Monday Morning Dump

The #BIAHroadTrip had a busy first weekend. On Friday night we saw Lipscomb upset Belmont in "The Battle of the Boulevard" game. On Saturday we saw Kentucky defeat South Carolina in the Wildcats SEC home-opener. You can follow along our entire road trip by reading our daily diaries and our pics/vid page.

- Andy Katz's Weekly Watch is a weekly must-read

- Xavier coach Chris Mack tore his meniscus attempting to dunk at practice on Friday

- Morgan State head coach Todd Bozeman has been suspended indefinitely because of an in-game altercation with one of his players

- Jeff Jordan, the eldest son of Michael Jordan, has decided to leave the Central Florida program. His brother Marcus remains on the team. Is it just me, or have these two been absolute train-wrecks since they first entered college?

- Former-Kentucky guard Stacey Poole has decided to transfer to Georgia Tech

- Highly-touted point guard Aquille Carr has decided to attend Seton Hall

- Doug McDermott is good, like, really good

- It's official. Towson is really, really, really bad

- The NCAA is starting to crack down on counterfeit paraphernalia

- According to Adam Zagoria, Andre Drummond plans on returning to UConn for his sophomore season

- It's entirely possible that neither Jamie Dixon or Jay Wright will be coaching in this season's NCAA tournament

- Ten games to watch this week

- OD Anosike broke Ryan Rossiter's record for double-doubles at Siena

- Glen Logan asks a very good question about Kentucky's Terrence Jones

- Clemson guard Cory Stanton is transferring to Tennessee

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Tuesday Morning Dump

Monday was one of the busiest off-season news days in quite some time. You might want to strap yourselves in for this one. We have a lot to review.

Let's hit the links.

- Your must-read of the day comes from Bruce Schoenfeld of Sports Illustrated. He provides a first-hand look at the spectacular life of college basketball recruiters

- If that must-read doesn't cut it for you, then try this: Dana O'Neil nails another perfect profile piece. This time she documents former_Villanova forward Will Sheridan, and what it has been like to openly admit that he is gay

- If both of those must-reads weren't enough for you, then check this out, then watch the Today Show (Unless you are a Wake Forest fan. If you are, you may want to turn away)

- Every Month Should Be March provides an entertaining breakdown of the NBA draft lottery, which will take place tonight

- Mike DeCourcy thinks we should be done with the one-and-done argument. Just take a look at the rosters of the teams still remaining in the NBA playoffs

- Kansas State head coach Frank Martin is recovering from treatment that helped remove blood clots that formed after a recent knee surgery. Martin had knee surgery on May 6th, and was his second operation in two months

- Over the weekend we mentioned that Belmont would be leaving the Atlantic-Sun Conference for the Ohio Valley Conference. AS you would expect, the decision to move was all about the money. With the addition of Belmont, we can expect the OVC to once again be one of the top mid-major conferences. Eric Angevine points out that The OVC is headed in the right direction

- After spending last week in Indianapolis as part of the NCAA's enforcement experience, many coaches are ready to drop the hammer a bit harder

- Just when we think the coaching carousel is coming to an end, a coach has to go and get fired. Well, at least it looks that way for Radford's Brad Greenberg

- Justin Young believes that Texas A&M made a good choice, and a smart one by hiring Murray State's Billy Kennedy. Mike Miller believes that Texas A&M won't miss a beat with Kennedy as the new head coach But Kennedy will certainly have his work cut out for him at Texas A&M. Tully Corcoran believes Texas A&M needs to start recruiting better. Gary Parrish notes that the Kennedy hire is just like all the other hires this off-season, low-profile and smart

- Murray State now begins their search to find a new head coach. Current assistant coach Steve Prohm looks to be the early favorite. The school has a short list of candidates, but no timetable has been set

- There were rumors going around that South Carolina coach Darrin Horn was interested in the Murray State opening. But those rumors appear to be false

- Xavier assistant Pat Kelsey is leaving the basketball program. But he's not leaving to take another job. He's leaving the coaching profession all together because of personal issues

- Southeast Missouri has given head coach Dicky Nutt a one-year contract extension

- Every fan of March Madness knows who Bryce Drew is (or well at least you'd who he was if you saw the clip of him lauching the game-winning 3-pointer for Valparaiso against Ole Miss in the 1998 tournament). He will take over for his father, Homer, as the new coach of the Crusaders program

- VCU's Shaka Smart won the BCA's Fritz Pollard male coach of the year award

- Princeton's new head coach Mitch Henderson has hired Richmond assistant Marcus Jenkins on to his staff

- UNC head coach Roy Williams says that the wounds have now healed between him and Kansas

- Word on the street is that West Virginia back-up guard Dalton Pepper may be transferring to Temple

- Southern Illinois' reserve guard Kenyon Smith announced that he will be leaving the school

- Arizona's problematic point guard Lamont "MoMo" Jones is transferring. Jones came on strong towards the end of the year, but with a guard-heavy class coming in next year, it was not looking like Jones would be able to give up touches or playing time

- Anthony Crater has been dismissed from South Florida after failing his third drug test as a member of the University. Crater failed a drug test when he was a freshman at Ohio State, and was busted for marijuana possesion in the month before he began at USF

- Former-Maryland commit Sterling Gibbs has announced his intentions to commit to Texas

- Chance Stanback, the top returning scorer for UNLV, was arrested on Friday for a DUI just blocks from the school's Thomas & Mack Center

- Some interesting insight on former-Wake Forest center Tony Woods. Is it the media's fault Woods is portrayed as a women-beating thug? Is the media's fault the Kentucky fan base is seen as degenerate, insensitive, and only concerned with winning?

- Six-foot-nine forward Mitch McGary has seen his stock skyrocket during the spring recruiting season. Due to his excellent play, the Brewster Academy (NH) star is now being sought out by recruiters and coaches across the country

- Washington may have the most high-profile walk-on next year in the form of Shawn Kemp Jr., the son of "the Reign Man" (Fact: The first pair of basketball shoes I owned were the Reebok Reign Man's)

- Iowa State landed a commitment from six-foot-seven power forward Georges Niang

- Former-Pittsburgh reserve J.J. Richardson appears to be headed to Houston

- Creighton big-man Gregory Echinique will play for the Venezuelan National Team this summer

- The Washington, D.C. rivalry scene may heat up in the next few seasons. George Washington University wants Georgetown to get involved in the BB&T Classic (Held at the Verizon Center, where the Hoyas play their home games). This comes on the heels of Maryland AD Kevin Anderson wanting to reignite the G'Town/Maryland rivalry and coaching changes at George Washington, George Mason, and Maryland. Conceptually, DC could have it's own "Big-5" of Georgetown, George Mason, George Washington, American and Maryland

- A look at Syracuse's potential dance-partners in next season's Big East/SEC Challenge

- Villanova and Missouri will meet at Madison Square Garden next season, as part of the Jimmy V classic

- Jason Groves of The Las Cruces Times is wondering what exactly is the missing piece to the New Mexico State Aggie's team

- An early look at the projected rankings of the Big XII Conference. Will anybody dethrone Kansas?

- A 2011-2012 season preview of the Duquesne Dukes, provided by Mid-Major Madness

- A "by the numbers" look at the 2010-2011 season for the Michigan State Spartans

- Just because Washington State is picked to finish 11th in the brand-new Pac-12 doesn't mean we can't drop links about them

- A neat list of ex-commit departures following coaching changes in the ACC

- Boiled Sports takes a look at how the NBA draft will affect the Boilermakers 2011-2012 season

- Another look at the guys who made good early entry decisions and those who didn't

- Texas Lawmakers continue to pursue stronger punishment for crooked sports agents

- The Washington Post had a nice feature on the draft potential of Georgetown star Chris Wright. With a lockout on the horizon, and still recovering from a hand injury he suffered late in the season, the senior guard has a lot to think about between now and June 23rd

- Draft Express provides a great list of all the Draft prospects, including player rank, draft projection and the name of the agent they signed with

- David Aldridge ranks the centers available in the draft

- For those of you who care, Coach-K made $4.7Mil during Duke's 2010 National Title season (Otherwise known as three weeks-worth of partying at Tryst)


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Umm, what was Brady Morningstar doing?

I'm sure you all saw this last night as well, but can we just take a moment to reflect on the hilarity of this free throw attempt?



If that had gone in, would it have counted?
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Players joining teams mid-season

In case you missed it, The Quad, the New York Times college sports blog, had a great read yesterday about Ater Majok, UConn's Sudanese-by-way-of-Australia big man that will be suiting up in a UConn uniform for the first time today.

UConn has really been missing one thing this season: depth. The Huskies have some talented youngsters in their back court - Darius Smith, Jamaal Trice, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, Donnell Beverly - that are still learning what Jim Calhoun requires if you want to get playing time. But UConn has no front court depth. Yes, Gavin Edwards comes off the bench, but he has been playing over 30 minutes a game as Charles Okwandu is simply not ready for this level of competition.

Majok will finally be eligible on Sunday, but how much impact will he have.
(photo credit: Jamati)

While Edwards, Alex Oriakhi, and Stanley Robinson have been pretty good in the early going, UConn needs more bodies up front if they expect to compete in the Big East. Which is why the addition of Majok is so important. He provides the rebounding, shot blocking, and a mean streak off the bench that UConn doesn't have right now.

I warn Husky fans not to be too excited about Majok just yet. He may end up being the next Ajou Deng. But he could also end up being the next Josh Boone or Charlie Villanueva.

But Majok is far from the only mid-season addition.

What other mid-season additions will make a difference this year?

Derrick Caracter, UTEP: We all know the story on Caracter, but after a year and a half away from the court, Caracter was cleared to play last weekend. He has played three games with the Miners, notching two double-doubles. UTEP was sorely missing a big-bodied banger on the block, and Caracter provides that, assuming his stays in shape and keeps his attitude in check. With Caracter, UTEP is a real threat to win C-USA.

Derrick Caracter has two double-doubles in three games since becoming eligible.
(photo credit: UTEP athletics)

Brady Morningstar and Jeff Withey, Kansas: In the days following the fight between the Kansas football and basketball teams, Morningstar was arrested for suspicion of DWI, which resulted in him being suspended by Bill Self for the first semester's games. While Kansas is a very deep team this year, the return of Morningstar is important. He is their best perimeter defender, an excellent shooter, and the guy of glue guy that does enough little things that it forces a coach to keep you on the court. There is a reason he went from walk-on to starter last season. Morningstar isn't going to post huge numbers, but his addition will be important for the Jayhawks goes of winning a national title. Morningstar had 2 points, 3 assists, 2 boards, and 0 turnovers in 22 minutes against Michigan.

Kansas also got news that Arizona transfer Jeff Withey was academically cleared to play. While he likely won't see too much playing time, Withey was a top 100 recruit and provides Self with even more depth on an already loaded roster. He didn't play against Michigan.

Keon Lawrence and Jeff Robison, Seton Hall: Lawrence, a transfer from Missouri who came back from suspension against Temple on Saturday, and Robinson, a transfer from Memphis who finally became eligible, both played significant minutes for the Pirates. Lawrence may be the better player, especially for Bobby Gonzalez's system, as he is a 6'2" scorer. But Robinson may be more important for the Pirates right now. Seton Hall has no problem scoring the ball, but they don't defend all that well. Robinson is an athletic, 6'5" guard that is strong enough to guard three or four positions on the floor.

Ibrahima Thomas, Cincinnati: Thomas, a transfer from Oklahoma State, is a talented 6'11" center, but I'm not sure how much he is actually going to help the Bearcats. Thomas is not an overly physical center, instead preferring to play on the perimeter and shoot some threes. He can hit that shot, and it definitely gives the Bearcats a different dimension along their front line, but can you see Mick Cronin using a center that doesn't rebound? Thomas played limited minutes in losses to Xavier and UAB, but had 10 points and 6 boards against Lipscomb on Saturday.

Jai Lucas, Texas: Lucas transferred in from Florida early last season, and just is getting eligible now. Texas is deep, and with Avery Bradley, J'Covan Brown, and Dogus Balbay, they now have four guys capable of playing the point. Lucas might be the best pure point guard of the guard - the most capable of running a team - but that may not be exactly what Texas needs. He will play some minutes, but expect Bradley, Brown, and Balbay to carry the load as they are more dynamic offensively.

Jai Lucas didn't score in six minutes against UNC.
(photo credit: Globe and Mail)

Gilbert Brown, Pitt: Pitt, who just got Jermaine Dixon back from injury, will have Gilbert Brown back in uniform on the 22nd. The Panthers, who are really struggling to score this season, sorely need Brown back. In addition to lacking offensive firepower, the Panther do not have a ton of athleticism this season. Brown oozes athleticism.

Mike Gerrity, USC: So did anyone know this kid, who has bounced from Pepperdine, to Charlotte, to USC, would make this big of an impact? In his first game with the Trojans on Saturday, Gerrity went for 12 points and 10 assists in leading USC to a 22 point win over Tennessee.

John Riek, Mississippi State: The Bulldogs are an excellent three point shooting team that likes to use four players around Jarvis Varnado offensively. Varnado is going to be an all-SEC pick, and is one of the premier posts in the conference. Riek, who was thought to be a top draft pick early in his career, hasn't played seriously in quite a while, and definitely looks like he has a ways to go before he is ready to contribute here. That said, Riek is a 7'1" shot blocker, and playing him alongside Varnado would mean that opponent's won't be able to shoot within ten feet of the rim. He's played just 1 minute in two games since he has been eligible.
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Has Bill Self lost control of the Jayhawks?

The Kansas men's basketball players cannot keep their names out of the news.

This time, it was Brady Morningstar, who was arrested for a DWI early Saturday morning. Morningstar, a former walk-on who started last season and was expected to provide depth in the Jayhawk's back court this year, was suspended for the rest of the first semester. He will be allowed to practice, but he won't be eligible to play in games or travel until mid-December.

Brady Morningstar was arrested for DWI.
(photo credit: Kansan)

This underlines a bigger issue for Bill Self. Namely, his player's cannot seem to stay out of trouble. Over the last two seasons, the transgressions of his players have turned this team into a public relations disaster.

• In the summer of 2008, Sherron Collins missed a court date stemming from a 2007 incident where a woman accused him of exposing himself and rubbing up against her in an elevator. The charges were eventually dropped when Collins threatened a counterclaim (full disclosure: by all accounts, Collins appeared innocent, the issue was missing a court date).
• Last September, Markieff Morris was arrested for shooting a woman with a BB gun from his dorm room window when he was drunk.
• Chase Buford, a junior preferred walk-on for the Jayhawks, was arrested in July for DWI.
• Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers were thrown out of the NBA's Rookie Camp after they were caught in their hotel room with weed and women.
• Speaking of Arthur, reports came out last summer that his grades were changed while he attended high school in Texas. After initially being cleared of any wrongdoing, the investigation was eventually reopened.
  

But, clearly, the biggest issue here is the fighting last week (where police have opened up a disorderly conduct investigation) between Self's players and the KU football team. By now, everyone has heard about the two skirmishes (Facebook updates and all), but late Friday night the Lawrence Journal linked two more incidents (and one more basketball player) to the fighting.

Now, this is where is gets a bit confusing. Try to stay with me here.

Apparently, after the second of the three incidents last week, a 19 year old man named Guy Lipscomb (who a KU student) threatened two women, a current and a former track team member, with a gun and was subsequently arrested. The victims of that threat were also involved in an incident back in July.

This is where the story becomes interesting. On the night of July 25th, Andrea Johnson, 25, was cited for misdemeanor battery after assaulting one of the women that was threatened by Lipscomb. Of the witnesses listed, one was the other woman that was threatened (who RTC speculates is this woman) and another was Chalmers, who was back in town for a golf event.

Oh, and Chalmers and Johnson just so happen to have a kid together.

Was one of the track athletes dating a football player? Is that where this most recent incident of antimosity between the two teams came from? Is there a link between the incident involving Johnson, the incident involving Lipscomb, and the basketball teams? The police think there is.

What I do know is that Chalmers is now the fourth player - along with Tyshawn Taylor, Sherron Collins, and one of the Morris twins - to be explicitely linked to the fighting, while the Kansan identified "the Morris twins, Mario Little, Sherron Collins, Tyshawn Taylor, Brady Morningstar, Travis Releford, Tyrel Reed, Thomas Robinson, Elijah Johnson and many other players" as being involved in the brawls. While no basketball players have been cited in any of these incidents, the company you keep reflects quite a bit on your own character.

Now, that is a lot of issues for one program in such a short period of time (is anyone else looking forward to see what kind of creative signs the fans at K-State and Oklahoma can come up with?), and, undoubtedly, Bill Self is going to receive criticism for losing control of his basketball team.

I don't think that is the case.

In fact, I think this latest incident shows that Self is regaining control over his team.

Self has laid down the law for his team. He has instituted a much stricter set of rules for his team, including a curfew which Morningstar broke, with a strict set of punishments for violating team rules.

So not only did Morningstar drive drunk and get caught (which is enough in and of itself to warrant a suspension), he was did it while knowingly breaking a new, week-old set of team rules and was punished accordingly. And if you don't think that this punishment was serious, think about this: during the season's early games, college coaches determine their rotation. By the time the new year comes around and conference season starts, most teams have reduced their rotation to about eight or nine. Morningstar will not only be starting his season a month and a half late, he will be missing the games in which players prove themselves worthy of minutes.

Should I mention that Kansas might be the deepest team in the country this year?

To say all of that in fewer words, this punishment will more than likely wipe out the 2009-2010 season for Morningstar.

You don't think that punishment sends a message?
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