Lappas Splits With Villanova, May Go to Massachusetts

With his teams a bust in postseason play, Steve Lappas resigned as Villanova basketball coach Saturday.

The Wildcats were 18-13 this season, failing to make the NCAA tournament. They lost to Minnesota on March 14 in the NIT, closing a season that began with an 11-2 start.

Villanova earned its last NCAA bid in 1999 but lost in the first round to Mississippi. The Wildcats were 2-4 in the NCAA tournament under Lappas, losing three consecutive years in the first or second round when seeded third, third and fourth.

When asked if he considered firing Lappas, Athletic Director Vince Nicastro said, “I didn’t think of that. No.”

“I am tremendously proud of our accomplishments at Villanova,” Lappas said Saturday in a statement released by the school. “This was a difficult decision for my family and me to make. We are thankful for our time here.”

Nicastro said the school “regretfully accepts” Lappas’ resignation.

A telephone message left for Lappas at his home Saturday was not immediately returned.

Lappas signed a contract extension in July that was to have kept him as coach through the 2003-04 season. He was 174-110 at Villanova, with four berths in the NCAA tournament and three in the NIT.

Nicastro promised to replace Lappas within two weeks. Hofstra Coach Jay Wright, a former Villanova assistant, is believed to be the leading candidate for the job. Nicastro said he received permission from Hofstra Athletic Director Harry Royle to speak with Wright, but Nicastro refused to call him a candidate.

“We’re free to go ahead, but we haven’t had a chance to contact him [Wright] yet,” Nicastro said Saturday.

“We have one of the richest traditions in college basketball. We’re going to be able to attract some very high caliber coaches.”

The Philadelphia Daily News reported Saturday that Lappas would become coach at Massachusetts, where James “Bruiser” Flint stepped down this month.

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Fans hurled firecrackers, tossed bottles from balconies and tried to topple lampposts in State College, Pa., after Penn State’s loss in the NCAA tournament.

With several thousand people jamming the streets, 20 people--14 of them Penn State students--were arrested early Saturday on public drunkenness and other charges in the East Beaver Street area, police said.

Police used pepper spray to try to move the crowd out of the street after the 84-72 loss to Temple on Friday night in Atlanta in the South Regional.

Emergency medical personnel responded to a report of a woman who needed stitches about 1 a.m. and police said at least two officers were struck in the head with beer bottles.

People started throwing bottles from the balconies of apartments overlooking the street shortly after midnight and the crowd in the street eventually grew to about 4,000, police estimated. It took officers until about 3:30 a.m. to disperse the crowds.

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Bob Knight wasted no time getting to work Saturday, holding a 7 a.m. closed-door meeting with his new team at Texas Tech’s United Spirit Arena.

“I won’t be sleeping my life away anymore,” freshman guard Mikey Marshall said. “My job is to come out and work hard every day.”

Saturday’s 20-minute discussion with Knight was just long enough for the team and the “General” to get a feel for one another a day after Knight signed a five-year contract with the school.

This week, Knight will have individual conferences with each of the players.

As he left Saturday’s team meeting, Knight declined to speak with reporters. He seemed bothered by a small media presence outside the arena as he headed into the 7 a.m. meeting.

“Would it be possible for you to leave me alone?” he told a photographer as he entered the building.

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The round of 16 drew larger TV audiences than last year, though the NCAA men’s tournament still lags behind what wound up as the worst-rated ever on CBS.

Friday night’s games drew a 6.3 preliminary national rating and 13 share, up 3% from last year. That followed Thursday’s jump of 11%.

Despite the boosts, the tourney as a whole was averaging a 5.6, down 3% from 2000, when the event finished with its lowest overall rating since the network started airing it in 1982.

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Paul Hewitt, who coached Georgia Tech to its first NCAA tournament berth since 1996, agreed to a contract extension that will keep him at the school beyond the 2004-05 season.

Terms of the extension have not been completed. Hewitt’s original five-year contract pays him $400,000 annually.