"With Roy Williams...you let a general like that run his program." Kansas Athletics Director Al Bohl on his relationship with basketball coach Roy Williams
THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2003
Inside Sports
New charge added in player's case
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN=134
The Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. — A new indictment against former NBA star Jayson Williams adds a weapons offense to the seven charges he already faces in the shooting death of a limousine driver.
The indictment handed up yesterday increases Williams' possible prison sentence by 10 years.
He could face nearly 55 years in prison if convicted on all charges, the most serious of which is aggravated manslaughter.
Williams' attorneys called the new indictment "an obvious attempt at damage control" intended to silence discussion on mistakes made by prosecutors the first time they went before a grand jury.
"We believe we are vindicated that the way this indictment was originally obtained was improper," defense attorney Billy Martin said.
The 35-year-old Williams is accused of recklessly handling the shotgun that killed Costus Christoffi, and then trying to make the shooting look self-inflicted.
The Hunterdon County Prosecutor's and State Attorney General's offices hope a new indictment from a different grand jury will resolve a challenge to the original one handed up in May.
The shooting occurred Feb.14, 2002, inside Williams' 40-room mansion in rural Alexandria Township.
Williams' attorneys argued the first indictment was flawed due to mistakes in the grand jury presentation. They said prosecutors violated Williams' rights by telling grand jurors that he chose to remain silent and call a lawyer immediately after the shooting.
A trial judge upheld the original indictment late last year, and a hearing before an appeals court is scheduled for March 12.
Prosecutors plan to file the new indictment with the appeals court and expect the original charges will be dismissed.
"We did not think it was in the interest of justice or the victims in this case to continue arguing the matter on procedural grounds in the appellate division and the (New Jersey) Supreme Court," Acting Attorney General Peter C. Harvey said.
Williams' attorney's planned to make a statement on the new indictment yesterday afternoon.
The 6-foot-10 Williams was among the NBA's best rebounders when leg injuries led to his retirement from the New Jersey Nets in 2000. After the shooting, he was suspended from his job as an NBA analyst for NBC.
Georgia assistant coach fired
The Associated Press
ATHENS, Ga. — Jim Harrick's son was fired yesterday by Georgia, ridding the troubled program of the assistant coach accused of academic fraud and paving a player's bills.
Now the question is: Can the father survive?
Harrick is fighting to keep his job after former player Tony Cole accused the coach's son of paying his bills, doing schoolwork and teaching a sham class on coaching.
Harrick Jr. was suspended with pay on Friday after the allegations came to light. Five days later, the school announced the 38-year-old assistant basketball coach would be let go when his contract expires June 30.
"We will not tolerate any violations of NCAA rules," school president Michael Adams said. "If we have a problem, we'll fix it and move on to better days."
The dismissal of Harrick Jr was a huge blow to his father, who vowed Tuesday that no major rules had been broken.
On Tuesday night, the No.25 Bulldogs
pulled off one of their biggest victories of the season, upsetting No. 3 Florida 82- 81. Harrick Jr. watched the game from a tunnel near the Georgia bench, unable to take his usual seat alongside his father.
Afterward, the elder Harrick lingered on the court, denying Cole's allegations but also conceding his program might be guilty of some violations.
"We don't do work for people, nor do we give them money," the coach said.
Harrick wouldn't comment on his son's dismissal. Harrick Jr, has refused to talk since the allegations were made.
Meanwhile, Georgia forward Chris Daniels gave credence to one of the most damaging accusations from Cole, who says he got an "A" for a class he never attended.
Daniels, who took the same course, was pulled out of practice Monday to meet with NCAA and school investigators.
Harrick Jr. taught the class, "Coaching Principles and Strategies of Basketball."
While unsure if he was enrolled in the class at the same time as Cole, Daniels said, "I think it's the same one. I never saw him in there."
In a related development, the head of
Georgia's Physical Education and Sports Studies department, Paul G. Schempp, was reprimanded for assigning Harrick Jr. to the course.
Adams said he was surprised to learn that Harrick Jr. had taught a class in which his players were students. The president vowed it wouldn't happen again.
Cole also claims that Harrick Jr. did the work for correspondence courses that helped the player improve his grades before he was admitted to Georgia.
In addition, Harrick Jr. is accused of paying Cole's hotel bills in Athens and wiring $300 to a woman in Baton Rouge, La., to pay a phone bill. The former player produced a Western Union receipt with the sender listed as "Jim Harrick."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a Rhode Island booster, Charlie Tapalian, provided the money that was wired to Cole in August 2001.
The elder Harrick coached at Rhode Island from 1997-99, with his son on the staff the second year. Harrick Jr. has also coached at San Diego State, Valparaiso, Marshall and Loyola-Chicago.
Colorado upsets Oklahoma State
The Associated Press
BOULDER, Colo. — David Harrison had 16 points and 14 rebounds as Colorado beat No. 20 Oklahoma State 68-56 last night to set a school record with its 11th straight home victory.
Colorado (18-10, 8-7 Big 12) played without leading scorer Michel Morandais because of a sprained ankle, but still improved its home record to 12-1. The Buffaloes are 7-0 in the conference at home, including victories over Texas Kansas and Missouri.
Colorado has won six of nine overall to improve its chances of reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time in seven years. Stephane Pelle added 14 points.
Oklahoma State (20-8, 9-6) continued its late-season struggles in its first trip to Boulder since 10 members of
the program died in a plane crash two years ago.
Two players and eight others were killed after a game against Colorado on Jan. 27, 2001, when one of three planes carrying the team's traveling party crashed in a storm about 40 miles outside Denver.
Oklahoma State shot 32 percent — many were way off the mark — to lose three straight for the first time since 1998-99. Ivan McFarlin had 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Cowboys, who have lost 7-of-10 following a 17-1 start.
Oklahoma State cut Colorado's 5point halftime lead to 31-30 on a vicious dunk by Tony Allen that left the backboard shaking for about 30 seconds.
It would be as close as the Cowboys would get.
Colorado answered with a 10-0 run, capped by Blair Wilson's three-point shot
that hit the front of the rim and bounced in to take a 43-30 lead with 16 minutes left.
The Cowboys kept trying to chip away at the lead, but couldn't shoot straight enough to mount any kind of run.
Oklahoma State shot 9-of-29 in the second half, and it got so bad that McFarlin missed an open lapout midway through.
The Cowboys had trouble with Colorado's aggressive man-to-man defense from the start.
Oklahoma State opened the game 2-for-13 from the field and went more than 6 minutes without a field goal midway through the first half.
The Cowboys missed eight straight shots and had three turnovers before Melvin Sanders banked in a 25-foot 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer with 11:10 left.
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Kansas Athletics Calendar TODAY
TOMORROW
Baseball vs. Western Michigan, Hoglund Ballpark, 1 p.m.
Baseball vs. Western Michigan, Hoglund Ballpark, 3 p.m.
SATURDAY
Baseball vs. Western Michigan, Hogland Ballpark, 1 p.m.
Track at the Iowa State Invitational, Ames, Iowa
Tennis vs Nebraska, Kansas City Racquet Club, Mission, 4.p.m.
SUNDAY
Men's basketball at Missouri, Columbia. Mo., 1 p.m.
Baseball vs. Western Michigan, Hoglund Ballpark 1 p.m.
I just saw Ryan Greene,
Exhausted Iowa State team defeats Missouri
sportswriter, wearing a Missouri hat on campus. He should never be allowed to talk about anything related to Kansas athletics ever again.
The Associated Press
Missouri (18-8, 9-6) never got back
AMES, Iowa — Tim Barnes scored 24 points and Jackson Vroman added 14 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists as Iowa State, playing under difficult circumstances, rolled past Missouri 71-55 yesterday night.
Iowa State (14-11, 5-10 Big 12) built a 16-point lead 10 minutes into the game and dominated a Missouri team that had won four of five and beat then-No. 3 Oklahoma a week ago.
into the game after Iowa State's early surge. Rickey Paulding and Travon Bryant led the Tigers with 18 points each.
The game was played just hours after the death of Pete Taylor, the longtime radio voice for Iowa State football and basketball and an associate athletic director at the school. Taylor, 57, died after undergoing brain surgery.
On Monday, assistant coach Randy Brown resigned after being charged with possession of child pornography. And top reserve Marcus Jefferson missed the game to be with his ailing mother in East
Chicago, Ind.
But if the Cyclones were spent, it didn't show. They beat the Tigers down the floor in transition, outhustled them for offensive rebounds and never let up.
Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy, who was good friends with Taylor, had tears streaming down his cheek as he went to shake hands with Missouri coach Quin Snyder after the game.
Iowa State made seven of its first nine shots in jumping to a 15-2 lead. Vroman and Homan got inside for baskets, while Sullivan and Barnes connected from the perimeter.
Barnes and Haluska each hit two 3-pointers as the lead grew to 45-23. Barnes got his second 3 after one of Vroman's five offensive rebounds. Iowa State went on to lead by as many as 23 and when Missouri managed to get within 14, only 3:20 remained and the Tigers got no closer.
There was a moment of silence in Taylor's memory before the game. Iowa State staffers wore ribbons in the school colors of cardinal and gold and the players wore black strips on the left shoulder strap of their uniforms.