UAB Out of Caracter Sweepstakes; Horne, Smith, Fontan Honored; Seton Hall Waiting on Waiver

I’ve officially given up on trying to figure out where former Louisville big man Derrick Caracter of Fanwood, N.J. will end up.

UAB coaches had been researching the possibility of bringing Caracter in, but they have decided not to pursue it, according to a source.

UAB has a verbal commitment from 6-9 senior big man DeMarcus Cousins, but Cousins has yet to sign his NLI, saying he wants an out clause if head coach Mike Davis leaves.

The 6-9, 270-pound Caracter was linked to several options over the summer — NAIA school Oklahoma City, Division I Southern Miss and the Rochester RazorSharks of the Premier Basketball League. Your guess is as good a mine as to where he surfaces next.

HORNE, SMITH, FONTAN HONORED

St. John’s sophomore guard Paris Horne was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll. Horne (pictured) averaged 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in leading St. John’s (8-1) to two victories, including a career-high 18 points in a win over NJIT.

Manhattan sophomore guard Chris Smith of St. Benedict’s was named MAAC Co-Player of the Week and Met Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week after erupting for a career-high 35 points in a 70-60 win over Princeton on Sunday. Smith leads the Jaspers and is fourth in the MAAC at 15.8 points per game.

Also, Fordham freshman guard Jio Fontan, a Paterson, N.J. native who starred at St. Anthony, was named Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Week. This is the first weekly award for Fontan, who becomes the second Ram to earn the honor this year, joining freshman guard Trey Blue who received the award on November 16th.

In two games on the week, Fontan averaged 17.5 points and 5.5 assists while hitting on 13-of-22 field goal attempts (59.1%) and added eleven assists, five rebounds and three steals.

SETON HALL AWAITING WORD ON LAWRENCE

Seton Hall hopes to learn this week whether or not junior guard Keon Lawrence will receive a waiver from the NCAA that allows him to play for the rest of the year.

Lawrence transferred from Missouri and has two years of eligibility remaining. Seton Hall plays Saturday against IUPUI at the Prudential Center and hopes to have Lawrence in the lineup for that game and the rest of the season.

Herb Pope, who transferred to Seton Hall from New Mexico STate, was previously denied such a waiver.