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College Basketball Capsules: Woman guilty of extortion in coach Pitino case
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky woman was convicted Thursday of demanding millions of dollars from Rick Pitino to keep secret their one-night stand in a restaurant, then claiming the Louisville basketball coach raped her after he reported the extortion.
Karen Cunagin Sypher, 50, of Louisville, was found guilty of three counts of extortion, two counts of lying to the FBI and one count of retaliating against a witness. She stared at the ceiling as the verdict was read, while one of her sons wept openly.
The case involved a 2003 sexual encounter between Pitino and Sypher, a former model at car shows, at a table inside a restaurant closed for the night. Pitino testified she came on to him and the sex was consensual. After she was charged, Sypher told police it was rape but Pitino was never charged.
Last year, Pitino received three threatening phone calls and two letters demanding cash and gifts for Sypher to keep the tryst secret. One of the letters showed to the jury was a handwritten note from Sypher that asked for cars, tuition for her children and her mortgage to be paid off.
Neither Sypher or her attorney commented as they left federal court following her eight-day trial. But one of her sons, Jacob Wise, confronted prosecutors. "Thanks for taking my mother away, guys," said Wise, 20.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kuhn called it a very difficult trial for the prosecutors, Pitino and the community.
A University of Louisville spokesman said the coach was traveling and referred calls to Pitino attorney Steve Pence, who said the jury did the right thing.
Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich said Pitino has been "100 percent truthful" and will not be disciplined.
"We don't view anything as a win," Jurich said. "I think this has been a long 17 months. There's probably been a lot of damage done."
Jury foreman Glen Elder told The Associated Press the panel went through the charges line by line and there were no disagreements during about five hours of deliberations over two days.
Juror Charles Smith said there "was never a huge deadlock" and the tapes of the three extortion calls "were key, they played a major part" in their decision.
"It was a hard decision, I mean we're human beings so we took it into consideration, but we made a decision based on the evidence provided," Smith said. "We did the defense justice by deliberating, we didn't go in and just look at it one-sided."
The charges carry a maximum sentence of 26 years in prison, but under federal sentencing guidelines, the penalty will likely be lighter. She will remain free until her sentencing Oct. 27.
"This was nothing more than a pure shakedown of Richard Pitino," Assistant U.S. attorney Marisa Ford told jurors in closing arguments.
Sypher's attorney James Earhart told jurors Sypher had been "villainized" during the trial. He argued that the government's case proved that "rules don't apply to the privileged" like Pitino, who was the star witness.
Prosecution and defense attorneys questioned the coach in detail about the night he met Sypher, then known as Karen Wise. Pitino, a married father of five, told the jury the two had sex in the empty restaurant after she whispered to him and then unzipped his pants.
Pitino said the sex lasted "15 seconds" and was "unfortunate."
Although Sypher never testified, jurors heard her version of events when prosecutors played a never-broadcast TV interview where she claimed Pitino raped her.
"All he said was shut up, shut up and be quiet," she said on the tape.
Although some witnesses described Sypher as persistent and flirty that night, no one else testified to witnessing the sex.
Tim Sypher, a longtime Pitino aide and now Karen Sypher's ex-husband, testified he arranged for an abortion and paid for it with $3,000 Pitino had given Karen Sypher. He testified that the two met when Pitino asked him for help after she said she was pregnant.
Pitino said he thought the money was for counseling and medical needs but Sypher later said she had an abortion.
Pitino has coached at Louisville since 2001. He has coached three different schools to the Final Four — Louisville, Providence and Kentucky, where he won a national title. Along with the Celtics, Pitino also coached professionally with the New York Knicks.
Jurich: Pitino remains 'grand ambassador'
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich knows the lurid details that came to light during the trial of a woman who tried to extort milllions from Rick Pitino could affect some people's perception of the highly successful coach.
Jurich isn't one of them.
He reiterated his support for Pitino on Thursday after a jury found Karen Cunagin Sypher guilty of three counts of extortion, two counts of lying to the FBI and one count of retaliating against a witness.
Pitino acknowledged during six hours of testimony that he had a sexual encounter with Sypher at a Louisville restaurant in July 2003. She demanded millions in exchange for her silence, leading Pitino to eventually tell authorities about the plot.
"I feel very proud in the fact that he did own up to everything," Jurich said. "He understood the consequences taking this to the U.S. Attorney, taking this to the government. He knew his name would be dragged through the mud but he also wanted the facts out there because the only thing that would vindicate him in this case were the facts."
Jurich stressed "there were no winners" in the process, but added the university would not discipline Pitino for his conduct. Pitino publicly apologized last summer for what he then called an "indiscretion" at the request of university president James Ramsey.
Pitino, who was not available for comment after the verdict was announced, signed a four-year contract extension in the spring that will keep him at Louisville through 2017.
"He's a grand ambassador for this athletic program," he said. "When he came here (in 2001), it was a difficult time for all of us and he's made it much, much better. This is an error in judgement, which he's always said and been up front with and I certainly think it won't happen again."
Juror Charles Smith, who acknowledged he's a Louisville fan, said he didn't come to any conclusions about Pitino or his character.
"He was not the one on trial here," Smith said. "Whatever was being said about him during the trial never affected me at all."
Jurich has no concerns whether the trial will impact Pitino's job performance, pointing out that Pitino went straight from the witness stand to the recruiting trail.
"He spent the last days of the live (recruiting) period going 180 mph, so he's very committed to making this work," Jurich said.
-- Will Graves
Oklahoma coaches: Agents should be punished
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops is the latest person seeking change in how agents are involved in college basketball and the recruiting process.
At a fan event for Sooners fans on Thursday night, Stoops suggested that agents and players should be the ones punished for breaking the NCAA's amateurism rules instead of schools.
"We all educate (players) over and over. We all do. But in the end if two people, an agent and a person, decide to do something on their own, they knowingly are breaking the rules," Stoops told the audience at a Sooner Caravan stop. "But here's what has to happen: It's just my opinion. I'm not a basketball coach, but the NBA is not supporting NCAA basketball. I really believe that the NFL will support college football.
"Until you penalize the agent and the individual, nothing's going to change."
Stoops said players and agents could be suspended without pay for a full year or part of a season if found to have "intentionally and knowingly" broken the rules.
"There's things they can do, and they need to start penalizing the individuals that are involved, not the schools," Stoops said. "The schools have nothing to do with it."
Stoops spoke after the issue was initially raised in a question-and-answer session with Sooners men's basketball coach Jeff Capel, whose program is being investigated by the NCAA. Tiny Gallon, the player at the center of the investigation, has said his mother accepted a gift from a financial adviser that was used to pay for his high-school transcripts to be released so he could play for the Sooners.
"Our sport is so different and so unique because guys can leave after one year, so there's so many influences on these guys," Capel said. "When I was down in San Antonio with the USA basketball team, with the under-18 team, sitting in the stands during those games were agents, financial people.
"It's an epidemic. It's something that the NCAA is, I think, trying to get their hands around but it's really, really hard for us and it starts happening on the grassroots (level). It's not when they get here. These things start happening when these kids are in ninth and 10th grade because they've identified who they think could be possibly the next big thing."
Capel said Stoops "hit it right on the head" with his assessment that agents and players should be punished.
"I agree," Capel said. "I think there needs to be punishment to the agent once they've found it. And if they look hard enough, you can find it. It's actually pretty simple. It's not that hard to look and see who's doing what. And punishment to the player, absolutely."
The issue of agents' involvement in college sports has been a hot topic recently as the NCAA investigates whether players at four Southeastern Conference schools and North Carolina had improper contact with agents.
"One of the things that's actually on the table for men's basketball that I think would be the worst thing — the absolute worst thing — is to allow kids to have agents," Capel said. "I think that would be the absolute worst thing that you could do.
"They're saying that one of the reasons the NCAA is talking about it is because they can't control it, because it is the NBA Players Association that controls it."
Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said that so many people are trying to influence players before they're even recruited by colleges that it can be impossible for schools to enforce the NCAA's rules. He suggested a step in the right direction would be to do away with the rule that allows basketball players to spend just one season in college before going to the NBA.
"For every situation that works out well, there's eight to 10 that don't," Castiglione said. "It may even be a wider gap than that."
But he admitted that even that change wouldn't eliminate the problem entirely.
"There's not one single group that can control it by themselves," Castiglione said. "The situation has to develop where all of the governing bodies of the various sports come together and create a rule that can be enforced."
-- Jeff Latzke
Self speaks of report about Kansas recruit
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — In the wake of a report saying Kansas recruit Josh Selby may not be eligible, Jayhawks coach Bill Self said Thursday "it is not at all unusual" for the NCAA to look at some of the nation's top recruits.
A report by CBSsports.com indicated the NCAA was questioning a relationship between Selby and Robert Frazier, the business manager for NBA star Carmelo Anthony.
Selby, a point guard from Baltimore, has been listed by some services as the No. 1 recruit in the country.
Self, who was out of town, issued a statement.
"I have received several calls about the article," he said. "As has been mentioned previously, we do not comment on recruits until they arrive on campus for the fall semester. I will say, as we have experienced in the past in our program, it is not at all unusual for the NCAA to look into many of the country's top-rated recruits each year for any number of reasons."
Selby's mother was quoted by the Lawrence Journal-World as saying she did not see any problems with the NCAA.
Huskers will play Vanderbilt in Puerto Rico
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nonconference games against Southern California, TCU and Vanderbilt highlight the 2010-11 Nebraska men's basketball schedule.
The Cornhuskers on Thursday announced a 30-game schedule that features at least 16 games against opponents that reached postseason play in 2010. At least 10 games will be televised.
Nebraska will play in the prestigious Puerto Rico Tip-Off in mid-November, opening against Southeastern Conference power Vanderbilt.
Fifth-year coach Doc Sadler says the schedule is one of the most challenging the Huskers have faced in his time in Lincoln.
The Huskers return four of their top five scorers from a team that went 15-18 and finished last in the Big 12.
Gophers basketball team to play in Puerto Rico
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota men's basketball team will play eight of 12 nonconference games this season at home, including a matchup against Virginia in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
The Gophers start the season by hosting Wofford and Siena, both NCAA tournament teams in 2010. They also play North Dakota State, Cornell, Eastern Kentucky and Akron, with one opponent yet to be determined. The Gophers play at St. Joseph's.
Minnesota will play three games in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament, Western Kentucky and then a meeting with either Hofstra or North Carolina. Davidson, future Big Ten foe Nebraska, Vanderbilt and West Virginia are also in the field.
The Gophers will also host exhibition games against Northeastern State of Oklahoma on Nov. 2 and Winona State on Nov. 8.
Warhawks schedule 13 home basketball game
MONROE, La. (AP) — Louisiana-Monroe men's basketball team will make 13 appearances at home inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum during the upcoming 2010-11 season.
The Warhawks will open coach Keith Richard's first season at the helm at Texas Tech on Nov. 12. ULM will then travel to Iowa on Nov. 16 before opening its home slate on Nov. 20 against Southeastern Oklahoma State.
Following another home contest, against Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 23, the Warhawks will travel to Illinois State for three games in three days at the Illinois State Classic.
A trip to Kent State follows the Illinois State Tournament.
The Warhawks will finish their five-game road swing on Dec. 4 at Louisiana Tech before returning to Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Dec. 11 to host Centenary.
UNO gets shot at Michigan St. in exhibition
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska at Omaha men's basketball team will play an exhibition at powerful Michigan State on Nov. 8.
The Mavericks announced Thursday that they'll take on a Spartan team that has reached the Final Four six of the last 12 years, including last season.
The Spartans were 28-9, finished in a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten and lost to Butler in the national semifinals.
UNO was 22-9, finished third in the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association and played in the NCAA Division II tournament.
Syracuse in field for 2010 Legends Classic
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — Syracuse, which was ranked No. 1 for one week last season, and fellow NCAA tournament teams Georgia Tech and UTEP will be host schools in the 2010 Legends Classic.
Michigan will be the other team in the field guaranteed a berth in the semifinals, which will be held Nov. 26 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The championship game is Nov. 27.
The other teams in the Syracuse regional are Detroit and William & Mary. Bowling Green and Gardner-Webb will be at Michigan, Albany and Niagara will be at Georgia Tech, and Mercer and Western Carolina are at UTEP.
The non-host teams play three more games in subregional games at Detroit or William & Mary, so all 12 teams in the tournament play four games.
Florida won last year's tournament.
Matchups set for 2010 Maui Invitational
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Kentucky will play Oklahoma and Connecticut will face Wichita State in the opening round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.
Michigan State, a Final Four team last season, faces Chaminade, the Division II host school of the eight-team tournament, and Virginia will play Washington in the other first-round games on Nov. 22.
The winners of Wichita State-Connecticut and Michigan State-Chaminade games will meet in one semifinal. The championship game is Nov. 24.
Michigan State (1991), Kentucky (1993) and Connecticut (2005) all have one championship in the tournament that started in 1984.
Gonzaga beat Cincinnati 61-59 in overtime in last year's championship game.
Butler to face Utah at Diamond Head Classic
HONOLULU (AP) — NCAA runner-up Butler will face Utah in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic.
The matchups for the eight-team tournament, held from Dec. 22-25 at the University of Hawaii's Stan Sheriff Center, were announced Thursday by ESPN Regional Television.
The other first-round games on Dec. 22 have Hawaii playing Florida State, Mississippi State taking on Washington State and San Diego meeting Baylor, which reached the regional finals in last season's NCAA tournament.
The semifinals will be held on Dec. 23, with the championship game scheduled for Christmas Day.
Southern California beat UNLV 67-56 last year in the championship game of the inaugural Diamond Head Classic.
Semifinal matchups set for 2K Sports Classic
NEW YORK (AP) — Pittsburgh will face Maryland and Illinois will play Texas in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
The four schools will serve as regional hosts for the 12-team tournament that will begin on Nov. 8, with the semifinals set for Nov. 18 at Madison Square Garden. The championship game will be Nov. 19.
The other eight teams will play in two subregionals from Nov. 19-21. UC Irvine will host Louisiana Tech, Navy and Seattle, while Toledo will host Charleston, Illinois-Chicago and Rhode Island.
All the teams in the tournament are guaranteed playing four games.
Syracuse beat North Carolina in last season's championship game.
Semifinal matchups set for CBE Classic
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — National champion Duke will play Marquette and Kansas State will face Gonzaga in the semifinals of the CBE Classic.
The schools will serve as hosts of the four regionals in the 12-team tournament. The semifinals will be Nov. 22 at Sprint Center with the championship game on Nov. 23.
The other eight teams will play in subregionals from Nov. 20-22. Miami (Ohio) will host Green Bay, IUPUI and San Diego State, while James Madison will host Bucknell, Presbyterian and Princeton. Each team will play three games in the subregionals.
Texas beat Pittsburgh in last season's championship game of the tournament which is sponsored by O'Reilly Auto Parts.
C Kowal granted release by N. Illinois
DEKALB, Ill. (AP) — Northern Illinois has given center Sean Kowal his release, ending a dispute over the player's decision to obtain a graduate degree at another school.
Kowal wants to pursue a master's degree in theology, a program Northern Illinois does not offer. The school initially denied him a release.
Athletics director Jeff Compher says the university had a change of heart Tuesday, when Kowal provided the school with more specific information about what he intends to pursue academically. The NCAA must give Kowal a waiver for him to be eligible to play this season.
Ex-Seton Hall star Toney-El named FDU assistant
HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) — Former Seton Hall star Marcus Toney-El has been hired as an assistant basketball coach at Fairleigh Dickinson.
Head coach Greg Vetrone announced the appointment Wednesday. Vetrone said Toney-El will assist with player development, recruiting, game preparation, on-court coaching and scouting.
Toney-El was twice named captain at Seton Hall and was a Big East Academic All-Star in 2002. After graduating in 2004, he played four years of professional basketball in Australia, Japan and the Dominican Republic.
He has coached at various high school summer camps and was head coach of the Playaz AAU program.
Marshall names director of basketball operations
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Michael Brown has been hired as director of basketball operations at Marshall. New coach Tom Herrion announced's Brown's appointment Thursday.
Brown played at Providence College when Herrion was an assistant for the Friars more than 15 years ago.
Brown spent last season as an assistant coach at Dartmouth. Before that he was an assistant at Idaho State.
Elsewhere
Spoonhour awaiting lung transplant
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Charlie Spoonhour, the popular basketball coach known for his homespun humor and success on the court, is on the waiting list for a lung transplant at Duke Medical Center.
Spoonhour's son, Jay Spoonhour, told the Springfield News-Leader on Tuesday that his 71-year-old father began coughing and feeling ill about a month ago. Doctors at Duke diagnosed him with a lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which requires a transplant.
Spoonhour will remain in Durham, N.C., until a match is found and the transplant is completed.
"Duke Medical is the No. 1 medical facility in the world for lungs," Jay Spoonhour said. "He's in good spirits for the situation he's in."
Charlie Spoonhour was hired at Missouri State, then known as Southwest Missouri State, in 1982. He had a 197-81 record in nine seasons and led the Bears to five NCAA Tournament appearances and two National Invitational Tournament berths.
He left following the 1991-92 season and went to Saint Louis University. The Billikens were 122-90 in seven seasons under Spoonhour, who became a popular figure in St. Louis. Spoonhour led Saint Louis to three NCAA Tournament appearances and to one NIT appearance, and the Billikens for several years were among the top teams in the country in attendance at home games.
Spoonhour retired briefly then returned to coaching at UNLV, where he was 54-31 in three seasons, including two NIT appearances. He retired following the 2003-04 season. He and his wife, Vicki, have lived in Las Vegas in recent years.
Spoonhour is a television analyst for St. Louis-based Missouri Valley Conference games. The conference includes Missouri State.
The National Institutes for Health defines idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis as a condition in which the lung tissue becomes thickened, stiff, and scarred. Eventually, the lungs lose the ability to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream. In most cases, there is no known cause.
The disease affects about 200,000 Americans, and about 40,000 die from it each year, according to the website for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation.
Retired Missouri State athletic director Bill Rowe, who hired Spoonhour, said the coach has a lot of people in his corner.
"All the years he's won ballgames or made people laugh with his storytelling or whatever ... he's finding out how much people genuinely care about him now," Rowe said.
