Associated Press
The college basketball notebook …
DURHAM ó Olek Czyz is leaving Duke’s basketball team.
School officials said Friday that Czyz is planning to transfer to another Division I school.
The 6-foot-7 sophomore was primarily a backup forward who started the first two games this season as the seventh-ranked Blue Devils (8-1) went to a bigger lineup with guard Nolan Smith serving a two-game suspension.
Czyz, a native of Poland who played at Reno High School in Nevada, averaged roughly 10 minutes in the six games he played, averaging 2.5 points and two rebounds while shooting 58 percent.
The school says Czyz is leaving in good academic standing and coach Mike Krzyzewski (shuh-SHEFF-sky) says the program will support him through the transfer process.
WAKE-STATE
WINSTON-SALEM ó Wake Forest will open its 57th season of ACC basketball tonight when it plays host to N.C. State at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
Game time is 7:45.
The Deacons are 7-2 after an 80-69 win against UNC Wilmington.
N.C. State is 8-1 after defeating Elon 79-76.
A good stat for Pack fans: Wake is 25-31 all-time in ACC openers.
KENTUCKYLEXINGTON, Ky. ó Kentucky coach John Calipari is already re-writing the record books barely a month into his first season on the sidelines.
A win over Austin Peay today would make the third-ranked Wildcats 11-0. That would break the record for best start by a first-year head coach at Kentucky. Legendary Adolph Rupp won his first 10 games while roaming the sidelines for the Wildcats back in 1931.
A victory over the Governors would also be the 1,999th in Kentucky history, meaning the Wildcats would get a chance to become the first college team to amass 2,000 all-time wins on Monday against Drexel.
Calipari, however, is hardly in the mood to celebrate. He said his team is just “5-5” by his lofty standards, arguing the Wildcats could have easily lost half of their first 10 games after narrow escapes against teams like North Carolina, Connecticut and Stanford.