Sean Barksdale and Adam DiMichele go pro with the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Eagles. Fans select Candice Dupree for WNBA All-Star Game.
While some Temple students spent their summers getting sunburnt and breaking rafts, some student-athletes made big headlines instead.
Baseball
Sean Barksdale played outfield for the Owls’ baseball team and was drafted in the 38th round (No. 1,151 overall) by Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros. He was the first Owl to be taken in the MLB draft since 1999.
Barksdale reported to the Tri-City Valley Cats of the Class-A short-season New York-Penn League. Through 37 games this season, he is batting .175 with two home runs, eight RBI, two stolen bases and 11 runs scored. In his last five games, he has a home run, two runs scored and two RBI.
Coach Rob Valli announced that former Monmouth pitching coach and recruiting coordinator Chuck Ristano will join the Owls as an assistant coach.
During Ristano’s four seasons at Monmouth, the Hawks made two NCAA Tournament appearances and won a school-record 37 games in 2008.
Three of his pitchers, including Ryan Buch and Brett Brach, have been drafted by MLB teams.
Men’s Basketball
6-foot, 8-inch, 215-pound forward Carmel Bouchman, from the Irani Tet School in Tel Aviv, Israel, signed a scholarship letter, joining Chester High School’s Rahlir Jefferson and Norristown High School’s Khalif Wyatt in the 2009 recruiting class.
Bouchman averaged eight points and more than seven rebounds in the Under-18 Championships in Metz, France, in July.
After not being chosen in the NBA draft, three-time Atlantic Ten Conference scoring champion Dionte Christmas was invited to the Philadelphia 76ers’ and the Los Angeles Clippers’ summer league teams, where he struggled. In five games with the Clippers, Christmas had a high score of four points.
Christmas’ coach for his freshman season, John Chaney, will be inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame this season along with former Villanova coach Rollie Massimino and former La Salle coach Bill “Speedy” Morris.
Women’s Basketball
Candice Dupree, who graduated from Temple in 2006 and plays for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, earned her first-ever WNBA All-Star appearance. Better yet, the fans selected her as a starter. She scored 12 points on five-for-12 shooting.
Football
Former quarterback Adam DiMichele lost his roster spot with the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 25 following the acquisition of Michael Vick. In the Eagles’ second preseason game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, DiMichele engineered a drive that led to a touchdown and two point conversion. He finished the game 14-for-22 for 130 yards and the touchdown.
Gymnastics
U.S. Gymnastics named men’s gymnastics coach Fred Turoff to the 2009 U.S.A. Gymnastics World Team Selection Committee.
At the same time as the 2009 Visa Championships, the committee inducted Turoff into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in Dallas.
Ryan Rosengrant can be reached at ryan.rosengrant@temple.edu.
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