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© St. Petersburg Times, published December 11, 2002
TALLAHASSEE -- FSU sophomore guard Andrew Wilson could miss up to 10 weeks from a torn ligament in his right (shooting hand) wrist. He is scheduled for surgery Friday, will be in a cast for 3-6 weeks and then will need as much as a month's rehabilitation, said Dr. William Thompson of the Tallahassee Orthopedic Center.
Wilson's quick grasp of new coach Leonard Hamilton's system earned him a starting role. He averaged 7.8 points, fourth on the team, and a little more than 27 minutes.
"Andrew's ability to contribute to our team in terms of all the intangibles that do not show up in the box scores will be difficult to replace while he is out of the lineup," Hamilton said in a statement. "It will be difficult to replace his understanding of our offensive and defensive philosophies. We are going to expect our players to become more aware of what we are trying to accomplish on the court to help make up for the loss of Andrew's many contributions."
Sophomore forward/guard Anthony Richardson, a prep McDonald's All-America who has been coming off the bench, might be one of the main players asked to fill the void of the 6-6 Wilson.
This is the second setback for Wilson in as many seasons. He injured his right knee after playing seven minutes in last season's opener and missed the rest of the season. He injured his wrist during the first half Sunday against Miami. FSU officials hoped it was a sprain, but an MRI revealed a complete tear of the scapho-lunate ligament.
JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi State center Mario Austin was cleared to play after sitting the first six games while waiting for an NCAA ruling.
The NCAA's Subcommittee on Initial Eligibility determined last month that Austin was mistakenly declared eligible to play as a freshman in 2000. The same committee reversed its decision after reviewing additional information about Austin's high school academic record.
"We're very happy this situation worked out for Mario," Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury said. "We're happy this is all behind us, and we can now move on."
Austin was not made available for comment.
The 24th-ranked Bulldogs play No. 13 Xavier Saturday in New York.
GEORGIA: Guard Mike Dean has been released from his scholarship and will leave the team at the end of the semester.
IOWA: The university's interim president received two petitions protesting the school's handling of the sexual assault case involving sophomore guard Pierre Pierce. The petitions, totaling more than 3,000 signatures, were given to William "Sandy" Boyd on Monday. Boyd told the groups who gathered the signatures he was "exceedingly upset" about the case. The petitioners are upset Pierce was allowed to remain on the team and keep his scholarship.
TEMPLE: Coach John Chaney will remain hospitalized until at least today as he recovers from a slight case of pneumonia.
-- Times staff writer Brian Landman contributed to this report.