Big East Notes : Thompson Passes On Prop. 48 Players

If you think John Thompson is denouncing Proposition 42 to save his program at Georgetown, forget it. The Hoyas have never had a Prop 48 player, which makes Thompson’s actions all the more powerful.

The Big East voted against Proposition 42 nine to one. (Each member school gets one vote and Big East Commissioner Dave Gavitt also casts one vote.)

Only Villanova favored disallowing scholarships to freshmen who fail to qualify under Proposition 42 standards. Like Georgetown, Boston College and Villanova never have signed a Prop 48 recruit.

“We reviewed the issue thoroughly and we felt (Prop 42) put some teeth into the legislation regulating athletic scholarships,” Villanova Athletic Director Ted Aceto said. “We respect John Thompson, but contrary to what John has been saying, racism had nothing to do with our position.”

Of the 12 Prop 48 basketball players in the Big East since the rule was instituted three seasons ago, 11 are black. The lone white Prop 48 player is Connecticut sophomore Marc Suhr, of Cologne, West Germany. UConn appealed Suhr’s case to the NCAA, saying that he should have been able to take an untimed SAT test because of the language barrier. The appeal was denied.

No one is certain how long Thompson’s boycott will continue, but his absence is felt. “We miss him on the bench, him yelling at us,” guard Dwayne Bryant said. “It means a lot to us to hear his voice.”

Three Bronx cheers for balanced scheduling. Seton Hall and Providence -- the top two teams in the conference right now -- don’t meet at all until Feb. 25 and then must play again March 1.

Pitt junior Rod Brookin credits his mother Ethel, of Steelton, Pa., for his return to his glorious freshman form of spinning drives and sweet jumpers. “She’s my biggest fan and my toughest critic,” said Brookin, after scoring a career-high 24 points with eight rebounds and four steals Sunday in the Panthers’ upset of then-No. 3 Oklahoma.

Brookin called his mother often during his early-season struggles. “She’d say, ‘Rod, what’s wrong with you? You don’t do those things on the playground when you’re home.’ Sometimes she even hung up on me. But I don’t think she’ll hang up (now). She might even send me some money after this game,” Brookin said.

Coach Paul Evans said he regrets humiliating Brookin about taking too many trips to Burger King when Brookin reported to fall practice at 270 pounds. “It’s not like he wants to be fat,” Evans said. “It’s an hereditary problem.”

Now down to 235, Brookin feels terrific. “Before, it’d get so bad on the court my eyes would roll back in my head.” On days off, Brookin alone must report to the gym to run sprints.

Jim Boeheim seems baffled by his team’s 1-4 Big East virus. Here’s a remedy: Go out and find some not-so-talented players such as Final Four participants Howard Triche and Greg Monroe to complement his selfish wonders-that-be. In its loss to Connecticut Monday, Syracuse had but five assists -- all from Sherman Douglas -- who probably shouldn’t have played at all because of his sore lower back. Even a healthy point guard shouldn’t be the only distributor on a team.

The present Orange attitude reads: Why give the ball up when you can keep it for yourself? So pass it on.

Douglas needs just 24 assists in Syracuse’s remaining 11 Big East games to break Mark Jackson’s career record of 342 in league play.

But he’ll have to stay healthy to eclipse the all-time NCAA record of 894 career assists set by Northeastern’s Andre Lafleur in 1987. With at least 15 games left in the season, Douglas needs to average 7.4 a game to do it. Overall, he’s averaging 8.3 assists, but in league play, he’s down to 5.8 feeds a game after recording no assists against St. John’s and five against UConn.

The league’s “Freshman of the Week” honor has been renamed “Rookie of the Week” to accommodate torrid performances from Prop 48 sophomores such as Brian Shorter’s 37 points against Oklahoma. Junior college transfers need not apply.

Villanova reserve forward Barry Bekkedam, a 6-10 junior forward, is out for the season with a torn ligament in his right knee suffered while swimming in an Orlando, Fla., hotel pool the day before the team went to Disney World. The fragile Bekkedam has a career average of three points.

Syracuse’s team foul shooting has dropped from 75 percent in 1983-84 to 58 percent this season. At this rate of decline, the Orangemen will miss every free throw in the year 2009.