Inside CCU Sports

Simpson invited to combine

Former Coastal Carolina wide receiver Jerome Simpson has accepted an invitation to participate in February’s NFL Combine.

The Big South’s all-time leading receiver said he received the invitation on Wednesday and filed the paperwork Thursday.

Simpson also said he has elected to play in the East West Shrine Game over the Hula Bowl.

See Friday's Sun News for more details.

Wednesday morning point guard

Joe Harris injury fallout ...

1. If there is a silver lining with the Harris injury it is that he retains two years of eligibility. Per NCAA rules, an athlete who has competed in less than 30 percent of his team's contests can be eligible for a medical redshirt.

2. With the loss of Harris,  6-foot-8, 270-pound freshman Bryant Wallace will see more time. The Chants will need him to grow up quickly alongside Anthony Breeze this season. Also, with Harris out, Breeze might now see 30-plus minutes a game. There will be bumps along the way, but he appears to have star potential.

3. The loss of Harris is the second major blow for the Chants in as many weeks. Joshua Mack left the team after losing his starting role under new coach Cliff Ellis. But without Harris, one of the team's best leapers, and Mack, one of the quickest players on the team last season, the Chants are down two of their better athletes.

4. The Chants are averaging 25 points per game from their bench in large part due to Everage Richardson who scored 19 points Sunday at Wilmington. Richardson created his own shot and opportunities for teammates Sunday, something that has been lacking at times from the Chants this season.

5. Jack Leasure is shooting a remarkable percentage (52.5) thus far on 3-point attempts. Leasure has a chance to become the seventh player in Division I history to reach 400 3-point goals for his career.

Big South men's Weekly Report

Highlights ....

Player of the Week:  Kenny Thomas, Radford

Freshman of the Week: Omar Carter, Charleston Southern

* VMI remains national leader in scoring (97.1) and steals (15.7); also tops in threes per game (12.6)

* UNC Asheville's Kenny George remains first in nation in blocks (6.5), second in field goal percentage

* VMI's Reggie Williams currently leading active scorer in NCAA Division I at 2,082 career points

* Coastal's Jack Leasure (10th), High Point's Arizona Reid (13th) also among national active scorers

* High Point's Reid now sixth player in League history with 1,500 points, 700 rebounds

* Coastal Carolina's Jack Leasure hitting .525 percent from three-point range

* Winthrop, UNC Asheville receiving votes in Mid-Major Top 25 poll

* VMI's Chavis Holmes four points away from 1,000; would be 83rd player in Big South history

* Winthrop's Chris Gaynor ninth all-time in Big South history with 460 career assists

* UNC Asheville head coach Eddie Biedenbach one win shy of 150 at Asheville

Thigpen to IR

The Chiefs have placed Tyler Thigpen on the injured reserved list, which means he is not eligible to play for the remainder of the season.

Thigpen says he has an MCL sprain that will not require surgery. He was injured in practice on Wednesday.

A seventh round pick in April's draft, Thigpen made his NFL debut last week, completing 2-of-6 passes for 41 yards against San Diego. Thigpen was the Big South Offensive Player of the Year last season as a Chanticleer.

Thigpen injury update

Tyler Thigpen said via text message today that he has a Grade 2 MCL sprain, and that it will not require surgery. The Kansas City backup quarterback was injured in practice Wednesday when a lineman rolled back on his knee.

The former CCU star played in his first game Sunday against San Diego, but regardless of his knee injury, was not expected to play this week as Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said Wednesday starting quarterback Brodie Croyle (back) should be healthy enought to start.

CCU baseball signs seven

Release from the athletic department

Coastal Carolina University baseball coach Gary Gilmore annouced the signing of seven players Thursday. A group that will join a Chanticleer team that has posted two 50+ win seasons in the last three years.

The Class includes Daniel Bowman (Turner Ashby High, Va.), Brad Goldberg (Beachwood High, Ohio), Steve Davis (Steubenville High, Ohio), Anthony Meo (Cranston West, RI), Taylor Motter (North Palm Beach High, Fla.), T.J. Swank (Prarie Ridge High, Ill) and Tommy Winegardner (Riverview Baptist, Md.). 

See Friday's Sun News for more details.

Thigpen injured

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards said  quarterback Tyler Thigpen injured his knee in practice Wednesday and will have an MRI Thursday. Thigpen, the former Coastal Carolina star, played in his first NFL game Sunday against the Chargers, completing 2-of-6 passes for 41 yards.

Edwards said Brodie Croyle will likely start Sunday and Damon Huard is ``fine'' after leaving the Chargers' game with an injury.

Thigpen was a seventh round pick by Minnesota in April's NFL Draft.

High Point AD resigns

By Tom Berry
High Point Enterprise, N.C.
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services 
Dec. 1--HIGH POINT -- With everyone else gone the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving, High Point University athletic director Woody Gibson continued working in his office.
About 7:30 p.m., he glanced out the window and looked inside himself.
``It dawned on me, ?What am I doing here?'' he recalled.
According to Gibson, that epiphany led to Friday's announcement that he will resign as athletic director after 9 1/2  years but remain at the school and return to being a full-time faculty member in the Department of Exercise Science and Sport Studies.
Gibson, 59, who has filled a number of duties in the athletic department since 1974, will remain AD until a replacement is found.
``It was my decision,'' Gibson said. ``The job got to be much more extensiveand time consuming, and it took a toll on me. I had been thinking about this for a period of time.''
Gibson said he met with Dennis Carroll, High Point's vice president of academic affairs, earlier this week about his desire to return to full-time instruction. The school's president, Dr. Nido Qubein, approved the move, and Gibson told his staff about the decision on Friday morning.
Gibson led High Point's transition to NCAA Division I status, which has raised the regional and national visibility of the school and helped contribute to the current building boom on campus. HPU has 16 intercollegiate sports and four club teams. The cheerleaders, dance team and pep band
also fall under the athletic department umbrella.
``Division I is the gold standard by which people measure the athletic program and often the university,'' Gibson said. ``When Dr. Qubein came three years ago, with all his accomplishmentsand all the money he raised, he helped athletics remain a big part of the university.''