Jason Verdugo will serve as acting head men's basketball coach for Hamline for the remainder of the season, while continuing in his role as Hamline's athletic director.
Nelson Whitmore, who was coach for the past 5 1/2 seasons, and the university have parted ways, according to a news release from the school.
Verdugo had filled in since the beginning of January after the school announced it had suspended Whitmore indefinitely. The suspension followed a New Year's Eve incident when the basketball team was at a tournament in Spokane, Wash.
Freshman Eugene Lawrence was dismissed from the team, and 14 other players were suspended.
While Whitmore and the university agree he did not violate any NCAA or MIAC policies, there is mutual agreement that his departure is the best course of action to enable the basketball program to move forward and is in the best interest of the university, the players, the program, and coach Whitmore and his family, the news release said.
The search for a permanent coach will begin immediately.
• FORMER POLICE OFFICER SOUGHT IN KILLING: Police in Irvine, Calif., said Wednesday night they are looking for a former Los Angeles police officer suspected in the shootings of a Cal State Fullerton basketball coach and her fiancé. Former LAPD officer and U.S. Navy reservist Christopher Jordan Dorner is a suspect in the killings of Monica Quan, 28, and Keith Lawrence, 27, who were found shot to death in their car at a parking structure Sunday night. Irvine police Chief David L. Maggard said Dorner, who was an LAPD officer until his dismissal in 2009, implicated himself in the killings with a multi-page manifesto he wrote that was obtained by police.
Wednesday's men's highlights
• TCU 62, NO. 5 KANSAS 55: Garlon Green scored 20 points in Fort Worth, Texas, and TCU held on for the Horned Frogs' first Big 12 victory. The Jayhawks (19-3, 7-2 Big 12), coming off a loss against Oklahoma State, have their first losing streak in more than seven years. They had played 264 games in a row, dating to 2006 without consecutive losses. TCU (10-12, 1-8) never trailed in the game.
