- Following a sophomore season in which he finished third in the nation in scoring at 24.9 points per game to go with 7.1 rebounds per game, T.J. Warren announced that he will be entering the NBA Draft. The news is not exactly a surprise as it had been reported that Warren would be leaving almost three weeks ago, but Warren did not make it official until yesterday. Warren might lack a good outside shot, but he is projected to be a mid-first round pick so it makes sense that he would leave. Even though NC State has a solid class coming in next season Warren’s departure likely means that next season will be a rebuilding one in Raleigh.
- So that John Calipari to the Los Angeles Lakers rumors appear to have hit a roadblock. The rumor was started when former Kentucky legend Rex Chapman tweeted out that Calipari was going to the Lakers less than an hour before the championship game. Now Chapman has offered his version of backtracking by claiming that he is not a journalist (even if he was on TNT for the national semifinal teamcast). Rex says that he stands by his comments, but he thinks that Calipari will wind up staying at Kentucky. So essentially what he is telling us is that he is just talking in circles and should just be ignored.
- Maryland is headed to a new conference next year and it will be doing so a very different team as three players–Nick Faust, Shaq Cleare, and Roddy Peters–announced that they will be transferring. While none of the players would be considered a star on the team they all contributed with Faust being the biggest contributor with 9.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. The Terrapins will probably be able to cope with the losses, but as former Terrapin Terrell Stoglin notes the moves raise questions about how firm of a hold Mark Turgeon has over the program.
- Yesterday, Appalachian State named Davidson assistant Jim Fox to be its next coach replacing Jason Capel, who was fired almost a month ago. On some level we are interested in the what Fox can do for the program, but honestly we are more interested in seeing how he handles the Devonte Graham situation. Graham as you may remember signed a letter of intent to play for Appalachian State before his stock shot up. When he asked for a release to explore other options, the school refused and has since been widely criticized by fans. How Fox handles the Graham situation, which is a mess he had nothing to do with, could set the tone for his program going forward.
- With Saul Phillips headed to Ohio, North Dakota State has moved on and named assistant coach David Richman to be their next coach. Richman, 35, does not have any head coaching experience, but has been on the Bison staff for 11 years including seven as an assistant coach. That might be a concern for some programs, but that is the same position that Saul Phillips was in when he took over for Tim Miles at North Dakota State when Miles left for Colorado State. While that transition was not completely seamless, the Bison can only hope that the end result is as good as what Phillips left them with.