We suspected that Fab Melo would be leaving Syracuse as soon as it was announced that he was declared academically ineligible just before the NCAA Tournament, but yesterday it became official with the announcement that Melo had signed with an agent. Of course, the next question on the minds of Syracuse fans (especially Ryan Burr) was how this would affect their recruitment of Nerlens Noel, who had narrowed his list down to Syracuse, Kentucky, and Georgetown. It turns out that Noel was at least interested in the news. We are not sure what this means for his decision other than the fact that the three fan bases will certainly overanalyze it. We are sort of surprised that Syracuse had not already sent him a message or other form of communication indicating that there was now a big hole in the middle for him to occupy next season.
After a one-year hiatus from the sidelines, Keno Davis will be back coaching as he was named the new head coach at Central Michigan. Davis, who went 46-50 overall and 18-36 in three seasons at Providence, inherits the program from Ernie Zeigler, who was fired last month. Not only will Davis have to turn around a struggling program. He will also have to do it without Trey Zeigler, Ernie’s son who was granted a release from the program after his father’s firing. It may take Davis a while to turn things around but hopefully the administration remembers that Davis was very successful in his one season at Drake going 28-5 in his one season at the school.
John Groce‘s task of turning around the Illinois program got a little harder yesterday when Meyers Leonard announced that he was entering the NBA Draft. The sophomore center is expected to be a borderline lottery pick so it seems like a reasonable choice for the talented big man instead of waiting to see how he fits into a new coach’s system. The Illini now find themselves with a big hole in the middle and that will likely delay any turnaround that Illini fans were hoping for in the next year or two.
It looks like the initial reports on Alex Oriakhi‘s “list” were erroneous as the Connecticut transfer is currently considering Duke, North Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky, and Xavier. The original reports that came out when Oriakhi was released that he would not consider Duke, which always seemed strange to us, but perhaps after reconsidering the situation and the potential departure of several key players for the Blue Devils it appears like Oriakhi is considering them again. As we have said despite only being available for one more year of eligibility Oriakhi should be one of the most coveted transfers on the market given his skill set, size, and championship experience.
Remember that big push for a stipend for players to help cover some of their cost of living expenses? The decision on the stipend is getting pushed back as the NCAA reevaluates it due to significant dissension among the member schools. The committee that is working on the policy will not be done with its work until August at which point the member schools can consider adopting it or rejecting it. Based on our understanding of how this rule was implemented the athletes who signed while this rule was in place are still eligible for the stipend, but the rest who waited are not until the committee puts it back in place.
Bill Hupp is the RTC correspondent for the Big Ten Conference.
Conference Tournament Preview
After a thrilling regular season, it’s on to Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Despite being a three-seed, OhioState has to be considered the favorite given how well they ended the regular season. If either MichiganState or OSU wins the Big Ten Tournament, they will get strong consideration for a one-seed. Teams like Wisconsin, Indiana and Purdue can all improve their NCAA Tournament seeds with strong showings this weekend.
Northwestern is the only clear bubble team in the conference, and as such is under the most pressure to string some wins together. If the Wilcats can beat Minnesota in the first round, they’ll face a Michigan team that they only lost to twice this season, though both losses came in overtime. Two wins in the Big Ten tournament should make them a virtual lock for their first-ever tournament birth, but it’s much easier said than done with this level of competition.
Bill Hupp is the RTC correspondent for the Big Ten Conference. Follow him on Twitter at @Bill_Hupp for his thoughts on hoops, food, box fans and life.
Reader’s Take
The Week That Was:
Spartan Success: Despite losing guys like Korie Lucious, Kalin Lucas and Delvon Roe, the Michigan State express rolled on. Perhaps no other coach in the country teaches a system and its principles quite like Tom Izzo. Surprise losses on Sunday by both Ohio State and Michigan, however, meant that MSU’s weekend destruction of Nebraska clinched them of the at least a share of the Big Ten title. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Chicago (Evanston) Hope: That wind you felt coming from Chicago might have been a collective sigh of relief from Northwestern fans after senior leader John Shurna sank two free throws with mere seconds to play to help the Wildcats escape Happy Valley with a 67-66 win. Two straight gut-wrenching losses in one week might have been more than Northwestern could have overcome as they sweat out life on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Lousy in Lincoln: It’s no secret that Nebraska has struggled on offense this year. But not since 1961 has Nebraska been so putrid on offense as they were when they were embarrassed by Michigan State, 61-34, at home over the weekend. The Huskers shot under 30% for the game and the loss of leading scorer Bo Spencer to an injured ankle near halftime only hampered their scoring efforts.
The Perennial Lesson In College Basketball 101 Is To Never Count Out The Michigan State Spartans.
Power Rankings
Michigan State (24-5, 13-3) – As good as Michigan State has been this season, how would the Spartans be if Delvon Roe hadn’t been forced to drop basketball due to chronic knee problems? Roe’s presence would have given them more depth and would have taken the load off of Draymond Green at certain points. But it also forced youngsters like Branden Dawson and Adreian Payne to grow up quickly. While they’ve struggled with consistency, those guys are a big part of why the Spartans are Big Ten champs.
Ohio State (23-6, 11-5) – Strange times in Columbus. After riding a 39-game winning streak and destroying most visitors who dared enter Value City Arena, the Buckeyes have now lost two of their last three games at home. Jared Sullinger has seemingly disappeared in big games and crucial moments this season. Read the rest of this entry »
Somebody please stop Iowa‘s Matt Gatens. Gatens has been on fire of late and he continued his hot shooting against Wisconsin as he put up 33 points last night. He shot 70% from the field and scored career-high for the second straight game. Fran Mccaffery has done a phenomenal job with the Hawkeyes this year because they are making a serious late season push for an NCAA bid. The season sweep of the Badgers resulted in the students rushing the court.
Tubby Smith‘s Gophers badly miss quality point guard play as they have been piling on the turnovers over the last two games. Smith is disappointed because his team turned the ball over four times during the final two minutes on Wednesday night after coming off a loss over the weekend when they had 19 turnovers against Northwestern. Minnesota still has hope of the NCAA tournament if they can end the season with a couple wins and make some noise in the early rounds of the Big Ten conference tournament.
Bruce Weber finally has a supporter – Meyers Leonard. Leonard defended his coach and made it clear that Illinois’ losing skid goes beyond Weber’s coaching. While it is comforting to see one of the players come to the coach’s support, Illini need more than words if they hope to contain the red-hot Hawkeyes on Sunday in Assembly Hall. Illinois better step up on defense otherwise Matt Gatens will make them pay from beyond the arc.
Tom Izzo can’t avoid questions about how this Michigan State squad compares to his prior teams that made deep runs in March. He believes that Draymond Green and company could beat the 2000 National Championship team mainly because he wants to support the current group of guys. Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson might have something to say about that matchup. Keith Appling would have his hands full with the legendary Spartan guards and Charlie Bell coming off the bench.
Even though Northwestern missed a golden opportunity to lock in a win against a top 15 team on Tuesday night, they still have a chance at an NCAA bid if they can win two out of the next three games to end the season. They match up well against Penn State and Iowa if they can take care of the ball. Bill Carmody is stressing ball control and believes that John Shurna ought to take over games during the closing minutes. Penn State can expect Shurna to give them one of his best performances on Saturday.
Bill Hupp is the RTC correspondent for the Big Ten Conference. Follow him on Twitter (@Bill_Hupp) for his thoughts on hoops, food, box fans and life.
Reader’s Take
The Week That Was
Boiling Over: Give credit to Matt Painter for making a difficult decision in the stretch run of a season. Painter kicked Kelsey Barlow off the team and suspended D.J. Byrd for the Michigan State game for a “violation of team rules.” They’ll miss Barlow’s experience and slashing ability, but sometimes this kind of incident can galvanize a team.
Lincoln > Land of Lincoln: Any doubts about whether Illinois was still playing for embattled head coach Bruce Weber were answered when Nebraska used a 52-12 run to bury the Illini, 80-57, on Sunday. Brandon Paul and Meyers Leonard combined for 11 total points. You just can’t let the worst offensive team in the Big Ten put up 80 on you. Illinois has now lost eight of its last nine games and Weber seems resigned to his likely fate (see video below).
Shurna Can Score: Congrats to John Shurna, a nice kid and a fantastic (if unorthodox) scorer who is now the all-time leading scorer in Northwestern history. His deep three-pointer midway through the second half against Minnesota gave him 18 points to surpass Billy McKinney (1,900 points). More importantly to Shurna, the Wildcats picked up a win to stay in the hunt for first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.
The Spartans And Buckeyes Have Company At The Top Of The Standings. (AP/Carlos Osorio)
Power Rankings
Michigan State (22-5, 11-3) – Not since Tim Duncan in 1997-98 has a player averaged more than 15 points per game, 10 rebounds a game and three assists per game. But Draymond Green has done just that, and he continued to show his versatility on Sunday at Purdue with a 20-point, 10 rebound and seven-assist performance to lead the Spartans to a road win. He has to be the Big Ten POY if MSU wins the conference.
Ohio State (22-5, 10-4) – William Buford has had big games for Ohio State this season, but his struggles late in the regular season may cost Ohio State a Big Ten crown. He shot a combined 5-for-24 in the Buckeyes’ losses to Michigan State and Michigan, and just hasn’t shown the big game leadership that you would expect out of a senior. Read the rest of this entry »
Uncertainty looms over Assembly Hall in Champaign nowadays as the Fighting Illini lost another game to Purdue on Wednesday night, their seventh loss out of eight games. Will the Illinois Athletic Director Mike Thomas get rid of Bruce Weber? Will the Illini make the NCAA tournament? These are legitimate questions on the minds of the Illini faithful but the biggest question is about their star center, Meyers Leonard’s future: will he come back for his junior season in Champaign? Let’s examine a few non-personal factors that might drive the sophomore’s decision regarding the NBA.
Leonard Has A Tough Decision To Make At The End Of The Season
Why should he leave for the NBA?
“You can’t teach 7’1″.” – NBA scouts love to use that cliché. Leonard has all the physical tools to play the center position at the next level. He has shown that he can add muscle over the off-season (added 30 lbs) and certainly has the intensity to hang with the big guys on a nightly basis in the NBA. Averaging eight boards per game isn’t too shabby in the Big Ten, which is known for the physical brand of play. Defensively, he has been a highlight reel during the season as he has swatted balls into the second row of the sidelines, including a game-winning block against Northwestern on the road. Most of the NBA draft boards, such as NBADraft.net have him slated as a potential lottery pick. The scouts will waste no time trying to convince him about going pro after the college season because they might have seen enough for somebody with his physical build. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he has reached his ceiling in the college game, or maybe he did under the current coach.
Bruce Weber will coach Illinois in 2013 – Bruce Weber is not a bad coach because he understands the talented sophomore and his significance to the Illini offense. Even though Leonard could improve on his scoring average from this season of 13.2 points per game, he might have hit the ceiling in Weber’s system. True centers that have the skills to play with the back to their basket don’t shine under Weber’s offensive philosophy. The motion offense under Weber has been designed around guards who can shoot the deep ball. Illinois has been at the bottom of the league for years in terms of free throws per game (only 32.5% in 2012) because most of the offensive plays revolve around screens for the shooters rather than an attacking brand of basketball. During their recent losing skid, Weber tries to commit to the big man over the first few minutes of the game but during the late minutes, most of the shots end up being away from the paint. Historically, centers that prefer to play in the post such as Shaun Pruitt have been frustrated in Weber’s system. Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale rarely played with their backs to the basket or in the paint because they relied heavily upon the 15-footer from the baseline coming off the pick-and-roll plays. Leonard’s offensive game is more than a baseline jumper or a post move – he is a monster when he attacks the hoop off the picks but Weber has not and will not be able to utilize him better next season unless he adjusts his system. If Leonard comes back for a third year with an improved game, the skills need to be utilized efficiently by the coach otherwise his draft stock won’t improve after another year in college.
Evan Jacoby is a regular contributor for RTC. You can find him @evanjacoby on Twitter.
The Fighting Illini may be playing for more than just their NCAA Tournament lives in the next three weeks. Multiple news outlets continue to speculate that Bruce Weber’s tenure as Illinois head coach may also be on shaky ground. Illinois was ranked in the Top 25 one month ago after knocking off Ohio State at home, and it looked like the team’s young talent was starting to come together. But since that game, the Illini are back in a familiar struggling position, having lost six of their last seven. Pressure continues to mount on Weber to turn this talented team around in a hurry, something he has been unable to do for several consecutive seasons. Tonight’s home game against Purdue is crucial for the coach to put the team in position to make a late-season run.
Bruce Weber is Firmly on the Hot Seat; How Will his Team Respond? (AP Photo/M. Conroy)
Illinois won consecutive Big Ten titles in Weber’s first two years at the helm in 2003-04 and 2004-05, and the ’05 team that advanced to the National Championship game before losing a close game to North Carolina was one of the decade’s best teams. But Weber has never been able to build on that initial success and the players that got him to the Final Four were Bill Self’s recruits from the previous regime. Self’s winning percentage from 2000-03 was .765 compared to Weber’s .688 in the nine years since, which includes the Final Four run with a 34-2 team. Since that title game appearance, Weber’s teams are 60-56 in the Big Ten and 2-4 in the NCAA Tournament.
Bill Hupp is the RTC correspondent for the Big Ten Conference. Follow him on Twitter (@Bill_Hupp) for his thoughts on hoops, food, PR, interesting fridge magnets and life.
Reader’s Take
The Week That Was:
House of Payne: Michigan State sophomore center Adreian Payne picked an excellent time to have the game of his career. The 6’11’’ sophomore has shown flashes of potential this year, but was particularly efficient against Ohio State. Payne finished 6-6 from the field for 15 points, grabbed four boards and blocked two shots – and more importantly, he frustrated Ohio State star Jared Sullinger with his wiry athleticism on the defensive end. Sure, Sullinger finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds, but he also turned it over 10 times and seemed to let the refs affect his play.
Woes of Weber: That smoke you see emanating from Champaign might be coming from Bruce Weber’s increasingly hot seat. New AD Mike Thomas has already shown one under-performing head coach (Ron Zook) the door, and now the Illini have gone from leading the Big Ten at 4-1 to dropping six of their last seven and in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament. As many Illinois fans will attest, this team just makes too many of the same frustrating mistakes on a continuous basis.
Hummel A Handful: The Robbie Hummel that Boilermaker fans have been waiting for all season long finally emerged on Saturday against Northwestern. The senior tallied a season-high 27 points, nine rebounds and a couple blocks while logging 39 minutes of playing time. As badly as Northwestern needed to win that game, it was equally as valuable to Purdue, which couldn’t afford drop back-to-back games at Mackey Arena (especially with Michigan State coming to town in a week).
Tom Izzo Has The Spartans Vying For The Top Spot In The Conference.
Power Rankings
Michigan State (20-5, 9-3) – An even more impressive factor in Michigan State’s recent success is that they’re winning despite the shaky play of Keith Appling. The sophomore point guard seemed to be turning the corner in his new position early in the conference season, but he’s taken a few steps back since then. His accuracy from distance has slipped from 41% to 27% this season, and he had seven turnovers with no assists in their win over Ohio State.
Ohio State (21-4, 9-3) – Where has the Bucks’ offense gone? In two of their last three games, OSU has been held under 53 points. Granted, their opponents were defensive stalwarts Wisconsin and Michigan State, but still, this a team that is second in the Big Ten in scoring offense at nearly 73 points per game. Read the rest of this entry »
Bruce Weber’s life has been rough lately. Illini Nation is in a state of shock because the program went from winning four Big Ten titles during the first half of the 2000s to none over the past six years. The second half of the Big Ten conference season in particular has not been a strength since Dee Brown left Champaign. Currently, the Illini are 5-5 after starting 4-1 this season. They started conference play 3-0 last year but then stumbled to a 9-9 record. In 2010, they finished with a 10-8 record despite starting 3-0 in conference play. The motion offense that Illinois runs doesn’t always result in true motion or necessarily better looks at the basket. The problem continues to grow and the losses continue to mound. Their latest loss was to Northwestern at home – only their fifth defeat to the Wildcats in Assembly Hall since 1963. The road schedule looks brutal rest of the way – games at Indiana tonight, Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin. Playing on the road at Lincoln hasn’t been a cake walk either and Indiana can attest to that fact, so their road game at Nebraska is not a gimme by any means. Weber stays within his offensive system and usually doesn’t change direction midway through the season, but maybe that is something he ought to consider if he wants to avoid more losing streaks.
Bruce Weber is puzzled with his offense. (Daily Illini)
Illinois only averages 62 possessions per game during conference play. They rank ninth in the Big Ten in that category and they average less than one point per possession – 0.98 to be exact. Why not let the kids run a simplified offense? Weber should consider a few changes to his strict offensive schemes and it may loosen up the players. Here are a few reasons why Weber should consider a change to his offensive sets:
Keep running: The Illinois guards are excellent defenders because they force turnovers. Opposing guards turn the ball over on about 20% of their possessions and the Illini rank in the top half of the league in that category. Despite the turnovers, Weber’s team don’t create consistent points off of those mishaps. After Tracy Abrams forces a turnover, the other guards don’t always run towards the hoop but rather settle for spot-up jumpers in transition. D.J. Richardson goes straight to the corners, which often forces the guard leading the fast break to dish it out rather than lead to an easy layup or dunk. Illinois’ opponents average 31.4% on the offensive glass and this implies that the Illini have strong defensive rebounding abilities. But the defensive boards should result in a quicker transition game. Another indicator of their slow pace is their overall free throw-attempts per game. Fast break opportunities should result in more trips to the free throw line but Weber’s crew ranks eighth in the Big Ten in this category – only 34% of their total field goal attempts result in a free throw. All that speed in the backcourt is useless if the guards refuse to drive towards the hoop.
Get rid of the designated shooters: Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson account for over 70% of Illinois’ total three-point attempts. Unlike Richardson, Paul would rather attack the hoop than settle for jumpers. Paul’s free throw rate is 46.7 compared to Richardson’s 16.9. Neither of them are efficient from long-range – Paul’s average is 35% while 38% of Richardson’s three-point shots go in. One way to cut down your offense’s reliability on the jump shot is to remove your best shooters from the lineup. Brandon Paul should continue to keep his minutes because he has the ability to attack, but Richardson’s minutes need to be limited. Joe Bertrand and Tracy Abrams would rather push the ball anyway – both of them have only attempted 26 attempts from the long-range this season. Substituting Mike Henry for Richardson might force the offense to move at a faster pace. Bertrand has shown great ability to penetrate and can shoot a consistent floater in the lane similar to Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs. There are at least 10 possessions during the game when Weber calls a play for Richardson, though. The play usually consists of Meyers Leonard or Bertrand setting screens for him to get an open look from the corners. Paul stays at the top of the key looking for him but the scouting report is too obvious and the opponents prepare for these specific plays. Weber should surprise the rest of the Big Ten teams by introducing a four-guard lineup with Paul, Henry, Abrams and Bertrand. This lineup also plays into the strengths of Leonard because he would rather not play in an offense that “grinds” it out.
Meyers Leonard: Leonard is a star. Every Illini game on ESPN showcases Leonard as one of the best big men in the B1G. He deserves every bit of that attention but his skill-set is not maximized in Weber’s offensive schemes. The offensive system at Illinois stays away from the paint during most possessions as indicated by the low number of free throw attempts. Weber’s offensive sets consist of post-up plays designed for Leonard but that’s not the best way to utilize his skills. Weber uses the talented sophomore in two ways – to post him up down low or to set screens for the guards. Leonard’s post moves are not very polished yet, though. Asking him to play with his back to the basket is not an efficient use of his existing skill set. Using him to set screens is underutilizing his talent. Once again, transition opportunities and a free-flowing offense where the guards penetrate will help Leonard’s overall efficiency. He has developed a nice 14-foot shot this season where Bertrand and Paul often draw double teams in the paint when they drive and that leaves him wide open to drain that 14-footer. He is also very quick to get up the court, so most fast break opportunities ought to go through him and not through Richardson.
Most players on Illinois can create their own shot… if they are allowed to do that. Bertrand had a coming-out party against Missouri when he hit 10-of-11 shots in a fast-paced game, most of which were on his way to the basket. Abrams is a gutsy kid who doesn’t turn the ball over and plays unselfish basketball despite his youth. Paul is their go-to guy who is a jack-of-all-trades, but Weber needs to trust them and understand that the kids have been playing basketball for over 10 years. Teaching them complicated offensive sets in the motion offense may confuse them especially in late-game situations. Clearly something hasn’t been working with their offense, so a change might not be such a bad idea after all.
Bill Hupp is the RTC correspondent for the Big Ten Conference. Follow him on Twitter (@Bill_Hupp) for his thoughts on hoops, food, PR, various city river walks and life.
Reader’s Take
The Week That Was:
Halfway Home: As of this week, the regular season conference schedule is officially more than halfway done. And – with apologies to Dennis Green– teams are pretty much who we thought they were at the beginning of the season. Ohio State is the class of the conference; Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana are solid NCAA Tournament teams; Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois, and Northwestern are fighting for seeding while Iowa, Nebraska, and PennState pick up the rear. Of course, there have been some upsets and many compelling games, but now that the dust is starting to settle, the cream of the crop has risen to the top.
Super Shurna: Leave it to a savvy veteran to catch fire at just the right time. With Northwestern’s hopes of making its first NCAA Tournament fading fast, John Shurna won co-Big Ten Player of the Week honors after he shot a blistering 71% from the field and averaged 26 points, four rebounds, and two steals to lead the injury-depleted Wildcats to a home win over Nebraska and a road victory over Illinois. Shurna is up there with Michigan State’s Draymond Green and Wisconsin’s Jordan Taylor as the most valuable players to their respective teams.
Close Calls: Illinois may be struggling at the moment, but they aren’t getting blown out. Each of the Illini’s last six games has been decided by five points or less. Unfortunately for the Orange Crush, they are just 2-4 in those games. Now they get to go on the road for four of their next five, starting with a doozy of a week with games at Indiana and at Michigan.
Will Draymond Green And The Spartans Snap Ohio State's Impressive Winning Streak In Columbus Saturday? (Al Goldis/AP)
Power Rankings
Ohio State (21-3, 9-2) – With the amount of scoring options Thad Matta has, it’s really just a matter of if Ohio State wants to defend you. They didn’t do that against Indiana or Brandon Paul (though he was just on fire that day), and sure enough, they lost both games.Purdue gave the Scarlet-and-Gray all they could handle before OSU escaped with an 84-81 win.Buckeyes face an interesting test when Michigan State comes calling to Columbus on Saturday. A win would put them in a comfortable position to win the regular season crown.
Michigan State (18-5, 7-3) – All of East Lansing waited with baited breath to learn the results of Draymond Green’s MRI. After Green left the game with a minor knee injury, Michigan State struggled mightily in a 42-41 upset loss.They bounced back nicely against their in-state rivals, and sure enough, Green led them with 14 points and 16 boards. As good a season as State has had, it could be even better: Two of the three conference losses have been by a single point on the road. Read the rest of this entry »
