May 16 Notebook
May 16, 2006 05:25 PM | General
May 16, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The doors of the college football Hall of Fame have opened to another coach with West Virginia University ties. Today it was announced that Bobby Bowden and Penn State coach Joe Paterno join 13 players in this year’s Hall of Fame class.
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| West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez and former Mountaineer coach Bobby Bowden embrace following Florida State's victory over West Virignia in the 2005 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla..
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
Bowden has won two national titles since taking over at Florida State in 1976, but he got his major college head coaching start at West Virginia where he went 42-26 from 1970-75, directing the Mountaineers to a pair of Peach Bowl trips in 1972 and 1975.
The 76-year-old Bowden has won more games than any other coach in college football history with 359 heading into this year. Bowden also was the head coach at Samford.
“I have known Coach Bowden and his family for a long time,” said current West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez. “Not only is he a highly successful football coach, but he is one of the best individuals I know.
“He is the patriarch of the first family of college football, and it’s been a great privilege to have known him for such a long time. This is a great honor and it’s well deserved.”
“I wasn't expecting it because I thought you had to die first -- and I didn't want to volunteer for that," Bowden said during a conference call. “They might have changed the rules to get me and Joe in. But I'm very excited about it.”
Bowden was the first coach to take West Virginia to a pair of bowl games and it marks the second consecutive year a West Virginia coach has been selected.
Don Nehlen, a 200-game winner during his long coaching tenure at Bowling Green and West Virginia, was a member of the 2005 hall of fame class and will officially be enshrined during ceremonies Aug. 10-12, in South Bend, Ind.
Briefly:
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| Yelena Leuchanka |
Leuchanka, a 6-foot-5-inch center, scored 22 points in her first preseason game against the Houston Comets and is currently second on the team in scoring averaging 11.8 points per game. Leuchanka is shooting 45.5 percent from the floor and is grabbing a team best 6.3 rebounds per game.
“She’s hungry,” said Charlotte coach Muggsy Bogues. “She had a decent senior season after having some injuries her junior year. She had to get healthy her senior season and that played a big role in us not seeing her as much. She was under the radar and was a steal for us.
“I’m just happy that she was able to come in here and showcase the type of skills she has,” Bogues said. “If fits well with what we’re doing. I think she will be very complimentary to the girls that we have already.”
Friday, May 19 is the WNBA roster cut-down date with the regular season beginning this Saturday.
Guard Yolanda Paige, who spent last season with the Indiana Fever, was recently claimed off waivers by the Detroit Shock. Paige appeared in 13 games as a rookie with the Fever last year, averaging 1.2 points and 1.0 assists per game. Paige is the first WVU player to make a WNBA roster.
Connecticut could have as many as six players taken in this year’s draft, including seniors Hilton Armstrong, Denham Brown and Rashad Anderson.
ESPN.com’s Chad Ford has Gay as the top-ranked prospect from the Big East at No. 6. Ford also has Villanova guard Randy Foye and Connecticut’s Williams in his top 10.
Ford lists West Virginia’s Mike Gansey as the 57th-best player in the draft and Kevin Pittsnogle at No. 67. The NBA draft lasts two rounds and 60 selections.
The web site NBADraft.net has Gansey going to Portland with the 31st overall pick to start the second round and Pittsnogle going two spots later to the Atlanta Hawks in its most recent mock draft.
The last West Virginia player to be selected in the NBA draft was 6-foot-11-inch center Gordon Malone, a second-round pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1997.
Calhoun’s six-player recruiting class this year features a pair of Top 30-players in Birmingham 6-foot-9-inch forward Stanley Robinson and New York City 6-7 forward Curtis Kelly. Robinson was recently named to the prestigious Parade All-America team.
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| David Carpenter |
Brent Musburger will call the prime time games with former Notre Dame coach Bob Davie offering analysis. Kirk Herbstreit will join the team on certain weeks. It’s the first college football series in prime time on broadcast television and will also be available in high definition.
Have a great week!
