russ pennell – Rush The Court

Morning Five: 03.06.14 Edition

nvr1983 — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 13:00:56 +0000

When we saw a story on ESPN.com about Dean Smith we were tempted to overlook it particularly after the John Feinstein story that we linked to on Monday. We are glad that we did because Tommy Tomlinson’s article on Smith, his failing memory, and the people who stand by him is probably the best thing you will read all day. As we mentioned on Monday, we cannot remember anybody saying something negative about Smith on a personal level. If you were not aware of why that is, this article and the anecdotes within it should explain it. With Wichita State finishing the regular [...]

USC Hires Kevin O’Neill

nvr1983 — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:48:11 +0000

I’m beginning to think that there is some bizarre Arizona–USC connection going on after USC announced that former interim Wildcat coach Kevin O’Neill was going to take over as the Trojans new head coach. You may remember O’Neill from the Lute Olson fiasco after the 2007-2008 season, but O’Neill also has prior coaching experience at the college (171-180 in 12 seasons) and pro level (helpful if you’re running a program like the one Tim Floyd apparently ran in LA the past few years).

To recap the action at Arizona and USC the past two years:

O’Neill [...]

04.09.09 Fast Breaks

rtmsf — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:57:57 +0000

Would the word flood be an appropriate representation?

Early Entry Fatigue. LSU’s Tasmin Mitchell will test the waters, but he won’t sign with an agent. Ditto for Memphis’ Shawn Taggart. And Miami (FL)’s Dwayne Collins has the same idea. UCLA’s Jrue Holiday is a bit of a surprise given how he struggled at the end of the season, but he too will take a dip. Curry Watch. One player who has yet to throw his hat in the ring is Davidson’s Stephen Curry. Will he be back to make a run at Pete Maravich’s all-time scoring record next season? Nice raise. [...]

Tim Floyd to Arizona

nvr1983 — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:17:59 +0000

Update: Apparently, the mainstream media is no more reliable than blogs as ESPN was completely wrong about Floyd accepting the Arizona job. Instead, he has decided to stay at USC perhaps comforted by the fact that he has Mike Dunleavy coaching in the same city to make him look like a coaching genius.

After unsuccessfully trying to woo Rick Pitino and reportedly going after Mark Few and Jeff Capel, Arizona is set to name Tim Floyd as its new head coach according to reports. In the wake of the Lute Olson fiasco last off-season, the Wildcats turned [...]

Official Word: “The Squid” to UK…

rtmsf — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:34:14 +0000

(h/t to L4B for Calipari’s new nickname… but, um, will it stick?)

John Calipari Headed to Lexington. Officially. What does this hire by Kentucky (at a reported $5M+ per year) do? It makes the Wildcat program nationally relevant again. Instantly. With a single stroke of the pen (still pending), every major recruit from 9th to 11th grade (and several in the 12th) who has visions of wearing a hideous suit to meet David Stern on Draft Day suddenly has Kentucky back on their radar screens. At the McD’s game practice today, Xavier Henry has already made it clear that [...]

03.05.09 Fast Breaks

rtmsf — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:08:29 +0000

Just another night of highly ranked teams playing as if they don’t want to be a high seed. However, I am always on top of my game and I bring 110% to the Fast Breaks everyday. So sit back, relax, and let me do the work for you.

Rivals takes an expansive look at each and every conference tournament. Who better than Kyle Whelliston to recap all the conference tournaments that have already started. CBS’ Mike Freeman takes a fantastic look at why Blake Griffin isn’t receiving the same attention Tyler Hansborough did last year. Jameson Fleming tries valiantly to explain why [...]

03.03.09 Fast Breaks

rtmsf — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:45:36 +0000

Hey all, its your faithful intern here trying to bring you the best reading material from across the interweb. You may not have noticed, but there was no Fast Breaks yesterday, so today’s will be longer and will dip into yesterday’s stories as well…Enjoy!!

The Washington Post questions the legality of Under Armour’s relationship with Maryland and Lance Stephenson. Jim Calhoun just can’t escape his infamous press conference, now legislators are getting involved. Terrence Williams isn’t just a versatile forward. Apparently, he is also the team comedian. Shawn Siegel has his new version of Bracketology out. Its been just two days but that is just [...]

Checking in on the… Pac-10

nvr1983 — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:46:49 +0000

Michael Hurley is the RTC correspondent for the Pac-10 Conference.

News & Notes

Lute Olson compiled a 43-6 record against Arizona State. Since he took a leave of absence last year, Arizona is 0-4 against the Sun Devils. Against ASU, Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, and Nic Wise all logged 40 minutes. For the year the three are each averaging over 35 minutes a game. They are the only team in the Pac-10 with three players averaging over 35 minutes a game. Come Pac-10 tournament time these three horses have to be tiring. Oregon State swept the season series against Cal for [...]

Jamelle Horne Joins Bonehead Pantheon

rtmsf — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:12:45 +0000

Quick… what’s the term for the opposite of good basketball IQ? A Stephon Marbury? What do you call a player who consistently makes abominable, indefensible and atrocious decisions on the court? A Derrick Coleman? Well, step aside Bonehead Brethren of Years Past, because there’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is Jamelle Horne. The Arizona sophomore, through his complete and utter obliviousness at the end of two key games this year, may have singlehandedly ensured that his school will not play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a quarter-century.

"Oh No! I Did It Again!" (photo credit: Lori [...]

ATB: Memo to Arizona Players – Time and Score, Gents

rtmsf — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:25:56 +0000

As usual, we’ll start with some news from today…

The nation’s #1 shooting guard, Xavier Henry, announced to the world on Sportscenter during the 24HoCH that he will attend Memphis next season. His brother, CJ Henry, is already a Tiger. This is very good news to Calipari, who watched his team clank three after three last night (2-19) in their game against UMass, because Henry’s range easily extends out to 22 feet. Additionally, it shows that for elite guard prospects, Memphis has become the NBA stopover de rigeur. The 2012-16 Final Fours will be chosen from these ten locations tomorrow: Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, [...]

ATB: Quiet Before the Storm

rtmsf — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:23:02 +0000

News & Notes. We’d like to take a moment at the beginning of tonight’s ATB to honor former Cal head coach and legendary big man guru Pete Newell, who died today at the age of 93. He led Cal to its only national championship in 1959, won a gold medal as the US Olympic team coach in 1960, and was elected to the basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. Although he was before our time, we’ve heard the stories of his legend and he is considered one of the most influential figures in basketball history. May he rest [...]

Preseason NIT Breakdown

rtmsf — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:59:14 +0000

(ed. note: if you’re looking for the 2009 NIT Bracket, click here.)

The Preseason NIT, the Granddaddy of all the Preseason Tourneys, begins tonight, with all sixteen teams in action at four regional pods (Chestnut Hill, MA; W. Lafayette, IN; Norman, OK; Tucson, AZ). Unlike many of the D2 and whatever-else teams thrown into the pods of the CvC last week, the PNIT at least uses all D1 teams for its sacrificial lambs. A new feature is that each of the sixteen teams was seeded, although we’re not sure how BC and Arizona ended up with protected seeds over Davidson (also, why isn’t #1 Purdue [...]

11.14.08 Fast Breaks

rtmsf — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:56:45 +0000

Well, if we can get our ESPN Full Court package to work tonight, we might actually get to watch some games… don’t hold your breath on Comcast actually coming through at the casa de RTC, though…

Luke Winn provides his breakdown of the top 10 preseason tourneys. Goodman gives his two cents on the preseason tourneys here, his top 40 games to watch, and 65 issues facing the new season. This is a really cool article surveying over 300 D1 schools on various factors – offensive and defensive ideologies, player and coaching pedigrees, budgets, etc. Memo to new Arizona (interim) coach Russ Pennell – hiring the legendary coach’s [...]

2008-09 Conference Primers: #4 – Pac-10

rtmsf — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:25:40 +0000

Predicted Order of Finish:

UCLA (25-4, 15-3) Arizona St. (20-8, 11-7) USC (17-11, 10-8) Washington St. (17-12, 10-8) Washington (18-12, 9-9) California (14-15, 8-10) Arizona (13-16, 8-10) Oregon (11-17, 7-11) Stanford (12-17, 6-12) Oregon St. (7-22, 3-15)

WYN2K. This is not the same Pac-10 conference as last year, plain and simple. Gone are lottery picks OJ Mayo (USC), Russell Westbrook (UCLA), Kevin Love (UCLA), Brook Lopez (Stanford) and Jerryd Bayless (Arizona). Gone are Robin Lopez (Stanford) and Ryan Anderson (Cal), also first-rounders. Gone are Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (UCLA) and Davon Jefferson (USC), who went in the second round and not at all, respectively. This year’s Pac-10 transition isn’t just limited to players. There are new coaches at [...]

Physician: Stroke Led to Olson’s Retirement

rtmsf — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:08:19 +0000

We’re experiencing Lute Olson fatigue around here lately, but we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t put a period on this story by reporting what Olson’s physician revealed to the world in a press conference today. Dr. Steven Knope stated that Olson was being treated for severe depression and impaired judgment for several months and had not responded favorably when an MRI taken early last week showed that Olson had endured a stroke in his frontal lobe at some point within the past year. Dr. Knope impressed upon Olson to retire from coaching, which he did last Thursday. From the East Valley Tribune:

“He is [...]