POSTERIZED: SYKE!

When searching for a #POSTERIZED entry, Memphis games are always a good place to start. You can always count on a memphis game to feature at least one possible #POSTERIZED candidate.

Sometimes it's Memphis doing the dunking.

Other times....Well, Isaiah Sykes will take it from here.



Look at Marcus Jordan calling for the ball on the left wing. Sorry bruh, Isaiah ain't givin' up the rock.



But was it as good as these?

Brandon Mitchell, Arkansas vs. Ole Miss, 2/28
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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Central Florida upsets No. 4 UConn

For UConn, it certainly was "Black Friday".

Keith Clanton scored 20 points and UCF closed the game on 35-13 run as the Golden Knights knocked off No. 4 UConn 68-63 in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Marcus Jordan added 16 points, seven boards and seven assists for UCF.

Its a big win for the Knights, who have enough talent on their roster to compete for the Conference USA crown. The concern coming in was how this group was going to mesh. They started out last season with 14 straight wins, but collapsed during league play. There was some roster turnover, as head coach Donnie Jones also brought in a vaunted crop of transfers, but the memories of UCF's late-season collapse and the cloud cast over the program by the current NCAA investigation the trendy, overrated pick in their league.

One game is not enough to sway the doubters, but this is a win that should put the rest of the conference -- particularly Memphis, who just had a disastrous trip out to Maui -- on notice.

The biggest story here, however, was UConn's play.

With the score 50-33 and 16 minutes remaining, the Golden Knights switched to a zone and it completely flummoxed the Huskies. UConn managed just seven points over the next 13 minutes -- shooting 28.6% from the floor and turning the ball over eight times -- while allowing UCF to score on 16 of their next 22 possessions. Frankly, UConn was utterly clueless against the zone, and those offensive frustrations led to defensive apathy.

There are a number of issues at play here. For starters, Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb, who played like the best back court in the country for the first two weeks of the season, need to be more aggressive offensively. They combined to shoot 7-23 from the floor and 2-13 from beyond the arc while turning the ball over ten times, settling for far too many deep threes off the dribble. Jim Calhoun needs one of those to to step-up and be more aggressive when UConn is struggling, zone or no zone.

One of them has to want to be the guy that replaces Kemba Walker as the star of this team, not just as the leading scorer. UConn doesn't have the killer instinct yet. As Calhoun said after the game, in past games "we'd go up 20, but it didn't go to 30, it went to 10. A pattern. Today, got up 17 and it went to a loss."

Another issue is the Husky front court. While Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond finally played like the kind of front line we have expected them to be all season long -- they combined for 27 points, 19 boards (11 offensive) and nine blocks -- they also missed a number of point black shots and only got to the line nine times, which isn't enough considering how much time those two spend around the rim.

There is plenty of talent in Storrs, but UConn has a long way to go before they are truly an elite team.

Perhaps this loss is for the best. UConn may have needed a wake-up call. This was it. You think Jim Calhoun will get their attention during their next practice?
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11/14 Monday's Pregame Beat: Who's ready for a College Hoops Marathon?

We've already previewed the games in the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon here, so we aren't including those games in this post.

Game of the Night: 7:00 pm: UCF @ No. 24 Florida State

Central Florida is one of the three teams in Conference USA that will be fighting for the second spot in the league behind Memphis. The Golden Knights may be the biggest enigma of the three. UCF won their first 14 games of the season in 2010-2011, but proceeded to lose their next eight after that. They return the majority of their roster from that team -- as well as adding three impact transfers and a couple of talented freshmen -- but the question is which group was the real UCF, the team that climbed into the top 20 or the team that finished below .500 in C-USA?

The other issue for UCF? Suspensions. The Jordan brothers and AJ Rompza were all held out of the exhibitions, while Donnie Jones has been suspended for the first three games of the seaosn. The players that are left are going to have their work cut out for them against the Seminoles. FSU is a tough defensive club with a monstrous front line. Losing Ian Miller will hurt, but if Michael Snaer can prove that he's become a consistent perimeter scoring threat, then the Seminoles may roll.


Who's getting upset?: Notre Dame

The Irish will be hosting Detroit at 9:00 tonight short-handed. Tim Abromaitis, the star of this Notre Dame team, is suspended for the first four games of the season as the result of two exhibition games that he played in as a redshirt sophomore. Eric Atkins had 27 points, six assists and four rebounds as the Irish rolled over Mississippi Valley State, but he won't be the best point guard on the floor. Detroit's sophomore point guard Ray McCallum is one of the most talented players at his position in the country -- he's with Detroit because his father is the head coach. Detroit will be short-handed as well, as Eli Holman is still out as the result of an arrest in September.


Mid-Major matchup of the night: 10:00 pm: Nevada @ UNLV

I know, I know, neither of these schools are really mid-majors, but since there isn't much else on the schedule tonight, we're making an exception. Nevada was a team expected to contend for the WAC title, but they were smoked by Missouri State in their opener, losing by 22 at home. UNLV is a favorite in the MWC, but they have looked anything but dominating throughout their exhibition schedule. The Wolfpack will need a big game out of Deonte Burton, who is likely going to get matched up with Anthony Marshall, one of the best defenders in the country. This will be our first real chance to see how effective Mike Moser is in Dave Rice's system.


Be sure to keep an eye on...:

- 7:30 pm: Providence @ Fairfield: Ed Cooley used to coach Fairfield. Now he coaches Providence. Fairfield is in the MAAC. Providence is in the Big East. And Fairfield is favored. Go figure. From a personnel perspective, the most interesting matchup is going to be between Vincent Council and Derek Needham at the point.

- 8:00 pm: Oakland @ No. 15 Alabama: Alabama is one of the best teams in the SEC, led by the talented front line of JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell, but Oakland is a scrappy team that will be able to compete even with the graduation of Keith Benson. The Grizzlies have a very talented point guard in Reggie Hamilton.

- 8:00 pm: South Dakota State @ Minnesota: Minnesota is a big and athletic team, with a talented front line and quality perimeter players. What they lack is a point guard, which just so happens to be where the Jackrabbits strength lies. Nate Wolters had 32 points, 11 assists and 0 turnovers in the opener.

- 10:00 pm: Portland @ Washington: Portland is a bit of a sleeper in the WCC, led by Nemanja Mitrovic, who is the next Pilot star on the perimeter. Washington is 2-0 heading into this game, but they haven't been all that impressive. Terrence Ross has yet to show the kind of ability that made him a candidate to be a breakout star.


The rest of the Top 25:

- 7:30 pm: Wagner @ No. 4 UConn
- 7:00 pm: Manhattan @ No. 5 Syracuse
- 8:30 pm: Towson @ No. 17 Michigan
- 7:00 pm: Norfolk State @ No. 19 Marquette
- 8:00 pm: Mercer @ No. 25 Missouri

Other notable games:

- 7:00 pm: UNC Greensboro @ Georgetown
- 7:00 pm: Temple @ Penn
- 7:00 pm: Long Island @ Old Dominion
- 7:00 pm: Monmouth @ Virginia Tech
- 7:30 pm: High Point @ Purdue
- 8:00 pm: Grambling State @ Ole Miss
- 8:00 pm: Loyola (IL) @ Kansas State
- 8:15 pm: Richmond @ Davidson
- 9:30 pm: Florida International @ George Mason
- 10:30 pm: Nebraska @ USC
- 11:00 pm: Fresno State @ Stanford
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Hey, did you realize Central Florida got their notice of allegations? Its bad

For the past couple of days, the joke has been made that if any athletics program has any dirty laundry to air, now would be the time to do it.

Nothing could take the focus away from the drama unfolding with Joe Paterno at Penn State.

Central Florida listened. Stemming from an investigation by ESPN.com and the New York Times into the association of Ken Caldwell -- a runner for an agent, a representative of the school's athletic interests due to his son attending UCF and Caldwell having legal guardianship over former walk-on Doukon Kuzuean, as well as an ex-con -- with the Central Florida program, athletics director Keith Tribble and assistant football coach David Kelly were both let go. Basketball coach Donnie Jones was suspended for the first three games of the season.

You can read the full Notice of Allegations here. The details? Well, that reports that Caldwell -- who was labeled as both a runner and a booster by the NCAA, which is not a good combination to be -- so feverishly denied on twitter appear to be true. Ken Caldwell helped recruit Michael Chandler and Kevin Ware -- as well as a couple of players on the football side -- to UCF. He provided impermissible benefits to basketball players, football players and recruits. He even got one kid's mother a job, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but is definitely against the rules of the NCAA.

Tribble lost his job because he was complicit in Caldwell's recruiting methods -- why do people continue to violate NCAA by-laws and email about it? -- and then lied to NCAA investigators about it. Kelly also lied to investigators. It doesn't appear as if Jones lied and he also wasn't directly linked to the impermissible benefits given to his players, but the NCAA has charged him with failure to monitor his program. They allege that he and/or members of his coaching staff were aware of the relationship Caldwell had with players in the program.

The biggie? The NCAA dropped the "lack of institutional control" hammer.

UCF is in pretty big trouble here, It will be interesting to see if this affects their standing when it comes to joining the Big East. . They have 90 days to respond to the NCAA.
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2011-2012 Season Preview: What's the opposite of a "sleeper"?

Last week, we gave you a list of teams that we believed are primed to have a season that will be better than we expect. But for every team that exceeds expectations, there is a team that fails to live up to the hype. Every season there is at least one team in each conference that underwhelms, disappoints, implodes or regresses. We are here to take a look at the teams we think will do just that this season.

But first, please note that we aren't hating on any of the teams here. We are simply trying to project a teams lack of success based on conference strength, lack of experience, lack of roster depth and so on. We are just trying to do our jobs. After all, not every team can go undefeated, and we aren't here to hand out "participation trophies" to all 346 teams.

Atlantic Coast Conference: Florida State
Preseason Ranking: 3rd Place
Where we ranked them: 3rd Place
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
The only thing working for this team is that the ACC is very thin outside of Tobacco Road. True, they do have Michael Snaer, and talented wing who has flown under the radar for a long time. But who else will step up? Who do they have to replace Chris Singleton? Okaro White should see an increase in production, but who do they have after that? Their back court is weak and their front court is thin. There really isn't anything about this team that makes me think they will be better than nine other teams.


Atlantic-10: Richmond
Preseason Ranking: 5th Place
Where we ranked them: 8th Place
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
After Xavier and Temple, the rest of the A-10 is a jumbled mess. So it is hard to picked a team that will underwhelm this year. But based on all the losses to the Chris Mooney's program, it is hard to see this team being too successful. Outside of Darien Brothers and Darius Garrett, this team doesn't have a terrible amount of talent. With teams like Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure's and George Washington set to breakout this season, Richmond looks like a team that will regress.


Big East: West Virginia
Preseason Ranking: 7th Place
Where we ranked them: 10th Place
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
This one is pretty easy. 1) They play is a 16-team mega-super-conference. 2) They return only three players from last years squad. 3) Eight freshman will suit up this season. 4) They lost their first exhibition game of the season, to Northern Kentucky (DII). West Virginia is going to be good eventually, just not right now. But the thing is, they could be even worse than expected.


Big-Ten: Purdue
Preseason Ranking: The Big-Ten does not release a preseason poll
Where we ranked them: 6th Place
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
What exactly do we know about Purdue? Sure, they have Robbie Hummel, but it's been a long time since he's played competitive basketball. Outside of Hummel, Purdue is full of question-marks. Who is going to be their front-court presence? Will Lewis Jackson finally start to produce? What about their depth? Luckily for the Boilermakers, the bottom of the Big-Ten is pretty dreadful, so a 6th-8th place finish is probably a reasonable expectation;.


Big-XII: Kansas
Preseason Ranking: 1st Place (Tie)
Where we ranked them: 2nd Place
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
If Kansas finishes anywhere in the top three in the conference, Bill Self should win Big-XII Coach of the Year honors. This team has almost no depth whatsoever, and the guys who were supposed to be leaders, Elijah Johnson and Tyshawn Taylor, got suspended by coach Self two weeks ago for violating team rules. If teams can properly game plan to shutdown Thomas Robinson, it will be very difficult for the Jayhawks to win a lot of games.


Colonial Athletic Association: James Madison
Preseason Ranking: 5th Place
Where we ranked them: 4th Place
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
It's not like JMU is expected to do great things this season, but due to Denzel Bowles' graduation and Devon Moore's eligibility issue, the Dukes could be in for a long season. They do have Rayshawn Goins and Julius Wells up front, but the CAA should feature a handful of teams with talented front courts. The lack of a solid back court is going to hurt the Dukes.


Conference-USA: Central Florida
Preseason Ranking: C-USA does not conduct a preseason poll
Where we ranked them: 4th Place
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
This team should be good, I think. At least I want to think that they will be. But then I remember about last season's epic collapse, and the fact that they're, well, Central Florida. This team is like a drug addiction. The highs are great, and the lows are absolutely miserable. That's how the 2011-2012 season will play out. Plus, @DanWolken won't stop chirping about UCF, and he's rarely wrong. I think.


Horizon League: Detroit
Preseason Ranking: 2nd Place
Where we ranked them: 2nd Place
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
When Eli Holman left the program two months ago, it was a huge blow to the Detroit program. He was the guy that would put them over the edge this year. Ray McCallum may be the team's star, but Holman was their top front court producer, averaging nearly a double-double per game. In a mid-major conference like the Horizon League, having an elite big-man can put a team over the edge. The Titans won't be terrible this season, they'll be somewhere around the top four or five. But without Holman up front, they will struggle to assert themselves as legitimate contenders for the Horizon League crown


Missouri Valley Conference: Creighton
Preseason Ranking: 1st Place
Where we ranked them: 1st Place
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
OK, OK, just hear me out. I don't doubt that this team is the best in the MVC, but, like, who is going to play defense this year? Last season they ranked 187th in the conutry in defensive efficiency. Sure, they have more talent than any other team in the conference, but with the expectations that are being placed on them this season, anything less than a perfect conference record would have to be considered a disappointment.


Mountain West Conference: UNLV
Preseason Ranking: 2nd
Where we ranked them: 2nd
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
The Mountain West is going to stink this season, and since UNLV will be good, but not nearly as good as New Mexico, I have to list the Runnin' Rebels here. Teams like SDSU and Colorado State aren't expected to do anything special, so it's impossible for them to fail. UNLV doesn't have anything to gain, other than winning a really sub-par conference.


Pac-12: Arizona
Preseason Ranking: 3rd Place
Where we ranked them: 1st Place
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
Unless you're John Calipari, it's rather difficult to ask freshman to carry the bulk of the workload for a top-level BCS-conference program, and that's exactly what Sean Miller is going to have to do this season. With Derrick Williams gone to the NBA Lockout, MoMo Jones gone to Iona, and Kevin Parrom still recovering from bullet wounds, the Wildcats are going to need a lot of production from their standout freshman class. But the Pac-12 will be much better than in recent seasons, and it just seems like a tall order for this squad. Plus, they lost an exhibition game to Seattle-Pacific. That doesn't exactly help their cause.


Southeastern Conference: Vanderbilt
Preseason Ranking: 2nd Place
Where we ranked them: 2nd Place
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
The Commodores lack that killer instinct that great teams need to possess. Last season, they were 1-5 in games decided by three points or less and and seven losses were by four points or less or in overtime. Factor in the back-to-back first round exits in the NCAA Tournament, and the injury to Festus Ezeli, and you have a team primed to disappoint. This team has serious talent, and have a bunch of experienced players. But the problem is that none of these experienced players have any experience winning close games. You kinda have to be able to do that if you want to keep playing games late into March.


Western Athletic Conference: Utah State
Preseason Ranking: 3rd Place
Where we ranked them: 3rd Place
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
The Aggies have had a stranglehold on the WAC for the last couple of seasons, but their grip could start to loosen this season. While they do return Brockeith Payne, one of the conference's top players, Utah State lost a lot of veteran leadership and front court production. Gone is Taj Wesley, their All-Conference center, Brian Green, their crafty distributor and key contributors like Nate Bendall, Tyler Newbold and Pooh Williams. Even with guys like Payne and forward Brady Jardine, this team has to find out what they have rather quickly.


West Coast Conference: BYU
Preseason Ranking: 3rd Place
Where we ranked them: 3rd Place
Why we think they won't do as well as expected:
They don't have Jimmer Fredette anymore, do they? Jimmer put this team over the top. Sure, they have a solid crop of experienced players in Brandon Davies, Noah Hartsock, Chris Collinsworth and Charles Abouo, but without Jimmer, this team simply wont be the same. This season could turn out to be a huge wake-up call for the Cougars.


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Tristan Spurlock already making a difference at Central Florida

Central Florida may have had the best scout team in the country in 2010-2011.

With three high-major transfers -- Tristan Spurlock from Virginia, Jeff Jordan from Illinois, and Josh Crittle from Oregon -- sitting out a year as they waited to get eligible, the Golden Knights must have had some pretty intense and competitive practices.

Spurlock and company named themselves 'Team Buckets' because they "felt like they could score at any time." But that nickname morphed into something else when Josh Johns, a senior at UCF and a friend of Spurlock's, heard the name. From the Central Florida Future:

Team Buckets is now in the beginning stages as a non-profit organization aiming to work with youth in the community, with the goal of providing children a positive influence. The organization is themed around sports, with a large part of the foundation based around the usage of athletes as role models and people who the youth will listen to.

"We took that (the name) and we flipped it into an organization that we wanted to reach out to the community," Spurlock said.

Team Buckets has hosted two events, a basketball tournament in Pensacola and a BBQ in Orlando that was promoted and attended by Gilbert Arenas and Dwight Howard.

The goal of Team Buckets, as Spurlock says, is "to show [kids] that you can't just be an athlete and get by".

"You'll remember if Dwight Howard says, ‘Hey, stay in school,'" Johns said. "I know that things like that will make a lasting impression."

Spurlock gets it. He understands that he, as an athlete, plays a bigger role in the community than simply being able to put a ball in a basket. Its great to see a player give back, to try and make the city that he lives in a better place.

Athletes are idols. Kids dream of following in their footsteps, getting a scholarship and one day playing sports for money. Its a shame that more players don't take advantage of this opportunity to make a difference.
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Central Florida and Arizona forced to run-off players: is this really a bad thing?

Donnie Jones took over as the head coach at Central Florida in March of 2010, and since his arrival, he's brought a steady stream of talent into Orlando.

Tristan Spurlock, Josh Crittle, and Jeffery Jordan decided to transfer to UCF from Virginia, Oregon, and Illinois, respectively. He's brought in a very good recruiting class, consisting of Michael Chandler (a four star recruit and one of the best centers in the country), Wayne Martin, Rod Days, and Kasey Wilson. Jones also currently has Kevin Ware committed, although no one seems to know the details of that wacky recruitment.

The problem with bringing in eight players as talented as these eight are is that they make up more than 60% of the 13 scholarships college basketball programs are permitted to use. How did Jones solve this problem? By running off sophomore Dave Diakite, freshman Jarvis Davis, and junior Isaac Sosa.

Arizona finds themselves in a similarly difficult position.

Sean Miller has, for the third straight season, brought a terrific recruiting class to Tucson. Its headlined by five-star point guard Josiah Turner, but Nick Johnson, Angelo Chol, and Sidiki Johnson are all four star recruits that should be able to impact the program immediately. Arizona, who had a scholarship docked for Lute Olson's Cactus Classic shenanigans, had 12 players on scholarship this season and have four recruits coming in this summer. Jamelle Horne graduates and Derrick Williams is headed to the NBA, but that still put Sean Miller's program at 14 players.

In other words, Miller has to trim two kids he had promised a scholarship too. Daniel Bejarano was the first to go, a 6'4" shooting guard that was a top 50 recruit nationally. Next? Who knows. The Arizona Daily Star speculates that junior center Alex Jacobsen, who graduates at the end of the semester and can transfer for grad school without having to sit out a season, and sophomore center Kryrl Natyazhko, who has opportunities to play professionally overseas, could be next on the chopping block.

This is not a new phenomenon. John Calipari made headlines when he took the Kentucky job for essentially forcing the transfer of seven players left over from the Billy Gillispie era. Steve Alford looked bad when Will Brown pleaded -- via a hand-written note sent to the papers -- to stay at New Mexico. Mike Anderson gave two players the boot to make room for some JuCo transfers last season. Buzz Williams trimmed DJ Newbill's scholarship when he had the chance to bring in a former top 50 transfer last summer.

At face value, this seems like a sleazy practice.

Me?

I don't necessarily think its bad. Essentially, Dave Diakite, Jarvis Davis, Isaac Sosa, and Daniel Bejarano have been cut.

It happens at every level of every sport. Once you get passed playing CYO ball and being coached by your parents, once you get past your hometown rec leagues, sports get competitive. If you aren't good enough, you won't make the team. If you don't fit the mold for what a coach is looking for, you won't make the team. I feel for the kids that have their dreams destroyed, I do. I've been in their shoes. Its quite unpleasant.

But they still have options. All four of the players listed above have enough eligibility left that they can transfer to another school and finish out their playing career at a level that is better suited to their ability. Or, if they don't want to leave the friends they've made at their current school, they can walk-on to the team and pay their own way for college in an effort to earn a scholarship for the following season.

It sucks. But so does getting cut from your high school team, getting laid off from your job, or seeing that hot shot young assistant get the promotion you've had your eye on for the last four years.

College basketball is a cutthroat business. The immediacy of a fan-base's need to win and the "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately" mindset of most sports fans puts a ton of pressure on head coaches. If they don't win and win now, they will end up out of a job, forcing their coaching staff to also have to find new work. As a result, these coaches are forced to do things that leave us squirming, that morally leaves a bad taste in our mouths.

But hey, that is the price of winning. That's what we as fans demand, right? We've made our bed, now we have to sleep in it.
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Kevin Ware adds to an impressive recruiting class at UCF

Donnie Jones has added another piece to the impressive recruiting haul he has at Central Florida.

Kevin Ware, a top 50 recruit that was released from his NLI to Tennessee after Bruce Pearl was fired, has committed to UCF. The athletic scoring guard joins Michael Chandler (who is one of the best centers in the class of 2011), Rod Days, Wayne Martin, and Kasey Wilson. Jones will also get a trio of impressive transfers eligible this season -- Tristan Spurlock (a former top 100 recruit from Virginia), Josh Crittle (Oregon), and Jeffrey Jordan (Illinois).

That group of eight newcomers will join a UCF team that climbed to as high as top 20 in the polls this past season before losing their first eight Conference USA games. The Golden Knights return Marcus Jordan, Keith Clanton, and AJ Rompza as well.

Central Florida has long been referred to as a sleeping giant in the college basketball ranks.

The program may no longer be 'sleeping'. UCF may be the second best team in the league next season, behind Memphis.
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The Emery Board: Week 8 The Rebirth

College basketball has not seen a team go undefeated since Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers went 32-0 in 1975-1976. The closest we have seen since then was a Jameer Nelson-led St. Joseph's team that went 27-0 in the 2003-2004 season before losing to Xavier in the Atlantic-10 tournament. Every season a team flirts with the notion of an undefeated season, but every season that notion slowly fades as January turns to February and February turns to March. BYU's senior guard Jackson Emery, has made the bold prediction that his team, a Cougar squad that finished with a 27-4 record last season, will in fact go undefeated this season.

We have decided that, in honor of Emery's swagger, we will keep a watch on the BYU Cougar's schedule, see if they can walk-the-walk. We will also keep tabs on any other undefeated teams who try to make a run at the perfect season.

Week 8:

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, Jackson Emery had to go do something like this... and totally redeem himself!

"When I said at the beginning of the year, 'I believe we can win every game,' I meant it. Not guaranteeing anything, just saying I see the guys we have, the schedule we have, and I believe we can win every game, and we didn't. But I still believe now that we could win every game from here on out."

After BYU lost to UCLA, ending Emery's quest for an undefeated season, I scoured the internet looking for quotes, thoughts, tidbits, etc., on his failed prediction. I found nothing. I was stunned. I didn't think it was possible for somebody to say something this outlandish, have it backfire, and then go completely unnoticed.


Then out of nowhere, this gem appeared. Not only does Emery try to justify what he originally said, but he goes and makes another ballsy prediction. Maybe there is something we don't know. Maybe Mormons have the ability to see the future, I'm not sure. But what I am sure about is that Jackson Emery is a baller. He didn't eat his words nor did he back-peddle. This kid bleeds confidence. He sweats swagger. Whatever this kid is drinking, I want some. A lot of it.

It's a bold prediction. The Mountain West Conference is having one of it's best seasons ever. Right now, there are four teams that could receive at-large bids to the NCAA tournament (San Diego State, BYU, UNLV, and New Mexico). It just does not seem possible that BYU will go undefeated in MWC play. But I have no problem being wrong, and clearly, Emery doesn't either.

Next Game: 1/5 @ UNLV
Next Potential Loss: 1/5 @ UNLV

Other Undefeated Teams

No. 1 Duke: 13-0
Next Game: 1/5 @ UAB
Next Potential Loss: 1/9 vs. Maryland

Duke is missing their best offensive threat and are still the best team in the country. That's scary. The Dukies ran through a Miami team that I thought would give them some trouble, led by 28 points from senior Nolan Smith. Smith has been terrific of late, averaging 24.5 ppg in his last four. The conference is having a down-year, but I still think there are teams that can upset the Blue Devils on a given night. As we should all be well aware, road games in conference play are never an easy win. Maryland always plays Duke tough, and although the game is being played in Durham, I like the Terrapins chances. After that, the Blue Devils head to Tallahassee to take on Florida State.


No. 2 Ohio State: 14-0
Next Game: 1/4 @ Iowa
Next Potential Loss: 1/9 vs. No. 13 Minnesota

It's scary when a freshman is considered the best player in the country. It's even more scary when he's not the only threat on his team. Ohio State is hands-down the best team in the Big Ten and, as of now, looks like a true National Championship contender. It could be a long time before they lose. If they beat Minnesota, which I expect them to do, their next true test comes at the end of the month when they play Illinois on the road.


No. 3 Kansas: 13-0
Next Game: 1/5 vs. Missouri-Kansas City
Next Potential Loss: 1/17 @ No. 23 Baylor

Its interesting to think about what Bill Self has done with Marcus Morris. He benched his star forward after Marcus was ejected from a game against Cal for a couple of elbows he sent towards Harper Kamp's head. Sure, its a statement, but would that same statement be made if Kansas was playing someone just a bit better than Miami-Ohio? Probably. Anyway, Josh Selby seems to have righted the ship after struggling against Texas-Arlington, and the Jayhawks look like they will continue rolling.


No. 5 Syracuse: 15-0
Next Game: 1/8 @ Seton Hall
Next Potential Loss: 1/12 @ St. John's

This Syracuse team scares me a lot. They have seven guys who go six-foot-seven and taller, play a lock-down 2-3 zone and have guys who can get to the basket and score. Syracuse has not been tested on the road yet, and that could hurt them down the road. But as of now, they are looking like the best team in the Big East after beating a Notre Dame team that was coming off of a win against Georgetown. No team in the conference has the size they do, and I think that could carry them a long way.


No. 7 San Diego State: 15-0
Next Game: 1/5 @ TCU
Next Potential Loss: 1/12 vs. UNLV

We all knew San Diego State was going to be good this season, but I don't think any of us could have predicted this. It will be interesting to see how much longer this undefeated run lasts, as SDSU has had some trouble putting teams away of late and the league that they play in is stacked at the top. That said, this is clearly the Aztec's best team in the history of the program.


Central Florida: 13-0
Next Game: 1/5 vs. Marshall
Next Potential Loss: 1/5 vs. Marshall

Donnie Jones has to be in the running for National Coach of the Year, right? I mean, nobody could have expected them to be undefeated at this point, with wins over Florida and Miami. Marcus Jordan has become the team's leader and go-to player, and has a solid supporting cast around him.


Cincinnati: 14-0
Next Game: 1/6 vs. Xavier
Next Potential Loss: 1/6 vs. Xavier

A month ago, there were seven unbeaten teams in the Big East. Now there are just two, and Cincinnati is one of them. The Bearcats have played a weak schedule, but they also play in the Big East, which means they will be in a dogfight on a weekly basis. I wouldn't look past their tilt with Xavier, though. The intracity rivalry is one of the most underrated ones in the country, and the Musketeers will be Cincinnati's biggest test to date.

Drop-Outs
No. 4 Connecticut: 10-0
First Loss: at #6 Pittsburgh 78-63
Next Game: 1/4 @ #15 Notre Dame

We were all waiting to see what would happen when Kemba Walker had a off-night. Yes it's true that he ended with 31 points, but he shot 10-27 and was the only Husky in double-digits. Credit Pittsburgh for playing suffocating defense and limiting open shots. I think we saw the UConn team we all expected earlier in the year. They are good, but not great. They will beat some good teams, but also lose to some good teams.


The Bottom of the Barrel:

It would be rude of us to include the "have's" and but not the "have-not's". After all, planetary balance is very essential. For every team that hasn't lost a game, there has to be a team still fighting for their first win.


Alcorn State: 0-10
Next Game: 1/4 at Prairie View A&M (3-10)
First Potential Win: 1/4 vs. Prairie View A&M (3-10)

Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 0-12
Next Game: 1/4 @ Missouri Valley State (1-12)
First Potential Win: 1/4 @ Missouri Valley State (1-12)

Centenary: 0-15
Next Game: 1/6 @ South Dakota State (10-4)
First Potential Win: 1/15 vs. Southern Utah (4-10)

UNC Greensboro: 0-12
Next Game: 1/6 vs. Samford (9-5)
First Potential Win: 1/10 vs. Elon (6-7)
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The Emery Board: Week 7

College basketball has not seen a team go undefeated since Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers went 32-0 in 1975-1976. The closest we have seen since then was a Jameer Nelson-led St. Joseph's team that went 27-0 in the 2003-2004 season before losing to Xavier in the Atlantic-10 tournament. Every season a team flirts with the notion of an undefeated season, but every season that notion slowly fades as January turns to February and February turns to March. BYU's senior guard Jackson Emery, has made the bold prediction that his team, a Cougar squad that finished with a 27-4 record last season, will in fact go undefeated this season.

We have decided that, in honor of Emery's swagger, we will keep a watch on the BYU Cougar's schedule, see if they can walk-the-walk. We will also keep tabs on any other undefeated teams who try to make a run at the perfect season.

Week 7:

BYU may not be competing for an undefeated year anymore, but they still have a full season of basketball to play.

The Cougars moved to 12-1 on the season with a couple of solid wins this week. They opened it up with a 72-66 win over Weber State on Tuesday. The close score is unimpressive, especially considering that the Wildcats are without their star guard Damian Lillard, who broke a bone in his foot.

BYU was up by double figures for much of the game, led by 28 points from Jimmer Fredette. But Weber State's aggressive defense eventually wore down the Cougars. They shot just 37.3% from the floor and 26.9% from three, numbers that drop to 32.6% and 15.4%, respectively, once Fredette's numbers are factored out. The Wildcats made a comeback, but never got within one possession.


On Thursday, it seemed as if BYU was going to get a tougher test, but the UTEP Miners learned the hard way the dangers of ... The Emery Board. Jackson had 23 points and hit six threes, despite the fact that he has been coming off the bench as he deals with a shin injury, as BYU cruised to an 89-68 win despite falling behind 9-0 early on.

Next Game: 12/30 @ Buffalo

Next Potential Loss: 1/5 @ UNLV


BYU might have ruined my plans for an epic "Ankiel Watch" level of prediction, but there are still nine teams left that have a shot at the undefeated season. So we might as well use this space to document their chances.


Other Undefeated Teams

No. 1 Duke: 11-0
Next Game: 12/29 @ UNC-Greensboro
Next Potential Loss: 1/2 vs. Miami

Duke won't go undefeated this year. Sorry it just won't happen. That was a sexy statement to make following the Michigan State game, but without Kyrie Irving, you can forget about 32-0. But I give Duke the best chance to be the last team in the country to get a tally in the loss column. The ACC isn't great, but teams come ready to play every night when they have Duke sitting in the visiting locker room. Circle the Dukie's first conference road game (1/12 @ Florida State) as a possible end-date for that unblemished record. If they can get past that game, it could be February before Duke loses a game. This week, they head to winless UNC-Greensboro before hosting Miami.


No. 2 Ohio State: 12-0
Next Game: 12/27 vs. UT-Martin
Next Potential Loss: 1/9 vs. Minnesota

The Buckeyes very well be the best team in America. Jared Sullinger isn't only playing like the best freshman in the country, he's playing like the best big man in the country and a potential national player of the year candidate. Their perimeter players are all capable of going off for 25 points on a given night. They have a solid freshman point guard and a big shot blocker in the paint. The thing that is so impressive about this Ohio State team is that everyone understands their role on the team and completely buys into it. It might be until February, when the Buckeyes take trips to Wisconsin and Purdue in the span of a week, before they actually lose a game.


No. 3 Kansas: 9-0
Next Game: 12/29 vs. UT-Arlington
Next Potential Loss: 1/22 vs. Texas

Kansas looks better and better as the season goes on, and with the Big XII looking weaker, especially at the top (Baylor and Kansas State have both struggled, and they were picked to be top three in the league), the Jayhawks's chances of running the table get better. Will it happen? Well, not likely, but with only one game each against Baylor, Texas, and Texas A&M, Kansas has the schedule to make it a possibility.


No. 4 Connecticut: 10-0
Next Game: 12/27 at Pittsburgh
Next Potential Loss: 12/27 at Pittsburgh

Well, we find out who the Huskies are tonight. They head to the Peterson Events Center to take on the Panthers, who many believe to be the best team in the Big East despite what rankings and records may say. To get an idea how overrated UConn appears to be, Pitt started the day as 7.5 point favorites in Vegas. I'm going to hold off comment on the Huskies until after tonight's game.


No. 5 Syracuse: 10-0
Next Game: 12/28 vs. Providence
Next Potential Loss: 12/28 vs. Providence

Like UConn, Syracuse is kicking off Big East play this week. It starts with the Friars, and continues with a New Year's Day matchup with Notre Dame. I'm not sure this team has the chops -- or the perimeter shooting -- to make it past Pitt and Villanova later in the month, but with Kris Joseph starting to round into form and Fab Melo looking healthier, the Orange defense and interior play may be good enough that perimeter shooting is rendered mute.


No. 7 San Diego State: 14-0
Next Game: 12/31 vs. Occidental
Next Potential Loss: 1/12 vs. UNLV

I love this San Diego State team, but if I'm being totally honest, I'm shocked they are still undefeated at this point in the season. Its not because I don't think they are good enough -- this is the best team on the West Coast without question -- its because they continually play down to their opponents. A six point win over Cal Poly. A six point win against San Francisco. A two point win over IUPUI. Granted, there were extenuating circumstances -- the flu has swept through the team, while the latter two games were played in a rodeo arena under less than ideal circumstances. Regardless, SDSU needs to start playing up to their potential, or eventually they are going to slip up.


Central Florida: 11-0
Next Game: 12/29 vs. Furman
Next Potential Loss: 1/15 @ Southern Miss

UCF just keeps getting better and better. This week, it was a five point win at UMass, which doesn't appear all that impressive on the surface. But consider this -- they played the first 25 minutes without Marcus Jordan, who had two bad ankles, but who convinced the coaching staff to allow him to play the last 15 minutes of the game. Impressive stuff. UCF will battle with Memphis and Southern Miss for the C-USA title this season.


Cincinnati: 8-0
Next Game: 12/28 vs. DePaul
Next Potential Loss: 1/6 vs. Xavier

Still waiting for Cincinnati to come up with an impressive win. The 68-34 shellacking of Dayton needs to be taken in context -- the Flyers were in the midst of a terrible string of basketball -- and my team in college might have beaten this year's Oklahoma team. That said, there is much to like about this team. Dion Dixon, Cashmere Wright, and Sean Kilpatrick are all playing above expectations, while Yancy Gates anchors a big, athletic front line. I'm still going to withhold judgement on this team until they actually play someone, but consider me in the process of being swayed.


Drop-Outs

Northwestern: 5-0
First Loss: 85-69 @ St. John's

Northwestern ran into a buzz saw in Madison Square Garden last week. The Johnnies shot 80% in the second half and ran away with the win. The loss was very costly for Northwestern's tournament hopes, as the Wildcats are now hanging their non-conference schedule on a win over Georgia Tech in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. To make matters worse, they start of the Big Ten season at Purdue, at home for Michigan State, and at Illinois. We could find out really soon whether or not this Northwestern team is for real.


The Bottom of the Barrel:

It would be rude of us to include the "have's" and but not the "have-not's". After all, planetary balance is very essential. For every team that hasn't lost a game, there has to be a team still fighting for their first win.


Alcorn State: 0-9
Next Game: 12/28 at Ole Miss (9-3)
First Potential Win: 1/4 vs. Prairie View A&M (2-10)

Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 0-11
Next Game: 12/29 at Akron (7-5)
First Potential Win: 12/29 at Akron (7-5)

Centenary: 0-13
Next Game: 12/28 vs. Oakland (7-8)
First Potential Win: 1/15 vs. Southern Utah (3-8)

Colgate: 0-10
Next Game: 12/29 at Stony Brook (4-6)
First Potential Win: 1/2 at Longwood (4-11)

Maryland-Baltimore County: 0-12
Next Game: 12/30 vs. Niagara (3-9)
First Potential Win: 12/30 vs. Niagara (3-9)

UNC Greensboro: 0-11
Next Game: 12/29 vs. Duke (11-0)
First Potential Win: 1/10 vs. Elon (5-7)

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UCF adds some more talent

There has been a lot of talk this summer about Central Florida and Memphis heading to the Big East.

While the obvious reason for that is for football -- essentially, the Big East wants some insurance in case the Big Ten decides to try and raid them -- I don't think anyone is going to be complaining about Memphis playing the likes of Georgetown, Pitt, Villanova, and Syracuse on a yearly basis.

Donnie Jones is doing good things at UCF.
(photo credit: UCF.edu)

But what about Central Florida? Is this just going to be another case of DePaul, a tag-along during expansion that does nothing more than dilute the Big East?

Back in April, I would have said yes. But a lot has changed since April.

It starts with Donnie Jones, the former Marshall head coach who made raised some eyebrows when he took the UCF job. Is there really that big of a difference between one middling Conference USA school in West Virginia and another in Florida?

But since his introduction back in May, Jones has quietly been collecting chips down in Orlando. It started when Jones added Josh Crittle, a 6'8" center who transferred in after two seasons at Oregon. Then is was Jeffrey Jordan, the former Illinois point guard who decided to join his brother Marcus at UCF.

Jones' ended the summer by landing three talented players in the last nine days. Tristan Spurlock, a 6'8" small forward and former top 100 recruit, decided to transfer to the Knights after one unsuccessful season playing at UVa. Then came Kasey Wilson, a former VCU-commit, who is rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals.

The cap it all off, Jones earned a commitment from Rod Days. A 6'6" wing, Days is a borderline top 100 player that has gotten quite a bit of interest from the big boys, fielding offers from Maryland, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Arizona State, Michigan, Richmond, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Alabama and Florida State.

"I felt like it was the best place for me," Days told the Orlando Sentinel. "It had the best basketball program, the best education, the best major I wanted to study, the best coaches, the best of everything."

Reportedly, the fact that UCF offers a forensic science major was a big factor in Days' decision.

Days may or may not be destined to be the next Horatio Caine, but he is a Knight, joining what will be one of the best incoming classes in 2011 in C-USA. Don't be surprised when this group is fighting for a spot in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

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Marcus Jordan costs UCF their deal with Adidas

Last month, news leaked that Central Florida freshman Marcus Jordan, who is Michael's son, was refusing to wear Adidas shoes during the season. According to Marcus, he wanted to wear Jordan brand shoes because it was important to his family.

Today, the news broke that Adidas would not be renewing their contract with UCF.

"The University of Central Florida has chosen not to deliver on their contractual commitment to adidas," adidas spokeswoman Andrea Corso wrote in an e-mail to the Associated Press. "As a result we have chosen not to continue our relationship with them moving forward."

Personally, I think Marcus should be more concerned with his decision to go with the rec-specs/headband combo than the shoes he will wear.
(photo credit: basketfever)

Now, a lot of people are going to blame the younger Jordan for this. While I agree that Marcus is being a bit irrational - I mean, it was his father that made these shoes famous, not him - I think the UCF coaching staff are the ones to blame here. They knew going in how much wearing Jordan's meant to Marcus. The coaches even told him it wouldn't be an issue:

When I was being recruited, we talked about it. They said they had talked to the Adidas people and it wasn't going to be a problem. I think everybody understands how big of a deal it is for my family.

Well, apparently the coaches didn't talk to the Adidas people.

And that is what cost them this deal.

Promises they couldn't keep.

Not Marcus Jordan wanting to wear Jordan's.
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Marcus Jordan embroiled in shoe controversy

Marcus Jordan is Michael Jordan's son.

Marcus Jordan goes to Central Florida.

Central Florida is an Adidas school.

Marcus Jordan wants to wear Jordan brand shoes.

Hmm, it seems we have a problem here. You see, the ability to wear Jordans while playing in college was a requirement for Marcus, and Central Florida promised him he would be able to while they recruited him. From the Chicago Tribune:

When I was being recruited, we talked about it. They said they had talked to the Adidas people and it wasn't going to be a problem. I think everybody understands how big of a deal it is for my family.

Apparently the university never ran it past Adidas officials, however, and it could end up costing UCF a lot of money.

Why?

Because the school's deal with Adidas is up in 2010, and they are currently in the midst of negotiations for a new deal that could be worth up to $3 million. Adidas would provide free equipment and apparel for all 15 of UCF' sports teams, a value equivalent to 5% of UCF's athletics budget.

That's a lot of money in this economy.

If UCF loses their sponsorship with Adidas, what are the chances of the elder Jordan funding the athletics program with his own brand?

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Marcus Jordan to UCF

Marcus Jordan, the younger son of that guy that used to play for the Bulls, has decided on where he will be attending college. After being offered a scholarship by schools like Miami, Iowa, Butler, and Stanford, Jordan has committed to Central Florida.

(photo credit: MLive.com)

It is an interesting decision. For starters, he had a chance to play at a bigger school. But I'm guessing the decision to go to a school like UCF is a desire for playing time - his brother Jeffrey didn't earn a scholly at Illinois until his sophomore season, and still sees very limited minutes as a defensive stopper. Continue reading...