Wednesday Morning Dump

- Just when we all thought he was going to turn it all around, Renardo Sidney goes and gets suspended for one game. Sidney, fresh off his first career collegiate game, was suspended indefinitely at the Diamondhead Classic in Hawaii. Sidney had an outburst at practice and it was deemed "conduct detrimental to the team". The Punishment has since been changed to just a one-game suspension.

- In case you missed it, Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly were suspended for last night's game against UNLV. The two seniors recieved impermissible benefits in connection with the purchase of clothing at a local department store. Think about it, both these players are seniors, meaning they've sat through their fair share of compliance meetings. I don't know how they let this happen. Pullen will be suspended for three games and Kelly's could last much longer. Of course, Jeff "Two Scoops" Goodman was the first on the scene, but we strongly recommend you read Parrish's piece. Of all the big time hoops writers, Parrish has the best grasp on situations like this.

- This seems scary -- a transcript from Frank Martin's presser last night.

- A great-read from Gary Parrish on former-LSU player and assistant Johnny Jones. The current head coach at North Texas whose team will travel to LSU this week, Jones knows there will be alot of commotion about his return, but he wants to keep his team focused. The Mean Green could be on their way to a fifth consecutive 20-win season, and Jones won't let a homecomming come between that.

- Jeff Goodman provides the list of mid-season transfers. Goodman also reports that FIU freshman Dominique Ferguson may be cleared to play soon

- Andy Katz previews the Diamondhead Classic and the teams participating

- A great-read from Lost Letterman on Frank Martin's career path. Martin began as a high school coach in Florida, where he was surrounded by controversy. He now is one of the most popular coaches in the country.

- According to John Calipari, he won't be coaching the Dominican National team

- We know this guy

- One of the key games on the docket today is the always-entertaining "Bragging Rights game" between Missouri and Illinois. Rock M Nation provides a great preview for this cross-conference rivalry
. Recently-suspended Michael Dixon will be cleared for participation in "the Bragging Rights game"

- Interesting read on Nebraska officials trying to get people to come to basketball games.

- The Jordan Brand Classic, one of the premiere high school basketball recruiting all-star games, will be relocated to Charlotte North Carolina

- The Bob Cousy Award watch list was released on Monday and there were 66 nomiees listed. There were also numerous omissions. The press has been quick to jump on the rediculousness of the watch list

- Billy Donovan is still waiting for his team to handle to success. The Gators negated their solid win against Kansas State with a horrible loss against Jacksonville. Florida has yet to find any sort of consistancy this season

- The addition of Gregory Echinique to Creighton's roster has provided front court production as well as leadeship. For the Blue Jays and their fans, he is a welcomed addition

- St. John's redshirt sophomore Quincy Roberts will transfer after the semester break. The backup guard has averaged roughly 1 ppg in his 41 career appearances for the Johnnies. Seton Hall's sophomore forward Ferrakohn Hall will transfer after the semester ends

- Kent State's second leading scorer suspended following an arrest for illegally taking a women's car without her permission. He is also accused of sexual assault.

- You are probably just as confused as I am as to how Illinois lost to Illinois-Chicago. Apparently it's because the Illini lack the drive and determination to take every opponent seriously. That's a dangerous thing to do. Perhaps more important, however, is the Illini's reliance on long two pointers. The reason the mid-range game is disappearing from hoops? Statistically speaking, its one of the worst shots in basketball.

- Butler is trying to regroup from it's shaky start to the season, and a good performance in Hawaii would get them back on the right path

- Listen, you don't have to like Dick Vitale. it's understandible to think he is annoying and repeptive and is constantly pro-Duke. But what you cannot deny is that he is a true humanitarian and is one of the best human beings in the sport of college basketball

- Josh Harrellson didn't figure to have too productive of a season with Enes Kanter's arrival. But due to Kanter's ineligibility, Harrellson has been able to strut his stuff on the hardwood. Coach Calipari credits his improvement to some ill-timed tweets sent out by "the Mother Hen"

- Dan Hanner from Yet Another Basketball Blog breaks down the productivity of the top-20 RSCI sophomores. Eight of the 20 have left for the NBA and atleast three of those eight are either in the D-League or are D-League-bound.

- A neat list of the last 25 "Mr. Basketball" for the state of Illinois

- Jeff Borzello gives us Jeff Goodman's Nightly Awards (I'm surprised that Borzello hasn't created a "Bro of the night" award)

- Colgate still hasn't won a game. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't seek out information on the Red Raiders. The Purple & Gold Nation is smarter than that

- Illinois guard Brandon Paul returned to practice on Tuesday after suffering an ankle injury in the team's loss to UIC over the weekend

- Florida International's top recruit Dominique Ferguson will finally be able to suite up this week. Ferguson has been academically ineligible, but will be able to make his debut tonight against Florida A&M

- A video blog feature on a day in the life of Duke-commit Quinn Cook

- The Hoosier Scoop notes that Tom Crean thinks his team will benefit from the Holiday Tournament experience

- Northern Illinois quarterback DeMarcus Brady has been granted permission to join the NIU basketball team once he finished hsi football requirements

- The Atlantic-10 has a tough slate of games over the holiday weekend

- Minnesota is in desperate need of consistency from big-men Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III