Posted by rtmsf on April 28th, 2011
- We didn’t get to this on Wednesday, but Seth Davis checked in this week with a piece analyzing the offseason coaching carousel thus far. There’s not much there to quibble with, as it’s been a relatively quiet year in this regard. We completely agree with his take that Tennessee hiring Cuonzo Martin was a very smart play, while Missouri going after (and getting) Frank Haith was perhaps the most questionable. At the mid-major level, Richmond’s Chris Mooney and VCU’s Shaka Smart choosing to stick on the banks of the James River was the most surprising (how often will runs like theirs at those schools happen?). Jim Larranaga to Miami (FL) (with Kenny Anderson?) and Sydney Johnson to Fairfield? Those two situations were just weird. As of this writing, there are only five jobs left open — Mason, George Washington, UC Davis, Alabama A&M, and Florida A&M. The Patriots have an excellent team returning next season; that opening left by Larranaga is clearly the true remaining plum of the group.
- Perhaps mad about John Calipari’s possible gig with the Dominican Republic (joking), Louisville head coach Rick Pitino has canceled his dalliance with Puerto Rico to coach their national team. Citing conflicts with trying to manage both head coaching duties as the primary reason for his withdrawal, what was left unsaid in his statement on Wednesday was that he was trying to use the summer period to get some great practice time and competition for his Louisville squad against legitimate international competition. The NCAA allows international summer trips for college teams once every four years, but they’re often against vastly inferior competition and, in this case, the governing body told UL that Puerto Rico, as a US territory, wasn’t “foreign” enough.
- Just prepare yourself for roughly one or two of these stories per month until we hit October — it never fails. Two Winthrop players, including its leading scorer and a key reserve, have been accused of criminal sexual misconduct involving a 19-year old former student. Sophomore guard Robbie Dreher and freshman center Julius Francis, according to the police report on the matter, allegedly assaulted the woman by restraining her in Francis’ room as the two performed sexual acts on her despite her claim of repeatedly saying, “no.” Dreher is the team’s top returning scorer at 12.7 PPG in over 31 minutes per contest last season, while Francis played much more sparingly but has great size and considerable promise. Needless to say, the two have been suspended from the team indefinitely.
- It was Huskies Day in Hartford, as the UConn men’s basketball national champs, the women’s Final Four team, and the Orange Bowl football team all visited the Connecticut State Capitol on Wednesday in a combined celebration of their successes. Kemba Walker took the opportunity to address his comment made last week about only reading one book “cover to cover,” clarifying his academic prowess at the school (graduating in three years) fby stating that he was referring specifically to loving a book so much that he sat down to read it in one sitting. Jim Calhoun said that he’s still considering retirement, but there’s no timetable on a final decision — we have a feeling he’ll be back on the sideline next year.
- All Jimmer, all the time. That’s what we might have coming soon with the report that a television show production company named Tupelo-Honey Productions will be creating a reality show involving The Jimmer and his family in the weeks leading up to the NBA Draft on June 25. They plan on shooting over 100 hours of film over 30 days, and the question on everyone’s mind is whether anything Jimmer does or says when he’s not making 28-footers will be, you know, interesting. Not to go too far down this path, but he’s Mormon — we shouldn’t expect anything resembling baby-mama drama or wild forays to the clubs with his agent. Drinking a caffeinated soda might be the biggest taboo we’ll see from the guy. It’ll be interesting to see how this company finds a storyline within its footage to make this something that the general public will want to see.
| morning 5, Regular Features
| Tagged: byu, chris mooney, coaching carousel, connecticut, criminal matters, cuonzo martin, fairfield, frank haith, international basketball, jim calhoun, jim larranaga, jimmer fredette, john calipari, julius francis, kemba walker, louisville, miami (fl), missouri, puerto rico, richmond, rick pitino, Robbie Dreher, seth davis, shaka smart, sydney johnson, tennessee, vcu, winthrop
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