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News Nuggets, 03.20.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Former shortstop hits home run in pursuit of ECU chancellor job

Steven Ballard, the provost and chief academic officer at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, will be the new chancellor at East Carolina University.

Ballard, 55, was selected to lead the school in part because he has administrative experience in a number of university settings, UNC President Molly Corbett Broad said. His selection was announced at the meeting of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors.

Ballard takes over for William Muse, who resigned in September after two tumultuous years on the job and two critical internal audits. William E. Shelton, vice chancellor of university advancement, has served as interim chancellor since Muse's resignation.

Ballard has worked at universities that encompass a public medical school, Broad said, alluding to a key qualification on Ballard's resume that helped him win the job. ECU and the region place strategic importance on the school's burgeoning medical school.

Jim Talton, the chairman of the ECU trustees and head of the chancellor search committee, said Ballard would play an integral role in ECU's economic impact on eastern North Carolina.

"We are the beacon of the east," Talton said.

Ballard, a one-time shortstop who played in the College World Series as an undergraduate at the University of Arizona, said he understood the university's leading role in the region.

"My job is always to keep the gold-star future in front of us," he said.

Ballard holds a doctorate in political science from Ohio State University and was a professor at the University of Maine. He also was an administrator at Bowling Green State University.

The board also considered Roderick McDavis, 55, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University for the post.

Eastern N.C. native Janie Fouke, 53, dean of the College of Engineering at Michigan State University, withdrew her name from consideration after it became public that she was a candidate.

UAB blazes path past Huskies to second round

COLUMBUS, OH -- The team that took down Stanford got its comeuppance in the NCAA Tournament.

Demario Eddins scored a career-high 26 points and made the decisive plays in the closing seconds Friday night, leading UAB to a 102-100 first-round victory over Washington.

The game ended well past midnight, leaving a crowd that included former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson drained by the nonstop drama.

"One of my first expressions would be: 'Wow, what a game!'" UAB coach Mike Anderson said. "I had a feeling it would be entertaining, but to give up 100 points and win ... This team has continued to amaze me."

Eddins, a sophomore forward who usually is more of a complementary player, took the lead down the stretch.

He took a charge that negated a basket, hit two free throws with 16.2 seconds left and blocked a shot, sending the Blazers (21-9) to their first tournament victory since 1986.

"It seems the bigger the moment, the better he plays," Anderson said. "He showed it all tonight."

Memphis bombs Gamecocks from long range

KANSAS CITY -- Memphis forward Rodney Carey had one of the best games of his career Friday. But coach John Calipari said it was not even the sophomore forward's best effort this week.

Carney hit six 3-pointers and scored 26 points, both career highs, and added 10 rebounds to help Memphis beat South Carolina 59-43 in the first round, giving the Tigers their first NCAA Tournament win since 1995.

His six 3s were one more than the Tigers' previous NCAA Tournament record, set by Penny Hardaway against Georgia Tech in 1992 and matched by Mingo Johnson against Arkansas in 1995.

"He was like Michael Jordan in practice this week," Calipari said. "I can hear the guys laughing, but he was. He was stopping practice while we were saying, 'Oh, my goodness.' Believe me, he played better in practice than he did today."

His performance in the game was enough to get fans chanting his name.

"I had never experienced that," he said. "I wasn't supposed to laugh because I was on national TV, but I heard it in the background. It was a really good feeling."

Anthony Rice added three 3s and 12 points for the Tigers (22-7), seeded seventh in the East Rutherford Regional. Memphis reached the third round in 1995 but was eliminated in the first round in 1996 and 2003.

"Did you know that?" Calipari asked Carney and guard Antonio Burks in the postgame news conference. "I didn't either. This is 2004. This is where we live now."

Tenth-seeded South Carolina (23-11) has not won an NCAA Tournament game since 1973, having lost first-round games in 1974, 1989, 1997 and 1998.

Memphis has beaten South Carolina eight straight times, including the 2002 NIT title game in their last previous meeting.

Three-point shooting and rebounding made the difference Friday. The Tigers were 9-for-27 from long range -- to South Carolina's 2-for-13 -- and outrebounded the Gamecocks 37-25.

"We knew they could shoot the ball," Gamecocks guard Josh Gonner said. "If you give anybody open looks, they're going to knock down the shot."

South Carolina shot just 35 percent (15-for-42) from the field and went without a field goal over a stretch that covered more than one-fourth of the game.

"The story of the game was that we were inept offensively," coach Dave Odom said. "We had opportunities in transition that we didn't complete, and when you don't take advantage of the opportunities you earn, it becomes difficult."

Second-half collapse eliminates Louisville

ORLANDO -- When Xavier needs a spark, Lionel Chalmers always seems to find a way to provide it.

The Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament MVP worked his postseason magic again Friday night, this time helping the seventh-seeded Musketeers stay in the NCAA Tournament with an 80-70 victory over Louisville in the opening round of the Atlanta Regional.

Playing with the same poise and confidence that helped the Musketeers win four games in four days in the A-10 Tournament, Xavier overcame a 14-point second-half deficit, with Chalmers, Romain Sato and Anthony Myles leading the way.

"We never gave up. No matter what we were down or what we were doing wrong, we knew that if we came together and got things clicking we could make some things happen," Chalmers said. "We were far from out of the game, so it was just a matter of playing the whole 40 minutes."

Chalmers scored 25 points, and Sato added 24 for Xavier, which wiped out a 53-39 deficit with a 36-10 run that broke Louisville's spirit and forced the Cardinals out of the patient game plan that helped them build an 11-point halftime lead.

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News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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