In a bizarre twist, Derrick Jasper reunites with Billy Gillispie

It takes some pretty strange circumstances for an ex-player accepting a graduate assistant job to be newsworthy, but Derrick Jasper taking such a role under new Texas Tech coach Billy Gillispie certainly qualifies. Jasper played for Gillispie at Kentucky during the 2007-08 season before transferring to UNLV to finish his college career closer to his family in Paso Robles, Calif. A major reason for the willowy 6-foot-6 guard's decision to leave Kentucky at the time also appeared to be that Gillispie rushed him back too quickly from offseason microfracture knee surgery. Whereas NBA players Amar'e Stoudemire and Greg Oden needed a full year to return from microfracture surgery and Chris Webber played through pain to come back in nine months, Jasper played just six months after undergoing the procedure. He played 19 of the final 20 games of the season to help Kentucky earn an NCAA tournament berth, averaging 4.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists even though the injury still c...