changes. Last year’s coach, Chris Mooney, bolted for Richmond only five days after signing a five-year contract that contained no buyout clause. The next coach will have a buyout clause, which would force another school or the team’s next coach to pay restitution if the coach leaves before the contract expires. Mooney had replaced Joe Scott, who left Air Force to return to his alma mater, Princeton, as head coach. He also did not have a buyout clause.

Judge Tosses Ohio State-Related Lawsuit: A Franklin County, Ohio, judge dismissed a lawsuit by Kathleen Salyers against her former employers. Salyers claimed she had an oral agreement to take care of former Buckeye Boban Savovic for $1,000 per month. She says she never received payments from Dan and Kim Roslovic, Ohio State boosters who are now divorced. As part of Salyers’ lawsuit, she revealed that former Buckeye coach Jim O’Brien paid a recruit $6,000. School officials fired O’Brien when the report surfaced. The judge dismissed Salyers’ lawsuit because Ohio state law dictates that contracts that extend more than a year must be in writing.

Meanwhile, O’Brien is in the midst of suing the university for breach of contract. He claims the university fired him before undergoing a complete NCAA investigation to determine the nature of the violations.

Huskies Pass Graduation Goal: Connecticut lifted an unsatisfactory Academic Progress Rate score to a more acceptable mark after submitting more information to the NCAA. The APR is part of the NCAA’s attempt to emphasize academic success and progress throughout collegiate athletics. Connecticut’s men’s basketball team had originally earned an 852 score, but the new score is 889. While schools adjust to the system, the minimum score for men’s basketball is 875. But the eventual standard will be 925, so Connecticut still has some work to do to avoid penalties in upcoming years.

The Morning Dish - Tuesday, May 10th

Four More Years for Boeheim: Syracuse officials rewarded the continued excellence of coach Jim Boeheim by extending his contract by four years. Boeheim had only two years remaining on the contract before the extension. In 29 years as a coach, Boeheim has a 703-241 record. He is eighth all time in Division I for wins in the NCAA Tournament.

Hilltopper Dies During Game: Western Kentucky junior guard Danny Rumph died Sunday while playing basketball in a pickup game. Rumph was 21. He collapsed on the court while playing in Philadelphia, his hometown. Rumph averaged nine points and three rebounds per game last season for the Hilltoppers. No word yet on the official cause of death.

Billiken Leaving St. Louis: St. Louis sophomore guard Darren Clarke will transfer to another school after serving as a role player for the Billikens for the past two seasons. Clarke averaged 3.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game last season. He has not announced a list of potential new schools.

Former BYU Coach Turns to Snow: Snow College (Utah) officials hired former BYU coach Roger Reid. Reid was successful as coach of the Cougars, compiling a 152-77 record in seven seasons. He replaces coach Jon Judkins, who left Snow to coach Dixie State.

The Morning Dish - Monday, May 9th

Southern Miss Not Part of In-State Rivalries: Southern Miss coach Larry Eustachy tried and failed to add Mississippi and Mississippi State to the Golden Eagles’ schedule for next season. Eustachy said he sent a proposal that would have allowed Southern Miss to visit both schools during the next two seasons, then each would play the Golden Eagles in Hattiesburg during the third year of the agreement. But officials from Mississippi State and Mississippi declined. Southern Miss has not played their in-state brethren during the regular season since 1995.

The Morning Dish - Saturday, May 7th

Mooney Hired at Richmond: Thirty-two-year-old Chris Mooney was hired as head coach at Richmond after five seasons at Air Force, including his first as a head coach last season. Mooney will bring the Princeton-style offense, which helped the Falcons to an 18-12 record last season and a nation-best 54.3 points allowed. Mooney replaces Jerry Wainwright, who guided the Spiders to a 14-15 record last season before resigning to take over the coaching vacancy at DePaul. Mooney, who played four seasons at Princeton under legendary head coach Pete Carril, is the fourth-youngest coach in Division I.

Dee Brown Declares for Draft: Big Ten Player of the Year Dee Brown will enter the NBA draft but not sign an agent. The Illinois junior guard, who averaged 13.3 points per game for the NCAA runner-up Illini, said he hopes to workout with NBA teams once the pre-draft period begins oMay 15. By not hiring an agent, Brown can opt to drop out of the draft by June 21 and return to Champaign for his senior season. Backcourt mate Deron Williams, a likely first-round selection, has already entered the draft and hired an agent.

Parham, Too: Maryland Eastern Shore junior forward Tim Parham will enter the NBA draft but will not hire an agent. The 6-9, 240-pound Parham was named the MEAC’s Most Improved and Most Valuable Player after averaging 11.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game for the Eagles. Parham would become the first Hawks player drafted since three were taken in 1974 and the first MEAC player chosen since former Florida A&M star and current Seattle Supersonic Jerome James in 1998.

Dotson Won’t Plead Insanity: The lawyer of former Baylor basketball player Carl Dotson, who faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of shooting teammate Patrick Dennehy in 2003, said the defendant will not use an insanity defense in the murder trial to begin June 13. The Dallas Morning News reported that Dotson’s attorney, Russ Hunt, said his client is mentally ill, but that there is insufficient evidence to show that he was unable to discern right from wrong at the time of Dennehy’s murder.

Williams Hires an Agent: North Carolina freshman Marvin Williams, who had already expressed his intention of entering the NBA Draft, signed with an agent last week, eliminating the possibility that he would return to school for a second season. Williams averaged 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game as a freshman and was named ACC Rookie of the Year. He is considered a lock as a lottery pick.

Pearl Signs First Recruit: Cincinnati-area high school star Ryan Childress, who made a commitment to play at Wisconsin - Milwaukee in November, changed his mind after former Panthers head coach Bruce Pearl left for Tennessee. Childress, who averaged 15.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last season, will follow Pearl to Knoxville and become a Volunteer in the fall.

Students Not Sold on Gold: Marquette students protested the Board of Trustees’ decision to rename the Golden Eagles the Gold last week despite a push from alumni to reinstate the school’s nickname from when it won the 1977 national title. Marquette’s teams were known as the Warriors from 1954 until 1993, when the school switched to Golden Eagles because the Warriors logo had offended some Indian groups. Since receiving such negative response to the nickname Gold, the board has decided to create a Nickname Advisory Committee that will present as many as 10 potential names to be voted upon by the Marquette community. The new nickname will be announced July 1.

Former Seattle Coach Passes Away: Vince Cazzetta, who won 96 games at Seattle University from 1959-63, died last week in Hartford, Conn. He was 79. His 96 victories and .711 winning percentage at Seattle, a power at the time, rank second in school history. Cazzetta, who resigned with nine games remaining in the 1963 season over a dispute with athletic director Eddie O’Brien, later became an assistant at Rhode Island and head coach of the ABA’s Pittsburgh Pipers.