- Tennessee Volunteer center Kenny Hall has been reinstated by Cuonzo Martin. “Kenny’s back in the fold,” Martin said Tuesday morning. “Kenny is a good young man, and I believe he has learned a valuable lesson and he’s ready to move forward.” Hall will rejoin team workouts after being held out of the final nine games of the season. He will join a front line that includes Jeronne Maymon and Jarnell Stokes, who both had outstanding seasons, for a promising second year under coach Martin.
- High school standout Shabazz Muhammad confirmed that he will decide on his college choice on April 21. He is down to five schools, but Kentucky, UCLA, and Duke are the leaders for his services. The Cats are likely to lose as many as six or seven players from their current roster, but still have a solid class coming in and John Calipari‘s success with getting freshmen into the NBA draft only helps him continue to recruit the nation’s best. Of course there are still lingering concerns about Muhammad’s eligibility.
- Even while Kentucky prepares for the Final Four that doesn’t mean Calipari isn’t still recruiting for next season. The Wildcats are reportedly one of at least two schools (North Carolina is the other) that has reached out to Connecticut senior Alex Oriakhi to inquire about a transfer to UK. With Kentucky’s frontline about to be decimated by the pro game, Oriakhi could play significant minutes for a team with the potential to go very deep in the NCAA Tournament again next year. Whether or not he plays next year depends on the decision by the NCAA on UConn’s appeal of its 2013 NCAA Tournament. If the Huskies win and can play in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, Oriakhi would have to sit out a year, but if they lose and are kept out, Oriakhi is eligible immediately.
- After Mississippi State’s season ended, Renardo Sidney is preparing to boost his stock in the upcoming NBA draft. Sidney and his agent think his draft status is fairly simple. “Right now we’re just working on losing about 30 pounds. We’re not worried about my game because my game has always been there. It’s always been about the weight. We’re working to get 30 pounds off me and see where it goes from there.” And Sidney is right. Unfortunately, he has always known weight was an issue and didn’t do anything about it while he was in Starkville.
- The 2011-12 Florida Gators left a lasting impression on coach Billy Donovan. “A team that was really young and immature in a lot of ways and in front of my eyes I got a chance to watch them grow up and mature competitively. To see where Patric Young was at the start of the year, in January, to see where they finished. To see before Brad (Beal) was in November and December, see where he finished. Same with Erik Murphy. Our guys grew up.” Unfortunately for the Gators, they returned to that same immature team for the final eight minutes of their Elite Eight matchup with the Louisville Cardinals.
Brian Joyce (333 Posts)Brian Joyce is an advanced metrics enthusiast, college hoops junkie, and writer for the SEC basketball microsite for Rush the Court.