SCC's Porter ranks among nation's top recruits

People who follow high school basketball in this area know how good a player Scott County Central's Otto Porter is.

Those across the nation are jumping on board.

Porter, a 6-foot-8 forward who will be entering his senior season at SCC, recently was listed as No. 93 on the rivals.com top-150 prospect rankings for the class of 2011.

There are several organizations that rank college prospects in various sports, and rivals.com is among the more notable ones.

Porter already is being recruited fairly heavily by various major programs, and his recruitment only figures to intensify during the coming months.

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Although there always is a chance of roster additions before practice begins early next month, the current Southeast Missouri State football roster lists one new Division I-A transfer for this year.

That player, Joe Vucic, looks like the favorite to take over as the Redhawks' kicker and punter.

Vucic, never announced as joining Southeast's program, redshirted last year as a freshman at Kent State. He will be a freshman in eligibility with the Redhawks.

The only other kicker on Southeast's roster is sophomore Drew Geldbach, a squad member last season who did not see action. There are no other punters on the roster.

All-American punter Doug Spada, also Southeast's kicker the past few years, completed his eligibility last season.

Curtis Huge, a redshirt freshman in 2009 who filled in well at kicker late in the season when Spada was injured, left the program after spring practice.

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Three of the four Southeast football players with eligibility remaining who were charged in an off-campus assault last December no longer are listed on the roster.

The three are Antonio Garritano, Brett Jones and Derek Gohn. All saw little or no action for the Redhawks, and only Garritano, a Jackson High School graduate, was on scholarship.

Jared Goodson, also a scholarship player, completed his eligibility.

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According to Southeast men's basketball coach Dickey Nutt, the Redhawks' 2010-11 schedule is close to being finalized.

One of the Redhawks' money games will be at Iowa State. Southeast likely will play several bigger programs during an exempt tournament, although details still are being worked out.

By the way, Nutt now is on Twitter.

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The Plaza Tire Capahas will shoot for their sixth straight National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional title this week when they host the annual event. The winner earns a berth in the NBC World Series.

Play is scheduled for Friday through Sunday at Capaha Field.

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Former Tennessee-Martin men's basketball coach Bret Campbell, the 2008-09 Ohio Valley Conference coach of the year, has been hired as an assistant at Austin Peay.

This will be Campbell's second stint as an Austin Peay assistant under veteran Govs coach Dave Loos. Campbell previously served at Austin Peay from 1992 through 1999.

Campbell then went to UT-Martin for a 10-season run in charge of that program, ending with his forced and controversial resignation in the summer of 2009 after leading the Skyhawks to their first OVC regular-season title. Last season he served as director of basketball operations at Murray State.

Campbell's hiring gives Austin Peay three full-time assistants after the Govs had been among just a few Division I basketball programs with only two full-time assistants. Austin Peay and UT-Martin have been the only OVC programs with just two full-time assistants.

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Last week's news of noted former NFL coach Don Coryell's death brought back fond memories for this St. Louis native who followed the Coryell-led Cardinals of the mid-1970s.

The Cardiac Cardinals won division titles in 1974 and 1975 -- the first and only division championships the franchise posted in St. Louis.

Those Cardinals, with Jim Hart at quarterback, were talented but above all exciting. They went 11-3 in 1975 and eight of the games were decided in the final minute. Seven of those turned out to be wins.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.