Renardo Sidney: Still ineligible

Last week, the LA Times reported that Renardo Sidney (you remember him, don't you?) still had his amateur status under review by the NCAA. Apparently, the current issue is that Sidney's family had yet to turn over information regarding the collateral used to acquire one of (at least) two loans the family received.

NCAA rules strictly forbid "reputation or skill or pay-back potential as a professional athlete" to be used in order for an amateur athlete to receive a loan.

Renardo Sidney may never set foot on a college basketball court.
(photo credit: LA Times)

In the article, the LA Times cited a Mississippi State official as saying that the loan "could be an issue" and that it was "50-50" that Sidney would ever play for Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs.

But this news is a week old, which is like 50 in blog years. Why do I (and, more importantly, why should you) care?

There has been a bit of grumbling about whether or not Stansbury made a good decision when he signed Sidney. Personally, I believe he did.

With Sidney in their line-up, the Bulldogs would immediately become not only the huge favorite to win the SEC West, but would probably start creeping up onto the list of Final Four contenders. This is a team that returns their top five scorers from last season, which includes a young, talented, and deep back court. Combining Sidney, a big man known for his ability to score in a variety of ways, with defensive stalwart Jarvis Varnado gives Stansbury a coach's dream tandem up front.

That is a huge reward for what seems to be a situation with very little risk to Stansbury and his program.

Mississippi State began recruiting Sidney very late in the process, and really only became a serious contender to land the Mickey D's all-american after USC became the second of the two SoCal schools to pass on him. That means that they probably were not involved with him while he racked up a slew of possible NCAA violations, jeopardizing his eligibility.

So the worst case scenario is that Sidney is found ineligible and never suits up for the Bulldogs. That leaves them exactly where they would have been if Sidney hadn't signed. Best case? Sidney is granted eligibility and helps lead the Bulldogs to their first Final Four since the Dontae' Jones era.

Yes, there is an argument to be made about the type of teammate Sidney will be, the distractions that could be caused by Sidney's eligibility remaining in question, and the fact that Sidney is clearly a one-and-done guy (are those ever good for a program?). But this is how the world of college basketball operates under the current rules. For the basketball schools not named Kentucky or North Carolina or Michigan State, going out and renting (which is essentially what happens) an all-world talent for a year is an easy way to .

Like it or not, this will probably be the best team Stansbury will ever field in Starksville.
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Bruce Pearl has spent the majority of July in Israel coaching Team USA in the Maccabiah games. The gig is not as prestigious as Coach K leading the Olympians, Jamie Dixon coaching the U19 squad, or Bo Ryan's effort at the World University Games (the US beat Mexico 112-13).

But Pearl is Jewish, is coaching his son Steven, and the Games have given him an opportunity to bring his parents to Israel for the first time.

While this a great opportunity for Pearl's life outside of basketball - as a religious man and as a family man - the consequences of this trip on him as a coach could be huge. You see, the NCAA did away with April's AAU evaluation period, which means that the two evaluation periods in July have become that much more significant.

And Pearl was in Israel from July 6th-15th, the first July session. The second session begins July 22nd. The Maccabiah finals take place on the 21st, and Pearl will be flying straight from Israel to a tournament in Las Vegas.

How much of an effect this will have on Tennessee's recruiting is debatable. UT's assistants are still out on the road, Pearl will be around for the entirety of the second July session, and the kids the Vols are interested in have been told about Pearl's trip. But while Pearl is off on his Israeli vacation, "coaching" his team to 99 point wins, his assistants are in the stands recruiting against the likes of John Calipari, Josh Pastner, Rick Pitino, etc.

And it may have already burned him.

Josh Selby, a top 10 recruit in the class of 2010, has decommited from Tennessee. There are all kinds of theories out there as to why Selby made this decision. His mother has been quoted as saying that he made his decision too quickly (he commited in September) and wanted to reopen his recruitment to more schools.

But it seems as if there is more to the story. Selby and his family have a relationship with William "Worldwide Wes" Wesley, a notorious college basketball power broker who has strong ties not only to John Calipari, the University of Memphis, and the University of Oregon, but he is closely affiliated with Nike (he is the guy that introduced LeBron James to Michael Jordan when James was a high schooler, an effort to get the young phenom to sign with Nike).

Kentucky, Memphis, and Oregon are all Nike schools. Tennessee is with Adidas.

Then there is the issue of Selby's cousins - Will and Antonio Barton - both signed with Memphis last month (although, this may not be a factor - they are related through Selby's father and Selby was raised by his mother).

It doesn't matter why Selby decommited. What matters is that a top 10 recruit decommited while Pearl was in Israel. Maybe Selby was gone regardless, but one thing that is for sure is that Pearl would have had a lot more influence on the decision had he been stateside.

This is not meant to criticize Pearl as a coach. This trip to Israel seems like a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and is most likely in a quite fulfilling trip. But such is the life of a coach of a big time program.
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Monday Morning Dump

- Craig Robinson is writing a book.

- A little more detail on Andre Dawkins heading to Duke.

- Top 10 returning players.

- Dave Bliss returns to Texas to give a speech.

- Stanford lands PG Aaron Bright.

- Michael Jordan's son is fitting in at Central Florida.

- SI catches up with Robbie Hummel.

- Sonny Vaccaro to be honored in Vegas.

- "Ex-marine fights lion with chainsaw".

- From prostitute to nun?

- All you could ever want to know about Pacman's weekend in Vegas.

- The Hurt Locker looks amazing.

- Jonny Flynn's summer league windmill:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhd4jW_FOvQ&feature=player_embedded
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Friday Morning Dump

- Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik had a "casual conversation" with the T-Wolves about a coaching position.

- Carroll College coach hires twin brother.

- Andy Katz talks with Jarvis Varnado.

- Oliver Purnell's fundraiser for the CvC.

- Big Monday's Big XII match-ups announced.

- Former Georgia Tech standout Anthony Morrow scored a record 47 points in a NBA Summer Leage game yesterday. Nice story about Steph Curry from after the game:

At the conclusion of the Warriors/Hornets game, a crowd of kids gathers to try and get an autograph from Morrow. Morrow finishes with media and throws his jersey into the throng of kids, only to have them lunge at it and break the security barricade fighting for it. A younger fan desperately clutches the jersey while another fan struggles to rip it away from him.

While this scene is unfolding, I am interviewing Steph Curry and the two of us stop to watch what's going on. We are both a little unsure of what to do to comfort the boy who is about to cry. Curry then stops the interview, goes over and gives the boy who lost out on the jersey his game-worn shoe.

- A blob in Alaska.

- College athletes and their problems with insurance coverage.

- Remember this guy? He's still whacked out:


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Andre Dawkins to enroll at Duke a year early

At the end of this past season, it was obvious to many that Duke was going to be heading into this year shorthanded in the back court. With Greg Paulus heading to Syracuse to play football and Gerald Henderson headed to the draft, the Devils were left with Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith, and Elliot Williams as the only three guards on their roster.

But then came the unexpected news that Elliot Williams, a freshman that changed the course of Duke's season over the last 12 games when he was inserted into the starting line-up, was transferring (back home to Memphis) in order to be closer to his mother, who is battling cancer.

With no guards in their recruiting class, Duke is going to be stuck with just two guards on their roster, right?

Wrong.

Earlier today, FOXSports broke the news that Andre Dawkins, a top 25 recruits in the class of '10, will try (and is almost a lock) to enroll at Duke a year early. While only a junior in terms of academics, Dawkins is in his fourth year of high school (after his freshman season at Deep Creek High (Va.), he transferred to Atlantic Shores High (Va.) for basketball reasons, repeating his freshman year). According to Andy Katz, Dawkins was most likely headed to Hargrave Military Academy next season.

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Andre Dawkins will be enrolling at Duke a year early.
(photo credit: Rivals)

Dawkins has taken all 16 core classes required by Duke, has received qualifying test scores, and has a 3.2 GPA. All he needs to do in order to enroll at Duke is to graduate high school, which is is looking to accomplish through summer school.

This would be a very important addition to the Blue Devils roster. Dawkins is cut from the same cloth as Williams and Henderson - a 6'4" wing with impressive athleticism, although it seems he may be a better shooter than either Williams or Henderson.

While this does provide Duke with another perimeter player, as well as the option of playing Scheyer at the point where he was much more effective last season, Blue Devils fans should not view Dawkins as their saving grace.

When Duke was playing their best basketball last season, it was when Scheyer was at the point and Kyle Singler was at the four. Why? Because Scheyer had all kinds of problems scoring against the bigger, more athletic two-guards you find in the ACC and Singler was most effective when he was guarded by power forwards, creating a mismatch on the offensive end. Even with the addition of Dawkins, Duke is going to have to either use Singler at the three or Scheyer at the two.

And while Dawkins will provide a bit more versatility and depth in the back court, going into the season with just three guards still means the Devils will be playing shorthanded. They have a talented front line (Singler, Lance Thomas, Brian Zoubek, Ryan Kelly, and Mason and Miles Plumlee), and it will be interesting to see how Coach K runs this team considering he won't be able to run his the system he has these past few seasons - apressuring man-to-man defense and a three-point shooting offense.

It never hurts to add a player with the talent that Dawkins has. But Duke will still be forced to change up their style of play, likely playing some zone this year. If Dawkins has a freshman campaign on the same level as Henderson's or Williams', then expect Duke to stay near the top of the ACC.

But it still won't be enough for them to compete with UNC.

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Thursday Morning Dump

- Duke transfer Elliot Williams has started taking classes at Memphis.

- Billy Gillispie is coming out with a book.

- Schedule for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

- From Dave Telep's twitter: "Coach will rename nameless but just said, 'I can't get anyone. I'm trying to buy players and I can't get one.'"

- Former USC recruit Noel Johnson was introduced at Clemson.

- Jeff Goodman catches up with Iman Shumpert.

- The LA Times catches up with the lone remaining USC recruit, and also updates you on Renardo Sidney's eligibility issues.

- Tom Crean: Twitter violations?

- Maybe the Steph Curry era will pay off from Bob McKillop: he just inked a guard that Pitt and Notre Dame wanted.

- The Strait Pinkie updates you on the Rick Pitino case.

- Gift bags at the ESPY's.

- Pretty scary stuff here - the video of Michael Jackson's hair catching on fire.

- "I was just an angry black man": Who said it?

- Coach Cal talks recruiting, NBA age limit:


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Coach Cal sells NBA riches

John Calipari exemplifies what is wrong with college basketball.

Before all the Kentucky fans out there jump down my throat, let me explain something. Cal is breaking no rules. He is doing nothing illegal (depending on who you ask - a better way to phrase it is he has never been caught doing anything illegal). He is taking complete advantage of the way the NCAA and the NBA have set up the process of getting high school kids to the league.

And there is nothing wrong with that.

In fact, it is what makes him arguably the best in the business right now. It is why Kentucky is paying him $35 million.

It still doesn't change the fact that the way Coach Cal conducts business is exactly why college basketball's integrity has gone by the wayside. But we already know this, don't we? Hasn't BIAH already written over and over about the inherently flawed one-and-done rule and the effect it has on our beloved game? Isn't this old news by now? Wouldn't a column criticizing the NBA's age limit have been much more relevant a month ago during the build-up to the 2009 NBA Draft?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes. And while all of this may be common knowledge, it is still a punch in the gut when you see how little recruits are worried about the college game. You can hear from everyone in your life that your girlfriend is cheating, its still going to suck when you stumble across a facebook picture of her making out with someone else.

Take a look at some of the quotes from Jerry Tipton's column on Kentucky.com:

"He pushes you hard, and he makes pros," top-25 prospect Doron Lamb said. "That's what everybody wants to be." Lamb, a point guard for high school powerhouse Oak Hill Academy, mentioned the dribble-drive offense in terms of the NBA. "That is the pro game," he said. "He runs a pro offense."

"You go to college to get a job," top-25 prospect Jelan Kendrick said. "All the guys want to get to the NBA. Who wouldn't want to get developed into a pro?" The quicker the better, the players said.

"I really like them, especially since Cal went there," forward Johnny O'Bryant said of Kentucky. "Because he's a one-and-done coach. He coaches players. He only recruits one-year players, and most players want to get to the NBA as soon as possible." O'Bryant, a top-10 prospect in the class of 2011 and a native of Cleveland, Miss., acknowledged that he'd like to follow the example of Rose and Evans. "It makes me feel, if I go (to UK) and I work hard, I can be drafted in the first round," he said. "A lottery pick."

Marquis Teague, a top-five prospect in the class of 2011, feels the effect, in part, because he plays the same point guard position as Rose and Evans. "I know Coach Cal did great things with Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans," he said. "He coaches great guards." Teague, whose older brother Jeff starred at Wake Forest and was a first-round pick in this year's NBA Draft, wants to visit UK even though the program hasn't offered a scholarship. Why? "One of the best programs in the country," he said, "and Coach Cal."

Look, I'm not naive. I know that even without the NBA's age limit, college basketball was nothing more than a proving ground for those with NBA aspirations. There is nothing wrong with that, and I truly have no problem with kids choosing a school based on the potential that school and/or coach can get them a guaranteed contract.

If you want to be a doctor, you pick where you go to undergrad based on the likelihood that school can prepare you enough to get you accepted into the best Medical School's. How is this any different?

My issue comes with the mindset these kids have heading into school, the way these kids view their education, and the way coaches (in this case Coach Cal) take advantage of that. But can you really blame the kids, or the coaches for that matter?

The way the system is currently set up, it is in the best interest of the best prospects to get as much as they can out of the recruiting process (and we're not talking about life lessons, we're talking about the money, the cars, and the clothes) before choosing a school, feigning being a student-athlete for a year, and heading off to the NBA. If they get caught, what happens, the NCAA vacates some wins? Whoop-dee-doo.

It is not much different for the coaches. Given the nature of the profession, it is in their best interest to do anything they can to win some games, even if it means they have to cheat a bit a long the way. College basketball coaching is a cutthroat, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business, and if you're not winning, fan bases are going to get upset (read: you are going to lose your job). And while coaches have much more to lose than the players do (their paychecks, their career - think about Tim Floyd or Kelvin Sampson), it is not all that often that you see a coach actually go down for these kind of violations (is it just me, or does it seem like this whole Tim Floyd soap opera would never have seen the light of day had OJ Mayo kept Louis Johnson on the payroll?).

The bottom line is that as long as there is this age limit, coaches are going to be recruiting guys based on the fact they can get them into the lottery after one season. And as I mentioned before, you can't really fault the coaches here. It is a flawed system that encourages being corruption.

College basketball is a beautiful sport in an ideal world. The world's best young talent, rabid fan bases, the NCAA Tournament - on paper it is great. But as the sport continues to accumalate black eyes, it gets tougher and tougher not to be completely jaded by it all.
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Wednesday Where Are They Now?: AJ Guyton

Ever wonder what happened to those college stars that couldn't catch on in the NBA? The guys that put up the great numbers or the guys that left early, and were never heard from again? Every Wednesday, we at BIAH will take a look at a former college star that never made it in the NBA, and we will update you on where he is playing or what he is doing. We're guessing the results will surprise you. To request a player, leave a comment in the comments section.

AJ GUYTON, INDIANA

AJ Guyton was a relatively unheralded recruit when he arrived in Bloomington as a freshman. 6'1" scorers are a dime a dozen at this level, and he wasn't even the best recruit at that position Bobby Knight landed in his 1996 recruiting class - Michael Lewis, who led the state of Indiana in scoring as a senior, was brought in to run the point.

(photo credit: Herald Times Online)

But Guyton made his presence felt immediately, as he was second on the team in scoring at 13.6 ppg en route to a Big Ten freshman of the year award. He became just the eighth Hoosier to notch 400 points, 100 assists, and 100 rebounds in a single season, and just the second freshman (along with Isiah Thomas - ever heard of him?).

As a sophomore, Guyton solidified his status as one of the best shooters in the country, knocking down 44% of his three's while averaging a solid 16.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, and 3.7 apg, enough to earn him 1st team all Big Ten honors. His junior season was more of the same, as Guyton averaged 16.0 ppg while hitting on 41% of this three's.

Some people expected Guyton to head to the NBA after his junior campaign due to the fact that Indiana's program was going through some turmoil. Luke Recker had just become the third McDonald's all-american to transfer out of the school during Guyton's playing days, the Hoosiers had not made it out of the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament in five seasons (and were coming off their best finish in the Big Ten with Guyton - a third place tie at 9-7), and the University was getting fed up with Bobby Knight's act.

But with Recker leaving, Guyton realized he would have a chance to show the NBA what he could do as "the man", and didn't disappoint. As a senior, Guyton scored 19.7 ppg while hitting 46% from the floor and 42% from three. He was not only named Big Ten player of the year, but he was also a 1st team all-american.

But the Hoosiers had another disappointing end to their season. Just days before they were to play Pepperdine, CNN/SI ran a piece where former player Neil Reed (who had transferred out of Indiana as a junior in 1997) accused Knight of choking him during a practice. As a result, sixth seeded Indiana was whipped by Pepperdine 77-57 in the first round.

A tape of the choking incident would later surface, and it eventually led to the demise of Bobby Knight. The timing of all this couldn't have been worse for Guyton. Instead of being remembered by Hoosiers fans as one of the best to come through Assembly Hall (he finished his career as the all-time leader in three's with 283 and 4th on the all-time scoring list with over 2,100 points), his name will forever be tied with the demise of Bobby Knight.

After college, Guyton was a second round pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, going 32nd to the Chicago Bulls. He ended up earning a two-year contract after an excellent summer league performance, and didn't disappoint in the limited chances he got - Guyton played in 78 games during the '01-'02 and '02-'03 seasons and averaged 5.7 ppg. He latched on with the Lakers during the '02-'03 preseason, but was cut prior to the season. He played two games with the Warriors that season, but was cut in December. After playing 30 games in the NBDL, Guyton eventually headed overseas.

Guyton bounced around Italy for the next three seasons, but prior to the '06-'07 season Guyton started having eye trouble. He played eight games in Croatia during '06-'07, but was forced to end his season early and was eventually diagnosed with glaucoma in both eyes. He played in both Greece and Sweden late in the '07-'08 season, but according to Interperformances (the agency that Guyton has signed with), he did not play this past season, and has yet to sign with anyone for '09-'10.
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Wednesday Morning Dump

- Andy Katz looks at Washington State - they had four players on the teams playing in international tournaments.

- Buzz Peterson is back at Appalachian State.

- Jeff Goodman talks to Al-Farouq Aminu.

- Providence head coach Keno Davis signs an extension through 2016.

- Gov't funds ok'd in Kentucky's legal fight with Billy Gillispie.

- Jerry Tarkanian to undergo spinal surgery.

- Brandon Knight, arguably the best player in the class of 2010, has fractured a bone in his foot and is done for the summer.

- Tony Romo is kinda funny:

Tony Romo: Product Spokesman from Tony Romo

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Tuesday Morning Dump

- Seth Davis sizes up the class of 2010.

- Ohio State has another five-star big man headed to Columbus.

- Stacey Poole talks about his recruitment.

- Kevin O'Neil sent a letter to Pat Forde.

- The Rick Pitino extortion case takes a few more twists: Karen Sypher goes to the sex-offense unit of the Louisville PD while Pitino talks to investigators.

- Could Charlotte's Bobby Lutz be on the way out?

- Marcus Camby says Thabeet could be a force at the next level.

- Former Ty Lawson back-up tries his hand at rapping.

- The Las Vegas Review-Journal goes in-depth on the Pacman Jones shooting.

- Congratulations Peter Vecsey.

- At least Kwame Brown was never caught on camera crying while being arrested.

- I love Patton Oswalt in King of Queens, but this new movie he is in - where he actually acts - looks fantastic:


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College Basketball Top 10 Dunks

Now that the NBA Draft is over with and the class of 2009 is finally set, I have been unable to get my daily college basketball fix. As a result, I've been spending way too much time on youtube watching and re-watching some of the best highlights from the '08-'09 season. Here the top 10 (plus a few) dunks from this past season. As always, if I've missed one, please post a link in the comments.

Not top 10, but hilarious: Wyoming's Adam Waddell. Just watch.



Honorable Mention:

The windmills - Sam Young, Terrence Williams, Jonny Flynn x2, then Stanley Robinson.









The alley-oops: Terrence Williams, James Johnson, and Dar Tucker







The "on Greg Paulus": Dwayne Collins and Jerai Grant





10. Gerald Henderson had a number of big dunks during the season, but this was my favorite.



Here are some others:







9. James Johnson abuses some Indiana kid trying to take a charge. His face after the dunk is priceless.



8. Justin Mason dunks all over Notre Dame in the Maui Invitational.



7. Earl Clark brutalizes the vertically challenged Luke Harangody.



6. Durrell Summers dunks all over Sticks Robinson in the Final Four.



Bonus: Sticks exacts some revenge with a huge tip-dunk in the final minutes.



5. Jonny Flynn abuses Mike Rosario.



4. Jeff Teague gives some poor sap from Cal St. Fullerton an Erin Andrews.



This was far from Teague's only poster worthy dunk from '08-'09:





3. Fresno State's Paul George got the season kicked off the right way.



2. Blake Griffin. Pink one.











1. Miami's DeQuan Jones windmills, and dunks on the other side of the rim against UNC.



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"You ain't dunkin' on me at my camp"

The intrawebs were ablaze last week with "news" that LeBron James was dunked on by Xavier transfer Jordan Crawford at his Skills Camp. James (or Nike, depending on who you ask) then confiscated the tape, ensuring that the dunk will forever be remembered, regardless of how nice it actually was.

People have been all over LeBron over the last few days about the dunk, and Kobe Bryant just got in on the act.

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Monday Morning Dump

- Kansas basketball player Chase Buford (who?) got a DUI.

- Lance Stephenson plead guilty to disorderly conduct.

- Ex-OSU commit is looking at Notre Dame.

- Andy Katz catches up with Luke Harangody. Gary Parrish talks to VCU's Larry Sanders. Seth Davis has a piece about Michael Gilchrist.

- The US wins a bronze in the World University Games. They took home gold in the U19 worlds.

- Stephen Curry impresses in the Vegas Summer League.

- Isiah Thomas lands another recruit at FIU. Adam Zagoria takes a look at Thomas as well.

- How to assemble an NBA Summer League roster.

- Getting on the court with a Big East ref.

- First Canadian college accepted into the NCAA.

- David Beckham responds to Landon Donovan's comments.

- Girl falls in open manhole while texting.

- The best six year old baller in the world.


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Friday Morning Dump

- Truck Bryant has been suspended indefinitely from the West Virginia team after leaving the scene of an accident.

- Rules involving summer contact with coaches and recruits may change.

- Is Michael Gilchrist headed to Kentucky?

- 76 Classic pairings announced.

- Funny story about John Calipari at UMass.

- Bruce Pearl gets a $200K raise.

- TrueHoop's take on the LeBron debacle.

- Erin Andrews: balls to the chin?

- College basketball's Top 10 most thrilling players.

- "LeBron James get dunked on video" is 24th highest searched on Google. Can we just see the video already?

- Isiah Thomas will debut as the FIU head coach against Ohio State.

- Fundraiser for Binghamton files sexual assault charges.

- Woman beats a fawn to death with a shovel.

- Jordan Crawford interview on LeBron James dunk:


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Wednesday (Mid) Morning Dump

Traveling today, apologies for the late post.

- Xavier's Jordan Crawford dunked on King James at the Lebron Skills Academy. And you will never see the video.

- Catching up with former prep star Ronnie Fields.

- Myles Brand: 2-and-done's?

- Renardo Sidney's parents meet with NCAA.

- FIU player who isn't being released to transfer may sue.

- Tubby Smith on the recruiting trail.

- Pauley Pavilion is doing their new seating the right way by the students.

- Kentucky has finalized their roster for '09-'10.

- South Carolina reports 14 violations.

- Two Whitlock classics (here and here).

- I could watch these all day.

- Rugby players are awesome.

- Pitcher out a month after falling over railing, kid points and laughs.

- Austin Kearns does Willie Mays Hayes proud:

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Tuesday Morning Dump

- What are college coaches doing right now?

- The LA Times takes a look at John Wooden.

- Budding star Mike Rosario.

- Duke playing zone?

- Tyler Hansbrough gets a taste of an NBA court.

- Interview with a guy who has known Lance Stephenson since the 4th grade.

- You have to feel for Phil Mickelson. His mother now has breast cancer.

- Figure skating champ to meth runner.

- Idiot.

- This is awful.

- What a moron:

- We Gamin':



- Ron Artest's Michael Jackson Tribute:


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Site update

With the NBA Draft in our wake, the coaching carousel finally slowing down, and 2009's incoming freshman class finally set (we think), now is as good a time as any to try and work out some of the kinks of BIAH. So while we will still be having our Morning Dump each and every weekday, don't expect as much original content for the next week or so.

But I would like to make a call for help. As we did last off-season, BIAH is going to do a most memorable moments from the college basketball season countdown against this off-season. Anyone with a moment they think belongs in the top 50, please shoot us an email at ContactBIAH@gmail.com. It could be something as obvious as Greivis Vazquez posting a triple double in the Terps upset of UNC, or something as miniscule as Sammy the Owl being ejected.

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Monday Morning Dump

- US is 4-0 in the U19's, and Mike Rosario goes for 54 for Puerto Rico.

- Former Kentucky forward Matt Pilgrim will transfer to Oklahoma State.

- Kylie Irving and Michael Gilchrist like Kentucky?

- A story from the Charlotte Observer about eighth grader Rodney Purvis.

- Notre Dame promotes Ingelsby to assistant, the position vacated by Sean Kearney, the new Holy Cross head coach.

- Blog lands an interview with Dave Telep of Scout.com.

- This guy needs a life.

- 40 Real Men of Genius Commercials. Yes.

- A bit old, but HHR rips Jay Marriotti.

- The top 50 highest paid athletes. Look at #22.

- Gross:



- Congressman rips Michael Jackson:


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The NCAA Selection Committee changes their last 12 games rule

There has been a lot of talk over the last day or so regarding the NCAA's decision to change their selection criteria regarding the last 12 games a team plays. Specifically, they will no longer factor it in. From the NCAA's website:

The Division I Men’s Basketball Committee has decided to no longer consider the results of a team’s last 12 games as one of the tools available in the selection criteria for the 2009-10 season.

While the basketball committee uses several variables when it comes to selecting the 34 at-large teams that are placed into the bracket each March, its members concluded that college basketball stakeholders were confused by the last 12 games being part of the process.

“As the committee continues to hone its message regarding how it views the season, parsing a particular segment of games and implying it had greater weight than others seemed misleading and inconsistent,” said committee chair and Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive. “The removal of this reference avoids confusion in the room and brings our reporting in line with our process.”

The Sporting Blog likes the change. Rush the Court doesn't. The Dagger does, or doesn't, depending on the day.

My reaction: is it even going to matter?

Both sides of this argument are correct when it comes down to it. When judging an entire season's body of work, every game should have the same value. Just because you beat North Carolina in November, or lost to Morgan State, shouldn't make that outcome any less pertinent.

The other side would argue college basketball teams are constantly changing. Freshman develop and gain confidence; opponents figure out how to stop a one-dimensional team; players get hurt; coaches figure out to most effectively use everyone on their roster. The name on the jersey may be the same, but it doesn't mean that it is the "same team" playing in March that took the floor in November. It makes sense to want the 65 best teams in March to go dancing.

As I said, both sides are right.

But think for a second about why teams have such a drastic change during the course of a season. 9 out of 10 times, it is for one of two reasons:

1. A team from a major conference plays a fairly cupcake schedule, knocking off teams that cannot compete with them athletically, building up a gaudy early season record. But once they get into conference play, where the competition is much better, they have their flaws exposed and struggle down the stretch. Think Clemson from 2006-2008.
   
2. A team from a mid-major conference plays a loaded non-conference schedule trying to land some notable early season victories, whiffing on every chance they get. But once they get back into conference lay, they roll through the competition. Think Davidson 2008.
   

It isn't that often that you see a situation like we had with Kentucky in '07-'08 (without some mitigating factor i.e. an injured star player returns), where the Wildcats struggled to a 6-7 start (including losses to Gardner-Webb and San Diego) before finishing the season 12-4 in the SEC to earn an #11 seed.

For the most part, I think that this is going to affect seeding much more than it will effect who actually gets into the tournament. If a team like Butler rolls through the non-conference wins a bunch of marquee games in November and December, clinches their conference early, and then loses a few games down the stretch and gets knocked off early in the Horizon League tourney, where do they get seeded? What about a team from a power conference that has a few embarrassing losses early in the season, but beats a couple ranked teams late in the season and make a run to their tourney finals?

More than the last 12 games, I think the bigger issue is how the committee factors in a middle-of-the-pack power conference team that makes a run in their conference tournament, picking up RPI boosting wins along the way.

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Recruiting Winners and Losers

Now that Lance Stephenson has finally decided on a school (Cincinnati) and Xavier Henry is "staying at Kansas and that's final", the class of '09 is finally set. But didn't it seem like so much of this year's recruiting was done after the '08-'09 season ended?

Here is a quick look at the winners and the losers from the 2009 postseason recruiting process:

WINNERS:

• Kentucky
: this one should be obvious. The Wildcats hired John Calipari, who brought with him from Memphis a loaded recruiting class, headlined by DeMarcus Cousins and Darnell Dodson. Then, Cal added Eric Bledsoe, a top 25 recruit who will be backing up arguably the best player in the country PG John Wall. And does convinving Patrick Patterson to stay in school count?

Kentucky went from a team that made the NIT and looked to be losing their two best players to a team with one of the best recruiting classes of all-time and a consensus top 5 preseason ranking. All that, and they missed out on top 5 recruit Xavier Henry. Twice.

• Arizona
: Sean Miller found out quickly how easy it is to sell a player on the Arizona brand. Recruiting at a school that had just hired their fourth coach in four seasons and was losing their three best players, Miller was able to land five guys after being hired - Solomon Hill, Momo Jones, Derrick Williams, Kevin Parrom, and Kyryl Natyazhko. Add that to the fact that Nic Wise, a potential Pac-10 POY, returned for his senior season, and Arizona looks good to reach their 26th straight tournament.

• Cincinnati
: The Bearcats landed one of the best recruits in the country, seemingly out of the blue. Lance Stephenson was rumored to be headed to many places - Memphis, Arizona, Maryland, St. John's, Europe - but no one really knew Cinci was even an option until this past weekend. Combining Stephenson and senior Deonta Vaughn will give Mick Cronin one of the best 1-2 punches in the country.

• Memphis
: You would think after losing Coach Cal and all those recruits, the Tiger's would be considered losers. But Josh Pastner and his staff have been getting work in on the recruiting front. They landed a number of recruits in the last few months, headlined by top 25 '09 recruit Latavious Williams and top 10 '10 recruit Will Barton. But Pastner was also able to entice Elliot Williams, a Duke transfer and former McDonald's all-american, to come into the program. Williams could be eligible to play immediately due to an illness in his family.

LOSERS:

• Cincinnati
: Lance Stephenson may be a program changing basketball talent, but he may also be a program changer in the OJ Mayo sense. This guy has as many issues surrounding his character and eligibility as any recruit I can remember. From grades, to a documentary he may or may not have made money from, to an overbearing father, to his legal issues regarding an alledged sexual assault, this kid can't seem to stay out of an internet rumor. Cinci should compete for a Big East title, but at what cost? Mississippi State and Renardo Sidney could probably be put into this same category.

• Kansas
: Xavier Henry is coming to Lawrence, but just as Cinci will have issues with Stephenson, it is looking like Kansas may have some of the same problems. It is a range of issues - can Xavier get on board with Kansas's team-first ideal (Self has never had a one-and-done guy); will Carl Henry become too involved; what will Xavier bouncing after basically a semester (he isn't on campus now because he doesn't "like going to class") do to the Jayhawk program?; will he be willing to be led by potential first-team all-america Sherron Collins?

• USC
: The Trojans lost everyone: four players to the pros, four recruits to other schools (three went to Arizona), and their head coach. Kevin O'Neil has his work cut out for him.

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