Gary Johnson to start on Wednesday against TCU
He’s been cleared to play beginning in 2008.
He’ll replace Justin Mason in the starting lineup.
Because I stopped watching basketball the day one Dwayne Kenneth Schintzius retired from the NBA, I’ll leave it to others to determine the significance of this event.
December 31, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Schintzius’ niece plays the role of Hannah Montana on TV. True fact.
December 31, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Party in the front. Apocalypse in the back.
December 31, 2007 at 9:57 pm
59% less mullett
January 1, 2008 at 3:43 am
Joe, that was incredible.
January 1, 2008 at 10:26 am
Glad Johnson finally got academically eligible … er, I mean, medically eligible. Now that he’s passed his tests — um, his heart tests, that is — he should be a force to be reckoned with.
January 1, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Yes, I’m sure UT had Gary fake a heart condition to cover up his academic ineligibility.
January 1, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Anyone else remember Schintzius’ mooning the Texas crowd while at the free throw line in the Erwin Center in the late 80’s? Good times.
Nice article on Duane here: Link
January 2, 2008 at 1:06 am
After attending Brandon High School, Schintzius went to the University of Florida and performed passably for the Florida basketball team in the late 1980s. He had several disciplinary problems while in college, including an assault charge for allegedly attacking a car with a tennis racket.[2] In the first game after he returned from that suspension, Florida played Vanderbilt in a crucial Southeastern Conference matchup. Prior to the game, Vanderbilt was notified that if any tennis balls were thrown, there would be a technical foul assessed. There was, however, no announcement made to the crowd of this consequence. With two seconds left, down by two points, Florida turned the ball over. Thinking the game was over, some fans threw tennis balls at Schintzius, and a technical foul was assessed. The identity and school affiliation of the throwers of the balls has never been identified in a public forum. Schintzius himself hit both free throws, and Florida won in overtime. Florida eventually won the SEC by one game over Vanderbilt that season.
January 2, 2008 at 9:04 am
So back in November Damion James said “Can’t wait until Johnson will be able to play in January.” Everyone said “huh? January? WTF?”. Then in late December, Johnson is finally cleared to play, despite practicing with the team the entire season, and before. But we still had one more game to play, against Wisconsin. Despite being already cleared, Johnson didn’t play.
I don’t know if grades or eligibility or whatever had anything to do with it, but it’s weird. Especially since James basically called the exact date he’d be cleared, back in November.
January 2, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Exactly, Nordberg.
Of course Johnson’s heart condition isn’t being faked. It exists. But it didn’t magically disappear for practices and for the exhibition game, only to become a threat again when playing in front of 4,610 fans vs. North Texas (announced attendance: 12,202). Nor is there anything medically relevant about the beginning of 2008 — except that it’s the start of a new semester. Barnes & Co. were just being smart, letting him focus on his schoolwork (not his strength) during the meaningless “preseason” and saving him for conference play.