The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Vandy to deal with coach
AD Williams says school will handle incident internally.
Vanderbilt Athletic Director David Williams said basketball coach Kevin Stallings’ outburst after the Commodores’ win at Tennessee on Thursday was “unfortunate” and he will handle the issue internally.
Williams issued a statement Friday afternoon saying Vanderbilt considers the incident a personnel issue.
Stallings apologized for his “inappropriate comment” caught by television cameras as he yelled at guard Wade Baldwin IV following a 73-65 victory. Baldwin clapped in the face of Tennessee’s Armani Moore (Mount Paran Christian) after the game. During postgame handshakes, replays showed Stallings appeared to shout obscenities and say that he could “kill” Baldwin.
Williams said he and Stallings agree the coach’s offensive and inflammatory language toward a student-athlete was “inappropriate.” They also agreed that the coach must “exemplify” the conduct he expects from his players.
SEC showdown: Eighteenth-ranked Arkansas will put its seven-game winning streak on the line today against a Kentucky team that has won 28 games in a row to open the season.
Kentucky has won its past four games by an average of 26 points, but has lost three in a row to the Razorbacks.
Arkansas takes a 235 record into the game. Twelve conference wins so far is the Razorbacks’ most since 1995, when they finished as the national runner-up. The seven-game conference winning streak is its longest since 1994, when Arkansas won the national title.
Gator returns: Florida coach Billy Donovan will have his best player on the floor for his third attempt at win No. 500.
Donovan, however, could be without leading scorer Michael Frazier II and fellow guard Eli Carter against Tennessee today.
Donovan reinstated Dorian Finney-Smith on Friday after the junior forward missed three games for an unspecified violation of team rules. “He served his penalty,” Donovan said. “He did all the things we asked him to do and expected him to do.”
Etc.: Mississippi State announced late Thursday a contract extension for football coach Dan Mullen that will pay him more than $4 million per season for the next four years. The deal, which runs through 2018, is the longest allowed by state law. Mullen led the Bulldogs to a 10-3 record last season, including a fiveweek stay at No. 1 in the national rankings. ... LSU was penalized by the SEC because its football coaches communicated too frequently with a recruit who signed a financial aid agreement but later decided to play elsewhere.