THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 24, 1996 TAG: 9609240440
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 52 lines
Old Dominion basketball star Joe Bunn, the Monarchs' leading scorer and rebounder last season, has been dismissed from the basketball team following an apparent argument with his girlfriend.
Irene Lynch, the grandmother who helped raise Bunn, got sketchy details from her grandson on Monday. She said in a telephone interview from her home in Rocky Mount, N.C., that Bunn told her that police were called to respond to the incident, which occurred early Monday morning.
``He and his girlfriend had an argument,'' said Lynch, who did not know the girlfriend's name. ``They were going at it. I don't know if they hit each other or what, but they were going at it.
``He's really upset. I feel terrible.''
As of Monday evening, Norfolk police did not have a record of an arrest of Bunn or a police report, police spokesman Larry Hill said. The campus police dispatcher said Monday night that he did not have any information about an incident involving Bunn.
Bunn could not be reached for comment Monday. ODU coach Jeff Capel did not return phone messages.
ODU's sports information office sent out a one-sentence press release late in the afternoon that said Capel had dismissed Bunn from the team for a violation of team rules.
``Our whole release is all we're saying,'' ODU athletic director Jim Jarrett said. ``Student-athlete issues are confidential.''
As a sophomore last season, the 6-foot-6 forward averaged 16.1 points and 7.6 rebounds to earn first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors.
``I just hope they don't have to kick him out of school,'' Lynch said.
Several ODU players said Capel told them not to comment about Bunn's situation. Capel met with the team Monday afternoon.
The impact on the Monarchs' season will be significant, sophomore forward Mark Poag said.
``It definitely is a big blow,'' Poag said.
Bunn, 21, played for Capel at North Carolina A&T, where he was the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year his freshman season. When Capel came to ODU, Bunn followed and sat out a season under the NCAA transfer rules.
Michael Mosley, who coached Bunn at Northern Nash High School in Rocky Mount said he talked with Bunn on Monday. Mosley would not discuss why Bunn was dropped from ODU's team.
``We're all pretty sick about it,'' Mosley said. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Joe Bunn led the Monarchs in scoring (16.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.6)
as a sophmore last season. by CNB