By Bill Blackburn
AIR FORCE... The injury-riddled Falcons recently regained the services of 6-7 sr. F/C Grant Parker, who was averaging a team-high 17 ppg & 7 rpg during the first month of the season before missing the next ten games with a groin/pelvis injury. Parker contributed 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals in Saturday's 70-63 home win over Wyoming, AFA's first conference victory of the season after dropping six straight to open its Mountain West campaign.
ARIZONA STATE... Jr. G Jamelle McMillan (7.9 ppg, 3-to-1 assist/TO ratio) has been sidelined by a lingering foot injury the last four games, although Tempe scouts say there's a good chance McMillan might be available for at least limited action this Thursday at Washington State.
CLEMSON... Jr. PG Demontez Stitt (11.2 ppg-second on the team, 3.5 apg, 1.3 spg) was held out of last week's 75-69 loss at BC and Sunday's 62-53 home win over Maryland after trying to play through a sprained foot he initially suffered during the Tigers' 73-70 road win at N.C. State on January 16.
COLORADO... 6-6 frosh G Alec Burks (16.3 ppg on 53% FGs, 4.7 rpg), one of the nation's top newcomers, played only a couple of minutes at Iowa State on Saturday after suffering a knee injury very early in the Buffs' eventual 64-63 loss to the Cyclones. An MRI on Monday determined that Burks' knee was only sprained, and he's questionable for home date with top-ranked Kansas on Wednesday. Burks had scored double-digit points in each of his first 20 games!
COLUMBIA... Sr. G Patrick Foley (9.7 ppg-second on the team) has missed four of the last seven games (and played only limited minutes in two others), including last Saturday's 63-51 home win over downtrodden Dartmouth, which snapped a string of five straight losses for the Lions.
CREIGHTON... Jr. G P'Allen Stinnett (9.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.5 apg), a preseason all-conference selection and the Bluejays' second-leading scorer, has missed the last two games and is suspended indefinitely. Omaha insiders believe the talented but volatile Stinnett, who's frequently run afoul of head coach Dana Altman, is unlikely to be reinstated.
DARTMOUTH... 6-9 frosh F Matt LaBove (team-high 5 rpg) did not play in the woeful Big Green's 63-51 setback at Columbia on Saturday.
DELAWARE... 6-7 frosh F Kelvin McNeil (6 ppg), the Blue Hens' leading rebounder (6.2 pg), has been sidelined by a knee injury the last two games. Delaware has dropped eight of its last nine straight up but is 8-2 vs. the spread over the last 10 games.
DEPAUL... 6-10 jr. F/C Mac Koshwal (13.4 ppg on 57% FGs, 10.1 rpg), the Blue Demons' top frontcourt threat, recently returned to action after a four-game absence due to a foot injury. Koshwal had 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals in 59-57 near-upset of highly-ranked Syracuse on Saturday.
DRAKE... The Bulldogs haven't missed starting sr. G Craig Stanley (out the last few weeks with a wrist injury), as Mark Phelps' jelling squad won & covered six of its last seven games through Feb. 1.
DREXEL... Bruiser Flint's Dragons have won & covered three straight (through Feb. 1) since the return of 6-8 sr. F Leon Spencer (7.3 ppg), a very valuable rebounder (6.2 pg) and shotblocker (2.2 pg). Spencer was sidelined for nearly two months with a wrist injury.
EAST CAROLINA... In his first two games back after serving a three-game suspension, physical 6-8 soph F Darrius Morrow (12.7 ppg on 59% FGs, 6.6 rpg) scored 37 points, grabbed 19 boards, and blocked 5 shots during last week's 61-46 road win at Tulane and Saturday's 69-58 home loss to Rice.
FRESNO STATE... Star 6-8 soph F Paul George, who leads the Bulldogs in scoring (17 ppg), rebounding (7.3 pg) & steals (2.6 pg) and is second on the team in assists (3.2 pg) & made three-pointers (43), has missed the last three games with a sprained ankle. Sloppy Fresno coughed up 45 turnovers in last weekend's double-digit losses at Idaho & Boise State.
HAWAII... Jr. G Dwain Williams, a Providence transfer who is the Warriors' second-leading scorer (14 ppg) and most dangerous three-point shooter, has sat out the last five games following the death of his cousin. Hawaii's only victory in the last seven games is a one-point home win over San Jose State, and beleaguered head coach Bob Nash is hoping to have Williams back for this Saturday's home date with Fresno State.
INDIANA STATE... Soph G Dwayne Lathan, the Sycamores' second-leading scorer (12.8 ppg) and top rebounder (5.1 pg), returned to action after missing five games with a leg/ankle problem. But, after playing 19 minutes off the bench with 9 points & 3 rebounds in last week's 68-65 home win over Southern Illinois, Lathan had to sit out Sunday's 63-56 victory at Evansville due to swelling in his injured leg.
IOWA... Soph G Anthony Tucker, one of the low-scoring Hawkeyes' top offensive threats, returned to practice last week but was still held out of action in Wednesday's 65-57 home setback to Ohio State and Saturday's 60-46 loss at Michigan. Tucker was suspended indefinitely in mid-December following his second arrest in the last year.
IOWA STATE... The Cyclones are shorthanded in the backcourt after 6-5 jr. Lucca Staiger (9.4 ppg), their best three-point shooter (43%), unexpectedly quit the team a couple of weeks ago after accepting an offer to play professionally in his native Germany.
LA SALLE... Expected to contend for the A-10 title, the 11-10 Explorers' high hopes have been derailed by key injuries. Entering the season with four senior starters surrounding touted frosh C Aaric Murray, head coach John Giannini first lost stalwart 6-5 G Ruben Guillandeaux, a major backcourt contributor in each of the previous three seasons, to a fractured foot after only four games. Then, in early January, 6-6 sr. G Kimmani Barrett (13.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg), a top perimeter gun with 1055 career points, suffered his own season-ending foot injury.
LOYOLA-MARYMOUNT... After a six-game win streak that included upset of Notre Dame at South Bend, the banged-up Lions have dropped five of their last seven. Leading scorer & rebounder 6-7 soph Drew Viney, an Oregon transfer, sat out a couple of games in mid-January with a leg injury. Now, although Viney has been back for a couple of weeks, soph PG Jarred DuBois (12.7 ppg-third on the team, 42% from the three-point arc, 86% FTs) has been sidelined the last four games, 6-4 Seton Hall transfer Larry Davis (10.4 ppg) has missed the last three, and 6-7 British frosh F Ashley Hamilton (7.5 ppg on 56% FGs, 4.7 rpg) has also been out the last three games.
MINNESOTA... Starting jr. PG Al Nolen, a staunch perimeter performer who leads the Big Ten in steals (2.4 pg) and is third in assists (4.6 pg), has missed the last three games after being declared academically ineligible. Nolen has filed an appeal with the NCAA.
MISSISSIPPI... Springy 6-8 frosh F Reginald Buckner (5 ppg on 60% FGs, 5 rpg, 2.2 bpg), one of the Rebels' top reserves, did not play in Sunday's 80-73 home loss to Arkansas due to a sprained ankle.
NORTH CAROLINA WILMINGTON... Fourth-year head coach Benny Moss was fired last Friday (the school used the term "reassigned"), with assistant Brooks Lee serving as interim mentor for the rest of the season. The Seahawks are 1-7 straight up and vs. the spread over their last eight games. Some supporters are urging the school to consider re-hiring Jerry Wainwright, who put the program on the map a decade ago and is looking for a new assignment after recently being let go at DePaul.
NORTHERN IOWA... Starting soph G Johnny Moran (5.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.4 spg) has missed two of the last three games because of a sprained foot.
OKLAHOMA... Two of the Sooners' top scorers have each been hampered by a sprained ankle recently. Soph G Willie Warren (team-high 16.8 ppg, 4.3 apg, 3.5 rpg), a highly-regarded NBA prospect, did not play in 75-65 loss at Texas Tech on Jan. 23 or in 89-84 home win over Iowa State on Jan. 27, and 6-6 sr. swingman Tony Crocker (11.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg) also sat out the victory over the Cyclones. Both players returned to action last Saturday, although Warren scored just 4 points in 28 minutes and Crocker contributed only 5 (hitting just 2 of 11 FG attempts) in 25 minutes during OU's ugly 63-46 setback at Nebraska.
OKLAHOMA STATE... Starting frosh PG Ray Penn (7.9 ppg & 3.1 apg) was questionable for Monday night's home date with Texas after missing the previous three games with a knee injury.
PITTSBURGH... Versatile sr. G Jermaine Dixon (9.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.3 apg), perhaps the Panthers' top perimeter defender, sat out Sunday's 70-61 setback at South Florida due to a sore foot. Prolific Bull G Dominique Jones torched Pitt for 37 points in that game.
PORTLAND... The Pilots have won five of their last six (5-0-1 vs. the spread) despite the recent absence of sr. G Nik Raivio (team-high 14.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg), who's been sidelined for four straight games because of an Achilles' injury.
ST. BONAVENTURE... Star 6-9 soph F Andrew Nicholson, the Bonnies' leading scorer (16.7 ppg on 61% FGs), rebounder (7.8 pg), and shotblocker (2.2 pg), sat out Saturday's 75-58 home loss to Dayton due to a severe case of food poisoning.
SOUTH FLORIDA... Tampa sources report that the Bulls are expecting to soon regain the services of 6-10 soph C Augustus Gilchrist, one of the nation's top big men. Gilchrist (18.8 ppg & 7.4 rpg), who's been out since early December with a foot injury, should be available for at least limited action this Wednesday at Georgetown and/or at Notre Dame on Sunday. With sizzling jr. G Dominique Jones scorching the nets for 30 ppg over the last eight, USF could emerge a solid darkhorse in the rugged Big East if Gilchrist is able to return to his previous form.
STANFORD... Starting 6-9 soph F Andrew Zimmerman (5.9 ppg & 3.6 rpg) and reserve G Gabriel Harris (9 mpg) have each missed the last four games and are both out indefinitely with foot injuries.
TOLEDO... Suspended starting 6-8 jr. F Mouhamed Lo (6.5 ppg & 4.9 rpg) did not play in the last two games and was expected to remain sidelined at Bowling Green Monday night. Remember, frosh G Stephen Albrecht (11.2 ppg, 41% from three-point arc) quit the team just after Christmas. The deeply troubled Rockets had dropped 11 straight games (3-8 vs. the spread) prior to visiting the Falcons.
TOWSON... Starting 6-6 jr. PG Brian Morris (4.2 apg) has missed nearly all of the last five games, although he is expected to be available at Drexel on Tuesday.
UAB... Jr. PG Aaron Johnson (9.3 ppg & 4.3 apg) suffered a broken nose in a collision late in regulation during the Blazers' eventual double-overtime 74-65 home loss to UTEP on Saturday. He is expected to be available for Wednesday's showdown at Memphis, and Johnson's status is critical, as head coach Mike Davis says, "We have to have him. He's the key to our basketball team. He's the only guy that knows the offense in that spot and can run it the way we need to run it."
UNLV...Starting 6-6 jr. G Derrick Jasper (6.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.9 apg), a Kentucky transfer, will miss about a month after hurting his knee during the Rebels' 60-50 home win over Air Force on January 26.
UTAH... 6-2 frosh G Marshall Henderson, the Utes' second-leading scorer (11.5 ppg), will serve a one-game suspension when Colorado State visits Salt Lake City this week.
WESTERN KENTUCKY... Sun Belt scouts report that all-conference 6-5 jr. G Sergio Kerusch (13.4 ppg & 6.9 rpg), who's been out with a foot injury since the first month of the season, is close to returning to at least limited action, possibly as soon as this Thursday's trip to Louisiana-Monroe.
WYOMING...The Cowboys will go the rest of the season without leading scorer 6-7 swingman Afam Muojeke (16.8 ppg), who suffered a major knee injury early in 81-66 loss at BYU on January 20. And 6-10 soph C Adam Waddell, Wyo's second-leading scorer (10.8 ppg) and best rebounder (6.4 pg), missed last Saturday's 70-63 loss at Air Force due to a sprained ankle.
