WVU in Pro Basketball
November 13, 2008 03:07 PM | General
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Joe Alexander is beginning to work his way into the rotation with the Milwaukee Bucks. The former No. 1 draft pick was slowed during the preseason with an injury and is beginning to see more action. During last night’s 82-78 win over San Antonio Alexander played 12 minutes, scoring four points and grabbing two rebounds.
In six appearances Alexander is averaging 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game, shooting 43.8 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from the free throw line.
Alexander is the only former Mountaineer playing in the NBA but several are playing professionally overseas. Here is the list I have been able to come up with:
Fans can sign up for the yearly subscription package to MountaineerTV to get all six men’s games in addition to a 15-game schedule of women’s basketball action, as well as Mountaineer Jammin’, the Bob Huggins Statewide Sportsline and MSN’s men’s and women’s radio coverage.
Both WVU women’s games on Friday against North Carolina Central and on Sunday against Iona will air online on MountaineerTV.
Cobourne ran for 950 yards and had 616 yards receiving during an injury shortened regular season. At one point Cobourne was on pace to become the first 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver in CFL history.
Cobourne is West Virginia’s all-time rushing leader with 5,164 yards. He is the only back in school history to rush for more than 1,000 yards all four years at WVU.
Patrick was among the second wave of African-American athletes arriving at West Virginia University following the successful integration of Dick Leftridge and Roger Alford in 1962. Patrick and Carl Crennel were the first two African-Americans recruited by Jim Carlen and Bobby Bowden.
“Interracial marriage was allowed in 1967 but I had a coach come up to me and tell me, ‘Don’t you know it’s illegal to cohabitate with a white woman?’ I said, ‘What?’ I was the most political guy in my class. I belonged to the Black Student Union. I was vice-president of the fraternity we brought on campus, Kappa Alpha Si. Anytime anything dealt with politics they wanted me to go.”
Patrick said there were limited social opportunities for blacks in Morgantown in the late 1960s and Jim Carlen soon became aware of this when he tried to recruit other black athletes to WVU. Consequently, Carlen went to some of the African-American players on the team and asked them how their circumstances could be improved.
“I said, ‘Coach look at the position you put us in. We’ve got 20-some black players here and there are four black girls in the school. What are we to do?’ After that that’s when (WVU) said they were going to recruit more black girls. The next year they brought in like eight more black girls.”
Patrick recalls having meetings with President (James) Harlow regarding student issues at president’s residence.
“I couldn’t meet with him in his office so he told me to come and meet him at his house,” Patrick said. “I think he gave us everything that we asked for.”
Patrick, being a West Virginia resident, usually took it upon himself to help the other blacks on the team unfamiliar with the culture in the south in the late 1960s.
“I was further south than they were. I knew what to expect,” he said. “Coach Carlen would say when we go to certain places the crowd is going to call you the N-word – we recognize it as the N-word nowadays. I said, hey I have no problem if they call me that. They can catch me on the next play because I’m going to out-run them.”
Patrick has always had a positive outlook on things and held firm to the belief even as far back as 1965 that the United States would one day elect a black president.
“When we consolidated schools my senior year I knew I was going to see it,” he said. “People won’t believe me but I knew.”
She will be doing sideline reporting for all four WPIAL championship football games at Heinz Field on Nov. 22.
Of course Jerry West is at the top of the list with 1,509 points during his first two seasons. Pairing that list down to just freshmen and sophomores, Butler ranks third behind Warren Baker and Drew Schifino.
“Five coaches are on the road and four are at home. Seven coaches are going out Friday evening,” Stewart said Tuesday. “If you don’t go out people ask where you are but if you do go out, people ask why you’re not at home tending the hen house so you’re caught in the middle. So, when we recruit we have five coaches out and four coaches stay but with me – it’s five and five. I’m very excited about what is going on in recruiting right now.”
Of course I’m still committed to doing these things, unless I change my mind.
Have a great weekend!
