Unofficial Official 2012-13 College Basketball Thread

[Marmel]

Yes, back to actual basketball news. Syracuse is playing 4 exhibition games in Canada starting tonight. College Hoops in August? Yes please!

Cuse lost Michael Carter Williams to the draft lottery and seniors Brandon Triche and James Southerland, but they bring in 5 freshman, plus a Duke transfer.

The starters and bench for tonight look like:

PG Ennis (Freshman, but should not be much of a drop off from MCW believe it or not #20 ranked recruit)

SG Cooney (so much improvement from last season according to all reports)

SF CJ Fair (All ACC, if not American candidate)

PF Rakeem Xmas (solid 3 year program guy. great defense, reasonable rebounding, put backs, etc)

C Coleman (Centers seem to make a big jump FR to Soph year at Cuse plus he was injured for a while last year. Should be a beast this year.)


Bench:

SF/PF Jeremy Grant (already projected to be drafted #16 this year - a CJ Fair clone with better rebounding. Probably going to be the 6th man type ala Dion Waters, Kris Joseph, Scoop, etc in past years. Won't start, but will be in for every critical moment of every game)

C Baye Keita (solid 4 year program guy)

G Mike Gbinje (Duke transfer, will back up the two guard spots)

PF/SF Roberson (Freshman phenom, not playing tonight but will be cleared by NCAA well in advance of Midnight Madness #31 ranked recruit)
Buss and BJ Johnson (talented, highly rated freshman, but under the Boeheim way, probably won't see much of them after November. Johnson could be an NBA player in a couple years though. He is the 80th ranked recruit but is a year younger than everyone else in his class and was flying quite a bit under the radar.)

This team is so loaded and should make a serious run at a 2nd straight Final Four. The talent coming to Syracuse lately has been insane. McCullough will be here next year will just about everyone except CJ Fair so the future looks so good.

[tarcone]

Iowa is back from playing 6 exhibition games in England and France. I like that they went to Europe and got some good practice in.
The preseason schedule is beefed up with The Battle 4 Atlantis. That means Xavier, Tennessee and possibly Kansas. Throw in a road game against Iowa State and Notre Dame in the B1G/ACC challenge and Iowa will have no worries about making the Big Dance.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by cartman

And getting back to actual college basketball news, the bad news keeps coming in for Texas. One of the pieces they were counting on for the rebuilding process, Ioannis Papapetrou, has decided to play pro ball in Greece. Time might be running out for Barnes. As successful as he has been at Texas, he's going to have to be a miracle worker this fall to keep his job.

Ioannis Papapetrou, Texas Longhorns' leading returning scorer, signs deal with Greek pro team - ESPN

I was told by someone who frequents the AAU circuit that Barnes will step down at the end of the year. Sounds like he's burned out and feels like he and the school both need a change.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I was told by someone who frequents the AAU circuit that Barnes will step down at the end of the year. Sounds like he's burned out and feels like he and the school both need a change.

My daughter played 4th grade AAU basketball this summer here in Indiana and I know for a fact this is 100% false. Rick Barnes was out here recruiting my daughter. So, there is no way he's leaving until after her senior season. He told me so.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

The 24 hour marathon is set.....

Eye On College Basketball - CBSSports.com Ranking the 24-hour college hoops marathon

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

My daughter played 4th grade AAU basketball this summer here in Indiana and I know for a fact this is 100% false. Rick Barnes was out here recruiting my daughter. So, there is no way he's leaving until after her senior season. He told me so.

Way to stick the landing, spleen.

[Kodos]

Home-and-home rivalries take a hit with conference realignment -- men's college basketball - ESPN

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Home-and-home rivalries take a hit with conference realignment -- men's college basketball - ESPN

Given that this has been true since the Big 10 expanded with Penn State, why is this really news anymore? Round robin died in all the major conferences aside from the Pac 12 long ago. Duke and State, for example, have mostly played once yearly since the ACC expanded 10 years ago, so the fact that there's only one game this year isn't news at all. Yeah, it stinks to high heavens for basketball, but what can you do? I know a lot of old guard ACC fans hate this whole expansion thing to death, but the alternative is to basically become what the AAC is now.

[Marmel]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

Given that this has been true since the Big 10 expanded with Penn State, why is this really news anymore? Round robin died in all the major conferences aside from the Pac 12 long ago. Duke and State, for example, have mostly played once yearly since the ACC expanded 10 years ago, so the fact that there's only one game this year isn't news at all. Yeah, it stinks to high heavens for basketball, but what can you do? I know a lot of old guard ACC fans hate this whole expansion thing to death, but the alternative is to basically become what the AAC is now.

I am with you on all of this. I have missed the home and homes with the original Big East teams for years. As great as the BE conference had been in hoops over the past 5-10 years, it just wasn't quite the same. We can't go back to the old way of doing things, so all things considered, I couldn't ask for a better landing spots for Syracuse than the ACC. Trading games with Uconn, Georgetown, Nova and St Johns for UNC, Duke, NC State et al is a step down, but exciting in its own way because those are some premiere programs that we never really play. In football, getting back games with Miami, VTech and BC is great as well as adding FSU and Clemson.

I'm sure the ACC fans hate the addition of Cuse, Pitt and Louisville while losing Maryland. I'm not sure how they feel about ND in basketball and partial football, but I think all 4 teams benefit greatly, but also really add a lot to the ACC in the 2 major sports overall. It is a bit of a strange marriage, but I think it is going to work out pretty well. And the southerners will have to get over being butt-hurt when us northerners whip their asses (at least in hoops). I wonder how Duke and UNC are going to feel when Syracuse starts taking the ACC titles that they alone seemed to battle for every year.

By the way, Duke at Syracuse is going to be insane on February 1, 2014. Record breaking crowd, easily over 35K in the Dome. I can't wait!

Also, sorry to any Maryland fans, but the on-field product only gets better adding Cuse, Pitt and Louisville, minus Maryland when looking at overall athletics, not to mention the Notre Dame deal.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Marmel

I wonder how Duke and UNC are going to feel when Syracuse starts taking the ACC titles that they alone seemed to battle for every year.

In theory, happy. The rest of the ACC after Duke and UNC have been incredibly inconsistent and the league as a whole has suffered for it. Duke and UNC are great historically, but the ACC when it was the best league in basketball was the best because there were 4 or 5 elite teams instead of just 2. The conference desperately needs other powerhouses.

The problem is that I don't care at all about college football and all this conference movement does nothing to improve basketball in my eyes (I see basketball suffering for the sake of football), so I just am an old curmudgeon about all this and despise it all in general, and I'm sure I'll take it out on Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame, assuming I continue to follow the sport at all, which is not a guarantee at this point.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Marmel

Trading games with Uconn, Georgetown, Nova and St Johns for UNC, Duke, NC State et al is a step down

I cannot begin to express how horrible the feeling is to me that a game against Syracuse, Pitt, or Notre Dame is going to be a "conference game". Fuck that. With Maryland leaving, and a league consisting of Boston College, Miami, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Pitt, and Notre Dame, the ACC should just dissolve and form it all under a new conference, or re-brand to something else, and let the ACC die in peace.

But again, I'm an old curmudgeon and this has all passed me by. I hate it so, so much.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Marmel

By the way, Duke at Syracuse is going to be insane on February 1, 2014. Record breaking crowd, easily over 35K in the Dome. I can't wait!

Where would Syracuse draw the line for a basketball crowd at the dome? Are there a number of sections they will always block off for basketball, or could 50,000 people conceivably watch a game assuming they were willing to put up with the distance from the court?

[Marmel]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Where would Syracuse draw the line for a basketball crowd at the dome? Are there a number of sections they will always block off for basketball, or could 50,000 people conceivably watch a game assuming they were willing to put up with the distance from the court?

The strategy has been to break the previous attendance record by a few hundred ever few years. I'm sure they can squeeze in about another 1,000 from the current record if they wanted to, but those last tickets sold have almost no sight lines. You are just there for the experience.

There was a ton of talk about moving the court to the center of the dome and opening it all up for this year's Duke game and selling 50,000 tickets. It met a lot of resistance because season tickets have already been sold and I don't think they have a plan for keeping everyone happy with a reconfigured dome. I don't think they want to bait and switch the season ticket holders. I wish they could figure out how to make it happen for this game, but I doubt it.

It is only a matter of time before it happens though. Boeheim's last game would be ideal, but I think he will quietly retire in the offseason and never give them a chance to set that up.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Radii

I cannot begin to express how horrible the feeling is to me that a game against Syracuse, Pitt, or Notre Dame is going to be a "conference game". Fuck that.

Pretty much my take as well, and I'm a fan of a team that many in the ACC would still consider a "come-lately" myself.

There's at least some basketball justification, the newcomers are good enough to be interesting. Football? The amount of don't give a fuck about any of them I have is downright astonishing.

[Kodos]

I feel the same way about Rutgers and Maryland joining the Big Ten. At least pick teams that fit in the conference footprint!

[Kodos]

Here's a victory for tradition. IU will not be replacing Assembly Hall.

http://indiana.247sports.com/Article...eplaced-146018

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Another WTF ruling from the NCAA. This is no different than the Alex Oriachi situation.

Rick Pitino, Louisville Cardinals coach, baffled by NCAA denying Rakeem Buckles' transfer - ESPN

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Another WTF ruling from the NCAA. This is no different than the Alex Oriachi situation.

Rick Pitino, Louisville Cardinals coach, baffled by NCAA denying Rakeem Buckles' transfer - ESPN

Did his father and brother die also?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Waiver granted for Michael Dixon. Definitely the right decision, though I am glad that Mizzou made the decision they did to move on.

NCAA clears Michael Dixon to play at Memphis this season - CBSSports.com

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

He had a big hand in getting Rutgers into the Big 10, right? I'll bet he has some friends over there and possibly with the B10 network, so I could see him ending up working for the network in some capacity.

Today it was announced that Pernetti took the position of chief business officer with New York City FC.

[MrBug708]

UCLA is doing it's best to not land a PG in this class, despite having the job basically open for anyone interested.

[mauchow]

I'm eager to see the Badgers season get underway -- I am curious what Bo does this year with the lineup. I am pretty sure it's going to be 3 guard lineups almost always with 4-guards in at times.. gonna be a lot of three's again..

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

The nonconference games we'd love to see - Men's College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN

[tarcone]

Iowa loses out to Kentucky on PG Tyler Ulis.
Iowa is been on this kid for about 2 years and was the 1st school to offer. Kentucky came in late July and got him.
Kind of disappointed. As Ulis is a 3 or 4 year type college player. Not your prototypical UK recruit.

Here is an interesting article on the recruiting process. It points to hypocrisy in the recruitment.

Ulis Goes With Kentucky

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Article discussing enforcement of new rule changes in college basketball. The snippit later in the article about Calipari paying SEC officials large amounts to do a fantasy camp also has angered some people in the college basketball community.

UK basketball notebook: Kentuckian Jake Bell plans to shoot straight as SEC supervisor of officials | Basketball: Men | Kentucky.com

[Logan]

The Kerwin Okoro case at Rutgers has changed NCAA guidelines - CBSSports.com

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Iowa loses out to Kentucky on PG Tyler Ulis.
Iowa is been on this kid for about 2 years and was the 1st school to offer. Kentucky came in late July and got him.
Kind of disappointed. As Ulis is a 3 or 4 year type college player. Not your prototypical UK recruit.

Here is an interesting article on the recruiting process. It points to hypocrisy in the recruitment.

Ulis Goes With Kentucky

That article really makes it sound like the author thinks the schools that put in more time recruiting the kid somehow deserve to get him to play for them.

[tarcone]

I guess you could take it that way.
I think it be talking about how the Dad didnt allow Illinois in the process and then let UK in, using the same logic.

Iowa was plan B. But Ulis was a want and not a big need. Fran put a lot of time and money into him. Its too bad for Iowa.

I think it was a poor decision by Ulis though. He may find himself behind 3 or 4 one and dones. and never get to the NBA. Ulis is a 3 or 4 year guy.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Embarrassing stuff here....

3-point shot: Texas A&M Aggies Billy Kennedy unfazed by negativity - ESPN

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Disappointed to see this. Really wanted to see a move back to large arenas rather than domes for the Final Four.

Final Four selection process for 2017-2020 has begun, will remain in domes | CollegeBasketballTalk

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Fun to see this video. Coach Norm chatting it up with one of the current players. He's still around the program quite a bit. He and Haith are doing a Coaches vs. Cancer event this month together.

http://instagram.com/p/esNEPrNqTb/#

[Izulde]

Goodluck Okonoboh to announce his decision tonight on ESPNU during halftime of the Western Kentucky/ULM game. His final three appear to be Indiana, Ohio State, and UNLV.

From what I'm hearing, Ohio State's got him.

[Kodos]

That's what I hear too.

[HerRealName]

Ohio State needs a big guy but I thought UNLV was the favorite. Matta and staff don't leak recruiting information so no one on the Ohio State side really knows anything.

[Balldog]

Big pickup for Thad, tough to imagine a better 2014 class if he picks OSU.

[Balldog]

Damn tough break for Thad
Seems like a good kid

[HerRealName]

Congrats Izulde. Seems like a great kid. He did a very good job in the interview.

[Izulde]

Thanks, guys. I'm stunned we won out. Between him and Dwayne Morgan, we're putting together a nice class, and it seems like Dave Rice is taking advantage of the recruiting dividends we got from AB going #1 overall in the draft.

[Kodos]

Congrats, Izulde. Goodluck and Vegas. Makes sense!

[tarcone]

Iowa picks up a commit. Dominique Uhl, a 6'8" SF/PF from NJ selects Iowa over BC and Temple.

This is a nice pick up. After what looked like a possibly weak class, Uhl helps a lot.

[Young Drachma]

Another day, another Grinnell 100 point game by Jack Taylor, this time against another Bible College.

Grinnell's Jack Taylor scores 109 points on 24 3-pointers - ESPN

Still, crazy.

[hoopsguy]

Brutal day for Illini on Friday, seeing Top 5 PF Cliff Alexander sign with Kansas (after doing the "hat fake" with Illini lid) and Top 40 PG Quentin Snyder sign with Louisville after flipping from Cardinals to Illinois a couple of months ago.

At least the product on the court has been a somewhat pleasant surprise so far, moving to 4-0 with a rout of Bradley this evening.

I think the arrow is still pointed up for the program, but the quick path to Top 10-15 has been derailed. Back to steady improvement from the wreckage that Webber left behind.