Programs in Flux

One of the biggest and saddest stories in the Big South Conference has already occurred.

UNC Asheville's Kenny George, who was recognized as the tallest player in college basketball at 7-7, will not play this season, and his career is most likely over.

George had surgery on his right foot after suffering an injury at a camp in Las Vegas last summer, and he has been battling an infection in the foot ever since. He wound up having part of the foot amputated and has remained in a hospital in his hometown of Chicago in the months since.

UNCA officials are just hoping that George will regain his health and be able to enroll for the spring semester.

"Right now," Coach Eddie Biedenbach said in late October, "I'm just worried about him getting healthy and getting back to school."

George led the Bulldogs to a 23-10 record, a share of first place in the Big South and a spot in the NIT last season.

He averaged 12.4 points, 7 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots, and he shot 69.6 percent to lead all Division I players in field-goal percentage. Just as important, he brought attention to the Big South because of his height and improvement over the years.

"I think it's a shame for the conference, from a basketball standpoint," Biedenbach said. "The league needs the Reggie Williamses, the Arizona Reids, the Kenny Georges. We need those players on a consistent basis to get national media attention and things like that. It's always a shame when a real good player doesn't have the opportunity to do what he's trained himself to do all his life."

The Bulldogs expected to go through a rebuilding year even with George, after losing three starters. Now without George, they're picked to finish ninth in the 10-team Big South.

Forward Reid Augst (10.6 ppg) is the lone returning starter. Guard Sean Smith and forward John Williams were in the rotation last season and should start. The Bulldogs also get back guard Donovan Jones, who missed last season with a knee injury after making the Big South all-freshman team the season before. Newcomers Sean Hobbs (7-2) and Matt Kittrell (a 6-11 transfer) add size but are unproven.

Here's a look at other Division I programs around the state:

❑ Gardner-Webb: The Bulldogs switch from the Atlantic Sun to the Big South this season, and they are expected to make a quick splash. They were picked to finish third in the Big South preseason poll.

Four starters are back from the team that stunned Kentucky by 18 points early last season but struggled later and finished 16-16. The strength is in the backcourt, where guards Grayson Flittner and Aaron Linn return. Flittner averaged 15.3 points and made 107 3-pointers last season, and Linn averaged 12.5 points.

The other returning starters are forward Nate Blank (10.8 ppg) and center Auryn MacMillan.

The task will be replacing forward Thomas Sanders, who led the team in scoring (19.1 ppg) and rebounding (12.1 ppg). Junior-college transfers Anton Silver and Roy Hinson III and freshman Joshua Henley should contribute.

❑ High Point: The Panthers enter a new era without forward Arizona Reid, the leading scorer in school history and a two-time Big South player of the year. Reid, now playing in Italy, averaged 23.9 points and 11 rebounds last season. The Panthers also lost No. 2 scorer Mike Jefferson (13 ppg), who is the school's all-time assists leader.

Coach Bart Lundy is hoping that this team will be deeper and more balanced than last season's 17-14 team. He brought in six freshmen, including guard Nick Barbour, who could start immediately. Cruz Daniels, a 6-11 junior, has deferred on offense (5.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg) in the past but could be ready to assume more of the scoring load. Guard Eugene Harris started all 31 games last season and is the leading returning scorer (12.5 ppg).

❑ Campbell: The Camels will move into a new arena, 9,000-seat John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center, after playing in tiny, 947-seat Carter Gym for 55 seasons. That alone will infuse enthusiasm as Coach Robbie Laing continues to try to build a program in his sixth season. Campbell was 10-20 last season.

Junior Jonathan Rodriguez, a 6-5 forward, led the Atlantic Sun in scoring last season with 20.9 points a game and averaged 10.1 rebounds. Another junior, 6-8 Kyle Vejraska, averaged 10 points. Also back is point guard Junard Hartley, who ranked third in the conference in assists.

Laing said this is his deepest team, thanks to a group of eight newcomers that includes JuCo transfers Jabril Bailey and Miles Taylor and freshman Chris Reynolds, all forwards.

❑ UNC Wilmington: The Seahawks had the best turnaround in the NCAA in Coach Benny Moss' second season, improving from 7-22 to 20-13. But Moss lost his top four scorers, who combined for 74.3 percent of the offense.

The lone returning starter is sophomore point guard Chad Tomko (8.6 ppg). The backcourt will be strengthened by the addition of 6-3 Johnny Wolf, a transfer from Xavier, and freshman Jerel Stephenson, the top recruit.

The front line is unproven after 6-7 Dominique Lacy, who averaged 4.7 points and came off the bench as a freshman. Also expected to move into the starting lineup is 6-5 Montez Downey, a former Bishop McGuinness High player and the brother of Taron Downey, who played at Wake Forest.

The Seahawks were picked to finish 11th in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason poll.