University of North Carolina Athletics
Cota Will Not Play Today
January 22, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2000
University of North Carolina senior point guard Ed Cota will not play against Florida State this afternoon due to a viral infection. Senior Terrence Newby will start in place of Cota.
Newby has started one other game in his career. He had eight assists, four rebounds and four points at Dartmouth on Dec. 19, 1998, in an 82-68 UNC victory.
Cota did not practice with the team Friday and it is undetermined at this time when he will be able to rejoin the team.
Doctors say the virus is not the flu. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native is not in the hospital and could possibly attend the game.
Cota leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in assists with 8.6 per game. He had 10 assists in Carolina's loss at Virginia on Tuesday and moved into ninth place in NCAA history with 901 assists.
This is the first time UNC has played without Cota since a Jan. 31, 1999, win over Georgia Tech. He did not play that day after suffering a calf muscle injury in the previous contest at Duke. He also did not play at Dartmouth last year due to a jammed thumb and missed the LSU game his freshman year due to a strained right arch.
