August 2009 - Posts
Duke’s lack of guard depth for next season – Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and freshman Andre Dawkins are the only natural perimeter players around – has thrust one of their former walk-ons into a potentially prominent role next season.
This could be really good for Jordan Hamilton, a fifth-year graduate student, who was a two-time All-State player at his Arkansas high school.
Then again, if Hamilton plays a lot, he seems like an ideal candidate to draw the ire of opposing fans. Hear me out.
CONTINUED >>
If you didn’t already know, elite athletes are just physically superior to you and me. They’re capable of doing things most of us can't, simply because they have ability, focus and the necessary resources.
Take the Morris twins at Kansas. Neither is an eye-popping athlete, but I doubt many of us can do what they’ve done the last few months.
Namely, gain weight without putting it all around their midseason. (Sigh.)
CONTINUED >>
Those who remember former Miami Hurricane star Tim James as the 1999 Big East player of the Year may have a hard time picturing him in his new role: U.S. soldier in Iraq.
The 6-foot-7 James was perfect for the college game. Long arms, nice mid-range jumper and always hit the boards hard. He was the focal point of Leonard Hamilton’s teams from the late 1990s that helped established Miami as a reputable hoops program for a time. Seriously. The ‘Canes were in the NCAA tourney in ’98, ’99, ’00 and ’02, and James was a big reason.
Iraq, however, is an entirely different challenge. And one James embraced.
CONTINUED >>
As if this week needed another coach behaving badly, Billy Gillipie decided to add fuel to the fire. The ex-Kentucky coach was arrested for a DUI outside of Lexington early Thursday morning.
(Shakes head.)
How about a more distinguished coach? Can we play catch-up with John Wooden instead?
CONTINUED >>
Guess we should’ve seen this coming.
How Rick Pitino went all these months without snapping when it came to all the talk of infidelity, extortion and he said/she said is actually kind of amazing. Even public figures who regularly deal with the media don’t always stay cool under pressure.
Yet Pitino’s largely been a model of restraint, allowing the authorities and lawyers to handle the legal aspects and remaining mostly mum on the subject publicly.
And then … this happened. Whether it was the local media coverage or that he was simply fed up, Pitino lost it.
And, in the process, he lost any favorable public opinion he had.
CONTINUED >>
Florida International wants to be a college hoops contender. But playing North Carolina in Isiah Thomas’ college coaching debut wasn’t what athletic director Pete Garcia had in mind.
Not one bit.
The Panthers are slated to be part of the Coaches vs. Cancer preseason tourney, with a Nov. 9 game at Chapel Hill. But Garcia is livid at the prospect of facing the defending champs, threatening to withdraw the school from the event. He says FIU’s being “bullied” into the matchup.
“Would they do what they’re doing to us to Duke, or to North Carolina? No,” Garcia said Tuesday. “But they’ll do it to FIU and any other school out there like FIU.”
Well played Garcia. Here’s a tip: If the Panthers ever get an invite to the NCAA tournament, don’t bitch about where FIU is slotted. Just be grateful you’re in.
CONTINUED >>
Say this for Kevin Stallings: he’s a man of principle.
The Vanderbilt coach passed on a $100,000 raise to fund his team’s 10-day trip to Australia earlier this month. The school had made cuts of up to 20 percent this spring, leaving the trip in jeopardy. But Stallings decided the money would be better spent on his team.
I’d like to think most coaches would do the same, but I’m not sure. That’s a chunk of change. But maybe Stallings just understands how money should be spent.
CONTINUED >>
Arizona coach Sean Miller made a couple of notable signings this summer in Lamont Jones and Derrick Williams, but my favorite move hiring graduate assistant Luke Murray.
Anything that raises the odds of Bill Murray attending a game is a bonus.
Yep, that Bill Murray.
CONTINUED >>
Talent vs. experience. That’s the eternal question. Do you want a roster of experienced players or a team full of talented, young ballers?
OK, you want both. That’s easy. And if you can’t have experienced, talented players, you want a mix.
But when it’s crunch time in late March, what kind of player is on the floor? The most talented bunch or a group you can trust to make the right decision because they’ve been there before?
CONTINUED >>
Every scandal needs a villain. In the case of Memphis’ vacated Final Four season, two have emerged. But I’m unclear why there aren’t three.
Popular opinion is saddling John Calipari with most of the blame. No surprise there. Coach Cal was Memphis’ coach since 2000 and turned the Tigers into a national title contender. Anything regarding the program – victories, recruiting, publicity, compliance – falls to Calipari.
The NCAA also is taking some heat. But there's enough blame to spread to Derrick Rose, too.
CONTINUED >>
The 2009 national title game settled the conventional argument of the “team of the decade.” North Carolina and Michigan State each entered the game with one title, both reached four Final Fours and had similar overall records.
And when the Heels won, it assured them bragging rights. But what about everyone else?
For that, we turn to the fine folks at Rush the Court.
Their hybrid analysis ranking system (their term) considered several factors, notably titles, Final Fours, conference crowns, draft picks and All-Americans, among others. The methodology passes the sniff test. The results pass the eye test, too.
CONTINUED >>
Jarvis Varnado may be the ultimate team player, what with his help defense and shot blocking.
And what had been a memorable summer – making Team USA for the University Games and being listed as a preseason Wooden Award candidate – got even better because it could ensure Miss State having a big season in 2009-10.
He’ll pay his own tuition this year so another Bulldog player can have his scholarship.
CONTINUED >>
Who doesn’t love a good trick shot? One of my favorite ads as a kid was Michael Jordan and Larry Bird trying to top each other in a game of H-O-R-S-E, and to the victor went the Big Mac. Seems like everyone loved that ad.
Denis Clemente must too.
This video’s a little old and the footage is grainy, but I caught it for the first time today. Nice bit of trickery, but I like his jubilation at the end best. You can almost hear him talking to Jordan, “Off the video screen, one bounce, nothing but net.
CONTINUED >>
Hype’s a hard thing to ignore. Every season, the elite incoming college freshmen are touted as instant stars, able to carry a team to the Final Four (Derrick Rose) or even a title (Carmelo Anthony).
And why not? When we read about their exploits, see a YouTube video or various SportsCenter highlights, it’s hard not to believe that one of these players could indeed dominate like Kevin Durant.
Thankfully, there are writers who keep their cool and remind us that sometimes, not all freshmen are saviors, but merely good players.
CONTINUED >>
It’s official. Syracuse football is desperate. Why else turn to a quarterback who hasn’t played football since 2004?
Good luck to Greg Paulus, though. The former Duke point guard was once a top flight prep QB – a former Gatorade player of the year – but methinks he’ll be a bit rusty, no matter how much optimism he has.
So where would Paulus rank among players who played hoops and football? I’d say he’s a step behind most of the guys usually in the conversation.
CONTINUED >>
I spent last week in Kansas to see family and attend a friend’s wedding and couldn’t get away from Pitino, Karen Sypher and the whole sordid mess. That saga – along with Tiger at the PGA – was guaranteed to spark long discussions on coaches and other people of power getting caught in tabloid-worthy scandals.
As a result, I spent a sizable portion of Monday trolling the Web for more news and option on Pitino. Couldn’t be helped. It’s one of those stories impossible to ignore. Three spots were valuable as one-stop reading sources, though.
The consensus? Pitino messed up, both in his choice of late-night entertainment and how he handled the fall-out, right away and in ensuring years. How could someone obviously so smart and media savvy botch this whole thing so badly?
Still, it’s not the worst thing to hit the sport recently, or even this decade. Tough to argue with Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News, who compiled the Top 10 coaching scandals of the 2000s. Pitino didn’t make the cut (and Kelvin Sampson was No. 10) because … man, there were some stupid coaching decisions.
CONTINUED >>
It's a head-shaking story. No other way to say it.
But it's also a reminder -- as if sports fans needed another one this summer -- that we really don't know our sports figures, no matter how much larger than life they may seem. CONTINUED >>
College hoops’ slow season means lots of recruiting stories, news tidbits and – when you’re motivated – random stories ranking various aspects of the game.
Thus, this vote from the Sporting News: Who is college basketball’s athlete of the decade?
And is it strange that it comes down to Tyler Hansbrough and Jason Williams?
CONTINUED >>
My buddies, Jeff and Terry, live for college hoops. If their jobs didn’t take up so much of their time, they’d spend the winter months traveling the country, watching hoops as much as possible.
Instead, they catch most games on TV. (Rest of country’s hoops nuts nod heads.)
Yet after today’s tournament announcement, they, like the Sporting Blog’s Chris Littman, must be shaking their heads. Just where are the good November tournament matchups?
CONTINUED >>
A Q&A with Maryland coach Gary Williams covered quite a bit of ground, including his prognosis for the Terps’ upcoming season, his recruiting methods and the heat Williams took last January when the Terps lost five games, including a 41-point drubbing by Duke and a shocker to Morgan State.
Some pointed to Williams’ lack of high-profile recruits on the roster as the reason behind the Terps’ failings, but when they reached the ACC tourney title game and the second round of the NCAA tournament, some that talk died off.
In fact, it provided some motivation for Williams' team. Suffice to say, Williams can still breathe some fire.
CONTINUED >>
Paying $20 to watch North Carolina’s alumni play against each other is a bargain. Seeing 24 of the best Heels of the last 15 years square off? Sweet.
But it got me thinking –what other schools could produce an alumni game worth paying for? (Remember, it’s not just recent alumni, but guys who also are still playing.)
CONTINUED >>
