Doyel's Dribbles
Doyel's Dribbles is a daily look (more or less) at the 2004-05 college basketball season. It's almost a blog. See? We're hip.
Calamity coming to Kansas?
Nov. 29, 9:51 a.m.
Oh ... my ... gosh ... Part II (see next entry for Part I).
According to reports from the Midwest and West coast, Kansas is going to take talented but troublesome Southern California transfer Rodrick Stewart.
This has to be a joke. No, seriously, this cannot be true. Kansas coach Bill Self is on recruiting auto-pilot, getting whoever he wants from the high school ranks. He doesn't need to take someone else's problem, and that's what Rodrick Stewart has been: someone else's problem.
Stewart would have a built-in mentor on the Kansas staff, assistant coach Kurtis Townsend, who recruited Rodrick and his twin, Lodrick, to USC. That's about the only thing that makes any sense about this ill-conceived union.
That, and this: Maybe Stewart is jumping the gun -- again. He's the one telling reporters he will transfer to Kansas in January, where he would have to pay his way for one semester until a scholarship opens next fall. He did this before, in high school, when the Stewart twins told a reporter (full disclosure: me) they had committed to play for North Carolina when the Tar Heels hadn't offered a scholarship.
Oops.
Maybe that's what this is. Another oops.
If it's not an oops ... that really makes it an oops. For Kansas.
Self doesn't have to take my advice. The man has done all right for himself without seeking input from the Dribbler. Maybe this will work out.
But if it doesn't -- when it doesn't -- remember where you heard it first.
Pointless in Missouri
Nov. 28, 7:15 p.m.
Oh ... my ... gosh.
Missouri has a mess at point guard. Again.
After three consecutive early-season losses, Tigers coach Quin Snyder has replaced freshman Jason Horton with shooting guard Jimmy McKinney, an experiment that fizzled last season but can't be much worse than what has taken place this season.
Then again ...
With McKinney in for Horton at the point, Missouri beat Murray State on Sunday -- by four points. At home. With 11 assists and 17 turnovers.
A win's a win. But Missouri fans might not want to expect too many more.
Pitino has poor depth perception
Nov. 26, 1:02 p.m.
Bad luck and bad decisions have left Louisville without the perimeter depth it needs to play coach Rick Pitino's preferred style of controlled harassment.
The bad luck came when both of the Cardinals' best backcourt recruits, high school senior Sebastian Telfair and junior college transfer Donta Smith, entered the 2004 NBA Draft. Pitino was prepared for Telfair to go, but stunned by Smith's decision.
Because Pitino was prepared for Telfair to go pro, that suggests he made bad decisions on two other recruits.
Pitino didn't pursue either of his state's best two high school guards last season, both of whom most likely would have chosen Louisville if asked. Those were Chris Lofton, now playing a major role at Tennessee, and Rajon Rondo, the McDonald's All-American who is from Louisville but is starting for Kentucky.
How bad is the depth situation at Louisville? Former walk-on Brad Gianiny, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, is getting 13.5 minutes per game. He played 20 minutes in Louisville's loss to Iowa, when two of the team's three starting guards -- Taquan Dean and Larry O'Bannon -- had foul issues.
With freshman Lorrenzo Wade of Las Vegas not ready, Gianiny and Brandon Jenkins are Louisville's first two guards off the bench.
Narrowing his choices
Nov. 24, 11:55 a.m.
Former Cincinnati forward Mike Pilgrim is considering New Mexico State and Seton Hall as his next destination -- and don't bet against Seton Hall.
Seton Hall was his second choice out of prep school, and its coach, Louis Orr, is Pilgrim's cousin.
Pilgrim, a 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman, hasn't played in more than a year. He sat out the 2003-04 season as a partial academic qualifier, then decided to transfer last month, less than a week after the Bearcats held Midnight Madness.
New Mexico State has become a haven for high-profile transfers, with Duane John (Missouri) and Elijah Ingram (St. John's) on its roster. Pilgrim said he is monitoring the status of Aggies coach Lou Henson, 72, who was hospitalized this fall with viral encephalitis but hopes to return to the bench this season.
Pilgrim, who is taking classes this semester at Cincinnati, said he would like to enroll somewhere by January.
Texas kid might be at the Hall
Nov. 23, 6:17 p.m.
Texas freshman forward Mike Williams' (non)suspension apparently will reach five games, but there's a chance he could be reinstated for the Longhorns' first road contest -- Dec. 4 at Seton Hall.
The university has scheduled a due process hearing for Dec. 2, when attorney Donald Jackson will ask the school to certify Williams immediately. If it works -- and there is precedent in Texas and at the University of Texas -- Williams would be eligible in time for the Seton Hall game.
By then he will have missed two exhibitions and five games, including three neutral-court contests this week in the Maui Invitational plus Texas' next home game, Monday with Coppin State.
Williams is a 6-foot-7 McDonald's All-American whose relationship with Huntsville, Ala., club coach Mark Komara has drawn the NCAA's attention. While the NCAA looks into that relationship, it has recommended that Texas not use Williams -- a non-suspension suspension that triggered Jackson to seek next week's due process hearing.
A change in plans
Nov. 23, 9:07 a.m.
Arizona and North Carolina suffered upset losses last week because their veteran coaches tried to get efficient with the travel budget.
Good economic decision. Bad basketball decision.
Both teams squeezed in an unnecessarily dangerous road game on their way to an early season tournament, and the results were sort of shocking -- and sort of predictable.
Correctly assuming his team would win its way to New York for the semifinals Wednesday of the Preseason NIT, Arizona's Lute Olson scheduled a game Sunday at Virginia. Smart move, right up until tip-off.
Arizona played as if it was looking ahead to Madison Square Garden. Virginia played as if the season hinged on this one game.
No wonder Virginia won by 18 points.
North Carolina is playing this week at the Maui Invitational, but on the way to Hawaii coach Roy Williams picked the wrong place for a layover. He put the Tar Heels into the Pete Newell Challenge on Friday against Santa Clara, the kind of team North Carolina should beat by 20 with or without suspended point guard Raymond Felton.
For North Carolina, it was a tuneup. For Santa Clara, it was the chance of a lifetime. Given that, maybe the Broncos' 77-66 win wasn't such an upset.
Texas' Williams still waiting on NCAA
Nov. 22, 9:04 a.m.
Beginning today against Chaminade, Texas plays three games in three days at the Maui Invitational. Freshman forward Mike Williams made the trip, but that might have been wishful thinking on Texas' part.
The university hearing that could ultimately put Williams onto the court -- whether the NCAA likes it or not -- probably won't be held until the Longhorns return from Hawaii later this week. That's the indication given to Williams' attorney, Donald Jackson of Montgomery, Ala., who requested the hearing Friday, but said getting officials from Texas and the NCAA on the same page hasn't been easy, especially with the Thanksgiving holiday approaching.
Texas is withholding Williams from competition while the NCAA looks into allegations that his parents were given plane tickets by his summer club coach three years ago. Jackson is trying to help Texas legally go over the NCAA's head by having school officials give Williams a due process hearing on his eligibility.
Williams already has missed both exhibitions and the Longhorns' season-opening victory Friday against Texas State. Texas didn't need him in those games, and won't need him today against Chaminade. Later in the Maui Invitational?
The Longhorns' opponent Tuesday will be Louisville or Iowa. The opponent Wednesday could be North Carolina or Stanford.
Birthday wishes
Nov. 19, 1 p.m.
Birthdays are a timely issue today in college basketball. Not today as in "currently" but today as in "today."
Today is Mike Williams' 19th birthday. The Texas freshman forward should be making his college debut on his birthday, what with the Longhorns opening their season tonight against Texas State, but instead he'll probably be dressed nicely in slacks and a tie as he watches from the bench during his non-suspension NCAA suspension.
Today is also the day after North Carolina State's Julius Hodge scored 21 points in the Wolfpack's 71-45 victory against Elon. That was Hodge's 21st birthday, which means he scored one point for every year of his life.
Cute.
Imagine if players all over the country scored a point for every year of their life. BYU would win the national championship.
Touchdown Jesus or Cameron Crazies?
Nov. 18, 11:33 a.m.
Signing week has come and gone without Greg Paulus putting pen to paper. If you're a Duke fan, this is cause for much consternation.
Paulus is the Blue Devils' point guard of the future, unless he's Notre Dame's quarterback of the future. Paulus committed to Duke a long time ago, but recently -- as SportsLine.com wrote last week -- there have been rumblings that his commitment to Duke was less than solid.
Paulus is one of the country's top high school point guards, but he might be the country's top high school quarterback. Apparently he hasn't ruled out playing college football, which means he might rule out Duke. A football talent this good shouldn't play football at Duke, and he knows it.
When he committed, Paulus chose Duke over Notre Dame and said he was going to focus on basketball. Obviously, he's not so sure anymore. Home-town Syracuse also is in the mix for Paulus if he decides to play both sports in college.
Or he could sign with Duke in the spring. In the meantime, Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski might want to make alternative plans.
Extensive travels reach an end(?)
Nov. 17, 11 a.m.
Two of the country's most skittish recruits landed at new schools this week during the early signing period.
After originally signing with Pittsburgh, ending up at Cleveland State and then transferring to a junior college, enormous center Walter Waters is going to Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Small forward Justin Holt's odyssey has been even more bizarre. He has signed with at least four schools, the latest being New Mexico this week. That comes after he signed with -- but never played for -- Oregon State, Iowa State and Virginia Tech. Holt also has attended two junior colleges. That's six schools in less than three years.
There are extenuating circumstances in both cases. Waters got out of his Pittsburgh commitment after the school changed coaches from Ben Howland to Jamie Dixon. Coaching transitions led to Holt's departures from Oregon State and Iowa State. At New Mexico, Holt will be reunited with Ritchie McKay, who had signed him at Oregon State.
If Waters' name sounds familiar, this is probably why: He was questioned by the NCAA in the investigation that recently cost Missouri three scholarships over the next two years. Waters wasn't the focus of the investigation, and he never signed with Missouri. He just signed with everyone else.
Boeheim in midseason form: irritated
Nov. 15, 7:05 a.m. ET
It is a bit early in the season to be snapping at the media for asking a bad question, especially when it is not a bad question. But there was Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim taking umbrage to an inquiry Friday night about his team's bench -- or non-bench.
Boeheim seems to have his deepest roster in years; yet, he used just seven players for the Orange's second-round Coaches vs. Cancer game against Princeton, a hard-fought victory.
On the one hand, Princeton and its intricate offense -- which requires an unusual amount of defensive patience -- is not the ideal team for a freshman to face in his second game, and Syracuse has two stud freshmen in guard Josh Wright and forward Dayshawn Wright.
Neither played. Nor did sophomore center Darryl Watkins.
On the other hand, the "DNP-Coach's Decision" of three players expected to contribute this season to a top 10 team is a newsworthy development. Even if they are basketball-savvy enough to understand the uniqueness of the Princeton game, readers would like to hear from Boeheim exactly why those guys didn't play.
So, a reporter asked Boeheim. And here's what he said, according to a story out of Rochester, N.Y.:
"When you play Princeton, it's that kind of game," Boeheim said. "It's not a game you throw a couple of freshmen into, playing against a matchup defense."
Oh, well, that's not so bad ...
"I'll not answer any more questions this year about who plays," Boeheim continued. "The guys that play, play. That will be it. That's the last question. The guys that play are the guys that I think are going to play ... I've been doing this for a long time.
"I'm going to play the guys that I think we need to play to win. It may be six, seven, five, nine or 10."
Hang in there, Syracuse media. Ask those questions.
And hang in there, Jimmy B. You've got a top 10 team. Enjoy it.
Mississippi State's Harper has six appeal
Nov. 12, 1:31 p.m. ET
Two things have to happen first, but Mississippi State's Ontario Harper could be on his way to a sixth season in Starkville.
Harper, a fifth-year senior, has missed almost two full two seasons with injuries -- all but five games in 2000-01 with a bad wrist, and all of last season with a torn ACL. The NCAA rarely allows an athlete six years to complete four seasons of eligibility, but exceptions have been made for players who have endured two legitimate medical hardship seasons.
Sixth-year Oklahoma quarterback Jason White is one example. Harper, a 6-foot-5 wing, should be another.
Frankly, getting approval from the NCAA might be the easy part. Getting approval from Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury could be more difficult.
Stansbury continues to recruit at a high level, which means he must decide if the program would be better off in 2005-06 with the twice-injured Harper or whatever fabulous freshman that would get Harper's scholarship.
One game into the season, Harper is presenting a strong case to stay. With All-American forward Lawrence Roberts missing the Bulldogs' opener Thursday night because of an NCAA suspension (a broken nose would have kept him out, anyway), Harper dragged No. 12 Mississippi State to a 53-49 victory against Fairfield.
Harper scored a career-high 17 points and had five rebounds and two assists.
Earlier this week, a Mississippi State spokesman said the school would consider Harper's future after the season.
Taking a shine to Malibu
Nov. 11, 1:14 p.m. ET
There are worse places than Malibu. If there are better places than Malibu ... wow.
SportsLine.com let the Dribbler out of the house this week for a swing out west, where the itinerary includes exhibition games at UCLA (tonight) and Southern Cal (Friday night) as well as the USC-Arizona football game Saturday.
First, though, we took a detour to Malibu.
Pretty place, Pepperdine. The drive back to greater Los Angeles was another story, but the drive from L.A. to Malibu was an awesome experience. It was like driving into a Michael Connelly book -- the scenery, not the savagery.
As you close in on Pepperdine's campus, you go through about five miles of canyons before taking one last curve and encountering the Pacific.
Maybe I should move out here. Housing's affordable, right?
Powe committed to staying at Cal
Nov. 11, 1 p.m. ET
California coach Ben Braun says Leon Powe won't be following the trail blazed by Dion Glover.
Good.
Glover was the Georgia Tech freshman stud who missed the 1998-99 season with a knee injury, then entered the 1999 NBA Draft. Against all odds, Glover's story has turned out OK. He was a first-round draft pick of the Hawks in 1999, and while he's never going to be an NBA star, he's carved out a solid career and made himself a fortune along the way.
Powe was Cal's freshman stud last season who will miss the 2004-05 season with a knee injury. Assuming the knee heals, he's a future NBA power forward -- no question about that -- but Powe has a longer history of knee problems than Glover had in 1999. He needs to be conservative with his NBA plans, and Braun expects Powe will.
"Leon is committed as ever to coming back, just having the opportunity to come back and play on a healthy knee," Braun says. "At the same time, he's doing very well academically. After this year he'll be within two years of graduating. I know that's important him. ... I don't want to speak for him, but he's committed to coming back and becoming a healthy college basketball player."
Bear with me here: Exhibitions have meaning
Nov. 9, 9:04 a.m. ET
People say there isn't much to learn from a 39-point exhibition blowout, like Cincinnati's 103-64 victory Monday night against Division II Northern Kentucky.
People are bozos.
SportsLine.com was there, and we learned a number of important things about the Bearcats:
- Bob Huggins has some unique boots. They're made of egg-white snakeskin and they came from ex-Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason, and we suppose they would look good under the right circumstances. Matched with a black suit? Wrong conditions. Luckily, Huggins only wears the boots -- to games, anyway -- at the exhibition opener.
- Eric Hicks plays bigger than 6-feet-6. It's all in the neck, or lack thereof. Hicks doesn't have much of a neck, which means his shoulders are set at least an inch higher than a "normal" 6-6 guy. The way we figure it, Hicks plays more like he's 6-7, and maybe even bigger than that because his arms are so long. We think we're onto something here.
- James White is as good as he wants to be. The 6-7 guard came out of one timeout early in the game muttering to himself, perhaps because someone on the bench had pointed out his lack of production. On Cincinnati's next three possessions, White blew past his defender for two baskets and an assist. He also defended NKU shooting guard Mike Kelsey, a Cincinnati kid (Elder High) who scored 27 points against Kentucky last week but managed just 14 against a switching man-to-man defense led by White.
The comings and goings out West
Nov. 8, 11:07 a.m. ET
With J.P. Batista's eligibility at issue, Gonzaga has had an ill-timed roster shakeup -- just like its two most serious West Coast Conference challengers, Pepperdine and St. Mary's.
Both Pepperdine (Terrance Johnson) and Saint Mary's (Paul Marigney) lost a high-scoring senior guard, though Saint Mary's expects to get Marigney back. He will miss the first semester for academic reasons but could return in mid-December. Johnson was declared ineligible for NCAA competition in 2004-05. Because he already has used his redshirt season, his NCAA clock has expired; hence his transfer last month to NAIA Cal Baptist.
Batista, a 6-foot-9, 269-pound junior expected to play alongside Ronny Turiaf, was withheld from the Zags' exhibition opener Friday night after the school learned afternoon the NCAA had yet to certify his eligibility.
Gonzaga officials have expressed confidence Batista will be cleared, which makes you think the issue is not international experience. Batista, an All-American last season at Barton Community College in Kansas, is from Brazil. In the last year the NCAA has toughened its stance on international players who have taken part in club-level basketball in their home country.
While Gonzaga waits for -- it hopes -- good news from the NCAA, Saint Mary's already has received some. Senior center Frederic Adjiwanou has been awarded an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA because his previous school, Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, Calif., dropped basketball.
The 6-9 Adjiwanou averaged 8.8 points and 6.7 rebounds last season, but the raw Frenchman improved over time, averaging 11 points and 7.5 rebounds in league play.
While we're talking about roster moves in the West Coast Conference, here's one to ponder: How about Southern Cal sophomore Rodrick Stewart to Gonzaga?
Stewart received his scholarship release last week from the Trojans, and he hails from Washington state. Should Stewart want to get closer to home, his choice likely would come down to Lorenzo Romar's emerging program at Washington, or Mark Few's powerhouse at Gonzaga.
Math lessons
Nov. 5, 11:37 a.m. ET
Rodrick Stewart is reportedly set to leave Southern California, and if you have never understood the phrase "addition by subtraction," pay attention here.
Stewart is a fabulous athlete, a former Washington state player of the year who averaged 4.4 points as a USC freshman, but he's an immature person. The first sign came when he and his twin brother, Lodrick, turned their recruitment into a fiasco. They committed to a school that hadn't offered them scholarships (North Carolina), then announced commitments to a second school (Washington), then finally chose a third school (Southern Cal).
Which was strange, considering USC coach Henry Bibby is a disciplinarian and the Stewarts are, shall we say, allergic to discipline.
In his first year on campus, Rodrick was punished for missing one final exam, was suspended six games for reportedly cheating on another final exam, and lost his starting job after showing up late for a team breakfast.
Lodrick has been undependable as well -- also missing a final exam last year, also losing his starting job for being late to a team breakfast and getting suspended for the Arizona game last season. That was a game Southern Cal won, an upset victory that was the highlight of the Trojans' season.
See what we mean, addition by subtraction?
Good luck to Rodrick Stewart, wherever he ends up. And good luck to the coach who signs him -- you'll need it.
The man will be missed
Nov. 4, 2:40 p.m. ET
Man, I'm going to miss Tom Brennan.
He's accessible, he's funny, he's self-deprecating. And he can coach a bit, too.
The longtime Vermont coach, who's 55, announced today he will retire after this season. In Brennan's first three seasons on the job, the Catamounts won a total of 14 games. In his past three seasons, they have won 64.
That's pretty good, but it's not nearly as good as the compliment Brennan once gave his star player, forward Taylor Coppenrath:
"How about if you're George Coppenrath, and you wake up one day in West Barnet, Vt., and you realize you've sired Seabiscuit?"
The man talks better than I could ever hope to write. You bet I'll miss the guy.
Marquette's Diener showing his might
Nov. 2, 12:33 p.m. ET
Marquette point guard Travis Diener muscled up in the offseason, adding almost 15 pounds to a body that takes as much of a pounding as any perimeter player in the country.
The added weight apparently hasn't done his game any harm.
In two team scrimmages, Diener has had 59 points, 25 assists and a measly four turnovers. He went for 33 and 15 in one scrimmage. Yes, it's only a scrimmage ... but 33 and 15?
SportsLine.com ranked Diener the No. 2 point guard in the country, behind only Chris Paul of Wake Forest. If only those two could square off.
Maybe in the NCAA Tournament.
Don't put too much stock into preseason No. 1s
Nov. 1, 11:55 p.m. ET
With the Associated Press releasing its Top 25 preseason poll Monday, keep in mind how imperfect a preseason poll -- with the exception of mine, obviously -- can be.
Exhibit A: Louisville.
The Cardinals have never been ranked No. 1 in the preseason or regular season. Never. Yet the Cardinals have two national championships.
Exhibit B: Maryland.
The Terps also have never reached No. 1 in the poll, yet have been good enough to reach two Final Fours and win the 2002 NCAA title.
No school has spent more weeks in the No. 2 spot, without ever reaching No. 1, than Maryland. The Terps have spent 23 weeks all-time in the No. 2 slot. Louisville is next with 16 weeks at No. 2.
Next on that list? Wake Forest, with 10 weeks at No. 2 but none at No. 1.
That could change today, and even if it doesn't, it will change at some point this season. The Deacons will get to No. 1 eventually in 2004-05, though SportsLine.com says the final poll (in April) will show Oklahoma State sitting at the top.
