The latest news I have on Derrick Caracter is that he may play for the Rochester Razorsharks of the Premier Basketball League.

According to a spokesman for the team, Caracter recently worked out for the team but has yet to sign. I have a call into the head coach and will update if I hear anything further.

The 6-foot-9 Caracter, a native of Fanwood, N.J., has parted ways with Louisville and apparently came close to attending both NAIA defending champ Oklahoma City University and Division I Southern Miss.

The Premier Basketball League launched in 2007 out of dissatisfaction with the business model of the ABA; 8 of its 10 teams were former ABA franchies. The Razorsharks were defending ABA champions when they defected to the PBL.

Rochester beat the Arkansas Impact last year to win the 2008 PBL championship.

The Derrick Caracter Saga has taken yet another turn.

The 6-foot-8, 270-pound Caracter will not enroll at Southern Mississippi as I originally reported.

“Caracter is not transferring to Southern Miss,” a Southern Miss spokesman said by email.

At this point, after false starts at Louisville, NAIA Oklahoma City and Southern Miss, your guess is as good as mine as to where the Big Fella’s next destination is.

If anyone knows, feel free to contact me by email at zagoria@Hotmail.com

The latest Derrick Caracter update is this.

Despite the fact that Louisville sent Southern Mississippi Caracter’s release last week, Caracter has not arrived on the Southern Miss campus.

“He’s not enrolled,” said a Southern Miss spokesman. “He’s not here. I have not heard that (he’s coming).”

As reported here last week, Louisville sent his release to Southern Miss.

“The release has been sent to them (Southern Miss),” a source close to the situation said. “They have permission to contact him and speak with him. They’re pretty much recruiting him, so to speak. They have inquired for his release and it’s been granted. He’d have to sit out a year.”

Derrick Caracter’s next stop appears to be Southern Mississippi.

Louisville sent his release to Southern Miss on Wednesday and the 6-foot-9, 270-pound Caracter could enroll in classes next week.

“The release has been sent to them (Southern Miss),” a source close to the situation said. “They have permission to contact him and speak with him. They’re pretty much recruiting him, so to speak. They have inquired for his release and it’s been granted. He’d have to sit out a year.”

“All is know is that there were talks that he could be transferring here, but as of (Thursday) night he hadn’t,” SMU spokesman Timothy Andrzejewski said. “The compliance department has to look everything over.” He added that Caracter was not on campus as of Friday morning.

Caracter had considered NAIA national champ Oklahoma City University, but that option now appears dead in the water, perhaps because OCU coach Tommy Wade make take a job under Travis Ford at Oklahoma State. Caracter would not have had to sit out a year if he made that move. (more…)

Derrick Caracter wants to play basketball this year and has made a decision to go to Oklahoma City University, according to Stacy Brooks, a professor in the Pan-African Studies Department at Louisville who has become an adviser to the 6-foot-9, 270-pound Caracter, a native of Fanwood, N.J.

“The last time I talked to him he had made a decision to go to Oklahoma City,” Brooks said Wednesday night by phone. “That was last week. I told him to hurry up and get on that and go.

“Right now I don’t know where he is. I sent a text message to him and he hasn’t texted me back.” (more…)

Still no final determination on Derrick Caracter’s situation vis-a-vis Oklahoma City University.

The 6-foot-9 New Jersey native is apparently still deciding whether to transfer to the NAIA school from Louisville, or to go to another D-1 school and sit out a year.

“He’s not here,” OCU coach Tommy Wade told Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com. “From my conversations, not necessarily with Derrick but with his people, he’s still considering trying to transfer to a D-1 school and sitting out. We’re still in the mix, but the last day he can enroll is a week from today.”

Caracter had been offered an opportunity to return to the Louisville basketball team for the 2009-10 season, assuming he met various academic and athletic criteria set out by head coach Rick Pitino.

Caracter has hung up on both me and Goodman, so we’ll have to hear how this plays out from Wade.

As we reported here a few days ago, Oklahoma City University is recruiting Louisville big man and New Jersey native Derrick Caracter and needs to have an answer from him very soon.

“Are we recruiting him? Yes,” Oklahoma City coach Tommy Wade told Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com. “Is he at Oklahoma City? No. Has he decided to come to Oklahoma City? No. Not today.” (more…)

I’m still tracking down this Derrick Caracter story, but I have confirmed that Oklahoma City University is recruiting the 6-foot-9, 270-pound Caracter.

OCU became the first school since Life (Ga.) in 2000 to win consecutive NAIA crowns when it beat Mountain State (W. Va.), 75-72.

Ollie Bailey, a senior from Chicago who played at Rutgers before transferring, was named to the all-tournament team and became OCU’s first NAIA player of the year award winner. (more…)

Rumors out of Louisville have Derrick Caracter leaving the program for an NAIA school in Oklahoma City, but I haven’t been able to confirm anything just yet.

“As long as he’s in New Jersey and I am here, I don’t know what he’s going to do,” said Stacy Brooks, a professor in the Pan-African Studies Department at Louisville who has become an adviser to the 6-foot-9, 270-pound Caracter, a native of Fanwood, N.J.

“I don’t know anything. I know his mom really wants him to be playing right now.” (more…)

Former Plainfield (N.J.) High School basketball coach Pete Vasil spent part of his day giving advice to Derrick Caracter.

“I walk in to speak today (at the Summer Heatt Basketball Camp at Midland Park High School), and as I walk in there’s Derrick Caracter,” said Vasil, who recently stepped down after posting a 62-20 record during his career at Plainfield. “We’re talking about Union County basketball, when he was at Scotch-Plains and (Louisville’s) Earl Clark was at Rahway. We talked about the last four or five years in Union County.

“And I told him it’s a good thing that Coach (Rick) Pitino is giving you the opportunity to stay in school and make good on it.” (more…)