Notebook: St. Joe's reportedly to hire 76ers assistant

Saint Joseph's was poised to hire Philadelphia 76ers assistant Billy Lange as its head coach, according to multiple reports Thursday.

The Hawks are looking for a replacement for Phil Martelli, who was fired after a 24-year stint as head coach at the school, where he compiled a 444-328 record and made seven NCAA Tournament appearances.

Lange, 47, has been with the 76ers since 2013. He was the head coach at Navy for seven seasons (2004-11) with a record of 92-115 before resigning to become the associate head coach at Villanova, a position he held for two seasons. Lange was also a Wildcats assistant to Jay Wright from 2001-04.

--Patrick Beilein, the son of Michigan coach John Beilein, was hired as head coach at Niagara, the school announced. He replaces Chris Casey, who was fired after going 64-129 in six seasons.

Beilein, 36, spent the past four seasons at Division II Le Moyne College and guided the team to a 77-41 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances.

Beilein played college basketball at West Virginia from 2002-06 under his father. Among his other coaching stops are a two-year stint as head coach at Division II West Virginia Wesleyan College (32-27 from 2012-14), followed by a season as player development coach for the Utah Jazz.

--South Dakota State promoted assistant coach Eric Henderson after head coach T.J. Otzelberger accepted the head coaching position at UNLV on Wednesday.

Henderson has been an assistant for the Jackrabbits for the past three seasons.

"Eric has been a big part of the success that we have had at South Dakota State," athletic director Justin Sell said in a statement. "His energy and enthusiasm for the game, and for the student-athletes he coaches, are infectious."

--Missouri-Kansas City has hired Northwestern assistant Billy Donlon to replace Kareem Richardson, who was fired after posting a six-year record of 75-118.

Donlon, 42, was the head coach at Wright State for six seasons (2010-16), going 109-94 before being fired. He spent a year as an assistant at Michigan before joining Northwestern.

--North Carolina forward Nassir Little is questionable for Friday's Sweet 16 game against Auburn in the Midwest region because of flu-like symptoms, coach Roy Williams said.

Little has missed the past two practice sessions. A freshman from Orange Park, Fla., he has been a key contributor off the bench for the Tar Heels, averaging 10.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. His 19.5 points per-game average leads the Tar Heels through the first two games of the NCAA Tournament.

--Kentucky standout forward PJ Washington, who didn't play in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament because of a foot injury, is questionable for Friday's Sweet 16 game against Houston in the Midwest region.

If Washington is able to manage the pain and play, it likely would be on a minutes restriction. Coach John Calipari said he would be "stunned" if the sophomore could go for more than about 15 to 18 minutes Friday.

Washington has been out with a sprained foot, suffered against Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals on March 16. He had a cast removed from the foot Tuesday.

-- West Virginia redshirt junior forward Lamont West is poised to transfer before next season, Stadium's Jeff Goodman reported.

West averaged 11.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in 36 games for the Mountaineers this season. He will graduate from West Virginia with one year of eligibility remaining.

The Mountaineers' James "Beetle" Bolden also reportedly will transfer after graduating. Chase Harler is another who will graduate with eligibility remaining.

--Virginia Tech cleared Ty Outlaw to play Friday night in its Sweet 16 game against Duke, a day after the senior guard was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Hokies coach Buzz Williams released a statement saying that a drug test performed by an "outside agency" came back negative: "With that information in mind we intend to play Ty on Friday evening. We will continue to let the process play out and that's all I can say at this time," he said.

The misdemeanor charge was dated March 21 when Outlaw was with his team in San Jose, Calif., for the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The charge stemmed from a police visit to Outlaw's apartment on March 20, Williams confirmed.

--Field Level Media