If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions torushthecourt@gmail.com. We will add to this post throughout the day as the submissions come in so keep on sending them.

General News

• Was Anthony Hubbard forced out?: “So it appears we may have gotten some illumination on the Hubbard story: via Mike Hlas (who has a very good column on the subject), a report from a website called MetroSportsReport.com that Hubbard was kicked off the team for violation of a strict “zero tolerance policy”, and did not willingly transfer as suggested by the official Iowa press release. ” (Black Heart Gold Pants)
• First Half Of Boost Mobile Elite Rosters Released: “I don’t know if releasing rosters is something that can create a significant amount of buzz, but the people at the Boost Mobile Elite 24 game are trying to do that today, releasing the roster in two pieces. The first half was just released and you might recognize a few important names, including Shabazz Muhammad and Anthony Bennett, who will square off in the dunk contest. The event will be held August 26-27 in Los Angeles and is where Kyle Wiltjer surprised us all with his commitment last year.” (Kentucky Sports Radio)
• Wayne Blackshear should be in Louisville in two weeks: “A story in this morning’s Chicago Tribune confirms that Blackshear is in summer school in Chicago satisfying a core requirement in order to qualify academically. Fear not, however, as Blackshear’s high school coach Nick Irvin says the McDonald’s All-American will be on campus shortly.” (Card Chronicle)
• Manhattan, Albany & Brown Join Syracuse In Carrier Dome For 2011 NIT Season Tip-Off: “So let me get this straight… Syracuse, which is located in New York, is playing Manhattan, which is located in New York City, in Syracuse, NY for the right to play in a tournament in New York City? And the Orange might also have to beat Albany, another school located in New York to get there?” (Troy Nunes is An Absolute Magician)
• Hokies NIT Pod Set: “We’ve known for a while that Virginia Tech would be participating in the Preseason NIT (otherwise known now as the Preseason Virginia Tech Invitational).  We’ve known George Mason would be in the pod (East Regional), led by their new coach and TechHoops.com favorite, Paul Hewitt.  We’ve known it would be played at the Cassell.  And now we know who the Hokies will play in the first round and who the other two teams are.” (Tech Hoops)
• Louisville pulls out of 2012 Maui Invitational: “It appears Cardinal fans who had been planning on a November, 2012 getaway to the island of Maui are out of luck. Louisville has pulled out of the 2012 Maui Invitational Tournament and has already been replaced by Marquette. U of L was also scheduled to participate in the event in 2009, but instead worked out a deal to push their participation back three years.” (Card Chronicle)

If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com. We will add to this post throughout the day as the submissions come in so keep on sending them.

General News

• Jon Hood Torn ACL: The Kentucky guard tore his ACL in a pick-up game on Monday and will undergo surgery in the near future, but there is no estimate for his return at this time. (A Sea of Blue)
• Syracuse Orange Basketball Schedule: A preliminary look at Syracuse’s schedule for next season. (Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician)
• Mark Few also involved with David Salinas: Reports on a potential connection between the Gonzaga coach and the deceased AAU middleman. (The Slipper Still Fits)
•  Ponzi Scheme Burns Gillispie The Worst: “Former Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie was named by CBS Sports as a participant in a Ponzi scheme organized by an AAU team founder, which took advantage of college coaches.  And according to a story by Sports Illustrated, Gillispie wasn’t just a part of it. He was the biggest victim. In fact, he contributed nearly double the money of the second largest contributor, former Utah head coach Ray Giacoletti.” (Kentucky Sports Radio)
• LSU transfer Garrett Green will visit Indiana: The Hoosiers, with one additional available scholarship for next season, have contact the big man who averaged 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 18 minutes per game last season. (Inside the Hall)

If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com. We will add to this post throughout the day as the submissions come in so keep on sending them.

General News

• Leslie McDonald Tears ACL in NC Pro-Am Game: UNC was dealt a major setback with McDonald’s injury, which could keep him out for the entire season. (Carolina March)
• Bullock Cleared To Play: Reggie Bullock returned to the court last week for the first time since early March. (Tar Heel Fan)
• Anthony Hubbard Leaving Iowa: The controversial recruit is leaving the Hawkeyes before ever stepping on the court for them. (Black Hearts Gold Pants)
• Arizona’s Jordin Mayes’ foot surgery is a bigger deal than you might think: An update on how Mayes is doing following his foot surgery. (Arizona Desert Swarm)
• So, Maryland Assistant Dalonte Hill is Making $300k: “That’s what the Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Barker is saying, via a source. Which, in case you were wondering, is actually a couple dollars more than the entire assistant staff made during the 09/10 season.” (Testudo Times)
• The Annual Syracuse Basketball Summer Slimdown Is On: An update on the Syracuse guards attempting to lose 10-15 pounds over the off-season. (Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician)
• Kenner League Day 5 In Review: Tyler Adams Debuts, Otto Drains from Deep and Greg Monroe Returns: A recap of the action in the Georgetown-laden summer league. (Casual Hoya)

1. North Carolina’s Leslie McDonald tore his right ACL in a summer league game on Thursday night and there’s fear he might miss the entirety of the 2011-12 season. The rising junior was seventh in minutes for last season’s Tar Heels and fifth in scoring (7.0 PPG), but second in made threes (51) and three-point percentage (38.1%). Despite McDonald’s obvious increased confidence and improved play last year, minutes at the guard position would have been tough to come by in the upcoming, with Dexter Strickland, Reggie Bullock, and Kendall Marshall comprising a formidable corps and P.J. Hairston en route. It is, nevertheless, a significant hit to the Heels’ depth in terms of both outside shooting and experience, though we’re not sure how much it moves the needle back toward Kentucky in terms of the pre-season #1.
2. Anthony Hubbard spent four years in the hoosegow after a 2003 home robbery, then worked hard to get his life back on the right track by graduating from high school and then becoming a junior college basketball star in Maryland. With two seasons of eligibility left, he was slated to start at Iowa next year, but that’s not going to happen. Hubbard, a 6’5 guard, has decided he wants to try to find a school closer to his home in Virginia, so he’ll leave Iowa without having ever donned the Hawkeye uniform. Can’t blame either side, here. If Hubbard thinks this is the best thing for his life on and off the court, then he’s right to go before the relationship went any farther. Given the time, effort, and faith Fran McCaffrey and his staff put into bringing Hubbard to Iowa, though, you can’t blame Iowa AD Gary Barta for admitting his and his staff’s disappointment (as he does in the story) while still wishing Hubbard the best.
3. “Ladies and gentlemen, your Rutgers University Scarlet Knights!…aka Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning!!” Please allow yourself time to check out how the (Newark) Star-Ledger’s Brendan Prunty (a favorite of ours, by the way) ties those two entities together, but suffice to say that some players on next season’s Rutgers squad are enjoying some very valuable time together playing in the Jersey Shore summer league. Hey, it might not be one of those team trips to Europe or China, but it’s still two extra months to work on team chemistry both as players and as gentlemen, and that never hurts.
4. People who like math major in mathematics. Students who play the cello can be cello majors. Should college athletes, then, be allowed to major in their sport if they want? Seems like that idea hasn’t ever really been taken seriously, but we hear someone make the case for it every so often; this time, Arizona State’s StatePress.com steps up and gives it a shot. In their proposed paradigm, obviously athletes would have to take basic requirements just like students with non-athletic majors, and the author notes how, even for those players who don’t end up playing professionally in their chosen sport, there may still be several career options for which such a major could prepare them. We add the following question: does the bachelor’s have to be the terminal degree? It would be pretty fantastic to be the first person with a “ChD” — a Doctorate of College Hoops.
5. The college basketball story of the summer may have (unfortunately, as it happens) arrived. On Sunday, 60-year old David Salinas was found dead in Houston, apparently of suicide. Salinas founded a summer basketball program for local kids when he wasn’t acting as an “investment adviser.” CBS’ Gary Parrish and Jeff Goodman have reported that the suicide appears to be a result of the feds’ investigation of Salinas’ allegedly fraudulent business practices. The college basketball angle is that many coaches — we’re talking some big names, as you’ll read in the linked article — entrusted quite a bit of their money to Salinas, and his summer program may have helped funnel some recruits to certain schools represented by those coaches. The link between the players and the money hasn’t been firmly established as of yet, but you know the NCAA is watching this very closely. So are we, and we’ll have more up here as events warrant.

1. George Washington University fired longtime coach Karl Hobbs on Monday, and it appears to have been a complete surprise to him.  In ten seasons at the helm in Foggy Bottom, he went 166-129 (84-76 A-10), but after a nice run in the middle part of the decade where GW averaged 24 wins and made three straight NCAA Tournaments, his teams have been consistently mediocre for the last four years (averaging 13 wins and finishing near the bottom of the Atlantic 10 in three of the four years).  Given its academic and international focus in addition to its location in the heart of DC, GW isn’t the easiest school in the world at which to build a great basketball program, but Hobbs did as well as could be reasonably expected for a little while.  He eventually wore out his welcome, though, with a tendency to recruit academically questionable kids and a stubborn refusal to fix a strained relationship with both fans and the local media — it’ll be interesting to see who GW brass gets to replace him.
2. Former San Diego star and current accused pointshaver Brandon Johnson made his first appearance in federal court yesterday as a result of his arrest for allegedly fixing a 2010 game and soliciting a former teammate to do the same in a 2011 contest.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, he pleaded not guilty to all charges and informed the judge that he could not afford his own counsel and would need an appointed one.  He will remain free on a $25,000 bond until trial is set for later this spring — he may want to spend his time in the next month or two prepping for routines.
3. From players facing time to those who have already done it, Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery announced over the weekend that his team would add JuCo transfer player Anthony Hubbard to its roster next season.  The reason this is a little different than your typical offseason transfer is that Hubbard spent four years in prison as a result of a robbery conviction that he suffered as an 18-year old in Woodbridge, Virginia.  The 6’5 wing will start at small forward, but according to McCaffery, he has a versatile skill set that will allow him to play multiple positions as a Hawkeye.  From what Hubbard is saying, it appears that his head is on straight and is thankful for the opportunity he has to play Division I basketball — still, he should expect to hear all kinds of things on the road in places like West Lafayette and East Lansing next season.
4. As we mentioned yesterday, the NBA Draft deadline came and went on Sunday night.  The early entrants who have not yet signed with an agent will have a grand total of two weeks to decide if they’re going to stick with the draft or head back to their college campuses for another year.  Luke Winn breaks down the ten schools with the most to lose in the next two weeks, and unsurprisingly, Kentucky with its possible loss of three starters is at the top of the list.  Mike DeCourcy names his four schools who have been hit hardest thus far (with players not returning), and it might surprise you the school he has listed at the top.
5. This article by the Louisville Courier-Journal’s Rick Bozich takes a look at the NBA Playoffs from the perspective of a college hoops fan.  While we take issue with his choice of “top fifty playoff scorers” as the only metric to determine playoff performance, he still found some interesting results from the analysis.  For example, which school do you think has gotten the most scoring bang for its buck in this year’s playoffs so far?  Any clues?  Would you believe… UCLA, with Russell Westbrook, Trevor Ariza and Jrue Holiday?  Yeah, go figure…