1. Tubby Smith will remain a Golden Gopher until the end of 2016-17 season. Smith received a contract extension but did not get a raise, as his salary will remain the same at $1.75 million per season. Smith believes that the new deal signals to potential recruits about his intention to stay in Minneapolis which should help recruiting over the next couple of seasons. The Gophers finished 23-15 last season, which was Smith’s most successful season in terms of wins during his five years in the Big Ten. Now, Minnesota just needs a little bit of luck and health on its side as Trevor Mbakwe returns for his final season along with guards Andre Hollins (8.7 PPG) and Julian Welch (9.5 PPG). Smith’s teams have been plagued with injuries over the last couple seasons, but a healthy roster should result in a successful conference season and an NCAA bid.
2. Earlier this week, the NCAA slammed Penn State with what some experts have referred to as the “death penalty” of sanctions. The football program has been penalized $60 million and will not be eligible for the postseason over the next four years, but the Penn State athletic department including the basketball program will also be affected by these sanctions. This is just another wrinkle that head coach Pat Chambers must deal with as he builds a basketball program that has generally been at the bottom of the conference. Chambers is an energetic coach and remains positive about the program, especially on the recruiting trail despite all of the penalties. “It’s about time that the basketball team helped the football team for a change,” he recently said. Returning guard Tim Frazier will be an integral part of next season to set the tone both on and off the court for the Penn State program during the ongoing turmoil on campus.
3. The second winningest coach in college hoops history, Bobby Knight, will be honored by a Big Ten school — but it will be at Ohio State, not Indiana, where he receive his accolades, as OSU will induct Knight into its Athletics Hall of Fame. Knight is an Ohio State alumnus who graduated in 1962 with a degree in history. Even though his original roots go back to Columbus, he obviously has a much stronger connection with Indiana where he won three national titles and raised the Hoosier program to elite status. Knight hasn’t embraced his past with the Hoosiers after his firing in 2000, but nonetheless, the man is a true B1G icon, even if his recognition has come from Ohio State first.
4. Speaking of Ohio State, remember when Jared Sullinger‘s back was red-flagged by NBA medics and his draft stock was immediately impacted? Sullinger dropped to the #22 pick in the draft after he was considered a consensus lottery pick for much of his first two years in college. By way of an update on his progress, he was quite productive during the NBA summer league in Las Vegas by averaging a solid 11.2 PPG and 8.2 RPG. The Celtics’ coaching staff has been impressed by his dedication to rebounding and his work ethic ought to result in some decent playing time next season, especially if head coach Doc Rivers wants to limit Kevin Garnett’s minutes during the regular season.
5. While Sullinger’s stock dropped in the draft, the Big Ten produced a lottery pick when former Illinois center Meyers Leonard was drafted by Portland last month. Leonard lived up to the hype during summer league play and has received good recognition as one of the more impressive rookies in Vegas. Unlike Sullinger, Leonard climbed up the draft boards during workouts and fortunately was given a clean bill of health which helped seal the deal for Portland. He may not have the offensive moves to contribute immediately but he certainly has the physique and work ethic to help the Trail Blazers on the defensive end during his first season in the NBA.

Deepak Jayanti (270 Posts)

This entry was posted on Friday, July 27th, 2012 at 8:33 am by Deepak Jayanti and is filed under big ten, microsites. Tagged: bobby knight induction, jared sullinger summer league, trevor mbakwe, tubby smith. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.