LIKE IT IS

At least Pennell will have his guys at UCA

Not sure in all my years as a sports columnist that I’ve heard of a new coach dismissing all but one player from the team he inherited.

For sure no one will have to worry about Russ Pennell - the new head coach at the University of Central Arkansas who didn’t renew 11 scholarships and signed nine new players - ever saying, “Wait until I get my players in here.”

He’s starting his journey at his alma mater with his players. Ethan Lee of Camden is the lone survivor from last year’s squad. Former coach Corliss Williamson’s son, Chasen, was one of those released.

The well-written story by our man Jeremy Muck in Thursday’s paper touched pretty heavily on the fact UCA could be looking at some problems with the (APR) Academic Performance Rate. Every player released will still count toward,or against, UCA’s graduation record, regardless of where they continue their education.

Hopefully, all of them will stay in college and continue progressing toward their degrees. As of Thursday only two had found a new home.

Three of the nine new players are coming out of junior college and two others played for Pennell at Grand Canyon University before his contract with the college located in Phoenix was not renewed.

The state’s three largest Division I schools looked to add to their basketball programs through the junior-college route, which used to mean a school was looking for some immediate help.

UALR signed 6-5 forward Roger Woods out of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

Arkansas State added 6-9 forward Anthony Livingston from San Jacinto (Texas) Junior College.

Arkansas is expected to sign 6-1 point guard Jabril Durham out of Seminole State (Okla.) Junior College today.

Junior-college players can provide some help immediately, but most of the time it takes a year for them to learn the defense and then they have only one year left.

Junior-college players are not as popular at the highest level of college basketball, having been replaced a few years ago by prep schools. But more stringent college entrance requirements for high school seniors are scheduled to go into effect in August2016 (2.3 GPA for 16 core classes), and the pendulum could swing back toward junior colleges.

Kevin Kelley, the head football coach at Pulaski Academy, is being flown to New York by the folks at Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards and will be honored for his radical thinking about going for it on fourth down instead of punting.

Kelly has won three state championships with the Bruins.

The TDIA is based on the studies of Harvard Business School professor Clayton M. Christensen and led by Tribeca’s Craig Hatkoff.

The TDIA celebrates those whose ideas have broken the mold to create significant impact. This is the fifth year for the awards.

The average audience for weekend coverage of the Masters on CBS was 8.6 million viewers in 6.4 million homes, the lowest since 1993, when Bernhard Langer of Germany won by four strokes and the tournament was viewed by 7.9 million in 5.6 million homes.

Anyone who doubted how much the PGA Tour needs its superstars, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, should reread those numbers.

Both are compelling golfers, and it was the first time since 1994 that both Woods and Mickelson were missing from the weekend.

Mickelson missed the cut by one stroke and Woods was out after having back surgery.

Jadeveon Clowney seems to be the consensus first pick in the May 8-10 NFL draft, by the Houston Texans. The defensive lineman from South Carolina has awed everyone with his natural athleticism.

His work ethic was something else, but Coach Steve Spurrier never grumbled about it. No player can be great in the NFL if they take every other play off.

Missouri Coach Frank Haith has reportedly accepted an offer to replace Danny Manning as Tulsa’s men’s basketball coach and it is probably a good thing for him.

Haith isn’t good enough during games to warrant a new contract at Missouri after a year in which he didn’t make the NCAA Tournament.

One of Missouri’s best players last season, Jordan Clarkson, was a transfer from Tulsa, so maybe Tulsa would be a perfect fit for Haith because he has never seemed comfortable following in Mike Anderson’s footsteps.

Sports, Pages 17 on 04/18/2014

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