Post by elonfirefighter on Sept 21, 2007 12:18:16 GMT -5
The season is approximately a month away and the men’s basketball team has already hit a few bumps in the road.
The Phoenix backcourt has been hampered by injuries and other situations in the offseason.
Junior Monty Sanders and sophomore Devan Carter were both involved in legal actions in the last few months. Sanders during the spring and Carter the weekend before the start of classes.
Head coach Ernie Nestor declined comment on the specifics of both incidents because Carter’s situation is still going through the legal process.
“He’s gone through the judicial process like all students have to,” Nestor said. “Those issues have been dealt with but they will become more obvious as we go down the road.
“When something happens like this it happens on a lot of different fronts. It happens on, obviously, a team front and a legal front and the university front.
“And also there’s the family front, which is probably more important or as important as any of the ot hers. One thing they don’t do is happen quickly.”
Sanders is a transfer from the University of Richmond and sat out the entire season last year due to NCAA transfer rules. Carter, on the other hand, saw action in 30 games last year, averaging 19.7 minutes per game and is the second-leading returning three-point shooter on the team.
But Nestor was still unsure about whether the team would reprimand the two players.
“It’s not a question of whether they will play or not play but a question of portion,” Nestor said. “They are ongoing situations so I can’t speculate to what they’ll be.”
Nestor did say that they would most likely not be suspended indefinitely, like former Phoenix football player Andreas Platt, when he was arrested for possession of stolen goods.
Brian Waters and Brett James are currently injured but should be ready by the time the season starts.
Waters injured his hand early in the summer playing basketball and then suffered a broken hand during a pick-up basketball game.
“They said [Waters] got hit on it,” Nestor said. “I don’t think it healed from the previous injury.”
With so many players questionable for the immediate start of the season, there is plenty of room for the players who would usually sit on the bench to find playing time.
“Every time a kid is not with the team it creates an opportunity for another kid,” Nestor said. “That’s why you have more than five guys on a basketball team.”
Senior point guard Montell Watson returns from a foot injury that held him out from nearly the entire 2006-2007 season.
The Phoenix backcourt has been hampered by injuries and other situations in the offseason.
Junior Monty Sanders and sophomore Devan Carter were both involved in legal actions in the last few months. Sanders during the spring and Carter the weekend before the start of classes.
Head coach Ernie Nestor declined comment on the specifics of both incidents because Carter’s situation is still going through the legal process.
“He’s gone through the judicial process like all students have to,” Nestor said. “Those issues have been dealt with but they will become more obvious as we go down the road.
“When something happens like this it happens on a lot of different fronts. It happens on, obviously, a team front and a legal front and the university front.
“And also there’s the family front, which is probably more important or as important as any of the ot hers. One thing they don’t do is happen quickly.”
Sanders is a transfer from the University of Richmond and sat out the entire season last year due to NCAA transfer rules. Carter, on the other hand, saw action in 30 games last year, averaging 19.7 minutes per game and is the second-leading returning three-point shooter on the team.
But Nestor was still unsure about whether the team would reprimand the two players.
“It’s not a question of whether they will play or not play but a question of portion,” Nestor said. “They are ongoing situations so I can’t speculate to what they’ll be.”
Nestor did say that they would most likely not be suspended indefinitely, like former Phoenix football player Andreas Platt, when he was arrested for possession of stolen goods.
Brian Waters and Brett James are currently injured but should be ready by the time the season starts.
Waters injured his hand early in the summer playing basketball and then suffered a broken hand during a pick-up basketball game.
“They said [Waters] got hit on it,” Nestor said. “I don’t think it healed from the previous injury.”
With so many players questionable for the immediate start of the season, there is plenty of room for the players who would usually sit on the bench to find playing time.
“Every time a kid is not with the team it creates an opportunity for another kid,” Nestor said. “That’s why you have more than five guys on a basketball team.”
Senior point guard Montell Watson returns from a foot injury that held him out from nearly the entire 2006-2007 season.