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NCAA Basketball News and Notes: Iona Hires Pitino

It has been an exhausting few days that has seen a whirlwind of changes to sports around the nation. As most professional leagues have been suspended, the NCAA took an even bigger hit. The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments have been canceled.

The NCAA World Series of baseball and softball have been canceled, and frankly, all college sports have shut down for the remainder of the season.

Despite the sadness from players and fans alike that there was no NCAA March Madness this year, there has still been plenty of other news that has come out from around the country. Let’s take a look at some of the NCAA Men’s Basketball news from this week:

Pitino Back In College Basketball

After Tim Cluess resigned from the head coaching position at Iona due to health reasons, the college was immediately in search of a replacement. They have found one. Iona will welcome in one of the most successful, albeit controversial, coaches of all time in Rick Pitino.

Pitino has coached at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky and Louisville as well as a couple of stints in the NBA. During his time, he has a 770-221 record in college and has won two National Championships. Well, he has won one, technically.

While a wealth of experience and success come with Pitino, so does a vast amount of controversy. Pitino was fired from Louisville in 2017 after allegations came forward that his team had used strippers to help lure prospective recruits.

Furthermore, there have been accusations that his program had arranged a deal to pay a five-star recruit. These things led to not only his dismissal but the vacating of their 2013 National Championship.

Still, for Iona, this is a good catch. Playing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Iona has been in the last four NCAA tournaments and 14 in total. By bringing in Pitino, they immediately get name recognition in addition to his knowledge and abilities as a coach.

As long as he can stay on the right path, Iona got a great catch, but with his recent track record, it is still a bit of a gamble for the school.

Nebraska Nets Impressive Graduate Transfer

The season may be over, but the Nebraska Cornhuskers received some good news already as they prepare for next season. Western Illinois star Kobe Webster has decided to transfer to play for coach Fred Hoiberg and the Cornhuskers.

Webster, a graduate transfer, had an impressive season this year. In 26 games, Webster averaged 17.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He also shot 41.7% from the field, 33.3% from three and 78.1% from the free throw line.

As the leading scorer for the Leathernecks the last two years, Webster will now come to Nebraska with the hopes of continuing his success.

Interestingly, Webster has yet to step foot on campus, but after meeting with Hoiberg in Indianapolis last week, he was sold on the program and the coaching staff.

Syracuse To Lose One Of Its Guards

Webster isn’t the only one who has announced a transfer, though. This week freshman guard Brycen Goodine made the announcement that he will be transferring from Syracuse for next season.

For Goodine, there were high hopes, but he could never quite get his bearing with the Orange. At one point this season, he broke his nose causing him to miss a few games and just couldn’t get on track aside from that.

On the season, Goodine averaged 1.9 points and one rebound over 23 games played. His best game came early in the season against Bucknell when he had six points, two rebounds, three steals and a block. While he may not be a difference-maker in college basketball, he will look to build on his college career elsewhere.

Could Athletes Gain Another Year of Eligibility?

For many seniors, it was an absolutely heartbreaking end to their careers as the season, and both conference and national tournaments were ended. But could there be relief in sight?

There have already been discussions regarding granting extended eligibility for student-athletes. The talks have primarily been based around individuals who play in spring sports, but there is also a belief that it could extend to winter sports as well.

According to Yahoo Sports, the NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee has discussed the pros and cons of giving an extra year of eligibility to these students.

There are certainly some barriers to this process including issues with scholarship money (given that some money that would have gone to seniors has already been given to incoming freshmen), but the willingness for the NCAA to at least consider the possibility is certainly encouraging amid the chaos that has gone on over the last week.

Is Florida State The National Champion?

With no NCAA Tournament being played, it is impossible to declare a national champion for the 2019-20 season. Unfortunately, nobody told this to the Florida Senate. This week they decided to take it into their own hands to declare the champion, and the winner is Florida State.

This is just a generous acknowledgment of a fantastic season that has no bearing, but it still signifies the frustration for schools around the country that no tournament was played.

For Florida State, they had a wonderful season that ended with a regular-season ACC title. They finished the season going 26-5 overall and finished first in the conference going 16-4.

Like many around the nation, they liked their chances going into the tournament but, like the others, will never know what could have been.

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