Many college basketball players will rack up on-court accomplishments for four years and never even sniff the opportunity of getting their jersey retired. But when you are Carmelo Anthony, all it takes is one season and a national championship apparently. Anthony will have his jersey retired by Syracuse in February and the No. 15 of the one of the most celebrated one-and-done players in history will hang alongside Dave Bing, Derrick Coleman, and Sherman Douglas. Of course it doesn’t matter how much time he spent in school, ‘Melo obviously deserves this honor. The Baltimore native finished in the top-10 nationally in both points and rebounds and led the program to its only national championship. He, like Kevin Durant, was one of the few true NBA superstars to even play in college, and unlike Durant, he helped his school win a championship on his way to stardom. It is definitely a bit weird to see a player who basically used Syracuse as a stepping stone for one season getting his jersey retired, but if ever there was a one-and-done player who deserved to be honored this way, it’s ‘Melo.
Yesterday morning we told you that Georgetown’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, Greg Whittington, would miss his second game for a violation of team rules. Then, before last night’s game against Providence, it became apparent that Whittington violated the “don’t fail school” rule and his suspension will be indefinite in length. Whittington’s academic ineligibility didn’t matter last night as the Hoyas jumped out to a huge lead on the Friars and held on for a nine-point win and it seems unlikely he will miss the remainder of conference play. But this is a team with plenty of well-documented scoring issues that is fighting to stay in the top half of the conference standings, and without Whittington that will be difficult. Jabril Trawick is a nice player, but not nearly as productive as Whittington, and Aaron Bowen is at least athletic, but he is a long way from being the player that Whittington is. The Hoyas have an important game this weekend against South Florida, because dates with Notre Dame and Louisville loom after that, and the Hoyas will need every win they can get.
Villanova may have learned some valuable lessons from their loss to Syracuse last weekend but it didn’t show last night as the Wildcats took a slim lead into the half for the second-straight game and then gave it all back in the second half to let Pittsburgh escape with a crucial road win. The game was close for most of the second half as well but with less than six minutes to play, the Panthers clamped down on defense and held ‘Nova to zero points over the last five minutes and 13 seconds of the game while they poured in 15 of their own during that stretch to seal the victory. I will buy the argument that the Wildcats proved they have what it takes to hang with good teams in the conference, but only for a half. The Wildcats have made a habit of watching their halftime leads disappear (they did it in losses to LaSalle and Temple earlier in the season) and while some of that can be attributed to a young roster without a lot of lethal scorers, some of the blame should fall at the feet of Jay Wright, who is seemingly getting out-adjusted at halftime by every coach the Wildcats play. When Villanova was dominant, they had a roster that knew how to close out close games and keep the intensity high, this team seems to inevitably fold every time their opponents start to force the issue in the second half. If they want to return to their spot atop the conference, they will need to improve on that greatly.
The heart-and-soul of Cincinnati will be okay as senior guard Cashmere Wright is only day-to-day after he only sprained his knee at the end of a close win over DePaul. This is hugely important news for the Bearcats because while injuries happen to every team, Wright has been the most consistent and best player on the floor for coach Mick Cronin all season long, and I shudder to think what Cincinnati’s offense would look like without their second-leading scorer, playmaker, and floor general. The Bearcats are off until Saturday when they square off with a hot Marquette team and then play at Syracuse two days later and having Wright in the lineup for both those games will be crucial if the Bearcats want to assert their position at the top of the conference standings. It might be worth a look later in the season but I think the argument can be made that Wright is the most important player in the conference to his team.
Our friend Rob Dauster (#DausterForUSC) raises an excellent issue after watching Notre Dame inexplicably fall to a St. John’s team that had just been blown out by Georgetown — why was All-America candidate Jack Cooley on the bench in the closing minutes of the loss? Dauster correctly points out that Cooley had struggled mightily in the game and that the Johnnies were playing with a smaller lineup, but there can’t be too many good reasons why senior scrub Tom Knight was on the floor while he much more talented and experienced teammate watched. The key moment came when Knight had what appeared to be an easy put-in blocked by D’Angelo Harrison and the Red Storm were able to seal the win. There is of course no way of telling whether Cooley would have fared any better in that situation, but at least if it was Cooley who had his shot-blocked then there is no need for second-guessing, you can know that you put your best player in a position to tie the game and for whatever reason he didn’t come through. But because he wasn’t in the game, fans and pundits are left to ask why Brey kept him on the bench.
There is good news for Pittsburgh as senior point guard Tray Woodall‘s concussion is apparently not very severe and the playmaker will be back in action tonight when the Panthers square off with Villanova. Woodall suffered the concussion when he collided with a Marquette player four minutes into the Panthers’ overtime loss to Golden Eagles and he didn’t return. But according to Woodall, he felt fine shortly after the collision and wanted to play, but team doctors wanted to be cautious and wouldn’t let him. We are all for hedging in favor of player safety but Panthers fans should be breathing sighs of relief that Woodall is coming back so quickly. The team is about to start a crucial stretch of their conference slate and with Woodall, they stand a better chance at reeling off a few wins in a row and climbing back into the conference title race.
While Woodall returns tomorrow, another key member of a NCAA Tournament contender will continue to sit as Georgetown will continue to sit versatile forward Greg Whittington Wednesday for violating team rules. Reporters asked coach John Thompson III if the violations were serious and he said “yes”, so it will be interesting to see how long the coach is willing to go without his second-leading scorer and rebounder. The Hoyas dismantled St. John’s over the weekend without Whittington and they should be okay tonight against and undermanned Providence team. But after that the schedule gets more difficult again and if they are going to replace Whittington’s production they will likely need Jabril Trawick and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera to shoulder some of the scoring load.
After his team was blown out by a scuffling Georgetown team, St. John’s coach Steve Lavin was repeatedly asked if he was embarrassed by his team. Those questions seem a little premature as the Red Storm bounced back last night and upset No. 20 Notre Dame behind 17 points from freshman Jakarr Sampson. The Red Storm are one of the youngest teams in the entire conference, so it shouldn’t be surprising that their season will have a lot of ups and a lot of downs. The Johnnies don’t have a lot of offensive firepower and are prone to stupid mistakes, which is a recipe for getting blown out on occasion, but last night’s win over the Fighting Irish showed that they also have the talent in place to be a good team on occasion. It isn’t likely St. John’s will find enough consistency to make the NCAA Tournament, but it does seem like they are headed that direction anyway.
The Juice has been covering the James Southerland story from all angles and yesterday they took a brief look at three players who needed to step up in Southerland’s absence. The players — Brandon Triche, Jerami Grant, and Trevor Cooney — should come as no surprise, but I think Grant and Cooney both have a larger opportunity to make a difference than Triche does. Triche already has an established role on the team and asking him to shoulder the responsibility of replacing Southerland’s production doesn’t make sense. It seems much more logical to have Grant or Cooney or both step up and fill the scoring void. As the column points out, Grant fits the bill because of his length and athleticism, while Cooney is a better outside shooter and more dangerous scorer. If Syracuse’s game against Villanova was any indication, both will get plenty of opportunities to play, and that will be a good thing come March.
This was supposed to be the season that Cincinnati guard Sean Kilpatrick exploded onto the national scene and became one of the conference’s true stars. Instead, Kilpatrick has progressed the way many thought and the Bearcats’ best player has actually been oft-unheralded senior point guard Cashmere Wright. Which is why Bearcats’ fans better be hopeful that the knee injury Wright suffered last night in a win over DePaul isn’t serious. Wright had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting and seven assists to just two turnovers before leaving because of the injury and the floor general really has been indispensable for coach Mick Cronin and the program. Wright’s many talents were on display again last night as the Bearcats held off an upset bid from DePaul and Wright went for
Chris Johnson is an RTC columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.
Tonight’s Lede. I Can’t Predict This Stuff. It is never wise to judge college basketball teams on one game; you need a comprehensive data set to make an accurate assessment. Teams win and lose games out of character. It’s the common denominator that underpins college hoops competition: unpredictability. There are a variety of reasons for this – energy levels wax and wane, road trips bring unfamiliar sight lines and the environmental pressures. Some are unexplainable. Often times, shots just don’t fall, defense fails and game plans are picked apart. If you were to watch the first half of Indiana’s game against Minnesota Saturday, you would have fairly called the Hoosiers the best team in the country. And if you happened to flip on Wisconsin’s 47-41 slog at Nebraska, or pretty much any other game the Badgers have played this season save a recent blowout win over Illinois, you would have come to the reasonable conclusion, based on a reliable body of work, that the Badgers aren’t destined for the same good fortune they have enjoyed so long so consistently under Bo Ryan.
Arguably the best team in the Big Ten couldn’t deal with their stylistic opposite, Wisconsin (Photo credit: Getty Images).
You would have been even more shocked to learn that the low-scoring, defense-minded, grinding Badgers not only kept pace and challenged No. 2 Indiana, but straight flummoxed the Hoosiers into a five-point loss at a supercharged Assembly Hall. That’s the thing with conference play: you just don’t know. At this point in the season, it’s a trite rhetoric, but it bears repeating. Before laying down any proclamations about league races or contenders, remember to account for the whims of 18-to-22 year old college students, the natural ups and downs, energy highs and lows and everything else that goes into making conference competition – particularly in a year without any single dominant team – an enduringly spectacular winter thrill ride.
Your Watercooler Moment. Starting To Look like “That Kind of Year” For Ole Miss. The SEC would very much like to send four teams to the NCAA Tournament this season. Florida and Missouri are virtual locks. Kentucky is teetering on the margin. Ole Miss, after 11 years of missed tourneys, might be the league’s saving grace. If it continue on this path, Andy Kennedy’s team will saunter its way into the Big Dance, no late-February/early-March bubble anxiety included. When you get players making shots like this, the type that avoids those brutal in-league losses that pile up in the spiteful regions of the selection committee’s collective mind, you start to get the sense that maybe, just maybe, the Tournament gods are here to offer some assistance. Vanderbilt isn’t any good (except on nights where they are knocking down a ridiculous 17 three-pointers including 11 in the first half), but escaping pitfalls is just as crucial as toppling giants. But for a late-season collapse, the Rebels are on their way to the NCAA Tournament. It’s games like this that help secure that road.
(A Note: Marshall Henderson has drawn his share of criticism (fair) for having a loose trigger. I won’t try and impeach that claim. But hey, if Henderson can make that 35-footer with any type of regularity, cease the shot selection critiques and let him fire away.)
Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.
The Weekend’s Lede. Embrace a New National Champion. The hustle and bustle of conference play boils down to one of two objectives: 1) scramble and fight and scrap your way into the NCAA Tournament; or, for the elite teams, 2) pile up enough evidence to be deemed worthy of a favorable draw and seed. The goal that ties those two together is reaching the championship game and, ideally, winning it. Kentucky made it look easy last season, and based on the way Calipari reloaded with another top recruiting class (albeit less heralded than the 2011 group), it was not unwise to believe he could do it again. That avenue remains open, in the crude sense that the Wildcats are still eligible for postseason competition. In actuality, the fate of their title defense season was sealed this weekend, when Kentucky allowed Texas A&M – a low-rung team in an uncharacteristically weak SEC – to deliver the Wildcats’ second home loss of the season. Given the talent at his disposal, and his experience in grooming, molding and motivating said talent, John Calipari could well propel his young team back into the national conversation. I just don’t see it. Saturday’s loss marked the unofficial retirement of UK’s faint repeat hopes. But don’t worry, next season’s rejiggered squad, anchored by what some are calling the greatest recruiting class of all time, can bring everything full circle. The championship trophy will not return to Lexington in March. That’s not official; it’s what my eyes tell me. There will be a new champion in 2013, and the weekend’s action shed more light on the race for that top prize.
Your Watercooler Moment. Number One Goes Down. (Wheelchair, Ahoy!)
The hyperbolic reviews surrounding Duke’s sterling nonconference performance were completely warranted. The Blue Devils navigated a minefield of ranked opponents, including three top five teams in a two- week span, and the conquest of an absolutely loaded Battle 4 Atlantis Field. Few teams have ever pieced together a November and December stretch with so many quality wins against so many good teams – wins that, in regard to Minnesota, VCU, Temple, Clemson and Santa Clara, are looking better and better by the week. The totality of accomplishment is almost immeasurable. The Blue Devils were thrust atop the polls and praised for their offensive efficiency. Mason Plumlee seized the early lead in the National Player Of The Year race. Seth Curry’s toughness (he has battled chronic leg pain all season) and resolve was eulogized. The outpouring of national praise almost made it feel like Duke was the only real team that mattered in the ACC. UNC had fallen off the map. NC State got tabbed with the “overrated” tag. Florida State was a sinking ship. What many seemed to conveniently forget was that the Wolfpack – the same team that (gasp!) lost to Oklahoma State on a neutral floor and at Michigan, causing large swaths of college hoops fans to write them off as a specious product of the preseason hype machine – were selected by the coaches and media in separate preseason polls to win the league outright. Those two early-season losses threw everyone off the Wolfpack bandwagon, which, come to think of it, might just be the best thing that ever happened to NC State’s season. While the nation fawned over Duke’s top-50 RPI wins and Plumlee’s double-doubles and Rasheed Sulaimon’s youthful verve, the Wolfpack were slowly, surely, methodically rounding into form. When the opportunity presented itself Saturday, as a Ryan Kelly-less Blue Devils team strolled into Raleigh, the Wolfpack did what every coach and media member predicted they’d do before the season began. They took care of the gaudy Blue Devils, and afterward, in the midst of a delirious post-game court-storming, the Wolfpack reveled in the culmination of their roller coaster season.
Also Worth Chatting About. Take Your Pick: Indiana or Michigan.
The Hoosiers’ offense didn’t miss a step in Saturday’s home win over Minnesota (Photo credit: AP Photo).
It required less than two weeks for conference competition to slay college basketball’s remaining unbeaten teams. Michigan had looked flawless in its first two Big Ten games, blowout wins over Northwestern and Iowa, generating all kinds of national championship hype along the way (the home win over Nebraska wasn’t as pretty, but it didn’t discredit the Wolverines’ glowing stature). Ohio State, meanwhile, exposed real flaws in a 19-point blowout loss at Purdue earlier in the week. Their faint hopes of pulling an upset at home against Michigan were, well, exactly that: faint. Michigan’s seeming invincibility, Ohio State’s disproportionate offense – any discussion of the Buckeyes invariably panned to a common concern over a lack of complementary scorers to supplement DeShaun Thomas – and the matchup advantages that implied, conveniently glossed over the fact that the Big Ten is a ruthless, rugged, unforgiving road, particularly when rivalries are involved. Ohio State’s victory proved, if nothing else, that the most extreme evaluations of each team to date – that Michigan is the best team in the country, and Ohio State a middle-pack-to-lower-tier Big Ten outfit – were a bit ambitious on both ends. In fact, the former trope may have been discredited before Michigan even took the floor Sunday, because Indiana, in its first real test since losing to Butler in early December, reminded everyone why the national consensus settled so firmly on the Hoosiers as the preseason number one team in the country. The final score at Assembly Hall Saturday will skew the reality of Indiana’s home toppling of Minnesota. The first half showcased an overwhelming offensive onslaught, fueled by rapid ball movement, aggressive and attentive defensive work, can’t-miss shooting aggressive and a booming home crowd. It was the epitome of Indiana’s basketball potential, bottled up into a 20-minute segment, unleashed on one of the nation’s best and most physical teams (Minnesota). An informal poll measuring the Big Ten’s best team following this weekend would favor Indiana, but I’m not so sure we can make that assumption based off two critical games. The conference season is a long and enduring grind. We’ll gather more evidence and draw that distinction later this winter. Deal?
Seven Sweet Scoops is the newest and hottest column by Chad Lykins, the RTC recruiting analyst. Every Friday he will discuss the seven top stories from the week in the wide world of recruiting, involving offers, which prospect visited where, recent updates regarding school lists, and more chatter from the recruiting scene. You can also check out more of his work at RTC with his weekly column “Who’s Got Next?”, as well as his work dedicated solely to Duke Basketball at Duke Hoop Blog. You can also follow Chad at his Twitter account @CLykinsBlog for up-to-date breaking news from the high school and college hoops scene.
1. Aaron Gordon Talks Recruitment. On Thursday night of this week in a dimly lit gymnasium in San Francisco, RTC caught up with Archbiship Mitty (San Jose, California) senior forward Aaron Gordon. The 6’8″ athletic freak tweaked his knee early in the game which may have affected his overall production, but he still ended up with 19 points and 23 rebounds in leading his team to a late victory, including a scintillating windmill dunk to finish off the game. Afterward, Gordon, the No. 7 player in the class of 2013 according to ESPN.com, spoke of the attributes he likes about each of his three finalists: Arizona (shooters and coaching), Kentucky (all business), and Washington (offense). Take heart, Wildcat fans, he started and ended his answer with Big Blue Nation, and even with a potential logjam looming in the UK frontcourt, it’s apparent that the John Calipari recruiting express shows no signs of slowing down. As Gordon’s excitement was palpable, Kentucky is without question the cool kid on the recruiting playground right now.
2. Kentucky Receiving Visit From Tyus Jones. Last month, Kentucky head coach John Calipari made two separate trips to “The North Star State” of Minnesota within a week’s time to visit the nation’s top point guard, Tyus Jones. This weekend, the No. 1 overall ranked junior out of Apple Valley High School (Minnesota) will return the favor as he will take an unofficial visit to Lexington for the Wildcats’ home tilt against Texas A&M. Jones lists Kentucky in his final eight schools along with Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio State. Most recently, he visited Minnesota last week for its game against Michigan State and made two unofficial visits in October to Duke and North Carolina. Jones sat out for Apple Valley during their game on Thursday, as he has been suffering from back spasms throughout his junior season. Read the rest of this entry »
Road teams won in each of the four Big East games last night, although Seton Hall and Providence gave ranked Louisville and Syracuse competitive tests, respectively. Elsewhere, Rutgers won a 58-56 nailbiter over St. John’s in Madison Square Garden. Suddenly, the Scarlet Knights –– whom we picked dead last in the league this year –– have won seven of eight games, are 2-1 in the Big East, and have added an elusive road win to a resume that already includes a victory over a ranked Pittsburgh squad. The back-to-back conference wins might not mean much in the long run, but for a program that’s often struggled to string together any momentum, it’s a big cause for celebration.
The smoke has cleared from Georgetown’s worst home loss since the Nixon administration, and Rob Dauster at College Basketball Talk says the Hoyas’ offensive frustrations are seeping into their defensive effort. As if it wasn’t obvious, this team isn’t equipped to score a bunch of points: “Georgetown does not have the talent to get baskets outside of their system. Factor in that they don’t have the ideal personnel for their system, and this is the result.” But if the Hoyas let their shooting struggles sap their defensive intensity, this won’t be the last blowout they suffer in the Big East. Given the athleticism and lanky dimensions of their starting five, Dauster suggests Georgetown needs to be producing more opportunistic points off of turnovers and steals.
Pete Thamel reported that representatives from the Catholic Seven and FOX met yesterday to discuss a possible television contract. Previous estimates projected a deal that could net each school $3 million annually, substantially more than the Big East was likely to fetch in its media rights negotiations. Interestingly, Thamel’s report mentions that FOX hopes to make the league’s basketball product the centerpiece of its next sports network, which it hopes to roll out this fall. If the Catholic Seven agrees in principle to a deal with the network, you can bet that their new TV partners will do everything in its power to get those schools out of the Big East before the 2013-14 season. Postscript: Weeks ago, I argued the reconstituted Big East (or, Zombie Big East as it shall henceforth be christened) should add VCU before the Catholic Seven offered. Looks like enthusiasm for the Rams within the C7 is indeed picking up steam, cultural differences notwithstanding. Oh well.
Bearcats Blogbroke down 10 plays Notre Dame ran against Cincinnati on Monday and sought some answers in their snapshots. What stuck out? Bad defensive rotations, missed assignments, and post-switch mismatches that Eric Atkins and Jerian Grant exploited with ease. It’s as much a tribute to Notre Dame’s flawless offensive execution as it is an indictment of Bearcats’ mistakes. But it’s a very interesting read, and you can bet Mick Cronin’s team is being shown tape of many of these plays this week.
Speaking of that efficient Notre Dame offense, the Irish have three ball-handlers with assist-to-turnover ratios above 2.0, which is an impressive testament to the “culture of passing” Mike Brey has cultivated with this team. Eric Atkins (109 assists, 28 turnovers; 3.9 ratio), Pat Connaughton (42 A, 11 TO; 3.8) and Jerian Grant (79 A, 35 TO; 2.3) form a triumvirate of absurdly well-measured passers. Brey intimated to Chicago Tribune reporter Brian Hamilton that keeping his rotation small allows his players to play looser: “There is great trust, because it’s not like there are 10 guys playing. Guys know they’re going to be out there, they’re more comfortable to (share the ball) because know they’ll be out there a while.”
So that whole thing about the ‘Catholic Seven‘ breaking away from the Big East? That’s looking like an even better decision than we initially thought. According to ESPN.com‘s Darren Rovell, the seven schools have an offer from FOX, which is looking to launch its own sports channel next summer, for 12 years and $500 million. According to the report, the schools would look to bring in three to five additional members who would receive lesser shares, and the seven schools would each make around $5 million per year. In the current Big East, non-football members now make between $2-$3 million per season. These schools may not have powerful football programs, but Georgetown, St. John’s, Villanova, and the others still hold some weight in the basketball world, as FOX’s reported offer shows.
Meanwhile, Big East commissioner Mike Aresco is having a rough go of things. In a Hartford Courant article, he compares the last six weeks to “drinking from a flood”. That time period includes the departures of Louisville and Rutgers, the news that Boise State would remain in the Mountain West, and the announcement that the ‘Catholic Seven’ would breaking away from the Big East. Unfortunately for Aresco, it is really less of a flood and more of a drought in terms of viable programs remaining in his conference. San Diego State, which was planning to join as a football-only member, may now turn its back on the conference with Boise gone, and there seems to be real questions as to whether Navy ever ends up joining for football either. To wrap this all up, there does not seem to be many other qualified programs in the east, and schools like Cincinnati, UConn, and USF will jump ship as soon as another viable conference comes calling.
CBS Sports‘ basketball guru Gary Parrish recently penned his mid-season review for the Big East, and everything seemed to line up until his pick for ‘freshman of the year favorite’. Parrish chose Pitt’s Steven Adams as his selection, a players who is having a decent year, and he mentions Villanova’s Ryan Arcidiacono as another candidate, but as Pitt blog Cardiac Hill notes, by far the best choice for this award is St. John’s forward Jakarr Sampson. Sampson is averaging 13.9 points and seven rebounds per game to Adams’ 7.3/6.2 numbers, and has definitely been the conference’s most impressive rookie so far.
Speaking of the Johnnies, they got what may end up being a signature win against Cincinnati on Saturday. Sampson had a solid night, scoring 16 points and grabbing eight boards, but in crunch time Steve Lavin gave the ball to D’Angelo Harrison. Harrison was having an off night for the Red Storm, but came through in the clutch regardless, scoring the final five points in a 53-52 win over the Bearcats. Harrison was benched by Lavin earlier this season when he wasn’t living up to his potential as a team leader and role model… and it certainly seems like his disciplinary tactics are now paying off.
Brandon Triche has always been somewhat of an enigma to Syracuse fans. He is a four-year starter, and his statistical lines read like those of a consistently good-but-not-great player. However, many people, including Jim Boeheim, envisioned more from Triche, and it seems like the senior guard may be breaking out at the right time for the Orange. In the first two Big East games of the season, Triche has scored a total of 45 points on 16-of-24 shooting, and has taken some of the play-making pressure off of point guard Michael Carter-Williams. Syracuse does not have great depth at guard, especially when freshman Trevor Cooney struggles to score, so Triche’s ability to provide consistent scoring and spell MCW by running the point has proven to be invaluable this season.
Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.
The Weekend’s Lede. This weekend brought a comforting turn in the hoops calendar. It was the first weekend spent in the throes of conference play. On Saturday, starting at 11am ET with Pittsburgh at Rutgers and on through Sunday night, high-quality games could be found on various networks. There were upsets, blowouts, and predictable results – all of which we’ve seen at different stages this season. But there’s a different vibe when it comes to conference play, to me at least, and it was refreshing to take it all in. Gone are the days of high majors beating down cupcakes. Most conference games are real, competitive, no-sleep-walking-allowed basketball games. And they’re here to stay, at least until April. This put me in an especially rosy mood, which is a good sign for what lies ahead in 2013, and an even better sign for college basketball in general. League competition is already shaking perceptions and standings in noticeable ways, and we haven’t even yet broken free of the college football fever. Just wait until February; I can hardly hide my excitement. So let’s recap the first conference weekend. It was a good one.
Your Watercooler Moment. CJ McCollum Breaks His Foot.
After bursting on the scene during last season’s upset over No. 2 Duke, McCollum could very well have seen his last sample of NCAA Tournament basketball (Photo credit: AP).
Twice this season C.J. McCollum has left NBA Scouts looking for refunds on game tickets. The first time was a minor medical ailment. McCollum sprained his ankle and couldn’t suit up for a Dec. 20 game against North Texas. Saturday’s injury was far more severe. What’s truly saddening about McCollum’s broken foot isn’t the lengthy eight-to-ten-week recovery or the implications for his NBA draft status. It’s the fact that McCollum made the move most college basketball fans wish future first-round picks would make more often. McCollum eschewed guaranteed millions to play out his eligibility. In April, he penned a reflective piece explaining his decision. The SportingNews’ Mike DeCourcy dug up one of McCollum’s pivotal justifications: “By returning for my senior year, I give myself a chance to complete my degree at a prestigious university, while putting myself in a position to be successful no matter what happens in my future.” McCollum will still accomplish those goals, but the basketball component of his senior year won’t go as planned. Passing up the professional game for another year in college is always risky business. Many players wind up hurting their “draft stock” and regretting their decisions. McCollum should be back before the end of the season, and I have little doubt he can redeem whatever shine he may lose during his recovery, whether that be in the midst of a late-season Tournament surge or in draft workouts. McCollum is a preternaturally gifted scorer. He belongs in the NBA. This will do little, if anything, to hurt his draft prospects – provided he returns to his pre-injury form. It’s a tough setback, but nothing McCollum, a determined, clear-headed and driven individual, cannot overcome.
Also Worth Chatting About. Nothing Will Come Easy In The Big Ten.
The Illini didn’t need hot three-point shooting to dominate Ohio State in Champaign (Photo Credit: Getty Images).
The formula to Illinois’ early success was flawed. It depended heavily on the three-point shot, which is an inherently risky way to win basketball games, but even more perilous when you don’t have a reliable source of interior scoring. Which Illinois didn’t…..until Saturday. The Illini’s win over Ohio State wasn’t surprising. It was the way Illinois bombarded the Buckeyes not with long-range shots, but with effective low post play. Sophomore forward Nnanna Egwu was slowly, surely coming around of late, but he came up small in this week’s loss at Purdue, and one was starting to get the sense he was still a year or two away from contributing in meaningful ways. On Saturday, he showed up, and boy, does Ohio State wish he hadn’t. Egwu finished with 16 points and eight rebounds to bail out Illinois’ again poor three-point shooting (8-for-27). Illinois showed it doesn’t need the long-ball to knock off good teams – at least not when Egwu’s holding fort in the paint. The same problems remain with Ohio State: Can anyone help DeShaun Thomas shoulder the scoring load? Is Aaron Craft that guy? Will Shannon Scott, Laquinton Ross and Sam Thompson pick up steam as the season rolls along? This will give John Groce’s team boatloads of confidence for an upcoming home date with Minnesota, but the way the Gophers have looked thus far, it may need to recapture its hot three-point shooting stroke to spring the upset.
Joe Dzuback is an RTC correspondent who maintains the blog Villanova by the Numbers and tweets at @vbtnblog. He filed this report after Villanova’s opening Big East Conference game at the Pavilion on Wednesday night.
A Catholic 7 Preview?
A very young St. John’s (9-4, 0-1) team took an inexperienced Villanova (10-4, 1-0) squad to overtime before falling 98-86 in overtime at the Pavilion on Villanova’s campus Wednesday night. Having committed the foul on D’Angelo Harrison that allowed the Red Storm sophomore to sink the two free throws that tied the game at 83 and sent it into overtime, Villanova sophomore Darrun Hilliard made amends.
Arcidiacono’s crossover so frustrated St. John’s Jamal Branch (0) that the Texas A&M transfer threw a high elbow near the end of the first half that drew a flagrant (RTC staff)
Two minutes into the overtime period, with the score still knotted at 83 and both teams misfiring from the field, the 6’6” wing sank two free throws, then picked Red Storm guard Harrison’s pocket and scored a layup to secure an 87-83 lead that the Wildcats would not relinquish. The Big East opening game for both squads became a showcase for two outstanding individual performances. St. John’s Harrison scored 36 points on 11-of-21 (6-of-12 three-pointers) shooting from the field and 8-of-11 from the line while Villanova’s freshman guard Ryan Arcidiacono countered with 32 points on 7-of-15 (7-of-13 from beyond the arc) shooting from the field and 11-13 from the line. “Harrison [D’Angelo Harrison] was incredible, he scores 36 points,” lamented Villanova coach Jay Wright in Villanova’s postgame press conference. “About three minutes of 45 minutes we did a really good job on him, but the rest of the game he was just too much.”
With last weekend’s announcement that the seven Catholic schools (DePaul, Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Providence) voted unanimously to leave the Big East, conference realignment is still going strong. The good news for ACC fans is it doesn’t look like the change will directly impact the conference. Cincinnati and Connecticut would still love to join the ACC, but time isn’t of the essence for that unless the Big Ten gets antsy again.
Big East Commissioner Mike Aresco couldn’t negotiate a TV contract big enough to keep the Catholic schools satisfied. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
However, the news will still have major ramifications going forward. First, the old Big East is dead. It was probably dead when Syracuse and Pittsburgh jumped ship, but now it’s truly an empty name describing a group of financially-connected schools. The paradigmatic schools are gone — save Connecticut — and they’re taking their basketball history with them. But the news isn’t all bad for college hoops fans. According to the New Jersey Star Ledger‘s Brendan Prunty, the schools are looking to start a new conference focused on basketball (related, this is the best recap of how and why the Catholic schools left, so read it). Right now they’re aiming for 12 schools, potentially including Gonzaga, Xavier and/or Butler. The conference would be financed largely by NCAA Tournament bid money instead of football money. If the concept works (i.e., the schools are consistently successful enough to financially sustain high level athletics), it would be revolutionary. But before looking too deeply into the concept, it’s important to understand the current landscape of realignment.
