College Basketball

[RedEyedGhost]

John Wall may have committed to Kentucky. It was posted last night, and then they said it wasn't true, and now they're saying it is true... so who knows.

Multiple sources confirmed Tuesday morning that the 6-foot-4 Wall had given a commitment to the Wildcats.

[Rhom]

John Wall may have committed to Kentucky. It was posted last night, and then they said it wasn't true, and now they're saying it is true... so who knows.

At this point, they're saying its true. The number 1 player in the country joins the already number 1 ranked recruiting class in the nation. Talk about making a big splash in your first year at a new school!

:stunned:

:cheers:

:grouphug:

:D

:bow:

That ought to just about cover all my emotions on this.

[Rhom]

It'll be interesting to see what Pitino does now.

Agreed. This state isn't big enough for both of their personalities. He was easily able to outshine Denny Crum when he was at UK (and then he later replaced him at UofL), Tubby was laid back, Gillispie was famously bad with the media... but Calipari studied at the foot of the master and has now surpassed him.

Cal just hit 60,000 followers on Twitter yesterday. He sent out a message the other day saying that once he hits 100,000 he'd invite Tom Crean's 5,000 to just switch over and follow him. :rofl: I'm actually tempted to sign up for an account now just to follow him. :stunned:

I don't know what will happen with Pitino at Louisville now. Its a real shame, he's made good progress and the city is getting ready to complete a new downtown arena for him to play in. I'd also love to see him stay because with the hype machine that is ESPN getting the contract for SEC games, UK/UofL games will get the kind of love usually reserved for Duke/UNC.

Edit: Okay... I did just sign up for Twitter. I'm follower number 60,988. Damn. He's giving away free T shirts to every 1000th follower. 12 off.

[Gold Storm]

this could be the start of a great feud in college basketball. This could also out the fire back into Pitino. The only problem is that Calipari will have too make it big this year because that's all he will get with most of his new recruits.

[Rhom]

this could be the start of a great feud in college basketball. This could also out the fire back into Pitino. The only problem is that Calipari will have too make it big this year because that's all he will get with most of his new recruits.

Yes and no. The only "one and dones" in the new class are John Wall and (likely) DeMarcus Cousins. However, in addition to them he loses Jodie Meeks and (likely) Patrick Patterson. That is a lot of talent and experience to lose. However... UK is currently listed as a possibility for almost half of the top 20 recruits for next year. That includes overall number one player Harrison Barnes out of Iowa.

Calipari will reload talent next year and will most likely still have Bledsoe, Hood, Orton and Dodson out of this class in addition to Darius Miller and Matt Pilgrim left over from the Gillispie years.

IIRC, I read that there is a possibility that we could have seven scholarships available next year! :stunned:

Poor Blake Griffin... Now he goes to the other LA team, where many good players go to die... :cry:

Edit: Okay... its official. Let my

The drive he makes at 1:27 in the video is just plain sick. :ack:

[Rhom]

Hey REG... a columnist in Lawrence is contemplating a UK vs. KU national title game in 2010. :lol: Even I'm not ready to go that far before a game has been played!

A Maryland blogger laments the current state of AAU ball. I agree. The current situation can't continue the way it is going. Recruiting 10 year olds to a particular shoe brand is out of control. Calipari said the other day that he'd like to see a ban on recruiting during the summer. I don't think that would fix the problem with AAU, but I do think it would curtail it some. (Really the only true benefit is giving college coaches time off to spend with their family... and for Cal's pay, I want to think he's out there working non-stop!!!)

[ZANNI_1276]

A Maryland blogger laments the current state of AAU ball. I agree. The current situation can't continue the way it is going. Recruiting 10 year olds to a particular shoe brand is out of control. Calipari said the other day that he'd like to see a ban on recruiting during the summer. I don't think that would fix the problem with AAU, but I do think it would curtail it some. (Really the only true benefit is giving college coaches time off to spend with their family... and for Cal's pay, I want to think he's out there working non-stop!!!)

AAU was such a great notion. I played in it for several years when I was in HS and it was one of the best experiences I had with the game, between the friendships I still have maintained and playing against some guys where you just knew you were watching something special, it was great. But it has morphed into something that is really how shall I say, tainted. The egos of the people “recruiting†and “organizing†have become shameful. It really has turned into one of the darker side of "amateur†sports (I use that word “amateur†very loosely BTW). It has become the elephant in the room that coaches don't talk about – at least publicly, average fans are oblivious too and sports casters ignore. For me it is part of the reason I have had a disconnect with college basketball over the past few years. It is portrayed as one of the last strongholds of pure sports but in the end has become quite corrupt because of the egos of the players, the coaches recruiting and what I like to call "player handlers".

I know nothing is perfect and anyone who has ever been on a major college campus has witnessed, seen or heard about the fringe "benefits" of scholarship athletes. I get it, it has been going on forever but AAU has taken it into a whole new dimension. I mean recruiting 10 year olds, pushing them into certain directions, these street agents ahhh - it is just plain ole wrong. I mean the coach’s ability to actually coach is almost secondary now a days – christ – you need a coach who has some slick negotiating skills just to recruit whether directly or indirectly through his street agent and navigate through the political landscape of college basketball/AAU and others who have thier mitts in it. I would love it if there was some way to sanction it but there would always be loop holes that people would seemingly be able to find. Getting rid of this whole 1 and done rule would help, keep it in line with college football, can’t declare until your third year of eligibility (oops there is that word, eligibility!) would be a step in the right direction.

Not to sound like a whiner – because I do love college basketball – I do – A LOT more than I can describe, but at least at the pro level you know these guys are playing for the paycheck where in college there is too much politics, too many backroom deals, too much manipulation of for the most part – kids who may look and have the bodies of a responsible adult but in fact is still just a stupid kid – and I am not saying that derogatory way. I guess in the meantime I will check in on the 5 star recruits like everyone else and where they are heading off too – cause I do – but I hope one day that can somehow fix it just to take the seediness out of the whole thing. Ok off the soap box now...sory

[Rhom]

Getting rid of this whole 1 and done rule would help, keep it in line with college football, can’t declare until your third year of eligibility (oops there is that word, eligibility!) would be a step in the right direction.

I agree. I think another option I've heard bandied around on sports talk radio a lot would be the baseball method. Basically, every high schooler is eligible for the amateur draft. If you get drafted and you choose to go to school, you aren't eligible again for 3 years. If you're selected and want to go... great. :dunno:

There are a lot of things that need to be worked out. Basically, the only people benefiting from the one year rule are the teams that took a "Kwame Brown" right out of high school, when a year of college would have exposed them for a fraud. It basically adds a layer of protection for the NBA teams and it hurts college programs when they take a guy like an OJ Mayo who you know to be tainted, but he has to go somewhere for a year.

Not to sound like a whiner – because I do love college basketball – I do – A LOT more than I can describe, but at least at the pro level you know these guys are playing for the paycheck where in college there is too much politics, too many backroom deals, too much manipulation of for the most part – kids who may look and have the bodies of a responsible adult but in fact is still just a stupid kid – and I am not saying that derogatory way. I guess in the meantime I will check in on the 5 star recruits like everyone else and where they are heading off too – cause I do – but I hope one day that can somehow fix it just to take the seediness out of the whole thing. Ok off the soap box now...sory

Its a good soap box to be on... and considering its mainly just me, REG, and Triskele in here during the offseason; we welcome the company!!!

John Wall says his plan is to play 2-3 years at Kentucky... "unless Coach Calipari tells him he should go after the first year." Considering he's projceted as the top pick in next year's draft... I'd say its a safe bet he's gone. But it is nice to hear him at least give lip service to staying an extra year.

[ZANNI_1276]

Its a good soap box to be on... and considering its mainly just me, REG, and Triskele in here during the offseason; we welcome the company!!!

John Wall says his plan is to play 2-3 years at Kentucky... "unless Coach Calipari tells him he should go after the first year." Considering he's projceted as the top pick in next year's draft... I'd say its a safe bet he's gone. But it is nice to hear him at least give lip service to staying an extra year.

Well if he does great. :rolleyes: I am sure that is just what everyone wants to hear - I am with you, if he can go number 1 next year - c ya!!!

Honestly - I love Cal, loved him when he was out east, not so much with the nets but loved how he turned that memphis program around and i am looking forward to him at UK. I also want to see Mr. Wall play - bad, haven't seen anything aside from some crummy YOU TUBE stuff but people tell me he is a special one indeed.

I know everyone wants to get paid and more importantly not injured but a player who does stay 3+ years and enters the draft has both the mental and physical maturity to contribute and play right away. I mean you can run off a list of these kids that had immense, all world talent that decided to go play in the association WAY to early and just weren't ready for it mentally and washed out. Other guys who could have been stars turned themselves into role players where a couple of years in college growing up, honing thier game could have been special at the pro level instead of holding the proverbial "WILL WORK FOR FOOD" sign just struggling to make a roster spot.

And you brought up a great point. What happens to the school after the kid pulls an OJ Mayo - they get hit hard with sanctions. You and I aren't stupid, these top kids playing one and dones are getting compensated in some way shape or form for going to these schools or someone associated with the programs - only reason it was leaked out with OJ was because a dude didn't get paid what he was promised and had an ax to grind and went public with the story.

Why do the players get to walk away squeaky clean while the school is penalized via scholarships or tournament bids, then trickling down on losing star recruits and then - gets you fired? I would be perfectly happy if if they treated the letter of intent for what it is - a contract and include some sort of verbage/clause - if you accept money, gifts and are busted for it and then opt out to go pro and sign a pro contract - put in some finanical restitiution clause the player has to pay a significant amount back to the school. I mean these guys get to leave a wake of carnage behind them and all they get to say is "ohh, sorry my bad", mean while the school is put over the barrell. Nonsense. Some how these guys need to be made to take responsibilty, because they most certainly won't do it on thier own ya know?

[RedEyedGhost]

Hey REG... a columnist in Lawrence is contemplating a UK vs. KU national title game in 2010. :lol: Even I'm not ready to go that far before a game has been played!

I saw that. And that article is the typical of his article's quality - crap.

All I can is that UK fans as a whole better hope that the players take to Cal's system like water, because the hype machine is in full effect. And if they struggle at all it's going to get nasty quick.

Some more evidence of that nasty hype machine:

The Opening Pitch: Mark it down -- Kentucky is going to win the 2010 college hoops national title.

They had already gone from dud to contender by importing John Calipari, who signed a top-flight recruiting class, to go with returning big man Patrick Patterson, the best post player in the country. (They may even get sharp-shooting guard Jodie Meeks back, too.)

Patrick Patterson's good, but seriously?

Cole Aldrich says "Hi". :smoking:

[RedEyedGhost]

I forgot to comment on these two things

Edit: Okay... its official. Let my

The drive he makes at 1:27 in the video is just plain sick. :ack:

:eek:

But Calipari seems to have caught freaking fire in the eyes of players. I found the quote from Wall to be very telling in which he pointed out the very recent success of guards Evans and Rose under Calipari. Kid is pretty logical. Why wouldn't you go play for Calipari at Kentucky?

But here's the thing, what did Calipari actually do for them? Rose could have showcased his skills anywhere and become the #1 pick - if it weren't for the 1 year rule, he would have been a top 5 pick the year before. Evans would likely have been late lottery this past year, and that's likely where he'll go after a year of Cal's tutelage.

[RedEyedGhost]

Oh, you may very well be right. I'm talking more about the perception. Evans and Rose were almost certainly can't miss prospects. But they did play for Cal and things went swimmingly well for them. Wall's comment suggest that he sees himself as the next guy in that line.

Yeah, and that's why it's odd that Wall's giving the "I'm gonna stay 2-3 years" b.s..

If Calipari can continue to cultivate that perception it'll be powerful.

But also very stressful on the fans. UK fans are loving it up right now, but it will be fun to watch 10 months from now when Wall takes off and they all freak out because "he said he was going to stay 2 years!" I hate massive turnover like that, and prefer a lower ranked player that will stick around for at least three years (unless we have a massive need that can be instantly filled like Xavier does for us next year), because that experience is invaluable come tourney time.

I'm glad our resident UK fan is mentally stable :thumbsup:

[Gold Storm]

There are a lot of things that need to be worked out. Basically, the only people benefiting from the one year rule are the teams that took a "Kwame Brown" right out of high school, when a year of college would have exposed them for a fraud. It basically adds a layer of protection for the NBA teams and it hurts college programs when they take a guy like an OJ Mayo who you know to be tainted, but he has to go somewhere for a year.

The one and done works for the NBA and draft bust like Brown and others, but it does not work for the colleges. They get end up getting kids like Mayo whom are one and done and already are cashing in on their NBA fame and money, so they drop players like Renardo Sidney like he had the plague. I understand why they put in the one year clause; however, it is not working and just wasting a scholarship that could have been used for players that will attend a college class and graduate.

[Rhom]

Nick Calathes to go pro... in Greece! :stunned:

I had heard this was a possibility, but I really didn't expect it to come to fruition. What the &@#% is wrong in Gainesville? I have to think Billy D is kicking himself that he didn't take the first train out of town after that second title either to Lexington or Orlando, either one would have been preferable to two years of the NIT and the inability to hold onto his players. I also wonder if Jai Lucas wishes he'd stayed now that the PG slot isn't so crowded or if he's happier in Texas anyways. So much confusion.

[RedEyedGhost]

Nick Calathes to go pro... in Greece! :stunned:

I saw that story too. I liked this bit:

he deal, sources said, will pay Calathes around $1.1 million per year, in addition to providing him with a home, car and tax credits, making for a total package commensurate to what the NBA rookie salary scale provides a late-lottery selection. Golden's State forward Anthony Randolph, the final lottery pick of 2008 at No. 14, made $1.424 million as a rookie.

So that means Sasha Kaun was getting paid the equivalent of the 15-16th pick in the draft in Russia last year. :wideeyed: Good for him.

WRT Calathes, There's no way he's going to be selected that high in the NBA draft, and by preemptively signing the contract he's probably hoping to slip from the first round all together. If he slips to the 2nd round, he can get some extra experience and then when he's ready to play in the NBA he'll be able to set the terms of his contract versus being picked in the late 1st and stuck with a set contract.

But, yeah, there must be something going on in Gainesville with the way players are fleeing.

[Rhom]

First he's like a "supermodel with herpes" now Lance Stephenson is being pursued by Florida.

Its odd... ever since his near miss with Kansas, Stpehenson has been well nigh untouchable for seemingly every school from the west coast to the east coast. Now Donovan is stepping up to target him for the Gators. If any other coach did this, I'm betting we'd see accusations of desperation. For some reason, Billy D seems to be immune.

The soap opera continues...

[RedEyedGhost]

First he's like a "supermodel with herpes" now Lance Stephenson is being pursued by Florida.

Its odd... ever since his near miss with Kansas, Stpehenson has been well nigh untouchable for seemingly every school from the west coast to the east coast. Now Donovan is stepping up to target him for the Gators. If any other coach did this, I'm betting we'd see accusations of desperation. For some reason, Billy D seems to be immune.

The soap opera continues...

I have no idea what's going on with that mess. The recruiting guru for KU on scout.com has said that Stephenson never had an offer from us. FWIW, I have a very hard time believing that. If Xavier hadn't become available, I think we would have taken Lance in a heartbeat - we really needed a topflight wing.

[RedEyedGhost]

This is about a week old, and I had meant to comment on it then but it's so ridiculous that I keep forgetting about it/blocking it from my memory.

Fox Sports Top 10 Active College Coaches:

10. Tony Bennett, Virginia

9. Sean Miller, Arizona

8. Ben Howland, UCLA

7. Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh

6. Bo Ryan, Wisconsin

5. Jay Wright, Villanova

4. Roy Williams, North Carolina

3. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke

2. Rick Pitino, Louisville

1. Tom Izzo, Michigan State

Lets just get this out of the way first: Tony Bennett, Sean Miller, Jamie Dixon, and Bo Ryan should never be on this list without Bill Self's name in front of theirs, and he should also be ranked above Jay Wright (I do feel he should be on this list though).

Same goes for those four guys and Calipari - he should be on the list before any of them. His placement relative to Wright is a little tricky though, and I think Calipari should be above Wright because he's done it at a mid-major and not in the Big East. Apparently Cal isn't clean enough for this list:

Neither did Bruce Pearl nor John Calipari (you can partially thank violations at UMass in 1996 for Cal's submission from this list while Kansas and UConn have had their own off-the-court issues with players more recently).

Why is Tony Bennett on this list? He made the 2nd round of the tourney one year, and the sweet sixteen the next. Sure he did well for WSU, but in the grand scheme of things his resume is definitely not that impressive.

What has Sean Miller done to make the list? A 1st round, 2nd round, E8, and S16 vaults you into on of the top 10 coaches? I don't think so.

I like Jamie Dixon and think he's done a good job at Pitt, but he's only made one E8. He may eventually get over that hump, but next year looks to be bad for them but ffs, Self has been three times in the past six years and he converted one of them into a fricken championship.

I like Bo Ryan too (but I hate watching his teams play their boring as fuck style). He always does a great job maximizing his talent, but he's only made one E8 in his 8 years at Wisconsin and he didn't make the tourney in his two years at UW-Mil.

I think the top 5 should look like this:

1. Roy Williams (5 F4s, 2 championships this decade)

2. K

3. Izzo (5 F4s, 1 championship this decade)

4. Pitino

5. Self

Izzo's great, but I think Roy's resume is better and deserves the top spot because of that. K and Pitino make the list even though their better days are behind them (and they are both still very good).

Josh Herwitt you suck, but at least you work on the same site as Jeff Goodman. So hopefully some of his greatness will rub off on you :rolleyes:

[RedEyedGhost]

Argh! The dreaded triple post.

Memphis has been charged by the NCAA with a major recruiting violation.

The Memphis men's basketball program has been charged by the NCAA with major violations during the 2007-08 season under former coach John Calipari, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported on Wednesday.

The allegations include "knowing fraudulence or misconduct" on an SAT exam by a player on the 2007-08 team.

The wording of the report indicates the player in question only competed during the 2007-08 season and the 2008 NCAA tournament. The player's name was redacted in the report due to privacy laws, The Commercial Appeal reported.

If the NCAA allegations are proven true, Memphis might have to forfeit their NCAA-record 38 victories and Final Four appearance.

Memphis received the notice of allegations Jan. 16 and is scheduled to appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions June 6.

This does not sound good for them, and will likely put Cal under very close scrutiny at UK. Especially because Cal knew about it before he left for UK.

[Rhom]

This does not sound good for them, and will likely put Cal under very close scrutiny at UK. Especially because Cal knew about it before he left for UK.

I heard about this last night from the local news and then for some reason this board wouldn't open for me today. My initial response was "Ah hell..." :tantrum:

I read things from other people out there that say things like "Has Kentucky found their Kelvin Sampson?" and it gets me at least partially worried. Coach Cal is obviously made of teflon. Major violations at two schools and neither of them stick to him?!!? Impressive.

To his credit, I don't have a clue how you avoid this sort of mess. Derrick Rose cheated on his SAT to qualify for college. There hasn't been any word on whether anyone at the school knew or not. I don't know how a school is supposed to get around these sorts of possibilities unless you recruit a team full of 4.0 students with a 36 on their ACT.

From what I've seen in both cases of violations, the main issue for Calipari seems to be recruiting kids of questionable character. But... these are all millionares in waiting. They are the royalty of today and yesterday's royal kids had things like whipping boys to take their punishment. Today, it is the school playing the role of whipping boy. I do find it somewhat amusing that the investigation that uncovered the basketball violations started with a women's golf coach. :lol:

Fans of other schools will look at Kentucky and Coach Cal and automatically make him and the university guilty by association. According to president Lee Todd and AD Mitch Barnhart, the substance of these accusations came out during the hiring process and they felt comfortable hiring Cal after talking to the NCAA. Apparently, they even have a letter from the NCAA that states Calipari is not in danger of being named in the violations.

For now, I'll play the waiting game and cross my fingers that John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins et al passed their tests on their own.