11/3 - Some Links, Some News

-The AP All-America team was released, and there are no surprises: Tyler Hansbrough (first ever unanimous choice), Blake Griffin, Luke Harangody, Darren Collison, Stephen Curry.

The award for best reaction to the announcement goes to The Dagger:

IMAGINATIONLAND, NC -- On the heels of his historic unanimous selection to the AP preseason All-American team -- in which he received one vote from every single one of 72 voters -- and his team's unanimous No. 1 preseason ranking, Tyler Hansbrough was selected Monday to the NBA All-Star Team and the Baseball and Football Halls of Fame, the Real World/Road Rules veterans squad, Survivor All-Stars, and as Dick Vitale's first ever lifetime captain of the P-T-P'ers.

He was also awarded top honors on every Bravo game show, including Top Chef and Project Runway; was given the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes for "Excellence in Basketball"; received the McArthur Genius Grant; and was elected, in a last-minute runoff landslide, to the Presidency of the United States of America.

-Dana O'Neil is probably my favorite writer. Another solid effort from her, this time looking at the different paths that Samardo Samuels and Derrick Caracter took to Louisville.

-SI gives us an in depth look at everything that happened at Indiana. Some of the more interesting quotes:

There were other signs that the program was coming apart. Reserve forward DeAndre Thomas was arrested for driving without a valid license and paid a fine. Guards Jordan Crawford and Armon Bassett and forward Jamarcus Ellis were each suspended by the program for undisclosed reasons. Multiple sources close to the team assert that marijuana use was common among a group of players, some of whom were made to take part in a drug counseling program set up by the athletic department. Despite a wealth of academic support, the team's collective grade-point average plummeted from 2.89 in the fall semester to 2.13 in the spring, when players were cutting classes.

According to Eric Gordon Sr., his son "didn't get involved in the smoking and partying" and, as a result, felt alienated from some of his teammates. Likewise senior co-captain D.J. White rarely spent time around his fellow players away from the court. "The kids weren't on the same page," says Gordon Sr. "They didn't have similar backgrounds or experiences or goals, and basically all hell broke loose."

And this:

While Crean acknowledges that the process "moved fast, real fast," he insists that he did due diligence and knew what he was getting himself into. "If you were in college basketball, you had some strong ideas that there was some work to be done [at Indiana]," he says, slowing to choose his words carefully. "Not just because of what happened with the previous coach, but [by] looking at suspensions--this guy missed three games, that guy missed three games. Word gets around fast, no doubt."

Still, there was a considerable gap between Crean's expectations and the reality of the mess he was inheriting. The job wasn't going to require a broom and dustpan; it was going to require industrial cleanser. This was laid bare during his first full week of work when, Crean says, he showed up at an academic progress meeting and learned that team members were carrying a total of 19 F's. "We tried to get those grades up," he says of making sure players attended class. "But 19 F's?"

Gordon, as expected, announced his decision to enter the 2008 NBA draft. A few weeks later Crean and his wife, Joani, met with freshman center Eli Holman in the basketball office to discuss Holman's future. A Sampson recruit, Holman had been suspended for a season in high school for shoving a ref; his short temper surfaced in Crean's office. At one point, according to Crean, Holman became so animated that he grabbed a potted plant and threw it against the wall, triggering a call to campus police. No one was hurt and Holman wasn't arrested, but it was clear he was not coming back to play for Crean.

Sampson believes that his former players were "thick as thieves" and that a "pack mentality" took hold. Besides, he says, "I think anytime a coach leaves, there are going to be transfers." Crean contends that as he was trying to persuade players to stay, others were undermining his effort. In total six scholarship players have left for schools ranging from Xavier to Robert Morris College in Chicago; Holman transferred to tiny Detroit Mercy, where McCallum, the popular assistant under Sampson, had just been named coach. "It's not like the players didn't have help deciding to leave," says Crean, choosing his words with painful precision. "There was orchestration and things of that nature."

Asked about Sampson specifically, Crean says only, "We had a great relationship. But on the record I choose not to talk about it anymore." Sampson says of Crean, "I have a lot of respect for Tom. He is an excellent coach and was an excellent choice."

-Ohio State transfer Nikola Kecman will be suspended for 12 games because he played for a professional team in his native Serbia.

-Pitt's Sam Young looks like he will be playing more on the perimeter for the Panther's this season because of their lack of shooting.

-Xavier freshman Mark Lyons, who was the favorite to earn the starting point guard spot vacated by Drew Lavender, has been ruled a partial qualifier by the NCAA and is thus ineligible to play this season.

-Maryland's Jim Soo Kim has been cleared to play this season.

-We talked about him a while back, but Arsalan Kazemi has committed to play basketball at Rice. He will be the first Iranian to play D1 NCAA basketball.