1. Arkansas will have to learn to adjust to life without Marshawn Powell this season after the school announced that the junior would be out for the rest of the season as a MRI of his knee revealed torn ligaments, which will require surgery with an expected return to play in six to eight months. Powell injured his knee during a practice last Thursday, but the extent of the damage was not known until the MRI was performed on Sunday. The loss of Powell is a huge blow for the Razorbacks who are full of young players and could have used Powell’s presence inside and veteran leadership against a SEC that looks much stronger than it has in recent years despite some early losses.
2. Steve Lavin opted to sit out last night’s game against St. Francis, which St. John’s won, as he adjusts to a modified schedule after his prostate cancer surgery on October 6. According to the press release Lavin is trying to “enhance his stamina and energy level” and this does not appear to be a complication from the surgery, which is a good thing because complications are a not uncommon occurrence. Instead, it appears that Lavin was simply exhausted from coaching back-to-back games and then going on the road for recruiting the following two days. The school has not released any information on when Lavin will return to the sideline, but from the information given in the press release we expect to see Lavin back fairly soon. If Lavin does not return for Saturday’s game against Northeastern, we would definitely expect to see him back for next Thursday’s game at Kentucky although he might want to sit that one out.
3. Over the past few weeks Luke Winn has been focusing on defense, but this weekend he took a break to check out some of the most talented scorers in the nation: J’Covan Brown, John Jenkins, and Jared Cunningham. By now you probably know what happened with each player’s performance and the outcome of the game, but Winn provides an interesting look into how each player’s game affected his team and the outcome of the game. Since most of us were either at games over the weekend or flipping back and forth between games from home Winn’s analysis, which isn’t the typical number-heavy advanced metric stuff he has become known for recently, provides a good insight into what actually happened at the Izod Center and what to expect from these three and their teams this season.
4. Over the past few days we have speculated on how Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim would react to the media, particularly ESPN, with the ongoing Bernie Fine investigation. At a press conference yesterday morning for the Preseason NIT Boeheim threatened to leave if anybody asked a non-basketball (read: Fine-related) question before briefly discussing the matter in a much more measured tone than he had last Thursday night. Later in the day, Boeheim went on-camera with ESPN’s Andy Katz to discuss the Fine investigation, which is surprising to us because he very easily could have held a grudge against ESPN for the way that they handled the report. So basically, nothing has changed–Boeheim remains cantankerous, but is always willing to talk.
5. The NBA may never work out for Adam Morrison, but the former Gonzaga star appears to have had a rebirth of sorts with the NBA lockout and his move to Serbia. While Morrison still isn’t playing at the level that many expected him to be at coming out of college he is showing signs of becoming the player he used to be. Obviously, this is against vastly inferior competition, but it is nice to see Morrison playing some quality basketball and it is interesting to read about the struggles that Morrison has gone through off the court since he left Gonzaga.

1. Alabama‘s Tony Mitchell was named SEC Player of the Week after averaging 17.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game. The Crimson Tide won the Puerto Rico Tip-Off classic with wins over Maryland, Wichita State and Purdue, and also beat Oakland earlier in the week. Mitchell scored 26 points in the win over Wichita State, but his evening was highlighted with two monstrous dunks showcasing his amazing athletic ability. Mitchell’s play has elevated Alabama to not only one of the best teams in the SEC, but in the nation as well. Mississippi State freshman Rodney Hood was named SEC Freshman of the Week. Hood contributed to wins over #19 ranked Texas A&M and #15 ranked Arizona with 9.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. The freshman has drawn the praise of coach Rick Stansbury and will continue to see increased playing time with efforts like this week. Hood may be on his way to winning the award again next week as he added a career-high 20 points last night in Mississippi State’s game against Louisiana-Monroe. Congratulations to both players for their outstanding play this week.
2. The SEC has already won four preseason tournaments so far this month. Kentucky won the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off with a blowout win over Penn State and a tough victory over Old Dominion. Alabama won the Puerto Rico Tip-Off with impressive wins over Maryland, Wichita State and Purdue. Mississippi State upset two ranked opponents in No. 19 Texas A&M and No. 15 Arizona on their way to win the 2K Sports Classic. Finally, Vanderbilt won the TicketCity Legends Classic on Monday night with a wins over Oregon State after beating North Carolina State over the weekend. After a couple of surprising early season losses, the SEC has recovered to play solid basketball over the past week. Ironically, a couple of those losses belong to Mississippi State (against Akron) and Vanderbilt (against Cleveland State) and would have kept them from winning their tournaments if it was a true win and advance style of play.
3. In a win over Wright State, Florida center Patric Young sat out most of the game with a swollen right eye. Young was poked in the eye in the first half. He was limited to 21 minutes in the game, and did not start the second half. With their lack of depth on the inside, the Gators cannot afford to lose Young’s scoring and rebounding. Florida beat Wright State 78-65, but the game was much closer than expected as result of Young’s absence from most of the game. Luckily for the Gators, Young is okay and will return to full strength (and increased minutes) for Florida’s next game against Jacksonville on Friday.
4. With Young playing limited minutes, Florida was forced to again rely heavily on their outside shooting. This strategy is not much different from previous games as Florida is a guard-oriented team that plays primarily on the perimeter. Florida hit double-digit threes for the fourth consecutive game this season. They are shooting over 43% on the season from beyond the arc. While they are extremely proficient shooting from distance, the Gators will have to develop an inside game to take the pressure off their erratic guards. Young is key to the Gators’ success, and will have to be more of a factor going forward.
5. The injury bug hit Mississippi State even harder, as both Renardo Sidney and Arnett Moultrie were held out of action against Louisiana-Monroe. Sidney was sidelined with a sprained left hand and Moultrie had tendinitis in both knees. The Bulldogs have dealt with Sidney being out of action as he was hampered by a groin injury against South Alabama. Mississippi State had difficult without their low-post threats against ULM before pulling away for a 15-point win. The Bulldogs need to put everything (and everyone) together before a big match-up in Starkville with West Virginia on December 3.

SEC Set Your TiVo will take a look ahead at each week’s key games. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

The SEC non-conference basketball schedule heads into Thanksgiving by finishing up its early season tournaments. Those already back from their tourney travels kick off the holiday week with an easy-as-pie opponent. Which games this week are the turkey meat and which are the store-bought cold bean salad that stays unserved on the kitchen counter?

Tennessee vs. #6 Duke (at Maui Invitational) – Monday, Nov. 21st 5:30 PM EST on ESPN2 (***)
Tennessee vs. #13 Memphis or #14 Michigan – Tuesday, Nov. 22nd 2:00 PM (or 7:00 PM) EST on ESPN2 (or ESPN) (****)
Tennessee vs. UCLA/Chaminade/#15 Kansas/Georgetown – Wednesday, Nov. 23rd (Time and TV TBD)

As the sole SEC representative in this year’s EA Sports Maui Invitational, Tennessee faces quite the gauntlet. First up are the Blue Devils, whose outside shooting (42% 3FG) and size advantage in 6’11” forwards Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly will be a significant advantage. The Volunteers will either need to find a way to score inside or keep riding a hot 3-point shooting streak (26 of 53 in two games) to find the exit with a victory. Memphis and Michigan have youthful teams that share a ghost-like quickness. Tennessee won’t out-shoot the Wolverines from deep and can’t out-run Memphis so Cuonzo Martin might have make some magic happen with his forwards in order for the Vols to overcome either team.

Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin really wants his team to stop shooting the magic potions. (Photo via AP Photo/The News Sentinel, Adam Brimer)

With one victory in Maui before Wednesday, Tennessee will find a key that helps open the door to an NCAA Tournament bid. With two straight losses, the Vols would likely face UCLA or Chamiade on Wednesday and their NCAA chances in trouble early in the season. Tuesday’s game will be probably the best to watch especially if in-state rival Memphis is involved.

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North Carolina still sits atop the rankings, but they have a partner with them this week as Kentucky has slipped into the top spot as well. The Wildcats were impressive in posting wins against Kansas, Penn State, and Old Dominion to move to 4-0 on the young season. On the whole, very little change in the Top 10 other than Pittsburgh predictably dropping out after their loss to upstart Long Beach State. The Quick ‘n Dirty after the jump…

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1. Kentucky was not especially impressive in its 62-52 gutty win over Old Dominion on Sunday. The Wildcats’ subpar performance brought out the critics who said that Kentucky is too young to dictate how it will win in every game, and the Cats aren’t tough enough to handle really physical teams inside. Even coach John Calipari can be counted amongst the critics of the Cats after their sloppy play in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off. For my two cents, the Cats have to take better care of the basketball. Freshman point guard Marquis Teague lost the ball six times contributing to 21 total turnovers for the Wildcats on the day. Sloppy play could be part of the reason that the Cats couldn’t get Terrence Jones more involved in the offense. He was 3-9 on the day, finishing with just six points. Jones has to get more touches near the basket, as he simply wasn’t a key component of Kentucky’s offense on Sunday.
2. Kentucky fans are known to overreact every once in a while, and many Wildcat fans have been quick to torch Teague for his poor play. UK fans are quick to forget how often freshmen John Wall and Brandon Knight turned the ball over in their first year, especially at the beginning of the season. Knight had eight turnovers in the Maui Invitational last year against Washington, and had as many turnovers in his first four games in 2010-11 (18 TOs) as Teague has through four games this season. Knight averaged over three turnovers per game for the season, while Wall averaged over four. All three players are super-quick and excellent in transition, but playing quickly can lead to sometimes being out of control. Teague will settle into his role running the Wildcat offense, just like Knight and Wall did before him, and just like he did in the second half of Sunday’s matchup with ODU. Teague turned the ball over only once in 19 second half minutes against the Monarchs.
3. Speaking of harsh critics, nobody is tougher on his guys’ early season struggles than Kevin Stallings is on Vanderbilt’s defensive woes. “We have to play better defensively,” Stallings said. “We’re a pretty good offensive team, but we suck on defense. Until we get better defensively, it doesn’t matter who we put out there. We’ve got to get better defensively. Period.” It’s true, but Vandy is without their best defensive player in center Festus Ezeli. “Festus ain’t here,” Stallings said. “He ain’t gonna be here Monday. He’s not going to be playing Friday or the following Monday. If they’re sitting around and waiting for him to come back, then we got more problems than just our defense.” Vanderbilt hasn’t held an opponent under 47% from the field in its first four games this season. If the Commodores can play consistently better defense, they have the offense to compete with just about any team in the country.
4. Arkansas received bad news when star forward Marshawn Powell went down in practice with what is being called a “serious” knee injury. “We don’t know if it’s a sprained knee or something worse in there,” coach Mike Anderson said. “He had worked so hard in the offseason to get himself in the best shape he’s ever been in. It’s a tremendous loss.” Powell was limited by a foot injury last year as his averages dropped to 10.8 PPG and 4.5 RPG. In two games this season, he was averaging 19.5 points and six rebounds per game, including a 20-point performance against Oakland last week. Powell will undergo additional tests on Monday to determine the severity of the injury. Regardless, the news is a huge blow to Anderson and the Hogs, as they could use the scoring and leadership that Powell provides for this young team. Arkansas lost to Houston by the score of 87-78 in Powell’s absence.
5. There is some debate as to how good of a Tennessee Volunteer team will take the court on Monday for a Maui Invitational matchup with Duke. ESPN analyst Jay Bilas says, “I don’t think people can reasonably expect great things this year given all the program has been through in the last year. But they have some capable players and they go as hard as anybody.” Memphis coach Josh Pastner, whose Tigers are also in Maui for the tournament, disagrees. “Everyone thinks Tennessee is going to fall off, I told everyone, ‘hey, they still have really good players,”’ Pastner said on Sunday. “Cuonzo Martin, can obviously flat out coach, there is no denying that, and he is going to get really good players.” Some of this could be typical coachspeak from Pastner, but Martin’s Tennessee squad will take the court on Monday for a first impression for folks outside of Knoxville. The Vols, picked to finish 11th in the SEC, beat UNC Greensboro and Louisiana-Monroe easily, but Duke will present a far more difficult challenge. The Maui Invitational has an extremely strong field this year, which could be advantageous for a Tennessee team looking to determine its standing amongst the nation’s best. UT will play either Michigan or Memphis (the loser of their game) on Tuesday, following its game versus the Blue Devils.

SEC Set Your TiVo will take a look ahead at each week’s key games. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

The SEC got the Internets goin’ nuts this weekend. You’ll have to hook up your laptop to your TV if you want to catch nearly every game not involving Mississippi State, Mississippi or South Carolina. Check out our evaluations below for the games that’ll make you want to change television service providers to get The Tres.

#15 Arizona vs. Mississippi State (2K Classic Championship Game) – Friday, Nov. 18, 6:30PM EST on ESPN2 (***)

Renardo Sidney is available for basketball AND all your stamp-licking needs.

Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury finally found some redemption for an embarrassing loss at home to Akron last week. In Thursday night’s 2KSports CvC Classic Semifinals, the Bulldogs sprinted to a 31-9 lead in the first half and held off #18 Texas A&M’s comeback to win 69-60. MSU’s eight-man rotation forced 16 turnovers and committed just 16 fouls, limiting A&M’s free-throw attempts (10-14). Another tough defensive assignment awaits in Arizona, who defeated St. John’s in the other semifinal, 81-72.

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1.  In case you missed the marquee Big 12 contest of the night on Thursday, ESPN posted a quick review of Texas A&M‘s loss to Mississippi State in the 2k Sports Classic. For those of us who turned the game off after MSU took a 20-plus point lead in the first half, it’s hard to believe the Aggies eventually lost by only nine points. They were outclassed in almost every way without star Khris Middleton, but they at least deserve credit for battling all 40 minutes. After such an atrocious start, Billy Kennedy has to be pleased at his team’s effort to cut the lead to eight points late in the second half.
2. If you’re an ESPN insider, here’s another look at the 2012 recruiting classes in the Big 12. Once again, it’s worth mentioning the Texas schools are completely dominating the recruiting trail lately within the conference. John Stovall ranks Texas first overall in these rankings, and interestingly, he points out that UT only has one player taller than 6’8” right now. That’s why Barnes hauled in a talented group of forwards, all of which should form the nucleus of his program in the near future.
3. Speaking of Texas, the play of J’Covan Brown has been ridiculous this season. It’s early, of course, but Brown has played like the star Rick Barnes needs him to be. If he keeps up the pace, he’s easily a Big 12 Player of the Year candidate; but again, it’s only been two games. So what do we make of the hot start? There’s one thing we can all agree on: Brown can play. The former sixth man was productive last season and looks like a budding star, and he’s the key to this team’s success this year.
4. Oklahoma may not be the most notable team in the league, but the Sooners have a decent core of players in Cameron Clark, Andrew Fitzgerald and others that get their names in the paper a lot. Calvin Newell almost never gets his name in the paper– until now. He’s starting to get a little more attention for his scoring ability, and he looks like leading-scorer material down the road. For now, he’ll have to settle for being a spark off the bench, and we’re guessing coach Lon Kruger won’t complain about that.
5. The folks over at Big 12 Hoops have published their first “Conference Call” of the year, and they hit on a variety of topics. One of the more interesting discussions centers around Kansas and its decision to play Kentucky during the first month of the season. They wondered out loud whether or not it was worth it to lose a game so early, but we don’t see any sort of problem here. If you’re a program like KU, why not play more games like that at Madison Square Garden? Any exposure is good exposure, even in a loss.

1. Arkansas forward Marshawn Powell is becoming accustomed to the spotlight and being the leader of a young Arkansas squad. This is a new role for Powell as he was out most of last year with an injury. “The whole deal with me last year was my foot was still bothering me a whole lot,” Powell said. “It is fixed now and I enjoy my coach, the guy that I am playing for. My team, they make it comfortable for me. They have put me in a leader position and I have tried my best to uphold it.” Not only has Powell been a leader for the Razorbacks in the locker room, but he is leading on the court as well. In two games so far this year, Powell has averaged 19.5 PPG and six RPG. If he can continue that kind of production for coach Mike Anderson, Arkansas will be able to score with anybody in the SEC.
2. Vanderbilt blog Anchor of Gold has been impressed with the play of Commodore freshman Kedren Johnson. Johnson’s defense has drawn praise from Vandy fans, but it seems he is coming along with his offensive skills as well. Johnson finished the game against Bucknell with 12 points on 5-7 shooting, three rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes of play. Vanderbilt may not necessarily need additional scoring once they are completely healthy, but it is refreshing for ‘Dores fans to know that Johnson can become a viable option off the bench. The guys at AOG were not as sold on the development of Dai-Jon Parker. While they acknowledged that he played “impressive in spurts,” they went on to point out that “he also chucked up ten shots and missed all but two of them – including a 1-7 performance from behind the line.” Vanderbilt needs the defensive pressure that both guards are able to bring on the court, however neither of the freshmen can afford to become a detriment on offense.
3. Kansas coach Bill Self has divulged the secret to beating Kentucky. Self thinks it’s important against the athletic and quick Cats to slow down the pace of the game, utilizing the full 35-second shot clock. This approach could minimize the Wildcats’ ability to get easy fast break points.  “I’d imagine most teams are going to try to do that to us,” said Kentucky coach John Calipari. But Coach Cal felt that his team could also play a grind-it-out style of play. In fact, the young Wildcats slowed the game down in the second half against the Jayhawks on Tuesday night, and looked quite aggressive throughout the game. Anthony Davis and Terrence Jones played physically against the Kansas big men, with Davis recording seven blocks and Jones pulling down seven rebounds. Both players accumulated four personal fouls, which is usually an indication of physical and active play on the low block.
4. Former Kentucky guard Brandon Knight’s mom is writing a book detailing Knight’s recruitment and time at Kentucky. According to Kentucky Sports Radio, Knight’s mom kept a diary throughout her son’s rise to high school stardom, and she is ready to tell all. A preview came out where she recounts a conversation with Kansas coach Bill Self. “Kansas came to visit today. Coach Bill Self’s opening line was as follows. ‘Brandon, I didn’t recruit you, and quite frankly, I don’t deserve to be here.’ Huh? So I had to ask him that if he didn’t think he deserved to be in my house, why was he there? I think he was surprised that I called him out. He gave me a line of crap (which I don’t even remember) and went on with his presentation. I don’t know if I like him.” It sounds like the juicy details from Momma Knight’s diary are going to be must-read. It is somewhat surprising that with the seedy underbelly of recruiting that currently exists that more parents and players haven’t cashed in on tell-all books about the process.
5. Jeronne Maymon is working on his post play and toughness for the Tennessee Volunteers. The 6’7″, 255-pound forward says, “I want to just continue to be physical, continue to be the dirtiest player on the floor. Not the dirtiest as far as technical fouls and nasty play… but just being mean, rugged, the toughest player out there… taking charges, making open shots and making free throws. That’s what I’m trying to do.” The new attitude appears to be working as Maymon is averaging 13 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this year. In his last game against Louisiana-Monroe, Maymon recorded a double double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Coach Cuonzo Martin has a tough, hard-nosed approach to practice, and it appears it is quickly rubbing off on his players and their style of play. Tennessee may not have the talent to be among the elite in the SEC, but they certainly appear to have the resolve and toughness to make a run to string together wins in conference play.

Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina rule recruiting. That might seem like an obvious statement, but Drew Cannon of Basketball Prospectus took the time to quantify the programs’ relative recruiting dominance and look at the specific breakdown of where the value for the schools’ classes is. The results are fascinating, and in some respects mind-blowing.

Over the past ten years, the Blue Devils, Tar Heels, and Wildcats have combined to sign 91 top 100 recruits (nearly 10 percent of every top 100 prospect available) and 28 top 10 players (nearly 30 percent). They’ve put forth all of the top six classes since 2002 and 13 of the best 19.

Don’t forget in the last ten years two of those programs have had coaching changes (Roy Williams took over for Matt Doherty in 2003; Kentucky was coached by Tubby Smith, Billy Gillispie and John Calipari over the last decade). People also criticized Mike Krzyzewski for “slipping” when he failed to land John Wall and Greg Monroe in 2008.

Harrison Barnes is a Rare Top Overall Recruit for North Carolina

However, the more nuanced numbers are even more interesting. Cannon broke down the top recruits into five ranges: 1-3, 4-10, 11-25, 26-50 and 51-100. North Carolina fills its rosters mostly with the 4-10 range while Duke utilizes the top range and a broader range of around 12-40. Cannon’s research points to potential flaws in both schools’ systems. Duke, whether actively or passively, avoids the second half of the “one-and-done” players even though many of those players end up staying around. The Tar Heels aren’t as reliant on the true top players (although Harrison Barnes certainly shows some success in the area).

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Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Josh Paunil, the RTC recruiting guru. We encourage you to check out his website dedicated solely to college basketball recruiting, National Recruiting Spotlight, for more detailed recruiting information. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to who the hot prospects are at the lower levels of the sport. If you have any suggestions as to areas we’re missing or different things you’d like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Lead Story: Poythress Picks Kentucky, UK Still Able To Nab Number One Recruiting Class

Poythress Gave UK Fans Hope To Have the Best Recruiting Class In the Country... Again (Daryl Paunil/NRS)

Big Blue Nation Has Reason To Rejoice. Don’t lie Kentucky fans, you were worried about not getting the number one recruiting class for the fourth straight year. You tweeted about it, you posted on message boards about it, you wrote on Facebook about it. But when Class of 2012 small forward Alex Poythress decided to join Big Blue Nation last Thursday, head coach John Calipari kept his 2012 class in the running to be rated as the top collection of talent in the country. The 6’7″, 220-pound wing joins shooting guard Archie Goodwin and center Willie Cauley as Coach Cal’s commitments so far with top senior targets small forward Shabazz Muhammad and power forwards Anthony Bennett and Jarnell Stokes still out there. Poythress had a terrific summer and showed the ability to consistently get to the bucket, finish in traffic and an improved perimeter shot. At times, he’s simply unstoppable when he attacks the rim and he’s able to impact the game in a number of ways whether it’s defense, rebounding or running the floor. He fits in well with Calipari’s system and will thrive with Goodwin and Cauley running the floor with him. At this point, the Wildcats have the second-best recruiting class in the country only behind Arizona’s ridiculous haul of talent but with another commitment or two they could reign supreme for the fourth straight year.

What They’re Saying:

• Senior standout Robert Upshaw‘s mother, Ceylon Sherman, on her son choosing Kansas State: “It was a close run, he had a lot of great schools, but when it came down to it, him and all of us family just all had Kansas State. For Robert, it was about how much he liked the guys out there. He had chemistry with them.”

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