Lonergan out as George Washington coach
George Washington has fired men’s basketball coach Mike Lonergan.
In a statement, university provost Forrest Maltzman said Lonergan was no longer coach after an internal investigation.
“The university has created and is committed to maintaining a community where all students, faculty and staff feel welcome and comfortable,” Maltzman said. “We value inclusion and diversity and will not tolerate conduct that runs counter to those principles.”
George Washington conducted an investigation into players’ allegations about Lonergan’s behavior and conduct. Maltzman said it concluded that Lonergan “engaged in conduct inconsistent with the university’s values.”
Lonergan coached GW for the past five seasons and led it to the National Invitation Tournament championship last season. His 74 victories were the most in a three-year stretch in the 102-year history of the program.
COLLEGES
The Memphis men’s and women’s cross country squads won the 26th annual Rhodes College Invitational on Saturday morning at Shelby Farms Park. The Tigers men won the 8K race with 44 points. The U of M women defended their 5K championship with 26 points. Tiger senior Martina Rodriguez Sala won the women’s individual title for the second year in a row, this time in 17:34.51. For the men’s team, junior college transfer Julian SanchezPinto led the way, placing second in 25:32.18 . ... Christian Brothers University’s volleyball team hit a season-high .395 and matched a season-high with 12 aces as the Lady Bucs (6-2, 2-1 Gulf South) swept Mississippi College on Saturday afternoon at Canale Arena.
BASEBALL
Carlos Carrasco, the Cleveland Indians’ No. 2 starting pitcher, broke his right hand when hit by a line drive off the bat of Detroit’s Ian Kinsler on the second pitch of Saturday’s game. Cleveland said Carrasco sustained a non-displaced fracture of his pitching hand. The Indians did not provide a timetable for his recovery . ... New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom was scratched from his scheduled start today and is unlikely to pitch again this season because of an injury to the ulnar nerve in his right elbow. DeGrom has been out since Sept. 1 after experiencing elbow pain in a start against Miami. He felt fine while throwing a bullpen Friday, then felt a twinge while tossing a baseball in from the outfield during batting practice about 15 minutes later.
HOCKEY
Marian Gaborik, Leon Draisaitl and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored, Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves and Team Europe upset the United States 3-0 on Saturday in a stunning opening game at the World Cup of Hockey in Toronto. The U.S. outshot Europe 35-17 and went 0 for 4 on the power play. The Americans face favored Canada on Tuesday night.
There have been mixed results with big men returning from the injury over the past 15 seasons. Joel Embiid, a former Kansas Jayhawk, has yet to play in the NBA after suffering a midfoot fracture. Former Rockets center Yao Ming had a midfoot fracture during the 2008-09 season at age 29, and the injury essentially ended his career. Former NBA big men Brendan Haywood, Michael Olowokandi and Eric Montross never recovered.
Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is one of the success stories. The Griz believe they have every reason to believe that Gasol will be a positive exception, too.
2. What is the status of Jarell Martin and 2016 draft pick Deyonta Davis?
Martin underwent foot surgery after being drafted in 2015 and suffered a bone bruise and then required another surgery that cut short his season. Griz officials said Martin returned to full basketball activity the past two weeks. Davis is doing strength and conditioning, and rehabbing after the team reported that plantar fasciitis in his left foot forced him to miss summer league play.
3. Could mounting injuries have cost athletic trainer Drew Graham his job?
The person hurting most this offseason might be Graham. He was fired, general manager Chris Wallace confirmed.
“We’re in the process of putting together a complete medical team,” Wallace said. “We’re revamping our approach to player care. He’s no longer our trainer. We wish him well.”
The Griz will not change team doctors.
Graham is believed to have two years remaining on his contract. The divorce is a bit curious given Graham’s history with the franchise and his accolades. Graham was named the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association’s Joe O’Toole Athletic Trainer of the Year after last season. The honor came after a season in which the Griz endured an unfathomable string of injuries and used an NBArecord 28 players while earning a sixth straight playoff berth.
The award recipient is recognized for exemplary achievement or outstanding service to the NBA, NBATA and his community. It is named after Joe O’Toole, a longtime former head athletic trainer of the Atlanta Hawks, long regarded as the father of the NBATA.
Graham recently concluded his 10th season as the Grizzlies’ head athletic trainer. He was also vice president of player care, a promotion he received in 2013. Graham joined the Griz in 2006 after working the previous six seasons (2000-06) as an assistant athletic trainer/strength and conditioning coach with the New Jersey Nets.
The Griz have not announced Graham’s replacement.
4. How will Mike Conley respond to a remarkable summer?
Shaquille O’Neal made the comment that “if Mike Conley gets $153 million, then (a team) would have to pay me $300 million (today)” during an interview as O’Neal entered the basketball Hall of Fame last weekend.
After recovering from a sore Achilles, Conley signed the richest five-year contract in NBA history at $153 million. Re-signing Conley was necessary to keep the Griz competitive and to preserve continuity.
Still, owner Robert Pera is embracing the risky nature of the business. Pera paid Dallas free-agent forward Chandler Parson a maximum $94 million, meaning there’s a bulk of the salary cap tied up in two players who have never made an All-Star team.
Conley has developed into a major cog of the Grizzlies’ Core Four. He’ll be forever judged by the contract — a la former Griz Rudy Gay. So after signing the deal, experiencing the birth of his first child (a son, Myles Alex Conley) and purchasing a $1.8 million home in Collierville, Conley will be called upon to do major things on the basketball court.
5. How committed are the Griz to veteran Vince Carter?
There are no indications that the Griz want to part with Carter. The franchise can still decide whether to keep the future Hall of Famer at $4.2 million for the 2016-17 season or cut him and pay just $2 million. Carter, with his shotmaking and basketball IQ , is expected to remain on the roster despite the presence of swingmen D.J. Stephens and Tony Wroten in training camp.
The countdown is on. Training camp is almost upon us.