1. It’s finally here. After having to write about academic scandals and other peripheral stories as we  tried to fill up this space with whatever news we could find for the past 7+ months we finally have real college basketball games to talk about again. While today’s slate may lack the blockbusters we will have in Indianapolis we have next Tuesday, but we might enjoy today even more. If that isn’t the case, you should find more than enough to keep you entertained until we get into the big-time match-ups.
2. You won’t be seeing two of the bigger names in college basketball due to recently announced suspensions. Southern Methodist senior forward Markus Kennedy, 12.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game last season, has been ruled academically ineligible and will have to sit out the first semester meaning that he will not be available until after classes finish on December 17. While the school could try to work around the decision and play him that night against Illinois-Chicago we suspect that he would be out until December 20 when they play Michigan. Connecticut will have to wait one more game before transfer guard Rodney Purvis will be able to play for them as the NCAA ruled that he will have to miss one game because he participated in more than one summer league game. Purvis is the third significant player who will have to miss at least one regular season game to start the season because of this rule (Duje Dukan and Michael Cobbins being the others).
3. You can file this under “New season, same story.” As we mentioned earlier this week we have just entered the early signing period. Most of the major prospects haven’t committed yet, but two of the bigger ones did yesterday and much like in previous years the hot names–Isaiah Briscoe and Skal Labisserie—committed to Kentucky. The two five-star prospects are both borderline top 10 recruits overall in their class and give the Wildcats stars at two of the hardest positions to fill in any recruiting class (Briscoe at point guard and Labisserie at center). This doesn’t necessarily mean that John Calipari is going to clean up on the recruiting trail again, but it looks like things are going to stay the same.
4. Speaking of Labisserie, on Wednesday his AAU coach told CBS Sports that Labisserie’s handler guardian had approached him looking for ways to profit off of Labisserie. Now we take anything an AAU coach says with a grain of salt because as a group they don’t have the most sterling reputations. This isn’t to say that he is lying and even if he isn’t lying simply asking about how to profit (from an intellectual perspective) wouldn’t break any rules that we are aware of. Still you can be sure that the Kentucky haters will be latching onto this storyline (and Labisserie’s interesting senior year situation) up until the day that the NCAA makes a decision about his eligibility.
5. Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall is expected to meet with the NCAA on Tuesday to discuss its investigation into his time at Southern Mississippi. As we have previously mentioned in this space the NCAA is looking into possible financial aid packages that were offered to players before they actually were allowed to receive scholarships. According to Jeff Goodman, the players in question are Matt Bingaya and Shadell Millinghaus. For its part, Tennessee claims that it very thoroughly vetted Tyndall before hiring him and for their sake we can only hope it was thorough enough. Its unclear what kind of timeline the NCAA is planning on working with, but we imagine that all parties involved would want a resolution as soon as possible.

Playing in the SEC means facing off against some of the most talented freshmen in the country, week in and week out. While Kentucky rightfully gets most of the credit for bringing in a cache of five-star prospects every season, the rest of the conference has produced plenty of gems of their own. Last season, players like Vanderbilt’s Damian Jones, South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell and LSU’s Jordan Mickey all broke on to the scene and made themselves potential first round NBA Draft picks. So who will be next?

Today, we’ll break down the first-year players who are primed to have the biggest impact for their teams in 2014-15. We’ll start with the side of the conference formerly known as the SEC East.

Georgia: Yante Maten. Maten, a 6’8″, 240-lb power forward, impressed in Georgia’s closer-than-expected exhibition win over Georgia Southwestern last week. He posted a 12/10/4 pts/reb/ast line and added a pair of blocks while playing the most minutes of anyone on the roster. He’s strong in the paint and has shown capable of passing from the low blocks when called upon, but he’s not the kind of shooter that will stretch the floor or pull defenders away from the basket. If Nemanja Djurisic stays at power forward all season (rather than sliding over to the three), he seems destined for a primary role off the bench this winter. Even in that capacity, he’ll have plenty of time to prep himself for a potential starting role in 2015-16.

Yante Maten Was Impressive in Georgia’s Exhibition Game Last Week

Florida: Devin Robinson. Robinson had a disappointing unofficial start to his Gators tenure in the team’s exhibition win over Barry last week. The five-star freshman made just two of his 10 shots and picked up four fouls in 17 minutes of action. Even so, big things are expected from the small forward from Virginia. Robinson has the speed and athleticism to guard three positions and the shooting range to create match-up nightmares for opposing wings. He’ll have to prove that the Barry performance was just a case of the nerves catching up to him, but he’ll have several opportunities to find playing time on a team that must replace four seniors from last year’s squad.

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1. Ole Miss will be without Aaron Jones to start the season, as the senior forward was suspended last week for a violation of team rules. He missed the Rebels’ exhibition win against Delta State on Friday and will also miss the first two regular season games against Charleston Southern and Troy. Andy Kennedy figures to weather life without Jones by giving more minutes to Sebastian Saiz (who had 14 rebounds in Friday’s exhibition win), M.J. Rhett and Dwight Coleby. Coleby playing increased minutes could be a silver lining in terms of his development, since he only played 10 minutes per game as a freshman last year. The Rebels are also relatively deep at the guard positions, and Kennedy could use four-guard lineups at times to cover Jones’ absence.
2. It wouldn’t be a preseason M5 without a list from CBSSports.com’s Matt Norlander. This time Norlander looks at 10 coaches who are on the hot seat entering the season, and he includes Alabama’s Anthony Grant and Tennessee’s Donnie Tyndall (a last minute addition) from the SEC. Last year’s 13-19 campaign in Trevor Releford’s final season was certainly disappointing, but Grant has built a solid but underappreciated program at Alabama with at least 21 wins in three of his five seasons in Tuscaloosa. At the end of the day, it depends on how the Alabama administration views its basketball program. Even without a trip to the NCAA Tournament this season, 91 wins, one NCAA Tournament invitation and two NIT invitations in five years may be enough to buy Grant another year if his young roster shows potential. But he is no doubt walking a fine line at Alabama.
3. Platoons, platoons, platoons. You just can’t avoid talk of platoons, especially not on the SEC microsite. First-year Kentucky assistant Barry Rohrssen talked about whether the platoon system will be a one-year thing or become a program staple at a press conference last week. “Well, you don’t exactly know it’s going to be limited,” Rohrssen said. “That’s to unfold next season.” This comment was in response to a question about the risk of recruits being turned away by the limited minutes they would get in a platoon system. It says here that Coach Cal will get players no matter what system he runs or who figures to be on the roster. Thus far elite recruits have not been scared away by a clogged roster in Lexington, and that doesn’t figure to change as long as Wildcats keep getting drafted.
4. The Dallas Morning News obtained details of Billy Kennedy’s two-year contract extension that was announced in September, and they appear “mostly cosmetic,” according to the newspaper. Extending the contract of a coach who is 50-49 with no NIT or NCAA invitations in three years seems curious, but the recruiting class Kennedy has put together for next season furthers the case for patience. Still, Texas A&M has enough talent to emerge from the middle-of-the-pack in the SEC this season, and there is nothing like on-court success to validate a contract extension.
5. Several Tennessee players told Ben Frederickson of GoVolsXtra that the NCAA infraction rumors swirling around Donnie Tyndall are not a distraction. “We are just trying to move forward,” JuCo transfer Kevin Punter told Frederickson. “We have a whole bunch of other things to be worrying about.” One of those things is the Vols’ season opener against VCU on Friday in Annapolis. The Rams are easily the most difficult opponent an SEC team will face to open the season, and it’s asking a tall task to prepare for the HAVOC even in drama-free times.

One week after Tennessee landed a top 100 recruit in four-star small forward Chris Clarke, he abruptly changed directions and committed to Virginia Tech. A 6’5” senior from Virginia Beach, the senior had previously chosen the Vols over the Hokies, UConn and Creighton. Whether Clarke changed his mind sincerely or just got nervous about the latest rumblings about Donnie Tyndall’s future is up for debate. What’s not up for debate is what a perfect fit Clarke is for the Hokies. The No. 71 ranked recruit is known for his motor and tenacity. He attacks the basket with a purpose and is pressures the ball all over the court, which are trademarks of Buzz Williams’ coaching style. The Virginia Tech football team built its program on elite talent from the “757” area code, and now Buzz is dipping into the talented area in his new home state as well.

2. Dozier Ready For A Decision

Four-star combo guard Perry Dozier is getting ready to make his decision. The No. 33 ranked prospect in the Class of 2015 took his five official visits this fall to Michigan, North Carolina, Georgetown, South Carolina and Louisville. His last visit wrapped up a week ago as he watched Louisville in an exhibition game, and he has spent this week listening to final pitches. A Columbia, South Carolina, native, the 6’5” Dozier missed his entire junior season due to an ACL tear, but before the injury he had offers from both Carolinas and Georgetown. Once he was completely healed by pring, Dozier’s stock exploded on the AAU circuit. With a two-inch growth spurt plus some additional upper body strength, schools such as Michigan and Louisville came calling. Despite his height, Dozier wants to play the point at the college level and is looking at teams’ depth charts to see how he fits in. Some reports suggested that Dozier had narrowed his list to three schools, but his father recently said, “We don’t know what he wants to do yet.”

3. Zimmerman Explores Arizona

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1. We have been focusing quite a bit on the academic scandals at North Carolina and Syracuse quite a bit recently, but the one that is reported to to have occurred at Southern Mississippi might lead to more immediate repercussions. According to Jason King, current Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall is alleged to have used a scheme where “Prop 48” recruits were reimbursed for tuition, living expenses, and other fees prior to qualifying for scholarships. At issue is the way these recruits were reimbursed. As Gary Parrish points out it would be relatively easy for a program to pull something similar off, but it would require more subtlety. While potential NCAA sanctions against Southern Mississippi are obviously a concern, we are almost more interested in what will happen at Tennessee where they hired Tyndall in the wake of Cuonzo Martin’s departure and are still in the shadow of Bruce Pearl’s NCAA violations. We wouldn’t put it on the level of Rutgers’ inability to vet candidates, but it might not be that far off.
2. If you are a regular reader of the Morning Five, you are already somewhat familiar with our opinion of the graduate transfer waiver. The rule essentially allows a player who completes an undergraduate degree with eligibility remaining to transfer to another institution without having to sit out a year as long as they are enrolling in a graduate degree program that is not available at their previous school. The NCAA decided to look into how often those individuals actually complete the degree and the numbers are not pretty. Of the graduate student transfers they were able to track between 2011 and 2012, only 32% of men’s basketball players graduated from those programs and 59% withdrew as soon as their eligibility expired. We would be interested in seeing more details on this, but these statistics add ammunition to those who question the true intent behind many of these graduate student transfers. This is not to say that the waiver should be eliminated, but that schools and coaches who claim to oppose it should probably take a better look at the apparent intents of these transfers if they want to keep talking about being educational institutions.
3. Many consider Ivy League sports archaic, but few would consider their rules as being detrimental to education. That is except in the case of Columbia forward Alex Rosenberg, who will miss the upcoming season after suffering a Jones fracture in his right foot and withdrew from school this year due to an Ivy League rule that makes it essentially impossible to get a medical redshirt. On some level we understand the theory that the student-athlete should be there for school first and staying a fifth year just to play basketball seems to be a fairly trivial thing, but in a situation like this it is actually hindering his educational experience. On the bright side, it will mean that Columbia should get Rosenberg, who was a first-team All-Ivy selection last season while averaging 16 points per game on 43 percent from 3-point range, for the full 2015-16 season rather than just part of this season at most. Given the way that the Ivy League awards its automatic bid–regular season champ–this solution might work out for the best for Columbia.
4. We can always count on the NCAA to make rulings much more complex than they need to be. Yesterday, Wisconsin put out a press release saying that forward Duje Dukan had regained a year of eligibility and would be able to play this season. As Eric Clark points out, the issue is more complex than that as Dukan was denied a medical redshirt for mononucleosis during the 2012-13 season, but played in a secret scrimmage and an exhibition game that year before shutting down for the season. Although the NCAA is giving Dukan his season back they are saying that he will have to sit out for two games this season (basically two games for every game he played that year with the secret scrimmage apparently not counting toward that total). In the end, Dukan missing games against Northern Kentucky and Chattanooga will not matter in the overall picture for Wisconsin’s season, but it does serve to highlight the absurdity of some of the NCAA’s rules.
5. With the way that everything in sports are being commercialized, we do find it a little interesting that Bill Raftery is just getting around to filing a trademark for some of his (not quite yet) trademark phrases. Raftery is applying for trademarks for the phrases “Onions” and “With a kiss” when used during a sports broadcast or on athletic apparel. Given how well Raftery is associated with those phrases it certainly makes sense for him to cash in and collect a little money for himself and his family going forward. We are a little surprised he didn’t apply for a trademark for “Send it in, Jerome”, but we guess there are not that many situations where you could use that.

The locals must call Knoxville, Tennessee “KnoxVegas” because, like its desert-bound brother, it’s a beacon of bad decision-making and snap judgments. How else could you explain the recent curse that has settled over the Tennessee Volunteers’ men’s basketball head coaching position?

New head coach Donnie Tyndall now faces an NCAA investigation into whether athletes under his watch at Southern Mississippi were given impermissible benefits. A Bleacher Report story by Jason King cited an anonymous source that alleges that basketball players were given scholarships and had certain living expenses despite not yet qualified as eligible players. The first-year coach did not address the report on this today, but he did suggest that he would cooperate fully with any NCAA investigation that follows.

Donnie Tyndall Could Be in Some Hot Water Soon

The aftermath of that investigation could mean another drastically shortened Volunteers career on the sidelines at Thompson-Boling Arena. Any tangible proof that Tyndall knowingly violated NCAA rules would add another headstone to the creamsicle-colored graveyard in East Tennessee. But Tyndall won’t be the only qualified head coach to fall victim to the KnoxVegas curse. A look at Tennessee’s recent history suggests that this team cycles through coaches as though they were leasing Acuras instead of running one of the SEC’s powerhouse programs.

Before Tyndall, there was Cuonzo Martin – now head coach of the California Golden Bears. Martin took over a team that was under investigation by the NCAA and reeling from the early departures of Tobias Harris and Scotty Hopson to finish 19-15 in 2012; the same record as the embattled, departed Bruce Pearl before him. Despite facing the recruiting handicaps that followed Pearl’s ouster, Martin built the Vols back into an NCAA Tournament team by 2014 and showed the Knoxville faithful that a little patience can go a long way in college basketball.

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Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Sean Moran, the RTC recruiting guru. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to discussing the recruitment of the top uncommitted players in the country. We also encourage you to check out his contributions at The Intentional Foul dedicated to recruiting coverage and analysis. You can also follow Sean at his Twitter account @Seanmohoops for up-to-date news from the high school and college hoops scene. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Note: Scout.com used for all player rankings.

UNLV Lands Underrated Shooting Guard

Over the weekend, UNLV landed one of the most underrated guards in the Class of 2015 in 6’4” guard Jalen Poyser. The four-star guard out of Orangeville Prep in Canada is the first recruit for the Runnin’ Rebels after signing the sixth-best recruiting class last year with five-star shooting guard Rashad Vaughn and Dwayne Morgan to go along with four-star shot-blocker in Goodluck Okonoboh.

Jalen Poyser gives UNLV yet another outstanding athlete. (scout.com)

While Poyser is not currently ranked, there is no doubt that he is a high-level talent. During the Nike Global Challenge in August, Poyser was the top player for the Canadian team, averaging a shade over 20 points per game while drawing attention from numerous NBA scouts. He is the rare type of shooting guard who is athletic enough to get a shot almost any time he wants while also looking comfortable in catch-and-shoot situations from the perimeter. Poyser has a long and quick first step that allows him to get by a defender where he can utilize his athleticism to finish in the paint. While not yet at the level of a Malik Newman, Poyser is just a slight notch below.

Despite his Canadian roots, Poyser is no stranger to Las Vegas. He previously played at local basketball powerhouse Findlay Prep before transferring back to Canada for his senior season, and he is very familiar with UNLV assistant coach Todd Simon (the former head coach of Findlay Prep). Playing time could come early for Poyser at UNLV as well, as former teammate Vaughn is the Mountain West preseason Freshman of the Year and his chances of being a one-and-done type player are relatively high.

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1. The preview train rolls on at CBSSports.com, and this time Matt Norlander gives his list of the top 20 transfers for the upcoming season, with Auburn’s Antoine Mason, Florida’s Jon Horford and Tennessee’s Dominic Woodson all making the cut. This is an interesting group because each player finds himself in a different position on his team. Mason will be heavily-relied on to score and help Bruce Pearl set a competitive tone for the Tigers in year one. Conversely, Billy Donovan isn’t looking for superstar numbers from Horford, but he’ll need him to be a complementary piece up front. Woodson, as Norlander points out, is a wildcard for Donnie Tyndall because it’s not hard to envision him either as a load on the block or a player glued to the bench for large chunks of time (more on him below). No matter the situation, each of these transfers should have an impact in the SEC this season.
2. College Basketball Talk released its preseason All-America teams and only two SEC players popped up among the three teams and group of honorable mentions: Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns (third team) and Aaron Harrison (honorable mention). I don’t think this particular lack of an SEC presence deserves an outcry, though. The article points out that Towns is extremely talented but may not get the minutes to rack up All-American numbers. That numbers crunch may also hurt the individual statistics of someone like Dakari Johnson, who at most any other school would probably be getting more preseason hype. The closest non-Wildcats to this list are probably Arkansas’ Bobby Portis and LSU’ Jordan Mickey, but even with my SEC bent I can’t make an argument for their inclusion.
3. The first Bob Cousy Award watch list, on the other hand, had plenty of SEC flavor. The annual award given to the best point guard in the country included Kentucky’s Andrew Harrison and Tyler Ulis, Texas A&M’s Alex Caruso, Florida’s Kasey Hill and Ole Miss’ Jarvis Summers on its initial list. Duke also had two entrants on the 50-man list, and I’d be interested to know if two teams have ever had multiple lead guards on the list before. All the choices make sense, though, and I can’t come up with any omissions. Caruso is a deserving selection since he led the SEC in assist rate last season (36.7 percent), even if he should get more time off-the-ball now with the addition of freshman Alex Robinson. Billy Kennedy needs to put a better offense on the floor and that means having his best players out there regardless of position.
4. If SEC commissioner Mike Slive has a doghouse for basketball coaches compiling soft non-conference schedules, there is no way Anthony Grant is in it. For the second year in a row, Alabama has one of the more challenging pre-SEC slates. Last season the Tide’s games against Oklahoma, Wichita State, Duke and UCLA fueled the 11th best strength of schedule nationally, according to KenPom. This season the Tide gets return games against Wichita State and UCLA, as well as Xavier, Iowa State and either Maryland or Arizona State. The challenge of course will be winning one of those marquee games, which would be a big stepping stone in what needs to be a bounce-back year for Grant.
5. You always have to pump the brakes before delving too far into exhibition games, but as Will Shelton at Rocky Top Talk writes, it’s hard to not pay attention at Tennessee given all the new faces vying for playing time. The Vols beat NAIA opponent Pikeville, 80-62, in their exhibition opener, and there were stats galore. One interesting tidbit is that Tyndall started the immediately-eligible Woodson (mentioned above) at center, suggesting his level of conditioning may not be as big an impediment as some thought. Another notable statistic is that Armani Moore, who is coming into his junior year with a 3.1 PPG career scoring average, led the Vols in scoring with 17 points.

Rush the Court is back with another edition of One on One: An Interview Series, which we will bring you throughout the preseason with previews of each of the major conferences.

With the college basketball season nearly upon us, we thought it would be a good idea to gather some expert opinions on the nation’s major college basketball conferences. As part of our national preview with the SEC, RTC correspondent Walker Carey (@walkerRcarey) recently had the pleasure of speaking with an SEC expert in Blue Ribbon College Yearbook editor Chris Dortch (@cdortch).

Rush the Court: How good is Kentucky and what makes it that good? The Wildcats begin the season as the overwhelming favorite to win the SEC title. Do you expect them to win both the conference title and the national title?

Chris Dortch: It would not surprise me at all if Kentucky wins both the SEC title and the national title. I think the team is so good that you can rank both its first five and its second five in the Top 25. The team has nine McDonald’s All-Americans and more talent than I can remember any team in the SEC possibly ever having. Having said that, the Wildcats do have a weakness or two. They have to prove that, other than Aaron Harrison, they have someone who can make outside shots. If they cannot do that, teams are going to try to pack it in the lane and negate their size and dribble-drive. I have said this a few times on some radio shows: If Kentucky shoots 35 percent or better from the three-point line for the season, I think the Wildcats will be undefeated going into the Final Four.

It’s Gators and Wildcats at the Top of the SEC, Again

RTC: Florida’s personnel losses are notable with Scottie Wilbekin, Patric Young, Casey Prather and Will Yeguete all moving on from Gainesville. However, Billy Donovan’s squad seems primed to have another impressive season. What is it about this year’s Gators that will make them a force to be reckoned with in the conference?

Dortch: I think Florida has some experienced personnel and some young guys who I believe are ready to step. Someone like Kasey Hill, who understudied Wilbekin last season, seems poised to take over the point guard position. I think Michael Frazier is one of the best shooters in the country and he is ready to take the next step in his development. Dorian Finney-Smith, who was eligible last season after transferring from Virginia Tech, is so versatile that he was used at the point a few times. He is going to be a guy who is going to be asked to do a lot more than he was last year. There are also a couple transfers who will help. Jon Horford comes over as a fifth-year eligible from Michigan and Alex Murphy comes over from Duke. I think those two will help fortify the team’s front line.

RTC: Arkansas is still waiting on its breakthrough campaign in the Mike Anderson era. With a talented team featuring star big man Bobby Portis, will this finally be the season that the Razorbacks find a way back to the NCAA Tournament?

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Each week, RTC columnist Judson Harten will profile some of the week’s biggest upcoming games by taking a look back at some relevant history relating to the match-ups. This is Back And Forth.

Exhibitions are a tease, really. College basketball fans wait with great anticipation for the first practices of the season, sure, but what they really want are games. Live game action… that’s what counts. Exhibitions don’t really provide the same juice. But as we wait for games that count to get started, two things are almost certain:

1. Your team is “coming along well” this season, per every team’s coach.
2. Exhibition games are all we have to go on until the season actually tips off in about 10 days.

Even the great Jim Boeheim isn’t immune to the curious upset from time to time. (Getty)

Most of the time, the games aren’t even close. The completely outmatched D-II/D-III/NAIA team that took the big paycheck to come get its whoopin’ is just a preseason sacrificial lamb for most of the elite programs. Sometimes the games are a bit closer than anticipated because it obvious that the coaching staff wants to test some new wrinkles in their game plan — strategies, lineups, etc. Rarely do these teams suffer losses, but they do pop up from time to time. This week Back And Forth takes a look at some of the few exhibition upsets in recent years, and what, if anything, they meant for the season ahead.

1. November 3, 2009: LeMoyne 82, #25 Syracuse 79

THE SKINNY: When I set out to find some of the better exhibition upsets of recent years, this was the first one that I found in the search engines and websites I checked. Christopher Johnson’s three-pointer with 8.3 seconds left pushed the Division II Dolphins past the Orange. A newly-eligible Wes Johnson – in his lone season playing for coach Jim Boeheim – finished with a game-high 34 points in the loss. Read the rest of this entry »