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Tuesday, November 28, 2000
East: Kicking up their Heels
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
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North Carolina coach Matt Doherty is waiting to hear if the football team will be in a bowl game so he knows how long he's got point guard Ron Curry and forward Julius Peppers.
|  | | North Carolina's Julius Peppers drives against Stanford's Mark Madsen in NCAA tourney. |
Doherty said last week, before football coach Carl Torbush was fired, that the football team had been gracious in allowing Curry and Peppers access to the basketball team. But Doherty can't plan on how to use Curry or Peppers without having coached them last season.
Peppers played a critical role in the Tar Heels' run to the Final Four with his play off the bench in February and March. But this coaching staff doesn't know his strengths and weaknesses.
The Tar Heels could use Curry at the point with a rotation of deep reserve Jonathan Holmes and freshmen Adam Boone and Brian Morrison. But it might be tougher for Curry to pick up exactly what Doherty wants, considering he's playing one of the most important positions on the floor and hasn't practiced with the team.
Curry and Peppers can practice with the Heels but Doherty said they'll resume practicing with the football team when and if a bowl bid is determined and the football team resumes play.
Temple coach John Chaney bristled at playing Memphis at midnight last season, but didn't balk at going into the Pyramid for the Tigers' opener last Friday.
The Owls don't have an easy game on the non-conference schedule this season. Next year might be even worse. The Owls play host to Villanova, Penn, Penn State, DePaul, Cincinnati and Memphis. The road games are at Duke, N.C. State and possibly Alabama with two more potential additions at Wisconsin and at Illinois.
Seton Hall guard Desmond Herod, a UNLV transfer, is out two to six weeks with a stress fracture in his foot. Herod wasn't going to replace Ty Shine or Darius Lane but he gave the Pirates another body to play pressure on the perimeter. The Hall has struggled with its first two opponents - Rider for a half and Clemson for the whole game. But depth could become an issue when the Pirates play at Illinois in two weeks.
Meanwhile, the New Kids in the Hall have the student body jazzed with the ticket allotment doubling on campus. One player who won't stick around to see the program boom is sophomore forward Al Harris. But Harris hasn't decided on where he'll land yet after announcing his intentions to transfer.
The Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic couldn't get a TV deal for Wednesday's N.C. State-Fresno State game. But ESPN will likely be interested in next year's possible matchup of Connecticut and Cincinnati.
The Huskies would be a natural draw in Springfield, Mass., and have only played in the game once -- in 1992 ( to Purdue 73-69). The game lost its exempt status two years ago but that wouldn't matter to the Huskies. They can afford to play a neutral site game close to campus in Storrs, Conn.
Cincinnati is playing a neutral site, non-exempted game Saturday against Notre Dame at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis in the John Wooden Tradition event.
Connecticut is still a leading candidate to get into the Coaches vs. Cancer field next season with Arizona, Maryland and Florida -- if the event can get an exemption for the Huskies, who played in Maui this year. If the Huskies can't get in the event, Georgetown is the second choice.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Word on college basketball is updated Thursdays/Fridays throughout the year.
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