Poor, Sweet, Innocent John Calipari

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, George Santayana

Alas, the tragedy...

For the second time in his career, poor, sweet, innocent, master strategist John Calipari will have a Final Four appearance stricken from the NCAA record books. It breaks my heart to see such a fine man have to suffer through this embarrassment again. Why do bad things happen to goodf people. My heart goes out to him and...

Enough with the sarcasm... Kentucky - if you weren't before - you're now officially on notice. This is what the man does. He shows up, pours a mean glass of kool-aid, blinds his potential detractors with tainted win after tainted win, then gets the hell outta Dodge before the poo hits the fan. He's very, very good at what he does. He's now the only coach to have two Final Fours stricken from official record books. This is of little surprise to me, having suggested its feasibility the day after their (now no-longer existent) game against Kansas.

Yes, I know Calipari wasn't implicated in the Memphis scandal, just I like I know he wasn't implicated in the UMass scandal either. Like I said, he's very, very good at what he does. He was a desperation hire by Memphis in 2000. The Tiger program needed a big pick-me-up after the Tic Price Experiment went horribly wrong. The fans were desperate to field a winner, so they sold their soul to bring in Calipari, despite the turmoil that UMass was mired in because of him. Memphis AD R.C. Johnson basically turned his back and served as Calipari's "yes man" for 10 years.

Sound familiar? The Wildcats are in need of a big pick-me-up after the Billy Gilispie experiment failed to pan out. Big Blue fans are desperate to field a winner and broke the bank to bring in Calipari. While there's no way Kentucky AD Mitch Barhart will bend over and take it from Calipari like Johnson did, he knows that Kentucky has to win and win big. Given Calipari's history, is there any reason to think this scenario plays out differently? I have no doubts that he'll win big at Kentucky, but at what cost to the university? Two schools have suffered due to his... ahem... oversights, why not a third?

I hope it doesn't work out that way. Kentucky is the flagship program in the SEC and one of the Royal 5 programs in the country (along with Indiana, North Carolina, Kansas, and UCLA). They serve as something of a barometer for the SEC as a whole. When they're mediocre, it weakens the SEC as a whole. But when they're winning, it greatly increases the national perception of the conference.

After such a pitiful showing last year, the SEC needs a big pick-me-up. Just not one that turns out to be such a bummer when you realize the dirty truth.

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."

Nice Terrico White feature on espn.com

Andy Katz has a nice article on espn.com about Terrico White. It talks a bit about his experiences winning gold in New Zealand earlier this month as well prospects for next season... including the NBA. It's good to see the basketball team getting some good publicity.

As an aside, there was one comment in the article I wanted to touch on.

White said he has no idea how Kennedy is going to handle having White and (Chris) Warren back together, since they barely played next to one another last season.

I'm not worried about that at all. Both he and Chris are cut from the same mold - quiet assassins who go about their business stoically. The White/Huertas backcourt never gelled because David was just not that into playing within the system last year. He was thrust into a difficult situation with all the backcourt play around him dropping like flies with knee injuries, but instead of using it as a rallying point to be a team leader, he seemed to mope around and feel sorry for himself. By the time he was ready to play again, Terrico had emerged as the star of the team.

I've said it before, but David, despite being a senior, would've been the odd man out of the starting rotation had he returned for next season. I wish him the best in Puerto Rico, but I'm not worried about replacing him at all. Malcolm White is a much bigger loss for us. Reginald Buckner is going to be a star, but it would've been nice to have Malcolm in there to help ease his transition.

'Rico and Pom tearing it up

It’s nice to be back in the blogosphere after a good bit of traveling and overwhelming work projects. I missed a good bit of pop culture news last week, but – as to be expected for late June – there’s just not much going on in college sports. Other than the new chancellor being announced (more on that in another post), the biggest news in Rebel Land these days is Terrico White and the upcoming U19 World Championships and Drew Pomeranz.

Even after being named SEC Freshman of the Year, White is not as well known across the country. Michael DeCourcy of The Sporting News feels all that could change () with his appearance on the national team, even dropping this gem about ‘Rico:

Terrico White is the best-kept secret in college basketball, and don't expect him to do anything to change that unless it involves points, rebounds and assists.

Jonathan Divony, president of Draft Express, was also there to watch the tryouts and came away impressed with White’s potential and athleticism. His analysis was very similar to mine a couple of months ago, where I voiced the same concerns regarding the high number of jumpers:

He relies far too heavily on his 3-point stroke considering how talented an athlete he is, as nearly 50% of his attempts this season came from beyond the arc. He doesn’t get to the free throw line very often and still needs to learn how to use his quickness and leaping ability to create better shots around the basket, as he often prefers to settle for contested fade-away jumpers.

Overall, the analysis is positive though, closing with:

White is a guy to keep under the radar for now, but if he puts the work in and is able to become a smarter and more complete all-around player, he could really emerge as an interesting prospect down the road.

Meanwhile, Drew Pomeranz mowed down 10 Canadians in 4 IP and picked up the win for Team USA in the opening game for the team.

Get that man a Vegemite Sandwich

As expected, Terrico White made the US U-19 team that will compete in the World Championships in the basketball mecca of Auckland, New Zealand early next month. This is another nice notch in the belt loop for Terrico who will team with Chris Warren next year in one of the most formidable backcourt duos in the country.

With the football hype machine in full swing and another painful Super Regional for baseball, here's a little reminder of Terrico's ability...

Tuesday Things

* Chris Low rates Greg Hardy the 9th best player in the SEC. He sums up the essence of Greg Hardy in his first two sentences: “ Let's be honest here. Hardy has at times been a bit of an enigma.” When Hardy is healthy and properly focused and motivated, there are few offensive linemen who can match up with him one on one. He’s too quick and too good a slasher. With Peria Jerry gone, Hardy will be key to drawing double teams to let Patrick Trahan and others make plays in space.

My guess is that Jevan Snead ranks #3 in the conference behind Eric Berry and Tim Tebow. Or at least that’s how I’d rank them. Off the top of my head, in random order, Brandon Spikes, Rolando McClain, AJ Green, and Julio Jones will also be in the top 10. Who am I missing?

* The one thing Dan Mullen really had going for him so far this spring was he seemed to be the only rookie coach in the conference not making a spectacle of himself. Gene Chizik and his limos were all over the media and blogosphere. Lane Kiffin… well, that one speaks for itself. But Mullen seemed to just be going about his business. Until now.

Mullen used his recent stop at the Vestavia Country Club on his Bulldog Club tours to take jabs at Chizik and Kiffin. That’s most likely harmless as neither will be able to extract a painful revenge this season. Auburn and mitippi tate set modern football back 50 years with their heinous 3-2 game last year and Auburn won’t be blowing anyone out this season. And the bulldogs don’t face Tennessee in 2009, so no vengeance there.

Then Mullen decided to take a page out of the official “moou handbook for pandering to fans” and refer to Ole Miss by another name.

Go ahead, ask the New Hampshire native if he's already been introduced to his new school's rivalry with Ole Miss.

"The team up north?" he said. "We call them the team up north. I don't like to cuss by using the word that you just used."

That’s all fine and well. He needs to save up his profanities for when the season starts. This year’s Egg Bowl score may not be much different than the glorious 45-0 trouncing last year. I have a feeling that Mr. Mullen will be making up for lost profanities by the time the 4th quarter runs down to 0:00 this year.

* The All-SEC Baseball teams were announced and a big Dead Guy congratulations go out to first-teamer Jordan Henry and second-teamers Drew Pomeranz and Scott Bittle. Honestly, the Rebels weren’t as well represented as they should’ve been. Leaving Jake Morgan off is ridiculous. His numbers were fantastic – 7 Saves and a 1.29 ERA – but his emergence let us move Bittle to the starting rotation which turned our conference season around. David Brandt views it this way:

But really, as hokey as it may sound, this team hasn't been about individual honors. Almost every Ole Miss play(er) has good stats, but very few of them (except guys like Henry and Bittle) made you look at the numbers and immediately crown them All-SEC.

But hey, at least Alabama landed 5 guys on the first team alone.

* This is from last week, but somehow I missed it: Tommy Tuberville will talk SEC Football on BusterSports.com in 2009. In addition to radio appearances and podcast, he’ll interact directly with SEC fans through chat rooms, message boards, and call in questions.

After being tarred and feathered and run out of Auburn, it will probably be nice to take a year off and merely talk about the conference he coached in for nearly a decade and a half.

* After one of the worst years in recent memory, SEC basketball continues to improve itself for the 2009-10 season. With an influx of new coaches, including John Calipari, the league is set to return to relevance next season and prominence the year after that.

Calipari’s signing of John Wall to Kentucky will land the ‘Cats in the top 10 preseason. As the “basketball face” of the league, UK’s recent struggles under Billy Gilispie marred not only the school’s reputation, but also the conference’s as a whole. While I’m certainly not a Calipari fan, there’s no denying his impact.

Monday Morning Munchies

I missed a busy week last week in my travels, but hopefully I can catch up here.

* After a pathetic showing in Oxford two series ago, the men’s baseball team rebounded and did what they needed to do against Arkansas in Fayetteville, clinching a share of the SEC overall championship. Congratulations are certainly in order for shaking off a rocky start to the season and rebounding to win the toughest conference in America. The 20-10 record is fantastic, obviously, but how nice would it have been to handle business against mitippi state one weekend earlier? Now, the Rebels tangle with previous #1 UGA on Wednesday in Hoover. The ‘Dawgs have been in a tailspin though since they were handled in Oxford last month. Hopefully that continues. More on that later this week. It sucks Scott Bittle won't be making the trip.

* So much for the snub providing the tennis team the motivation they needed to finally get over the hump… 2009 became yet another earlier than expected exit from the tournament for Billy Chadwick’s netters. It was certainly a season to remember, but it ended sooner than many thought it should.

* It’s been a busy week for the men’s hoops team as well. It was announced this week that Nick Williams, a fantastic freshman guard for Indiana University last year is transferring to Ole Miss. He’ll sit out 2009-10 and be eligible to play as a sophomore in 2010-11. He's a big strong guard that will almost certainly get better with a year of going against one of the best backcourts in the conference in practice.

* The Rebels will also be returning to Puerto Rico this year, playing in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic. It won’t take long for the Rebels to find out how good they are: The field includes Boston University, Dayton, George Mason, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas State, and Villanova.

* The Dagger takes a stab at ranking the SEC basketball coaches, and offers many of the same opinions I did a couple of months back. The difference is that every school has their coaches in place now, so allow me to express my opinions about the new guys.

It’s hard to argue with the hires made by Alabama and Kentucky. While both made big splashes with their hires, Kentucky landed the biggest catch, luring John Calipari from Memphis. I do have to disagree with the “Superelite” tag applied to Calipari. Coaches like Tom Izzo and Roy Williams are “Superelite." They’ve consistently won in the highest level of college basketball and have the banners hanging above their heads to prove it. Calipari is certainly elite, but until he wins in a Big6 conference consistently and cuts down the nets in early April, he’s not “Superelite."

Anthony Grant was primed to take over for Billy Donovan during his momentary lapse of reason a couple of years ago when he actually signed with the Orlando Magic. Now, he’s finally getting his crack at the SEC and it’s hard to see him not succeeding. He was an integral part of Florida’s national championship teams and UF hasn’t been the same since he left.

Mark Fox, UGA’s new coach, seems like a decent enough hire. He took over Nevada’s program when LSU head coach Trent Johnson left for Stanford. It’s certainly not a “wow” hire like the Bama and UK hires, but he appears to be a solid coach. If he can recruit/win in the SEC remains to be seen though.

* Then there’s this: College Football Network’s rankings of the SEC football coaches.

The Right Reverend Nutt comes in at #3, which seems a bit high to me. Not sure how he’s ranked ahead of Mark Richt. It must be tied to UGA’s disappointing (in relation to expectations) season last year while Nutt walked into a gold mine in Oxford. Whatever the situation is, it’s nice to see the positive press.

At least you're not Bracky Brett

Is there a worse job in the SEC right now than that of Bracky Brett, MSU athletic department compliance director? Apparently Dan Mullen and Rick Stansbury are engaging in some kind of NCAA shenanigans contest. Mullen landed what many thought would be the death blow, bringing The Walking NCAA Violation on campus to help coach players coach the Bulldog coaching staff.

But now, just weeks of sorting through that mess, Rick Stansbury is not to be outdone, landing big-man Renardo Sidney, whose backstory is so shady that even USC head coach Tim Floyd backed off of him after he had committed. And yes, the same Tim Floyd who brought in OJ Mayo through his World Wide Wes connections.

Brett isn't even sure he'll be able to play.

"We realize by simply signing him doesn't mean the process is over. We know there's a lot of questions to be answered. Any issues related to his amateurism or extra benefits will be part of our discussions with all parties in the very near future. By all parties, I mean the prospect, his family, the NCAA, the Southeastern Conference and everyone here at Mississippi State. We're not going to compromise the integrity of our institution. It's going to be an interesting couple of weeks. Or months."

This coming from the school that admitted Dontae' Jones.

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.

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.

The shot that just won't go away

It's been more than 11 years, but the final images of the Ole Miss/Valpo game from March 13th, 1998, are seared into my mind. Hell, it's got its own Wikipedia page. I've yet to watch a single replay of the play they call "Pacer". As soon as I see a March Madness promo with Jamie Sykes lined up on the baseline, I change the channel and grab a beer or two. To this day, I insist that Bryce Drew write a check to Ole Miss for upwards of $1M as he was a lottery pick in the NBA draft based almost entirely on that shot.

And it pops up in seemingly "safe" places when you least expect it. In last night's fantastic game between Pitt and Villanova, the Wildcats ran a play very similar to that which resulted in a tough leaner from 6 feet by Scottie Reynolds. As the play was unfolding, I began to have flashbacks to Ansu missing free throws, Keith fumbling the ball out of bounds, and a flailing Buck trying to stay with Bryce Drew. Reynolds scored with what was determined to be .5 seconds left on the clock. As the officials huddle to make sure the time was correct, Verne Lundquist said that play reminded him of the one "Valpo ran a few years back." Sigh...

There have been other buzzer beaters since, but none as perfectly drawn up and executed as that one. That 1997-98 team was the most talented team we've fielded in many years, even deeper and better than the 2000-01 team that lost in the Sweet 16. They just faltered at the end of the season, and are now immortalized as the victims of one of the most memorable finishes in Tournament history.

Even with Malcolm White leaving the basketball team, next year's team is more talented than either top to bottom. There's some work to be done, particularly now in the post, but the pieces are in place for a fun couple of years of hoops in Oxford. We just need to stay healthy and focused.

Billy Gillispie out at Kentucky... Donovan in? Or not? Nevermind, he's not.

Well, it's official now. So now the quest to successfully lure Billy Donovan or John Calipari is officially on. Something tells me UK will get the job done this time after failing miserably two seasons ago.

The wild card in all this is Anthony Grant. He would certainly take over the Florida program if Donovan left, but I'm surprised he's not getting more consideration for the Kentucky job than he is. He's young, energetic, and has been a part of highly successful SEC teams in the recent past.

***UPDATE:***
So it appears the Wildcats have fired a coach that didn't get them to the Tournament this year to hire a coach that didn't get his team to the Tournament for two years running. Per news reports, Kentucky has their man in Billy Donovan. Of course, we'll have to wait and see what happens. Donovan agreed to leave Florida to coach the Magic a few years back before backing out and coming back to Florida.

***UPDATE #2:***
Now there's this, stating that Billy Donovan is expected to release a statement today saying he is NOT a candidate for the Kentucky job. This would certainly be good news in Tuscaloosa as it would greatly increase the chance that Anthony Grant leaves VCU for the vacant Tide position. Looks like Kentucky fans picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

It's not just the fans in Lexington that are crazy. This is absolutely despicable behavior.

***UPDATE #3:***
Donovan has officially denied it now.

In a statement from coach Billy Donovan, he said, “In response to the rumors circulating about my interest in other jobs, I wanted to address this as quickly as possible," Donovan said. "I am committed to the University of Florida and look forward to continuing to build our program here."

UK fans have to be wondering if they're going to fall flat on their faces like they did two years ago when they settled on Gillispie.

***UPDATE #4:***
Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports is reporting that Anthony Grant has accepted the Alabama coaching job, which is a home run for them. It also means two things for UK fans - Grant is off the market for them and Donovan is definitely not going anywhere.

Malcolm White leaving basketball team

The Ole Miss basketball jinx continued today as sophomore forward Malcolm White announced he's leaving the basketball team for personal reasons. In a release issued by the school, Mac says:

"I have decided to leave Ole Miss in order to finish my career closer to my family in Louisiana. I have really enjoyed my time at Ole Miss and want to thank the coaches, my teammates and the whole Rebel family for all their support."

Will this season of frustration ever end? Malcolm really came on in the latter part of the season, notching some huge games against Kentucky and Mississippi State and his defense improved tremendously over last year. I really though he might be due for something of a breakout season next year, probably a consistent 12/7 guy. We'll definitely miss him down low.

While Murphy Holloway is a solid player - with the potential to be very good - he doesn't bring the same physical/athletic tools that Mac did. This opens up the door even wider for Reginald Buckner to start as a freshman next season. He's a long, athletic guy like Mac is. The pressure will also be greater on Terrence Henry to bulk up and be ready to play next season. Maybe we can pick up a JuCo forward between now and next season. It would be nice to have an extra body - and 5 fouls - to use down low.

If night is always darkest before the dawn, then we should be due for a bright season or two after all the adversity we've faced since Trevor tore his ACL in early November.

My revised starting line up for 2009-10 is:

G Chris Warren
G Terrico White
G/F Eneil Polynice
F Murphy Holloway
F Reginald Buckner

What's next for Kentucky?

With Kentucky bowing out of the NIT last night, the SEC’s basketball season is officially over. In all honesty, it couldn’t come soon enough. I love college basketball, but from a Rebel standpoint, this was obviously not the season we had hoped for, both on and off the court. The silver lining – of course – was the emergence of freshmen Terrico White and Murphy Holloway when thrust into more minutes than expected due to the rash of injuries.

It also quite possibly marked the end of the Billy Gillispie era in Lexington, which was doomed to fail from the beginning. He never gelled with the fan base or administration there. His run-in with Jeannine Edwards in Oxford earlier this year was childish at best, and his attempt to run off the floor without shaking Darrin Horn’s hand after a home loss to South Carolina (skip to 4:00) was inexcusable. I’m not typically a proponent of axing a guy after just two seasons, but it’s hard to make the argument that things will be any better in the foreseeable future as long as Gillispie is there.

Currently, the top three rumored choices for Gillispie’s replacement are Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Memphis’ John Calipari, and Florida’s Billy Donovan. I’ll go ahead and say that Izzo won’t be making the move to Lexington. He’s got the most impressive resume of the three – 8 Sweet 16s in the last 12 years, 4 Final Fours, and National Title – but he’s MSU through and through, having been there since 1983, including 15 years as head coach. He’ll retire in East Lansing.

That leaves Donovan and Calipari. Depending on which ‘Cat fan you ask, you’ll get a different answer as to which they’d rather have. Donovan is the one with the rings, but Calipari is the hotter commodity now, with three straight Elite 8 appearances, with a chance to make it four with a win tonight. He also has connections with the top two unsigned high school prospects in the country that may follow him if he does bolt for UK.

While Florida has been just average the last few years, Donovan has proven that he can win in Gainesville. The Gators have really just been lacking an enforcer inside the last 2 seasons to complement Nick Calathes and company. Al Horford didn’t get the attention (until NBA draft time) that Joaquim Noah, Corey Brewer, and Taurean Green, but his play underneath the basket was key to the Gators’ title runs. I know Kentucky would throw money at him, but the Florida program is his. I’m not sure he would leave Gainesville for the pressure of Lexington.

Which brings us to Calipari. You gotta figure he’s the ‘Cats’ #1 choice based on the program he’s built at Memphis. Question his recruiting tactics (World Wide Wes), question the level of talent they face after the turn of the calendar (C-USA has failed to put a 2nd team in the NCAA Tourney for 4 straight seasons), but there’s no question that he brings energy and a presence to a school, which UK hasn’t had since Pitino roamed the sidelines. Tubby Smith is one of the really good guys in the coaching business and certainly didn’t deserve the treatment he got in Lexington, but he’s not a commanding figure; Calipari is. And has the ego to handle the unrealistic expectations that Kentucky fans have.

Now whether or not he’d leave Memphis is another story. Kentucky obviously has a much richer tradition than Memphis does, but even in a down year like this, the SEC is still stronger than CUSA is. Calipari has never coached in a major conference and has padded his W-L record in the A10 and CUSA. He would no doubt win at Kentucky, but certainly not at the ridiculous rates he has at his previous stops. As much as he clamors for respect at Memphis, as long as he continues to beat up the little guys 16 games a year, it’s just not going to come. While some (not me) tend to give him more credit than others, until he proves himself in one of the BCS conferences, right or wrong, there will always be doubters.

He’s compensated extremely well now, but Memphis doesn’t have the budget that Kentucky does. If they decide that he’s their guy, you can bet Mitch Barnhart will put together something with a base of $3.5M+ as well as plenty of incentives.

Of course, this may all be moot if the ‘Cats sense they won’t be able to get Izzo, Donovan, or Calipari, or they decide to give Gillispie another season. I just can’t see that scenario. Despite their recent mediocrity (by their standards) Kentucky is the flagship basketball program in the conference. Florida has been better lately, but when you think SEC basketball, Rupp and Pitino are some of the first names that come to mind. When the Wildcats struggle, it brings down the perception of the league as a whole.

I fully expect there to be a new head coach in Lexington next season. Even if the “Big 3” turn them down, Anthony Grant and Travis Ford are certainly viable options as well. As a conference, we need The Big Blue to be good again. Sure it’ll bring out the crazies, but it will also be a major step toward bringing SEC basketball back to relevancy.

***UPDATE***
Fantastic piece by Pat Forde

And thus concludes the SEC portion of the NCAA tourney

As expected, the SEC experienced its most disappointing NCAA Tournament in two decades, failing to place even a single team in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1989. Only LSU managed to win a single game, with Tennessee and that other school bowing out in the first round.

It marks the end of one of the most spectacularly unspectacular seasons of basketball in SEC history. Not to sell the Rebels short - rallying together like they did was impressive - but most years, losing half your team should not equate to winning nearly half your conference games. It also puts it into perspective just how bad Arkansas and Georgia were once the calendar flipped. To beat only 2 SEC foes this year is inexcusable.

Fortunately, the Rebels turned down a bid to the ridiculously irrelevant CBI Tournament. There was no sense in taking a hobbled team and cheapening what they had accomplished by playing in such a pointless tournament. We've got 4 knees to get healthy and get ready for next year. The 2009-10 Rebels could be the most talented team from 1-12 that we've ever had, certainly in recent memory. If everyone comes back healthy and focused, it could be a fun year for hoops.

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.

Chris Warren and Terrico White: Inside the Numbers

In what can best be described as a remarkably frustrating basketball season, there is plenty to be excited about in the immediate future of Ole Miss basketball, not the least of which was the emergence of Terrico White as a legitimate star. He’s the best freshman guard we’ve had since… well, Chris Warren the year before. Andy Kennedy is really bringing in the talent.

As a whole, Chris’ numbers are gaudier than Terrico’s for their entire freshman seasons. Chris stepped onto the court as a starter with the departure of a trio of senior guards in Todd Abernethy, Bam Done, and Clarence Sanders. Terrico arrived with more hype, but most expected a reserve role playing behind wing guards David Huertas and Eneil Polynice. Three bum knees later and Terrico is our starting PG a few games into SEC play.

Here's how their freshman years compared in SEC games only:


Surprisingly, Chris scored a higher percentage of his points (16.4%) from the FT line than Terrico did (12.5%). Some of that had to do with Terrico's FT% being so poor, but it's something he can work on for next season - posting up smaller guards and taking slower ones off the bounce. Not surprisingly, Chris scored a higher percentage (54.9%) of his points from behind the arc that Terrico did (46.7%), meaning Chris was either jacking up threes or ducking his head and getting to the rim.He only scored 28.5% of his point from 2-point range, while Terrico scored 40.6%. When Terrico starts getting to the line more and starts hitting them more, he'll be an absolute beast.

All this adds up to what should be one of the best backcourts in the conference next season. With an added scorer and a viable inside presence, Warren should be much more effective than he was before tearing his ACL against Louisville this season. Watching him play, it’s easy to see that he feels that – at times – he’s the only viable scoring option we have. That led to a lot of questionable shots this year and last. With Terrico providing a more consistent scoring option than David, Chris' shots should be reduced/smarter, which normally spells success for the Rebels.

Last season, in conference games, we were 6-1 when Chris took 14 shots or fewer and just 1-8 when he up 15 shots or more. In our 3 NIT victories over UCSB, Nebraska, and Virginia Tech, he shot 13 times or fewer. Against Ohio State, he put up 17 shots, and we lost.

Regardless, the way I see it, David is the odd man out next year in regards to the starting lineup. He and Terrico never really gelled as a unit and David’s attitude took a severe nose dive as the season wore along. If we’re going to achieve everything we’re capable of next season, we’ll definitely need him to play well and within the system. But for now, he and his whining will most likely be on the bench, with EP starting at the 3. Terrico will certainly handle the ball a lot, but the primary PG duties will shift back to Chris and EP.

I can’t find the numbers to back this up, but I’ll say this… We return four guys who have hit seven 3s in a game before: David (2x), Chris (2x), EP, and Trevor Gaskins. I doubt any other team in the country can say that.

(H/T to the ever awesome statsheet.com for the researchability)