As if the current state of Fordham men’s basketball wasn’t bad enough already, the Rams may now have hit an all-time low.
On Tuesday, the university suspended Director of Men’s Basketball Operations Alex Groothuis for two games after one of the team’s student managers was accused of illegally using a walkie-talkie near the Xavier bench during Fordham’s 74-52 loss to the Musketeers last Saturday.
Joe DiBari, Fordham’s director of sports media relations, released a statement announcing Groothuis’ suspension, citing “an act of unsportsmanlike conduct.”
The student in question was not named. Whether Groothuis played a role in the incident was neither confirmed nor explained and DiBari said the school had no further comment on the issue.
Groothuis was unavailable for comment.
The incident in question reportedly involved the student manager in question sitting near members of the media, close enough to the Xavier bench in order to relay plays that XU coach Thad Matta drew up on his dry-erase board to the Fordham bench by walkie-talkie.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, a Xavier student manager informed the manager in question that such communication was against NCAA rules, and the Fordham manager moved back to his own bench before halftime.
First-year Ram coach Dereck Whittenburg vehemently denied the charges.
“There’s no walkie-talkies,” he told the Enquirer. “I don’t know what you are talking about. You got any evidence of that? I have no idea what you are talking about.”
Xavier, which reportedly sent a tape of the game to the Atlantic 10 offices for investigation, refused to comment, saying the matter had been turned over to conference officials.
Atlantic 10 spokesman Ray Cello said the conference is satisfied with Fordham’s actions and is not pursuing further disciplinary measures.
Jinx on the horizon?
For the first time in the history of the University, and for the first time in the 50-year history of the publication, undefeated No. 3 St. Joseph’s is featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
The Feb. 16 issue features All-American point guard Jameer Nelson standing alone on its cover, holding a basketball above a caption that reads “The little man from the little school that’s beating everyone.”
The cover story, written by Philadelphia-based S.I. senior writer Michael Bamberger, highlights Nelson, a leading candidate for 2004 National Player of the Year, as well as the rich history of the SJU men’s basketball program.
“A Sports Illustrated cover brings a spotlight specifically on our basketball program. But more importantly to me, it’s a spotlight on a great university,” said Head Coach Phil Martelli. “All human emotions overtake you – it’s humbling, it’s exciting, it’s a sign of respect. Whatever word you can use to describe it, encompasses the feeling of everyone involved in our program seeing Jameer Nelson on that cover.”
While the issue will mark the most publicity S.I. has ever given the Hawks, it is not the first time the school’s men’s basketball program has been recognized by the magazine. The 1965-66 squad was picked No.1 in the magazine’s preseason poll, but never graced the cover.
Just win, baby
Dayton point guard Ramod Marshall does not have the name recognition of some of the better point guards in the nation, but his winning percentage dictates that he should.
In his 51 starts running the Flyer offense, Marshall is an impressive 42-9 – good for a .824 winning percentage that compares favorably with Duke’s Chris Duhon (.876, 85-12), Kansas’ Aaron Miles (.828, 77-16), Marquette’s Travis Diner (.750, 42-14), and Saint Joseph’s Jameer Nelson (.761, 83-26).
Flying under the radar
There may not be a more underrated guard in the A-10 than Rhode Island’s Dawan Robinson. In fact, if Robinson maintains his 17.7 points per game scoring average, it will be the highest average for a Ram since Eric Leslie averaged 18.4 ppg during the 1990-91 season, and top eve URI’s most famous NBA alums’ best efforts, including former Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Cuttino Mobley’s 17.2 ppg average from the 1997-98 season and Lamar Odom’s 17.6 ppg average from his Rookie of the Year campaign in 1998-99.
