| | NEW YORK -- Friday night, St. John's sophomore guard Erick Barkley said he would "take a leave of absence" and skip tonight's Big East title game against Connecticut. But Saturday afternoon, St. John's said that Barkley will indeed play Saturday night.
A team meeting was held earlier Saturday that apparently cleared the air for the Red Storm, ESPN.com's Andy Katz reported.
A source in the St. John's coaching staff said before the meeting that the decision to play was up to Barkley.
The source told Katz that there was an argument between Barkley and
backcourt mate Bootsy Thornton during halftime of St. John's 58-57 win over Miami in a Big East semifinal Friday night. But there was no fist fight, the source said.
Saturday's New York Post reported that there was a physical
altercation between the two, with Barkley coming out for the second half
three minutes late and holding his left arm.
The Post and the New York Times also reported Saturday that the NCAA is
investigating Barkley's SAT scores while he attended Maine Central
Institute. Before Friday night's semifinal, rumors had circulated that the NCAA was looking into the SAT issue, but neither Barkley nor St. John's officials would offer comment.
Barkley, who has been suspended twice this season by the NCAA, made his comments in the locker room Friday night after scoring seven points on 3-for-14 shooting (plus five assists) against Miami. "I'm taking a leave of absence from the team and that's my only
statement," Barkley said, refusing to say anything else.
Red Storm coach Mike Jarvis was at a news conference Friday night when
Barkley made the "leave-of-absence" statement. When he was informed of what Barkley said, he released a statement.
"Some things are bigger than wins," Jarvis said. "He's been
through a tremendous amount. He's entitled to his own thoughts.
It's all part of being a human being and I respect him for that.
I'm betting on Erick Barkley."
Barkley, the Red Storm's leading scorer at 16.4 points per game,
was suspended for three games by the NCAA in early February for
exchanging vehicles with a family friend. After an appeal, that
punishment was reduced to two games.
On Feb. 29, St. John's was forced to declare Barkley ineligible
and he missed that night's victory over Seton Hall. The NCAA
requested further information regarding payment of part of
Barkley's tuition at Maine Central Institute for the 1997-98
academic year.
Though he was reinstated on March 3, Barkley must give back
$3,500 of his tuition, which is approximately $22,000. The
restitution is for the amount St. John's said Barkley received from
Riverside Church, a New York AAU program for which he played. He
can donate the money to a charity of his choice, and has until his
eligibility expires to do so.
St. John's was rebuked by the NCAA over the Barkley case. NCAA
president Cedric Dempsey issued a statement on March 1 saying the
school had incorrectly portrayed that it had been treated unfairly
during the second investigation.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. | |
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