Delvon Roe to star in a movie about college hoops and recruiting

For nearly four years -- since Dec. 6th of 2007, the middle of his senior year in high school -- Michigan State's Delvon Roe has been battling knee problems, and it finally got to be too much for him.

Last Thursday at a press conference, Roe announced his decision to retire from the game. As Jeff Goodman laid out the following morning, this was a decision that came about because, for Roe, basketball simply wasn't fun anymore. His knees weren't getting any better, and after dealing with an ankle injury this offseason, playing a full season was just too much when Roe wasn't even at 100% heading into October and the start of practice.

But Roe is so much more than just a basketball player. Anyone that saw the outpouring of tweets and well-wishes that Roe received when he made this announcement will agree. As he told Goodman: "A lot of people think it's a sad day. It is to an extent, but at the same time, I think my life is only beginning."


On Sunday, Roe confirmed on twitter something that he wouldn't confirm with Goodman -- that his experiences as a blue-chip recruit will not go to waste. Roe will be starring in a feature film called "Gametime". Here's IMDB's description:

""Gametime" explores the dark side of major college basketball; a world of big money, ego and hypocrisy, revealed through the innocent eyes of the two top recruits in the country, best friends Malik and John. We follow them through a recruiting process full of sex, booze, and money, onto their respective college teams lead by narcissistic coaches, meet their passionate, troubled, and hilarious teammates, and watch them fight their way to the pinnacle of the college game... the Final Four, a multi-billion dollar feeding frenzy for the agents, the media, the NCAA... everyone associated with the game except the players. On the eve of the final game, Malik and John hatch a plan to even the score."

"He Got Game" is one of my favorite movies of all-time -- my mind is still blown that so many coaches blatantly violated NCAA rules by talking about Jesus Shuttlesworth on Sportscenter -- and while there is little doubt that Spike Lee and Denzel Washington had quite a bit to do with that, "Gametime" still looks like the kind of movie that every hoops fan will have to check out.

This won't be Roe's first time on the big screen, either. He has a role in the movie "AWOL", which is supposed to come out at some point next year.

Looks like Roe is right. His life is only just beginning.
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Hoops Housekeeping: Kansas adds a front court player, Roe gets hurt again

Kansas added some much needed front court depth over the weekend.

Kevin Young, a 6'8" forward that averaged 10.9 ppg and 5.6 rpg as a sophomore at Loyola Marymount, has officially joined the Jayhawks after sitting out last season to focus completely on academics. He received an associate's degree from San Bernadino Community College while also working as a volunteer assistant at Barstow Community College.

"I thought we definitely needed a playmaker and we were able, at a late date, to fall into Kevin and we couldn't be happier," Bill Self said in a statement. "He's 6'8", thin and can play multiple positions. He reminds me a lot of Julian Wright – very bouncy, very athletic. He will most definitely be an impact player for us next season."


With the Morrii both opting to enter the NBA draft and Mario Little graduating, Young will help bolster a front line that will be thin and inexperienced. Thomas Robinson is an NBA prospect and will anchor the Kansas front court, but beyond him, the Jayhawks would have been left with a rotation that included seldom-used junior Jeff Withey and freshmen Braedon Anderson and Jamari Taylor.


Delvon Roe gets hurt again: The 6'10" Michigan State forward suffered a severe let ankle sprain playing pickup last week and will apparently be out of action for six weeks. Roe is no stranger to injuries. His knee problems have turned him from what was at one point a top five recruit in the country to a role playing forward. This is yet another setback for a Michigan State program that was crushed by injuries last summer. The lack of opportunity to play together during the offseason was one of the reasons that the Spartans struggled last season.


The Steele family deserve a string of good luck: First, it was Ron, Jr. The former Alabama point guard ended up leaving the Crimson Tide program midway through the 2008-2009 season after a string of knee injuries all-but derailed a promising career as a point guard. Now its his brother's turn. Andrew has given up playing basketball after a concussion he suffered in the SEC Tournament -- his fourth -- was still giving him problems this month. Oh, and his parents spent five weeks living in a hotel after the tornado that ripped through Tuscaloosa damaged their house.


Eastern Michigan adds two big men: Former Syracuse big man DaShonte Riley has followed former Syracuse assistant Rob Murphy to Eastern Michigan, where Murphy is now the head coach. Riley saw limited minutes has a freshman and had his sophomore season ended early when he broke his foot. Riley is also a native of Michigan and a product of Detroit Country Day School. It was no secret that he wanted to transfer closer to home.

Riley isn't the only big man that Murphy has brought in. Former Arkansas forward Glenn Bryant has also opted to transfer to EMU. Bryant averaged 6.1 ppg and 3.4 rpg as a sophomore with the Razorbacks, but he decided to leave the program after they hired Mike Anderson as their new head coach.


Brian Oliver to transfer: Brian Gregory has taken another hit at Georgia Tech as Brian Oliver, a starting forward that averaged 10.5 ppg and 4.5 rpg this past season, has opted to transfer out of the program. Oliver is reportedly looking at some Big East schools. This will be a name to follow, as Oliver as the ability to produce some very big games. He went for 32 points against Syracuse and 28 against Virginia Tech this season, both of whom are interested in landing the transfer.


Dan Jennings goes from the Big East to the Big West: We all remember when the feud boiled over. In a 56-46 win over South Florida, Dan Jennings up and left the West Virginia bench, which, as you might imagine, left Bob Huggins slightly miffed. Huggins referred to Jennings as a nonentity, and that was the end of the relationship between the two. Jennings is now headed out west, where he will join Long Beach State. The 49ers will lose seven seniors after the 2011-2012 season, which Jennings will have to sit out, making his addition all the more valuable.
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Hoops Housekeeping: Missouri's shooter, Florida's boardsman may miss time

Yesterday, we did a bit of Hoops Housekeeping, catching you up on some injuries and lineup changes. Here are three more newsworthy injuries to keep in mind this week.

Chandler Parsons: Parsons was the SEC's leading rebounder heading into Saturday's game against Tennessee, but he was hobbled early in the first half thanks to a knee he took to the thigh from Alex Tyus. They are calling it a deep thigh bruise (essentially a really, really bad charlie horse), but don't let the name fool you, the injury is fairly severe. Parsons is still on crutches and the bruise has started to bleed.

"I would say he's out right now," Donovan said on the SEC teleconference, "for how long I don't know. But I don't envision him practicing until at least possibly Thursday or Friday, maybe. And how well he responds over the next three or four days will determine whether or not he can play on Sunday."

The good news is that Florida won't play until Sunday, and that's against LSU.


Marcus Denmon: Missouri's leading scorer is questionable for tonight's game against Texas Tech. He took an elbow to the eye from Laurence Bowers in the second half of Missouri's win over Oklahoma on Saturday and did not return. He needed two stitches to close the wound.

"Marcus yesterday participated in shooting, no contact," Missouri head coach Mike Anderson told reporters. "So he'll come in this morning, and we'll check him, but it seemed like his eye was swollen a little bit, but not as much as we anticipated, so we'll know more today. We'll know more on his status later on today."


Delvon Roe: The oft-injured Michigan State big man took a nasty spill late against Penn State has he tried to finish a layup that got Draymond Green his triple double. His right knee got trapped under neath him as he fell, but there apparently is no ligament damage.

"That is real positive news for us," said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. "[He is] "not going to be playing at the level he was playing at no matter what he does."

"I don't know if he can play 20 minutes or none. I have no clue. I don't hide injuries like other people do. I'm not trying to trick them."
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Delvon Roe vs. Roy Williams

We mentioned this somewhere along the line, but in Roy Williams' new book, he calls out Delvon Roe, who chose MSU over UNC as a high school senior.

Seth Davis explains:

Did you catch the sharp elbow Roy Williams threw at Michigan State sophomore Delvon Roe in his new autobiography? Williams doesn't call out Roe by name, but he does tell a story about how he celebrated when a recruit told him he was coming to North Carolina, only to have that same recruit tell him six weeks later he was going to Michigan State. Williams wrote that the player -- who is obviously Roe -- "lied" to him. That should make for a nice little subplot when those teams have their national championship game reunion on December 1.

Keeping in mind that the Spartans and the Heels play each other tonight in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, a writer for the Lansing State Journal caught with Roe's father, Delvon Blanton, to get the player's side of the story (make sure you hit the link, a lot of good stuff over there):

Blanton said he and Roe visited North Carolina together once, then Roe went by himself on a visit for the UNC-Duke game. Blanton said Williams wanted Roe to commit before the game to get the team hyped. Roe called Blanton. Blanton strictly forbid him from committing. ...

"Delvon still loved Michigan State and a few weeks later, when he was home and he could think about the decision without someone in his face, he realized that's where he wanted to go."

Roe had a hard time summoning the courage to tell Williams, Blanton said. Blanton told him he had to make the call. He did, and Blanton said Williams started yelling on the other end.

"I don't know exactly the words he was saying, but he was upset," Blanton said of Williams. "He started going off on Delvon. I mean, Delvon's an 11th-grader, he's shook up. So I grabbed the phone and said, 'Let me tell you something, you never disrespect my son like that.'"

Adds an intriguing story line to the whole rematch-of-the-national-title-game play, doesn't it?
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No. 4: 2009-2010 Team Preview: Michigan State Spartans

2008-2009 Record: 31-7, 15-3 Big Ten (1st)

Key Losses: Goran Suton, Travis Walton

Key Returners: Kalin Lucas (14.7 ppg, 4.6 apg), Raymar Morgan (10.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Durrell Summers (8.6 ppg), Delvon Roe (5.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg)

Newcomers: Garrick Sherman, Derrick Nix

Kalin Lucas will lead MSU as Sparty looks to make a return trip to the Final Four.
(photo credit: MLive)

More than any other team in the top five, Michigan State lost some valuable pieces in the off-season. Leader and defensive stalwart Travis Walton graduated, as did versatile big man Goran Suton. But, if it is possible for a team that reached the title game while beating Kansas, Louisville, and UConn along the way, Michigan State was operating at a diminished capacity last season.

Delvon Roe and Raymar Morgan, who are the likely starters in the two forward spots, were both limited last season, Roe due to microfracture surgery on his knee the season before and Morgan because of a bout of walking pneumonia and a broken nose. Roe's knee injury really cost him last season. More than anything, it was due to how weak his knee was. He didn't have the explosiveness he had as a high schooler and he wasn't able to defend as well as he is expected of a Tom Izzo post player. But when healthy, Roe is dangerous. He is athletic, energetic, and really able to get up and down the floor. His post game is still developing, but Roe should add an extra dimension offensively for the Spartans with his mobility and ability to finish above the rim in traffic.

Morgan is a bit of a conundrum. He came into last season hyped as one of the best combo forwards in the country, but he was extremely inconsistent and unreliable as a result of his injuries and illnesses. When Morgan is at 100%, the guy is as strong and aggressive a player as you will see on the wing, to the point that he is essentially a perimeter oriented power forward. Morgan's weakness at this point in his career is his relative lack of ball handling skills and his poor jump shot. With his ability to slash to the basket and score inside, especially on the offensive glass, if he has improved his perimeter game, Morgan will be a terror offensively for Izzo.

Joining those two up front is a solid group in sophomore Draymond Green, junior Tom Herzog, and freshmen Derrick Nix and Garrick Sherman. Green will probably see the most minutes, at least early on. At 6'6", 235 lb, Green isn't going to impress anyone with his offensive ability or his athleticism. But where he will be effective is on the defensive end and on the glass. He is a strong guy with a lot of determination in the paint. Herzog is a seven footer that saw very limited minutes last season, but expect him to get more consistent playing time this year as size off the bench with Idong Ibok's graduation. Nix and Sherman are similar players. Both are big, strong kids (Nix is 6'8", 280 lb, and Sherman is 6'10", 235 lb) and excellent on the glass. Sherman is probably a bit more polished offensively at this point, but given the talent on this roster, it won't be points that Izzo looks for out of these two - it will be toughness inside, defensively and on the glass.

As good as Michigan State's front court is, their back court is probably better. It will be headlined by reigning Big Ten player of the year Kalin Lucas. Lucas is as good of a point guard as you will find. Lucas is capable of playing on the ball or off of it. When he has the ball in his hands, he is able to break down a defender due to his crisp handle and an exceptional stop-and-go ability and quickness changing direction. He is good at finding the open man when he draws an extra defender as well. Perhaps his most dangerous weapon offensively is his jumper, which is good enough that a defender must respect it, making his ability to create all the more dangerous. As the Spartans will look to get out and run this year, Lucas will be counted upon to lead the break and orchestrate the Spartan offensive attack.

Joining Lucas on the perimeter will be a number of talented wings. Junior Durrell Summers is probably the best of the bunch. An exciting athlete, the 6'4" Summers developed an effective three point stroke during his sophomore season. Summers is going to be a terror running a lane on a fast break, but as he continues to expand his offensive arsenal, Summers may be primed for a break out season. Chris Allen and Korie Lucious will also see significant minutes this season. Allen entered East Lansing with a reputation as a big-time scorer and shooter, but has yet to really find a level of consistency playing at this level. Lucious averaged just 3.2 ppg in limited minutes as a freshman, but he showed flashes of being a good scorer. As minutes open up with Travis Walton's graduated, don't be surprised is Lucious turns into a consistent and effective scoring option.

Outlook: As you should be accustomed to by now, Michigan State will once again be the class of the Big Ten. While they do lose some key pieces from last year's team, the Spartans may be better than last year simply due to the natural development of some of their younger guys and playing this season at 100%. While the loss of Walton will hurt them - he was easily one of the most dominant perimeter defenders last year - it will provide increased minutes for more offensive-oriented guys like Chris Allen and Korie Lucious. The loss of Suton's size should be mitigated by the expected emergence of Delvon Roe and the addition of a couple big freshmen. Michigan State should be expected to run a little bit more this season than last, and if Morgan and Summers provide two legitimate scoring threats on the wings, another Big Ten title and Final Four trip should be expected.
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