Last night the Washington Nationals made Bryce Harper the number one overall pick, but he's not without his critics. He's got his fair share of red flags most associated with his attitude. His defenders argued that his talent was too much to pass up and that he'll mature with time. So why is Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins not being extended the courtesy as we head toward the NBA draft? Cousins was not ejected from a game the way Harper was in the Junior College World Series, but his "knucklehead" status has him dropping down the boards despite handling a hostile situation in Mississippi State quite well. Harper's supposed to be an all-world talent, Cousins likely the 2nd pick talent. I understand that, but Cousins is only two years older than Harper and while Harper has been in position to showcase his talents, Cousins played in a guard dominated situation at Kentucky. Looking forward to the NBA draft, I'd be hard pressed to pass on a big man that has the skill set of Cousins, pretty much anything you could want minus blocks, should be picked below Evan Turner. It should also be noted that Turner was more of a hot head as freshman, ironically enough and his skill set is more easily attained by teams than Cousins. Unless a GM is convinced that Turner will be special, he better be certain that Cousins will not mature with age the way people say Harper will, otherwise that GM will regret it.
Tuesday, June 8
Two Knucklehead Draft Picks: Two Different Perceptions
Monday, June 7
Is Coach Calipari the Anti-Wooden?
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. -John WoodenThis is not intended as a full comparison, just in terms of public perception. Coach Wooden unfortunately passed away over the weekend, and is remembered, correctly, as being not only a tremendous coach, but also a tremendous man. He was a man who valued winning and teaching, but a man who also turned a blind eye at various points during his life. Contrast the way Coach Wooden is perceived and the way Coach Cal is perceived and it night and day.
After both coaches left schools, their teams were placed on probation. Last week, Calipari and his wife donated $1 million to a charitable organization in Memphis and within minutes the internet was alive with jokes and snide remarks about why he would be donating. While Coach Calipari may operate in greys area from time to time, he's never given the benefit of the doubt. Not by the media or the public. When Terrence Jones de-committed from Washington people (myself included) assumed Calipari had done something underhanded. He remained quiet and only after Jones committed did he tell his side of the story. His version stands in stark contrast to the assumptions made by many, but also made perfect sense.
Then he (Jones) called about an hour later and said ‘Cal, I made a mistake. I don’t know what I was doing.’ That is when the thing went like ‘You what?’ So we talked to him and said that we are going to do whatever you want. I am holding your scholarship. At one point I said, ‘Look, if you want to go to Washington then go to Washington, and if you want to come with us, come with us. Just make a decision so that we can all move on.’ (WKYT)Perhaps a victim of the time, people are constantly looking to attach scandal to Calipari, but many of those same people sought to deflect any criticism of Coach Wooden. He was voted the best coach of the century, while Cal is regarded by some as ruining college basketball. No one would argue that college basketball would be better off without Coach Wooden as a part of its history, but a great many already have argued that way against Coach Cal. I've long been a critic of Calipari, but I'm also quite certain that if Coach Wooden was having his success in today's day and age, procuring top recruits from across the country (without some of them ever stepping foot on campus), that he too, would have jealous detractors crying foul. Continue reading...
Wednesday, February 4
I'm Sorry, and You Are...?
How many of the following men do you recognize, or can name?
No, it's not the ten most wanted list from Wall Street. These men are your SEC coaches not named Bruce Pearl or Billy Donovan.
We considered doing this as a YDKB, but decided that only family members and SEC commissioner Mike Slive could get more than half.
A full third of the conference's coaches are in their first year or are interim coaches. Less than a year after leading his team to three wins in just over thirty hours in the SEC tournament, Dennis Felton in out at Georgia. One of the elder statesmen of the league, Mark Gottfried resigned at Alabama just ten days after a loss to bitter rival, Auburn. The Tide had struggled the last three years against the Tigers, going 1-4.
The addition of new coaches isn't the issue, but in a sport where stability thrives, only three teams, Florida, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt have had their coaches in place for longer than five years, and half the league hasn't had their coach in place for two full seasons.
Coaching changes are a part of the business, and many times they are cyclical, but just as the SEC thrives in football from it's visibility they're struggling in basketball from a lack of it. The Big East basketball thrived in the 80s due in no small part to a contract with ESPN. SEC basketball now finds themselves stuck below both the ACC and Big East in ESPN's priority list and their weekend CBS coverage doesn't attract near the attention that their football does. Looking at Kentucky and Florida's remaining schedules they have just as many games on ESPN Full Court as the do on ESPN. The most watched games for this conference were when they were getting thrashed by the Big East in the SEC/Big East Invitational and most of the big name schools didn't participate.
In football, it's common place for teams to schedule patsies in non-conference play, preferring to allow the conference record to speak for itself. Apparently, the athletic directors in the SEC have chosen to do that for basketball too. According to the ESPN/USA Today poll, the conference as a whole only has five wins against top 25 teams, but more importantly only sixteen total matchups against ranked teams. Sixteen of their 254 played games represents just over six percent of their total games played and that number will continue to decrease as they play more unranked teams in conference. The conference's top three teams (in terms of visibility), Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee are a combined 2-5 with Florida having faced not one top 25 team and Kentucky going 0-3. Compare this with the ACC where every team in the conference has at least three matchups with ranked opponents, and the Big East where every school has faced at least four.
The lack of ranked teams in the conference hurts the SEC's numbers, but three of the teams haven't faced a single ranked team, and another five have only faced one. Consider this, Davidson, a "mid-major" has played three ranked teams this season, more than all but Kentucky and Tennessee in the SEC, and they too get no ranked games in conference, and they have a fourth ranked matchup, against Butler coming up. The SEC athletic directors are doing a poor job of scheduling, leading to decreased visibility (I hate to keep using that word), and making recruiting harder, thereby making it harder for these schools to compete at the highest level.
For the record, here's the list of the coaches at the top (left to right):
Top Row - Rick Stansbury (Miss St), Jeff Lebo (Auburn), Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt), Adam Kennedy (Ole Miss), and Darrin Horn (S. Carolina)
Bottom Row - Trent Johnson (LSU), Philip Pearson (Alabama), Billy Gillispie (Kentucky), Pete Herrmann (Georgia), and John Pelphrey (Arkansas)
Wednesday, January 14
Jodie M3333333333ks
Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks scored more than you last night. Meeks poured in 54 points on his way to school record, shot an incredible 15 of 22 from the field and ended Tennessee’s 16-game home court conference winning streak. He connected on 10 of 15 3-point attempts and was perfect on his fourteen free throw attempts. Despite being the only Wildcat in double figures he still managed to dish out four assists and snagged eight boards. The performance topped a 39-year-old record held by Dan Issel (ESPN analyst Jay Williams joked he had no idea who Issel was, maybe because he’s best known for his work in the NBA). Post-Maravich, the only higher scoring night in the SEC was by LSU’s All-American Chris Jackson in 1989. Meeks's night would've been good enough to top 4 of the top 5 winningest schools single-game scoring records: UNC - Lennie Rosenbluth (39), Kansas - Wilt Chamberlain (50), and Syracuse - Bill Smith (54). Only Duke's Danny Ferry had more points (58) in a game against Miami. For more, Pat Forde has a great piece.
Monday, November 17
Big Weekend for Big South Basketball
Although some may be reluctant to get interested college basketball in mid-November, there was some noise coming from the Big South Conference this past Friday. The first salvo fired was by the VMI Keydets as they beat Kentucky at Rupp Arena 111-103. The second event was not so much the outcome of a game, as what player had the big night. Seth Curry, the newest Curry to come on the scene in college basketball had 23 points and tied a Liberty University home record with 7 steals in the Flames' victory over Montreat. Despite it being early, there is definitely cause to be excited for hoops in the Big South this year. More on the two games after the break.
Krazy Keydets
Billy Gillispie probably will prefer not to schedule anymore Big South teams in his pre-conference slate after this year. Last year, Gardner-Webb achieved an 84-68 upset of the Wildcats in Rupp Arena. Even though at that time Gardner-Webb (who played a close game at Virginia Tech losing 65-62 Friday) was in the Atlantic Sun, they are now members of the Big South alongside the Keydets. The fact that both teams scored over 100 points is nothing surprising for VMI. Years ago coach Duggar Baucom employed a new fast paced gamestyle due to his lack of size. It is said he created the offense while sitting at a restaurant using the salt and pepper shakers and his napkin. The result has been high scores, a frenetic pace, and an exciting style of play to watch for the fans. The Keydets led the nation in scoring last year, averaging 91.3 ppg. Everyone is asked to shoot and shoot quickly. Even though VMI lost their leading scorer Reggie Williams to graduation last year, they had six players in double digits. Williams had led the entire nation in scoring two years in a row, but Travis Holmes poured in 30 to lead the team.
Beating Kentucky in Rupp certainly does not have the luster it has had in the past, especially with Gardner-Webb's victory last year, but it is still a big win for VMI and the conference over an SEC team. In a conference race that is sure to be wide open, the Keydets have made their opening statement with the win. Yesterday VMI fell just short of edging another big conference opponent as they lost to Virginia 107-97.
My Brother and Me
Last season the nation was introduced to Stephen Curry who is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry. Stephen led the Davidson Wildcats to the Elite 8 the brink of the Final Four by making brilliant scoring performances against the competition. This year Stephen is back and getting well-deserved publicity in anticipation of the Wildcats' season. However, in Lynchburg, Virginia Friday night, younger brother Seth Curry announced his presence with a sensational night. 23 points, a record-tying 7 steals at home, as well as 5 rebounds and 6 assists in the 97-77 over Montreat. The competition was not NCAA tournament caliber and he will certainly will be tested more as the season progresses but it was a fantastic start to Seth's career. As the two brothers were in high school, it was initially believed that Seth was the better player but after Stephen's performance last year it is hard to say that Seth will surpass him. Yet he could equal him if he leads Liberty to an NCAA berth during his time at Liberty and has a good showing. As hard as it is to lead any team to the Elite 8, it seems unlikely Seth will bring his team to the same level but he may prove to be just as impressive an individual player.
The Big South and the Southern Conference are two mid-major conferences that have had significant impacts on the national college basketball scene in the last few years. The Big South's showcase team was Winthrop, who nearly defeated Tennessee three years ago and who beat Notre Dame two years ago in the NCAA tournament. Obviously the Southern Conference's premiere team is Davidson led by Stephen Curry and their quest to repeat a deep run in the NCAA tournament. With Stephen returning this year and Seth making a promising debut at Liberty, along with VMI's early victory over Kentucky, it should be an interesting and highly contested season of college basketball down south.
Monday, September 15
Kentucky almost gets bit again
I totally missed this game from the past weekend. But Middle Tennessee State almost beat the Wildcats a week after taking down Maryland. Wild finish almost akin to the heartbreaking LSU loss. Shotty camera work, but you get the sense of how UK almost choked it away. You have to respect the almost obligatory lack of pass intereference call on last second hail marys even if the receiver gets hit clearly before the ball gets there.
