10/20/2008 9:05:45 AM
Kansas gets top recruit - NOT JOHN WALLElijah Johnson, a 6-foot-2 combo guard out of Las Vegas (Nev.) Cheyenne, committed to the Kansas Jayhawks after receiving options that included Texas and Oklahoma. Johnson is ranked the No. 25 prospect in the land. Kansas gets top recruit - NOT JOHN WALLPower forward Thomas Robinson is ranked 18th in the class by one recruiting service.LAWRENCE - For a 17-year-old kid, Thomas Robinson has shown an early knack for understanding the big picture.This last summer, he decided to leave his home in Washington, D.C., to attend Brewster Academy, a boarding school in Wolfeboro, N.H."So I could improve myself for college," Robinson explained, "so that I could be a step ahead of the seniors that are coming out of high school. I will already be used to college life a little bit."Turns out, Robinson's year at Brewster will be preparing him to play basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks. Robinson, a 6-foot-8, five-star power forward, gave an oral commitment to KU coach Bill Self on Thursday night, choosing the Jayhawks over Memphis.It's no surprise that the chance to work on his game every day with KU assistant coach Danny Manning was a big factor."It puts me at an advantage," Robinson said. "I'll have somebody who was the best at what he did at his position to help me become a better forward."Robinson is the first player from the class of 2009 to pledge his commitment to the defending national champion Jayhawks. KU hopes to sign three in the class, and getting Robinson, Rivals.com's No. 18 overall player, is an encouraging start. According to rankings, Robinson is the most talented KU commitment since Darrell Arthur and Sherron Collins signed in 2006.With Robinson in tow, the KU staff will focus on bringing in two perimeter players. The Jayhawks would prefer to sign a point guard (either John Wall of Raleigh, N.C., or Elijah Johnson of Las Vegas) and one of four five-star shooting guards (Xavier Henry of Oklahoma City, Lance Stephenson of Brooklyn, N.Y., Michael Snaer of Moreno Valley, Calif., or Dominic Cheek of Jersey City, N.J.).Signing Wall, Rivals.com's No. 1 overall player, and Henry, No. 3 overall, would be the best-case scenario for KU. Both players are looking at KU and Memphis, so the fact that Robinson chose the Jayhawks just days after visiting Memphis is a positive for KU. Robinson says he is friends with both Wall and Henry but he won't be pressuring them to follow him to Lawrence.Robinson, who visited for KU's national-championship ring ceremony on Sept. 19, is glad to get the ball rolling for Self's class."It's not like I was racing anybody else," Robinson said, "but I'm glad to be the first to commit here."Now, Robinson can focus on enjoying his year at Brewster. Robinson, who is considered by many to be the best rebounder in the class, will spend the most time with Brewster coach Jason Smith working on his defense and becoming more consistent with his outside shot.Robinson said Brewster will prepare him for KU academically and socially, too. The class schedule is spread out and relaxed like a college student's. Robinson lives in a dorm and has to walk across campus to his classes. Students also have their own laptops to take to class."The freedom we have is not freedom where you can go wild," Robinson said, "but it's not high school, either."Hinson to join KU _ Former Missouri State coach Barry Hinson has been hired by Self to be KU men's basketball director of external relations.Hinson, who was 169-117 in nine seasons at MSU, will be in charge of helping connect with former players and raise money for new facilities.Hinson was an assistant for Self at Oral Roberts from 1993-97. When Self moved on to Tulsa and Illinois, Hinson took over the reins at ORU for the next two seasons before moving on to Missouri State.[Edited on October 20, 2008 at 9:37 AM. Reason : Wall has said that this will not affect his recruiting ]
10/20/2008 9:23:54 AM
Hopefully it does affect his recruiting though. I sure hope he and Favors enjoyed their visits to State. I'm guessing KU will back off Wall some now that they have their point guard for that class.[Edited on October 20, 2008 at 9:46 AM. Reason : ]
10/20/2008 9:45:16 AM
nm[Edited on October 20, 2008 at 9:46 AM. Reason : ]
10/20/2008 9:46:08 AM
from what i read this morning, Wall was at NCSU thursday night, friday, saturday and was playing hoops with CJ Leslie on campus on Sunday.Wall said that he had a great visit and really enjoyed how much love all the fans were giving them with the chants and cheers.so great job fans that were there cheering them on.Favors also had a nice visit but should know more in the next day or so.I know that he and Wall go to hang out a lot and both of them chatted it up about how fun it would be to play together.unfortunately, MemPISS is recruiting them both also
10/20/2008 10:32:06 AM
10/20/2008 11:48:56 AM
I think UNC and Duke will crash and burn in the NCAAT and that the ACC expansion teams will do better than the core teams during the regular season and the tournaments.Also, calling the Clemson victory at the Dean Dome.
10/20/2008 12:06:35 PM
10/21/2008 11:41:50 AM
^^U the best
10/21/2008 12:36:18 PM
Jay Bilas did an interview w/ Ken Tysiac of the N&O/Charlotte Observer regarding ACC Basketball and specifically NCSU basketball, here are some quotes:
10/21/2008 1:59:55 PM
^ up to SpontaneousDuke has a pretty good team. 28-30 wins, but I see them losing in the Sweet 16 against a more athletic team with an inside presence.Paulus just isn't a very good high elite PG. He can shoot well, but he is way undersized and too unathletic to play 2 in this league. Elliot Williams is probably going to see some time at point but again, he is a natural 2 and will obviously be inconsistent as a true freshman.Their only real inside presence is Zoubek and God knows he sucks ball sac.------------UNC has all the talent, obviously. They are as sure a lock for as a Final Four team as I've seen. Obviously upsets happen but they have no weaknesses that I can see. The only thing that might beat them is getting cold on the wrong day, but you can't make predictions based on that because it can happen to anyone.------------BC will still be in the lower quarter of the conference and Miami and VT are mid level teams, nothing more.[Edited on October 21, 2008 at 2:10 PM. Reason : as always, bilas is on point...]
10/21/2008 2:09:00 PM
I saw Costner on crutches today, anyone know anything about this?
10/21/2008 2:16:00 PM
^must of run wind sprints with the football team
10/21/2008 2:17:29 PM
I think Clemson will take a step back (not a big one mind you). I think they'll still be decent, but I don't think they'll be as good as last year. I think they'll miss Hammonds and Mays. They may though still post a 20+ win season like the past two years. Again they really don't have a strong OOC schedule. Their toughest tests are @ Illinois (who's rebuilding), @ Charlotte (somewhat rebuilding A10 program that beat them last year in Littlejohn), Alabama at home, and @ South Carolina (who usually sucks anyways, but it's a rivalry game). Our OOC schedule isn't great but it's tougher than theirs with Marquette at home, @ Florida, and @ Davidson in the Bobcats Arena. Here's their schedule and my predictions:Nov 14 Hofstra - WNov 19 Wofford - WNov 22 at Charlotte - W (could be a tough one though)Nov 25 Savannah St. - WNov 28 Presbyterian - WDec 2 at Illinois - LDec 7 Liberty - WDec 13 S. Carolina St. - W Dec 16 North Florida - WDec 21 at Miami (FL) - LDec 30 at South Carolina - W (they've won 4 straight against the Cocks) Jan 3 East Carolina - WJan 6 Alabama - WJan 10 N.C. State - LJan 17 Wake Forest - LJan 21 at (1) North Carolina - L (and the streak continues)Jan 25 Georgia Tech - WJan 29 at Virginia Tech - LFeb 4 (9) Duke - LFeb 7 Florida St. - WFeb 10 at Boston Coll. - W Feb 15 at Virginia - WFeb 17 Maryland - WFeb 22 at Georgia Tech - WFeb 25 Virginia Tech - LFeb 28 at Florida St. - WMar 3 Virginia - WMar 8 at Wake Forest - L18-9 (8-8)
10/21/2008 2:27:00 PM
NyM410 you know that Duke got a big man coming in this year in that Plumlee kid that was originally committed to Stanford but changed his mind when Trent Johnson went to LSU. I expect him to contribute right away.
10/21/2008 2:30:28 PM
^ The younger Plumlee sucks. He will get eaten alive in this conference. His brother is a lot better and will be good, though.You only have us playing UNC once on your schedule?** Is that right? Only 2 (3 with the second UNC game) games against preseason ranked teams all year? Wow...[Edited on October 21, 2008 at 2:34 PM. Reason : x]
10/21/2008 2:33:06 PM
that's his prediction for Clemson
10/21/2008 2:38:58 PM
aha.. thanks.That's what I get for reading/posting from work...
10/21/2008 3:18:38 PM
Yeah that's why I think Clemson's schedule will, again, give them an inflated record. They only get UNC and Duke once each, and the Duke game is at Littlejohn also.
10/21/2008 5:12:10 PM
10/21/2008 5:46:55 PM
Wouldn't him saying the younger Plumlee sucks, means he thinks Mason (c/o 2009) sucks, and not Miles (c/o 2008 and current freshman at Duke).
10/21/2008 6:07:50 PM
^true, but i know that's not what he meant.. Mason is a 5-star recruit, so he is supposed to be better (also worth noting that their youngest brother Marshall was at the game wearing a Duke jersey)
10/21/2008 6:14:43 PM
Yeah ^ got it, again I was thinking/typing too fast at work...I really like Nolan Smith. I think Duke will be a better team when he is running the show fulltime... Henderson is a pretty likable player but again, I think he is a bit undersized for his position, though he makes up for it with big-time athleticism..
10/21/2008 6:23:45 PM
based on coach k saturday i was there with the miami game...nolan smith is the starter.
10/21/2008 9:50:59 PM
It's basically what the Phoenix Suns used to run with D'Antoni.
10/21/2008 10:37:17 PM
and we see how far that got both teams
10/21/2008 10:47:28 PM
Yeah the whole thing with Duke's offense is that the shooters, which they have some really good ones, have to be on all the time or they will get beat. Also very athletic teams that can get out and play good perimeter and transition D can sometimes shut them down. That's why they need quality big men that can bang inside, but still hit the 3. Ryan Kelly could be potentially be that guy for them.
10/21/2008 10:55:27 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/dickvitale/news/story?id=3544438The summer is coming to a close, so it is time to share my annual preseason rankings of the nation's Top 40 teams. All of these teams have the same goal: get to the Final Four, baby!DICKIE V's PRESEASON TOP 401. North Carolina. With Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green all returning, the Tar Heels are the clear-cut preseason numero uno.2. Louisville. Rick Pitino's squad is a legitimate Final Four contender. The addition of Samardo Samuels up front is a big plus.3. Connecticut. Hasheem Thabeet will be a major force up front for Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun. Look for big things from A.J. Price in the backcourt.4. UCLA. Coach Ben Howland is happy to have Darren Collison returning to the backcourt. The Bruins have one of the premier recruiting classes coming in.5. Texas. A.J. Abrams and Damion James provide a solid 1-2 punch for the Longhorns. D.J. Augustin is gone, but this will still be a very dangerous team under Rick Barnes.6. Notre Dame. Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney lead an experienced Irish team.7. Michigan State. Tom Izzo will miss Drew Neitzel, but the Spartans will be among the best in the Big Ten.8. Gonzaga. Watch out for Mark Few's team. The return of Jeremy Pargo is a big plus.9. Duke. The Blue Devils lost DeMarcus Nelson, but Kyle Singler, Greg Paulus, Gerald Henderson & Co. have something to prove.10. Pittsburgh. DeJuan Blair will be tough to stop up front and the Panthers should enjoy another solid season.11. Purdue. Matt Painter's team sneaked up on a lot of people last season. With Robbie Hummel leading the way, the Boilermakers have high hopes.12. Marquette. Tom Crean is gone, but Buzz Williams has the top-flight trio of Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews back.13. Memphis. No Derrick Rose, no Chris Douglas-Roberts, no problem. John Calipari has a lot of talent returning plus several standout recruits.14. Tennessee. Bruce Pearl will rely on Tyler Smith inside to key his SEC challenger.15. Georgetown. Adding Greg Monroe up front will make this a team to keep an eye on in the rugged Big East.16. Villanova. Jay Wright has his key players returning, led by Scottie Reynolds.17. Florida. Billy Donovan's Gators will return to the Big Dance, keyed by Nick Calathes.18. Arizona State. James Harden will be one of the premier players in the Pac-10. The Sun Devils will go from surprise team to conference challenger.19. Davidson. Stephen Curry will carry this team to another big season. Forget about the Cinderella tag this season.20. Virginia Tech. Seth Greenberg's team fell short of the Big Dance last season. That won't be an issue this time around.21. Miami-Florida. Jack McClinton is one of the best players that America has not heard enough about. Frank Haith does a fine job with the Hurricanes.22. Wisconsin. Bo Ryan will always have the Badgers in the hunt in the Big Ten.23. Arizona. The return of Chase Budinger makes Lute Olson very happy. If Brandon Jennings didn't go to Europe, this would be a top-10 team.24. Kentucky. When Patrick Patterson is healthy, watch out. Billy Gillispie's club will be returning to prominence.25. Kansas. Bill Self lost five players to the NBA draft. He has a young but talented team that should still make noise.26. Syracuse. In a different league, the Orange would be a contender. In the Big East, it is so, so tough...27. Oklahoma. I know people are talking about football down in Norman. Jeff Capel's club, led by Blake Griffin, will give fans something else to cheer about.28. West Virginia. Bob Huggins will have his team battling, scrapping and clawing again.29. Wake Forest. This young team is talented. You will hear a lot about super sophs Jeff Teague and James Johnson.30. Baylor. Scott Drew has rebuilt this program in a short time. Remember the name LaceDarius Dunn!31. USC. Even without O.J. Mayo, the Trojans will be a tough team. Taj Gibson & Co. will not be an easy touch.32. Clemson. Oliver Purnell lost a lot of senior talent, but K.C. Rivers is back.33. St. Mary's. As long as Mr. Mills comes back to school, this team will make noise in the WCC.34. Alabama. If Mark Gottfried gets back a healthy Ronald Steele, the Tide can reverse last season's misfortune.35. UNLV. Lon Kruger has won 91 games in his four seasons with the Runnin' Rebels.36. Mississippi State. If Jamont Gordon had stayed in school, this team would be in the top 20.37. UAB. Robert Vaden is back. He flirted with the NBA draft but withdrew before the deadline.38. Ohio State. A lot will depend on the big diaper dandy, B.J. Mullens. Thad Matta is a flat-out winner, my friends.39. San Diego. Last season was not a fluke ... just ask Connecticut.40. Xavier. Sean Miller's team lost a lot of talent, but the newcomers will make a difference.
10/21/2008 11:19:37 PM
lol thats dicky v tho
10/21/2008 11:30:12 PM
10/21/2008 11:59:20 PM
Paulus is a good shooting guard but not a point guard, even though he has primarily played that position at dook. He lacks the ball handling ability on offense and quickness on defense to defend quicker points, especially in Coach K's style of pressure man defense.
10/22/2008 3:45:24 AM
He makes up for his lack of quickness on defense with his excellent soccer and flopping skills.
10/22/2008 7:58:49 AM
^god that shit was infuriating last year when Paulus kicked the ball away from Javi and not only did the refs not call it a kicked ball, the announcers were like "what a great play by Paulus"
10/22/2008 12:16:42 PM
"We'll be good"http://northcarolinastate.scout.com/2/803744.html
10/22/2008 4:08:55 PM
http://www.thestate.com/tigers/story/562184.html?RSS=sportsNCAA suspends Tigers' freshman centerClemson’s Baciu to sit out five games for playing with professional teamCLEMSON — Catalin Baciu, Clemson’s 7-foot-2 freshman center, has been suspended by the NCAA for the season’s first five games because of his participation with a professional basketball team.Clemson is awaiting word on an appeal it hopes will reduce Baciu’s suspension.The term of the suspension equals the number of games Baciu, a 20-year-old native of Romania, played as a 15-year-old for Mobitelco, a club team that plays in Romania’s top pro division.John Jordan, who coached Baciu for two seasons at Veritas Christian Academy in Fletcher, N.C., said the NCAA’s ruling seems excessive because Baciu was not a paid member of the team.“It was more of a privilege than anything,” Jordan said.“I just don’t think this is right.”NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes from playing on a professional team, regardless of whether they are employed.Baciu was a high-profile member of the country’s junior national team. So Mobitelco, based in his hometown of Cluj-Napoca, gave him a cameo run as a bench-warmer, Jordan said.Jordan said Baciu played about 30 seconds in four of the games, then about two minutes in the other.Baciu, a slender 230-pounder, is expected to provide relief minutes in Clemson’s regular rotation.If his suspension is upheld, he would be slated to miss the Tigers’ opening three-game tournament in Charleston from Nov. 14-16 as well as the Nov. 19 home opener against Wofford and the Nov. 22 game at Charlotte.“He seems to accept that some things are beyond his control,” Jordan said. “But I’m sure he’s disappointed.”
10/23/2008 8:21:52 AM
How is Georgia Tech supposed to look this year? Hopefully they'll crash and burn and Hewitt will either be fired or on the hot seat and Favors will come here.
10/23/2008 11:06:41 AM
GT's D'Andre Bell will have season ending spinal surgery.http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=ap-gatech-bell&prov=ap&type=lgns
10/23/2008 11:54:43 AM
They're probably going to be terrible again, College Hoops Net has them at 8 spots behind us:http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/200809-georgia-tech-basketball-preview-111-52576Peacock going pro is going to hurt, and the only recruit they got was Iman Shupert (who is pretty good). They don't have any consistent shooters so defenders will clog up the lane and make it difficult for their big men.[Edited on October 23, 2008 at 11:59 AM. Reason : ^damn, they're even more screwed now]
10/23/2008 11:58:07 AM
My predictions for Duke:Nov 10 Presbyterian - WNov 16 Rhode Island - WNov 23 Montana - WNov 28 Duquesne - WDec 2 at (20) Purdue - L (somewhat of a toss up here. if it was in Cameron then I'd definitely be going with the Dookies)Dec 6 at Michigan - WDec 17 N.C. Asheville - WDec 20 at (12) Xavier (I believe this is actually a "neutral" site game that will be held at the Meadowlands Arena) - WDec 31 Loyola (MD) - WJan 4 Virginia Tech - WJan 7 (23) Davidson - WJan 10 at Florida St. - WJan 14 at Georgia Tech - WJan 17 (8) Georgetown - L (G'town's excellent freshman Greg Monroe has a coming out party)Jan 20 N.C. State - W (we haven't won in Cameron since like 1995 or 1996 I think)Jan 24 Maryland - WJan 28 at Wake Forest - LFeb 1 Virginia 2:00 pm - WFeb 4 at (22) Clemson - WFeb 7 Miami (FL) - WFeb 11 (1) North Carolina - W (they'll split with the Heels. I don't think this group will allow Hansbrough to go a perfect 4-0 in Cameron)Feb 15 at Boston Coll. - WFeb 19 at St. John's - WFeb 22 Wake Forest - WFeb 25 at Maryland - WFeb 28 at Virginia Tech - WMar 3 Florida St. - WMar 8 at (1) North Carolina - L 24-4 (14-2) regular season. They'll likely win two games in the ACC Tournament and face Carolina in the championship game, but get beat down. Dickie V will have a heart attack, while Mike Patrick goes off talking about Britney Spears. They'll then make it to the Sweet 16, and end their season with an overall record of 28-6.[Edited on October 23, 2008 at 12:09 PM. Reason : ]
10/23/2008 12:07:36 PM
UVa's second-leading returning scorer, guard Calvin Baker, might require surgery for his injured left foot. Baker averaged 8.6 points and 2.4 assists last season and was expected to start this season and handle the point guard position. Baker could miss most or all of the season, leaving UVa with redshirt freshman Sammy Zeglinski and freshman wing Sylven Landesberg to run the point.
10/23/2008 12:55:09 PM
^^ that looks pretty reasonable, but i bet they'll drop a game they shouldn't in the ACC to a team like VT or Miami. and Duke might end up playing UCLA in the 2k Sports Classic.
10/23/2008 1:00:12 PM
Maryland has this habit of beating teams that they shouldn't. I think Duke will drop one to Maryland, either time, since they seem to be one of the few ACC teams that can beat Duke at Cameron.
10/23/2008 1:13:02 PM
Didn't FSU lose like 6 players to either graduation or transfer?My prediction for Florida State:Nov 15 at Jacksonville - WNov 18 at La Salle - WNov 20 Stetson - WNov 22 Coastal Carolina - WNov 24 Western Ill. - WNov 28 at Cincinnati - LDec 3 at Northwestern - WDec 7 Florida - LDec 13 at Georgia - WDec 16 Tennessee Tech - WDec 18 Charleston S. - WDec 21 (17) Pittsburgh - LDec 28 West. Kentucky - WJan 3 Texas A&M C.C. - WJan 10 (9) Duke - LJan 13 at N.C. State - LJan 17 Maryland - LJan 21 at Miami (FL) - LJan 24 at Virginia - LJan 28 (1) North Carolina - LFeb 5 Georgia Tech - WFeb 7 at (22) Clemson - LFeb 10 Virginia - WFeb 14 at Wake Forest - LFeb 18 Miami (FL) - LFeb 21 at Virginia Tech - LFeb 24 at Boston Coll. - LFeb 28 (22) Clemson - LMar 3 at (9) Duke - LMar 8 Virginia Tech - L13-17 (2-14)
10/23/2008 3:25:22 PM
^ Ha, that sounds about right.I miss the ACC round robin. Why can't we have a 22 game conference schedule and just play 8 OOC teams?
10/23/2008 3:42:24 PM
^^ I wouldn't give 'em that Western Kentucky win. they're coming off a sweet-16 run and 29 wins
10/23/2008 4:13:30 PM
I actually thought about having WKU winning that game, but I didn't know who all WKU lost. Plus they have a new coach.
10/23/2008 4:27:38 PM
BC loses a lot in the middle. Tyrese Rice should be the ACC POY if he even gets this team at or near .500 in the conference, b/c it looks like he will have to be superman for them to do well this year. This is a very young team with only two upperclassmen on the 11 man roster in junior Tyler Roche and senior Tyrese Rice.My predictions for BC:Nov 14 Central Conn. St. - WNov 17 Loyola (MD) - WNov 22 at Saint Louis - W (could be tough one in SLU's new arena, and Rick Majerus is damn good coach)Dec 2 Iowa - WDec 6 at Massachusetts - W (could be another tough one)Dec 10 Bryant - WDec 14 South Carolina Upstate - W Dec 20 Providence - W (could be a tossup)Dec 23 Maine - WDec 29 San Francisco - WDec 31 Sacred Heart - WJan 4 at (1) North Carolina - LJan 7 Harvard - WJan 10 Miami (FL) - LJan 14 Wake Forest - L Jan 17 at Virginia Tech - LJan 20 at Georgia Tech - LJan 24 N.C. State - LJan 27 at Maryland - LJan 31 Virginia Tech - LFeb 4 at Virginia - WFeb 8 at Wake Forest - L Feb 10 (22) Clemson - LFeb 15 (9) Duke - LFeb 21 at Miami (FL) - LFeb 24 Florida St. - WMar 4 at N.C. State - LMar 7 Georgia Tech - W15-13 (3-13)[Edited on October 24, 2008 at 11:19 AM. Reason : ]
10/24/2008 11:18:04 AM
^^ They lost Courtney Lee, that is all that matters..^ ah, yes... the Queens of the Irrelevant -- Boston College Hoops.[Edited on October 24, 2008 at 12:16 PM. Reason : PC will beat them.]
10/24/2008 12:15:15 PM
lol... this isn't even a Shelden I'm pumped up and scaring everyone look. This is a "don't touch me, I'm scared!!!" look.
10/24/2008 1:42:58 PM
Who will be our 2 guard starting this year? G DegandG Fergie/Mays/Javi???F FellsF CostnerC McCauleyOh, and is Johnny Thomas going to be back this year? [Edited on October 24, 2008 at 3:11 PM. Reason : .]
10/24/2008 3:06:02 PM