What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
GUN INCIDENT
AT TENN. ST.: A report Tuesday in Nashville's The Tennessean newspaper
says Tennessee State intends to fire suspended head basketball coach
Nolan Richardson, III, for bringing a gun on school property on Christmas
night following an altercation with an assistant coach. Richardson was placed
on indefinite suspension "pending termination" by Athletic Director
Teresa Phillips on Dec. 26 and is barred from the campus and from
having any contract with athletics personnel. The Associated Press obtained
a complaint Tuesday sworn out by Phillips with the university police detailing
events that happened after only four players on Richardson's team showed
up for a Christmas evening practice. Richardson blamed the small showing
on a misunderstanding with assistant coach Hosea Lewis, the man who
has coached the Tigers since Richardson's suspension. Richardson said in
the complaint that after an argument Lewis hit him with a gym bag that contained
chains. Richardson said he went to his car and returned with a .38- caliber
handgun, a clear violation of Tennessee law and grounds from immediate dismissal
from the university. Assistant coach Christopher Graves encountered
Richardson outside the gym, and said he saw Richardson put what looked like
a gun into the pocket of his sweatshirt after hearing him "unchamber
a round." Graves said he tried to calm Richardson down and talked to
him for about 15 minutes. Graves later picked up Lewis and drove him around
for 45 minutes until he suspected Richardson had left. Richardson, the son
of former Arkansas head coach, Nolan Richardson, had posted a 23-41 record
since taking over from Frankie Allen in April 2000. He had been an
assistant under his father at Arkansas for 10 seasons. The Tigers are 2-9
this season, including dropping the last four under Lewis. The NCAA is investigating
Richardson and his staff for possible violations of recruiting and practice
rules. The inquiry also involves possible unethical conduct by a coach.
BOWIE STATE, SHAW RANKED: The Bowie State Bulldogs and Shaw Bears have broken into the top 25 of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Div. II weekly poll. The 10-1 Bulldogs are ranked 19th in the poll released Jan. 7, the first time since 2000 BSU has made it into the poll. Shaw (10-1), the defending Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion who advanced to the Final Four of the national tournament last year, is just one place behind BSU at 20th. The two teams, both in the CIAA East Division, are headed for a nationally televised showdown this Saturday (Jan. 11) at Bowie. The game kicks off the Major Broadcasting Cable Network's (MBC) 2003 basketball schedule and matches the teams that finished at the top of last year's E. Div. race and are favorites this year to repeat as the division's top teams.
© 2003 Azeez Communications, Inc.