POSTERIZED: Kenny Gabriel puts it in reverse

Kenny Gabriel is doing his mightiest to make us pay attention to Auburn basketball. Sure, the Tigers are 4-8 in the SEC and 14-12 overall, but they just defeated No.23 Mississippi State on Saturday night, ending a three-game losing streak.

Just look at some of Gabriel's stats: 12.3ppg, 7.9rpg, 2.4bpg and 1.7apg. But his most impressive feats don't get mentioned in the box score.

He's one of the top dunkers in the SEC and the entire country.

If you need more convincing, just peep the following video.



That's the best reverse dunk we've seen all season.

I really like Gabriel. He's one of (If not the) most under-appreciated player in the SEC. But dunks like this one should help more to make more people appreciate his work.



But was it as good as these?

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
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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POSTERIZED: Kenny Gabriel gets an assist from somebody's face

We all know that Auburn's Kenny Gabriel can dunk. Against Arkansas on Saturday, the 6-foot-8 forward threw down another dandy-of-a-dunk off of a fast break.



But the best part is that the turnover came after Arkansas' Marcus Britt threw a pass to teammate Mike Sanchez, who clearly wasn't ready for the pass. The ball smacked Sanchez right in the face. Gabriel picked up the loose ball and took it to the rack with authority.

But was it as good as one of these?:

POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Louisville
POSTERIZED - Matt Dickey, UNC-Asheville
POSTERIZED - Jeff Robinson, Xavier
POSTERIZED - Nyika Williams
POSTERIZED - Jawanza Poland, South Florida
POSTERIZED - Brady Jardine, Utah State
POSTERIZED - Tony Mitchell, Alabama
POSTERIZED - John Williams, UNC-Asheville
POSTERIZED - Peyton Siva, Louisville
POSTERIZED - E'Twaun Moore, Purdue
POSTERIZED - DJ Newbill, Southern Mississippi
POSTERIZED - Scotty Hopson, Tennessee
POSTERIZED - Justin Brownlee, St. John's
POSTERIZED - Tyrone Johnson
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Terrence Ross, Washington
POSTERIZED - Justin Tubbs, East Tennessee State
POSTERIZED - Harrison Barnes, North Carolina
POSTERIZED - Andre Roberson, Colorado
POSTERIZED - Durrell Summers, Michigan State
POSTERIZED - Phillip McDonald, New Mexico
POSTERIZED - Kyle Kuric, Louisville
POSTERIZED - Anthony Nelson, Niagara
POSTERIZED - Cory Joseph, Texas
POSTERIZED - Will Sheehey, Indiana
POSTERIZED - Tom Pritchard, Indiana
POSTERIZED - Shay Shine, High Point
POSTERIZED - John Holland, Boston
POSTERIZED - Keith Gabriel, VMI
POSTERIZED - Travis McKie, Wake Forest
POSTERIZED - Jefferson Mason, Minnesota State (D-II)
POSTERIZED - Tyler Johnson, Fresno State
POSTERIZED - John Williams, UNC-Asheville
POSTERIZED - Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Hollis Thompson, Georgetown
POSTERIZED - Darnell Wilks, Cincinnati
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette
POSTERIZED - Darrius Garrett, Richmond
POSTERIZED - Travis Cohn, Jacksonville
POSTERIZED - Ramon Galloway, South Carolina
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Justin Tubbs, East Tennessee State
POSTERIZED - John Williams, UNC-Asheville
POSTERIZED - Kevin Smith, Richmond
POSTERIZED - Mitchell Watt, Buffalo
POSTERIZED - Chandler Parsons, Florida
POSTERIZED - Kenny Gabriel, Auburn
POSTERIZED - Paris Horne, St. John's
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Laurence Bowers, Missouri
POSTERIZED - Drew Gordon, New Mexico
POSTERIZED - Tony Mitchell, Alabama
POSTERIZED - Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt
POSTERIZED - LaMarcus Reed, UT-Arlington
POSTERIZED - Marcus Morris, Kansas
POSTERIZED - Jared Cunningham, Oregon State
POSTERIZED - Langston Morris-Walker
POSTERIZED - Chris Wright and Juwan Staten, Dayton
POSTERIZED - D.J Stephens, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Reeves Nelson, UCLA
POSTERIZED - Kendall Marshall and John Henson, UNC
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Joe Jackson, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Shay Shine, High Point
POSTERIZED - Harrison Barnes, North Carolina
POSTERIZED - Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion
POSTERIZED - CJ Fair, Syracuse
POSTERIZED - LeBryan Nash
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Marcus Jordan, Central Florida
POSTERIZED - Lorenzo Brown, NC State
POSTERIZED - Tai Wesley, Utah State
POSTERIZED - Trent Lockett, Arizona State, and Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Brandon Paul, Illinois
POSTERIZED - Jordan Hamilton, Texas
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POSTERIZED: Kenny Gabriel gives us a reason to watch Auburn

We didn't find this until now, but that's probably because this dunk took place in a Auburn/LSU game (yuh-ikes) on a Saturday with 138 other games going on. So you have to forgive us that this dunk went so long unnoticed.

But still, what-a-dunk.



Kenny Gabriel's dunk will probably end-up being the lone bright spot in the Tigers season.

But was it as good as one of these?:

POSTERIZED - Paris Horne, St. John's
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Laurence Bowers, Missouri
POSTERIZED - Drew Gordon, New Mexico
POSTERIZED - Tony Mitchell, Alabama
POSTERIZED - Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt
POSTERIZED - LaMarcus Reed, UT-Arlington
POSTERIZED - Marcus Morris, Kansas
POSTERIZED - Jared Cunningham, Oregon State
POSTERIZED - Langston Morris-Walker
POSTERIZED - Chris Wright and Juwan Staten, Dayton
POSTERIZED - D.J Stephens, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Reeves Nelson, UCLA
POSTERIZED - Kendall Marshall and John Henson, UNC
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Joe Jackson, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Shay Shine, High Point
POSTERIZED - Harrison Barnes, North Carolina
POSTERIZED - Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion
POSTERIZED - CJ Fair, Syracuse
POSTERIZED - LeBryan Nash
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Marcus Jordan, Central Florida
POSTERIZED - Lorenzo Brown, NC State
POSTERIZED - Tai Wesley, Utah State
POSTERIZED - Trent Lockett, Arizona State, and Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Brandon Paul, Illinois
POSTERIZED - Jordan Hamilton, Texas


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Charles Barkley took money from agents?

That's what he said on Dan Patrick's radio show yesterday morning.

Patrick and Barkley were discussing amateurism issues in college sports, specifically Reggie Bush giving back his Heisman Trophy, when the topic was brought up.

"If a guy wants to borrow money from an agent because he's poor, what is wrong with that?" Barkley said. "Nobody can tell me what is wrong with that. I got money from agents when I was in college and I went in the '80s. Most of the players I know borrowed money from agents. The colleges don't give us anything. If they give us a pair of sneakers, they get in trouble."

"Why can't an agent lend me some money and I'll pay him back when I graduate?"

Well, because that is pretty blatantly against NCAA regulations.

Charles Barkley admitted to taking money from agents while at Auburn.
(photo credit: Encyclopedia Alabama)

In his defense, Barkley said that he only received "chump change" while in college, that he got "walking around money", not enough money to buy a house. I think anyone will agree that there is a big difference between a couple hundred bucks to get a pair of Jordans and getting a car, a flat screen, and and five figures in a bank account. Slippery slope, I know, but you get my point.

I'm not here to argue with Chuck about his opinion on whether or not players should get paid while in college. I am actually for the big-time athletes -- the players that are selling the jerseys and bringing fans into the stadiums -- getting a bigger slice of the pie.

But is admitting that he took money from agents really the best way for Barkley to help further the cause?

Regardless, Auburn won't face any punishment as a result. The NCAA has a four-year statute of limitations.

No one should be surprised either. Barkley played in the SEC. In the 1980's. And you think there are a lot of agents around SEC teams today?



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Derek Kellogg is cleaning up the SEC's mess

Derek Kellogg has not had the best start to his head coaching career.

In 2008-2009, his Minutemen struggled through a 12-18 season, although they did knock off then-defending champion Kansas. Last season wasn't much better, as UMass finished just 12-20. And while UMass brings back the majority of their rotation, they will be conspicuously without Ricky Harris, who was just seven points shy of averaging 20 ppg on the season.

But the good people of Amherst do have something to look forward too. Kellogg is proving to be a serious recruiter. His 2009 class was impressive, as top 100 recruit Terrell Vinson headlined a five-man class where each player received at least a three-star rating by Rivals (Vinson was a four-star).

Derek Kellogg has been doing a great job on the recruiting trail.
(photo credit: NCAABBS)

This season, Kellogg brings in three more three-star recruits, with 5'8" spark plug Daryl Traynham, who cracked the Rivals top 150 list, leading the way.

With second leading scorer Anthony Gurley also coming back, UMass has talent on their roster this season. I doubt I'm the only one that thinks this team could be a sleeper in the Atlantic 10 this season.

But wait.

There's more.

Cady Lalanne is an 6'7" forward that showed enough potential to draw interest from a number of major college programs before committing to Georgia last October. But Lalanne couldn't get academically eligible at Georgia, and as the SEC does not allow Prop-48 players (Prop-48 requires incoming student-athletes to reach certain academic standards, and if they aren't met, the athlete can become eligible if they have a 2.0 GPA after their freshman year), Lalanne needed to find a different school.

Along came Kellogg, who scooped up Lalanne two weeks ago.

But wait.

There's more.

Luke Cothron has as much potential as just about any power forward in the class of 2010. He's big, he's athletic, and he has the skills to be a face up forward. But he also has attitude and effort problems, and after bouncing around during high school, Cothron committed to, then de-committed from, NC State before signing with Auburn. But like Lalanne, Cothron was not cleared academically. And like Lalanne, Cothron is expected to go from the SEC to UMass.

Now, neither Cothron or Lalanne (Cothron and Lalanne ... has a nice ring to it, no?) will be eligible until 2011. And there's something to be said about the potential of a recruit that is unable to get eligible in college -- especially one with the red flags of a kid like Cothron. But talent is talent. Kellogg is a protoge of John Calipari, who has seemingly perfected the art of coaching questionable characters with talent.

With a roster that will lose just one significant piece this year (Gurley), and a full year for Kellogg to bring in another recruit of two, the future looks bright for the Minutemen.

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Luke Cothron signs with Auburn, and how that decision effects Kadeem Jack

Back in March, Tony Barbee left UTEP to take the head coaching position as Auburn, and while Auburn is an SEC school, its not one that is really known for being a powerhouse factor in basketball.

Barbee has a long road ahead him. Auburn won just 15 games last season and hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2003.

But Barbee seems to be well on his way towards being able to sell Auburn as an up and coming program, especially in the state of Alabama. Late last week, he landed his second recruit out of Huntsville, AL. The first, Josh Langford, was a three star recruit that was pursued by a couple of other high majors in the south. But the real coup came when Luke Cothron, a consensus top 50 recruit that had received a lot of interest from UConn, Tennessee, and even Kentucky, signed with the Tigers.

Luke Cothron signed with Auburn.
(photo credit MUScoop)

When you are trying to build a program to relevance, one of the keys is to keep the talent in your backyard local. Auburn isn't a school with the national recognition of a Kentucky or a UConn -- they aren't going to be landing many top 50 players from New York City or California -- which is why being able to land a kid like Cothron is so important.

The more interesting part is that Cothron is now the third elite power forward that Calipari has missed on in this class. First, it was CJ Leslie's decision to play at NC State. Next came Terrence Jones, who committed to Washington earlier this month.

And while its debatable how much interest Kentucky actually had in Cothron -- if you believe the rumors, Calipari is still recruiting Jones -- what isn't debatable is the gap that the Wildcats have at the power forward spot. How many people thought that Coach Cal was going to miss not only on Leslie and Jones, but that Cothron would opt to go to Auburn over Kentucky?

It seems that Kentucky has now set their sites on 6'9" Rice forward Kadeem Jack.

Late last week, Jack announced that he would not be committing to a college, instead opting to go the prep school route. Its not a terrible decision; Jack was drawing interest from schools like Arizona, Miami, and Arkansas, but he could really use a year to mature both his game -- he's quite athletic and long, but very raw offensively -- and his body -- at 6'9", he is checking in at just 210 lb.

Having said that, Jack may want to rethink his decision to attend prep school.

With Kentucky's hole at the four, and with the Wear twins deciding to transfer out of the UNC program and leave the Heels with just two post players, both blue bloods have scheduled visits with Jack.

Jack isn't talented enough right now to be the answer; there's a reason that Leslie and Jones with top 15 recruits Jack isn't on many, if any, top 100 lists. But he is 6'9", and he is a high major player, which means that he should be talented enough to plug the hole both programs have up front.

Don't be surprised if Jack jumps at one of these opportunities.

How often do you get a chance to play for one of the most storied college basketball programs?
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Tuesday's Shootaround: Michigan State survives, Auburn wins on a tip-in

Michigan State 69, Citadel 56: The Citadel's game plan was simple - run their offense for 25-30 seconds, working the shot clock, before trying to get a good shot at the basket at the end of the shot clock. It worked to perfection, as they buried their first seven threes and hit 12-20 from deep on the game. With 12 minutes to go in the game, however, the Spartans finally locked down defensively. Up 48-47, Michigan State ended the game on a 21-9 surge, taking control as the Bulldogs finally cooled off.

Raymar Morgan had 11 points and 10 boards in the win.
(photo credit: Washington Post)

While Sparty fans may be bothered by how close this game was, remember that Michigan State traveled to South Carolina to play a favorite in the Southern Conference and got a good test. Being able to win on the road is a difficult thing to do, especially when you are playing a team that is as hot as the Citadel was. Chalk this up as a learning experience that didn't cost MSU a loss.

Auburn 68, Virginia 67: Sammy Zeglinski hit two free throws with 7.7 seconds to give Virginia a 67-66 lead. On the ensuing possession, DeWayne Reed drove the length of the court. He missed a lay-up, but Brandon Knox was there for the tip-in with 1.4 seconds left. While this game probably doesn't have NCAA Tournament implications, the SEC will always take a win over the ACC, and it was well worth the price of admission for those that attended.

Texas 107, Long Beach State 74: Texas found some of that offensive inefficiency that they were lacking as they forced 23 turnovers while exploding for 107 points, their most in five seasons. Three back court newcomers, Jordan Hamilton, J'Covan Brown, and Avery Bradley, combined for 43 points and Dogus Balbay added 11 assists as Texas shot 59% from the field.

Texas A&M 75, North Texas 65: Donald Sloan led four players in double figures with 21 points as the Aggies used a 26-4 run midway through the first half to open up a 19 point lead.

Siena 73, Iona 60: The Saints used a 24-8 run midway through the second half after Iona cut Siena's lead to three. Edwin Ubiles led four Saints in double figures with 19 points.

Seton Hall 86, UMass 68: Jeremy Hazell scored 15 of his 21 points in the first, and Herb Pope added 16 of his 22 in the first half as the Pirates jumped out to a 44-19 lead at the break. Pope added 15 rebounds.

Arkansas 71, Delaware State 53: Marshon Powell led the Razorbacks with 20 points and 9 boards, and Arkansas used 66% shooting from the floor to beat the Hornets.

Tuesday's best:

• Herb Pope, Seton Hall: Pope had 16 of his 22 points in the first half and added 15 rebounds in the Pirate's blowout win of UMass.
• Andrew Goudelock, Charleston: Goudelock scored 28 points and added 6 boards as the Cougars improved to 3-0 in the Southern Conference.
• Donald Sims, Appalachian State and Noah Dahlman, Wofford: Sims scored 25 points to lead App. State to a win over Wofford despite 25 from Dahlman.
  

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