|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Cook comes out shooting
Updated: Thursday November 16, 2000 10:35 AM
The day after St. John's point guard Omar Cook hit five of his 11 three-point attempts against Kentucky, Tubby Smith told Mike Jarvis that he had no idea that Cook was that good a shooter. "Neither did I," Jarvis replied. While it's doubtful Cook can keep up that kind of shooting, it's hard to imagine a better collegiate debut than the one he had last week. Not only did Cook have 18 points and five assists against Kentucky, he also drew up the game-winning inbounds play in the St. John's huddle. During the Red Storm's loss to Kansas the next night, Cook took a whopping 16 three-pointers, making just four. But Jarvis told me that was more out of necessity than design. Jarvis also emphasized that Cook still has a lot to learn, but it's a safe bet that St. John's fans won't be spending much time this season, wishing Erick Barkley hadn't turned pro.
Utah working out the kinksExpect 12th-ranked Utah to drop in the polls over the next six weeks while Rick Majerus integrates eight new players into his lineup. Majerus' top priority right now is to get sophomore forward Britten Johnson back into shape following his two-year Mormon mission. Johnson was a key reserve on the Utes' 1998 Final Four team, and he is the only McDonald's high school All-American Majerus has ever recruited. Duke transfer Chris Burgess, meanwhile, has been fighting chronic back pain. Majerus told me Burgess has to stretch for over an hour each day before he can practice. Junior college transfers Kevin Bradley and Travis Spivey give Majerus perhaps the most athletic backcourt he's ever had in Salt Lake City, but until that potential translates into results, Majerus will remain his usual pessimistic self. "We're not ranked because we're good," he told me. "We're ranked because we've been good."
Rebels walking a thin lineUNLV is making headlines this month, but for all the wrong reasons. Last week coach Bill Bayno learned that junior forward Chris Richardson had been suspended indefinitely for misleading NCAA investigators about a bed he acquired from a former UNLV assistant. And later this month, the NCAA's Infractions Committee is expected to issue a final ruling regarding the illicit benefits that Lamar Odom allegedly received from a school booster four years ago. Odom originally signed with UNLV out of high school, but the school released him after Odom's standardized test score was called into question. Last month UNLV threw itself on the mercy of the NCAA by self-imposing penalties that reduced scholarships and the number of visits Bayno can make over the next two years. Now Bayno and company must wait to find out if the NCAA agrees that those penalties are sufficient. Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis covers the college basketball beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
