1. Michigan senior guard Spike Albrecht, the star of the first half of the 2013 national title game, announced on Friday that he was ending his basketball career early due to an ongoing hip injury. Unlike Grayson Allen, who used his national championship game to catapult him into the national spotlight, Albrecht had a solid albeit unspectacular career at Michigan (to be fair, Allen was much more highly recruited than Albrecht). Albrecht, who earned co-MVP honors last season, will be most remembered for his performance in that game against Louisville where he filled in for Trey Burke, who had to sit much of the first half because of foul trouble. Albrecht also gained some notoriety for his attempt to parlay his fame into a date (or at least a response) from Sports Illustrated swimsuit model (and Michigan fan) Kate Upton. Unfortunately for Spike that does not appear to have worked out for him, but we wish him the best of luck in his recovery and whatever path he decides to pursue next.
2. When we heard that Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford had been kicked out of his son’s high school basketball game we assumed it was an example of a coach trying to get away with his typical insolent behavior. However, that does not appear to be the case as multiple witnesses at the game said that Ford did not appear to be out of line and that the official overreacted. Now we wouldn’t put it past a coach or an athletic department to plant anonymous sources to defend a coach, but we also wouldn’t be shocked to hear that an official let the “power” get to his head. In any event, we suspect that Ford will be keeping a very low profile at games going forward.
3. It seems like every year something triggers a group of journalists to wage war against the idea of students rushing the court. This year, the trigger appears to be Randy Peterson, a journalist at the Iowa-Iowa State game, who suffered a compound fracture when students rushed the court. Even Peterson’s admission that he tripped did not stop the journalists from piling on and trying to make it the biggest issue in all of sports. Some people might find this amusing given our site’s name, but we don’t feel as strongly about the topic as many others do. We don’t have a problem if you don’t want students to celebrate a big victory with their team on the court, but don’t make up some story to support your view. In terms of the actual practice, we have commented on the topic before (and had our words completely twisted by a national publication that said the exact opposite of what we told them) so we will just leave you with Kenny Ocker’s thoughts on the practice and the reaction to the push to ban it.
4. We figured that with Michael Olawakandi out of the NBA since 2007 we would not hear much about the basketball program at Pacific (other than when Bob Thomason retired), but potential NCAA sanctions can change that. The school has suspended head coach Ron Verlin and an assistant while the the NCAA investigates the school for academic misconduct. The investigation reportedly centers around Joe Ford, a former assistant, who helped student stay eligible through online courses and provided them with impermissible benefits. Ford left the school for Idaho, but resigned from that position when these reports surfaced.
5. With all the attention that Taylor University gets for its annual “Silent Night” we are surprised that more schools don’t do something similar. This year was no different as the school got plenty of attention including from ESPN where they were featured on SportsCenter. For those of you who aren’t familiar, the students, who are just about to start finals week, dress up in their pajamas or various outfits and remain silent until the team scores its 10th point and then they essentially go crazy. It’s a neat ritual and we wish other schools would find their own unique way to engage the students more to make college basketball more an integral part of the college experience even if only for one night a year.

1. When we hear about Allan Chaney‘s latest setback (a misfiring defibrillator) we hoped that it would be a minor issue, but unfortunately it appears this latest setback led Chaney to announce his retirement. It is an unfortunate end to Chaney’s career given all that he has battled back through (viral myocarditis before being denied medical clearance by Virginia Tech then going to High Point where he was allowed to play) before collapsing on November 24 in a game against Wofford when he defibrillator misfired. We have no idea how much the respective parties — Chaney, his family, and the school — played in him making his final decision, but we wish him the best of luck in his post-basketball life.
2. We typically do not go for gimmicks, but every year that we fall for Taylor University‘s Silent Night and this year’s edition was no different. For those of you who are not familiar with the tradition, it is held the Friday before fall semester finals week begins. The students at the school remain completely silent until the team scores its tenth point at which point all sorts of craziness happens. To some it may be a little over the top to some, but we will never criticize people showing their enthusiasm for basketball especially when it is done in a constructive way.
3. With the way that Oregon has been playing so far this season they are going to start to get national recognition. And things could get even better with the new additions to the roster that could make them even more dangerous. In addition to sophomores Dominic Artis and Ben Carter who only have one more game remaining in their nine game suspensions for selling school-supplied shoes, the Ducks may also be adding 4-star power forward Jordan Bell who qualified academically and can start practicing immediately, but might redshirt. Regardless of whether Bell plays this year, the Ducks appear to be one of the top teams in the country and might end up as Arizona’s biggest threat in the Pac-12.
4. It was a rough week for Stanford and senior guard Aaron Bright. Last week, Bright dislocated his right shoulder during practice and will require season-ending  surgery. That brings the Cardinal body count to three (players out for the year with season-ending injuries). To add insult to injury it appears Bright, who is taking a medical redshirt year to preserve his eligibility, may have to transfer as Stanford’s roster for the 2014-15 season would already be full. Even though we understand it is a numbers game at some level we have a hard time believing that the Stanford staff would not be able to find a way to keep Bright on the team next year.
5. Heading into an important perception-building home game against Kansas tomorrow night, Billy Donovan appears to finally be turning the corner on getting his roster settled for this season. First, point guard Scottie Wilbekin is due back from the ankle injury he suffered in last week’s loss at Connecticut, offering the Gators some stability at a position that has been nothing short of a headache all season long. Next, according to Gator Country on Sunday, Damontre Harris and the program have officially parted ways. The South Carolina transfer had not suited up at all this season as he tried to fulfill obligations related to his suspension during the offseason, but it appears that he was unable to meet those expectations. The final piece of the puzzle concerns the eligibility of star freshman Chris Walker, who is expected to start practicing with the team as soon as final exams are over next week. With all the players shuffling in and out of the Florida lineup (and roster), we’re sure Donovan will be pleased to see some stability in that regard so he can focus on improving the team he actually has this season.

Jesse Baumgartner is an RTC contributor.  In this piece he’ll spend each week reviewing the five things he loved and hated about the previous week of college basketball.

The Five Things I Loved This Week

I LOVED…..SILENT NIGHT!! Come on, what’s not to love about this hilarious marketing scheme where the entire crowd at Taylor University stays silent until 10 points have been scored. Palm Sunday anyone?

Creative Fans For the Win, Alex...

I LOVED…..an honest coach. This week it was Arizona’s Sean Miller, who said his Wildcats were nothing more than “frightened” kittens against the big, bad Jimmer Fredette in BYU’s rout over UA. On a similar free-flowing note, Craig Robinson of Oregon State sounded off on what he doesn’t like about the college game. Here’s to coaches who tell it like it is.

I LOVED…..that the incredible winning streak of the UConn women has us talking about John Wooden’s UCLA teams. Say what you will about how the two dynasties compare (no comment), but I soak up every bit of Bruins history I can when the mainstream media starts talking Alcindor and Walton. We’ll never see anything like it again.

I LOVED…..the worldwide effort to save Kyrie Irving’s toe. Not everyone loves the Cameron Crazies, but that’s pretty humorous.

I LOVED…..the shockers. Not that we expect anything less from our beloved college basketball, but no one saw Tennessee losing two games to mid-majors – the second to a team that had just kicked off its leading scorer. And then a downtrodden Gonzaga goes to Texas and beats a Baylor team we were just starting to hype. As usual, no logic needed.

The Five Things I Hated This Week

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