SAN ANTONIO — The Providence Friars arrived in Texas for their first NCAA Tournament berth in a decade, and were greeted with questions about a pair of players being investigated for sexual assault. But according to the school’s athletic director, it’s old news and won’t be a distraction.
Providence police are investigating allegations against freshmen Rodney Bullock and Brandon Austin. The former is on the team and has been suspended for the season, the latter got the same punishment and subsequently transferred to Oregon. But athletic director Bob Driscoll said it won’t hurt the team’s focus for the team’s opening game, Friday at 7:20 p.m. against North Carolina.
“I don’t think it’s a distraction for them. They’re just focused on playing the game,’’ Driscoll told The Post. “There haven’t been a lot of questions on the student-athletes. They’ve worked hard to get to this point and this has been something that’s been old news that they dealt with almost five months ago, so it’s really not a distraction for them at all.’’
Although the Providence police didn’t identify the two, the Wall Street Journal reported late Tuesday the allegations involved Bullock and Austin. On Wednesday, the police said an 18-year-old Providence College student told a detective two weeks ago that she’d been sexually assaulted on campus either Nov. 2 or early Nov. 3 by two players whom she knew.
The student reported the allegations to college officials in November, and Providence suspended both players for the season in December, citing an unspecified violation of the school’s Code of Conduct. Bullock hasn’t been contacted by police and is still practicing with the team and made the trip to San Antonio. A member of the staff told The Post he wasn’t available for comment.
“Nothing had changed. Rodney went through the proper (disciplinary) process on campus,” Driscoll told the Providence Journal. “We suspended him as soon there was an allegation and he went through the hearing process. The school came to a decision and now he hasn’t been charged with anything. Nothing is any different than what it was back in November.”
Asked what stood out about the Friars, North Carolina coach Roy Williams said everything, likening them to Tiger Woods.
“One of the tapes they played man-to-man almost the entire game game; another I watched they played zone the entire game. They rebound the ball well. They defend, they shoot, they can run, they can slow it down,’’ Williams said. “You heard it about Tiger Woods at the start that he had the whole package. When I look at Providence, there’s really not any weakness. They have the whole package.’’
In the West, sixth-seeded Baylor plays 11th-seeded Nebraska at 12:40 p.m, followed by third-seeded Creighton against 14th-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette.
Nebraska is 0-6 in the Big Dance, but Cornhusker coach Tim Miles says throw out history.
“Now to take that next step, get to the NCAA and win there, I think we just set ourselves apart from those old ghosts. Save those for the Chicago Cubs, right?” Miles said. “We’re our own people, and we’re going to do it the right way.”
Going to a first NCAA Tournament can be a roller coaster for any coach, but even moreso for N.C. Central’s LeVelle Moton after he and wife Bridget’s one-year old son LeVelle Jr. was hospitalized on Tuesday.
“He had an accident and knocked over some coffee and it spilled on his face,” Moron said. “Right now he’s in the hospital. I stayed there with him on Tuesday night. I’ve been calling, checking up on him, and he’s still there. It makes it hard to enjoy. That’s humbled me. That’s put the pin to my balloon right there. I’ve just got to get myself together, which I will, to go coach these young men we have.’’