Breakfast Buffet: NCAA chief wants coaches held accountable
Pull up a chair and sit down at the breakfast buffet, an assortment of all the freshest newsworthy college hoops stories on the net. To make a submission, contact me via email or Twitter.
• It can't be good news for Tennessee's Bruce Pearl that NCAA president Mark Emmert told a group of reporters Tuesday that he believes coaches who lie to investigators should be "held to at least the same" standard as student-athletes. That answer was in response to a question comparing Pearl to former Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant, who was suspended one year by the NCAA for lying to investigators.
• As if it wasn't sad enough that Missouri's Marcus Denmon lost his beloved cousin Marion in a shooting last week, the family had to endure another horrifying incident at the funeral on Tuesday afternoon. Occupants of two vehicles sent mourners diving for cover when they opened fire outside the Kansas City church where services were held, though thankfully nobody was hit.
• Seton Hall's correct that moving its student section behind the opposing bench hasn't produced an incident yet, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that's a recipe for disaster once the Pirates host the likes of Syracuse or St. John's. That's why it's hard to understand why the Seton Hall administration is feigning ignorance at the Big East expressing displeasure with the new arrangement.
• A 2-6 start had been a shock to the system for a Siena program accustomed to winning the past few seasons, but the Saints got back on track with a 72-69 victory over Florida Atlantic on Tuesday night. "We made our minds up we were going to make this like the beginning of our season and forget about the negatives in the past and move on," Jonathan Breeden told the Albany Times Union.
• The latest update on the timetable for injured Duke point guard Kyrie Irving's return is ... that there is no update. Irving's father told FoxSports.com that the freshman's injured toe will be reevaluated by doctors later this week and at that point the family and the team will make a decision on how to proceed.
• Charlotte's discouraging start to the season got a little bit worse on Tuesday night when coach Alan Major booted leading scorer Shamari Spears off the team as a result of disciplinary issues. Spears had previously tweeted earlier this season that he missed former Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz and that he was getting close to quitting the team.
• When Billy Gillispie was the coach at Kentucky, he once became so angry at Josh Harrellson during a game at Vanderbilt that he ordered the big man listen to the halftime instruction from a bathroom stall. As a result of stories like these, it's always interesting when the outspoken Harrellson opens up about what he really thinks of Gillispie and his time at Kentucky.
• It's always nice when a German 7-footer materializes out of thin air, which appears to be what's happening at Connecticut this week. The Huskies announced Tuesday that center Enosch Wolf has been added to the roster and will be eligible to practice Sunday and to play Monday against Coppin State.
• Is there a more difficult team to analyze this season than Minnesota? The Gophers come out of the gates blazing hot with victories over North Carolina, West Virginia and three quality mid-majors, only to slump badly immediately afterward losing to Virginia at home and struggling with the likes of Cornell and Eastern Kentucky. Gopher Daily examines the issues, not all of which are related to point guard Al Nolen's absence.
