Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

How 'bout them Butler Bulldogs? :tu Always pull for the underdog. :D

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Especially if you're a Met fan, right Mac? :r

So, in case you missed it:

Butler 52 - Michigan State 50 = Congratulations to the Butler Bulldogs, and to the Horizon for reaching this zenith. I wish them the best of luck tonight (and I suspect they'll need some), and I hope their center Matt Howard has recovered enough from the concussion he received Saturday evening to be able to play. According to Coach Brad Stevens, he was cleared by the doctor after the shootaround, but would NOT play if there is any question as to his health and well-being. Good for coach. It may be a national championship game, but once you remove all the adjectives from that one thing is clear - it is a game. As for that game Saturday - well, meaning no disrespect to either team, but I cannot remember ever seeing an uglier Final Four contest in my entire life. You can "credit", if that's the proper word, some of that to the tight defense of both squads, and some to the fact that the zebras seemed to get involved with nearly every play to disrupt any possibility for either team to establish or maintain any sort of flow. But much of my disappointment (hey, I had no dog in the hunt, and merely wanted a good game) lay in the fact that neither team could shoot as well as your average high-school kids. Butler did play hard enough to win the game (as did the Spartans, most of the time) and their 12 steals and 7 more made FTs were the key to their victory. The Bulldogs have now attained a 25-game winning streak, with their last loss being that 10-point one at UAB just before Christmas. Can they make it 26? Well, in order to do so, they'll have to get past:

Duke 78 - West Virginia 57 = I suspect that, if you are a Mountaineer fan, you might claim that this was an ugly game also, and you'd be right - on their side of the court, that is. But at the other basket, Dook finally showed the nation that complaints about how over-rated they are are themselves over-rated. Much like WVA did against Kentucky, the Blue Devils grabbed control of the contest with the outstanding shooting which had abandoned them for much of the tournament. This, coupled with an effective defense (which, wisely, did not overplay and gamble as much as they did against Baylor, thus preventing some of those backdoor cuts and layups which hurt them in that game) led to what amounted to a fairly easy victory. And though I was as saddened as anyone to see Da'Sean Butler go down with that torn ACL at the 8:59 mark, I don't want to hear that the Mountaineers would have come back with him on the court, nor do I want to hear that it was Zoubek's fault, nor even that it should have been his 5th foul on a block instead of the charge as was called. (And remember, this is from a Tar Heel who's still p!$$ed that Gerald Henderson broke Tyler Hansborogh's nose in a game which was already over!) But most of all, I don't want to hear from Huggins again until next year at the earliest, as his complaint to the refs regarding Duke that "They don't foul!" was just silly. What game was he watching? At that point of the game, the only thing that was keeping the Mountaineers within shouting distance was the disparity of calls going AGAINST the Blue Devils. Duke ended the game 7-9 from the charity stripe, while WVA was 14-19. Yeah, right - the refs were totally calling the game Coach K's way. But that's enough of that $#!+. Congratulations to Duke, and best of luck tonight against the hometown favorites (in all but the money-line, that is). Let's see if you can quiet the crowd as quickly as did my Heels in Detroit last year.


So, what's my pick? Well, as I hinted above, the line is 7 in favor of the Blue Devils. Three possessions? Yeah, that's fair. These are two very similar teams, but Duke has the edge in talent and focus, whereas Butler may have the emotion and will have the crowd. But even if Howard can play effectively, Dook has Zoubek and the Plumlee trees down low. So, even if the shots aren't falling for Singler, Scheyer, and Smith, the offensive rebounds and second-chance buckets will be too much for the Bulldogs to overcome. Their streak ends tonight, and Duke hangs a fourth banner.

Right or wrong on that, I am right on one thing: This will be you last chance this season, so ENJOY!

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Oh, and speaking of Duke:

After nine years as coach of St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, where he amassed a 223-21 record, Dan Hurley was named the new head coach of Wagner today. And also today his father, the legendary Bob Hurley of St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, was informed he will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this summer.

As for brother Bobby Jr., I don't know if he'll show up in Indy tonight for the game. That may depend on whether or not his motorcycle gets him there in time. :D

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Lets go DUKE!!!!!!!!

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Exciting game to watch, congrats to Duke.:banger

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

From one of the great columns in Daily Tar Heel history...

"Now I realize that school spirit is a pretty goofy thing to some people, but I'll tell you something: I hate Duke with an infernal passion undying. I hate every leaf of every tree on that sickening campus. I hate every fake cherub Gothic piece of crap that litters the buildings like hemorrhoidal testaments to imagined superiority."

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Well Butler had a good run and almost pulled it out in the end!

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

OK, fine, but I don't. Shoot, I had a lot of fun on that campus back inna day, and spent many an enjoyable evening watching great rockers in Cameron.

Or at least I think I did. Sometimes it's hard to remember what was real and what was - uh, "imagined". :r

Yes indeed. :tu

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Just in case your wife made you watch "Idol" or "Dancing" or some other horse$#!+ last night:

Duke 61 - Butler 59 = Congratulations to the DUKE BLUE DEVILS for winning the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. Best wishes to the players, coaches, staff, students, alumni, fans, sycophants, and buttboys. Thank you for keeping the banner where it belongs - in the ACC and the state of North Carolina. And although said banner would look better hanging in that state-of-the-art facility a few miles east, it will certainly flutter more in that drafty old firetrap of Cameron. Just so you know, I rightfully celebrated your victory today, first by wearing my Tar Heel cap, and second by smoking a cigar sent to me by our resident Wolfpack fan Jerry (Col. Kurtz). -(P

Now as to the game itself:

Congratulations are also due to the BUTLER BULLDOGS, not only for making it into the game at all, but for doing their part to make the game about as close as it could be. Despite all their protestations to the contrary, Butler was channelling "Hoosiers" in at least one sense - they wanted one shot to win it for all the little guys who never get that chance. And they got that shot too, albeit a 45-foot prayer just before the horn, which maybe missed by a full inch of banging home. Had it done so, it would have been the single biggest shot in the NCAA final since Lorenzo Charles stuck in that layup of Derek Wittenberg's "pass" back in 1983. Although it didn't, the Bulldog faithful have no reason to feel bad today, as the entire nation (with the possible exception of Durham) views you with nothing but respect.

Now, as for Duke - well, in a nutshell, had they truly wanted to give Butler the crown in the last five minutes, they should have tried just a little bit harder. Even at that, they came razor-close to doing so regardless. On the defensive end they made the same mistakes they did against Purdue and Baylor, gambling with double-teams and traps 30 feet from the hoop. That is fine and good if your players are quick enough to recover or rotate in the help, but Dook's are not that fast. (True, Singler got that one block after he'd been beaten, but if the shooter'd taken it strong to the tin instead of stopping and faking for the short leaner the result would have been, in Kelloggic, the "hoop and harm".) But their errors on the offensive side were even more egregious. Remember, the line was 7 points, and the Devils had a 5-point bulge plus the ball several times, with Butler on its heels and Dook's offense clicking, and the opportunity to take the fight out of the Bulldogs and the crowd out of the mix. And what did they do? They took the air out of the ball instead, and thus deflated their own chances. (Yeah, I hear you snickering - "A Tar Heel's saying this?" Just wait a second.) With only a two-possession lead, and five minutes to kill, and with what you have been doing working so far, you don't do that in this shot-clock era. However, if you DO decide to do so, you run your delay offense the right way. And are you gonna tell me that Coach K did not see the likes of George Karl, Phil Ford, Kenny Smith, or Steve Hale run it often enough to know precisely how to do it? You have to spread the offense, which not only spreads the defenders but splits their attention between their assignment and the ball. Plus, you don't run it from the wing, which ameliorates both those defensive problems - you run it from the center circle. And you don't let the clock get down to single digits either, but rather go with about 12 seconds, giving yourself a chance to either pull it out and start again if it's not there the first time or to make the extra pass or two to hit the open cutter. Now, I don't know why Coach K did not have his guys do this, but were I to guess, knowing what I know of him, I'd have to surmise he'd rather risk losing the game than do anything which looks like something Dean Smith would have done. Hey, tell me if I'm wrong.

Well, all that's beside the main point, and is not meant to detract from Duke's victory. It's just my worthless opinion anyway, as has been the vast majority of this entire thread, and based solely upon my half-century of enjoying the lovely game that is college hoops at its best. This has been some work for me over the previous few months, but I have enjoyed every second of it. Yeah, I wish my boys had done better, but so it goes. I hope you too have found some enjoyment and distraction here, and I thank you for your attention and for your input also. And for those of you I cheesed off here and there, if "sorry"'s not enough for you, then :fu . I may be back from time to time if any news of interest pops up, but for the main . . . we're done here.

See you next year? Hey, you tell me!

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Definitely!!! Hopefully celebrating another Murray State tourney win!

Great, great thread, Poet. Enjoyed reading your take on the games and the game. It will be interesting to see if we end up with a format change for next year...stay tuned.

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Thanks, Joe. I don't know how Murray State will shape up for you next year, but I can tell you this: Duke has had a full day to celebrate before Rivals.com knocked them off their perch by predicting Kentucky as next year's #1 - assuming that all undeclared underclassmen remain in their respective schools. Following them, the Top Ten in order are: Ohio State, Duke, Michigan State, Butler (??? really???), Syracuse, Purdue, Georgetown, Kansas State, and Pittsburgh. If we toss out the Horizon League pick as being a product of lingering emotion rather than logic, we note that, as has become normal, this list is dominated by Big Ten and Big East teams, whereas the conference which has produced the last two National Championships is - as always - dissed. :r

To give the first, and last, nod on this thread to the distaff side, I'll report that the Lady Huskies of U. Conn won their 7th title last night by defeating Stanford. No, not by 40 points, nor even by 20, but by the "Butler-esque" score of 53-47. Those of you who are not in this local area may not know this, but Coach Geno Auriemma and Coach Jim Calhoun are NOT exactly bosom buddies. In fact, it's more like each other's name is atop the list to NOT receive a Christmas card each year. I suspect this victory, coupled with the disappointing season Jim's men had this season, won't improve their mutual relationship. :D

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Wake Forest is in the process - at this very moment - of firing head coach Dino Gaudio. He was hired in 2007 after Skip Prosser died of a heart attack, and went a more-than-respectable 61-31 in his 3 seasons there, but his 1-5 postseason record was not good enough to suit the suits at Wake. Thus it appears the Demon got the better of the Deacons in this case.

Xavier Henry has announced he will indeed become Kansas University's first "one-and-done" player, and will enter the NBA Draft. His loss to a team already losing Sherron Collins to graduation, plus junior center Cole Aldrich to the draft, means KU may not face the prospect of again being the first #1-seed in next year's NCAA Tourney to go home. Hey, if you're not a #1-seed, you can't be embarrassed in this way. :r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Evan Turner is skipping his senior year at Ohio State to enter the NBA Draft. This is one with which I have no argument. He gave the Buckeyes three great seasons, and won a shelfload of POY awards. His stock and game will get no higher in Columbus.

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Patrick Patterson, the junior forward who helped lead Kentucky back to national prominence this season with their 35-3 record, has declared himself eligible for the upcoming NBA Draft.



Oh, yeah, and freshmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, and Daniel Orton have done so also. Once again, forgive my Schadenfreude, but :r :r :r !!!


Hey, Cal . . . strike one!

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Butler coach Brad Stevens has signed a new 12-year contract through 2022 with the school, thus ending rumors he might accept millions to go to Oregon, Wake Forest, or Clemson. Financial details have yet to be released, but his total compensation this year was $750,000.

Man, did they get their money's worth!

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Bobby Gonzalez has filed suit today in a Newark federal court against Seton Hall University for his recent firing as head basketball coach. His record over four seasons was 66-59 overall, 29-45 in Big East play. He was seldom with his team other than some practices and most games, and probably had as many technical fouls as wins during his tenure there. The day before he was fired, one of his players sucker-punched an opponent during the Pirates' opening-round NIT loss, and in that same week two of his former players were arrested and charged with armed robbery.

Yeah, he's got one hell of a case. :rolleyes:

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

After previously winning both the AP and the Naismith POY awards, Evan Turner of Ohio State completed the trifecta last night by receiving the John R. Wooden Award. He is the first Buckeye to win this honor.

Congratulations to him for this well-deserved award. Not only did he have an outstanding season, he broke is back - quite literally! - for his team and university.

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

UNC sophomore forward Ed Davis has just announced he will enter the NBA Draft. Considering the number of other early entries, the way his stock dropped during the season's course, and the question regarding how his broken wrist has healed, he may be making a mistake, as he has possibly slipped from a lottery pick to a late-first/early-second round selection. But he did give Carolina nearly two good seasons, and helped them win a National Championship, plus it is his life and decision. He says he will continue to pursue his degree at Chapel Hill. Best of luck to him, in his professional, academic, and personal life.

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Well, I still don't know if Bobby's bike made it to Indy, but it did apparently make it to Staten Island. Brother Dan has hired Jr. as his assistant at Wagner. I guess that's apt, being an assistant . . . after all, Bobby's still the all-time assist leader for Dook. :D

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Oh, and speaking of assistants, Rod Strickland is trying his best to keep the "ass" first in that position. The Kentucky assistant was arrested just before 3 AM Sunday morning for DUI after running a red light in Lexington. As it is only his 4th such offense, no doubt the Wildcat faithful will forgive him. :tu

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Ahh, c'mon, he's not even close to Billy G's record yet, much less Eddie Sutton's fantastic string of DUI's swept under the rug :D:rolleyes:.

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Hey, when you're right, you're right. But it seems it's in the Sutton genes, so there's that excuse. :r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

By my latest count, about 50 of the "key underclassmen" in the NCAA have already declared for this year's NBA Draft. Some of these have not hired agents, so they can pull out if the interest in them does not materialize, but many already have found agents. There are still around 15 listed as "undecided", and only 7 or so who have stated definitively that they would stay in school.

In general, I am ambivalent about this whole situation. I think an education is important, and the student owes the school as much loyalty and support as the school owes him (Yeah, I realize this leaves one gaping hole, especially for those programs where the coach himself is a gaping 'hole, but there it is). On the other hand, it is unjust to deny an athlete the chance to earn a living and forge a career. But this disparity seems a bit extreme to me. If half the "key underclassmen" go, that's a shame. When 7 or 8 go for every 1 who stays, that's a crime.

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Well, speak of the devil. While I was writing the above, Butler forward Gordon Hayward announced he too will enter the draft.

Sheesh. When I was his age, kids were fighting to stay in school and avoid the draft at all cost! :r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

So I thought I'd post this up for all you Tar Heel haters out there.

Robert Bower "Buzz" Peterson, former guard on Dean Smith's 1982 National Championship squad, has accepted the position of head basketball coach at UNC Wilmington after only one season in that same position at Appalacian State. Well, to be honest, it was only one season THIS time. See, he bagan his coaching career as an assistant there in 1987, before moving on to an assistant job at East Tennessee State. He was then an assistant at N.C. State, and then one at Vanderbilt. In 1996 he got his first head coaching job at App. State, where he stayed until 2000. At that point he finally moved out of the "State of Franklin" to accept the job heading Tulsa, where he led them to the NIT title. Next year he went back to Franklin to lead Tennessee, where he stayed for four season until taking over at Coastal Carolina in 2005. From there he was lured into the pro ranks by his old college roommate Michael Jordan, and he spent about two years as the director of player personnel for the Charlotte Bobcats. Last season he went back to the top job at ASU, and led them to a 24-13 season. He interviewed for the job at Marshall earlier this month, but a contract could not be agreed upon, and so he is now headed to UNC-W in an attempt to rerbuild their struggling program (16-47 over the last 2 years).

Hey, I guess he caught the Larry Brown disease when he was in Chapel Hill. :r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Rutgers sophomore guard Mike Rosario, their leading scorer the last two years, has decided to transfer to the Florida Gators, and will become eligible to play for them in the 2011-12 season. In his statement regarding his time in Piscataway, Rosario said that "The hard part was losing. Basketball is something I love to do and that comes first besides school."


Sounds like he'll fit into the SEC just fine. :r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Louisville has announced the name of its new downtown 22,000-seat arena, which will replace Freedom Hall in the coming season. Kentucky-based Yum Brands, who operate such fast-food giants as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, have agreed to pay $13.5 million/year for the next ten years for the naming rights, and will thus burden this new facility with the name "KFC Yum! Center".


Hey, maybe they can follow the lead of other schools by honoring a former coach, and call it the Crum Bucket. :r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Duke forward Kyle Singler has announced he will return to school for his senior year. Good for him. I wish him the best of success next season - except when he is playing my Heels - and I hope he remains healthy, and has a chance to compete on the next level if he so chooses once he does graduate.

For those of you keeping count, and with a few players still undecided with a few days left for them to declare, the count of "key underclassmen" who have declared for the draft now only outnumber those remaining in school by about 5 to 1. :rolleyes:

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Best news I've seen in awhile. The repeat is possible now. :D

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

No it's not. :r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

C'mon Thomas. Whose left to compete? Kentucky wouuld have been the best until everyone bailed. Barnes will be good but UNC is gonna need more than that.

Gotta give us more credit than that.

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

It's not a matter of who'll compete, or who does or doesn't deserve credit. It's just that it's not that easy to repeat.

Besides, you came within an inch of losing THIS one to Butler at the buzzer. Remember? :r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Well, I got news news, and good news, and bad news.

The NCAA has announced it is expanding its field of 65 for next year's tournament - to 68 whole teams. I can only assume at this point that this means there will now be 4 "play-in" games instead of just one, which makes more sense anyway. So that's the news.

They also announced that this expansion is part of a new TV contract with old-guard CBS and new kid Turner, and that this will mean each and every game will be available for viewing live, on either CBS, TBS, TNT, or truTV. Everything through the second round will be shown on one of those - which is either good or bad news, depending upon several points. If you don't have cable or satellite, you won't be able to see some games at all. And perhaps the game you ARE watching is one of those 102-44 snoozers, and you can't watch that buzzer-beater elsewhere. After the second round, CBS and Turner will split regional semis, with CBS retaining the regional finals, the Final Four, and the Championship game - through 2015. Beginning in 2016, the regional finals will be split between CBS and Turner, and the FF and C games will alternate between the two. This means you will either have to pay for it, or miss it altogether. And that, my friends, is just wrong. CBSSports.com will provide live streaming video of the games, but Turner "secured rights for any player it develops" . . . whatever the fark that's supposed to mean.

And what's the bottom line? Regardless of how you feel about the above, the bottom line is $10.8 billion over the next 14 years.

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

After a few weeks of waffling on the question - perhaps channelling his career, or the round-robin coaching changes he's endured (recruited by Tubby Smith, played for Billy Gillispie and John Calipari in his three years), Kentucky forward Patrick Patterson has finally decided he will join the fourfold freshman exodus from Lexington and enter the NBA Draft. This may give UK 3 players selected in the first round, along with John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, and perhaps even 4 if Eric Bledsoe impresses somebody in the camps. It won't be 5: Daniel Orton isn't that ready, and not big enough to be a "first-round project." . . . especially when you consider all the others coming out.

Hey, you don't HAVE to play for Kentucky to be a bust in the NBA - ain't that right, Sam Bowie, Kenny "Sky" Walker, and Rex Chapman. :r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

The early entry deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NBA Draft has passed, and the students have failed. By my count, fewer than 20 of the "key" players will remain in school, and by Rivals' count 67 have declared themselves available. Some of them have not hired agents, so can change their minds. But this beggers the point if they have minds to begin with. And why would I say this? Well, the NBA will draft 60 players. If you subtract from this number those slots which will be taken by either seniors or international players, how many of those 67 can one squeeze into the remaining space?

I guess math was not their best subject. :D

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Although they have not yet confirmed the format, the NCAA has approved the expansion of the tournament field from its present 65 to 68 teams. It seems obvious that this will mean 4 "play-in" games as opposed to only 1, but the Committee is not yet ready to say so.

It is also not yet clear how they feel about that scene which aired on "Glee", when a character says "I hate Duke like I hate the Nazis." :r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Two items of marginal interest:

Newly-hired Hofstra coach Tim Welsh has resigned before his first practice, much less his first game. He was arrested last Friday in Levittown for DWI (The actual charge was "aggravated driving while intoxicated", which sounds like a scene from The Blues Brothers.), and though he's pleaded innocent he has quit a month after he signed a 5-year, $3 million deal. :rolleyes:


And speaking of :rolleyes: , the Lexington Herald-Leader has obtained the GPAs from 9 of the 12 SEC basketball programs, and of those 9 the University of Kentucky brings up the rear with an abysmal 2.025. Not only was this the lowest of the 9 reporting, but it was also the lowest of all the 20 athletic teams at UK. If this info surprises you, you know neither John Calipari nor Kentucky basketball.

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

:r:r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

:ss

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Haters....

:D;)

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

:tpd:

Why go to class when you can ball? ;)

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Well, I guess you can ask Antoine Walker that, seeing as how little basic math and business economics he learned at Kentucky. After all, he managed to p!$$ away $100 million, and that ain't easy. :r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

OK, this seems weird, because I seem to remember that Duke won the championship this year, yet all the stories coming out are about Kentucky. (Well, there was the announcement that Duke/Butler would meet in the Meadowlands next season, but who really cares?) Now we have this:

As Vinnie Del Negro has been fired by the Chicago Bulls, they have reportedly approched John Calipari to be their next coach. Never mind that he is NOT known as a great coach, nor that he had modest success helming the Nets, nor that he just finished the first year of an 8-year contract with UK, who are paying him NBA-type money already. Well, as soon as this report leaked out, Cal was approched by the AD at UK about extending his contract. According to Cal's "tweets" on the matter, he is open to an extension, and is not looking for a raise on his spanking-new $4 million/year deal.

Experts point out that, in March last year, when Cal was already in negotiations with Kentucky, he announced that Memphis was "where I want to coach." Yeah, right.

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

There is no confirmation yet, but reports from California aver that the twin freshmen forwards for UNC, David and Travis Wear, will transfer out of Chapel Hill now that the spring semester is completed. They were minor contributors to the Tar Heel (lack of) success this previous season, due both to some injury problems and to the fact that they were low on the rotation, but with the departure of both Deon Thompson and Ed Davis this will make the Heels a little thin on experienced bigs next season. But, on the bright side, it does free up two scholarships for a program that rarely needs to actually recruit.

The line forms at the rear of the Smith Center, fellas. :D

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Despite his health problems, an NCAA investigation regarding inappropriate contact with a recruit, and a disappointing season on the court, Jim Calhoun has signed a new 5-year, $13 million contract to remain the head coach at UConn. Nothing especially odd in this, but there are a few unusual terms and conditions in this contract. For instance, he will forfeit $100,000 if the school loses an athletic scholarship due to a poor academic performance rating by his team. Also, he can retire at any time after next season, and will in that event receive either $1 million or a 5-year job with the athletic department (washing jockstraps, maybe?). The contract further stipulates that Calhoun can be removed from his job (without compensation?) if there is an NCAA or Big East violation which he is aware of, and for which he does not act to correct said violation within 10 days. How the administration thinks they can know, much less prove, such a prior knowledge or lack of reaction . . . well, it beats me.

By in large, I find nothing wrong in principle with terms such as these being included in every coach's contract. However, it does strike me as strange that UConn would be moved to pioneer this type of control. Do they know something we do not? :confused:

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

The NCAA has released its list of schools whose athletic programs overachieved in academics, and three of the Final Four teams were so honored. The one or these four which was "diss-honored", you ask? West Virginia, you assume? Wrong. Michigan State, maybe? Nope. Butler then? Strike three.


Dook. :r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

And if that ain't enough of a lesson for you, and if you think I pick on Kentucky all too much, google the story that just came out about Kenny Anderson. He only p!$$ed away about $60 million in NBA money, but will finally graduate soon . . . though not from Georgia Tech.

Hey, had he gone to Carolina, like he was supposed to do before Bobby Cremins lured him to Atlanta, he'd have had a degree a looooooong time ago. :r

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Texas A&M recruit Michael "Tobi" Oyedeji, a 6-9 power forward from Houston Bellaire rated in the Top 100 in the 2010 class, died due to injuries sustained in a car accident Sunday, following his prom.

Condolences to his family, his friends, his teammates and classmates, and to the university. Perhaps you now know why I so often said in prior posts "Chill. It's only a game."

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

The Wear twins, who announced their transfer from UNC earlier this month, have signed written offers of financial aid to attend UCLA next year. The freshmen will redshirt for one season, and have three years of eligibility left . . . unless they find some campus even closer to Huntington Beach. :r

Good luck to them in the balance of their careers. And for the Bruins' sake, let's hope they are more help to their program than they were to Carolina's. Let's be honest here . . . as disappointing as was the Heels' season, UCLA needs the assistance more.

Re: College Hoops Thread '09-'10
 

Two stories of some interest, at least to me . . . one from KU, one from UK.

As reported on this thread earlier, Lawrence is ablaze at the moment with the ticket-selling scandal, and the $#!+ is really starting to hit the fans. It has been confirmed that a handful of employees for the KU athletic department have been selling tickets to basketball and football games for at least five years, all for personal profit. (Well, since some of them were only pulling down 6-figure incomes, you can understand their need for more in the outrageously expensive environs of Lawrence.) The sales were for over 17,000 hoops ducats, and 2K gridiron stubs, with face value of at least a million. Five KU athletic staffers and one consultant have been dismissed. No word yet on criminal charges, but since it appears that one of these staffers also destroyed records to hide the thefts, I'd expect some serious jailtime to ensue.


Meanwhile, in Lexington, the basketball program announced that they had an improvement in academics for the spring semester, from their fall figure of 2.025 . . . all the way up to a 2.18. :r