Friday, July 13, 2001
‘Savo’ may miss All-Western Athletic Conference guard Predrag Savovic could miss the first eight or nine games of the upcoming University of Hawaii men's basketball season, UH head coach Riley Wallace said yesterday.
8 or 9 games
The Rainbows' top scorer last year
could be penalized for participating
in games with professionalsBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comSavovic might miss the games because of NCAA eligibility questions regarding his playing background in his native Yugoslavia. Savovic has said he played eight or nine games in a tournament in which professionals played. This was before Savovic enrolled at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (from which he transferred to UH three years ago). He said he was unaware that professionals were playing in the tournament.
Savovic is in Yugoslavia and unavailable for comment.
Wallace said UH has been collecting information on Savovic's playing background since an article last March in the Dayton (Ohio) News, while the Rainbows were there for the NCAA Tournament.
"We've been expecting something like that since then," Wallace said. "That's what the NCAA's looking at. They're making the schools take care of it themselves."
That's what UH did last year when it self-reported on a similar situation involving freshman center Haim Shimonovich of Israel. Shimonovich had played 22 games in an Israeli league in which professionals also played. He ended up with a 22-game suspension from the NCAA.
UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida said a similar outcome is likely in Savovic's situation -- one game of suspension for each game played with professionals.
"I think if you look from a past-history standpoint there is that precedent set," Yoshida said. "We still need to see how it plays out. We will make our presentation and see where it goes."
Also, UH was one of 52 Division I basketball programs to receive a letter this week from the NCAA requesting information about specific foreign players. In the Rainbows' case, it wants background on forwards Mindaugas Burneika of Lithuania and Bosko Radovic of Yugoslavia.
Based on information he has received, Wallace said he thinks Burneika won't have to miss games.
"But we still need to get more information on Bosko," Wallace said.
Savovic led Hawaii with 17.6 points-per-game last season. Burneika averaged 7.4 and Radovic 5.8 (in five games before a season-ending injury).
If Savovic cannot play at the start the season, Wallace said his tentative starting lineup would be junior Mark Campbell (point guard), senior Mike McIntyre (shooting guard), sophomore Carl English (small forward), sophomore Phil Martin (post) and sophomore Shimonovich (post).
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
