College Basketball Notebook: Hoyas' Green expects to return
Wednesday, April 18, 2007

From wire dispatches

Big East player of the year Jeff Green said yesterday there is a "70-30" chance he will return to Georgetown for his senior season.

Green and fellow junior Roy Hibbert submitted their names as early-entry candidates for the NBA draft last week. Neither has hired an agent, so both could return to fulfill their oft-stated goal of playing four years with the Hoyas.

"Right now, 70-30 -- 70 coming back," Green said. "It depends on whether I'm ready. I still have a lot of things I need to work on to play at that level."

Both players are potential lottery picks, and both said they want to get a gauge of what their NBA value is now and what it might be if they stay in school another year.

"Do I want to go eight-through-14, or do I want to go top three next year?" Hibbert said. "That does play a factor in my decision."

Hibbert put his odds of returning at 50-50, even though he said Green is the more NBA-ready player.


Big Ten


The conference schedule is about to get a little tougher for everyone. Conference officials have approved increasing the number of league games from 16 to 18 for next season, although details of how it will be implemented have not yet been released. Conference spokeswoman Robin Jentes said the measure was approved at a meeting last week and will affect both men and women. Two non-conference games likely will have to be dropped by each team.

In other conference scheduling news, the Big Ten/ACC Challenge was firmed up, with conference champions Ohio State and North Carolina penciled in to meet Nov. 28 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, in the feature game. Among the other matchups will be Penn State vs. Virginia Tech at the Bryce Jordan Center the same night.


Southern California


Junior Nick Young, a 6-6 swingman, will pass up his senior season to enter the NBA draft. Young, the sixth-leading scorer in USC history and two-time All-Pac-10 first team member, said he spoke with several people, including coach Tim Floyd and his assistants; his high school coach, his parents, his brother and his Trojans teammates. Young averaged 17.5 points and 4.6 rebounds this season and led the Trojans into the NCAA tournament for the first time in five years.


Illinois


Less than two months after she sought a contract extension, women's coach Theresa Grentz resigned. Grentz is the 10th winningest women's college basketball coach in Division I history. She said at an afternoon press conference that the decision to step aside was her own, but couldn't explain what had changed in the past two months. "It hits you," said Grentz, who held back tears until the end of the news conference. "I can't explain it to you. I've always been a 'feel' player and a 'feel' coach."


LSU


Pokey Chatman was given two hours to resign or be fired, says her attorney, arguing the former women's coach is entitled to damages and compensation for the final two years of her contract. In an April 13 letter to LSU general counsel Raymond Lamonica, attorney Mary Olive Pierson wrote that Chatman will sue the university if an amicable resolution cannot be reached. Pierson valued the remainder of the contract at $850,000 to $900,000 but did not specify damages.


Elsewhere


Former Louisville center Ellis Myles will remain with the Cardinals as an assistant strength coach. ... Oral Roberts coach Scott Sutton (144-102 in eight seasons) agreed to a seven-year contract extension, a move that comes less than a week after he withdrew from consideration for the Wichita State job. ... Indiana forward D.J. White will return for his senior year after leading the Hoosiers in scoring (13.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.3) last season while earning second-team All-Big Ten honors. ... In something of a surprise, Saint Louis fired coach Brad Soderberg despite the fact he posted the school's first 20-win season since 1998 this year. Soderberg had been at the school for five seasons.... The Air Force Academy promoted assistant Jeff Reynolds to succeed Jeff Bzdelik, who left for Colorado two weeks ago.