Posted by rtmsf on May 5th, 2010
- Butler will have to deal with the ghoulish specter of Expectations next year without star forward Gordon Hayward, who has decided to remain in the NBA Draft pool. The Bulldogs should still be very good in 2010-11, but it’s unlikely to expect another run at the national title without the versatile Hayward back on campus. Ole Miss guard Terrico White has also decided to stay in the draft, forgoing his final two years of eligibility. This is a questionable decision, as some prognosticators think White may sneak into the bottom of the first round, while others think he’ll be lucky to be drafted. With the withdrawal deadline looming on Saturday, there will be a number of these over the next few days (we hope) and Northern Arizona’s Cam Jones is one of the first to announce a return to school.
- Some coaching news from yesterday as Temple’s Fran Dunphy was rewarded for another NCAA campaign with an extension that will keep him secure through the 2018 season. At Kentucky, John Calipari responded to the Chicago Bull rumors with an audio tweet stating that he’s only interested in an extension at UK, not a raise. After the Tim Welsh debacle at Hofstra, the university wasted no time in hiring Mo Cassara, an assistant that Welsh had hired from Boston College, for the top spot. A month ago he didn’t even have a job — now he’s the head coach.
- How about some transfer news today to round out things? Memphis added New Orleans transfer Charles Carmouche, a scoring guard who will be eligible immediately for his final two seasons as a result of UNO’s self-demotion to Division 3. Alabama is restricting rising senior Justin Knox’s transfer bid to UAB as a result of what they think is tampering. Bizarre situation for the 2008-09 SEC men’s basketball scholar-athlete of the year who will have already graduated from the school this year.
- Oklahoma State forward Matt Pilgrim has been served with a protective order by a woman who is claiming that he raped her on April 12. Pilgrim was an integral part of the inside game for the Pokes last season (8/7) and undoubtedly was expected to be even more prominent next year. He posted this on his Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon: “I can’t take it no more… I always play the victim. (All) I’ve done was work hard to prove people wrong… People lie and every one that know(s) me know(s) my passion to become somebody, but Satan is working overtime on me…. But I’m (going to) let God handle this… I will still work hard to provide for me and the ones I love. Please do (not believe what’s) going on. I just want peace… Sorry to everyone that is affected by this.” You never know what the details will show in situations like these, so let’s just hope that justice (whatever its form) is served in the end.
- Testing the waters is a sham now that the NCAA caved in to several prominent whiners coaches and gives prospective NBA players a mere two weeks during many schools’ exam period to gauge their stock. We have a piece up on this today, and Gary Parrish chimed in as well with some of his own research from the NBA side of the ledger (result: most NBA teams aren’t interested in this right now). If the NCAA has any interest in actually helping its student-athletes make educated decisions, then they’ll admit they flubbed this one and create a more realistic window for kids to get evaluated. Well, at least they got the important stuff, y’know, like throwing ‘bows, figured out.
| morning 5, Regular Features
| Tagged: alabama, butler, cam jones, charles carmouche, contract extensions, criminal matters, early entries, fran dunphy, gary parrish, gordon hayward, john calipari, justin knox, kentucky, matt pilgrim, memphis, nba draft, new orleans, northern arizona, oklahoma st, ole miss, temple, terrico white, uab
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