Fitch Reprimands Closs

Coach Bill Fitch, angered when rookie Keith Closs failed to show for practice, tracked down the 7-foot-3 center, fined him an undisclosed amount and let him know, in very clear terms, his failure to appear was unacceptable.

“He had an unexcused, no-excuse absence from practice,” Fitch said. “It was very irresponsible. He was disciplined, reprimanded and drawn a very clear picture that this type of behavior would not be tolerated in the future, period. These young guys have got to learn sometime. He can lie or whatever, but the body was not there. He was not only letting himself down, but he was letting 11 other teammates down.”

Closs had missed a week of the preseason to attend the funeral of his grandmother in Connecticut, returning Monday.

“He never did catch up from that,” Fitch said. “I understand being gone for the funeral. But that makes this more irresponsible. He just takes off and declares another holiday.”

But Fitch emphasized that Closs, the backup to Stojko Vrankovic, will be in uniform for Friday night’s opener at Phoenix.

Closs could not be reached for comment.