Arizona State catches a break, gets Rihard Kuksiks back

Herb Sendek caught a huge break on Thursday as Rihards Kuksiks decided to return to Tempe for his senior season.

Kuksiks was the Sun Devils leading scorer last season, but there were concerns that the 6'6" Latvian sharpshooter would opt to play professionally in Europe instead of returning to school. He spent much of August in Europe competing for Latvia in the 2011 European Championships, which increased the speculation that he wasn't coming back.

Rihard Kuksiks has decided to return to Arizona State.
(photo credit: AZStarnet)

If Kuksiks had departed, it wouldn't have been a shock. Leaving college to, essentially, play in basketball's minor leagues abroad is slowly becoming a fad. Last summer, Nick Calathes, Terrence Oglesby, and David Huertas all left school for an overseas contract. This year, Manhattan's Rico Pickett and UC-Riverside's Kyle Austin have both headed abroad, while reports have Michael Dunigan going to Israel. Greedy Peterson is headed to Greece, but he was kicked out of school.

But Kuksiks is coming back, which means that Arizona State will have their best shooter. Kuksiks will help to keep the floor spread for slashers like Ty Abbott and Trent Lockett.

Arizona State has a really good group of player on their perimeter. There is scoring, there are shooters, there are athletes. When this club gets hot, they are going to be tough to beat.

When I wrote my Pac-10 preview a week ago, I did it under the impression that Kuksiks was gone. I picked Arizona State sixth. Now, that looks like it is too low.

Continue reading...

Nick Calathes signs with an agent ... to play in Greece?

Its true.

Nick Calathes is headed across the pond to play for Greek power Panathiakos. They are the reigning Euroleague champion, and currently are battling Olympiakos (who, if you remember, signed both Josh Childress and Jannero Pargo this past off-season).

On the surface, this looks like a simple case of following the money. According to the Orlando Sentinel, who broke the story, he has already signed a contract that will "will pay Calathes around $1.1 million per year, in addition to providing him with a home, car and tax credits". All told, the deal is just about equivalent to the $1.4 million that Anthony Randolph, the 14th pick in last year's draft, made under last season's rookie scale.

Nick Calathes career as a Gator is done.
(photo credit: To The Tin)

The deal is particularly advantageous for Panathiakos. Calathes has dual US-Greek citizenship, which means that he won't count against the limit of two americans per team in the Greek League.

But there seems to be more to this than meets the eye.

For starters, Calathes seemed to be a solidly in the first round, albeit later than the lottery (meaning he will make more money in Greece). He has reportedly worked out for Dallas and San Antonio, and the Mavericks, who pick 22nd, seemed to be very interested. Calathes is a 6'5" point guard with an exceptional ability to pass the ball and lead a break. Playing behind and learning from Jason Kidd would have been the ideal situation for Calathes.

But according to reports, it wasn't Nick that made this decision; it was his father John. A source told Jeff Goodman:

It makes no sense. Nick’s dream, like most American kids, is to play in the NBA. His dad is behind the decision.

Pat Calathes, the former St. Joe's standout and Nick's older brother, currently plays for Maroussi, another team in the Greek League.

Part of Nick's deal with Panathiakos is that he must withdraw from this year's draft and pass a physical in Greece within the next 10 days. While he will be eligible for the 2010 NBA Draft, that class looks to be much stronger than this year's, meaning that Calathes is far from a lock for the first round, especially considering that any team that selects him will most likely have to pay a hefty buy-out.

Personally, I am a bit upset with the decision. Because of his fantastic passing ability (his 6.2 apg led the SEC), Calathes was one of the more entertaining players in the country to watch. I was really intrigued to see what he could do in the NBA. But it is tough to argue with guaranteed money, the chance to compete against your brother, and to play in and represent (he competed with the Greek national team this past summer, although there were reports that he hated it) your country.

Continue reading...

Bad News for Billy Donovan: Maybe he should have taken the Kentucky job

Florida won a national title in both 2006 and 2007. These successes catapulted Billy Donovan's stock as a head coach. He flirted with the NBA's Orlando Magic two summers ago, and this off-season his name was in the running for the Kentucky job.

But Donovan declined the offer, convinced that Florida was the place for him to be.

Too bad none of his players feel that way.

Last off-season, after failing to reach the NCAA tournament, Donovan lost Marreese Speights to the NBA. During the season, Jai Lucas, the son of Jon Lucas and the brother of former Oklahoma State standout Jon Lucas III, transferred out of Florida looking for more playing time.

Now, it looks like Donovan may lose his most important player. Nick Calathes, the Gator's standout point guard, has declared for the NBA Draft, although he will not sign with an agent.

Calathes may be better served coming back for a season. While he has improved a lot from his freshman year, namely becoming a much better decision maker (although he stills gambles too much, trying to make the huge play both offensively and defensively) and a better shooter across the board, the bottom line is that Calathes still has not shown the ability to defend his position. Continue reading...

College Basketball Week in Review: You Think You Know, But You Have No Idea

What We Learned This Week: College hoops is a fickle beast. Just when you think you are starting to get a handle on how the season is shaping up, there ends up being a week like this one. You'll see what I'm talking about...

-What We Thought: UNC had a legitimate shot at going through the season undefeated.
-What Happened This Week: The Heels lost at home to BC, the team picked 11th out of 12 in the ACC.

-What We Thought: UConn was a national title contender.
-What Happened This Week: The Huskies got smoked by Georgetown at home.

-What We Thought: After beating UConn, Georgetown was a favorite to win the Big East.
-What Happened This Week: The Hoyas got smoked by Pitt at home.

-What We Thought: The Big East was not only the deepest conference, but the toughest conference at the top.
-What Happened This Week: (ED. Note: This was written before the polls were released) Going by who lost and who won, the ACC may end up with three of the top four teams.

-What We Thought: The Big XII was much better than the SEC this year.
-What Happened This Week: Arkansas whooped up on Oklahoma in Fayetteville while South Carolina beat Baylor on the road.

-What We Thought: Illinois State was undefeated, but their fluffer-nutter soft schedule would catch up to them in MVC play.
-What Happened This Week: The Redbirds started out 3-0 in the league, including blowouts of Evansville and Creighton.

-What We Thought: You can't upset a ranked team without your best player in uniform.
-What Happened This Week: St. John's beat Notre Dame without Anthony Mason Jr. and UNLV beat Louisville without Wink Adams.

-What We Thought: USC and Arizona were good; Stanford and Oregon State weren't.
-What Happened This Week: Oregon State beat USC after being down 15 in the second half, and Stanford beat Arizona by 18.

GAME OF THE WEEK:
Florida 68, NC State 66
The Wolfpack were up double digits in the first half as Sidney Lowe's team was able to control the pace of the game. But in the second half, the Gators amped up their pressure, trapping NC State's guards all over the court. Florida eventually closed the gap in the second half as Nick Calathes took the game over. He scored 24 points in the second half as no one on NC State could find a way to slow him down, either on the break (where he was sensational) or in the half court.

With four minutes to go in the game, Florida finally took the lead 59-58 as Nick Calathes knocked down a three. The two teams traded baskets for the next few possessions before Dan Werner found Calathes on a back door cut, which Calathes finished with a nifty reverse lay-up, giving Florida a 65-64 lead with just under a minute left. At the other end, Brandon Costner (who finished with 24 points) had his shot blocked by Alex Tyus, but it was called a goal tend, putting NC State back up. On the next possession, Billy Donavon isolated Calathes up top, and Calathes showed off some of his handle as he faked a stepback jumper, crossed over from left to right, and hit a mid-range jumper to give Florida the lead with 11 seconds left. NC State would eventually turn the ball over, giving the Gators the win.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Tyrese Rice, Boston College
Rice was fantastic in a 2-0 week for BC, which included an upset of North Carolina. He had 25 points on 7-13 shooting, 8 assists, and 5 boards in the victory over UNC, which came four days after he went for 18 points, 7 boards, 8 assists, and 3 steals against Sacred Heart. Rice is having his best season as a collegian, although he isn't necessarily putting up his best numbers. His scoring this year is down from 21.0 ppg to 16.7 ppg, but everything else has improved. He is averaging 6.4 apg while cutting down his turnovers. He is shooting as well as he has in his career. But most importantly, this BC team is better than it has been in recent years. Don't look now, but the Eagles are now 13-2 with wins over UNC, Providence, UAB, and St. John's.

TEAM OF THE WEEK:
Cal Bears
The Bears thrust themselves into the conversation in the Pac 10 by sweeping the Arizona schools at home this weekend. Patrick Christopher had 23 points to lead the Bears in the win over Arizona on Friday night, and he had 20 against Arizona State on Sunday. Jerome Randle posted career highs of 26 points and 10 assists in the win against ASU. Cal was 11-2 coming into Pac-10 play, and they had a couple solid wins on their resume (@ Utah, @ UNLV). The reason this team is going to be dangerous is because of how well they shoot the ball. Randle shoots it at 56%, Christopher just a shade under 40%, and Theo Robertson is knocking them down at an astounding 62% clip. this team also moves the ball very well and attacks gaps, which means they are likely to get a lot of good looks. If Jordan Wilkes, a seven-footer, can develop into a rebounder, defender, and an option when someone penetrates, this Cal team could make a run at the Pac 10 crown.

MATCH-UPS OF THE WEEK:
1/5 - Georgetown @ Notre Dame: Get used to seeing a lot of Big East games listed here from this point forward.

1/6 - UConn @ West Virginia: Stanley Robinson and Devin Ebanks combine for about 15 feet of wingspan.

1/6 - Ohio State @ Michigan State: OSU could really use a confidence booster after struggling against Iowa and losing to Minnesota.

1/6 - Illinois State @ Bradley: 1st place in the Valley is on the line.

1/7 - Gonzaga @ Tennessee: This match-up has really lost some of its luster with how these two teams are playing.

1/7 - Davidson @ Duke: Steph Curry in Cameron Indoor?

1/10 - Louisville @ Villanova: Both teams really need a signature win on their resume.

1/10 - Kansas @ Michigan State: It will be tough for the Kansas freshman to match the Spartan's toughness.

1/10 - West Virginia @ Marquette: What did I say about a lot of Big East games?

1/11 - North Carolina @ Wake Forest: Explain to me how this game isn't on national television? I'm guessing that means we will barely see any coverage of it on ESPN, right? Continue reading...

11/15 - Some Links, Some News

-Luke Winn of SI wrote a very interesting piece on a "basketball ideology" survey he conducted of 301 D1 teams. He looks at offensive and defensive systems, international players, transfers, hirings, and spending. There is some really good stuff there, and BIAH definitely recommends reading it.

-CBS Sportsline has a countdown to UNC-Duke on their main college basketball page. Really?

-In the Saturday Roundup we said one of the games to watch would be San Diego at UNLV. Well, that was before I found out that four San Diego players, including starting big man Gyno Pomare, were suspended for the game. At least you still get to see Brandon Johnson go toe-to-toe with Wink Adams.

-I'm sure that people at the Univerisity of Florida were a little nervous when they learned that Nick Calathes had lost around $600 gambling online (Teddy Dupay anyone?). The school was just worried that Calathes was gambling on sports, but no, it turned out he is just really bad at poker.

-AJ Price was ejected from UConn's opener for hitting a Western Carolina player in the stomach. In other UConn news, sophomore center Charles Okwandu was granted eligibility by the NCAA.

-Injury news: Virginia Tech forward JT Thompson is out 4-6 weeks with a hernia; South Carolina's Brandis Raley-Ross is out 3-4 weeks with a knee injury; Villanova's Dwayne Anderson has a stress fracture in his foot and is out indefinitely. Continue reading...