11/6 - Some Links, Some News

A couple things to get you caught up on.

-Arizona freshman Jeff Withey, who announced his intention to transfer following the Lute Olson debacle, has had his request for a release denied by UA athletic director Jim Livengood. From the Worldwide Leader:

"My very simple reason is I firmly believe, as the letter of intent states, that he needs to stay a full academic year," Livengood said to the Arizona Daily Star. "At the end of [the year] -- as I told him last night -- I would gladly release him if he wanted."

The Wildcats have been in a state of flux ever since Lute Olson announced his retirement as the men's basketball coach Oct. 23. Three players who had committed to Arizona for 2009 -- Abdul Gaddy, Mike Moser, and Solomon Hill -- withdrew their commitments within days.

As it was, two players who were supposed to be part of Arizona's 2008 recruiting class with Withey have already departed. Guard Brandon Jennings made a highly publicized decision in July to play professionally in Rome while waiting to be eligible for the 2009 NBA draft., and in June, forward Emmanuel Negedu was granted a transfer. Negedu has since enrolled at Tennessee.

Withey, ranked No. 43 overall and No. 8 among centers on ESPNU's top 100 for the 2008 class, has not practiced with the team since last Wednesday.

Not sure the exact reason for Livengood's decision, but this article from the Arizona Daily Star makes it seem as if it is because he wants to avoid being penalized for academics.

-More transfer news. Jai Lucas, a sophomore guard for Florida, has announced his intentions to transfer. Lucas averaged 8.5 ppg for the Gators and was their best three point shooter at 43.5%. He was expected to be the starter alongside Nick Calathes this year, but the emergence of freshmen guards Erving Walker and Ray Shipman, and the fact that top five recruit Kenny Boynton has committed to play in Gainesville next year makes it seem like this is a playing time decision. Lucas will finish up the semester at Florida and then head somewhere else for the spring semester.

-Gus Gilchrist has been granted a waiver which will allow him to join Stan Heath's South Florida program for the second semester, which would make him eligible to play as early as Dec. 14th. Gilchrist originally signed with Virginia Tech, was granted a release and decided to enroll at Maryland, but due to NCAA transfer rules was forced to sit out a year. Also becoming eligible in December for the Bulls will be Georgia transfer Mike Mercer.

-Hansbrough may only miss two weeks? I don't know if Bleacher Report via the UNC student newspaper is the best source, but hey, they have a point - it wasn't a stress fracture, it was a stress reaction.