POSTERIZED: Mitchell goes Hog Wild

Apparently there is more than one Mitchell in the SEC capable of throwing down a nasty #POSTERIZED slam. While Alabama's Tony Mitchell sits out due to season-ending suspension, Arkansas' Brandon Mitchell is making a name for himself.

Last night against Ole Miss, the sophomore guard got the ball underneath the basket after an in-bounds steal, and well, did the damn thing.



The Razorbacks lost the game 77-75, but it's nice to be able to watch a game between non-postseason teams and see some entertaining flashes.

(H/T Arkansas Expats)



But was it as good as these?

John Henson, North Carolina vs. Virginia, 2/25 C.J. Aiken, St. Joseph's vs. Temple, 2/25
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt, 2/25
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. UConn, 2/25
Weekend Recap, 2/18
Tony Wroten Jr./Aziz N'Diaye, Washington vs. Arizona, 2/18
Chris Czerapowicz, Davidson vs. Wichita State, 2/18
Darius Miller, Kentucky vs. Ole Miss, 2/18
Darrion Pellom, Hampton vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore 2/15 (DotY Candidate)
Trency Jackson, Northwest Florida vs. Chipola, 2/15
Kwame Alexander, Cal St. San Bernadino, 2/12
Tahj Tate, Delaware State vs. Coppin State, 2/11
Weekend Recap, 2/10 - 2/12
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Louisiana Tech, 2/9
Joshea Singleton, Bucknell vs. Colgate, 2/8
Kelsey Barlow, Purdue vs. Ohio State, 2/7
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State, 2/7
Roscoe Smith, UConn vs. Louisville, 2/7
Weekend Recap, 2/2 - 2/5
Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State vs. TCU, 2/4
Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse vs. St. John's, 2/4
Kwame Alexander, Cal State-San Bernardino vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills (D-II), 2/3
Bradley Beal, Florida vs. South Carolina, 2/2
Doug Anderson, Detroit vs. Valparaiso, 2/2
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Oklahoma, 2/1
Markel Brown, Oklahoma state vs. Texas Tech, 1/31
Royce White, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 1/31
Savalace Townsend, Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State, 1/28 (DotY Candidate)
Weekend Recap, 1/25 - 1/29
Tony Wroten Jr., Washington vs. Arizona State, 1/26 (DotY Candidate)
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Dayton, 1/25
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri, 1/25 (DotY Candidate)
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 1/24
Dion Dixon, Cincinnati vs. Syracuse, 1/23
Victor Rudd Jr., South Florida vs. St. John's, 1/17 (DotY Candidate)
C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, 1/14
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26



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Butler Likely to see increase in FG% with addition of Arkansas transfer

The Butler Bulldogs shot a combined 34-122 (27%) from the field in the past two National Championship games. If the Bulldogs happen to make it back to the title game in 2013, it's safe to say that they wouldn't be able to shoot that poorly if they tried.

Why?

Because they will have the services of Rotnei Clarke, one of the deadliest assassins in the college hoops game.

Clarke spent the past three seasons as the starting shooting guard at Arkansas,but decided to transfer after the school fired coach John Pelphrey in March and hired former Missouri coach Mike Anderson.

Initially, Clarke was not granted a release of his scholarship by the new head coach, but after a week of posturing, he was allowed to chose a new program.

Clarke was thought to be headed to Oklahoma, the state in which he set the all-time scoring record in while in high school. But with a NCAA investigation looming over the school, Clarke decided the better fit was with a program not typically known for high-octane scoring.

Clarke led the Razorbacks in scoring with 15.2-ppg and made a team-high 43.8 percent of his 3-pointers this past season. He has a career-high of 51-points, which he scored on 13-17 shooting from beyond the arc against Alcorn State in 2009. Clarke is known as being somewhat of a high-volume shooter, which is likely to give Brad Stevens a migraine or two.

But shooting 17% from the field in the National Championship game is likely to give a head coach a migraine too.


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Rotnei Clarke gets his release, but was there more to it?

So it turns out that Rotnei Clarke has, in fact, received his release from Arkansas.

All it took was a column from Jeff Goodman and a corresponding blog post from Matt Norlander to convince Arkansas that what they were doing was wrong, right? Mike Anderson was evil for making Clarke have to twist in the wind while watching two of his former teammates receive their releases to transfer out of Fayetteville. All that needed to happen was for CBSSports to publish a couple of articles to get the word out and all would be right with the world.

But maybe things weren't as clean cut as we all thought.


Now don't get me wrong, I hate the fact that coaches can wield this kind of control over their players. Allowing a coach to control whether or not a player is allowed to receive his release to transfer from the school is one of the most atrocious rules in college athletics when you consider that a) the player is going to have to sit out a year if they are allowed to transfer by the coach and b) that very same coach is able to leave for a better situation without penalty if he is so inclined. Nothing that Norlander or Goodman wrote I disagree with.

There is no loyalty in college basketball, which is part of the reason I love seeing a player bend the rules to his advantage.

That said, there seems to be more to this situation than the evil Mike Anderson refusing to grant one of his players a release.

You see, this isn't the first time that Rotnei Clarke has threatened to transfer. He did so after his sophomore season as well. It also appears as if Clarke has himself quite an entourage, dubbed "Team Clarke" by one local columnist:

Usually speaking as a "source" not to be named, Team Clarke let us know that Rotnei Clarke was being misused. Certain selfish teammates were not getting him the ball. Pelphrey's offense was void of the picks and screens that would free Clarke up to take maximum advantage of his shooting skills.

Team Clarke informed the media on more than one occasion that poor Rotnei was so frustrated with poor coaching and self centered teammates that he was going to have no choice but to ask for his release.

So Clarke wasn't exactly the easiest player to deal with. He decided to return to Arkansas for his junior year after burning a local reporter that went public with the fact that Rotnei's decision to transfer was final. But after the season, Clarke once again asked for his release, this time going to AD Jeff Long after John Pelphrey was fired. Long forced Clarke to wait until he had a chance to meet with the new head coach, Anderson, and it seemed that things were going fine up until last week, when the CBSSports.com reports were published:

Rotnei wanted out of his scholarship but Mike Anderson was refusing to allow it. This time Team Clarke went public arranging for Rotnei to speak to CBS.com reporter Jeff Goodman. Clarke complained that he was being denied his release even though two teammates were allowed to leave. Goodman also revealed that two of Arkansas incoming freshman had been turned down when they wanted to be released. It wasn’t hard to figure out where that bit of information came from.

To date Anderson has not commented on any of this.

So what set Team Clarke off this time?

I’m told that Rotnei recently got caught in a miscommunication between Anderson and a support staff member. The kid got chewed out for something that wasn't his fault.

That paints a bit of a different picture, doesn't it?

Could it be that Clarke wasn't granted his release at first because the higher-ups at Arkansas had heard this song and dance before? Quite possibly. We've all heard about the boy who cries wolf, and Arkansas may have simply felt that Clarke was just a frustrated player that was paying too much attention to the people around him. Transferring as a junior, even one that averaged 15 ppg, is not necessarily the brightest decision. If Clarke doesn't get his undergraduate degree this summer, he will be forced to sit out a season at a different school before using his final year of eligibility at a different program where minutes aren't guaranteed.

Maybe Long and Anderson thought they were doing what was in the best interest of Clarke. Maybe they were willing to deal with "Team Clarke" until "Team Clarke" went public with their problems.

And maybe Long and Anderson simply did not want to lose their leading scorer, opting to play the role of evil dictator in denying Clarke's transfer request.

Who knows. I don't think anyone can claim with much certainty what, exactly, went on behind the scenes between Clarke and Arkansas. Even with this new bit of information, Long and Anderson come off looking bad.

But keep in mind that things may not necessarily be exactly as they seem.
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Mike Anderson keeps the Arkansas recruiting class intact

Mike Anderson has handled his first challenge at his new job with relative ease.

The new Arkansas head coach was walking into a bit of a difficult situation. John Pelphrey had landed one of the best recruiting classes in the country, but with the head coaching change, the question that many in the Natural State -- and a number of other coaching staffs -- were asking was whether Anderson would be able to keep those kids committed.

According to Andy Katz, he has. And it was probably an easier task than you or I expected.

Guard Ky Madden and forwards Aaron Ross and Hunter Mickelson, who are all ranked in the top 25 at their position, are Arkansas natives. Their commitments likely had a lot to do with playing for their home-state Razorbacks. Point guard BJ Young and forward Devonte Abron were recruited by Anderson when he was still at Missouri, meaning that both had a previous relationship with Anderson. This wasn't a complete stranger taking over the program.

With a top ten recruiting class coming in and a decent amount of talent returning -- headlined by Rotnei Clarke and Marshon Powell -- Arkansas looks like they have a chance to make some noise in the SEC next season. The biggest issue will be how well the roster adapts to Mike Anderson's "40 minutes of hell" style of play. Anderson will have some athleticism at his disposal, which will make this a fun team to watch.

Success isn't guaranteed, however.

If you remember, last spring Jeff Bzdelik took over Wake Forest when Dino Gaudio was fired. He managed to keep Gaudio's impressive fine-man recruiting class intact and got a couple of Wake's returnees to stay on campus. All that resulted from Bzdelik's inaugural season in Winston-Salem was one of the worst teams in recent ACC memory.
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Missouri's Mike Anderson to Arkansas per KLUT TV; has not happened yet

According to a tweet from an anchor for a TV station in Tulsa, OK, Mike Anderson will be introduced as the new head coach of the Arkansas basketball team tomorrow.

That may not necessarily be true just yet.

Gary Parrish has reported that the two sides are close to a deal, but that nothing is official yet and that there is no introduction planned for tomorrow. A source told me that Mike Anderson has not yet informed the team of his decision to leave.

Mike Anderson is still the head coach of the Missouri Tigers.

But that may only be for so long at this point.

Anderson was an assistant with the Razorbacks for 17 seasons under Nolan Richardson. He's been at Missouri for five years and has been to the NCAA Tournament for each of the last three.
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Gary Parrish's scoop creates an interesting storyline

You've surely heard about it by now, but Gary Parrish broke the news of a recruiting violation committed by Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey.

In a photograph obtained by CBSSports.com, Pelphrey is shown posing with Sylvan Hill High standout Archie Goodwin (a consensus top-20 national recruit) and teammate Trey Smith last December at a high school tournament in Conway, Ark. Bylaw 13.1.1.1 states that off-campus contact cannot be made with a prospect (or his relatives or legal guardians) before July 1, following the completion of his junior year of high school. Goodwin and Smith are still in their junior years of high school.

Despite having a terrific recruiting class coming in next season, Pelphrey has come under fire in the last week as the good folks of Arkansas have been calling for his head. An ad was taken out in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette last week urging fans to push for Pelphrey's firing.

That just about answers the question of how Parrish got a picture that, in Smith's words, happened as simply as "My mom was like, 'Hey, go get a picture.' So we snapped a picture." Someone that saw the photo and wants Pelphrey gone sent it to a guy he knew would be able to get it seen.

That's not what is interesting about this story.

Tonight at 7:30 pm, Arkansas plays Tennessee in the first round of the SEC Tournament.

Just in case your memory has failed you, Bruce Pearl was fined over $1 million, was suspended for eight games by the SEC, and is still facing the NCAA firing squad as a result of lying to the NCAA about a picture taken of Aaron Craft during an illegal recruiting visit to Pearl's home.
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Marshawn Powell gets suspended

It has been a while since we have heard about trouble coming out of Fayetteville, AR, but apparently it was only a matter of time.

Sophomore Marshawn Powell, who averaged 14.9 ppg and 7.6 rpg as a freshman, has been suspended by head coach Dennis the Menace John Pelphrey. This came on the heels of Powell seeing his playing time severely diminished -- he only played one minute against Texas Southern after playing just 10 minutes at Texas A&M -- and is only averaging 7.4 ppg and 3.6 rpg.

Some of that is a result of Powell battling back from a broken foot he suffered over the summer. Apparently there is something else going on as well:

Pelphrey has consistently declined to comment on the reason why Powell's play was diminished.

Most recently, Powell was late getting back from the Christmas break, reporting that he was involved in a traffic accident in his home state of Virginia.

"We sat down and had a little talk on (Tuesday), after he got back," Pelphrey said. "I think he took it pretty well. He is still a part of this basketball team and I think he knows he needs to do some things to get back out on the floor with the team. It is a fluid situation and can be as short or as long as it needs to be."

It certainly has to be frustrating for Razorback fans.

Arkansas may very well be the best team in the SEC West this season, which, admittedly, isn't saying all that much. Still, with Rotnei Clarke being joined with guys like Julysses Nobles and Delvon Johnson, Arkansas has some pieces this season.

If Pelphrey can get Powell to buy into what he selling, the Razorbacks will be a team to keep an eye on come conference play.
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John Pelphrey has put together a great Class of 2011 recruits

John Pelphrey has had a rough go of it at Arkansas.

He's had trouble getting talent to head to Fayetteville, and the talent he does bring in never seems to be able to stay on the court. Suspensions, injuries, professional defections, you name it. Pelphrey hasn't won, and he hasn't run a program that can keep its name out of the police blotter.

That's a bad combination for a basketball coach.

But there is hope.

Yesterday, Rashad "Ky" Madden committed to Arkansas in a bit of a surprise move. (Most reports had him heading to Ole Miss.) According to our consensus top 100 rankings, Madden, an Arkansas native and an athletic, 6'5" combo guard, is the No. 34 recruit in the country. This commitment comes just three weeks after Pelphrey earned a commitment from BJ Young, a super talented point guard out of Indiana and the No. 18 recruit according to our rankings. Young's commitment came with Hunter Mickelson, a 6'10" center from Arkansas and the No. 75 recruit, and Aaron Ross, a 6'8" slasher who ranked No. 115, already committed to their home state school.

Put that together, and you have one of the best recruiting classes in the country. Its impressive.

And, as Gary Parrish points out, it ensures that Pelphrey, no matter how hot his seat gets, will have until at least the end of the 2011-2012 season to start winning.

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John Pelphrey's decision to take on BJ Young could be a risky one

I was all set to wax poetic about John Pelphrey's recruiting job over the weekend.

Pelphrey was able to land a commitment from talented 6'3" guard BJ Young, who sits at 25th on our consensus recruiting rankings list. Young is a big time scorer who excels when he has the ball in his hands and is able to slash to the rim. While his range must improve, he has a decent mid-range game. He's a scorer, but there is potential for him to be able to play the point.

BJ Young, a top 25 recruit with some baggage, has committed to Arkansas.
(photo credit: Louisville C-J)

Reading this, my mind started to race. When Young gets to Arkansas, he will be joining a team that already has Rotnei Clarke and Marshon Powell. If Pelphrey can manage to get two years with that core of players, along with anyone else he is able to recruit in that period of time, its impossible to say that things aren't looking up for the Arkansas program.

Then I saw this in Jeff Borzello's article at NBEBasketball:

He had zero offers prior to the spring, and has only played a half-season of high school basketball due to a transfer and academic troubles.

So I spent some time on google, and found this from Dave Telep:

Young hasn't played much high school basketball. Because of transfers and academics, he’s missed a good portion of his high school career.

I don't know BJ Young. I don't know all that much about him. Seeing as he made a meteoric rise since the spring, I'm probably not alone in that regard.

What I do know is that the Arkansas program has been in the news more for off-the-court issues than for on-the-court performance. The last few years, they have been plagued by suspensions -- academic and behavioral, highlighted by a rape allegation last summer and an accusation of academic scandal.

Like I said, I don't claim to know anything about Young. I'm not saying that he is a bad kid or that he is dumb or that he will cause trouble when he gets to Arkansas. But Young, clearly, is a risky pick up. Just look at what Will Barton went through this summer to be cleared at Memphis. Or what Josh Selby is currently going through. Or what Mike Anderson is going through, knowing he won't have Tony Mitchell this season.

Hopefully, knowing that he has a chance to get a free education will be a wake-up call for Young. We all make bad decisions when we are younger, and based on some of the quotes I have seen (When asked by Telep why he committed so early, Young said "I'm ready to focus on school and taking more visits would have hurt (my academics).") it appears as if Young is ready to buckle down and get himself eligible.

He has a year. A lot can be done in a year.

Pelphrey has worked hard to get his program's academics up to par. Their four-year APR rating was 888 after the 2009 season, but he got a bump to 933 (above the required 925) after 2010.

I'm not saying that Pelphrey shouldn't have gotten a commitment from Young. If he didn't, someone else would have; Young is a talented kid. But the risks involved, especially for a program that has had the off-the-court issues that Arkansas has had lately, needs to be noted.

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Irony in St. Louis

The 2009 College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon ends tonight in St. Louis with the Naismith Hall of Fame Classic as Louisville plays Arkansas and Memphis takes on Kansas.

The name is quite ironic given what happened this summer, don't you think? You see, all four teams taking part in the event had far from an ideal off-season.

Memphis lost their coach, his recruiting class, four of their own players, and their trip to the national title game.

Kansas not only had two kids get DUI's, they had multiple brawls with the football team that not only made national headlines, but ended up with Tyshawn Taylor missing three weeks with a broken thumb.

Arkansas has had a laundry list of issues over the past two years, which culminated in John Pelphrey handing down suspensions to five players prior to the start of the season.

Louisville had to deal with Rick Pitino's extortion case, the accusations and eventual admission of his affair and abortion, and as if they were adding icing on the cake, Terrence Jennings and Jerry Smith got arrested for scuffling with cops in Indiana.

At least they aren't playing in the Role Model's Classic...
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Suspensions aplenty

As it is still technically the pre-season for 339 of the 347 DI college basketball teams, coaches are still trying to figure out who exactly they are going to have available to them, and when those players will be available.

Yesterday, it was eligibility problems that were in the news, as it looks more and more likely that freshman Renardo Sidney will be showing off his street clothes come Mississippi State's Nov. 13th season opener. The news was all bad, however, as UConn's Jamal Coombs-McDaniel and Mouphtaou Yarou were both given the go-ahead to suit up.

Today, it is suspensions.

Let's start with Arkansas, where head coach John Pelphrey has handed down suspensions to five players. Freshman Glenn Bryant will miss two games. Junior Marcus Britt got six games for two separate violations of team rules. Freshman walk-on Nick Mason won't be dressing during the first semester.

But the most important suspensions were handed down to senior Stefan Walsh and sophomore Courtney Fortson, two starters from last years team. Both Walsh and Fortson have been suspended by Pelphrey before, and the latest is a result of multiple violations of team rules.

This is a big blow for an Arkansas team that actually has enough talent on their roster to compete in the SEC West. Kudos to John Pelphrey for laying down the law, although with everything his program has been through in the last two years, including allegations of rape just two months ago, is it already to late?


Also suspended is recently reinstated Illinois guard Jeff Jordan, Michael's other son. Jordan left the team after last season, and over the summer played in a non-sanctioned tournament, which Illini head coach Bruce Weber believes was a 3-on-3 tournament.

Jordan will have to sit out against SIU-Edwardsville on the 13th and Northern Illinois on the 17th, but he will be eligible to suit up against Presbyterian on the 21st.


UPDATE: Came across another one. Indiana State's Dwayne Lathan, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, is finally eligible this season after sitting out a year per transfer rules. A Louisiana native, Lathan was apparently looking forward to playing at LSU in the first round of the preseason NIT, the Sycamores second game of the season.

But back in April of 2008, Lathan played in a charity 3-on-3 tournament while still at Tech. The tournament was non-sanctioned. Thus, Lathan was suspended by the NCAA for the first two games of the season, meaning he will miss the LSU game.

For a charity, 3-on-3 basketball tournament 19 months ago.

Way to fry the big fish, NCAA.
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Top 10 moments from 2008-2009 - No. 9

College basketball season tips off today, and in an effort to get you guys (and ourselves) excited, we will be counting down the Top 10 moments from last season. Check back with us throughout the day as we will be posting on the hour until 7pm, when UNC and FIU kick off the 2009-2010 college basketball season.

9. We have a three-way tie because, well, we couldn't make a decision. Sue us. Michael Washington's dunk to beat then No. 7 Texas was one of my favorite plays of the year, but Greivis Vasquez's performance in Maryland's upset of UNC was one of the most dominating performances I have ever seen, perhaps only topped by Jodie Meeks going for 54 against Tennessee.






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John Calipari: "The SEC should get 7 or 8 teams"

The SEC had their media day today, and it was relatively uneventful.

Perhaps the biggest news came from John Calipari via his twitter (where else?).

I told the media the SEC should get 7 or 8 teams in the NCAA Tournament this year.

Some people took exception to this statement, specifically Eamonn Brennan over at The Dagger.

The Dagger is one of the best college hoops blogs out there, and I generally agree with most of what those guys say. But I have to disagree with this:

No, dude. No. If this was a coach from the Big Ten, sure. The ACC, maybe. The Big East? I'd listen. But not the SEC. Come on now... Everyone knows this is silly, right? I don't have to explain why this is silly?

Not only do I think there is a chance the SEC gets seven teams in this year, I think it is a very real possibility.

The SEC Tournament will be one of the most exciting come March.
(photo credit: NashvilleSports.com)

Why?

Because the SEC is going to be the most improved conference in the country.

Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi State (even without Renardo Sidney) are virtual locks to get a bid.

Ole Miss will return a healthy Eniel Polynice and Chris Warren, and when combined with Terrico White give the Rebels one of the best back courts in the league. I don't think it is out of the realm of possibility that Ole Miss wins 11 or 12 games in the league this year.

South Carolina barely missed the NCAA's last season, and returns Devan Downey, one of the best scorers in the country, and their entire front line.

Vanderbilt will be a sleeper in the league this year as they return everyone and add freshman John Jenkins, who may be the best shooter in the country, to the mix to fill their biggest hole last season.

Florida is overflowing with potential, and while they did lose their point guard Nick Calathes, the Gators may be better off with Kenny Boynton at the point.

Even Arkansas, a team that struggled to a 2-14 finish and may be the worst run program in the country, returns their top four scorers from a team that beat both Texas and Oklahoma early last season.

Simply put, the SEC, especially the eastern division, is going to be very good this season.
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John Pelphrey could be on the hot seat

Earlier this week, a female student at the University of Arkansas claimed that she was raped by three members of the basketball team. No charges were filed in the matter because there was not enough evidence to prove the girl was unaware of the sex act. (If you really want the sordid details read them here.)

I bet this is the face John Pelphrey made when he saw Fortson's Tweet.
(photo credit: MeriaHuoll)

The bigger issue now is the state of John Pelphrey's Arkansas program. Pelphrey has only been at the helm for two seasons, and they already have had a laundry list of problems:

Aug. 8 Patrick Beverley withheld for season. Beverley left the team and later admitted to academic fraud.
Oct. 24 Courtney Fortson, Jason Henry suspended.
Nov. 3 Courtney Fortson remains suspended.
Nov. 22 Jason Henry suspended.
Nov. 29 Montrell McDonald indefinitely suspended.
Dec. 17 Montrell McDonald quits the team after four-game suspension.
Jan. 24 Marcus Monk withheld from competition because of "eligibility" issue a month after joining the team. He never returns.
Feb. 1 Brandon Moore suspended following DUI arrest.
Feb. 12 Courtney Fortson suspended.
March 10 Jason Henry suspended.
May 6 Basketball program put on notice for 888 Academic Progress Rate. NCAA standard is 925.
June 1 Marcus Britt suspended follwing DUI arrest.
July 8 Jason Henry no longer part of basketball team. He is the fourth member of a six-person recruiting class to leave the program.
July 10 Stefan Welsh reportedly suspended indefinitely.
Sep. 9 Reports linking three UA basketball players, including two newcomers, to an alleged rape surface. No charges were filed.

The most recent allegation?

Courtney Fortson's failed attempt at humor. In a tweet, Fortson posted "Im gettin it at workouts like a dude who doesnt understand the word no from a drunk girl lol". Fortson could be facing his third suspension since he joined the Razorbacks.

Apparently, when your athletics program is dealing with allegations of rape against three of your teammates, they don't appreciate jokes involving sexual assault. Who'd-a-thunk it?

In all seriousness, Pelphrey's job may actually be in jeopardy. Here is a guy who won just two games in the SEC last season, and has seen his team deal with everything from academic fraud (Patrick Beverly said that papers were written for him and his teammates) to allegations of rape, with a couple DUI's and a smattering of suspensions thrown in.

What is going on in Fayetteville?

How long will the athletic department put up with this behavior before they blame the coach? And it sure doesn't help that Pelphrey isn't winning games.

The most frustrating part about it is that Arkansas has a chance to be pretty good this year. They bring back an excellent inside-outside combination in Fortson and 6'9" senior Michael Washington, a potential first rounder. Both Rotnei Clarke and Stefan Walsh and above-average wings (all four of those returners started and averaged double figures last season), and Pelphrey has added a couple talented newcomers on the interior in freshman Marshawn Powell and JuCo transfer Delvon Johnson.

Remember, this Razorbacks team did beat both Oklahoma and Texas (when the 'Horns were still in the top 10) last season. If Pelphrey can get control of this team, they have enough talent to make a push for the SEC West crown.

But that's a really big IF.

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Another academic scandal? This time its Arkansas

For those that don't know, Patrick Beverly was kicked out of Arkansas prior to last season. A lot of rumors kicked around for a while, and in the end most people assumed it was an academic issue.

In an interview with Jonathon Givony of Draft Express, Beverly not only cleared up exactly what the issue was with Arkansas, but he video have thrown some teammates under the bus.

Video of the interview after the jump (the good stuff happens at the 5:30 mark):



That is a pretty damning thing to say. If you didn't watch the video, Beverly said "someone at Arkansas was doing papers, was doing me and some of my teammates papers. Basically, you know, instead of ratting my team out, I just said it was just me."

He has since recanted on some of what he said. From Hawgs Illustrated:

I had a paper wrote for me and I accept full responsibility. I don’t know about everybody else and what they had going on, but I know what’s up with me ... Let me clear all this up: I don’t know who was involved. I’m going to say that. I’m going to say I know what I’ve done and I accept full responsibility. I learned from my mistakes and the past was the past. I’m living in the present now. I served my punishment.

Again, he is not exactly exonerating his teammates. UA chancellor Dave Gearhart was surprised to hear Beverly say that, and while no action could be taken against Beverly since he is no longer a student, if this proves to be true, Arkansas would "take that very seriously", according to HI.

UA's basketball program has been in a constant state of turmoil since John Pelphrey took over, with 15 scholarship players leaving the program since 2007. It is so bad there that Creighton's Dana Altman only needed 24 hours to rethink taking their head coaching position.

This Beverly incident is just another black eye for a program that has fallen a long way since the days of Scottie Thurman, Corliss Williamson, and Nolan Richardson (this shot is one of the more memorable in NCAA championship game history).

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MICHAEL WASHINGTON RETURNING TO ARKANSAS: It looks like Washington, a 6'9" junior that averaged 15.5 ppg and 9.8 rpg last season, will be returning to school. If he does, in fact, head back to Fayetteville, it will be a good decision It's official, he's coming back. Washington, at best, will most likely be a second round pick. Arkansas looked promising early in the season, but a series of suspensions (including more than one for freshman PG Courtney Fortson) resulted in the Razorbacks going 2-14 in the SEC after starting the year 12-1 (which included wins over Texas and Oklahoma).

Washington did provide us with one of our favorite moments from the '08-'09 season. I vividly remember watching this play, and literally jumping off of my couch and yelling. It was that awesome (UPDATE: Video from the stands).

Go to the 6:30 mark.


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Wednesday Morning Shootaround

Go to the 3:00 mark in this video.



Ladies and gentlemen of the blogosphere, that is Arkansas's Michael Washington. Remember the name, and remember it well, because you are probably going to be hearing a lot from that young man this season. He finished the game with 22 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks to lead the Razorbacks to their second upset of a top ten team in the span of about a week.

Going into this game, I really had no idea about anyone on the Arkansas roster. I knew they had some big man that was pretty good, they had a quick little point guard with long hair, and they had a former wide receiver from the football team on their roster. After watching them, I don't know if they are one of the top 25 teams in the country (talented, two big wins, but I see a lot of red flags), but they sure do play as hard as anyone in the country.

This game had a really weird feel to it. Arkansas was up seven early, but Texas made a run and took the lead. From that point on, the Longhorns pretty much controlled the game. Texas played far from their best game (and were without Connor Atchley, who needed 20-30 stitches to close a cut on his tongue), but everytime Arkansas would make a push in the second half, everytime the crowd of 19,000+ would start rocking, the 'Horns made a big shot or a ran off consecutive hoops to quiet them.

Texas had a huge advantage on the interior because Arkansas had no answer to Dexter Pittman, Gary Johnson, and Damion James. Those three guys combined to go for 42 points and 29 boards (14 offensive).

The score was 52-46 with 9:05 left when ESPN put up a graphic saying that Texas had scored 34 points in the paint. But from that point forward, Texas seemed to go away from their post players and start settling for jump shots. As a result, they went scoreless over the next five minutes while Arkansas ran off an 11-0 run to go up 57-52. Texas tied it up with a 5-0 run, and the teams traded baskets until Arkansas found themselves up 62-61 with the ball and under a minute left, setting up that play by Washington.

Washington's game is unorthodox. He looks awkward when he makes his moves, and he doesn't seem all that coordinated. But he gets it done (if this game wasn't enough, how about the 24 and 11 he put on the Brothers Griffin). He lives off of his pump fake, whether he is backing a man down, or squaring up on the perimeter. He is getting by right now on his length and athleticism, but now that the word is out on him, teams are going to know what he is about. He needs to add some variety to his game (on the perimeter he is pump fake, drive left; on the block he back you down, then goes to each a right hand jump hook or a pump fake the same way).

I really like the moxie of Arkansas's PG Courtney Fortson. He started this game about as horribly as you can possibly start a game. In the first ten minutes, Fortson had already racked up five turnovers and two fouls. But from that point on he was brilliant. He is quick and crafty with the ball (great handle, would be a star on the and-1 mixtape), and has no problem getting into the lane. Once there, he sometimes forces tough shots (he is a freshman), but in general seems like a solid decision maker (case in point: before Washington dunked on Damion James, Fortson had penetrated baseline, beaten his man, and looked like he might of had a lay-up, but instead of shooting he decided to pull the ball out and swing it to Washington).

The best player on the floor tonight for the Razorbacks was Stefan Welsh. He had a solid game offensively (20 points on 9-21 shooting, including carrying Arkansas in the early stages of the game, without a turnover), but more importantly he completely shut down AJ Abrams. With the exception of when Texas took the ball out under the basket, Arkansas played man-to-man. Welsh was put on Abrams, and he did a fantastic job. AJ was taken completely out of his rhythm, and while he did get some makeable looks in the first half, Welsh held him without a basket. On the night, Abrams finished 3-16 from the floor for just 7 points.

Is this a trend for the SEC? Are they better then people think? We will take a look at that later in the day.

I got a chance to watch two other games last night (going to be more brief than usual with these today):

• UConn 61, West Virginia 55: The Huskies got a fantastic effort out of Stanley Robinson (15 boards - 6 offensive, 4 assists, 3 blocks) as they out muscled the Mountaineers on their home floor. Hasheem Thabeet had 13, 13, and 3 blocks and Jeff Adrien added 17 points (13 in the second half) as the Huskies manhandled a tough West Virginia team on the boards (52-33).
  
  Just a couple quick notes about this game. Alex Ruoff and Da'Sean Butler never really got it going. They both had 13 points, but combined to shoot 9-29 from the floor. Ruoff inparticular missed a lot of open three's. Part of the reason for their struggles is that West Virginia does not really have a playmaker right now (Ruoff is their leading assist man and he is a catch-and-shoot two guard). Truck Bryant is going to be a good point guard one day, but he is just not quite ready to lead a team.
  
  The same goes for Kemba Walker, who is being forced into a lot of minutes as AJ Price continues to struggle. Last night, Price was 0-9 from the floor with 2 turnovers and 2 assists. The Huskies proved tonight that they can play with the intensity that they need to play with in order to be successful in the Big East, but they are going to need AJ Price to awaken from this season-long slumber. In all fairness, Walker had a pretty good game (10 points, 8 boards, just 1 turnover), but he took some ill-advised shots (2-8 from the floor) and didn't hand out a single assist.
• Michigan State 67, Ohio State 58: The Spartans went on a 21-5 run, sparked by hitting five straight three's, that turned a four point deficit into a 12 point lead. The Buckeyes were never able to recover as the Spartans were just too good defensively. In what amounted to a fairly average game, the play of three guys really stood out. MSU PG Kalin Lucas is so improved from last season. He is the fastest guy on the floor just about every time he steps on the court (I would love to see a footrace between him, Ty Lawson, Darren Collison, Kemba Walker, and Courtney Fortson - my money is on my boy Kemba), which was a detriment to him last year as he would get out of control. But this season, he is using that speed to perfection in leading the break. He makes good decisions with the ball, is an efficient scorer (20 points last night on 6-8 shooting), and doesn't turn the ball over (17 on the season compared to 84 assists - that's almost a 5:1 ratio).
  
  The other two guys are the Ohio State freshman BJ Mullens and William Buford. Mullens played as well as I have seen him play to date. He was scoring in the post (a couple jump hooks going either way, a turn-around jumper, a couple tip-dunks) but he was also aggressively defending the rim. He finished with 16 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks in just 22 minutes of play. He is still raw, however, as he didn't have the balance (core and leg strength) to deal with Goran Suton in the post. Suton knocked him around early in the game, forcing Mullens to take some wild shots. Buford looks like he could be a great compliment to Evan Turner once he gets more consistent. Turner is a slasher that loves to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim or hit a pull-up jumper. Buford, who has the same body type and athletic build, is more of a shooter that is effective coming off of a screen. Buford had one of his better games as he shot 7-13 from the floor and finished with a team-high 17 points.
  

The rest of the night's action:

• Clemson 66, Alabama 59: Alabama was down six at the half, but took the lead at 42-41 midway through the second half. The Tigers responded by holding the Crimson Tide scoreless over the next six minutes as the went on a 14-0 run that blew the game open. Trevor Booker led the Tigers with 19.
• Penn State 67, Purdue 64: Penn State blew a 15 point first half lead, but used a 13-0 run in the second half to hand Purdue an 0-2 start in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers were shorthanded as Robbie Hummell (back) and Chris Kramer (sprained foot) both missed the game. Talor Battle led the Nittany Lions with 21 and 9 dimes.
  
• Villanova 89, Seton Hall 85 OT: Scottie Reynolds went for 40 points as the Wildcats were able to hang on in overtime. Jeremy Hazell had 23 points with 16:00 left in the second half, but was shut down by Reggie Redding until he banked in a three with seconds left to send the game to OT.
• Florida 95, Longwood 69: Doesn't Longwood 69 sound like a porn star's name?
• Georgia Tech 67, Georgis 62
• Kansas 91, Siena 84: Cole Aldrich had 23, 14 boards, and 4 blocks.
• TCU 85, Texas Tech 80
• Missouri 88, Coppin State 55
• Dayton 45, Miami OH 40: This game was 17-17 at halftime. Not too upset about missing that...
• Bradley 56, Illinois State 52: Bradley is the best defensive team in the MVC, and it showed last night as they held the Redbirds and their high powered offense to just 37% shooting and 52 points. Bradley was up by as much as 14 in the second half, and Illinois State never really threatened. Chris Roberts and Theron Wilson each had 12 for the Braves while Osiris Eldridge led ISU with 17 and 10.
• Northern Iowa 69, Creighton 66: Creighton, the preseason MVC favorites, is now 2-2 in the conference after back-to-back losses.
  
• Oklahoma State 83, Savannah State 56
• UTEP 73, New Mexico 60
• Utah 91, LSU 61: What does this tell us? That Utah, who also beat Gonzaga, is for real or that LSU is not?
• BYU 85, Western Oregon 64
  

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