Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger claimed via Twitter over the weekend that a Wisconsin fan spit on him during their RTC on Saturday after the Badgers knocked off then-#1 OSU. We have no reason to disbelieve his take on what a fan may have done in the aftermath of a huge victory such as that one, but Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryansaid in his Monday teleconference: “All I know is that we won the game, deal with it.” Something tells us that Sullinger will remember both spittle and comment in the rematch in Columbus on March 6.
This doesn’t sound good at all, but Florida’s versatile forward Chandler Parsons has been on crutches since Saturday’s win over Tennessee, 61-60. According to this report, he suffered a deep thigh bruise during that game and it has since started bleeding — the expectation is that he’ll be out of practice several days and quite possibly through next weekend’s game against LSU. Florida’s fortunes have risen the past few weeks directly in accordance with Parsons’ play — in the five games prior to the UT victory, Parsons had averaged 15/11 as UF went 4-1 over that period and moved to the top of the SEC standings.
We love this column from Seth Davis each year — his annual Book of Finch, a mash-up of several scouts’ opinions on many of the best players in college basketball this season. You need to read the entire thing, but here’s a preview: Finch likes Jimmer Fredette (comparing him to Mark Price) and Perry Jones (best talent in the class), but isn’t high on JaJuan Johnson (no post game) and Renardo Sidney (“no interest” in a “fat kid”). Awesome stuff.
San Diego State head coach Steve Fisherwas reprimanded on Monday by the Mountain West Conference for his comments last week ripping Wyoming for firing head coach Heath Schroyer with a month left in the season. We tend to agree with Fisher here when he noted that the MWC isn’t the NBA or the NFL. While nobody around here will fall for the idea of amateurism in college athletics, we really don’t see the advantage that Wyoming earned by making the move when it did. The Cowboys’ season will be over soon enough — there’s no reason to make such a change in the middle of the year like that.
Syracuse beat WVU last night, but perhaps Jim Boeheim read this piece from Searching for Billy Edelinabout SU only having three quality wins this season, because he came tonight’s press conference ready to spar with the assembled media about numerous things. Seriously, though, his beef wasn’t with the quality win issue as much as what his record is against certain coaches (namely, Rick Pitino) and why the Syracuse media had printed only a snapshot of his career against him. The whole video is worthwhile, but if you’re short on time, the good stuff starts at around the 3:00 mark up until around 7:30. Enjoy.
Why does everyone believe what Sullinger said when he also claims someone spit on him BEFORE the game? None of his teammates have come to his defense. He never told anyone with security or his coaching staff or the media when he praised the spirit of the fans at the Kohl Center. His coach finally backed him up unconvincingly on Monday but only saying it happened after the game – Quite tarnishing the reputation of a fan base because an 18 year old posted something on Twitter after he lost his first game – Maybe he didn’t like not having the focus on him? He sounds like a Terrell Owens in waiting.
Why does everyone believe what Sullinger said when he also claims someone spit on him BEFORE the game? None of his teammates have come to his defense. He never told anyone with security or his coaching staff or the media when he praised the spirit of the fans at the Kohl Center. His coach finally backed him up unconvincingly on Monday but only saying it happened after the game – Quite tarnishing the reputation of a fan base because an 18 year old posted something on Twitter after he lost his first game – Maybe he didn’t like not having the focus on him? He sounds like a Terrell Owens in waiting.