basketball
S. Missouri hires K-State’s Korn as hoops coach
MINNEAPOLIS, March 24, (AP): Minnesota center Daniel Oturu said he is declaring for the NBA draft after leading the Big Ten in rebounding and blocked shots as a sophomore.
Oturu made the announcement with a letter to fans on Instagram, saying he planned to hire an agent.
The 6-foot-10 Oturu averaged 20.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game this season. He was second in the conference in scoring and his 56.3% shooting percentage led the Big Ten.
The native of Woodbury, Minnesota, also was chosen for the Big Ten’s All-Defensive team.
Korn had spent the past five seasons with the Wildcats, the past four as an assistant coach, helping the school to three NCAA Tournament appearances and a share of the Big 12 regular-season two years ago. Most of his work has been with post players, including Dean Wade, who was a back-to-back first-team allconference selection.
Redhawks athletic director Brady Barke said Korn signed a five-year contract through the 2025 season. Korn, who also has worked at
Southern Illinois and Missouri State, takes over for Rick Ray. He was fired after going 51-104 over five seasons, including a 7-24 mark this past season.
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Andy Kennedy acknowledged the bizarre nature of an introductory news conference without any media in attendance.
It wasn’t even the strangest scene the new UAB coach has experienced because of the coronavirus.
“We’re living in unusual times; hence a press conference with no people,” Kennedy said, when he was formally introduced as the new coach of his alma mater.
UAB allowed only 10 staffers inside the Green and Gold room at Bartow Arena with a moderator and live streaming on Facebook in an attempt to minimize the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
Kennedy was introduced by athletic director Mark Ingram, then fielded a few questions from radio announcer David Crane, who also relayed several taken in advance by reporters. They sat on opposite ends of a small table with their chairs pulled back some and a 2015 Conference USA Tournament championship trophy in between.
Kennedy, who had been living in suburban Birmingham after his 12-year run as Mississippi’s coach, did jokingly note that they might not have the full six feet of separation recommended by health officials during the global pandemic.
It was a strange scene but less so than what happened last week – or than what Kennedy fears could lie ahead.
Kennedy was working
at
the
Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville for ESPN and the SEC Network when the remaining games around the country – including the NCAA Tournament and many other sporting events – were called off. Suddenly, the arenas were empty.
“It felt surreal, like is this actually happening,” said Kennedy, who replaced Robert Ehsan. “This is certainly not the introduction that we wanted. I can’t wait for this room to be filled and to see many familiar faces.”
Normally, such introductions for new coaches at UAB and elsewhere would include some fans and prominent boosters and a number of reporters and cameras. Not this time. He was joined in the room by Ingram and mostly media relations officials and the production crew.
Kennedy, whose hiring was announced on Friday, received a sixyear contract and an unconventional situation that coaches and athletic programs around the country are also confronting.
The NCAA has suspended in-person recruiting until at least April 15, and it’s not clear when games will resume.
“We are in strange times,” Kennedy said. “This next season as we all try to figure out what the next day holds, will be the most unusual in the history of intercollegiate athletics.”