I feel like it's christmas morning already. UK will be average, Duke will be amazing (and yes, that is the only time I'll ever say that again this year), FLA and UNC have been grossly over rated to be ranked so high. UNC was an NIT team that lost their best few players and are somehow 8th in the nation again? THE Ohio State looks damn good so far, I really feel like they will make a pretty good run. They have experienced guards, depth, and a freak of nature down low in Sullinger.
Agree that Duke is going to be unbelievable; Reasonably talented but unbelievably skilled at every position! I was shocked at how high UNC was ranked to begin the season as well, though, having watched Harrison Barnes twice (including the 0-12 showing!) it's no wonder people are anointing him the savior. His skill level is just unreal for a freshmen coming in!
Some things change.....and some stay the same. What's up with UK and the ineligible player? Better they found out, now.....than the way Memphis St. and UMASS did.
Why did it take so long to figure this out? That's the real question. And, why did Calipari even "go there" with this kid?
1. It's the NCAA we are talking about here. They took 4 years to rule on Reggie Bush. They took over a year to rule on Renardo Sidney. Time isn't of the essense 2. It's a foreign country halfway around the world. What is the avg cost of living? traveling? education? etc.... It's not very common knowledge. 3. Because nothing of the case is black or white, its totally gray. He played for a professional basketball team when he was 15 and 16 years old for I think 9 games total. He was given money for compensation, which is allowed, but it was ruled he was given 33,033 too much. A lot of coin, right? Well around 20,000 was spent on his private school tuition and tutors, which again WOULD have been permissible if the team paid for it directly rather than opening an account for his family to spend the money from on schooling. The remainder 13,000 still sits in that same account untouched. 4. His dad is a doctor...they didn't need the money, and have offered to pay back not only the 13k but also they 20k for schooling... They intended all along to try and keep him as an ametuer, as documented by him turning down MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACTS to come to a high school in america and hopefully go to college from there. 5. Also understand the pro team's intent on this...they don't want to lose their up and coming star....if he signs with the NBA from their team, they stand to make up to a million dollars off the signing deal to sign him over....they also don't want to see him start a trend of the top euro players coming to america for college and forgoing the euro leagues. They have intended to jeopardize his amateur status all along. Bottom line, the dude is a top 10 pick in the NBA no matter what he does....He would have been a first team all american if allowed to play. He is out of this world for his age. Most say he was better coming out of HS than any center already in college. He will make millions in the NBA. He already could have made millions back home, but skipped out in hopes of playing in college, which now he wont be able to do. Im not saying he is an angel, he probably stands to boost his draft status playing for UK on ESPN more so than over in Turkey somewhere so it could be a business decision as well...but that could be said about american players as well. Most get hung up on dollar amounts, for comparison Oak Hill Academy high school basketball players are awarded free tuition and room and board worth nearly 30,000 a year for 4 years. This is permissible, but because there aren't high schools and only pro bball clubs over there its not for him. IDK if he should be eligible or not...I just think if he can't, others shouldnt as well. Josh Shelby for KU is paying back 6000 and will be playing by christmas.. Renardo Sidney is paying back 13000 and will be playing. It should be more standard across the board with rulings, especially when a players "intent" is built into the rules. Who had the better intentions, the american players who were put in mansions or bought a mercedes benz (Sidney and Selby) or the foreign player who turned down millions but cant play because his school was paid for incorrectly?
I'm sensing sarcasm...lol The jury is still out with him for me. He will be awesome, but to list him on the 15 greatest freshman of all time before he ever suited up (as SI did) when John Wall and Derrick Rose arent even on that list...is a bit over the top. He will be an awesome freshman, but not the best in the nation, much less all time. Irving for Duke is amazing. Selby will be strong for Kansas.....Sullinger for Oh St is the best so far IMO. Knight, Jones, and Lamb for UK all have appeared strong thus far....but Barnes hasnt figured it out yet. To this point, he isn't even a top 25 performing freshman, though I think he will finish the season as such.
Ya gott admit, though.....there's a lot more "smoke" at UK than most schools wanna endure. It's the price you pay for hiring who they did. I hope, for the kids' sakes, it doesn't bite them with another vacated season or seasons.
Always been a DUKE fan, probably because so many people have always hated them. But, how about the Minnesota Gophers this weekend. I think Tuby has the team headed in the right direction. A win over UNC and West Virginia.
Yeah I was impressed with both of their wins. Mbakwe Nolen and Iverson all impressed me with their performances....Tubby seems to be a great fit there to keep them somewhat relevant on the big scheme of things. and Jeff, I'm not biting. I made a thread to talk about basketball in general not to be baited into the Cal at UK being dirty debate. Cal hasn't done anything wrong at Kentucky, or IMO, at any previous school. I think Sandy Bell has the track record to keep the ship afloat at UK so I'm not worried about anything happening. The only thing that could happen is allegations about a kid cheating in High School coming out which could happen anywhere so it's nothing to lose sleep over. On another basketball note, How on Earth does Bruce Pearl still have his job. I know most people like to look north of the border to point fingers, but this is a guy who knowingly violated rules, FOR THE SECOND TIME AND AT THE SECOND SCHOOL, lied about it, told the recruited kid to lie about it, and only came clean once the facts were laid out against him....what kind of admission of guilt is that? And as if that isn't enough he came out today saying he felt that his salary cut and 8 game coaching suspension (games only, still daily practice coach) are harsh enough and he expects no more penalties...he took his next couple breaths explaining essentially how the current punishments werent that big of a deal and how they wouldnt set him or the team back in any way. Is he just baiting the NCAA to bring down the hammer with final judgement or what?! lol With Kansas star guard driving a benz (coming from a broke family in baltimore) and sitting 1/3 the season for improper benefits as well as their AD ticket scandal going on, UCONN going into a suspension and who knows what else with Jim Calhouns infractions, Bruce Pearl comitting recruiting suicide down at UT, I'm fine with the smoke around UK's program. If it wasn't for the NYT and Thammels pathetic attempts to slime the program with incorrect journalism, the smoke wouldn't even really be there.
The old saying "pot calling the kettle black", has been around for years. In the olden days, cookware was made from cast iron. The result was both pots, and kettles, were the color black. The saying references one thing, pointing out something about another, even though they both share the same characteristic. Now with that information, I posted the image because UK has a coach that has been caught in multiple violations at multiple schools. This is the same thing you mentioned Pearl has done. You also wondered why he has a job. So, we have Calipari (multiple violations at multiple schools) and Pearl (multiple violations at multiple schools). Black equals black. Does that help? I'm not a UK hater. I don't hate any school or team. Just making an observation.
I guess I should have been more specific. lol I realize what the pot calling the kettle black means, didn't know what you were referencing that with. The difference is Cal has never made a violation. He has never even been named in a NCAA violation. Look it up, that's part of the media smoke Jeff eluded to. He was in charge when it was found at later dates two of his players in previous years were caught cheating (one in high school and the other accepted money from an agent a few months away from being in the NBA). Pearl on the other hand, HAS. HE commited the violations, NOT the players. By your logic, Coach K committed a violation when it was found Corey Maggette accepted money in high school and was inelligble during their national runner up season. Doesn't really sound right does it? I don't hate UT or Bruce Pearl. I actually wish this stuff never came out about him, because I LOVE having him at the helm of a relevant and challenging UT in the SEC. That said, I just don't see how he has managed to keep his job up to this point with the allegations proven against HIM, not his players but He himself.
Yeah, I know you did. I was just being a smartass. Fair enough. Teflon John probably has smoke for a reason. I'm not naive enough to think he's the only coach bending rules or looking for gray areas though. Not saying you are, just pointing out that I'm not. That cat just comes off shady. With a program like UK, I'm surprised they took a chance on a coach with no Final Four appearances to his credit. BTW, I agree OSU looks good and UNC was/is overrated. I'm sure they will be the first to tell you that. I think Barnes could be a great player, but he's not there yet. I'm not sure if he can be on that team as a freshman. Teams are already paying a lot of attention to him. It will be interesting to see how he handles that. It will be tough, but I don't think he will have many more 0-12 games in his future. OSU, from I've seen so far, is very balanced.
You're smarter than that, Trevor. How many times does one need to see the smoldering coals to realize there's a common ignition source?
Something has happened twice, once it came out a year later that a player cheated on a test while still in high school.....and the other time a player of his accepted money from an NBA agent. Should he be fired over this? lol I'm not saying Cal has never made a phone call he shouldn't have. I'm also not saying he has. Point is, he's never even been accused of such, much less found guilty. Vito, as for taking chances...UK was at a point where they had to. Barnhart struck out majorly with the Gillispie hire (another coach unproven really) and needed a change big time. They took a chance with the third highest winning percentage coach in the nation, and one who was proven to bring in the best talent in the nation. UK's program had struggled for almost a decade with bringing in top talent. 3 back to back to back number 1 classes later and we don't have to worry about that anymore. The talent is being accumulated, now it just remains to be seen if they can put together a title run with this talent. I honestly think Oh St or Mich St wins it all this year....both are stacked, both are balanced, and both are deep. Mich St IMO should be the favorites even maybe over Duke as they are a veteran squad that is really, really good. Sometimes experience trumps talent, sometimes talent trumps experience.....they have both in big amounts.
Calipari is a good basketball coach. I made thecomment about UK taking a chance just so I reference the two vacated Final Fours. Just adding a little fuel to the fire. I think MSU's chances will ride on Summers motivation to play defense. He had to sit at crucial times last year because of it. With Allen gone and no one really challenging him for playing time at that position, I have to wonder if we will try at both ends. If even half heartedly plays defense, they could do really well.
Trev....like I said....you're smarter than that. How many top tier coaches in the NCAA today have a vacated final four on their resume'....much less TWO? That's not even just smoke. That's worthy of a warning label of "Could spontaneously ignite at any moment".
It's like a broken record Jeff. Ok you are right. Vito, I'm not sure about the ins and outs of MSUs roster, just know they returned key players, went deep last year WITHOUT their star PG and stud freshmen they brought in....they should be fine.
I know just how you guys (UK fans) feel, though, Trevor. I went out with this girl for a while who was smoking hot. I mean extraordinarily talented! Only hitch was......she would light up a cigarette every once in a while, when she was drinking. Like I said......I know just how ya'll feel.
