Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Point guard Devan Downey

News from Cincinnati! First the coach leaves, and now there starting point guard Devan Downey has decided to leave Cincinnati, the latest fallout from coach Bob Huggins' ouster last August. Downey averaged 11.9 points and 4.3 assists as a freshman last season, Cincinnati's first in the Big East.

Dixon Funeral

Dixon Funeral: About 1,200 mourners attended Maggie Dixon's funeral in Los Angeles, five days after the 28-year-old Army women's basketball coach died.

Dixon, was the coach of the U.S. Military Academy's women's basketball team and sister of Pitt men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon.

She died of an arrhythmic heart episode, but don’t know what caused it.

Dr. Christopher Bonnett, head of electrophysiology at Allegheny General Hospital, says most people who get arrhythmias are older and have had heart attacks and weakened heart muscles.

“But in my field, it’s not unusual to see young healthy people just suddenly have a short circuit where the rhythm goes fast, they pass out from a lack of blood flow to the brain and if not resuscitated, they die suddenly,” he explained.

Dixon collapsed Wednesday at West Point. That morning, she had breakfast with her brother, Jamie, had a meeting with the athletic director at West Point and had tea with a friend.

She was hired a few weeks before the season began, and led the Black Knights to their first NCAA tournament appearance last month.

Maggie and Jamie are believed to have been the first brother and sister to have coached in the NCAA tournament in the same year.

Dixon says Maggie seemed fine when they had breakfast together Wednesday, but at a friend's house at West Point that afternoon, she said she wasn't feeling well and collapsed.

Wichita State basketball is staying!

TURGEON STAYING: Wichita State basketball coach Mark Turgeon has agreed to a long-term contract extension, ending speculation he would leave for a a larger school following the Shockers' run to the NCAA round of 16. "I just want to get this out of the way: I'm staying," Turgeon said Monday.

The moves are starting already!

They started even early for Kelvin Sampson going to the Indiana's basketball. But Now it's Jeff Capel turn to take over as Oklahoma's basketball coach, Capel resigned from Virginia Commonwealth.

Capel, a former Duke player, was 79-41 in four seasons as coach at VCU. Only time will tell what he can do with program like Oklahom!

Did you hear about Ramar Smith!

First day of college basketball's national signing period, spring semester version, for the 2006-07 season.

Today's the day the Southeastern Conference gets a well-earned boost for its shiny showing in the NCAA Tournament.

Only it's not so much Florida that's set to harvest the fruits of its labor.

It's not Kentucky.

It's Tennessee.

Ramar Smith, a highly touted 6-foot-2 guard out of Detroit's Martin Luther King High School, ranked 34th in the nation by Hoop Scoop (if you believe such things) and 30th by Rivals (if you believe such things), promised to wear orange.

That would be Ramar Smith, Duke Crews and Wayne Chism. Crews is a 6-foot-7 forward from Hampton, Va., ranked 14th by Hoop Scoop. Chism is a 6-foot-9 center from Bolvar, Tenn., ranked 61st by Hoop Scoop.

Throw in Marques Johnson, a 6-foot-6 forward from Ft. Wayne, Ind., and Josh Tabb, a 6-foot-3 guard from a Cincinnati prep school. Both are well-regarded.

"It's pretty amazing what Coach Pearl has done," Meyer told the Tennessean.