June 30, 2008
By PAUL KENYON
Journal Sports Writer
The URI basketball team has player movement involving former, current and future players.
The most noteworthy, for the present, is that Will Daniels has signed to play for the Chicago Bulls. He will head to Florida this week to play for the Bulls from July 7 to 11 in the 2008 Orlando Pro Summer League.
In addition to the Bulls, the event features players from the Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets and Seattle SuperSonics. Three of the top four picks from the 2008 NBA Draft are expected to participate: Derrick Rose (Chicago), Michael Beasley (Miami) and Russell Westbrook (Seattle).
Daniels was not selected in last week's draft. He averaged 18.6 points and 6.5 rebounds for URI, and became the first URI player since Tyson Wheeler (1996-97, 1997-98) -- and just the third URI player ever -- to earn First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors in consecutive seasons.
Orlando Pro Summer League games will begin at 3 p.m. from July 7 to 10, and at 11 a.m. on July 11. A live video webcast of every game will be available on orlandomagic.com. Box scores, game recaps and cumulative statistics from the event will also be made available by visiting www.orlandomagic.com.
Rhody coach Jim Baron reports that Hakim McCullar, a little-used 6-7 freshman forward on this past season's team, has decided to transfer. He has visited Toledo and Delaware.
Meanwhile, three of the five players the Rams have signed for next year -- 6-9 forward Orion Outerbridge, 5-8 guard Stevie Mejia and 6-4 guard Jamal Wilson -- all are on campus, attending summer classes and getting acclimated to the school.
They are the three players expected to be most ready to help the Rams, who also have seven returning players. All three are expected to contend for playing time immediately.
The two other signees for this year, 6-8 forward Ryan Brooks and 6-4 guard Rand Dezouvre, apparently have not been cleared to play for next year. Their status is uncertain.
Posted by Mike McDermott 
at 2:12 PM | Permalink
June 25, 2008
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Duquesne basketball coach Ron Everhart, who has turned around one of the nation's worst Division I basketball programs in only two seasons, signed a three-year contract extension Wednesday that runs through the 2013-14 season.
Duquesne hadn't had a winning season since 1993-94 before it went 17-13 last season, only two seasons after the Dukes were 3-24 under former coach Danny Nee. Everhart's first Dukes team went 10-19 in 2006-07, despite having five players shot following an on-campus party two months before the season began.
Everhart also has dramatically upgraded the Dukes' recruiting, signing players who were recruited not only by other Atlantic 10 Conference programs but also Big East Conference schools.
Recent signees include B.J. Monteiro, the Connecticut high school player of the year; Aleksandar Milovic, a highly sought European swingman; and Rodrigo Peggau, a promising power forward. The Dukes also signed Melquan Bolding, a 6-foot-4 prep school swingman who initially committed to Louisville.
"I'm fortunate to be part of a program here at Duquesne that has been given a strong commitment for excellence by the administration," Everhart said. "We have a commitment that allows us to compete at the highest level of the Atlantic 10."
Duquesne president Charles J. Dougherty and athletic director Greg Amodio both praised Everhart for his strong work ethic and for revitalizing a long-dormant program.
Before Everhart arrived, Duquesne had records of 3-24, 8-22, 9-21, 9-20, 5-23 during a run of eight consecutive bad seasons from 1998-99 through 2005-06.
Duquesne, once one of the East's top basketball schools, hasn't been to a postseason tournament since going to the NIT in 1994 and hasn't been to the NCAA tournament since 1977.
Everhart, formerly the coach at McNeese State and Northeastern, virtually rebuilt Duquesne's roster from scratch following the 2005-06 season, with 10 new players recruited and two others transferring. Everhart was forced to reshape his roster again this spring after junior center Shawn James and junior guard Kojo Mensah declared for the NBA draft.
James and Mensah, unhappy with their playing time last season, sued the school this week, alleging it did not provide adequate security at the on-campus party in September 2006. Both were shot following the party, James in the foot and Mensah in the left arm.
Now that Everhart has reshaped the roster again following a second upheaval in three years, he is looking to build a stable program that is regularly in the mix for deep runs in the Atlantic 10 tournament and also plays regularly in postseason tournaments.
"Being close to home means a lot to me and my family," said Everhart, from nearby Fairmont, W.Va.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 12:12 PM | Permalink
June 23, 2008
As expected, Bryant University today named Tim O'Shea as the man to lead its men's basketball program into Division I. Bill Reynolds was at the news conference, and we'll have more from him later today.
Here's a link to the Bryant news release announcing O'Shea's hiring.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 12:06 PM | Permalink
June 20, 2008
Providence College's Jeff Xavier will join the Cape Verdean national team as it attempts to qualify for the Summer Olympics in Beijing, according to the PC Athletics Department.
Xavier, who went to St. Raphael Academy in Pawtucket, led the Friars in scoring last season. He will leave Rhode Island on Sunday for training camp, then continue to Athens, Greece, where his team will face New Zealand on July 15. Cape Verde will attempt to become one of 12 teams competing in Greece to receive an Olympics invitation.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 1:04 PM | Permalink
Bryant University has scheduled a news conference at 11 a.m. Monday at the Chase Athletic Center to announce its new head basketball coach. The new coach will replace Max Good, who built Bryant into a Division II power over the last half dozen years. Good left Bryant two weeks ago to become the associate head coach at Loyola-Marymount in California.
Bryant is moving from the Northeast 10 to Division I beginning this September.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 12:55 PM | Permalink
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