Monday night’s trip to the Octagon of Doom had already left a sour taste in the mouths of Kansas fans and now the Jayhawks could without Joel Embiid for an undetermined period of time. Kansas has not specified what Embiid’s injury is, but he is dealing with a sprained left knee and a back injury. According to Bill Self, Embiid is “beat up” and needs some time to recover, but would not rule out that Embiid would even for Saturday’s game against TCU. So although Embiid’s injuries might not have an immediate impact on the Jayhawks it is something to keep an eye on as we get closer to March.
Notre Dame has had its share of academic issues this season and now you can add Demetrius Jackson to that list. After last night’s double overtime victory against Clemson, Mike Brey stated that Jackson needed “a break to get his academic house in order.” Brey later clarified that statement to note that Jackson could be back as soon as next week so it appears that this is not an eligibility issue (at least not yet). Notre Dame already lost Jerian Grant, its leading scorer, due to academic issues and at this point their season is basically over, but if Jackson were to miss any more time it might raise questions about how much longer he would want to stick around South Bend.
Most of you do not pay attention to the NEC, but their conference race may have changed significantly yesterday as Wagner suspended Jay Harris for the remainder of the year. Harris, a transfer from Valparaiso, is the team’s third-leading scorer at 10.3 points per game so clearly his contribution will be missed. The school is not releasing what Harris did to merit the suspension, but has described it as a “violation of school policy” and did not involve something related to the team. Since the school has not released much information about Harris’ violation we have no idea if he plans on staying with the program although he does have one more year of eligibility left.
We are at the point in the recruiting season when most teams are chasing after leftovers, but there are still a few elite recruits left. One of those recruits–Rashad Vaughn–came off the board yesterday as he committed to UNLV. Vaughn’s decision to pick UNLV over Iowa State, North Carolina, Kansas, and Kentucky might come as a surprise to some, but the Minnesota native moved to Nevada to play at Findlay Prep so UNLV is basically in his backyard now. With Vaughn, a consensus top-20 recruit gone, the only two elite players left are Myles Turner and JaQuan Lyle.
Every writer reaches the point where they feel old particularly when talking about a sport based around individuals between the age of 18-22. Our moment may have come yesterday when the NCAA issued a release discussing how a coach may communicate with a recruit and mentioned various forms of communication including Snapchat. We might not be the most tech-savvy college basketball site online, but this is the first time that the NCAA has mentioned a method of communication that we have never used before. We have certainly heard of the app, but never once considered using it. We will be interested in seeing how coaches utilizes this technology that makes us feel the way that Jim Boeheim must feel around everything that is electronic.
Jimmy Lemke of PantherU.com is the RTC correspondent for the Horizon League. You can find his daily ramblings @PantherU or @JimmyLeMKE on Twitter.
Reader’s Take I
Last season, the Horizon League put four teams in the postseason — can it do it again?
Top Storylines
Eli Holman’s Leave of Absence: The Detroit big man is easily the best returning post player in the H-League, but whether or not he will return is a big question. Holman was placed on “indefinite leave” from the team at the end of September to handle some legal issues drawn from an incident at a fraternity house earlier in the month. Big Ten fans will remember Holman as the player who left Indiana after getting into a confrontation with then new coach Tom Crean. Without Holman, the Titans have a big hole in the post and would have to rely more heavily on Nick Minnerath and LeMarcus Lowe to pick up the pieces of a broken inside game. They still have some of the best talent in the league, but without that dominant force, who knows what they’ll get.
Kaylon Williams In Trouble: Milwaukee got some bad news as well, with starting point guard Kaylon Williams getting pulled over in Iowa and blowing a .228 BAC. What makes matters worse for Williams is that he fled the scene on foot, although he was picked up shortly afterward. No official word has come down from the university on punishment besides a short statement from head coach Rob Jeter. “We are aware of the situation involving Kaylon Williams. We are disappointed and will take appropriate action as we gather more information and the legal process runs its course.” This is Williams’ first offense and it is unclear how much, if any, time he will miss. Last season, Milwaukee had difficulty with Williams off the floor, but prepared for further uncertainty by recruiting junior college player Paris Gulley and high school point guard Shaquille Boga.
It Says Here That Matt Howard Was the Difference Maker at Butler
Butler’s Back Again: Obviously, the college basketball world is familiar with the recent NCAA Tournament dominance of Butler. “Familiar” might not be the word; “obsessed” may be closer. In any case, Butler came a 50-footer from the title in 2010 when no one thought they would make it. They suffered a poor shooting night in 2011 to keep the Bulldogs from that elusive title when no one thought they’d be back. Is it so crazy to say that they could make another run to the Final Four? The answer is yes. While losing Gordon Hayward and some key players from the previous year’s team didn’t spell the end for them in 2010-11, 2011-12 will be a different story. Forget Shelvin Mack, Hayward, and even Brad Stevens. To me, the one person that deserves the most credit for both of these runs is Matt Howard. We all knew from day one that he was a special player, and what lack of NBA athleticism (he’s still athletic) he had was made up big time in his skill, determination, and intelligence. To me, he’s the best leader-by-example in basketball that I have ever seen, and his graduation means someone else at Butler will have to try and pick up that torch. You can replace Shelvin Mack’s scoring and Zach Hahn’s knack for the timely three-pointer, but you can’t replace Matt Howard’s… Matt Howard.
With the completion of the NBA Draft and the annual coaching and transfer carousels nearing their ends, RTC is rolling out a new series, RTC Summer Updates, to give you a crash course on each Division I conference during the summer months. Our latest update comes courtesy of our Horizon League correspondent, Jimmy Lemke.
Reader’s Take
Summer Storylines
End of an Era – Homer Drew may have done his best work in the Mid-Continent Conference (now Summit League), but that doesn’t bar the Horizon League community from recognizing the tremendous stature of the now-retired Valparaiso coach. He’s done it before – briefly retiring earlier in the decade to pave the way for son Scott Drew and promptly retaking the reins after Scott took the very difficult job at Baylor – but this time you could tell it was final. His ability to recruit overseas is second to none, and we will always remember the feel-good story of his1998 team. Speaking of that year, the coach to now replace him? None other than his other son, all-time Crusader great Bryce Drew.
Dickie V. Rules In Motor City – The Detroit Titans made a big splash this summer by deciding to name their court for former Titans coach and renowned broadcaster, Dick Vitale. While he spent only four years as head of the Titans before taking over as coach of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, Dickie V’s exploits on behalf of college basketball are immeasurable. Dick Vitale IS college basketball, regardless of how you feel about him. As a longtime follower of the Milwaukee program, I see the court naming as a disappointment for Perry Watson, who coached the Titans for a considerably longer stretch and was very successful in that time, but there’s no doubting the decision from the future point of view. This season, St. John’s will play at Detroit on ESPN following a ceremony celebrating the honor, and I’d be willing to bet the Titans are banking on any Dick Vitale anniversaries falling on Detroit’s home schedule with a visit from ESPN.
Big Names Depart – Brandon Wood took a highly-publicized transfer to Michigan State and will be able to play immediately because he finished his degree at Valparaiso where his graduate program isn’t offered. Shelvin Mack declared for the draft and stayed put, going early in the second round to the Washington Wizards. But the biggest move in the conference is from the graduating senior class. Nearly every big team lost multiple big time competitors. Butler, of course, lost Mack, but they also lost Zach Hahn, Shawn Vanzant and, most importantly, Matt Howard. Milwaukee loses Anthony Hill and streaky-but-dangerous shooter Tone Boyle. Wright State, already on the downturn, lost Cooper Land, Troy Tabler, Vaughn Duggins and N’Gai Evans. Cleveland State waved a heartfelt goodbye to perhaps the most talented of them all, Norris Cole, now with the Miami Heat. Put simply, eight of the ten 2010-11 all-Horizon League team members have exited the conference, with only two remaining: Ray McCallum, Jr. and Eli Holman, both of Detroit.
Brad Stevens Led The Bulldogs To Another Title Game Appearance, But He Faces Life Without Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack in the 2011-12 Season.
Jimmy Lemke is the RTC correspondent for the Horizon League.
Predicted Order of Finish
Butler (15-3)
ClevelandState (12-6)
Detroit (12-6)
Milwaukee (11-7)
Valparaiso (9-9)
WrightState (9-9)
GreenBay (8-10)
UIC (7-11)
Loyola (5-13)
YoungstownState (2-16)
All-Conference Team
G: ShelvinMack, Butler
G: NorrisCole, Cleveland State
F: CoryJohnson, Valparaiso
F: MattHoward, Butler
C: EliHolman, Detroit
6th Man
G: BrandonWood, Valparaiso
Impact Newcomer
PaulCarter (F), UIC
What does Brad Stevens and Butler have in mind for an encore after their run to the title game?
What You Need To Know
All Horizon League games and most non-conference home games will be streamed live at HorizonLeague.org, the conference’s website. All games are free and the feed is television quality in most arenas. It’s a service that has been around since 2007, and has expanded every year to be an all-encompassing athletics powerhouse for information, features and interviews on Horizon League basketball. By now, if you haven’t heard about Butler‘s run through the NCAA Tournament, you’re probably still counting your hours of free America Online.
What most people don’t realize is how strong the conference is behind Butler. Yes, the Bulldogs ran roughshod over the conference, going 18-0 and paving their way to the title game in dominant fashion, but they had victories against the seventh and eighth place teams by a combined three points. It’s a deep league through the top seven programs, and even UIC, who finished ninth last year, looks to be strong this season. The Detroit Titans were seventh place despite posting a 20-win season, one of five Horizon League programs to do so.
It is a guard-oriented league, but post players like MattHoward, Eli Holman, Anthony Hill and Andy Polka have proven that they can bang with the big boys.
