Harris Can Put It On the Floor, But Needs a Jumper
Overview: In his single season at Tennessee, Tobias Harris ended up as the second leading scorer (15.3 PPG) on a squad that had only two players average double figures for the year (Scotty Hopson, 17.0 PPG). He was the Vols’ most efficient player, posting a 14.4 rating, far ahead of Hopson’s 10.7. His 7.3 boards per game was second on the team by a mere tenth of a carom and ranked him seventh in the SEC. Even though he led his team in blocked shots, he averaged less than a single rejection a game (0.9). He impressed with his handle and especially his strength for such a relatively young player, and he showed an ability to finish in the lane that was better than expected. His biggest drawback, though, was his lack of a formidable jumper, and in his short stint in Knoxville the improvement in his back-to-the-basket post game never materialized.
Over the course of the next month until the NBA Draft on June 23, RTC will be rolling out comprehensive profiles of the 35 collegians we feel have the best chance to hear their names called by David Stern in the first round that night. There won’t be any particular order to the list, but you can scroll back through all the finished profiles by clicking here.
Player name: Travis Leslie
School: Georgia
Height/Weight: 6’4, 205 lbs.
NBA Position: Shooting Guard
Projected Draft Range: Early to Mid-Second Round
Overview: Travis Leslie logged three fine years at Georgia playing a combination of shooting guard and small forward, and it’s the common practice, by reflex, to assume a guy will play down a position as he moves from the college to professional ranks. This is especially easy when you notice a player with dimensions like those of Leslie, meaning a fellow who checks in anywhere from 6’4 and 205 pounds. Leslie is significantly more physically imposing than his frame indicates on paper, though, and along with his advanced phyiscal condition he brings incredible quickness. He’s also one of the best offensive-rebounding guards in this year’s group, and for all of these reasons he’ll probably see more time in the NBA as a small forward than he will at the two. He might be severely undersized as a three, and even moderately so as a two, but he has other gifts that — cliche’ alert, here — help him to play bigger than he is. In fact, let’s just get this bit of video out of the way early, because it’s not only impressive on its own, but it serves as a fair reminder of the type of athlete we’re dealing with:
Will Translate to the NBA: As far as quickness, physical condition, and killer instinct are concerned, Leslie is NBA-ready. You’ll never have to tell him to get on the glass, as this seems to come instictively to him. He will happily (and easily) blow by you with a preposterously quick first step. Once he’s by you, he can either finish at the rim with ferocity (as Mr. Cousins, above, can attest) or finesse, but if he chooses to pull up and shoot, his jumper is reliable out to about 15 feet. On the defensive side, his quickness will allow coaches to use him to cover opposing ones, twos, and threes, a quality that endears him to many teams looking for a sneaky second-round pickup. He was second in scoring (14.4 PPG) for the Bulldogs last year, but was also second (as a guard, mind you) on the team with 7.2 boards per contest. His 49.2% from the field and 16.3 efficiency score were both team bests, indicating that he can be trusted to make good decisions whenever the ball’s in his hands.
Over the course of the next month until the NBA Draft on June 23, RTC will be rolling out comprehensive profiles of the 30-35 collegians we feel have the best chance to hear their names called by David Stern in the first round that night. There won’t be any particular order to the list, but you can scroll back through all the finished profiles by clicking here.
Player Name: Jordan Williams
School: Maryland
Height/Weight: 6’10/260 lbs.
NBA Position: Power Forward/Center
Projected Draft Range: Late first round or second round
Overview: Jordan Williams came to Maryland from Torrington, Connecticut, in 2009 as the 16th-ranked center in the country. Though he wasn’t heavily recruited (only two other power conference schools offered Williams a scholarship), Wiliams made an impact right away, averaging 9.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest (second in the ACC) in 24.8 minutes per outing. Posting eight double-doubles in his freshman year, he was named to the ACC All-Rookie team. After the Terrapins’ top four scorers graduated, Williams’ role increased dramatically last season, and he lived up to the pressure. He shed 25 pounds during the summer and was an absolute force in the paint for Gary Williams last season. Jordan averaged a double-double in 2010-11, and was automatic from the lane. He displayed tremendous efficiency as a big man, with an eFG clip of 53.8% and a 12.5% offensive rebound rate. Recognized as one of the nation’s most improved players as a sophomore, Williams came up especially big in conference play, and the highlight of his season may have been a late February game against UNC. Matched up against North Carolina’s NBA-caliber frontcourt, Williams plowed his way to 16 points and a career-high 19 boards. Though the Terps would miss the NCAA Tournament, Williams’ sophomore season garnered AP Honorable Mention All-American status. Williams declared for the draft after the season, but did not immediately hire an agent. However, as the declaration period wore on and many players took the safe route of returning to school amidst NBA labor uncertainty, Williams took the plunge and announced his intention to stay in the pool, hoping to take advantage.
Jordan Williams Provides an NBA-ready Frame and Rebounding Prowess
Will Translate to the NBA: Williams’ best asset at the pro level will be his knack for rebounding, but he should be able to exploit offensive mismatches as they come for easy baskets. He also shows a great motor, and though he won’t play major minutes from the get-go, that style should make him a very good spark from the bench. Williams’ frame at 6’10 and 260 pounds is very close to NBA-ready, though he can stand to lose some baby fat. He can be flat-footed, and as a result will have trouble scoring against comparable and bigger competition down low despite having a solid frame. The knocks are that he’s a touch slow for the next level and is limited in range, though both areas can be improved once he catches on with his new team.
Now that the NBA Draft early entry withdrawal has passed (Midnight ET on Sunday night), it’s time to take a look at who the winners and losers were from this year’s process. Of the nearly 70 players who declared as early entrants for this year’s NBA Draft, we count a dozen or so who will return and make their teams significantly better next year. The biggest impact will be felt at the following places…
The Winners
Jones Fills Out a Ridiculous UK Lineup in 2011-12
Kentucky. How do we figure that a team that ends up losing its best scorer and best perimeter defender is a winner? Because of who they didn’t lose. Terrence Jones will team with Kentucky’s fabulous duo of incoming forwards — Michael Gilchrist and Anthony Davis — to produce the most dynamic and talented front line college basketball has seen in some time. As good as Brandon Knight was in a Kentucky uniform, his loss to the draft also ensures that there’s no question as to who lead this team next year, as incoming superstar Marquis Teague will take over the reins from day one. The loss of DeAndre Liggins was surprising and will hurt, but on balance, the player UK most needed to return did.
The Big East. With the notable exception of NPOY candidate and Final Four MOP Kemba Walker and the somewhat shocking departures of Notre Dame’s Carleton Scott and Louisville’s Terrence Jennings, the Big East avoided losing three of its better returning players for the 2011-12 season. Georgetown’s Hollis Thompson, Pittsburgh’s Ashton Gibbs and West Virginia’s Kevin Jones will all return to teams that could not afford to lose them; with so many talented seniors leaving the Big East, it was imperative for the league’s overall health that these talented upperclassmen come back.
Missouri. A very early Christmas came for new Tigers head coach Frank Haith as two of his best returnees, Kim English and Laurence Bowers, made smart decisions to return to Columbia for their senior seasons. With leading scorer Marcus Denmon already back in the fold, Haith is walking into a situation where his top six players will be back next year. So long as he can enable his more methodical system with a group that loves to run and press, Mizzou fans should be excited for the possibility of something special in 2011-12.
Welcome to the law of unintended consequences, folks.
Starting with Jared Sullinger’s surprising decision to return to school in the aftermath of #1 Ohio State’s upset loss at the hands of Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament last month, a number of projected top draft picks have similarly shocked the world by deciding to stick around their college campuses for another season. Subsequent to Sullinger, Baylor’s Perry Jones — another top five pick — followed that up with his own shocker. Next, UNC’s Harrison Barnes and John Henson — both projected lottery picks this June — each decided that another year in Chapel Hill was to their liking. On Saturday, Kentucky’s Terrence Jones was the latest projected lottery pick to spurn guaranteed millions in favor of playing as an amateur for another season (ok, stop your snickering about the word “amateur”).
Counting up the number of lottery pick slots that opened up in the June draft, we come up with a total of five (of 14) and certainly the following early entrants will be this summer’s beneficiaries: Arizona’s Derrick Williams, Duke’s Kyrie Irving, Kentucky’s Brandon Knight, UConn’s Kemba Walker, and Kansas’ Marcus Morris. Five additional slots in the first round, though, isn’t the same as a floodgate opening, and we fear that the oft-repeated mantra of “weak draft” combined with a lack of an opportunity for players to get good evaluation feedback (thanks, ACC coaches!) has led to a bunch of poor decisions at the back end this year. Like we said, the law of unintended consequences.
Former UNLV star and NBA veteran Stacey Augmon joined Dave Rice’s brand-new UNLV staff as an assistant coach on Wednesday. The Plastic Man is the Runnin’ Rebels third-leading all-time scorer with over 2,000 points and is widely regarded as one of the best collegiate defenders of his era (a three-time national defensive player of the year selection). A popular player both during his playing days and afterward, he, along with other stars Larry Johnson and Greg Anthony, helped compose one of the most fearsome collegiate lineups of all-time; while Augmon was in Vegas, UNLV went 126-20 including back-to-back trips to the Final Four and winning a national title in 1990. With his #32 jersey hanging in the rafters of the Thomas & Mack Center, Augmon will certainly have the adequate standing to convince potential recruits of how a few years in Sin City can further a young players’ career.
Wednesday’s NBA Draft news focused on another somewhat questionable decision in that Michigan’s Darius Morrishas decided to keep his name in as an early entrant despite projected by most observers as a second round pick. An interesting byproduct of several elite players staying in school — namely, Jared Sullinger, Harrison Barnes, and Perry Jones — is that the meme of “weak draft” has been repeated to the point that many second- and third-tier players now think they have a good shot at reaching the first round’s guaranteed money. Sigh. Sometimes you can’t win for losing with these guys, right? In equally relevant news, Maryland’s Jordan Williams has also decided to chase the dollars, having signed with an agent and making his announcement to leave school on Wednesday. He’s projected as a late first-round or early second-rounder, but remember, folks… it’s a weak draft.
We mentioned yesterday in the M5 that Kentucky’s “pro day” allowed NBA GMs and personnel to watch several Wildcats work out all at once rather than having to travel all over the country in a very short window of time. We also mentioned that forward Terrence Jones’ decision would end up being “predictably unpredictable,” and if DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony’s tweets today are any indication, you should count on it. His mother told the Lexington Herald-Leader yesterday that her son would take until ‘the last minute’ to make his decision about whether to leave school. And if we know anything about this guy, he’ll do whatever he feels will surprise the maximum number of people.
The Shane Battier Rule is finally near enactment at the collegiate level. The NCAA Rules Committee on Wednesday recommended that all levels of men’s basketball add the semi-circle known as the “restricted arc” to eliminate secondary defenders taking charges directly underneath the opposing basket. For the last two seasons, the NCAA has utilized an imaginary arc under the basket, but referees often had just as much trouble deciding how far out the restricted area extended away from the basket to apply — this will make things much cleaner and easier on everyone. As a fan, there’s nothing more infuriating than to watch an excellent offensive move taken away by an off-ball defender perching himself directly underneath the basket well after the ball has left the driving player’s hand, so we’re particulalrly thankful for this legislation. The rule change will still need to be approved by the Rules Oversight Panel on June 9, but we should expect it to accept the recommendation. As a brief aside, the committee also recommended that coaches next season have the ability to ask for a monitor review at any time during the game (for example, to contest a two-pointer counted as a three). The tradeoff is that if the coach’s request for review turns out to be incorrect (keeping with the example, the two-pointer actually was a two), he risks losing a timeout. Interesting idea.
Set your DVRs now. Ohio State alumnus Bob Knightwill be honored at an OSU-Lamar game on December 20 for his time as a player in Columbus and general contributions to college basketball. Why Lamar? Well, his son, Pat, you may recall, took over as the head coach down in Beaumont, Texas, a month ago. By that point in the season, Coach K (with 900 wins) will likely have surpassed Knight (902) as the all-time wins leader, but it will be interesting to see if Buckeyes fans will think of the longtime Indiana coach as one of their own, or if they’ll still harbor resentment from a number of years of losses at the hands of the General. We’d imagine it could get interesting on the mic if OSU fans decide to get creative that evening.
Chalk this one up as weird, but one of Gonzaga’s returning players, Demetri “Meech” Goodson, is giving up his senior season in Spokane to transfer back home to play… football? You read that correctly. The junior guard from Spring, Texas, and younger brother of Carolina Panther running back Mike Goodson, will have two years of NCAA eligibility remaining upon his arrival on an undetermined campus (likely Texas A&M) next season. Goodson started all of Gonzaga’s 35 games last year, but he’s consistently struggled with shooting the ball and his departure will represent the seventh Zag transferring out of Mark Few’s program in the last two years. Everyone of course remembers Greg Paulus’ one-year stint as the quarterback at Syracuse after a four-year basketball career at Duke, but it’s not often that you see a player transfer to play a different sport midstream through their career (it helps that GU doesn’t have a football team).
As everyone is well aware, the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline is next Sunday, so decisions from players on the fence will be trickling out all week. Two players Tuesday announced that they would be staying in the June draft despite currently facing a second round (if any) projection. Louisville forward Terrence Jennings and Georgia Tech guard Iman Shumpert must have coaches at both schools shaking their heads, as neither appears to be a first round lock even in a weak draft. Shumpert was second team all-ACC last year, going for 17/6/4 APG in a dreadful Yellow Jackets season, but Jennings in particular is an interesting case. His collegiate numbers of 10/5 last season were not exactly dominant in the Big East, but he says that he’s getting good feedback from scouts and thinks that the NBA will have a place for him. This has been a tough week all around for Rick Pitino, as he not only learned that Jennings was officially leaving school, but elite 2012 recruit Rodney Purvisrescinded his verbal commitment to the Cards on Monday.
New Pac-10, er, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott must know how to turn water to wine in light of news breaking on Tuesday that his conference has inked the most lucrative television deal in college sports history with Fox and ESPN for twelve years beginning in 2012-13. The twelve western schools (now including Colorado and Utah) will average approximately a quarter-billion dollar payout every year over the life of the deal, out-distancing the recent Big Ten ($220M), SEC ($205M), ACC ($155M) and Big 12 ($130M) mega-deals. The league will also go the Big Ten route with its own Pac-12 Network, and the rest of the games will be split between the two other national networks — now that ESPN will be showing Pac-12 basketball four days a week in addition to all of its other commitments, we wonder if there are plans for a few more ESPN channels. There simply isn’t enough space on the existing family of networks to cover everything they have in the stable. You might be wondering how Scott pulled this off given that many national viewers never see a Pac-10/12 football or basketball game all season long — the answer is in the numbers. Eight of the top twenty-seven US media markets are within the Pac-12 regional footprint, the best such aggregate total in the nation (we shudder to imagine if Scott had pulled off getting Texas too!).
Taking a page from the “pro day” that some major football programs have held in the past for their professional prospects, Kentuckyheld a similarly-styled event for its three early entries Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones and DeAndre Liggins, in addition to graduating senior Josh Harrellson. All thirty NBA teams were invited to the event to have an opportunity to observe the UK players going through workouts at least once prior to the deadline on Sunday, and a good number of those showed up for at least one of the two sessions this week. Knight told a reporter that he was still at “50/50” on a final decision, but he is expected to leave; Liggins, on the other hand, is expected back next season, while Jones’ decision will no doubt be predictably unpredictable (see: his recruitment).
Tennessee forward/impresario Renaldo Woolridge was feeling particularly patriotic on Sunday night after the news about Osama bin Laden’s capture was released, so the junior who only scored 13 points in eight games last year did what he does best — he wrote and produced a new rap video. “Thank You (USA Troops)” was released Monday afternoon, and as Mike DeCourcy points out, the line packing a punch comes at the 2:20 mark: Almost 10 years/feeling kinda alone/But the fact is/Osama is gone. Full video below.
Dear unnamed ACC coaches who are more interested in their own selfish interests than the well-being of their players: go eff yourselves. You got what you wanted in that the NCAA approved yet another change to its NBA Draft withdrawal deadline, making it virtually impossible for players to work out and solicit good advice on their draft status in 2012 and beyond before making a final decision. The May 8 withdrawal deadline this year is already too short, allowing players merely two weeks to get full information that will help them make a life-changing decision; next year’s deadline will be a ridiculously-early April 12, only ten days after some lucky team will cut the nets down in New Orleans. The ostensible reason behind this change is that coaches want to know what their rosters will look like going into the spring signing period (which begins at approximately the same time as the new deadline), but it rings extremely hollow when they’re claiming to care about their players first while banking millions of dollars themselves. The coaches driving this legislation, every one of whom is a millionaire, has the luxury of wealth and privilege to fall back on if they make a hasty mistake, while their players get… what, exactly? A couple of phone calls, a rumor or two, and a pat on the back? It’s embarrassing and it’s shameful, and if anyone believes that this change will frighten players who are not draftable to stay in school, they’re dreaming. Successful people generally believe things will work out for them, no matter the decision — it’s just that now they’ll be making their decisions without proper information on which to rely. Congratulations, fellas.
Ok, on to the players in this year’s draft who still have another ten days to make a final decision. The NBA released its official list on Thursday and the biggest surprise name on it was Minnesota’s Ralph Sampson, III. DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony makes the call on every one of this year’s early entries, including analysis that shows several players — Tennessee’s Tobias Harris, Michigan’s Darius Morris, and Xavier’s Tu Holloway, to name a few — have difficult decisions ahead of them next week.
Georgia’s Mark Foxreceived a nice raise as a result of his guiding the Bulldogs to its first legitimate NCAA Tournament appearance in nine seasons last year (the Dawgs’ 2008 appearance with a 17-17 team was a fluke in part caused by the Atlanta tornado). His contract was extended by one year to 2016 and his salary was increased by $400,000 annually for a total package worth $1.7M per year. Not bad for a football school, eh? Fox will lose stars Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie to the NBA Draft this offseason, so his ultimate worth will be determined by how he does the next four years with his own players. Still, he’ll have plenty of dollars put away to carry him for a while if things don’t go as well as last season did for his program.
Hey, we can’t say that we did or did not write a couple of letters in a similar vein to this back in the day, but what we can say is that Ethan Peikes’ letter to Georgia Tech AD Dan Radakovich applying for the open head coaching position this spring was probably more logical, likely more witty, and definitely better written. This is a great story from Mike DeCourcy about how a 15-year old kid from Stamford, Connecticut, made a name for himself by simply, well, making a name for himself. Nice resume booster.
Jerry Seinfeld on Thursday made headlines when he said that the bombastic businessman-turned-politician Donald Trump was “God’s gift to comedy.” Little did he know that another God’s Gift would be making his way to the Big Apple, and this one doesn’t involve a weird comb-over and a penchant for egomania. As far as we know, at least. God’s Gift Achiuwa, a 6’9 sophomore forward from Erie Community College picked St. John’s over Washington and Cincinnati for his services in the post next year. Steve Lavin calls him “Gift,” and he represents exactly that to his packed recruiting class that comes in long on talent but not particularly sizable. The Johnnies will be extremely young next season but should remain fun to watch for a number of reasons, not least of which will be enjoying various announcers handle Achiuwa’s God-Given name.
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.
Former San Diego star and current accused pointshaver Brandon Johnsonmade 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.
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.
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.
This article by the Louisville Courier-Journal’sRick Bozichtakes 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…
At Midnight ET last night, the NBA’s draft entry deadline passed. Although we won’t know for certain all the players who announced their intentions to test the waters until the league releases its certified list later this week, there were a few others over the weekend who announced they’re going to give it a shot. Texas stars Jordan Hamilton and Cory Josephannounced that they would join teammate Tristan Thompson in the draft pool, with the latter two electing to not sign with an agent. Thompson (along with Hamilton) is projected as a top 20 pick and is expected to stay in the draft, while Joseph is in a more precarious spot. If he doesn’t appear to become a first-rounder, we’d expect to see him back in Austin next season to team with Myck Kabongo to form one of the best backcourts in all of college basketball. Another late addition to the draft pool was Georgetown small forward Hollis Thompson, a bit of a surprise to most observers but one which nearly everyone expects will be a temporary situation — he has not signed with an agent and is not projected as a first or second round pick on any major draft board at this time.
Miami (FL) confirmed on Friday evening that Jim Larranagawould be their new head coach, taking over for Frank Haith. While some have derided the age of Larranaga as a major barrier to the rebuilding project in Coral Gables, Mike DeCourcy doesn’t believe that will matter much. He cites Jim Calhoun, Coach K, and Roy Williams as the last three national championship coaches, all of whom are in Larranaga’s age bracket, but we think he fails to adequately recognize that it will take the 61-year old coach at least a year or two to get his feet wet recruiting in South Florida. While it’s true that he’ll inherit a solid Hurricane team with most of its top players back, the group finished ninth last season in a historically bad ACC, and we’re of the opinion that younger go-getters such as Steve Donahue (BC), Brad Brownell (Clemson) and Brian Gregory (Georgia Tech) are better positioned to move up the conference ladder in coming years.
We know that you were waiting with baited breath on the ruling from the Indiana Supreme Court on how the NCAA handles its public ticket sales for the Final Four, and the decision came down Friday. You will be thrilled to learn that the court found in a unanimous ruling that the NCAA’s lottery method of selecting the chosen few to dole out $150 for ducats to the sport’s marquee event is not illegal. A similar case currently sits at the federal level in the 7th Circuit US Court of Appeals, but no ruling has been made in that one yet.
UConn sophomore Jamal Coombs-McDanielwas arrested along with two other individuals for possession of 5.6 grams of marijuana in a dorm room on Thursday night. That night was the kickoff to an annual UConn rite known as Spring Weekend, a campus-wide party prior to final exams in coming weeks, and JCD apparently was doing his part to liven the place up. He faces both a possession and a drug paraphernalia charge for his role in the crimes, and we’d expect to see him doing some hardcore community service in and around Storrs in the near future.
Speaking of players behaving badly, BYU’s Brandon Davies, he of the school honor code violation involving premarital canoodling, is expected to “meet conditions so he’ll be eligible” to return to school for the fall semester. This is great news for a BYU program facing the losses of NPOY Jimmer Fredette and secondary stars Jackson Emery, Kyle Collinsworth (Mormon mission), and two other players as it moves to the WCC in basketball next year. Still, Davies’ foul-up (the getting caught part, not the canoodling part, in our estimation) may have cost BYU a trip to its first-ever Final Four, so we’ll be interested to see just how forgiving the Cougar faithful will be when he suits up again.
