Friday’s Shootaround

By Rob DausterNov 18, 2011, 12:15 PM EST

Coaches vs. Cancer Classic:

No. 16 Arizona 81, St. John’s 72: See here.

Mississippi State 69, No. 18 Texas A&M: See here.

Puerto Rico Tip-Off Tournament

Purdue 91, Iona 90: In one of the most entertaining games I’ve watched in a long time, Purdue got 24 points and nine boards out of Robbie Hummel, which included a three-pointer from the top of the key with 20 seconds left to give the Boilermakers the lead. Purdue had gotten behind by two when Momo Jones hit a pull-up jumper in transition. Lewis Jackson, Ryne Smith and Kelsey Barlow combined for 46 points. Jones had 17 points, five boards and five assists while Scott Machado added 14 points and 11 assists. Mike Glover and Taaj Ridley combined for 29 points and 24 boards.

There are two ways to look at this final score — Purdue is not that good and Iona is much better than we thought. Frankly, I think both are true. The Gaels have a lot of talent on their roster. They have two dynamic guards, a couple of big men that can compete with high-major competition and a sharp-shooter in Jermel Jenkins. Purdue showed themselves to have some competent scorers as well, but what neither team showed a glimmer of yesterday was defense. Neither program will go far this season unless they can start getting some stops.

No. 15 Alabama 62, Maryland 42: Alabama looked terrific against Maryland, as the Terps had no chance against the Crimson Tide’s talented front line and couldn’t find any rhythm offensively. Tony Mitchell played like a superstar. We know about his athleticism and his ability to get on the glass, but Mitchell’s jumper looks much improved. He finished with 17 points and 11 boards, confidently knocking down three three-pointers.

Temple 69, Western Michigan 55: The Owls jumped out to a 69-55 lead over Western Michigan and threw it into cruise control. Ramone Moore led the way with 15 points, five boards and four assists, but it was the 12 points, 15 boards and three blocks that Michael Eric provided that was the most important. Can Eric consistently provide that kind of interior presence? If he can, the Owls are going to be a dangerous team this season.

Wichita State 67, Colorado 58: The Shockers got 17 points from both Toure’ Murry and Ben Smith and 14 points and 11 boards from Garrett Stutz as they took the lead with eight minutes left in the half and never gave it back up. Colorado was never closer than four points during the second half.

Charleston Classic:

Northwestern 88, LSU 82: Down by as many as 15 points in the first half, Northwestern put on an offensive display in the second half, scoring 56 points and turning a 41-32 deficit at the break into a 76-67 lead. LSU got the lead back down to one at 83-82, but David Sobolewski drilled a three with about 30 seconds left to clinch the win. John Shurna led the way for the Wildcats, scoring 21 of his 37 points in the second half.

Tulsa 65, Western Kentucky 49: Tulsa used a 23-5 run late in the first half to gain control of the game, and pushed their lead as big as 23 points in the second half. Kodi Maduka looked like a potential star for Doug Wojcik’s team, going for 16 points, seven boards and seven blocks.

St. Joseph’s 66, Georgia Tech 53: St. Joe’s was supposed to be improved this season, but they are still a team that looks to be destined for the bottom half of the A-10. And the Hawks smacked around Georgia Tech on Thursday afternoon, using a 23-9 midway through the second half to take control. Carl Jones had 21 points and Langston Galloway added 15 points.

Seton Hall 69, VCU 54: Herb Pope had 20 points and 13 boards while Jordan Theodore added 20 as well as the Pirates held VCU to 19% shooting and just six field goals in the first half. VCU got 11 points from Brad Burgess, but its become clear that this team has a long way to go if they hope to duplicate even the regular season success they had last season.

Minnesota 67, Fairfield 57: Fairfield forced Minnesota into 23 turnovers and kept the Gophers in check offensively for much of the game, but the Stags simply had no answer for Trevor Mbakwe inside. The big man finished with 20 points and 10 boards, going 16-18 from the foul line, as the Gophers have now knocked off a couple of talent low-major programs. Derek Needham had just seven points on 2-9 shooting and six turnovers.

San Diego State 56, USC 54: Wild finish this one. Maurice Jones banked in a game-tying three for USC with six seconds left on the clock, but Xavier Thames answered with a bucket with 1.8 seconds left to give the Aztecs the win.

The rest of the top 25:

– No. 4 UConn 80, Maine 60: It took a while for UConn to take up, as the Huskies led by just five at the break, but they did eventually, putting a devastating run on the Black Bears to open the second half. Alex Oriakhi, Andre Drummond and Tyler Olander combined to go for 38 points and 32 rebounds.

– No. 8 Florida 91, North Florida 55: Kenny Boynton had 20 points and Erving Walker added 17 points and five assists as the Gators rolled.

– No. 17 Michigan 59, Western Illinois 55: Tim Hardaway had 16 points and Trey Burke added 14, but the Wolverines were never able to pull away from WIU.

– No. 25 Missouri 83, Niagara 52: Marcus Denmon led five players in double figures with 22 points, while Kim English chipped in with 14 points and seven boards, as the Tigers hit 12 three pointers to roll to the win.

Other notable scores:

– West Virginia 97, Alcorn State 62
– Penn 78, Rider 72 OT
– Rutgers 91, Sacred Heart 75
– Iowa 88, Northern Illinois 55
– Illinois 79, Lipscomb 64
– UNLV 95, Canisius 70
– Oregon 73, Eastern Washington 65
– Nevada 78, Pacific 54
– Washington State 79, Sacramento State 68

Top Performers:

John Shurna, Northwestern: Shurna had 37 points and seven boards as the Wildcats earned a come from behind win over LSU in the Charleston Classic.

Kevin Jones, West Virginia: Jones finished with 29 points and 13 boards, 10 of which came on the offensive end of the floor.

Shamir Davis, Northwestern State: Davis scored 27 points to lead Northwestern State to a seven point win over Alabama State.

Tamir Jackson, Rice: Jackson went for 29 points and four assists as the Owls knocked off Southern.

Will Cherry, Montana: Cherry finished with 24 points, 11 boards and four assists as the Grizzlies knocked off Idaho 57-52.

Brock Motum, Washington State: Has there been a more surprising player this season than Brock Motum? He finished with 23 points and eight boards in a comeback win over Sacramento State. He is averaging 20.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg.

Michael Cartwright, Penn: Cartwright had 27 points as the Quakers outgunned Rider, winning 78-72 in overtime.

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @ballinisahabit.

Providence hires Kim English as next head coach

Associated PressMar 23, 2023, 4:39 PM EDT

Jake Crandall/USA TODAY NETWORK

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Kim English is just 34 years old, but has already moved around a lot in his coaching career, serving as an assistant at three schools over six years before landing his first head coaching job at George Mason in 2021.

It was going to take a special opportunity for him to pack up and move again.

“Every place I’ve been, I’ve wanted to stay there forever. I really want to stay at a place for a long time,” English said Thursday. “I’m sick of moving,”

He believes he has found that place in Providence.

English was named the Friars’ new head coach, ending a fast search by first-year Providence athletic director Steve Napolillo that was created after Ed Cooley left to take the job at Big East rival Georgetown.

English becomes the 16th coach in school history. Cooley resigned on Monday following 12 seasons. He complied a 242-153 record with the Friars that included seven appearances, but just three March Madness victories.

English was 34-29 in two seasons at George Mason, leading the Patriots to a 20-13 record this past season. It was the first time the school reached the 20-win milestone since 2016-17.

George Mason president Gregory Washington said it would begin a national search to replace English.

In English, the Friars get a hungry, young coach who has built his reputation on recruiting. He said his secret sauce finding players is simple.

“You work at it. You do it every day. You’re relentless,” English said.

He played college basketball at Missouri and was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the second round in 2012. But his NBA tenure was short and he was waived in 2013. He had a brief stint with the Chicago Bulls in 2014 and also played two years professionally overseas.

English began his coaching career as an assistant under Frank Haith at Tulsa in 2015 and spent two seasons there before being hired by Tad Boyle in 2017 as an assistant coach at Colorado. In 2019, former Friars coach Rick Barnes brought English to Tennessee as an assistant coach and he stayed until being hired by George Mason

He feels as if he has found a kindred spirit in Napolillo, who sold him on the passion the administration and community have for the Friars’ basketball program.

The intel he got about Providence and Napolillo aligned with what he observed when he got the chance to meet him.

“His passion, his fire, his love for Providence basketball really speaks to me. It really spoke to me what he was looking for,” English said. “As a first-year athletic director to be in this situation and to go at it and not just do what other people may have been comfortable with. … That’s what you want in a partnership.”

English also said he’s impressed by facilities at Providence that he said are among the best he’s seen.

Napolillo said the reason he was able to move so quickly on the hire was because he heeded the advice of his mentors who told him to always be prepared to have to fill a coaching vacancy.

“You always need to have names in a drawer for any coaching situation. You never know what’s going to happen,” he said. ”This year, as noise kept growing and growing, I had a list in my drawer.”

That list also included a Sports Illustrated article he saved from last year that listed some rising coaches. He can’t recall why, but for some reason he highlighted English’s name in the story.

English has already started working and began recruiting not long after signing his contract on Wednesday night, he said.

He also confirmed that Dennis Felton, one of his assistants at George Mason, will join him at Providence. Felton served as a Friars assistant under Barnes from 1992 to 1994.

In a Big East that is stacked from top to bottom with coaching talent, English feels as if the pieces are in place to build something special.

“I’ve had no reason to take a bad job,” English said. “I was a 20-something-year-old assistant in the SEC. I didn’t have to rush. If I’m going to have interest in it, it’s going to be really good.”

For him, that translated into being in a position to bring the Friars a national championship.

“If you want to win the big trophy, you’ve got to be in the big dance,” English said. “At the mid-major level it’s getting increasing harder to get to the big dance. This gives us an opportunity. If we are competing for Big East championships, we’re going to be in the show.”

Report: Notre Dame closing deal with Penn State’s Micah Shrewsberry

Associated PressMar 23, 2023, 12:15 AM EDT

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame is finalizing a deal to make Penn State’s Micah Shrewsberry its new men’s basketball coach, two people with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because contract details were still being completed and needed school approval.

Shrewsberry, in his second season at Penn State (23-14), led the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and a tournament victory for the first time since 2001.

The Nittany Lions beat Texas A&M and were eliminated by Texas in the second round.

Notre Dame has been searching for a replacement for Mike Brey, who spent the last 23 season as coach of the Fighting Irish. He announced in January that this would be his last season with Notre Dame

The Irish finished 11-21.

Shrewsberry grew up in Indianapolis and went to school at Division III Hanover College in Indiana.

He was the head coach at Indiana University South Bend, an NAIA school located in the same city as Notre Dame, from 2005-07.

He later worked as an assistant coach at Butler and Purdue, with a stint as an assistant with the Boston Celtics in between.

ESPN first reported Notre Dame was close to a deal with Shrewsberry.

Armando Bacot says he’s returning for fifth season at North Carolina

Associated PressMar 23, 2023, 12:12 AM EDT

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina forward Armando Bacot is returning to play a fifth season for the Tar Heels.

Bacot announced his decision Wednesday, giving North Carolina fans a bit of good news after the Tar Heels failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.

The 6-foot-11 Bacot is North Carolina’s career leader in rebounds, double-doubles and double-figure rebounding games.

Bacot led North Carolina to a runner-up finish in last year’s NCAA Tournament, and his decision to return was a major reason the Tar Heels were ranked No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25.

The Tar Heels didn’t come close to meeting those expectations. They went 20-13 and opted against playing in the NIT. Bacot earned Associated Press All-America third-team honors and averaged 15.9 points and 10.4 rebounds.

He averaged 16.3 points and 13.1 rebounds in 2021-22. He capped that season by becoming the first player ever to have six double-doubles in one NCAA Tournament.

Bacot participated in North Carolina’s Senior Night festivities this year. He has a fifth year of eligibility because of the waiver the NCAA granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ed Cooley takes over at Georgetown with lofty aspirations

Associated PressMar 22, 2023, 6:03 PM EDT

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

WASHINGTON – Ed Cooley’s task at Georgetown is to bring a once-storied program back to prominence in a competitive conference that has three teams still part of March Madness in the Sweet 16.

Cooley’s lofty aspirations go beyond lifting the Hoyas up from the bottom of the Big East Conference. After leaving Providence, which he took to the NCAA Tournament seven times in 12 years, he already is talking about trying to coach Georgetown to its first championship since 1984.

At his introductory news conference Wednesday that felt like a pep rally, Cooley said he wanted current and former players to envision cutting down nets and watching “One Shining Moment” with the nets hanging around their necks. He promised wins – many of them – and plotted a path forward that he knows will involve some tough times.

“It’s a process, and the process now, because you have a changing landscape in athletics, you’ll have an opportunity to probably move it quicker than you would have 10, 20 years ago,” Cooley said. “We’re going to lose some games. It’s OK. Losing’s part of growth. But over the course of time, it will pay off.”

Georgetown has lost a lot the past couple of years under Patrick Ewing, who was fired earlier this month after six seasons. The team went 7-25 this season after going 6-25 last season and lost 37 of 39 games in Big East play.

While Cooley at Providence was responsible for four of those defeats, the 53-year-old distanced himself from Georgetown’s recent run of losing.

“I don’t have anything to do what happened yesterday,” he said. “My job is to move us forward from today.”

Cooley’s mere presence is an acknowledgement that Georgetown needed a major change to become relevant again. After late Hall of Fame coach John Thompson’s 27-year-old run led to longtime assistant Craig Esherick succeeding him and then son John Thompson III and Ewing getting the head job, Cooley is the school’s first outsider in the position in a half-century.

His only connection to the Hilltop – beyond coaching in the Big East – is his daughter, Olivia, attending Georgetown. Cooley, a Providence native, said her desire to live in the Washington area played into his decision to leave for a conference rival.

It was certainly no accident that athletic director Lee Reed and school president John J. DeGioia used phrases like “new era” and “new chapter” when discussing Cooley. DeGioia said he believes Cooley will “uplift and restore this team” to compete at the highest levels of the sport.

“He has a proven record of success,” Reed said. “We knew we needed a leader, someone who understood our identity and could reimagine Georgetown basketball to fit today’s unique basketball landscape.”

That landscape, including players being able to profit off the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL) and more easily transfer schools, are the biggest changes Cooley has seen since landing his first head job at Fairfield in 2006. He expects to be aggressive, and given the high volume of Georgetown players coming and going via the transfer portal, could rebuild the roster in his image sooner rather than later.

“You have to find student-athletes that fit the way you want to play, your style of play, that fit you as a coach,” Cooley said. “We need to find players that can play for me that can attend Georgetown, not the other way around.”

Cooley acknowledged that some luck is needed but also stressed recruiting local talent to keep the best players in the region around. That’s just one building block to putting Georgetown back on the map, which Cooley wants the time and latitude to do.

“The word patience is always hard because everybody wants it and they want it right now,” he said. “Everybody wants it right now. Have a little bit of patience.”

Texas’ Arterio Morris plays amid misdemeanor domestic violence case

Associated PressMar 22, 2023, 12:56 PM EDT

Amy Kontras-USA TODAY Sports

AUSTIN, Texas — In a season when Texas fired coach Chris Beard after a felony domestic violence arrest, it has allowed a reserve guard to keep playing while he awaits trial on a misdemeanor charge of assaulting an ex-girlfriend.

Second-seed Texas has advanced under interim coach Rodney Terry to the program’s first Sweet 16 since 2008, and the Longhorns play No. 3 Xavier in Kansas City, Missouri.

Arterio Morris, a freshman who was one of the top recruits in the country last year, was initially scheduled to stand trial March 29, three days before Final Four weekend. Denton County prosecutors were granted a delay to an unspecified date.

Beard was fired Jan. 5, about three weeks after he was arrested on suspicion of a felony charge of choking his fiancée in a fight during which she also told police he bit, and hit her. She later recanted the choking allegation and the Travis County district attorney dismissed the case, saying prosecutors were following her wishes not to got to trial and that the charge could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

Morris is charged with Class A misdemeanor assault causing bodily injury to a family member, which in Texas includes dating relationships. It stems from a June 2022 confrontation in the Dallas suburb of Frisco. The charge carries penalties ranging from probation and fines to up to a year in jail if convicted.

Morris’ attorney, Justin Moore, said the charges against Beard and the player are different.

“(Beard) was charged with a felony family assault,” Moore said. “That was far more serious as to what Arterio was alleged to have to committed. We maintain Arterio’s innocence.”

According to police, the ex-girlfriend said Morris grabbed her arm and pulled her off a bed, and later pulled the front of her sports bra, causing an injury to her neck and shoulder area. Police reported seeing a sizable bruise or scratch.

Texas officials declined comment. Beard said before the season that school officials he would not identify determined the freshman could play this season.

Moore defended Texas officials’ decision to not suspend Morris.

“I do believe Texas has taken this seriously. They’ve also allowed Arterio to enjoy his due process rights,” Moore said.

Morris has played in all 36 games this season, although his minutes and have been limited on a senior-dominated team. He averages nearly 12 minutes and 4.7 points per game. His biggest moment was a soaring alley-oop dunk against Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament championship game.

Attempts to reach Morris’ ex-girlfriend through family members were not successful. According to online records, prosecutors sought the trial delay to “procure witness availability.” Prosecutor Jamie Beck did not immediately return messages.