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Wednesday, October 2 Associated Press IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) _ Desperate to field a competitive team for the Big Ten season, University of Iowa Men’s Basketball Coach Steve Alford has added Jess Settles and B.J. Armstrong to his team, the Associated Press has learned. They will help fill the roster void left by withdrawal of scandal-tainted Pierre Pierce from the team. The decision was reached Tuesday evening after a full day of meetings among top University officials and athletic supporters. An announcement is expected this afternoon. Earlier in the day, the 28 year-old Settles
indicated he was ready to play. "I was there (on the team)
8 years, and I enjoyed virtually every day," Settles said in a telephone
interview from his car as he headed to the governor's mansion for meetings
with top University officials. "I didn't like practice, but I'm not going
to mind it as much this time, because it's kind of fresh start." Whether Settles and Armstrong will actually appear the roster
will be decided in court. Iowa State Coach Larry Eustacy says it is too late
to replace Pierce, who dropped out Monday as his poll numbers continued to
fall amid questions about his ethics. The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments on the case
Wednesday. Burns Mossman, chairman of the Iowa State Cyclones Kick Hawkeye Butt
campaign committee, said he would consider an appeal to the U.S. Supreme
Court ( news
- web
sites) if the Iowa court rules in favor of the Hawkeyes. "This is a desperate grasp at getting around the law and
the people of Iowa are tired of having their leaders go around the law,"
he said. Defense lawyer Maggi Moss said that by objecting to Alford’s request, Cyclones were "denying the people of Iowa a choice" in the upcoming basketball season. ``Our entire basketball family stands behind Pierre as we hope for a very fair outcome to this charge,'' coach Steve Alford said in a statement. Women’s Basketball Coach Lisa Bluder added “Yes, behind. Way behind, and in a separate room with the door locked.” The 19-year-old Pierce, of Westmont, Ill., started 32 of 35 games as a freshman, mostly at point guard. He had 114 assists and was the team's fourth leading scorer, scoring 7.1 points a game. “It is the most painful thing I have done in my life,” Pierce said of the forced withdrawal. In what he called “a strange irony of life,” he acknowledged Iowa’s ascendancy in its Manichean struggle with Iowa State is endangered in part because his once comfortable non-indictment has evaporated. Mentioning only in passing that his own “mistakes” caused his indictment, Pierce then laid blame on the larger society. “When did we become such an unforgiving people?” he asked. “How did we become a society where a person can build credibility their entire life and have it questioned by someone who has none”
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