7:03 pm ET: Wow, where to start?  This is a ridiculous night of hoops.  SO many games on, which is why we’re here.  The first thing I notice is the wardrobe symmetry between play-by-play man Rece Davis (?!?) and Bobby Knight.  Both in the v-neck sweaters.  Is it good when Bobby Knight is influencing your wardrobe choices?  I guess Rece can make it work.

7:07: Yeesh.  Not exactly a good trip for Nolan Smith.  A missed dunk and then a missed 10-foot jumper from almost behind the backboard.  Meanwhile, over on the Big Ten Network, Minnesota is keeping up with Michigan State early; MSU has a 24-21 lead at the under-4 TVTO.  I’m especially fired up for this UConn-Pitt game.  Can Pitt continue this ascent after being basically forgotten about in the early part of this season?  Up on the Huskies early in Storrs…

7:20: UConn looks like a YMCA club team.  They’re straight up on defense, if you can call it that.  At this point they seem severely uninterested.  Pitt has guys moving on offense without the ball, talking on defense, etc.  That’s how you build an early ten point lead on a team in their own house.

7:23: Maybe that Jerome Dyson dunk will get UConn going.  UConn’s strategy is obvious, and that’s to run Pitt into the ground.  UConn scored on four straight possessions so it looks like they’ve finally shown up mentally.  But what’s this?  Interesting score…South Florida up at home on West Virginia 23-12 over on ESPN 360 with about 7:00 left in the first.  Virginia has an early lead on Georgia Tech and BC just got a NICE dunk by Reggie Jackson to go up one on Duke.

7:33: I just tweeted this, but man…after UT over #1 Kansas on Sunday night, then Scottie Reynolds on Monday, then Evan Turner (or, for any Kentucky fans, Eric Bledsoe) last night, what could be in store for us tonight?  What a 72 hours of hoops we’ve had.  I can’t believe Turner played ALL 40 minutes last night.  It’s like he just proclaimed himself as “well,” meaning over his injury, and took his team from down ten with four minutes left to victory based on his own 12-0 run.  Absolutely amazing.

7:41: Boston College is putting up an admirable showing against the Dukies so far.  Eagles up 31-30 at the under-4.  Actually, Kyle Singler just tied it at 31, but the guy’s missed two FTs so far tonight.  That’s news since he shoots it at a 91% clip.

7:50: Scott:  yeah, I’ve gotten to see UC in person a couple of times this season and a few times on TV, and when I watch them I get the sense that there’s a lot more talen there offensively than we’re seeing, as if it’s just not being extracted from those young guys.  There’s sort of a lawlessness that pervades every single one of their offensive sets in my view.

7:55: Duke went into halftime up by three, 38-35.  Pitt’s still up three, 32-29, at UConn.  But right now the score that’s jumping off the screen is…Miami FL, at 15-1 (1-1), down by 27 at Virginia Tech at the half, 50-23.  Maybe all that talk about the U’s crappy schedule inflating their record had some warrant.  Haha…our boy Jameson just tweeted out something similar.  I had Miami in my Top 25 this week and last…but VT looks to put an end to that.  Wow.

8:07: UConn-Pitt is the first one back from halftime.  Man, Pitt’s Nasir Robinson has one of the oddest releases I’ve ever seen.  And it takes a LONG time to leave his hand.  I’ve been kind of ignoring Cincy vs St. Johns on the U, and we’ve got a game, 26-all early in the second half.  I totally need a multiple TV setup, here…

8:17: Over at Duke/BC, evidently the message from Coach K in the locker room had to do with defense.  Duke came out and REALLY cranked up the D, generating a 6-0 run, and now they’re up 11.  Make it 13.  I can’t type fast enough.  Al Skinner is trying to keep from using two TOs before the first TVTO.  Wow, now it’s up to 15.  Skinner doesn’t make it, and uses his second TO before the under-16.

8:22: Intentional foul on BC as Nolan Smith is hit hard.  No disrespect, but that call was influenced by the crowd.  But Duke’s up 52-37 and are about to get two and the ball.  I’m leaving this game unless I have reason to come back to it.

8:28: I agree with commenter Scott.  The UC/SJ game is the closest game right now.  But HOLY COW is it painful to watch.  It is the basketball version of Spawn 3.  I still have Cincinnati as not having made a three (0-11) with 9:19 left in the game.

8:34: OK, HERE we go.  Back and forth over at UConn/Pitt.  Stanley Robinson has 19 for UConn and Kemba Walker is having an extremely sweet game for the Huskies with 10/7/7.  A triple-double is well within reach.

8:44: One to keep an eye on…Texas down three late in the first half at Iowa State on ESPN 360, 38-35.  Ashton Gibbs is stepping up for Pitt, nailing a three on the break (what a QUICK release that kid has), and then a beautiful reverse layup in transition again.  Then Ater Majok responds with a gorgeous move in the lane and a left-handed lay-in.  That’s Ater Majok so far (yes, it’s early)…he can look downright lost sometimes, then he’ll do something like his last move and you can just SEE the possibilities.

8:51: Probable upset brewing:  Virginia is up on #18 Georgia Tech by 9 with less than 90 seconds left.  That win would move UVa to 2-0 in the ACC.

9:00: Pitt is going to pull this out against UConn.  What an impressive road win.  67-57 is the final.  UConn will have to win this weekend to stay ranked in the Top 25.  Hard to believe.

9:06: Over at Cincy/St. John’s, we have an exciting finish in the works:  50-49 UC with 8.5 seconds and SJ’s Dwight Hardy has one free throw coming.  Overtime looming?

9:10: What a turn of events.  UC turns it over on two straight inbounds passes and gives St. John’s four straight free throws (specifically Dwight Hardy) to end the game on a 4-0 run…St. John’s WINS, 52-50.

9:13: So now the feature game is UNC at Clemson on ESPN, and we have Kansas at Nebraska on ESPN2.  I’ve been saying that I reeeeeally wouldn’t want to be Nebraska tonight, facing Kansas after the loss at Tennessee.  But they’re up 12-4 early.  A lot of the other smaller networks also have games starting now so we’ll be checking in on them, as well.  Texas has separated a little from Iowa State…that one’s 52-44 with about 18 minutes left.  We’ll see if ISU can make any kind of comeback — they’re tough at home at 9-1 and are actually 11-4 on the year.  Clemson has jumped out and popped UNC in the mouth, up 16-6 at the under-16 TVTO.

9:24: Despite Clemson’s 9-14 start, they already have two important players in foul trouble: Demontez Stitt (who is 4-4 from the field and 1-1 from the line) and David Potter just sat down, both with two fouls.  I don’t know if this Clemson lead will stick, but if Clemson keeps hitting threes like they are now, and keeps out-hustling UNC like they have so far, it will.  UNC already has ten turnovers.  We’ll see, though…

9:34: It looks like rtmsf has finally decided to watch some college hoops instead of the Kardashians, so I’m handing it to him.  Enjoy the rest of the night, hoopsters…feels like a couple of upsets are still out there.

9:38: Rtmsf here.  I have the Kardashian-cam on the side here, so no worries about that.  Actually, living on the west coast is great in a lot of ways, but getting home after 6pm on weeknights means you’ve already missed many of the 7pm tips.  The flip side, of course, is that late games are absolutely no problem.  Anyway, I’ve only been here about 15 minutes but I’ve already had a flashback to the Clemson-Illinois game in the first half at Littlejohn.

9:41: KU is only up three on Nebraska, so I’m going to put that on the 75″ 3-D flat screen the 32″ b/w special as my featured game for now.  I’m also pulling up the Texas-Iowa State game on 360, since the Horns are only up eight on the Cyclones right now with 8-minutes or so to go…

9:49: Ron Franklin with the hyperbole, talking about the Nebraska crowd there.  He made it seem like he’s never seen anything quite like it, where from my seat, they haven’t sounded very loud at all.

9:52: Wow, Avery Bradley just hit his fourth three on the night for 24 points in the Texas game to put the Horns up 13.  Is there a stud frosh anywhere else getting less notoriety than this kid?  He’s third on the team in scoring with 11.9 PPG, shooting 48% from the field, and has gone for 20+ in the last two games.  I think it’s because Texas has so many good freshmen that he’s sorta lost in the shuffle there.

9:55: This is the third straight game Kansas has looked less than stellar.  Could there be something to the idea that chemistry isn’t what it should be because players aren’t sure about their roles, as Tyshawn Taylor said this week?

9:59: Big three by Nebraska’s Brandon Richardson to grab the one-point lead at halftime.  Even if Kansas doesn’t do it in Lincoln, Texas appears to be putting an end to that manufactured stat about Big 12 home teams this year (114-1).  The Horns lead by seven with 2:30 to go…

10:03: I’m using the halftimes of the KU and Clemson games to check in on a good one between Ole Miss and Georgia in the SEC.  Ole Miss is up three with 2:35 to go.  Who gets the SEC Network anyway?  People living in the SEC footprint?  Clemson dropped a half-century on UNC, and the Heels should feel good that they’re only down sixteen at half.  Meanwhile, Northwestern is leading Wisconsin by three in the second half but I don’t have the BTN.

10:06: Mizzou is up three at the half at Texas Tech, and Alabama is up seven on Vandy in Tuscaloosa.  Back to the Ole Miss-Georgia game and we have Ole Miss with a one-point lead and the ball.  Mark Fox has really done an excellent job with this Bulldog team, which was one of the worst BCS-level teams I’d ever seen at points of last season.

10:09: Ole Miss isn’t helping themselves, missing three of four FTs in the last two possessions, and giving Georgia a shot here to tie or take the lead with under a minute to go.  Texas is finishing off ISU, as Damion James has been a typical beast with 23/15 on the evening.

10:15: HAHAHA.  Ole Miss’ Eniel Polynice probably just won the game for his team using the old ‘out-of-bounds ball-off-the-back’ trick underneath the basket.  The victim?  RTC favorite dunker, Travis Leslie.  He’s gotta learn not to turn his back on an out of bounds player like that.

10:17: Ole Miss wins on the road, and Texas is about to do likewise.  ESPN2 is back with Kansas-Nebraska, so that’ll be the focus for now…

10:20: Aldrich with his first FG of the night 22 minutes into the contest.  When you have a 6′11 beast with the touch and post moves that a guy like Aldrich has down low, why doesn’t he get more touches?   Wisconsin is now up five on Northwestern with under two minutes.  Looks like another tough L for the Wildcats…

10:24: I just switched over to Alabama-Vandy to see Bama freshman Tony Mitchell flying through the air to throw down a ridonkulous putback jam.  Young legs, folks!   Northwestern is finished, down ten now to the Badgers.  And we’re back at the KU-Nebraska game and Aldrich is throwing in a couple of his funky slingshot FTs.

10:29: Quick 5-0 run by Kansas to put some pressure on Nebraska.  Quick switchback to Clemson-UNC and I hear Jay Bilas say “they’re just demoralizing North Carolina.”  We’re just as guilty of this as anyone else, but is it possible that UNC is an 8-8 team in the ACC this year?  Pomeroy does NOT like this team and their statistical profile this year, and if you figure seven more road games as well as home dates with Duke, Georgia Tech and Wake…  it’s an interesting theory.

10:33: Quick aside – the Jeff Van Gundy ad where he’s dressed in the Phoenix Sun Gorilla outfit while listening to “Rush Rush” by Paula Abdul absolutely slays me.

10:36: Nebraska withstood the first run of the half, and the Huskers are back within a point of the Jayhawks.  Would you have guessed that KU would only be up a single point despite hitting 53% and ten threes so far?  It’s the defense, man!  The eFG% in KU’s last three games has been over 50%, which are the first three times all season long!

10:40: Over on 360, Vandy has moved in front of Alabama by one, 51-50.  I can’t prove it, but I think that Vandy is going to beat some people this year, and at least half of the reason for it, will be this…

Oh yes, the ’stache is making a comeback and we are 100% on board with the fashion trend that AJ Ogilvy is representing.

10:45: KU on another run to take a seven-point lead, and over in Littlejohn, UNC has clawed back to within thirteen.  NU needs to be careful here or they’re going to lose contact with the Jayhawks.  The last few possessions Kansas is just ramming it down the throat of the Huskers, taking it right to the rim and drawing fouls.

10:51: I’ve seen Roy Williams a couple of times in person this year and of course most of his national television games this year, and it really looks like he’s constantly frustrated with this year’s team.  Guess life is different when you don’t have a loaded lineup of savvy, tested veterans.

10:54: The best game going right now is the SEC battle in Tuscaloosa.  Tie game with around five minutes left.  I’m going to keep an eye on that as well as to see if Nebraska starts making a final push.

10:56: I seem to recall a KU player fouling someone on a three in the Tennessee game on Sunday.  They just did it again.  NU isn’t helping themselves on the foul line much, though, currently 12-18 on the night.

10:59: Kansas is getting inside buckets with ease right now off of cuts, pick/rolls, and offensive rebounds.  With 5:30 remaining, this is looking like the ‘Hawks are finally pulling away.  Vandy is down two with less than four to go at Bama.

11:01: Clemson is also finishing off UNC, as Trevor Booker and Demontez Stitt both went for 20+.  By comparison, UNC has yet to put a starter into double-figures yet.  Alabama is the home team but Vandy has already shot 35 FTs (to the Tide’s 15).  Anthony Grant will not be happy about that disparity.

11:07: Clemson will win by 19 AND NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…  the #19 team SHOULD NOT BE RUSHING THAT COURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!  RTC FAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!

11:08: C’mon Clemson, you’re better than that!  Andy Katz is getting molested there in the midst of it all, but good grief, we know you’re a football school and all, but that’s just shameful.  You are only six spots behind UNC in the rankings!!!

11:10: KU is on a 28-14 run to put the Huskers away.  I dunno about you guys, but it looked like Nebraska started to wear down in the last ten minutes.  The size and athleticism was just too much for them.  Still, KU needs to get their defense back together or they’re going to take several losses in this conference.

11:12: Bama just fouled Vandy’s Jeffery Taylor with 6.0 seconds on the clock on a drive to the basket.  He hit one of two, and now Bama will have six seconds to go length of the court and win the game.  Where’s Eric Maynor right about now, Anthony Grant might be thinking.

11:16: Bama’s Justin Knox got all the way into the paint, but he was a little short on it and they couldn’t secure the rebound to get the home win for the Tide.  Vandy wins 65-64.

11:19: A few late scores from around the country that caught the eye…  Houston knocked off UTEP, Marshall improved to 14-2 (3-0 CUSA) with a win over UCF, and Mizzou-Texas Tech are currently in overtime on the U.

11:24: We’re going to stick around to see what happens in the Mizzou-TTU game, but after that we’ll be shutting it down tonight.  As much as the Utah State-Nevada game entices us, that’s the only game I can see right now, so it’s not worthwhile to extend this much longer.   Mizzou is coming out quick in OT, running off an 11-6 run.

11:29: Tech isn’t giving up, now down only one with a minute to play in Lubbock.  This would be a very impressive road win if Missouri can hold on there.  Kim English has 20/11 and Marcus Denmon 20/7 off the bench.  Tech’s Mike Singletary has 12/16 and John Roberson 25/4.

11:33: Tech’s Nick Okorie just missed two FTs that would have tied or given the Red Raiders the lead.  Ouch.

11:35: And that’ll do it.  Big win for Mizzou in Texas tonight to move to 2-0 in the Big 12.  And the third home loss out of three games tonight for Big 12 teams.  Now we won’t have to see that manufactured stat anymore.  We’ve said it before, but it doesn’t even seem to matter much all the players Mike Anderson lost last year.  He just plugs new bodies back into his system, which is #1 in the country in both turnover and steal percentage.

11:40: That’s it for tonight’s BGTD tonight, folks.  Hopefully we’ll be able to do one of these each week on the best night of basketball going forward, in addition to our standard Saturday fare.  The Utah State-Nevada game looks pretty good, and if you have it on your cable package somewhere, UNLV and SDSU look to be having a close contest in the MWC at the same time.  Take care!

]]> http://rushthecourt.net/2010/01/13/boom-goes-the-dynamite-wednesday-1-13-10-edition/feed/ 4 http://rushthecourt.net/2009/12/23/thats-debatable-revisiting-the-butler-xavier-fiasco/ http://rushthecourt.net/2009/12/23/thats-debatable-revisiting-the-butler-xavier-fiasco/#comments Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:04:22 +0000 rtmsf http://rushthecourt.net/?p=14473

Each week RTC will posit a That’s Debatable question or topic that is relevant to the world of college basketball.  Sometimes whimsical, sometimes serious, we’ll post the thoughts from our core editing crew (in 200 words or less), but we’ll also be expanding to include our contributors and correspondents as appropriate throughout the season.  We also invite you, the readers, to join us as we mull over some of the questions facing the game today.  Feel free to send us your takes and/or leave them in the comments below.

This Week’s Topic: What do you think about the whole Butler vs. Xavier fiasco at the end of their game over the weekend?

Crawford Wasn't Happy About the Decision to End the Game

zach hayes - editor/contributor, RTC

When the crazy ending occurred and throughout the interminable review by the officials, I was convinced there was no way the officials could end the game without giving Xavier at least a chance for a miracle shot. For the officials to determine that a certain amount of time came off the clock with a stopwatch and end the game based on that ruling seems like a total reach. But taking a step back and reviewing the rule and the play, the officials did properly end the game. It was simply bad luck on Xavier’s part because if Hayward had released the ball just a split second longer, the Musketeers would have benefited from the rule and a riot may have ensued at Hinkle. It’s unfortunate to end such a dramatic and important game on a controversial ending directly involving the officials, but given the wild circumstances, the referees handled it properly.

john stevens - editor/contributor, RTC

The way I see it, the referees did what they could in that last bit where they got out the stopwatch and tried to figure out how much, if any, time should be remaining.  If the rule book allows them to do that, I realize it’s not a perfect solution but it’s the best way to correct that kind of error.  If they figure that there would have been a negative time balance left had there been “proper” timekeeping, then that’s just how it is.  I wonder, though, how much time is lost in the use of a stopwatch?  An official would have to have perfect reflexes to use a stopwatch and accurately determine how long such a stoppage lasted.  Even if there’s just .01-.02 seconds lost, any team would want any fraction of a second they could get.  Even if Xavier had been awarded the entire final 1.2 seconds to get off a shot, we’re talking about a last-second heave.  But they deserve the chance.  There are ways to prevent this problem in the future, but in this case I think the zebras got it…well, as right as they could get it.

nvr1983 – editor/contributor, RTC

Technically they made the right call since they have to go by the rules, but they handled the situation very poorly. While the majority of the blame goes to the person running the clock at Hinkle, the officials should have made sure that the appropriate equipment (in this case a stopwatch) was there. If the officials should be blamed for anything it is not realizing the clock had stopped earlier. I know it was chaotic, but one of the officials should have stopped the game in the 14 seconds between the clock stopping and Hayward’s layup. And the whole 1.3 seconds thing on a non-digital stopwatch seems ridiculous. Obviously they had to go run and find a stopwatch in some equipment room, but how do they decide it was 1.3 seconds? How many times do they measure it against the TV replay? Once? Twice? Ten times? Did they use an iPhone to time it? The entire thing seems ridiculous. In any event, the guy who runs the clock at Hinkle should be fired. Harsh? Sure. But how hard is it to push a button? With the unemployment rate at 10% (and much higher if you look at the underemployment rate), I’m sure there are plenty of talented individuals who can manage that task.

rtmsf – editor/contributor, RTC

My general thoughts on this were outlined after the game on Saturday night, but that doesn’t mean I have nothing else to say on the matter (after all, when have I ever shut up?).  There’s a general consensus that the officials at the game made the proper call from a technical standpoint by using a stopwatch to figure out how much time had been lost and then subtracting it from the clock at the final dead ball situation.  The problem I have with this is that, according to Andy Katz’s blog, the refs admitted that there had been another timing hiccup with 36 seconds left as well.  If we accept as true that Hayward’s shot indeed was released with 0.5 seconds remaining (the ‘correct’ time) in the game, and if we also factor in the previous hiccup at the 0:36 mark, wouldn’t that mean Xavier (probably) won the game?  It’s understandable why Chris Mack was so upset afterwards.  Let’s tie the clock to the whistles in every Division 1 arena and be done with this nonsense.

1. Rutgers inside force Gregory Echinique will miss approximately a month due to eye surgery to correct a pre-existing condition recently.  Which begs the question – if it was pre-existing, why not have the surgery during the offseason?  Did it become aggravated?  The 6′9 forward is averaging 13/8/2 blks on the season, and the Scarlet Knights will undoubtedly miss his presence in upcoming games against beefy frontlines at North Carolina, Cincinnati and West Virginia.
2. This is rich.  Binghamton continues to pay coaching disaster Kevin Broadus his full $230k yearly salary while interim coach Mark Macon draws one-quarter as much money for, you know, actually coaching the remaining players on the team.  At least Macon is getting a raise, although the amount of the increase was not disclosed by the university.  As for Broadus, the “job” he’s earning six-figures for right now is to assist SUNY with their investigation into the Binghamton athletic department.  What does that mean exactly?  Get coffee?  Make copies?  Do both at the same time?
3. Luke Winn probably knocked this article about the first Irianian player in D1 basketball out in fifteen minutes while surfing his blackberry iPhone and eating a bran muffin, which should probably tell you something about the talent he has for research and writing.  It would take us three straight weeks just to pen the first paragraph.
4. Memphis filed an appeal against the NCAA’s decision to vacate its 2008 season based on the Derrick Rose SAT scandal, even with the distinct possibility that the school could face a harsher punishment than currently imposed if they did so.  We’re not really keen on the NCAA Committee on Infractions using this heavyhanded method of leverage to try to force schools to swallow their initial decision just because they said so.  Memphis correctly argued that this creates a “chilling effect” for schools that wish to use their legal right to appeal, and even cited language from a 2001 case against UNLV to that effect.  We’re starting to wonder if someone at the NCAA lost a lot of money on Memphis that season, because this is taking the appearance of vindictiveness.
5. Jumping back to Tuesday’s discussion on Expansion 96, Andy Katz weighed in yesterday on his blog.  He noted that recently deceased NCAA President Myles Brand was steadfastly opposed to expansion along with several of the other traditionalists, and we’re wondering if the power vacuum in Brand’s absence hasn’t created a bit of a money grab among some of the dissenters within the NCAA heirarchy.  Let’s hope tradition wins out, or at worst, the option that Katz describes (four play-in games, pushing the Tourney up to 68 teams) is the preferred result if things must change.

1. GROAN…  our post on this will be forthcoming immediately following this M5, but if your attention span is much shorter than our longwindedness requires, suffice it to say that the possibility of the NCAA Tournament expanding to 96 teams is a complete, unmitigated abomination.  If you can find anyone in support of this  idea other than coaches at mediocre programs and network executive types who are greedily trying to destroy the best event in all of sports, please send them our way for drawing, quartering and compulsory re-education.
2. This great piece by Luke Winn comparing offensive production as freshmen with recruiting rankings confirms what we’ve been saying for a long time — that the relative dropoff in talent between top 10 recruits and top 50 recruits is much larger than the drop between top 50 and top 100 recruits.  The next step is to crosstabulate that data with team success to see just how impactful those numbers are with respect to wins and losses.  Great stuff.
3. William & Mary, the nation’s surprise middie this year?  According to Basketball Prospectus, TSN and Andy Katz… possibly.
4. Jeff Goodman takes a look back at the last week with his Weekly Wrap.  Mike DeCourcy takes a look at the week ahead.  Seth Davis gives us his weekly Hoop Thoughts.
5. Former UCLA forward Drew Gordon did an interview with Fanhouse, and although much of this interview is whimsical, he did mention that “pigs will fly” before UCLA would keep the star player over the coach (Ben Howland) – an absurd question in its own right.  Still, Gordon did confirm that he and Howland had serious differences which led him to leaving the program, and he didn’t let on where he might be headed next.

1. South Carolina’s Dominique Archie is out indefinitely after spraining his right knee coming down from a dunk in Sunday night’s game against Miami (FL).  Archie was averaging 14/6 for the Gamecocks, who will definitely miss the athletic forward’s presence in the lineup.  Tough games against Western Kentucky, Clemson and Richmond loom in the next two weeks for South Carolina, and with the loaded SEC East waiting in the new year, the Cocks can’t afford to have Archie out of the lineup for very long.
2. Pac-10 Pile On.  Normally, we’d be inclined to take a contrarian stance when all of the media is ready to pile on someone or something (assuming such a stance is defensible), but there’s really no possible way to defend what the Pac-10 has done to itself so far this season.  Sacramento State, Loyola Marymount and now Montana – really?  Goodman and Decourcy weigh in on what is after two weeks shaping up to be a historically bad conference.
3. Pitino/Calipari.  We read this on the plane home this weekend and it’s now available on CNNSI as well as the print form that we’re forced to read while traveling in a wifi-less aluminum tube at 600 mph.  Grant Wahl breaks down the complex relationship between the two major head coaches in the state of Kentucky, ultimately concluding that for all their differences, they’re actually very much the same.
4. Bob Huggins continues to play the Dick Cheney card when questioned about whether his star Devin Ebanks will be playing anytime soon for West Virginia.  The Mountaineer forward did not play in WVU’s first game last week and Huggins says he does not know if Ebanks will play this week in their game against The Citadel on Tuesday or in the 76 Classic over the weekend.
5. Andy Katz had a long blog post yesterday on the latest in the Renardo Sidney situation at Mississippi State, in addition to a somewhat reasonable defense of the Gazelle Group’s rigged “tournaments.”  The skinny: the NCAA is no hurry to move the Sidney thing along and the MSU people believe that they’re fishing for a violation to hang their hat on; and Katz actually agrees with the idea that GG is using to set up big matchups in key venues (such as Cal vs. Syracuse and UNC vs. Ohio State last week in the CvC).  Sorry, but we cannot go along with this.  Win the games and you get to advance.  Period.  You can manipulate the brackets to get good matchups all you want, but once the games begin, we need to let the teams decide.

The meeting with MSU compliance director Bracky Brett, MSU-hired attorney Michael Glazier and Alex Hammond from the Eligibility Center lasted for four hours Friday morning in Sidney attorney Donald Jackson’s Montgomery, Ala., office.  “We showed them bank deposits and bank statements for the two years the family was living in Los Angeles,” Jackson told ESPN.com.

Obviously, we have no idea whether these bank statements completely answer the questions that the NCAA has regarding Sidney’s eligibility — namely, whether the Sidneys could prove that their rentals of million-dollar properties in the Los Angeles area over three years was justifiable on the income of a Reebok representative (Renardo, Sr.) and a personal assistant (his wife).  But it certainly is a strong step in the right direction for the Sidneys.  One would have to make an assumption that the Sidneys wouldn’t show the NCAA these bank records unless there was cause to believe that they had the (legal) income stream to support it.  Alternatively, if the bank statements do not show what the Sidneys hope (or purport) to show, then we’re not sure that Sidney will have another serious argument to become eligible this season.  This may be their last stand. 

Mississippi State’s first regular season game is two weeks from today on Nov. 13 against Rider, so time is running short.  The NCAA said that it will take a look at the evidence presented to them early next week and will make a ruling soon thereafter. 

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our first Boom Goes The Dynamite of the new season.  And now, we can say those words — “new season.”  For tonight is the final hurdle in that long lull of the off-season that we have to cross.  Maybe it’s inappropriately named, but who cares?  Tonight is Midnight Madness across the country.  Schools all over the place have got the festivities going, the first official games are less than a month away, and we can finally say that the new season is here.

ESPN-U’s broadcast is minutes away from starting.  I’m John Stevens, one of the editors here at Rush The Court, and I’ll be live-blogging the whole way with RTMSF, our founder and guru, behind the scenes watching message boards, Twitter accounts, and getting texts and video from all over, and we’ll put up everything we get.  So settle in, enjoy the coverage, and let us know your opinions as always.  Keep hitting that refresh button, and we hope you enjoy it.  Most of all — welcome.  It’s finally here.

9:01pm:  Here are some tweets RTMSF has already procured from various sources:

Mike Davis, Illinois

IlliniBalla24… @BuckWildBill33:  Three point contest tonight, i’m looking to go 15 for 15 <—- I like ur confidence but I like @dkeller23 for a bill lls

Abdul Gaddy, Washington

gaddy0uw…Midnight madness tonight! Everybody come support

Jim Boylen, Utah

JimBoylen…Talking to the media for a few minutes before practice starts. We’re going to hit the ground running!

Tom Crean, Indiana

TomCrean…http://twitpic.com/lr6zu – The first four in line for Hoosier Hysteria

Gary Williams, Maryland

MDCoachWilliams…MARYLAND MADNESS IS HERE!!!! Come out to the Comcast Center and check out all the action.

9:12:  Evidently the University of Kentucky had recording artist Drake at the festivities.  No report on Ashley Judd’s whereabouts.

9:16:  Right now, just lots of talk by Katz, Gallindo, and Branch.  Mostly about North Carolina.  Keep in mind, in the race for all-time wins, UNC is only 4 behind Kentucky, and the two face off on December 5th.  Might be REALLY important.

9:20:  Nice UNC picture:

9:24: And here’s Drake from Kentucky:

9:32: So, Bill Self sort of addresses the stuff that happened a couple of weeks ago, meaning the Tyshawn Taylor dislocated thumb incident and the little fracas with the football team.  The most interesting part was him saying that he was “glad that it happened in the off-season,” and implying that little could come in terms of discipline because TODAY starts the new season.  We’ll stay tuned on that.

9:40: Seth Curry at Duke, retweeting a Jay Williams sentiment:  RT @RealJayWilliams… Inside Cameron Indoor for Mid-night Madness..I have never seen Cameron like this!!!  So exciting!!

9:43: ESPN-U has now burned 43 minutes of coverage with a whole lot of talk and seemingly just as much promotion for things on their website.  No actual scrimmage coverage so far.  And now here’s an ad for their College Basketball Encyclopedia.  Are they actually going to show any scrimmages or any of the goings-on at these schools?

9:47: You gotta admit, that was a nice line by Self, saying about his team, “We now know they’ve got a little fight in them.”

9:58: OK now we’re talking.  A look at Georgetown.  Bill Raftery is here.  Am I having a stroke or do these guys sound like they’re talking into a couple of tin cans.  But…there it is!  Raftery gives us “a little kiss!!” off of a highlight.  Good…my withdrawal is over.

10:03: Some fun at Georgetown via Twitter and Georgetown blogger Kevin Wessel:

10:06: Calipari walking onto the stage set up at the end of Rupp Arena:

10:10: Right.  We are now over an hour into this thing and ESPN-U has really yet to show anything except analysis by the three guys in the studio and the on-site reporters.  At best, we’ve gotten some stuff happening in the background behind the talking heads on-site, but you can tell it was taped earlier and it’s not even the actual team scrimmaging.  And Raftery was a little hampered by bad sound.  To this point, this is more like just a pre-season analysis show, which is fine, just don’t advertise it as Midnight Madness.  In my view the best part of the show has been that Vitamin Water commercial with “Canadian celebrity Steve Nash.”  Much better than his micro-cameo on Entourage a couple weeks ago.

10:16: There’s a volleyball game going on behind Steve Lavin at Washington.  Really, guys?  They say they’re going out to UNC after this commercial.  Maybe we’ll see some actual basketball.

10:19: Via Twitter, not to be outdone by Kentucky, Lloyd with the Husky at Connecticut:

10:24: Some takes from SheedMe on the UNC message board, since ESPN-U says they’re gonna show highlights from the scrimmage momentarily:

My Observations:
1. John Henson: Looked long, looked athletic, was very effective, I just don’t know that he looked like a 3. He airmailed his only jumpshot attempt. Time will tell.
2. Travis Wear: looked big and skilled. I was impressed. He is going t be a good player for us sooner than later. Good stroke out to 18 ft, right place at the right time.
3. Will Graves: Shot the ball really well.  Looks fat. If he guards, stays in shape, and limits turnovers he could really help us this year.
4. Drew II: Showed flashes. Decent quickness, really good passing (drive and dish). Tried to do a little too much at times which can be expected right now. (“Take ‘em trajan” at the end where he dribbled it too far and turned it over)
5. Watts: looked athletic, not too skilled, turnover machine
6. Ed: was Ed. couple blocks, lot of boards, scored in close, had a nice face up 10-12 footer
Strickland/McDonald: kind of quiet, neither shot the ball particularly well
7. Zeller: looked bigger, needs to use his new strength and not try to finesse as much.
8. Marcus: didn’t do a whole lot. Made a 3, looked healthy
9. Free throw shooting: I know it is only a scrimmage but UH OH. Missed our first 5 or 6 (pretty badly)

10:36: And now…basketball!  Some footage from Kentucky’s scrimmage.  Although they seem to think it’s more interesting to show John Calipari talking.  There’s a scrimmage GOING ON, and they’ve got the camera facing the OPPOSITE direction.  Amazing, really.

10:41: Great tweet from a Pitt fan:  Shame on Pitt for not having a Midnight Madness. It is the coolest S*** ever. WAH we need to have a family event. BOOOOOOOOO Love, DPJ.

10:44: HA…another great one from a Syracuse fan, where evidently Jim Boeheim arrived in a police car (enter Devendorf joke here):   BWoodz on Syracuse’s Scoop Jardine: from what i saw at midnight madness, i think i have a better 3 than @ScoopJardine11. if i knew when walk on tryouts were, i woulda went

10:49: From Jeff Goodman via fellow RTC editor NVR:  “Cole Aldrich sporting a nice black eye – courtesy of an elbow in practice from Markieff Morris”

10:53: kohenari tweet: Tom Izzo at Midnight Madness: “We’re a donut in the middle but we’ll get better” (via @sethkjolly).

10:54: A Duke fan, with an opinion on the Duke coverage:

@heymandie they showed duke maybe three minutes. ESPN is riding the kentucky train big time. it makes me sick. calipari is a joke. (from xellehcimx on twitter)

I’d add that, aside from Calipari, they didn’t show Kentucky very much, and haven’t shown ANYONE hardly at all.  I’d say we’ll see some Duke coverage in the next two hours.

10:57: We will have video of it ASAP, but here’s a tweet from Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell:

CoachPurnell tweet – Just repelled 75 ft from the rafters of Littlejohn Coliseum in front of a packed house at Rock the John!

11:00: Malcolm Delaney Virginia Tech - Midnite madness was fun.. Won the 3pt contest and showed my bounce a lil.. This gone b a good year

Note — if you don’t get the U, ESPN2 should have their simulcast going now.

11:07: Ricky Harris at Massachusetts – Our coach came out to practice wit an ARMY suite on…hahaha..Time to go to war

Here’s Michigan State fan Alcibiades from their message board:  What a terrible break down. Got a name wrong, didn’t provide any real analysis, and soon started talking about other “powerhouse” big ten teams such as Northwestern and Indiana. Why am I watching this crap?

There’s nothing I can add to that, to be honest.  We’re more than two hours into this and there’s been a lot of supposed analysis by the talking heads, actually the repeating of a lot of information anyone watching a broadcast of this nature probably already knew.  They’ve had the chance to show scrimmages, but haven’t, just a little bit of Kentucky and NOW we get some Duke coverage.  But this has been more of just a pre-season primer show so far.  Nothing we’ve seen has even come CLOSE to, say, that moment from several years ago when that kid at Cincinnati hit the half-court shot on live TV (see below) and Dick Vitale, who agreed to throw in the price of the kid’s books in addition to the semester’s tuition the kid won, just tackled the guy.  By the way, where is Vitale?  It’s the first chance to legitimately talk about college basketball and he’s nowhere?

11:24: Since we did get to see a little bit of Duke coverage, and we saw Mason Plumlee hit a little turn-around jumper in the lane, how important is THIS guy for the Blue Devils?  Kyle Singler gets a little banging help down low and Plumlee is yet another threat from the 3-point arc.

Actually, they’re talking with JT3 at Georgetown and you gotta love that he’s wearing the Michael Jackson glove.  I was hoping to see Michael Jackson, their former guard from the Ewing years, wearing the Michael Jackson glove, but I don’t know what cosmic consequences that would have entailed.

11:44: More coverage of Kentucky, whose festivities ended about 90 minutes ago.  The John Wall entrance was amazing, but things started with an 11-minute speech by Calipari that the fans are calling “The State of the Commonwealth.”  I know I say this at great risk, given the Big Blue Nation’s reaction to Calipari’s sending of a UK jersey to President Obama, but Calipari’s entrance and speech elicited a crowd reaction reminiscent of Obama’s victory speech 11 months ago.  Wow.

This from UK fan gmccane1 on the UK message board:  Cal’s speech was epic to say the least. Reminded me of a pentecostal preacher at a tent revival.

11:50: At Washington, we get Steve Lavin breaking down the Pac-10 a little bit.  From inside the empty Washington locker room.  Again, this is not Midnight Madness coverage.  This all could have been done without calling it Midnight Madness.

11:53: Well, check THIS out!  Our first Rush The Court of the year!  After Georgetown’s festivities:

11:57: This is a little more like it.  They’re showing things like the skits-by-class at Kansas (impressive), some dunk contests, etc.  To me, this is what I think most people were waiting on.

11:57:40: And…a well-timed commercial.  Yeesh.

12:14 am: Nice!  Some coverage of Washington’s dunk contest.  And 5′8″ Isaiah Thomas wins it.  I liked Matthew Bryan-Amaning’s preceding through-the-legs-and-over offering, but Thomas was the runaway winner.  A tweet from UW Sports News:  “It’s over. Isaiah Thomas just dunked over MBA. Most ridiculous dunk of the night by far. Romar just crowned him champ.“

12:22: Gotta do it.  That Steve Nash ad is fantastic.  RTMSF says “legendary.”  Here it is:

12:34: Nice photo of Loyola (Chicago)’s Geoff McCammon going over some helpers from the women’s squad:

12:37: Not bad for the last ten minutes.  Decent coverage of the UNC and Kansas scrimmages.  You also gotta love the Roy Williams dance at center court and the line that announcer Rob Stone got in on him — “I think he might need to ice down.”  Then later on, during the scrimmage, Williams threw Tyler Zeller under the bus a little, saying, “I don’t think I can watch Tyler Zeller dance.”  And again, that’s coming from Roy Williams.  Good stuff.

12:42: WHOA.  Well, if you’re a Kentucky fan, you’re probably happy with the fact that UK has led the coverage by a little bit, here, though I don’t have an actual clock on it.  But HERE is the price.  Gallindo threw it to Duke where Jay Williams interviewed Bobby Hurley and Christian Laettner, and Hurley made a small reference to “the Kentucky game.”  Duke fans should be happy they got that little dig in there, even though their team has, to be honest, been marginally covered tonight.

12:48: Couple of good pics of Tom Izzo; one of him rolling up in, since the Final Four is in Indianapolis, an Indy-car; another of him wearing — a prediction, here? — the winner’s garland:

12:54: Both Adrian Branch and Andy Katz both predict the same Final Four:  Kansas, Texas, Michigan State, Kentucky.

12:56: This is one thing I’ve always liked about Jim Calhoun.  He’s usually pretty honest about his team when you ask him, a quality that’s actually pretty rare since most coaches don’t ever want to show you all of their cards.  Calhoun freely admits that his team lost a lot (no shock there) but still has the stones to say that he thinks his team will be “pretty good” early and then even better in January and February.  I like that.  So many coaches will be a little down-in-the-mouth about their squads at this point in the year, by rule.  Calhoun will only say that if he really believes it.

1:03: No coverage of them by the WWL and the WWL-U, but here’s a little dancing at WVU:

1:06: Whoa, again…this link is from Vox Populi, the Georgetown blog…evidently shots were fired near Georgetown’s Midnight Madness, detaining for a while the 5000 students who attended.  Here’s hoping this is nothing major.

1:12: Note from the Pac-10:  UCLA’s presumptive starting point guard Jerime Anderson missed practice today with a strained groin; more on that injury in later posts if necessary.

1:15: Not wanting to end on notes like fired shots or strained groins, I’ll mention here that we’ll be adding other videos and photos to this post over the next day or so if/when we get anything good.  There are a few particular things we’re digging for right now that we think you’ll enjoy.  We got word that UNC did a parody of the Tyler Hansbrough commercial (also starring for two seconds the eeriest Andy Katz look-alike you’ll ever see) where he “Finds the DOG!”  So keep checking this post and the site in general for some more stuff from Midnight Madnesses from across the country.

1:20: Well, it’s over.  Personally, I thought ESPN-U saved their best coverage until after midnight ET, which would have made sense if the schools were actually waiting until midnight to unveil their teams, but since so much of the actual scrimmages or “extras” were taped, then it was probably just coincidence.  I’ve made my thoughts on the coverage above, so no need to rehash them here.  I’d rather focus on the fact that the new season has arrived and we’ve got official games in less than a month.  In the next couple of weeks there’ll be intra-squad scrimmages and the like and the amount of college basketball news is going to be skyrocketing.  The Midnight Madness countdown clock that has mocked us for so long in the upper right corner of our front page is no more.  Our wait is over.  That said, I’ll give the final sentiment of the night to Syracuse’s Wesley Johnson, who tweets:

“Practice at 11. The season officially starts tomorrow. Great turn out at Midnight Madness. We have Great Fans at the Cuse !!! Its Go Time !!”

That it is, Wesley.  That it is.

• Summer Hypocrisy Trail.  We spend a lot of time around here criticizing the NCAA, its administrators, coaches and enablers for their acute sense of self-serving righteousness mixed with hypocrisy as it relates to their various policies of doing business.  A couple of stories caught our eye to this effect over the past few days.  The first was Pete Thamel’s NYT piece exposing how summer camp organizers are charging exorbitant fees to coaches for the privilege of watching its players in the stands (along with a fancy-schmancy binder of player names and hometowns, whoop-de-damn-do).  Prices range from $175-$350, depending on the locale, but coaches are uniformly annoyed with such a major additional expense to their recruiting budgets.  Vandy’s Kevin Stallings has taken the lead on criticizing the practice (he refused to pay the fee at a Memphis camp, turning around and driving back home), but predictably, those coaches who get their bread buttered by virtue of cozy relationships with the camp organizers (K, Howland, Matta, etc.) will not speak out publicly about this trend.  And as Dana O’Neil showed in her article about a coach’s banquet in Las Vegas put on by camp organizers, there’s often very little accountability with respect to where all these fee dollars are flowing.  Organizers make claims about funding AAU trips, tournaments and “feeding their families,” but as we’ve seen with allegations involving Renardo Sidney and others, the paper trail on where money ends up is often ambiguous and fraught with obfuscation.  Of course, none of this should surprise you or us – the system is so completely dirty at the AAU level that we truly wonder if the NCAA will ever succeed in rooting it out.  The genie is already out of the bottle, and for every World Wide Wes out there, a hundred others are gunning to take his place.  Mike DeCourcy, for what it’s worth, thinks that the coaches should just STFU, and he’s probably right.  Still it doesn’t change the fact that, without regulation of these camps, nobody except the organizers really know what these dollars are being used for.  
• Summer of Lawsuits.  An odd lawsuit has arisen over a clause in a head coach’s former contract that unequivocally states that he may not continue to recruit players he was recruiting at his old school if he leaves for a new school.  Matt Brady, the second-year head coach at James Madison and formerly at Marist, was sued by Marist for violating what many people suggest is an unenforceable clause that they’ve never seen employed elsewhere.  Creative contract negotiations or willful ignorance of the law?  Regardless, four players whom Brady was recruiting at Marist – Julius Wells, Devon Moore, Andrey Semenov and Trevon Flores – ended up at JMU instead last season, although only Wells had signed a national letter of intent (which Marist released him from).  Of course, the key issue that the NY state court will consider is whether there is an obligation on the part of the coach over third parties (the recruits); we can’t imagine that the long arm of any contract would suggest such a thing, but we’re not lawyers, we just play them on tv. 
• UNC Title Tilt.  If you’re of the opinion that the 2005 NCAA Champion UNC squad would mop the floor with the 2009 NCAA Champion NCAA squad, as we are, then you’ll have an opportunity to see players from those two teams settle the debate at the UNC Pro Alumni Game on September 4 at the Dean Dome.  Nine players from the ‘05 team - Raymond Felton, Sean May, Rashad McCants, Byron Sanders, Reyshawn Terry, Jackie Manuel, Quentin Thomas, Marvin Williams and Jawad Williams – are scheduled to appear, along with six players from last year’s champs – Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, Danny Green, Bobby Frasor and Michael Copeland.  The scrimmage will allow for ad hoc division of rosters, and we’d expect to see several possessions where the starting lineups for each team are on the floor facing off against each other.  For the record, if the two teams actually were to play at full strength, the frontline of May and M. Williams would dominate the Hansbrough/D. Thompson side, especially with the superior playmaker Felton (over Lawson) distributing the ball.  The 2005 Heels weren’t as dominant in the NCAAs as the 2009 version, in part due to a lack of experience, but the talent on that team was far better. 
• Quick Hits.  2012 Olympic team: projecting a roster.  Ben Howland: on notice.  Bob Knight: teacher, leader, comedian.  Katz: stock watch for 2010 prospects.  Lebron Tape: what was it worth?  Florida St.: fine, you pay our legal fees then.  Big Monday: Big 12 Schedule.  Canadian Elite Hoops: doing great, until this.  Father/Son Recruiting: play for dad or UCLA?  Isiah: checking in on him at FIU.

The guys who don't want me covering the game

Let’s get one thing out of the way. The East Region open practice might have been the most boring 5 hours of my life (not counting lectures). There’s a reason the NCAA makes this event free (outside of the fact that they more than make up for it through the $8 programs, $5 Cokes, and $23 baseball caps). The crowd was 95% white males in their mid-30s or above along with a handful of kids chasing autographs from players who they were looking up during the practices checking to see which ones had the best stats. My favorites were the old guys sitting behind me who kept on commenting on how good Gary McGhee and Brian Zoubek were (the tallest guys on the court) and what outstanding pros they were going to be. Anyways, here are my thoughts and pictures (some pictures are from my iPhone because I forgot to charge my digital camera) from each team’s “practice”.

Xavier

• Looked fairly relaxed, which might be surprising for any other mid-major, but I guess when you make it to the Elite 8 last year and have consistently been a top 25 team in the past few years you aren’t a typical mid-major team.
• Sean Miller spent about 5 minutes talking to Bill Raftery and Verne Lundquist and then went back to watching his guys.
• It was a fairly boring shoot-around as most guys just threw up shots and went through the motions. The one exception was Brad Redford, a freshman who comes into the weekend shooting 47.3% from 3-point range on the season. I don’t think I am exaggerating when I say that he probably shot 70% from 3 during the session. Pittsburgh should be careful not to leave him open in a crucial situation because if they do, they might as well just mark down the 3 points.

Xavier prior to their session

Sean Miller

Brad Redford (Note to Pitt: Don't leave him open)

Villanova

• After the laidback Xavier session, Villanova seemed much more intense. After stretching and doing some jogging for about 5-10 minutes (I told you it was boring), Scottie Reynolds took the lead and directed his teammates through a series of drills.
• Where was Jay Wright while Reynolds was running the drills? Talking to Raftery and Lundquist of course. He spent almost 30 minutes talking to the CBS announcers. I certainly hope CBS got some amazing insights that they will share with us because they seemed to be talking up a storm.

Villanova prior to their session

Villanova going through their drills

Pittsburgh

• Out of all the coaches, Jamie Dixon spent the least time with Raftery and Lundquist. After briefly exchaning greetings with them, Dixon went straight into some drills.
• The Panthers seemed to be the loosest of the 4 teams. Despite being in drills, they were constantly playing around with DeJuan Blair,  Sam Young, and Levance Fields being the ring leaders.
• At one point all 3 of those guys were on one side of the court during a free throw shooting drill, but they started an impromptu high jump contest to see who could touch the highest on the backboard. While Blair got up higher than I expected, Young was the clear winner including an attempt where he put his entire hand above the square. For me, the surprise of the contest was Jermaine Dixon who got up a lot higher than I expected (Fields opted not to compete– barely touching the net would have been embarrassing).

Jamie Dixon

Pitt's "drills"

I guess when you're the #1 seed, it must work

Duke

• Finally the crowd got to see the main event (for them anyways) when Coach K’s squad took the court. You could tell the difference in practice styles right away. Without to sound too much like a typical media memeber, whereas the other teams practices were loosely organized the Duke practice was methodical and organized with a military precision (like you would expect from someone who played under Bobby Knight at Army).
• Duke was the only team with assistants that I immediately recognized (Chris Collins, Steve Wojciechowski, Nate James, and Chris Carawell). All of them seem to be pretty fit with the exception of Carawell who looks like he has put on a few pounds since his playing days.
• Coach K definitely played up to the crowd chatting with a few young Duke fans in the row in front of me asking them to watch and let him know if they saw anything the Blue Devils could work on. A guy 5-10 rows behind me called out saying that his friend (wearing a UNC cap) had a few suggestions for Duke. Coach K simply said that he appreciated anybody who supports their team so strongly. He didn’t respond to my comment that the UNC fan also voted for Obama.
• Like I said before, the Duke session was much more crisp than the other sessions with very little wasted time. I don’t think I saw any of the players in the other sessions sweating (with the exception of Redford), but every Duke player was sweating by the end of the session.
• I was surprised to see Duke run a couple of 5-on-5 full court drills.
• Surprisingly Duke was the only team to put on a dunking exhibition. As expected, Gerald Henderson threw down a couple of big dunks including a windmill and a 360, but the star of the exhibition was Olek Czyz. I wouldn’t expect to see Czyz in this weekend, but if he gets on the court don’t be surprised if he makes SportsCenter’s top 10 for a meaningless dunk.
• At the end of the session, Coach K and Blue Devils attempted to buy more drones into his army gave out free t-shirts to a handful of fans. Surprisingly Greg Paulus didn’t try to show off his arm.

Everyone's favorite Blue Devil

Recruiting some young fans

A leader who happens to coach basketball

Media Sightings

• The media was largely absent (they know how boring this day is), but we did spot a few notable media personalities (Bob Ryan, John Feinstein, and Andy Katz). I was amazed to see kids clamoring for Katz’s autographs. I can’t imagine what they would do if they saw Bill Simmons.

Bob Ryan

John Feinstein

• More great work from Vegas Watch as they used Pomeroy ranking to try and graph the opinions of oddsmakers for each team.
• O.J. Mayo is still influencing the guys at USC, but will he have enough juice to make Taj Gibson stay around another year?
• The close relationship between Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel and Blake Griffin helped them both stay at school this year, and brought untold joy to Sooner fans.
• Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl just refuses to wear more clothes than he has to.
• CBS got a little too up close and personal with Purdue coach Matt Painter during the Boilermakers loss to the Spartans yesterday, and TV viewers paid the price.
• While it was Tyler Hansborough’s day yesterday, the folks at Fanhouse don’t even think he is the best player on his own team.
• One ambitious writer decided to take on the task of picking an All-Big East team.
• Umm…word of advice for Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart. It is important to put on a confident front when your team is on the brink of the tournament…yes that includes not prematurely saying you would accept an NIT bid.
• A great look by BP’s John Perrotto at the Memphis Tigers staunch defense.
• Jameson Fleming laments the fact that we probably won’t get to see some of the mid-majors brightest stars on the sports biggest stage.
• Bizzaro Joe Lunardi is gearing up for Selection Sunday by breaking down each conference.
• Andy Katz looks at possibly this year’s best story…the good basketball that is being played in Fargo, North Dakota.
• Jeff Goodman takes one last chance to sing Tyler Hansborough’s praises.
• What makes college basketball great? Stories about the day Anthony Brock was having when he woke up, and the day he was having by the end of the night.
• If Ohio State is going to make the NCAA Tournament and make noise once they get there, they may have to do it without big man Dallas Lauderdale.

1:00pm. Welcome back to another day of BGTD.  There are only 2o games today, but there are five of particular interest that we’ll be tracking.  Villanova @ Syracuse and Illinois @ Ohio St. at 1pm, Wisconsin at Michigan St. @ 3pm, Wake Forest @ Duke at 7:45pm, and Arizona at Arizona St. at 10pm.  Pretty strong day.  Let’s get it started in upstate NY…

1:02pm.  Before we get going, we want to touch on this story from the LA Times yesterday that UCLA has stopped recruiting local 6′11 prep star Renardo Sidney even though by mid-last week the Bruins were still considered the front-runner.  Certainly UCLA could use a big man with guard skills such as those that Sidney has, so what gives?  Color us jaded, but all we could think of when we heard that UCLA so abruptly dropped Sidney was this story written by Gregg Doyel about a Pac-10 recruit who was charging $10k per on-campus visit a few years ago.  Did Sidney finally give UCLA his price?  Was there a package deal that Ben Howland wasn’t willing to stomach?  Not surprisingly, USC (of OJ Mayo, Daniel Hackett and Reggie Bush) is now considered the leader. Let’s see what happens later today when Sidney announces his college choice at 4pm PDT.

1:13pm.  Villanova looks fantastic thus far, with seven scores in eight possessions, including three threes from Dwayne Anderson.  If you’re still reflecting on yesterda’s wild Saturday, here’s Andy Katz’s article focusing on how quickly things can change.

1:23pm. Nova is getting whatever it wants offensively, and the Syracuse crowd still looks asleep (the players aren’t much better).  Uh-oh alert – Clemson is already down double-figures at Georgia Tech – remember the Tigers lost a road game last weekend at bottom-feeder Virginia.

1:45pm. Cuse is coming back here just before the half, now down 2, behind Devendorf, Rautins and Flynn.  Clemson is also back in the game, after getting down by as much as 15 to Ga Tech.  Illinois appears like they’ll hit their total from the Illini’s last game vs. OSU in the first half (up 26-24 with 2:30 left).

2:00pm.  Nova goes into the half with a six-pt lead, 46-40.  Neither one of these teams is playing much defense – both sides are shooting 55% from the field.  The key difference is that Villanova has been able to get to the line eight more times than the home team.   Clemson fought back to tie things up at Georgia Tech, and Xavier is ripping GW 36-20 at halftime.

2:05pm. Seth Davis just got on board the RTC train with the Duke Swoon at halftime of the Syracuse-Nova game, predicting that the Devils will be the highest ranked team to lose early next month.  Not sure if Duke will lose tonight, but there are two things in Wake’s favor…  1) Duke will play man-to-man, which helps Wake penetrate to the rim; and 2) Wake has shown this year a propensity to take ranked teams seriously, home or away.  The Deacs get into trouble when they’re playing teams they don’t respect.

2:22pm. Cuse just made a nice run to get back within one, while Clemson hsa come out strong after the half to run out by 7 pts on Ga Tech.  Xavier is now up 19 on GW, so that game is pretty much over.  Illinois is looking strong on the road at OSU, now up 7 as well.

2:33pm. Phenomenal stretch there where Villanova’s hands were everywhere on defense, resulting in a 3 and two dunks.  One area where Nova doesn’t get nearly enough credit is with their defense because they don’t have any shot blocker types, but their positioning and quick hands are consistently productive.

2:35pm. Georgia Tech is coming back on Clemson now.  Actually this game resembles the Virginia loss from last week quite a bit – with seven minutes to go in that one, Clemson led by three.  Right now, with ten minutes to go, Clemson now leads by three.

2:46pm. Tough upstate NY call there, an offensive foul call on Nova’s only big man, Dante Cunningham, giving him four.  He’ll sit for the next few minutes – let’s see what Cuse can do with an open middle…

2:50pm. Not much.  Apparently the Orange believes that three-point shots are the way to go here.  Luckily for Villanova, we might add.  Meanwhile, Nova just keeps attacking the rim and having good things occur.  Now up nine again.  Clemson also just went on a run to take an eight-pt lead with five to go.

3:00pm. Syracuse had a huge possession to cut the lead to three or two and instead chucked up another three.  And it looks like Clemson is going to hang on against Georgia Tech – the Tigers are now up nine with less than two minutes to go.  KC Rivers has 19 on 8-11 shooting.  Xavier is finishing off GW, and Illinois is barely hanging on against OSU (too bad we can’t see that one here).

3:04pm. Yes, these are clean looks, but down five, why not get an easier two at the rim rather than continually throwing up threes in this situation?

3:06pm. Gotta say, it took us a long time to believe in Villanova as an elite team, but they’ve proved us wrong this season.  Nothing that they do really pops off the page, but it’s clear that they have a strong collection of high-basketball-IQ players who can score, defend and don’t make a lot of mistakes.   A team like Syracuse has more pure talent, but they’re not as mentally strong as Nova.

3:09pm. If Cuse shoots another three here… well, they finally got smart and got the easier two.  Of course, that was only after Jonny Flynn got stripped while rising for a corner three.  Lucky break for the Orange.

3:12pm. Sighhhhhh……..  another terrible three attempt by Flynn that damn near went over the backboard.  GET THE EASY TWO.  How many times to we have to say it to these teams????  Btw, Illinois held on against Ohio St, and Clemson finished off Ga Tech.

3:14pm. Well, Syracuse can’t say they didn’t have chances there.  The last three looked good (and was appropriate given time/score), but the first one wasn’t.  There was still time to get a layup and cut the lead to one there.

3:17pm. Moving on to the next set of games, Wisconsin is up early on Michigan St., the team that we declared was the most disappointing in America on Thursday of last week.  WVU is already up 14 on Rutgers over on ESPN FC, if you’re interested.

3:20pm. We just learned Duke will be wearing alternate jerseys tonight in the Wake Forest game (see pic below).  The jerseys feature “an embedded design inspired by some of Duke’s iconic buildings and Gothic architecture on the back of the uniform.”  Ummm, ok – can’t wait.

3:25pm. Another thrilling Big 10 scoring bonanza.  Wisconsin 15, Michigan St. 9… with nine minutes left in the first half.  You’ll forgive us if we take a nap through part of this one.

3:40pm. Good news for Oklahoma – Blake Griffin’s MRI came back negative, but his status is still unclear for tomorrow night’s game against Kansas in Norman.

4:12pm.  MSU is showing signs of making a run in E. Lansing – maybe it was the presence of Jud Heathcote and Magic Johnson in the building that inspired them.  WVU is still up around ten or so on Rutgers, but the Scarlet Knights are pushing.  One upset to report from the A10 – UMass upset St. Joes’ in the Palestra despite Ahmad Nivins’ 22/11.  Temple defeated St. Bonnie to go to 8-3 in the A10.  It looks like Dayton, Xavier and Temple are going to battle down to the very end in that league.  Dayton plays both XU and Temple in the next two weeks.

4:46pm. Things getting good here.  MSU has roared back to tie things up at 45-all.  Rutgers made a small run but now WVU woke up and is up 14.

4:59pm. MSU really woke up there, didn’t they?  WVU pulled away at the end to win by 18.

5:55pm. Sorry, not much going on the last little while.  Some garbage Big East game (St. John’s-Seton Hall) along with a garbage Big Ten game (Michigan-Iowa).  We’ll be back for the start of Duke-Wake at 7:30pm or so…

7:31pm. And we’re back.  Jeezus it’s wet out there.  So did you guys know that Duke is an 8-pt favorite over Wake tonight?  That seems absurdly high given the way Duke has been playing lately.  The question really is which Wake team will show up tonight – the team that beat BYU and Clemson in hostile environments; or the team that got punked at Miami and Georgia Tech?  Thoughts?

7:40pm. Should probably mention that Iowa defeated Michigan in OT in the Big Ten during our break, effectively ending much more talk about the Wolverines as an at-large (ok, not really, but it should).  Back to D-town, the key to this game in our eyes will be whether Duke can effectively deal with Wake’s size and length, which really frustrated the Devils in the previous meeting.

7:41pm. We were just informed that there’s something called The Oscars that is also on tonight, which probably presents an interesting dilemma in many co-dependent households.  Luckily at the RTC compound there are multiple tv options so as to not cause problems.  Besides, our guy Nate Silver has it covered, and the winners are pretty much already a lock.  You can’t say that about Duke-Wake and Arizona-ASU though, can you?

7:45pm. Here we go…  the prediction here is that Duke wins a close one.

7:51pm. Looks like Duke has already found Wake’s weakness – three TOs in four possessions off the press.  Wake is #299 nationally and #11 in the ACC in turnovers per game (15.8 per game).

7:57pm. Minnesota is doubling up Northwestern at halftime, 36-18, in the only other game going on right now.  Where the hell are the commenters today?  Is anybody out there with some keen observations – if so, pipe up!

8:01pm. That multiple-save possession was one of the best examples of hustle from both sides I’ve seen in a long time.  This game does mean a lot to both teams.  With Carolina’s loss yesterday, the winner of this one is only one game behind UNC in the standings.  Another backcourt TO for Wake (and nearly another).  Wake will only win this game in Cameron if they can settle down and control the ball.

8:04pm. Quick aside – Renardo Sidney is heading to USC next year.  Whatever deal he wanted, Tim Floyd is more than happy to accomodate.  Should be interesting if the Trojans can hang onto Demar DeRozan for another year.

8:10pm. Turnovers are murdering Wake – 9 TOs so far and Duke is on a 108-pt pace against one of the best Ds in the nation.  Danger time for Wake.

8:18pm.  Gaudio can’t be pleased right now – the TOs are the difference in this game right now (13-2 in points off TOs).  Coach K knows exactly what he’s doing in pressuring the Demon Deacon guards.

8:20pm.  This is on the verge of getting very ugly due to the turnover problems for Wake.  Some of these passes are ridiculously bad.  Duke’s players are clearly overplaying every pass, which means the backdoor cuts are open, but it doesn’t even seem as if that’s being considered by the Deacs.

8:25pm.  That stretch where Gerald Henderson went on a personal dunking exhibition showed us everything we need to know about Wake’s moxie.  They were literally giving up defensively.  Talk about getting in another team’s head!

8:30pm. Jeff Teague just drained two 25-footers but Wake has an unreal sixteen TOs in this half.  Still, with 22+ minutes remaining, can Wake settle down long enough to make any kind of a run?

8:33pm. What a bizarre game.  Wake is shooting 64% against the nation’s sixth most efficient defense and is down 15 pts due to 16 turnovers.  Duke is shooting 54% against the nation’s eleventh most efficient defense. Duke is still on well over a 100-pt pace, but strangely, we don’t feel that it’s over just yet.

8:37pm. Gotta agree with Fowler and Gminski there – Jeff Teague saved Wake from getting completely blown out there.  By our count, from the 6-minute mark on, Wake didn’t have another turnover.  Jeff Teague also scored 16 pts in the final ten minutes.  The second half will depend completely on how Wake responds to the next Duke run predicated on their mishandling of the ball.  If Wake can minimize it to something like a 4-0  or 6-2 push while keeping Teague involved, the Deacs may actually have a chance to get back into this one.  If there’s another 12-2 run coming, then Duke will win going away.  So here’s the prediction.  If Wake has a six-TO or less second half, they’ll be there in the end with a shot to win the game.  If not, Duke wins by double-figures.

9:00pm. Wake is a lot more comfortable with the ball this half, but will it last?  It appears that Johnson has realized he can get to the rim anytime he wants on Singler, who, ahem, struggles defending in one-on-one situations.  As for Duke, they need Henderson to get going again.  He’s the one player on the Duke roster who can legitimately present matchup problems with Wake.  This should be an interesting last fifteen minutes – who will have the legs to finish it off?

9:05pm. That was a completely absurd dunk by G. Henderson, followed by a couple of threes, one on each end.  Wake down three now – does this remind anyone else of the Carolina game at Cameron a week-plus ago?  Still a ton of time left, but the key is that Wake has ZERO turnovers this half.

9:08pm. Gerald Henderson is absolutely torching the Wake defense – that duck-under twenty-footer was nasty.  Wake is getting a layup every time down on their end – it’s clear that they have figured out that they are quicker off the dribble, and Duke has no interior size to defend the penetration.  Wake is now hitting a ridiculous 63/67/82% from the field/three/foul line, and they’re still down 5 pts.

9:18pm. When was the last time Wake shot a jumper outside of the lane?  Ten minutes ago?  It’s patently obvious Duke cannot stop their dribble penetration.  And we don’t remember a single Wake turnover this half (maybe one?).  Duke right now is depending on Henderson and some timely threes.  Can it last?

9:20pm. Scott, thanks for the question.  Right now, doesn’t it appear that Wake is the team with all the momentum?  Duke has been able to keep Wake at bay, but if the Devils have one more run in them, they need it soon.  Otherwise, Wake is going to continue going inside for easy buckets and put the pressure on the Duke defense.

9:23pm. Sick oop.  Didn’t think there was any way Johnson could get up to get that one.  Great ball fake from Scheyer as well.  Duke is just hanging on little by little.

9:26pm.  How can one team be so sloppy with the ball in one half and so confident with it the next?  Sixteen turnovers to zero is unfathomable.  Duke is starting to draw some fouls on the Wake defense – it’s not like the Devils are falling apart here – they’re shooting at a stellar 54% clip.

9:31pm. Duke with the mini-run based on the rebound after the FT miss and finally a turnover for Wake.  Duke is really showing some poise here offensively because they’re continuing to get torched on the defensive end.  They’re doing just enough to keep the pressure on Wake to score every trip.

9:34pm.  Henderson has been phenomenal tonight, drawing another foul against the Wake defense.  He’s got thirty pts on 10-14 from the field.  More importantly, he’s had quite a few run-stoppers in the last quarter of this game, where it looked like Wake was one key stop away from taking control of this game.

9:36pm. Mike, yeah, defense is really lacking in this one.  I think you, me and a third guy off the street could get into the lane on the Duke defense.  Key three miss by Wake there, from a guy who probably shouldn’t be taking contested long range jumpers.  Henderson just threw in the dagger from three – that was a Kobe fadeaway from 22 feet.  Sick.

9:37pm.  Scott – tough question.  It’s probably going to come down to the last four games in the ACC and who leads their team to the conference title.  Right now you’d have to say Lawson and Henderson would be right there, with Jack McClinton as a darkhorse.

9:39pm. Ballgame.  Duke really earned this one, hitting key shots whenever Wake truly threatened.  Wouldn’t say their defense won this one for them.  The game was “won” in the first half with all the Wake TOs, but the game was truly earned in the second half when Wake was pushing Duke and the Devils had every answer.   As for Aminu, it appeared to us he had a bout of freshmanitis, commonly seen in players taking their first trips to CIS.

9:43pm. Elliot Williams is getting the most time at PG tonight.  Guess K figured that Paulus would get torched, but still, Wake was able to get to the rim at will anyway.

9:46pm. Not sure we’ve seen many situations where a team shot >60% and outrebounded its opponent by double figures and still lost the game, but that appears to be what will happen here tonight (63%, +13).

9:52pm. The commentators are talking about Duke in March, but we’ve seen this song and dance one too many times the last few years.  Duke is just a different team in Cameron, and the fact that they can get broken down repeatedly by quick guards and have little to no inside presence on either end of the court are HUGE flaws on a neutral court.  Wake is the team with more March upside, but you just don’t know about the heads on that team.

9:55pm. Well, that was an entertaining game, if little defense.  Definitely a lot different than the MSU-Wisconsin game from earlier today.  Gerald Henderson was nasty tonight, and Duke deserved that win.  Wake fans have to wonder what it takes to win in Durham, because if 61% shooting and a +12 rebounding margin won’t do it, not much will.  Let’s move on to the Pac-10 game in the desert.  The last matchup was an ASU win in Tucson 53-47, but since that game Arizona has run off seven wins in a row.  To its own credit, ASU has won its last four in a row.  Gotta believe both of these teams are Tourney-bound, but it should be interesting given how well they’re both playing lately.  We like Arizona to return the favor and get a road win in Tempe tonight.

10:20pm. Had to take a quick break, but it’s clear this one is already more of a defensive battle than what our ACC game was.  It’s still really strange to see Arizona playing a zone after all those years of Lute Olson’s M2M defense.

10:35pm. We’re starting to believe these two teams don’t really like each other very much.  Is it just us or is Chase Budinger looking scarier than the Unabomber right now with that beard?

10:43pm. Mike, it’s a little bit of both from our viewpoint.  Certainly not as bad as Wake’s in the first half of their game, but UA is definitely showing some quick hands here.

10:46pm. ASU definitely zeroing in on these threes against the zone.  NINE threes out of fifteen attempts so far.  Ridiculous.  UA is lucky to only be down nine points at this time.

10:51pm.  TEN THREES for ASU this half.

10:53pm. What’s going on tonight?  ASU is shooting 67% from the field and 10-16 from three.  But the turnovers are keeping Arizona in the game, in an opposite situation as the Duke-Wake game earlier.

11:15pm.  Amazing stat – ASU is 10-0 against Arizona when ranked.

11:22pm. ASU is on fire right now.  They’ve only hit one three this half, but Arizona is colder than Mesa right now (35%).  Arizona just hit another three to bring it to six.

11:37pm. 20-4 run for UA to get within one point here.  Too bad everyone else is watching the Oscars.

11:43pm.  Amazing comeback by Arizona tonight.  This is the team we expected earlier in the game.  ASU has hit only one three after hitting ten in the first half.

11:47pm. This has turned into a phenomenal game in Tempe.

11:55pm.  A huge missed putback that would have tied the game there for UA.  Let’s see what UA can do after ASU missed a FT…. the ball squirts away and that’s it!

1:55am. Wrapup here.  Thanks to Mike L. and Scott in the comments section for carrying this game the last half or so.  We had a phone call that made it difficult to keep up completely, but it was a gutty comeback by Arizona for certain.  That makes it another day for the BGTD feature.  Pretty solid day of games actually.  Well, it is February, after all.  We’ll try to do a What We Learned up tomorrow sometime, but no promises there.

1:59am.  Should be an exciting week at RTC – we’ll have RTC Live coming to you on Tuesday night (7pm EDT) from new #1 Pitt visiting Providence game along with everything else you’ve come to expect around here.  Be sure to submit your questions for Jamie Dixon, DeJuan Blair and others ahead of time or during the game so that we can make sure your voice is heard (just don’t ask us to ask Jamie about his salary at Pitt as a public employee)….

]]> http://rushthecourt.net/2009/02/22/boom-goes-the-dynamite-022209-edition/feed/ 40 http://rushthecourt.net/2008/10/30/103008-fast-breaks/ http://rushthecourt.net/2008/10/30/103008-fast-breaks/#comments Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:09:03 +0000 rtmsf http://rushthecourt.net/?p=1960 What are you going as for Halloween this year?  We hear the Kelvin Sampson costumes are boss in Bloomington…

• You heard about Hansbrough… Tennessee’s JP Prince will also miss the next 3-5 weeks with a shoulder injury. 
• Nevada’s leading returning player Brandon Fields was cleared of any wrongdoing in his shoplifting case – still no word on his suspension, though.
• And the Billy Gillispie Rule is instituted…
• Billy Donovan got a huge pickup with Kenny Boynton’s commitment today.
• Andy Katz gives a fantastic analysis of the Arizona mess on his blog – looks like Mike Dunlap made a stupid mistake in not accepting the head coaching job.  Oh, and former recruit Abdul Gaddy is going to Washington.
• Goodman’s Top 20 freshmen.  Here are CHN’s all-american frosh teams and their mid-major all-americans.  Parrish gives his Top 20 Games to watch before Jan. 8th.
• “The most egregious lack of institutional control ever seen.” 
• In the wake of Lute Olson’s retirement, Arizona loses another player, Jeff Withey, from the freshman class.
• Creighton is the preseason pick by the media and SIDs in the Valley.
• With Demar DeRozan in tow and a weaker Pac-10, we might not want to write off USC just yet.

• CHN averages the rankings from the three preview magazines that are already out (Athlon, Lindy’s and TSN/S&S).  UNC still #1.  CHN gives us the mid-majors to keep an eye on this season as possible NCAA Cinderellas.  And here’s your EA Sports NCAA Basketball 09 Top 25 (now partnered with Blue Ribbon).  We know you were waiting for it.
• Hahahahaha, so it appears the ACC is cooking the books Wachovia-style in an attempt to act like it has more televised games this year than it actually has. 
• North Dakota Fighting Maize?  According to the North Dakota state legislature, the Fighting Sioux are out. 
• Syracuse had best hope that Jonny Flynn doesn’t get hurt this season, as the Orange’s backup PG Scoop Jardine is redshirting.
• Nevada starting guard Brandon Fields and two freshmen were charged with petty larceny last week, and suspended indefinitely.  Brilliance.  Oh, and Fields was all-academic WAC, proving that good grades doesn’t necessarily mean you have a brain. 
• Seth Davis asks twenty questions as we get started with the 2008-09 season.  Gary Parrish has 24 things that he can’t wait to see this season, and his Top 26 teams.  Mike DeCourcy offers five things he hopes to see this year.
• Katz hints on our issue with UConn as a F4 threat (zero postseason wins since 2006) in this story about Stanley Robinson.   He also provides us with a nice update of open questions as we head into the first week of practices. 
• Yep, this is going to get old real, real fast.  Tyler Hansbrough, the symbol of all things good and merciful.   
• Dan Hanner over at YABB throws us some love (thanks, Dan!), and does a breakdown of the preseason tournaments by school participation – cool concept. 
• Truly, the most Epic Post of all-time.  Maybe the author wants to be an RTC correspondent???  Our fave blurbs were Florida and Colgate, fyi.
• Being Cinderella (Davidson) can pay dividends.
• This is pretty awesome over at STF – Drake U’u and Da’Veen Dildy are our favorites.  Honorable mention to An’Juan Wildnerness (isn’t that in Alaska?).