PITTSBURGH — Kansas State G Angel Rodriguez said he has accepted Southern Miss' apology over remarks made by its band and moved on.
The freshman, who is from Puerto Rico and went to high school in Miami, said Friday that he heard chants of, "Where's your green card?" during Thursday's 70-64 victory. He added the Golden Eagles' athletic director and "personnel from their school" came to the team hotel to apologize.
Southern Miss president Martha Saunders issued a separate apology via a statement the school released.
Rodriguez said he accepted the apology because "there's ignorant people and I know that's not how they want to represent their university."
Rodriguez added a civics lesson, saying he doesn't pay attention to that "nonsense, especially because Puerto Rico is a commonwealth, so we don't need (any) type of papers."
Henson update: North Carolina F John Henson, who sprained his left wrist in the ACC quarterfinals, participated in the morning shootaround but did not play against Vermont in Greensboro, N.C. Coach Roy Williams said the chances of him playing Sunday are "a little better than 50-50."
The Sickles High graduate practiced this week. And during the shootaround, Henson palmed the ball with his left hand, caught passes with both hands and made strong moves off the dribble.
"I went to him, and I said, 'John, it just doesn't look like you're comfortable,' " Williams said. "And he says, 'Coach, not really, but I'm right there.' "
Hello again: Colorado was one of the first dominos to fall in conference realignment. Baylor was one of the programs that had the most to lose when the Big 12 looked as if it might disintegrate.
Given that, it's no stretch to say today's meeting between the former Big 12 foes in Albuquerque, N.M., will mean as much to the conference commissioners and athletic directors as the players.
The Buffaloes left for the Pac-12 after last season; Nebraska left for the Big Ten. Texas and Oklahoma also talked to the Pac-12. But the Longhorns and Sooners stayed. And even though Missouri and Texas A&M are going to the SEC, the Big 12 survived by adding TCU and West Virginia.
"I think like every other coach in the Big 12, you just hated it because it was such a good conference and league at the time," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "When it's experiencing so much success, why change?
"But at the same time, I was blessed and fortunate enough to know the leadership and our university were going to put us in a great situation."
Aircraft carrier game: The USS Midway Museum, an aircraft carrier on San Diego Bay, will host a game Nov. 9. San Diego State and Georgetown will be invited (they haven't confirmed they will play) in the "Battle on the Midway." A final announcement isn't expected until after the tournament. The game will be organized by a different group than the one that ran this season's "Carrier Classic," in which North Carolina met Michigan State on the USS Carl Vinson. That group said last month it won't play in San Diego because no active Navy ship is available. That game likely will be played at the USS Yorktown museum in Charleston, S.C.
Loading...