Taj79

SHOW ME THE MONEY. I agree with the Doc, however I am guilty of still watching the "occassional" pro match. I watch no NBA basketball, but if Carmelo is endorsing Coke and I buy Coke because, well I do, am I stuck in the morass of pro endorsements? I don't ever recall caring that Tiger or MJ endorsed Gatirade but i still bought it if and when I needed it.. I watch very littl epor baseball. Little to no pro hockey. Now, football -- well fantasy has hooked me in. But I don't set my calendar to it. I hav eroom for improvement, yes.

Who cares? I lived through the days of George McGinnis, Julius Erving, Daryl Dawkins, Bobby Jones, Caldwell Jones, World B. Free, Andrew Toney and Lionel Hollins all on the 76ers roster (when I actually still cared about the NBA). I think the fact then still remains today: there is only ONE ball. Sure, these guys might supress their individual egos for a collective one for maybe a year --- or at least until they win one title, but it will then implode. Who's the biggest fish in this Miami pond? A buddy in Cleveland told me that LeBron has now displaced Art Moddell as public enemy #1 there. I see where the Cavs owner is now saying LeBron quit in games 2,4 and 5 against the Celtics this year. Now ther's some class! And Dan La Batard in Miami is saying that the South Beach fans are front runners and band wagon chasers ---- sure, they'll set a World Series attendance record in a football stadium for a Game 7 but they won't show for the rest of the series. I saw Cleveland fans burning their LeBron jerseys. Idiots jumping around a South Beach bar. And so on. What the F**K for? They don't have a supporting roster! The Heat traded Michael Beasley to the Timberwolves late last night. With the big three, their roster now has FOUR guys on it adding Mario Chalmers. Three second rounds picks get no guaranteed momney. Broy, 72 and me are viable roster moives for the Heat now. Will work for minimum NBA wage! When the MLB ownerds all got together to hold salaries down, it was collusion. Three NBA stars form their own free agent team and that's not? YAWN ---- call me when its over and some Western Conference team is taking the trophy from Stern while some Eastern Conference team (and not the Heat) is walking off the court.

Just for the record, an attorney isn't an attorney because of his or her histroy degree. And a degree from Intercollegiate U. does not guarantee success. And a high school GPA for an athlete is automatically suspect in today's day and age (see related thread on the Mizzou recruit out of Texas). Who was the college graduate basketball player some years ago that could NOT even read? i understand these are rare circumstances but sensational sells so you tend to rememebr the inglorious and present it as the norm when its not. It just gets more pub. A lot of our guys are communication majors. So was I and I spent ten years after college trying toi bust into the business. I did not however have or even consider myself to have an option of the temporary riches of the NBA -- as most of these kids do (in terms of them believing they do). Even Europe. Or Paraguay. All schools cut slack for their athletes. Even if its something simple lik emandatory study halls, separate training tables, exclusive dorm rooms, or tutors on the road. For the most part, big ticket NCAA teams are not about the student --- they are more about the alumni and the money. Was it more important to John Calipari to get Rose and Wall into school for one year or more important that they graduate? I also believe that until you graduate, your bio in the pro program should say Podunk High School and not Duke University. I'll give Coach K credit for that. Years ago, he woul dnot allow a kid's name on an NCAA banner unless the kid graduated. I recall Christian Laettner's name taking a while to get on his banners. I think that's fair. I'll give K and Duke credit for that.

good points to you footsie and no disagreement here. I am saying attack the words and opinions. Agree to disagree. I think there is another balance that each and every coach and scheduler has out there and that is to balance the schedule in such a way that it offers a good foundation for an NCAA selection committee as well as giving you enough wins to be noticed outside the auto-bid. How does one play enough "good" teams in the OOC tune ups and not get swamped --- either in beating just bad teams or in having your team lose more matchups than not? Is what you do in November and December even noticed outside of when the big boys in the BCS point out how "weak" you are compared to how sytrong the 12th and 13th team in the Big Least are that had to play seven of the top ten schools in the nation? Some guys say "bring all comers." Fang Mitchell. John Chaney. Fran Dunphy. Others coddle thei rway throiugh an easy OOC season. Jim Boeheim. Quinn Snyder. Oiver Purnell. Gary Williams. Th elittle guys seem more apt to take folks on and try to get ahead. The big boys not so much.

I think if you go back, the major difference is schedule is the conference schedule. We had seen glory teams like Louisville, Marquette, DePaul, Cincinnati, and Memphis each and every year while in the Great Midwest and Conference USA. That was a home-and-home EACH year because of low numbers -- first in GMW and then CUSA. Prior to that, the Metro Conference brought us the likes of some of the same names along with Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Virginia Tech (Yes, they have long passed us by). The Midwest Cities had Butler and Xavier but Butler was the crap of the league back then and X was starting its rise in a small time conference as it went up to the highest mid-majors. So if you throw ouit those league teams, what do you get? I only go back 35 years but in the beginning, Kansas Oklahoma and illinois were the only teams from the "upper echelon' that we sniffed at home in old Kiel and the old Arena. I consider Grawer to be the start of the modern era and in his ten-year term, we saw Memphis State, Oklahoma State, Cal, Kansas, Purdue and Georgia Tech come to town. Ten years. Six national power teams. Bradley with Hersey Hawkins came as well. I don't know if they count. The only time we got to really play anybody was in the NIT years of 88 - 90. And in those runs, all but one game (DePaul) was played on the road. Spoon rolls into town and his seven years bring to town almost the same numbers Grawere did. Seven years. Six teams --- So Cal, Umass (w/Calipari), UCLA, Vandy, Illini, Kansas and K State. Of course, we also get three NCAA trips and an NIT in there so that might up the strength of the Spoon schedule artifically. Romar has three years and four team. Alabama, Cal and Mizzou (twice).Soderberg has five years and four teams in West Virginia, iowa, Gonzaga and North Carolina in Roy Williams gift game to Psycho T. Sodie also got two NIT trips with two of those on the road. So our dearth of great teams on the schedule should be no surprise. The problem to me is that short of bringing in Xavier, Dayton and Temple, the A10 is a relatively weak league. A weak home schedule that includes GeeDub, La Salle, the Bonnies, Umass and some others when added to a weak OOC scheudle, is just plain murder. But don't be mislead ---- it has been par for the course for the last 35 years. And with Chaifetz and Rick I don't expect there to be many takers out there now. Even less than before.

roy places a post and its open season on roy. I do not agree with all roy says and believes in but I will not trash him for his opinionated stance(s). He makes very good points along the way and isn't that what discussion and debate is all about?. Some see "billiken_roy" and its like waving a red cape in front of the bulls. Newsflash: roy is opinionated and you likely won't agree with it all so get over it. I like the idea of playing and beating all takers. If its Calipari and Pitino and Coach K, so be it. I will dance gleefully on their tombstones for that year. If is Dixon and Thompson III and Purnell and Williams, so be it. I also agree in that I don't like to see an overwhelming number of 200+ RPI teams on a schedule -- that helps no one. I understand Fang Mitchell's scheduling practices --- he has to take Coppin State on the road to BCS schools so that he makes enough money to support the entrer Coppin State athletic department. It has helped him get ready for the MEAC and usually win that league for the one bid to the big one. Until Todd Bozeman came along and took over at in-town rival Morgan State. Striking the proper balance is th ekey and a hard thing to do. I'd love to see this street talk be any number of teams ---- Kentucky, Mizzou, Villanova, Duke, Arizona or whomever. I'd like the secondary games to be Kent State, Virginia Commonwealth, George Mason, Bradley, Miami of Ohio, and Creighton keeping the traditional foes like SIu and Missouri State. But that's what I'd want and I said at this time last year that getting teams into Chaifetz will mimick attempts at Dayton to get folks to come an dplay there. I just don't see it happeninbg. We should also have home-and-homes with Mizzou and Illinois on the schedule ad infinitum. All I know is I ain't gtting too high or too low abou tthis until the streets puke it out and we all know what it is. Free billiken_roy.

TMZ is just the newer, shortened version. If you spelled it out ten years ago, you'd get"Mel Kiper, Jr." And look where he is today.

Still ... Vashon produces great Missouri high school basketball players. Always has.

Don't believe ther is a reason that covers it all. It is coincidental that all the kids left Carolinian schools --- I remember when they all announced where they were going. I thought, damn, that whole class is moving to the Carolinas. Miss Coastal Carolina got tossed for alcohol violations. Mr. East Carolina flunked out. Ms. Loyola of Maryland felt she wasn;'t getting enough lacrosse playing time on a full scholarship and had a sister at Salisbury (national champs, I think, this year --- but lacrosse is irrelevant) so she transferred there to a non-scholarship Division III school. And Ms. College of Charleston is a puzzler. She was there all alone and getting some major soccer playing time as a freshman but still headed north. Homesick? I doubt it; Salisbury ain't close either. The gang she ran with also saw a kid transfer back to UofMd fron Uconn, so its not all a northern movement. The sachool of choice for staying local is Towson. Ihave taken some advance classes at NC State and also ventured into the hallowed halls of Cameron Indoor. I reall ylike the Carolinas myself.

Didn't Tony Brown, Billiken circa 1978, thrown down a 36 ppg average in Florida's Class A way back when? On one hand, I respect the fact that he was headed to the Atlantic Coast Conference and bailed because BC fired Skinner. However, I am skeptical that the averages would hold up in better competition. And what that means for college, who knows. Tony Brown didn't do much scoring for the Bills way back when. Only time will tell.

No disrespect or racism implied. Have you ever been to Salt Lake City? I have been -- a lot. Love the city. Far too many homeless and displaced kids roaming the streets for my liking but it is one of my better places to go. Ever been to the Mormon Temple? They have the prettiest young girls (sisters) and handsome young men (elders) on mission there. Know why? You catch more flies with sugar than you do with vinegar. What red-blooded American macho-man is going to turn down the smiles of a pretty young woman? Not me nor many more and --BAZINGA --- your getting the Mormon spiel. Might even lead to a conversion or two.

NCState/UNC has always seemed to be a case of the haves/have nots with NCState being always on the "not" side of the ledger. My daughter goes to High Point University so we are down NC way a lot (relativley speaking). She has a friend at Elon. Another goes to Chapel Hill. We drive throguh Durham to get there. Its about 20 miles south of Wake's campus. So I see and hear a lot of coments and trends. True or not, I seem to perceived that most of the Carolinians keep NCState in their back pocket as the ultimate "fall back" school. "Hey, if I don't cut it here, well there's always State." I know of two of my daughter's friends that are doing that this year. I know two is not a representative number but it is just a feel. We have that here in Maryland with Salisbury State and Frostburg State. Kids in my daughter's high school class that went away to places like East Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Lotoal of Maryland and even Colleg of Charleston has all come back and enrolled moslty at Salisbury. I think it helps that the school is on Maeryland's eastern shore, about 20 miles from Ocean City, Maryland, Maryland's boardwalk resort. So, it happens everywhere.

Kids unsigned at this late date are out there for a rerason. The fact that Hugs signed him makes me suspicious, to say the least. Hugs has a knoiwn tendency for taking "problem" children and going with the flow. See Wingfiled, Dontonio; Long, Art; and a whole bunch of others. I think the UC Athletic Deaprtment finally took down their web page "UC Basketball Stars in Prison" link. It had more listings on it than their "UC Basketball Stars in the NBA" link and was figuratively lapping the "UC Basketball Stars with Degrees" link.

Athletes got preferrential treatment when I was in high school ---- and that was in the dark ages of the 1970's when dinosaurs roamed the earth and men were allowed to club a woman into marriage. The point here is not that its a Mizzou kid (coincidence) but the obvious fact that the school was certainly cheating the rules for whatever reason Principal Villegas saw fit. Maybe he's a big basketball fan, I don't know. But the school should be equally condemned here --- Villegas should be professionally castrated and Mitchell should be fully tested under intense, independent supervision. Then the NCAA "Clearinghouse" can actually have a real case to pursue in terms of gaining college eligibility. If the investigation rings true and the obvious misdeeds are proven, the Texas group should disband Pinkston sports, revoke Villegas' accreditations, and ban Mitchell from NCAA sports. Send him to the D League or Europe as advocated in another thread, he has no intention of going to school (college) other than to get to the "show." Normal rules obviously don't apply ---- grades, matriculkation, attendance, graduation, etc. On the flip side, whomever at the station is pushing this investigative case may be doing so for the pure ideal of justice but I see someone having some sort of axe to grind here ---either against Mitchell, Villegas or Pinkston --- and the fuel for the fire is there. Chances Mizzou actually sees this kid in Columbia? Chances the kid actually plays? I'm going with 50% on the first, 10% on the second.

Yow wasn't seen too well in these Maryland parts. She has huge run-ins in the last few years with both Gary Williams and Ralph Friedgen, two alums who runs the football and basketball programs. Williams had some down years post-national title and had some bad recruiting failures. Friedgen has flopped lately since coming in and post double-digit winning seasons in his first two campaigns. Williams has fueded publicly with Yow's staff and Yow reviewed Friedgen intensely before keepin ghim on thi syear. He had to fire some assistant coaches and all. But she's seen mostly as a bulldog of a guiding figure. Which she has had to be. When she got here, the Twerp athletic program was like $56 million in the red. She leaves with it now $7 million in the red. Most of that is due to the outlay of cash to upgrade UofM's old Byrd Stadium. Or rather Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stad --- oops, no wait its Capitol One Field at Byrd Stadium. Corporate name changes. They are doing up one side of the stadium ala Soldier Field or Ford Field. About 46 SkyBoxes that they now can't seel because Friedgen's teams keep losing to school slike Middle Tennessee State and so on. Her direction has led to knockdowns with Williams who is about as untouchable at Maryland as Boeheim is at Syracuse, Izzo at State and some others. Gary is the program at UofMd. The "Fridge" has lost some initial cachet. Gary's problem is that he doens't graduate players --- even those with no real NBA career like Nik Caner-Medley and Terrell Stokes hit the road once their senior seasons are over and go to the camps or try Europe or elsewhere. Even the "student athletes" aren't really there to be "students" as some have discussed in another thread. She was tough, but i think one has to be. Her univerisyt press release is at: http://www.umterps.com/genrel/062510aaa.html Just like there will always be a good guy and a bad guy, Yow was perceived more as bad then good here. She didn't require the spotlight whivh I liked about her and she let her subordinates do what htey needed to do. She kept Cheryl Levrick afloat (I think) in the two or so years that she left SLU and i liked Cheryl so I guess Yow was good by me. But a tough AD has to make some tough and negative decisions. I thought she did well and will do well at NC State.

I found the draft interesting but can only admit to watching the scroll every now and then to see who went where. Some things popped into my mind: Wow! Five first round picks and Kentucky didn't win the national title? There's a statement to Cal's inability to coach as ever I've seen one. Josh Harrelson will now get to play, right? Hayward to Utah. Pale, skinny white kid to pale, skinny white city. Perfect match. I predict John Wall and Gilbert Arenas will get pulled into something with guns. I mean, althoughthis is DC now, it is still the old Baltimore Bullets. With this being the first year that all underclassmen were selected in the lottery portion of the draft, I have to question why I would drop what it costs to go to an NBA game on a bunch of children trying to entertain me? In three years -- basically the length of one of these first round contracts --- a lot of these guys will likely be done and gone from the NBA. I can't see Cousins or thew other center from Kentucky being anything more than a journeyman. I don't even like the NBA, I own't bother. I saw Beano Cook on ESPNews the day before the draft and they asked him about it and he said something like "I don't watch and I don't know it, they play a game at that level that isn't basketball as I know it. I'll stick with the college game but if its on another ABC network, like the finals were, and ABC owns ESPN who pays me, then I'm all for its success. Just don't ask me anything about it --- palming, muggings, walkings --- I just don't know that game." That about sums the NBA up for me as well.

Rumor is that if A&M goes SEC, the Pac-10 fill-in invie is Utah. Again, no one wants Kansas ans th rest of the Big 12 left behinds --- KState, Mizzou, Iowa State and Baylor.

Missouri is one situation but I've got to ask "why is no one courting Kansas?" Kansas has a long, storied basketball tradition and tons of cred in that area. They do have a relatively pathetic football team. The fact that Kansas is not mentioned anywhere ---- to the Big Ten, the Pac-10, the Southeast --- is amazing but also speaks volumes ---- namely that basketball appears to be irrelevant. Looks like 16-team leagues are the next evolution of the bg, bad BCS. Pac-10, Big Ten, ACC and Southeastern is what I see. Two teams battle it our for each division, division winners in a big playoff for league crown, and all four league champs move on to the National Semi-finals and then the championship. That's doable. Of course, the basketball end is all cheapened. I can see these four mega-conference then trying to throw an exclusive party for themselves in basketball. Like football -- the BCS and then Division 1AA or whatever its called. The Bills are dogs in that race as well but so too would be schools like Gonzaga, Butler, Xavier, and even Notre Dame if they don't give up the indy ghost and come to the table. Question for schools like Villanova, Georgetown, much like Uconn --- do you upgrade the football program to stay inthe big boys club? Missouri might be screwed in all this but Kansas is even more intriguing to me.

Some Philly sports stuff. La Salle inks Giannini to extension and at the bottom, two more Hawks fly the coop at St. Joe's. Prescott and Irwin. The destinatins of the transfers are interesting; certainly lower Division 1. http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleg...ml?nlid=3051207 Second link is on Rodney Green of La Salle and his draft chances. http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleg...ml?nlid=3051207 Frankly, I think thye are non-existent.

"If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullsh*t. If all else fails, use statistics." --- some wise, long-forgotten savant.

Kids sign with coaches, we all know that. Unless its the bigger name guys, but they usually have stable coaching regimes as well. Kid doesn't want to go there, give him his release. Why have a potential malcontent on the bench. Or Purnell re-recruits him. Isn't that what happened with Marque Perry or someone alongf the line?

Skip --- it has nothing to do with UT as far as i know. Maybe the alum and station manager/owner is an A&M grad, or a Baylor grad, or some other in-state school that is mad at the kid for stiffing his school. It don't matter, its all made up on my account. What about the KU alum that was helping out the Rush's and the question was raised when one went to KU, one to Mizzou, one to UCLA or wherever. Just joshing on my part. All I was saying is that something or someone singled this out. Maybe Kshoe answered that. Stories pop up for a reason --- the press is usually a tool when best manipulated.

I know our Mizzou brethern will begin the calls that we pay far too much attention to them, and while that may be true in some sectors, I don't think so in this case. Ignoring the fact that this is a Mizzou recruit, probably the linchpin in the 2010 Mizzou class, just go with the supposed facts in this matter, ignoring the Mizzou connection. Is anyone shocked at these moves by #1) the player, #2) the school, #3) the news station and #4) the Florida basketball academy? I don't get the transfer. I mean Miami to Dallas is a long haul. I see kids transferring across town but this is a lot of miles. Myabe a parental job transfer or something. Pinkston obviously wasn't the lure, they made the state playofs with this kid for the first time in a while it seems. So I don't see the kid doing some major move here. I have no idea whbat the principal was thinking but maybe thi skid is a genius and did indeed pass all those courses in that two-day period. I don't know ---- sounds like pressure was applied there but I'm believing the kid IS a genius foro now. Put him on camera, I want to hear him speak. Should sound a lot like Kwiesi Mfume or Mr. Obama. Why did the news channel go after this? Some Texas grad run the station and is pissed the kid didn't ink with the Longhorns, especially after he took him and the team out to dinner after each game? Hmmmmmmm. And finally, i do like the fact that they are busting down this so-called "basketball academies" some more. That's a racket that needs to be drawn and quartered. Accredited by some home school accreditation group? Wow! It really is a shame how the brethern up the interstate got pulled into this through what appears to be no fault of Mike Anderson.

With another impending Armageddeon coming in the collegiate conference landscape, I think it would be in any school's best interest to show parity across all sports as best as possible in order to make that school's inclusion in another conference more attractive. Just a thought. Now, if Roy indeed does know this guys as he says he does (and i do not not believe him) then ask him "why" next time you see him. People make different choices for different reasons --- impending retirement, family, warm weather ---- all could come into play. A new tat? I'm not so sure --- maybe with a 17- or 18-year-old. In some cases, the losing institution cannot compete with that.

I just like to point out that a lot of unproven assumptions are being made on this thread many of which play important roles into the logic I see here. So to draw definite conclusions at this point is futile and useless. First of all, I too agree with Roy's statement on Mitchell. Second I agree that the talent level now in the program is the highest I have ever seen across the board dating back to 1975. Thirdly, we were indeed beat up last year at the end and having more bodies around, more good bodies from all accounts, can only help. But I don't understand how we can automatically assume KM's assists go up next year, not on what we truly know at this point. The increase appears to come in these assumptions: CE/CS/KC all improve shooting percentages over last year; our newcomers in MM/RL/JJ can shoot; and RL's presence will open up the middle for high percentage shots from WR/BC/CR. There are some large leaps of faith there --- but bottom line is that when KM realizes he has other options that are dependable and reliable, he can loose the label of scorer and do more of what a point guard does. Until he, as the leader of this team and the guy with the ball, sees and accepts that, he will have to remain in the role of end of game scorer. Its the only certain option he knows in his mind. I believe the fatigue factor played a lot into KC bringing the ball up the court a lot last year. KM didn't have to expend the energy to do that, saving himself for the offensive execution. KC is a nice initiator and in some ways reminded me of departed point FORWARD Ryan Leuchtefeld. I think giving that role to KC, who was guarded by the lesser guard in many cases, worked well and might have been an unrecognized stroke of coaching genius. One true point. One true scorer. One true athlete. And a short, nonsupporting bench. That's never really been talked about here but I think it led to the success reflected in that CBI run. We don't really know if improvement ferom the returning players will come. We think it will --- I do. We don't kow if the recruits can shoot, or are the gang that couldn't shoot. Roy and willie have pointed out the NYC hopes seen in the past (don't forget Willie D. Horne). And until Loe gets here and on to the court and mixing it up with his new mates, who really knows on that account. Some large assumptions (and do freshmen really step in and immediately contribute?). But the future is really bright IMO.