1. Former Oklahoma State head coach Sean Sutton pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors in Stillwater, Oklahoma, as a result of his February arrest for possession of painkillers without a prescription.  Sutton recently spent 115 days in a rehab program in Sundance, Utah, and will face no jail time for his three-year probation period so long as he stays clean, pays a $2,850 fine and performs 100 hours of community service.  In an interview prior to the hearing last week, Sutton stated that the down time in the two years since he was forced out at OSU contributed to his addiction: “Idle time is no good for anybody.”   Texas head coach Rick Barnes, for one, doesn’t think Sutton’s coaching days are over.  Of course, his father, 800-game winner Eddie Sutton, has had his own demons with alcohol addiction over the years.  Let’s hope both Suttons have put those days behind them.
2. Kentucky fans filled a tiny gymnasium in Windsor, Ontario, on Sunday night, as John Calipari’s 2010-11 team played the first of a three-game set in Canada to break in the many new faces wearing Wildcat blue next season.  We mentioned UNC freshman Harrison Barnes blowing up in the Bahamas last week; well, Kentucky point guard Brandon Knight made sure that we remembered his prodigious talents as well.  Knight’s line:  31 pts, 9 rebs, 4 assts with ZERO turnovers in 29 minutes of action.  Let the hero-worship begin.
3. Connecticut requested and received an additional two weeks to respond to the eight NCAA alleged rules violations meted out by the governing body in May.  The new deadline will be September 3, which means that the compliance folks in Storrs may actually get to enjoy Labor Day weekend.  The Hartford Courant interviewed several experts to give readers a sense as to how the school may respond.   The general consensus is that UConn should show that it takes the charges seriously and can police itself; anything short of that may give the NCAA cause to bring the hammer down.
4. Ohio State center Zisis Sarikopoulos is reportedly on the verge of signing a professional contract with a team in his native Greece, which could impact Thad Matta’s inside depth next season.  Sarikopoulos was expected to provide spot minutes for returnee Dallas Lauderdale and incoming stud Jared Sullinger, but OSU may be without that option in a matter of days if this is true.
5. Memphis is heading to the Bahamas this week, but three of their newcomers won’t be making the trip as a result of eligiblity issues with the NCAA.  According to Dan Wolken at the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, the trio of Will Barton, Hippolyte Tsafack and Chris Crawford still have to be cleared by the NCAA before they will be allowed to play.  Barton is appealing the NCAA’s denial of his eligibility, while Tsafack and Crawford are still waiting to hear on their initial review.   In an unrelated personal issue, Jelan Kendrick is also not making the trip because he needed to head home to Atlanta.  Not a good way to start the season for Josh Pastner’s crew.

1. Oklahoma State senior Nick Sidorakis was recently named team captain, and he immediately set an example of the selflessness asked by such leaders when he gave up his scholarship for the betterment of his Cowboy squad.  He has not been a key contributor for the OSU program in terms of points or minutes (topping out at 12.9 MPG last season), but head coach Travis Ford must be pleased that his new captain is putting his money where his mouth is from the beginning of the school year.
2. Jeff Goodman reports that WVU head coach Bob Huggins is back to work and feeling much better after his fall that broke seven ribs a couple of weeks ago in Las Vegas.  This is definitely good news — all we can hope is that Huggins, who has had a propensity for dangerous falls in the last few years, takes care of himself and stays on his feet going forward.
3. Oregon State received some good news when they found out that UTEP transfer Eric Moreland will be eligible to play for the Beavers immediately due to “special circumstances.”  What those circumstances are, we’re not exactly sure, but Tim Floyd apparently had no use for the athletic, 6’9 forward, so Craig Robinson’s team will be the beneficiary.
4. Is Isiah Thomas’ new consulting job with the New York Knicks a conflict of interest?  Adam Zagoria reports that college heavyweights such as Jim Boeheim and Coach K both believe that it is.  They have a fair point here, but since when did Isiah ever do anything without controversy?
5. Hoop Scoop has the, um, scoop on Team USA Select’s Tuesday scrimmage against NBA players in NYC.  According to Ryan Feldman, Duke stars Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith as well as UConn guard Kemba Walker seemed the most comfortable playing against Team USA as they prep for the World Championships later this month.

It’s not like Nebraska and Colorado were going to be on anyone’s short list for prime-time basketball in the 2010-11 season anyway, but we were a little intrigued to see how the Big 12 might handle its two lame ducks this season as a part of ESPN’s annual Big Monday coverage.   Excluding the other three bottom-feeders from last season — Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Iowa State — the remaining seven Tories schools will be featured on the package, beginning on January 17’s MLK Day with a rare Big 12 double-header and continuing each following Monday through the last two months of the regular season.  Here’s the schedule (all times CDT):

A Sunflower State Sorta Winter (Again)

• Jan. 17 – Kansas State @ Missouri – 4:30 pm
• Jan. 17 – Kansas @ Baylor – 8:30 pm
• Jan. 24 – Baylor @ Kansas State – 8 pm
• Jan. 31 – Texas @ Texas A&M – 8 pm
• Feb. 7 – Missouri @ Kansas – 8 pm
• Feb. 14 – Kansas @ Kansas State – 8 pm
• Feb. 21 – Oklahoma State @ Kansas – 8 pm
• Feb. 28 – Kansas State @ Texas – 8 pm

For two schools who supposedly held no value to anyone in conference realignment-land, the good people in Bristol sure seem to think that they’re worth something.  Kansas and K-State are involved in no fewer than seven of the eight Big Monday contests next season, with the biggest one of course falling on Valentine’s Day between the two in Bramlage Coliseum.  We’ve said it before, but the Big 12 continues to be a loaded league, and there’s a slight but realistic possibility that if the Texas schools and Oklahoma State come on strong late next season that all eight of these games could involve ranked teams on both ends of the court.

It’s seeing stuff like this start to come out, though, that really makes us anxious for next season.  What game do you guys like best in this television lineup?     

Now that the smoke has finally settled from the near-apocalyptic blowup of one of the nation’s most powerful conferences in the money sports, we can sift through the wreckage and take a gander at what it all means to college basketball.  Yesterday we discussed the numerous possibilities that may still exist in the pipeline as more strategic moves are considered and ultimately made, but a wholesale re-working of the collegiate map in the nation’s breadbasket is not coming (at least not this year).

Instead, we’re left with a Big 12 conference that suddenly looks much stronger in the sport of basketball than it has since the good ol’ Big 8 days of yore.  Consider that in the last seven years of Big 12 conference play and in twelve of the fourteen years of its existence as a twelve-team league, BOTH of now-departed Nebraska and Colorado failed to make the NCAA Tournament.  In fact, Colorado only made the Big Dance twice (1997 and 2003) over that period, while the moribund Huskers only took part once (1998).  The two teams combined for a single NCAA win (CU in 1997) in that span, and generally neither school did much to scare the likes of Kansas, Mizzou, Texas or Oklahoma on the recruiting trail or in the arena (Nebraska averaged 6.4 wins in the Big 12 on an annual basis, while the Buffs averaged an even paltrier 6.2 wins per season).  Put simply, these are two of the worst BCS-level basketball programs in America, and now the Big 12 has fortuitously shed themselves of their depressing RPIs and general albatross-ness.

Imagine how much better the SEC’s profile would look if it could drop Auburn and Georgia in basketball, or if the ACC could do likewise with NC State and Miami (FL).  Suddenly, those #7 and #8 teams fighting for NCAA attention look stronger because their RPIs are not being dragged down by multiple games (and an occasional loss) with the bottom-feeders.  Missouri Governor Jay Nixon already gets it:

Nixon suggested that the loss of Colorado and Nebraska might be good for MU and the rest of the conference, at least in one sport.  “When you drop the two weakest basketball programs in Colorado and Nebraska, it makes the conference better,” Nixon said. “Our RPI will improve.”

Consider what’s left.  Kansas is a top five historical program who will always be good.  Texas is currently a top ten program with the resources and recruiting base to remain there for years to come.  Missouri has a long tradition of excellent basketball and will continue to excel under Mike Anderson.  Texas A&M will play tough-minded defensive basketball for Mark Turgeon and can also tap into the recruiting riches of the Lone Star State.  Ditto for Baylor and Scott Drew.  Oklahoma State and Oklahoma have strong traditions as well, and will continue to get good players and make NCAA Tournaments.  Frank Martin’s Kansas State is on the verge of becoming a powerhouse of its own to rival KU and Mizzou in their backyards.  The only two dogs of the group are at Iowa State, who hasn’t been able to get its act together since Larry Eustachy was in town, and Texas Tech, who is clearly still feeling the effects of the Bob Knight era.  But eight of ten good to great programs is not freakin’ bad, folks.

You Have to Resurrect Tyronn Lue to Find a Good Nebraska Hoops Team

Last season the Big 12 already had the best conference RPI in the land by a slight margin over the Big East.  If we remove CU and UN from the mix, the Big 12’s conference RPI would have risen by a full 0.14 ratings points, making it quite clearly the strongest league in 2009-10.  Seven teams already got into the Dance last year — with the additional slots that the 68-team Tournament will now provide, it is conceivable that the Big 12 could see eight of its ten teams advancing to the NCAAs in a particularly strong year.  While all of these moves were driven by the pigskin dollars, it may be that the biggest beneficiary in terms of success on the playing surface are the remaining basketball programs.   

1. Former UTEP forward Arnett Moultrie is the hottest transfer commodity going right now, according to Gary Parrish.  The talented 6’11 big man has schools in the SEC (Kentucky, Mississippi State, etc.) and CUSA (Memphis) hoping to get his services for a probable single season in 2011-12.
2. Ohio State’s David Lighty broke his left foot for the second time in a workout on Tuesday, the exact same injury that he experienced in December 2008 that cost him an entire season.  The rising senior will have surgery later this week and will miss up to three months of basketball, but the hope is that he will be back to 100% by the beginning of practice next year.
3. While the Big Ten may or may not have formally made offers to certain midwestern schools starting with M and N, Missouri is on record stating that they would entertain the offer (y’know, should there be one at some uncertain, unknowable point in the future).  Oklahoma State, who has not been not-offered by the Big Ten but has billionaire booster T. Boone Pickens around to create his own superconference powered by wind farms and unicorns should he choose to do so, is on record stating that OSU should remain a proud member of the Big 12.  Y’know, if anyone’s asking.
4. If you’re into this, and we’re admittedly having trouble getting used to the idea, ESPN 3D (now on Comcast and DirecTV) will feature the Old Spice Classic, the Jimmy V Classic, and the Big East Tournament next season as part of its enhanced coverage.  Just so long as we don’t have to see Bill Raftery’s broken capillaries in all three dimensions, we guess it’ll be ok.
5. The NCAA reported that attendance across the entire landscape of D1 men’s basketball was huge — to the tune of 27.54M at 5,251 games — but it was slightly down (<1%) from the 2008-09 season.  Given the state of the economy for the last year, this is no major surprise, but even scarce dollars didn’t affect the top five programs in average attendance: Kentucky, Syracuse, Louisville, Tennessee and UNC, all names that we see at or near the top of this list annually.  Forty-four schools broke the 10k average per game, and they are listed below (along with two near-misses).

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

We’ve been anxiously awaiting the next thirty days for the last eleven months.  You have too.  In fact, if this isn’t your favorite time of year by a healthy margin then you should probably click away from this site for a while.   Because we plan on waterboarding you with March Madness coverage.  Seriously, you’re going to feel like Dick Cheney himself is holding a Spalding-logoed towel over your face.  Your intake will be so voluminous that you’ll be drooling Gus Johnson and bracket residue in your sleep.  Or Seth Davis, if that’s more your style.  The point is that we’re all locked in and ready to go.  Are you?  To help us all get into the mood, we like to click around a fancy little website called YouTube for a daily dose of notable events, happenings, finishes, ups and downs relating to the next month.  We’re going to try to make this video compilation a little smarter, a little edgier, a little historical-er.  Or whatever.  Sure, you’ll see some old favorites that never lose their luster, but you’ll also see some that maybe you’ve forgotten or never knew to begin with.  That’s the hope, at least.  We’ll be matching the videos by the appropriate week, so all of this week we’re heading down memory lane at the Final Four.  Enjoy.

NCAA Final Four

Dateline: 1995 NCAA Final Four – Oklahoma State Open Practice Session

Context: In the buzz leading up to the 1995 Final Four, there was a lot of star power with UCLA’s NPOY Ed O’Bannon, North Carolina’s Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace and Arkansas’ Corliss Williamson and Scottie Thurman.  But there was another all-american on the fourth team that the collected media in Seattle were fascinated with: Oklahoma State’s Bryant “Big Country” Reeves.  Nicknamed Big Country by teammate Byron Houston when Reeves was amazed at transcontinental air travel, the folksy player was a hit with good quotes and stories leading up to the game.  His legend was about to get bigger.  During the Friday open practice session at the Kingdome, Reeves caught a pass off the backboard and went in for the reverse dunk.  Here’s the result.

We’ll try to update these nightly or as needed as they start coming fast and furious over the next month.

James Anderson – Jr, Oklahoma State – SG.  Anderson, the Big 12 POY in a conference filled with all-americans, averaged 21.9 PPG and 5.8 RPG, and is a prototypical NBA shooting guard in the mold of James Harden or Marcus Thornton.  He has the ability to score in volume with his shooting ability, but he  is somewhat limited off the dribble and either cannot or chooses to not play defense.  Anderson will hire an agent and is a lock for the first round of the draft, currently projected in the middle (#14-#20) of that round.

Tommy Mason-Griffin – Fr, Oklahoma – PG.  Bad decision, thy name is Mason-Griffin.  According to the Tulsa World, TMG has already left Oklahoma, packing his bags up at spring break and moving back home.  It’s presently unclear whether Mason-Griffin intends on entering the NBA Draft (he is not on anybody’s draft board) or transferring to another school, but his career at OU appears to be over.  There are rumblings that two other prominent Sooners, guard Willie Warren and forward Tiny Gallon, will also be elsewhere next season.  Warren is expected to turn pro after a disappointing sophomore campaign, while Gallon may have his hand forced by a recent report from TMZ.com linking him to a $3,000 benefit from a financial advisor.

Alright, we’re through with three-fourths of the first round, and it’s time for the Friday night session.  This round of games always has some interesting television matchups as CBS tries to maximize interest in the after-work crowd.  We’re going to be tracking all of the games but we’ll move around to the most interesting ones as appropriate.  Here’s the lineup:

• #8 Gonzaga vs. #9 Florida State
• #7 Oklahoma State vs. #10 Georgia Tech
• #1 Duke vs. #16 Arkansas-Pine Bluff
• #5 Michigan State vs. #12 New Mexico State
• #1 Syracuse vs. #16 Vermont
• #2 Ohio State vs. #15 UC Santa Barbara
• #8 Louisville vs. #9 California
• #4 Maryland vs. #13 Houston

Let’s tip it off and see where it takes us…

7:15:  FSU-Gonzaga has already started and Gus Johnson is just waiting to explode over something.  I think that he senses this game might be his best chance tonight, with Vermont-Syracuse at his venue next.  One piece of news is that Norm Roberts has been fired at St. John’s, making him the second NYC-area Big East coach to be let go within the past few days.

7:21: So far, Gonzaga offense >> FSU defense.  A 9-0 run by the Zags has given them a nice early margin.  Georgia Tech is pitching a shutout over on the other channel, 6-0 so far.  With both of those ACC teams, you’re never really sure what you’re going to get.  So far it looks like “good” GT and “bad FSU.”

7:31: Goodness, the Seminole offense is ugly.  If they get themselves down too far here, they’re never going to be able to come back.  Quick aside, I was just thinking about this and they confirmed it.  The Big 12 is 5-1 right now, with the lone loss coming with Texas in overtime against Wake Forest.  The others: Big East (3-3), SEC (2-2), Big Ten (3-1), A10 (1-2), MWC (2-2), ACC (1-1).

7:37: The Zag offense is smokin’ hot right now – well over 50% from the field.  This one isn’t looking very good for FSU whatsoever.  Focusing over on Ga Tech-Oklahoma State for a while, which is at 15-15 at the moment.  Our sense on this game was that it would be a close game with OSU pulling it out at the end.  We’ll see whether that rings true.

Read the rest of this entry »

Each day this week during the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament we’re asking some of our top correspondents to put together a collection of notes and interesting tidbits about each region.  If you know of something that we should include in tomorrow’s submission, hit us up at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

East Region Notes (Ryan Restivo of SienaSaintsBlog)

• President Barack Obama picked Kentucky to lose in his bracket’s final game but Coach John Calipari is worried about just getting momentum. “Land the plane. Survive and advance,” Calipari told Chris Low of ESPN. “That’s all we’re thinking about. We’re not worried about the score and who scores and what. Just land the plane and move on.” To that end, East Tennessee State lost by ten to Pitt last year as a #16 seed in the first round. Can they be the first to pull off the historic upset?
• Perhaps both Texas and Wake Forest should just throw out their recent struggles.
• Temple is only favored by 4 points over Cornell. Meanwhile Lafayette head coach Fran O’Hanlon has worked with both coaches and is rooting for both.
• Would professors at Wofford dare to not pick the Terriers over Wisconsin in their office pool? And apparently message boards hounded Badger junior Tim Jarmusz earlier this season as he moved from starting forward to coming off the bench.
• Washington’s Isaiah Thomas has a broken bone in his shooting hand, which is why he wears a glove.
• Last year Marquette’s players shaved their heads in solidarity, but this time they got a different haircut.
• New Mexico’s Darington Hobson is predicting a run to the regional finals. Meanwhile the New York Times has a great profile on Montana’s Anthony Johnson.
• Is this Mike Anderson’s best coaching job at Missouri?
• West Virginia is looking to beat Morgan State after losing to Dayton as a #6 seed last year.

Read the rest of this entry »