Brian Dux was known for his assists. He finished his career at Canisius second on the school’s all-time list. Dux was a good point guard for the Golden Griffins for four seasons, earning All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference honors in 2002 and 2003.
The Buffalo-area native went on to play professionally in England, becoming popular with the fans of the Guildford Heat.
On Nov. 10, Dux was seriously injured in a one-car accident in Woking, England. He sustained severe head trauma, something made worse when he wasn’t found at the scene of the accident for close to two hours. Dux was placed in a medically induced coma to help his recovery.
When doctors in both countries agreed he could handle the trip, Dux’s family decided to bring him back to the United States to continue his rehabilitation that now includes basic therapy for speech and movement.
“He’s alert, talking a little more. He’s definitely more aware of where he is,” former Canisius coach Mike McDonald said Thursday. “He has no movement on his left side at all and on the right there is good movement, good strength. They are trying to get the brain going. The brain is a mystery to a lot of people, even doctors.”
McDonald, now the coach at Division III Medaille College, is still close to Dux and his family. He has been one of the leaders of the effort to help with the medical bills. Dux’s insurance was based in England. Since he is 26, he is no longer covered on his family’s plan.
“The flight to bring him home on the air ambulance was $31,000,” McDonald said. “One of his aunt’s took out a no-interest credit card to cover it. She said they would worry about paying it later. His well-being was all that mattered.”
The Brian Dux Assist Fund was created as a central point for money raised in special events, merchandise sales and donations. Since visitors are still restricted, the Web site – www.brianduxassistfund.com – offers updates on Dux’s conditions.
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SPECIAL RECORDS: As the turn of the year approaches the number of unbeaten and winless teams continues to drop.
Through Thursday’s games, there were nine teams that had yet to lose: top-ranked North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas, Washington State, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Miami, Mississippi and Sam Houston State, the only one of the group not in the Top 25.
In the RPI released Monday, the lowest rated of the nine was No. 29 Washington State, which was one place behind Sam Houston State. The highest rated of the group was No. 3 Memphis with everybody but No. 23 Miami all in the top 11.
On the negative side of the won-loss record, there were four winless teams through Thursday’s games: Ball State, Furman, Grambling State and New Jersey Tech.
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ROUND NUMBERS: There are a few coaches approaching some impressive round numbers as far as victories go.
Bob Knight of Texas Tech, the all-time leader, needs four to be the first coach to win 900 games on the Division I level.
Eddie Sutton, who returned to coaching this week on an interim basis at San Francisco after having retired at Oklahoma State following the 2005-06 season, needs two wins to join Knight, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp and Jim Phelan in the short group with 800.
Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski is 15 wins shy of reaching 800. Lute Olson, who is on a leave of absence this season at Arizona, has 780 victories.
Bob Huggins of West Virginia became the 29th coach with 600 wins earlier this month. There should be two more to join that list this season as Tom Penders of Houston has 594 and Gary Williams of Maryland has 591.
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WINNING DUKES: Duquesne is winning and attracting some impressive guests.
The Dukes, who managed a 10-18 record last season after five players were shot in an on-campus incident in September, got off to a 7-3 start, their best since the 1993-94 team did the same on the way to an NIT berth. The seven wins before January are the most since the 1971-72 team started 8-0.
Following their Dec. 21 victory over St. Francis, Pa., five-time boxing world champion Roy Jones Jr., who has played pickup ball with senior guard Gary Tucker in Pensacola, Fla., spoke to the team, stressing the importance of dedication and playing hard.
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SURE SHOT: Utah State senior guard Jaycee Carroll is putting up shooting percentages that would be good for someone playing inside let alone roaming the perimeter.
Carroll is shooting 53.6 percent overall from the field, 51.6 percent from 3-point range and 94.5 percent from the free throw line. He and Josh Mayo of Illinois-Chicago are the only Division I players who are over 50 percent from the field and on 3s and over 90 percent from the line.
Carroll was the MVP of the Aggies’ Gossner Classic after averaging 32.5 points in the two games while shooting 74.2 percent from the field, including 69.2 percent on 3-pointers, and going 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
He has 2,042 points and his 85 shy of the school record held by Greg Grant, who played for the Aggies from 1983-86.
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PATRIOTIC DUTY: Jeff Jones, a former player and coach at Virginia, knows something about beating Atlantic Coast Conference teams. He is the only coach who knows what it’s like to beat an ACC team while at a Patriot League school.
Jones’ American University Eagles (7-5) beat Maryland 67-59 last weekend, the second win ever for a Patriot League team over an ACC opponent. The first came six years earlier to the day, when Jones’ Eagles beat Florida State.
The win over Maryland snapped American’s 14-game losing streak to the Terrapins and it was their first over them since the 1926-27 season.
“This being a nice win for our team and our program is an understatement,” Jones said. “I am really proud of the scrappiness that our guys showed. To be able to come in and play against a program with the magnitude of Maryland, and win on their home court, makes me happy for our players and happy for our school.”
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