Lindsey to transfer from St. John's

SOPHOMORE guard Nurideen Lindsey, one of seven players in the St. John's rotation this season, said he plans to transfer at the end of the semester.

Lindsey, who starred at Overbook High, said his mother's health has been "up and down due to some past experiences."

He was not specific about those experiences, but two of his brother were murdered 5 years apart - Halim Lindsey in 2009 and Jilani Schenck in 2004.

Nurideen Lindsey led the city leagues in scoring as a sophomore in 2006-07 (34.5 points per game) and as a junior (25.6). He committed to play for La Salle University in September of '07 but changed his mind. He transferred to a prep school in Connecticut for his senior year (2008-09) but dropped out.

In April of '09 his younger brother was killed and Lindsey did not play organized ball until he enrolled at Redlands Community College in Oklahoma for the 2010-11 season. He committed to St. John's in October of last year.

Red Storm coach Steve Lavin said Lindsey plans to transfer to another as yet unnamed Division I school.

Lindsey was third on St. John's in scoring at 11.8 points per game and averaged 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

The attorney for a Maine man who claims former Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine molested him on a team trip to Pittsburgh in 2002 said he filed a lawsuit to rebut comments by Fine's attorneys and a prosecutor that the man isn't credible.

The lawyer, Jeffrey Anderson, said he would have preferred to sue the 65-year-old ex-coach after federal prosecutors in New York finish their investigation.

Two former ballboys have accused Fine of molesting them in the 1980s and Anderson's 23-year-old client, Zachary Tomaselli, contends the same thing happened to him inside a Pittsburgh hotel room on Jan. 21, 2002. Tomaselli, who was 13 at the time, said Fine allegedly arranged the trip for the boy to watch Syracuse play the University of Pittsburgh.

Fine, who was fired on Nov. 27, has denied the men's allegations. His attorney, Karl Sleight, did not respond yesterday to emails and calls for comment on the lawsuit.

On Wednesday, Onondaga County (N.Y.) district attorney William Fitzpatrick said the ballboys are credible but that the crimes they allege were too old for the state to prosecute.

But he also said Tomaselli's school records and the team's travel records cast doubt on Tomaselli's claims. Fine's attorneys seized on those comments and said the records show "there is proof that Tomaselli fabricated this allegation."

* Chaminade assistant men's basketball coach Mike Mathey has resigned after sending a text message to a player containing a racial slur. Hawaii News Now, reported that Mathey - in his first year with the team - intended to send the text to a friend, but mistakenly sent it to a player, who was not identified.

* Ohio State coach Thad Matta said he's still unsure if forward Jared Sullinger (back spasms) will be able to play tomorrow when the No. 2 Buckeyes visit No. 13 Kansas.

At Connecticut, Jeremy Lamb had 18 points and Andre Drummond added 12 on 6-for-7 shooting and No. 9 Connecticut (8-1) beat No. 25 Harvard, 67-53, spoiling the Crimson's first game ever as a ranked team.

Kyle Casey had 12 points to lead the Crimson (8-1), who were trying to start a season with nine straight wins for the time since the 1904-05 team opened 10-0.