Let's not forget the basketball team

Lost in the hoopla of the upcoming football season is a healthy, focused men's basketball team poised for redemption following a tumultuous 2008-09 campaign. Guards Chris Warren, Trevor Gaskins, have all been cleared for full practice and Zach Graham is on schedule as well.

The program got a big lift (literally) when big man DeMarco Cox committed to Andy Kennedy's program. He and PG Dundrecous Nelson give AK the first pair of 4* recruits in a single class since his arrival in Oxford. That's not including Indiana transfer Nick Williams, a highly-touted 3* guard who showed flashes of brilliance as a Hoosier last year and will be eligible to play as a Rebel in 2010-11. He's a raw talent though (those TO numbers are insane) and will definitely benefit redshirting this season and playing against Warren, Gaskins, and Terrico White in practice.

Considering the turnaround from the moribund late stages of Rod Barnes career, it will be exciting to watch what Kennedy and his staff can do with an even greater influx of talent. After a perfect storm of Murphy's Law last season, one would think that there's nowhere to go but up. The fluky injury situation must've run its course, right? From all accounts, Kennedy has severely toned down his... ahem.. lifestyle. If the Rebels get any sort of consistency on the blocks from DeAundre Cranston or newcomers DeAngelo Riley and Reginald Buckner, they could be very tough by the time SEC season rolls around.

Next year's starting lineup will be:
PG: Chris Warren
G: Terrico White
F/G: Eneil Polynice
F: Terrence Henry
F: Reggie Buckner
6th man: Zach Graham

And then there's quotes like this one that show why this group of guards has the chance to be very, very special:

Months before the season tips off, that sense of urgency already is apparent. It's evident in the way Warren responded to questions about whether he could return this season as the same type of player who opened so many eyes two years ago.

"I don't want to be the same," Warren said. "I want to be better."

Doug Shows' mother was a hamster and his father reeks of elderberries

One of the joys of discussing sports is the infamous “ hates us” argument. Mention Doyle Jackson’s name around Rebel fans and hairs bristle, fists clench, and teeth grit. As far as Rebel Nation is concerned, he’s cost us two games against the Tide, a series in which wins have been ridiculously hard to come by. Today, I’d like name a new “Rebel Hater” that SEC basketball fans will be familiar with: Doug Shows.

(A little background on this topic before we delve into the facts. Shows was my favorite official when I was in school back in the mid-late 90s. I didn’t have the exact numbers then, but it seemed like we won every time he was on the court with us. Now I hope I don’t see him run out of the portal. I didn’t know how right I was until I looked at it by the numbers.)

Let’s break it down by recent “eras” in Ole Miss basketball. I’ll call them our Ascension to Relevance (ATR) (96-97 to 01-02), Barnes After Dukes (BAD) Era (02-03 to 05-06), and the Andy Kennedy Era (06-07 to 08-09). Each era is defined by the success of the team, not a fixed number of years.


The numbers speak for themselves. You can toss out the Shows numbers in the BAD era as everyone kicked our ass in the “hold the ball for 30 seconds and jack up a 3” offense that we ran. It’s the dismal numbers now compared to the ATR era that strike me as interesting.

In the late Evans era and the early Barnes years, Shows was a beautiful sight on the court. We won 90% of the SEC games he officiated, including the 73-69 win over eventual National Champion Kentucky in January 1997, Pitino's final year in Lexington. Home or away, it didn't matter. If Shows was there, we won.

We're winning again, modestly sure, but with a program with as dismal a history as we have, you take it where you can get it. And while Andy Kennedy’s 23-25 SEC record is nothing spectacular, it’s certainly a major improvement from the aforementioned BAD era. What’s puzzling is that AK is winning only 20% of the SEC games Shows officiates, while Barnes won 30.8% in the BAD era, not to mention the 90% clip from earlier. Under AK, the Rebels have won 55.2% of SEC not officiated by Shows.

And it's not that we just lose when Shows shows up. We lose badly. In AK’s 3 years, his Rebels have lost 13 SEC games by 10+ points, and Shows has been on the floor for 7 of them. He also was the lead official in the 32-point drubbing we took in The Pit against New Mexico this year.

So what this all mean? While I can't really put my finger on anything in particular, I have a theory. He's certainly no Curtis Shaw who would call a foul over a shunning face. Nor is he Teddy Valentine who practices the "No Blood, No Foul" mantra on the court. That leaves one conclusion and one conclusion only: Doug Shows is pure, unadulterated evil that must be banished forever from any gym the Rebels are going to play in.

It is my belief that Doug Shows is directly responsible for the knee injuries to Trevor Gaskins, Eneil Polynice, and Chris Warren, the Cincy cabbie incident, Malcolm White transferring, David Huertas jumping ship to play pro ball next year, and possibly the daytime fireworks show.

Even with our departures, the Rebels have a chance to be very good next year. Next year's season ticket packages should offer the chance to donate funds to purchase garlic, holy water, crucifixes, and sharpened stakes to help fortify Tad Smith from any more Shows appearances. While I can't imagine the Rebels will face the same amount of adversity they did this past season, as long as Shows in on the prowl, nobody is safe.

As always, a big tip o' the hat to StatSheet for the ridiculous researchability.

Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm

Okay, so I've missed quite a bit of excitement in the last week or so, but between family obligations and business travel, it has tough to sit down long enough to form an intelligible post. I'm back in time to head to Oxford tonight for the Wilco show at The Lyric. So please bear with me as I allow my stream of consciousness to flow.

* The biggest news of the last week is the hand-slapping Andy Kennedy received on Monday. For those detractors or those who just don't know any better, AK pleading guilty Monday does not mean he is pleading guilty to slapping the cab driver. What it does mean though - obviously - is that he was not exonerated of all charges as he originally forecast the day after the incident.

AK's missteps in Cincinnati were just part of a tumultuous season of Rebel basketball that saw highs - Terrico White's play, home win over UK, road win over moou - and late-Barnes era lows - the drubbing by USM in Biloxi was absolutely inexcusable. In a season in which the SEC West - and overall title - was there for the taking, we suffered through an unbelievable rash of injuries, and now two major contributors left the program.

David leaving is not a surprise. There have rumblings of that for months now. I don't think that his departure is as big a deal as many do. He was going to be the odd man out of the starting lineup next season anyway. It's Malcolm White's departure that hurts significantly more. The fact that he'll be wearing a white shirt and purple britches just adds insult to injury. He'll sit out next year, but will be a 13/7 guy for the Tigers in 2010-11.

* While I unfortunately couldn't make it, from all accounts the Grove Bowl went about as well as anyone could've hoped. Snead was sharp, the OL looked solid, our WRs played well, and the first-team defense didn't look lost without Peria Jerry and Jamarca Sanford. Now we just need to teach Enrique Davis the appropriate faces to make at police officers and teach Jerell Powe to shut the hell up.

* And, seriously, do we need Collegiate Snuggies? (h/t SbB)

Interesting Developments (Possibly) in Andy Kennedy's Trial

Per the Clarion-Ledger, there's at least a chance AK pleads guilty to much lesser charge. Understandably, nobody is officially talking, but those are the rumblings. It's going to be an interesting few days as this shakes out down the home stretch.

David Huertas is a Pirate, Mike Leach intrigued

All the rumors surrounding David Huertas came to fruition today as he's officially left the team, joining the Quebradillas Pirates. It's yet another blow to the most snake-bitten team I've ever seen. Coupled with Malcolm White's unexpected departure, this is a real hit to the depth of the team as Huertas was going to be a real candidate for SEC 6th Man of the Year playing behind Terrico White and Chris Warren next season.

I really don't know what to say about David's departure. It's not as a big a loss for us as Malcolm's departure as we have proven depth at his position. He was certainly an enigma as he put together some of the best and worst games I've seen in my 15 years of attending Ole Miss basketball games. He's one of the most openly emotional players to wear the red and blue in recent years and honestly believes he's fouled on every shot he takes. His size along the perimeter will certainly be missed.

While I'm certainly not attempting to state this as fact, I wonder if left the team as he knew he'd be coming off the bench next year. He and AK have always had something of a tense relationship as is obvious to anyone who sits on the east side of Tad Smith. While each party downplays it in the media, you have to wonder how strained it was.

Another side of me wants to believe him when he says that he just wants to play basketball and be near his family. He's been in school four years and won a national championship. Next year's team would certainly be the most talented Ole Miss team he would've been on, but another national title was not in the future.

Regardless, I wish him well. Like so much of Ole Miss athletics, he was beautiful at times and remarkably frustrating at others.

Kennedy Named Finalist For Clair Bee National Coach Of The Year

According to a release by the school, Andy Kennedy is one of four finalists for the Clair Bee National Coach of the Year Award. In other news, there is something called the Clair Bee National Coach of the Year Award.

The award itself...

honors a Division I men’s basketball coach who through his actions on and off the court, makes an outstanding contribution to the sport of college basketball. The criteria for this award involves actions that inspire, motivate, coach and educate their teams to achieve their fullest potential and demonstrate outstanding character.

Now my question is this... I don't believe the charges Kennedy faces in Cincinnati are going to stick. That whole situation reeks of inconsistencies. But the fact is that he faces charges. That's hardly making an "outstanding contribution to the sport of college basketball."

On the court, there's no argument. AK did a phenomenal job holding together a young team setback after setback. The fact that we even challenged for an NIT spot is remarkable considering all that happened.

The other three finalists are Missouri’s Mike Anderson, Radford’s Brad Greenberg, and Trent Johnson of LSU. Last season’s winner was Bob McKillop of Davidson.

And how's this for validating the award? The Selection Committee for the award is composed of Dan Beebe (Big 12 Commissioner), Jay Bilas (ESPN talking head), Dave Gavitt (founder of the Big East), Bob Hammel (sportswriter), Bob Knight (media whore), Pat Knight (son of a media whore), Billy Packer (ancient curmudgeon hellbent on sucking all the fun out of college basketball), Dean Smith (former UNC head coach), and Dick Vitale (somebody kill me now). I count Dean Smith and possibly - possibly - Jay Bilas as people's whose opinions I would value from a national perspective.

That said, our basketball program could use a shot of good news, even it is a silly as this award.

Memphis' next basketball coach: Sean Miller

For those of us in who reside in the Memphis area, it's been an adventuresome last few days. The local media has been camped outside and hovering over John Calipari's house as he made the blatantly obvious choice to leave the Tiger program for the Big Blue Nation in Lexington. Despite the vitriol that's being spewed by many fans today, the choice is a no-brainer: Kentucky, UCLA, North Carolina, Indiana, and Kansas are college basketball royalty; Memphis isn't.

The list of coaches being batted around by Memphis fans is impressive, but I just wonder why any of them would come to Memphis. Here's a breakdown as I see it.

Mike Anderson, Mizzou: Already off the market. Signed a nice extension with Mizzou

Tim Floyd, USC: His Southern connections would've made him the best choice, but it appears he's taking over for former Ole Miss assistant Russ Pennell at Arizona

Bruce Pearl, Tennessee: Now it starts getting interesting. Sure, the Memphis job would be a step up in profile from Tennessee, but there was a genuine disdain between Calipari and Pearl. Pearl is working to build a Vols program, and quite frankly, unless something crazy happens and John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Xavier Henry are Tigers next season, Memphis is going to be significantly worse next season than they were last. I don't see the appeal to Pearl unless it's strictly about the cash.

Rick Pitino, Louisville: Now it starts to get delusional. The rumor is that Pitino would be hired, coach a few seasons, and then retire and Memphis would promote his son to be the coach. Pitino is not going anywhere. If he left this year, it would be viewed as running from Calipari, who he will now get to face yearly. Also, part of his success there would always be viewed as partially attributable to Calipari's doing there, and neither Pitino nor Pearl want that.

Bobby Knight, ESPN: There aren't even words to describe this. This is the dumbest idea since an mid-afternoon fireworks show. Not gonna happen.

That brings us to the non-"WOW" candidates Memphis AD RC Johnson has promised. Xavier's Sean Miller and our very own Andy Kennedy.

Sean Miller seems to be the right choice here. He's at a non-BCS school and has been a very good coach at Xavier in his tenure there, going 120-47. His Musketeers actually beat the Tigers early in the 2008-09 season. He's been to the Sweet 16 and the Elite 8 the last two seasons and appears to be a young coaching star.

Which brings us to AK. From an unbiased point of view, why would Memphis want to hire a coach which pending legal issues and one that has failed to reach the NCAA tournament in four seasons as a head coach. I'll grant you that the legal issues are more than likely bogus and that he's done a very good job in all four seasons as a head coach, but is that really the profile of a coach that Memphis wants to replace Calipari with?

This may be a harsh lesson in reality for Memphis fans. While their program is certainly one of the best in the country, it's very tough to win consistently at a non-BCS school like Calipari has the last several seasons. If Memphis fans remember, Calipari didn't start putting up the gaudy numbers they've become accustomed to until CUSA was gutted by the Big East and the other legitimate basketball teams left. Calipari is a tough act to follow and 2009-10 will be a rebuilding season with Tyreke Evans declaring and a handful of other players joining Cal in Lexington, which is a trash move by Calipari, but that's another story.

Regardless of who is hired, the program will take a step back from the national spotlight. While Pitino and Pearl would both be very visible, high-profile leaders of the program, neither one is going to take the job. I just hope that Tiger fans will welcome Sean Miller. He's a very good coach who will win at Memphis if given the chance. While he may not be a high-profile as Calipari is - and who is - he'll be a very good fit, and that's what the Tigers need.

It's the coaches, stupid

Much like football season, we've heard all season long how the SEC is way down in basketball this season. While the football claims were proven a bit incorrect, there is no disputing the fact that the SEC just isn't what it used to be in hoops. This article in the Nashville City Paper lists a few possible reasons why, but it leaves off the most important reason: the quality of coaches just ain't what it used to be.

We're certainly as guilty as any school in the conference as we clung to Rod Barnes two years too long. Once Marc Dukes retired, the program spiraled to the ground at breakneck pace. And while the SEC was never filled with future HOF coaches, it never had as high a percentage of bad coaches as it has had in the last few years.

Here's a breakdown of the current SEC coaches:

Stars:

Florida
Billy Donovan is obviously the most accomplished coach in the SEC, but the Gators haven't been quite the same since Anthony Grant took the head job at VCU (which is 76-25 in his 3 years there.) There's always an influx of good talent in Gainesville, and the man's got two national titles.

Tennessee
Talk about breathing new life into a program. Pearl took over the Vols after a series of non-descript sleepy coaches and has Knoxville talking men's hoops for a change.

Solid:

Mississippi State
I'll put aside my bias here and say that Rick Stansbury has far exceeded my expectations there. When he was hired, his only real qualification was being Richard Williams' bag man, but he's got the Bulldogs as one of the most consistent programs in the conference.

Vanderbilt
Kevin Stallings has done some good things as Vanderbilt, certainly better than Jan van Brenda Kolfff. The 'Dores have been fairly consistent winners under his watch. They slipped a bit this year, but bring back a solid nucleus of players for next season.

Headed in right direction:

LSU
Aaah, John Brady. Uber-recruiter, but couldn't tell you an X from an O. And he always looked disheveled on the sidelines. Sure the Tigers made a few nice runs in the tourney under Brady's watch, but those were done on talent alone. Trent Johnson is a good coach, but we'll know more next year when he actually has to play underclassmen.

Ole Miss
Again, I'll put my bias aside (as best I can) and say that the hiring of Andy Kennedy was a very good one. He had the team on the bubble his first two seasons in Oxford, and held together a train wreck of a season this past year.

South Carolina
Darrin Horn brought a higher energy level than Dave Odom did, but my grandmom probably would too. It's a bit early to make the call on him, but he won big at WKU, and he's off to a good start in Columbia.

Next to be purged:

Auburn
Jeff Lebo's job was on death's door in the early part of last season before a late season rally saved him. He's a decent enough coach, but there's no reason to believe he'll be anything more than an average coach in the SEC.

Arkansas
John Pelphrey is a joke. I know the Hogs are enamored with him, I just haven't figured out why. Had he not played at Kentucky, there's no way the Ginger Kid hired by an SEC school. I understand the Hogs firing Stan Heath. It was a questionable hire from the beginning after just one year of success with an inherited Kent State team. But Pelphrey is not the answer. Not one player on that team this year got better as the year wore on. He'll be fired after the 2010-11 season.

Kentucky
The 'Cats - like Arky - made an outright bad choice when they hired Billy Gillispie. He's been the mastermind of some of the most embarrassing losses in UK history and is the architect of the first Wildcat team in nearly two decades to not Dance at the end of the season. It's gotta be tough for the Big Blue to see Pitino and Louisville as the #1 overall seed and Tubby Smith and Minnesota making a (very brief) appearance in the Tourney. As long as Gillispie's there, it's tough to see them doing anything but underachieving. I'd not be surprised to see John Calipari roaming the UK sidelines next year.

In Transition

Alabama
Mark Gottfried patrolled the sidelines for 10+ years in Tuscaloosa and brought in several highly touted players. While he did take the Tide to the Elite 8 in 2003-04, that's about it. Alabama brass has said they'll pay ~$2M to bring in the right coach this time. Whether it's Mike Anderson or Tim Floyd or Anthony Grant or Oliver Purnell, it'll certainly be a step in the right direction from Gottfried.

Georgia
As long as the Bulldogs avoid the publicity stunt and not hire Bobby Knight, they can make a real upgrade from Dennis Felton. They made the worst hire in recent SEC history several years back with Jim Harrick, but with Anthony Grant available, it's hard to imagine he's not in Athens next year.