Big East Tries to Keep Lid on 6-Foul Rule

Don’t even think about it. That’s what Art Hyland, the Big East’s supervisor of officials, told the league’s referees about the newfangled Six-Foul Rule. Just forget it exists. Go ahead with business as usual.

“There has been no preparation for this, except to tell them that ejection occurs after six fouls,” said Hyland. “We’ve done that purposely. We don’t want the officials to officiate any differently.”

After just two league games in December, it’s hard to say whether the officials have been whistle-happy. One player fouled out (Connecticut’s Scott Burrell) and four other players reached five fouls without having to leave the game: UConn’s Nadav Henefeld and Dan Cyrulik; Villanova’s Rodney Taylor, and Providence’s Abdul Shamsid-Deen. So, under last season’s rules, five players would have fouled out in two games.

“I’m personally in favor of some kind of relief from the present rule, whether it’s a sixth foul or some other penalty,” said Hyland, who suggested extra free throws after the fifth foul as an example. “We’re dealing with the only sport where a player is forced out because of fouls. I think that’s difficult to rationalize.”

In December, the Big East athletic directors voted to sponsor legislation at next week’s NCAA convention in Dallas that would rescind or delay the implementation of controversial Proposal 42 until the Proposition 48 five-year study is complete.

This is the fourth season under Prop 48. Proposal 42, which denies athletes who do not meet both academic requirements -- a 2.0 grade point average in high school core curriculum and a 700 SAT or 15 ACT score -- from receiving any institutional financial aid, is to be invoked next fall.

Asked if Georgetown officials, the most outspoken opponents of Proposal 42, have been lobbying for his vote, St. John’s Athletic Director Jack Kaiser said, “We’ve received a fair amount of written material from Georgetown.”

Kaiser would not state St. John’s position, explaining that it currently is being reviewed by the new president, the Rev. Donald J. Harrington.

Lyman DePriest’s mother called UConn Coach Jim Calhoun to see if her son could skip the Dec. 23 contest against Southern Connecticut and fly home a day early. The coach granted this Christmas wish, then said after the 100-37 victory, “I’m going to call (Lyman) right now and tell him if he’d have been here, it might’ve been a closer game.”

With 2:53 left in Syracuse’s 129-72 rout of Division II C.W. Post, Coach Jim Boeheim reinserted Derrick Coleman when told that the player needed just one assist for his first-ever triple-double.

“I don’t know if that’s important,” said Boeheim, “but he deserved it. He’s so unselfish. Probably one of the most unselfish people in the country. He probably takes the least amount of shots of any of the great players in the country.”

Coleman needed just 52 seconds to find Tony Scott, who nailed a three-pointer to give Coleman 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

“We left one guy in who could shoot and he got it to him,” said Boeheim, not exactly complimenting Erik Rogers, Conrad McRae or walk-on point guard Dave Bartelstein.

As for Coleman being unselfish, the numbers agree. He has taken just 83 shots -- 48 fewer than Billy Owens, 46 fewer than Stephen Thompson, and nine fewer than David Johnson. Owens has yet to get a triple-double despite averaging 18.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.3 assists.

St. John’s players keep talking about how well they get along this season. “The chemistry is great this year,” said Jayson Williams. “Last year nobody spoke up because (captain) Matt (Brust) was here. This year, we have more balance. Everybody speaks his mind.”

Official John Clougherty was supposed to work the Seton Hall-Rutgers game. Big deal? Clougherty was the official who made the call on Pirate Gerald Greene that sent Michigan’s Rumeal Robinson to the line for the game-winning free throws in the NCAA title game last March.

It would have been Clougherty’s first Seton Hall game since, but he called in sick, having suffered broken ribs while stopping a fight in the Navy-Penn game. As a Big East official, he’s bound to catch up with the Pirates eventually.

“They were trapping with 6-10 and 6-11 NBA players. And we’ve got a 6-foot player whose going to be selling insurance next year,” said Cornell Coach Mike Dement after losing to Syracuse, 108-56.

Before facing top-ranked Syracuse, Lafayette Coach John Leone told his team, “You know, they lace up their sneakers the same way we do. It’s not the Celtics we’re playing.” His players looked at him as though he were crazy, so Leone said, “Well, it’s not the Lakers we’re playing.”

Furthermore: Seton Hall has added 6-1 shooting guard Marco Lokar, 20, of Trieste, Italy, to its roster. The freshman is eligible immediately and is said to be a four-year player, unlike departed Aussie Andrew Gaze. Lokar was brought to P.J. Carlesimo’s attention by former Pirate Mergin Sina, who is playing pro ball in Italy. ... Georgetown’s Dikembe Mutombo is shooting 44 of 58 from the field -- an astounding 75.9 percent -- through nine games. But it’s not enough to qualify him for the NCAA rankings, where he would rank first or second. To be counted, a player must make an average of five field goals per game. Mutombo is one basket shy. ... Only a junior, Eric Murdock has broken Providence’s steal record of 207 set by Harold Starks in 86 games from 1983-86. Through 67 games as a Friar, Murdock has 220 steals.