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Wednesday, March 29, 2006

OU'S KELVIN SAMPSON GOING TO INDIANA

OU'S KELVIN SAMPSON GOING TO INDIANA

HOOSIER INSIDER WEBSITE POLLS ITS READERSON WHO THEY PREFER TO BE IU'S NEW HEAD COACH HERE'S HOW THE VOTING WENT:
1. John Calipari..........73 (26.7 percent)
2. Mark Few...............25 (9.1 percent)
3. Steve Alford...........24 (8.8 percent)
4. Billy Gillispie........24 (8.8 percent)
5. Tom Crean..............19 (6.9 percent)
6. Billy Donovan..........15 (5.5 percent)
7. Thad Matta.............14 (5.1 percent)
8. Mike Montgomery........10 (3.6 percent)
9. Rick Pitino.............8 (2.9 percent)
10. Mark Turgeon...........5 (1.8 percent)
Others receiving votes....57 (20.8 percent)
Note: 29 other candidates got at least one vote. Rick Majerus and Rick Barnes each had four votes to lead that group.

Calapari Put Odds at 60/40 that Both Shawne Williams and Darius Washington Turn Pro

Various Mock Draft Predictions


nbadraft.net
#7 Rodney Carney, Seattle Supersonics
Shawne Williams, NOT DRAFTED
Darius Washington, NOT DRAFTED

collegehoopsnet.com
#4 Shawne Williams
#6 Rodney Carney
Darius Washington, Draft Status Unsure - Not Included

http://mrnbadraft.tripod.com/id14.html
#14 Rodney Carney
Shawne Williams, Outside the Top 20
Darius Washington, Outside the Top 20

insidehoops.com
#6 Rodney Carney, Toronto Raptors
#18 Shawne Williams, Washington Wizards

http://probasketball.about.com/od/nbadraft/l/bl_mockdraft_a.htm
#8 Rodney Carney, Orlando Magic
#13 Shawne Williams, Minnesota Timberwolves
#32 Darius Washington, Atlanta Hawks

hoopsvibe.com
#14 Rodney Carney
Shawne Williams, Outside the Top 30
Darius Washington, Outside the Top 30

justball.com
#17 Rodney Carney
Shawne Williams, Not Mentioned 1st and 2nd Rounds
Darius Washington, Not Mentioned 1st and 2nd Rounds

hoopshype.com
#14 Rodney Carney, Utah Jazz
Shawne Williams, Not Mentioned 1st Round
Darius Washington, Not Mentioned 1st Round

Rodney Carney Named 2nd Team AP All-American, Darius Washington, Jr. Honorable Mention

2005-06 AP All-America Basketball Team
By The Associated Press
AP All-America Team

FIRST TEAM
Adam Morrison Gonzaga Jr.
J.J. Redick Duke Sr.
Randy Foye Villanova Sr.
Shelden Williams Duke Sr.
Brandon Roy Washington Sr.

SECOND TEAM
Dee Brown Illinois Sr.
Rodney Carney Memphis Sr.
Rudy Gay Connecticut So.
P.J. Tucker Texas Jr.
Leon Powe California So.

THIRD TEAM
Craig Smith BostonCollege Sr.
Glen Davis LSU So.
Tyler Hansbrough North Carolina Fr.
Nick Fazekas Nevada Jr.
Allan Ray Villanova Sr.

HONORABLE MENTION: Arron Afflalo, UCLA; Maurice Ager, Michigan State; LaMarcus Aldridge, Texas; Jose Juan Barea, Northeastern; J.P. Batista, Gonzaga; Jahsha Bluntt, Delaware State; Ronnie Brewer, Arkansas; Keydren Clark, Saint Peter’s; Mardy Collins, Temple; Paul Davis, Michigan State.; Terrance Dials, Ohio State; Quincy Douby, Rutgers; Jordan Farmar, UCLA; Mike Gansey, West Virginia; Daniel Gibson, Texas; Caleb Green, Oral Roberts; DeAndre Haynes, Kent State; Brandon Heath, San Diego State; Jeff Horner, Iowa; Ibrahim Jaaber, Pennsylvania; Jarrious Jackson, Texas Tech; Marco Killingsworth, Indiana; Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh; Jack Leasure, Coastal Carolina; Charles Lee, Bucknell; Chris Lofton, Tennessee; Christian Maraker, Pacific; Gerry McNamara, Syracuse; J. Robert Merritt, Samford; Paul Miller, Wichita State; Paul Millsap, Louisiana Tech; Elton Nesbitt, Georgia Southern; Joakim Noah, Florida; Kevin Pittsnogle, West Virginia; Chris Quinn, Notre Dame; Brion Rush, Grambling State; Blake Schilb, Loyola of Chicago; Steven Smith, La Salle; Tim Smith, East Tennessee State; Ronald Steele, Alabama; Rodney Stuckey, Eastern Washington; Chad Timberlake, Fairleigh Dickinson; Darius Washington, Memphis; Marcus Williams, Connecticut; Jamar Wilson, Albany, N.Y.; Anthony Winchester, Western Kentucky; Ricky Woods, Southeastern Louisiana.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Tigers Land Missouri Prep Star Will Bogan

Tigers land Missouri prep

February 9, 2006

High school: Bell City, Mo. Class: Junior Height, weight: 6-10, 290 Key stats: Averaging 22 points, 16 rebounds per game

Will Bogan hadn't seen much of the University of Memphis. But what he had seen, he liked, and it was apparently more than enough. "We were at the Texas game, and it had just started and Will told me he would really like to play Memphis' style," recalled Joe Bowling, Bogan's legal guardian. "And I was telling him, 'Boy, this is real early. But my gosh, they are the No. 3 team in the nation. So if they're interested in you, by all means keep your ears open and listen.'"
Which is exactly what Bogan did.
Then on Wednesday, he stopped listening and started talking, telling John Calipari he would accept his offer to be Tiger.
Consequently, this 6-10, 290-pound forward from Missouri is the school's first commitment for the Class of 2007, and is thus expected to be a freshman at the UofM during the 2007-2008 season.
"I'm looking forward to it," Bogan said. "I'm ready to play."
Right here is the place typically reserved to write about where a prospect is ranked by Rivals.com and Scout.com, and how PrepStars.com has him ahead of this person and just below that person.
With Bogan, though, there is no such context.
He's ranked nowhere.
But there's a good reason.
"This is his first year of organized basketball," Bowling said. "Nobody really knows about him."
As crazy as that seems, it's true.
"I thought Will would stay under the radar this year, I really did. But from about the second game on, he's just really been turning a lot of heads. He's been great." Joe Bowling
Will Bogan's legal guardian
Bogan grew up in Charleston, Mo., but, according to Bowling, spent more time on the street courts than anywhere else, and was headed down a path with no good ending.
Aware of the issues, Bowling said he wanted to make a difference. So he and his wife filed the proper paperwork about 16 months ago to become Bogan's legal guardians, which placed the prospect in a stable environment for the first time in a long time.
Now, according to Bowling, Bogan is an "honor roll" student at Bell City (Mo.) High, and averaging 22 points and 16 rebounds per game. Memphis assistant Derek Kellogg spotted the talent early, which helped the Tigers gain the commitment over other schools who got involved more recently, like Oklahoma and Virginia.
"I thought Will would stay under the radar this year, I really did," Bowling said. "But from about the second game on, he's just really been turning a lot of heads. He's been great."
-- Gary Parrish: (901) 529-2365

AD R.C. Johnson Says Calipari to Indiana Rumors Untrue

Johnson: Calipari-to-Indiana rumors untrue

By Gary Parrish, Memphis Commercial Appeal
March 27, 2006

University of Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson has taken issue with this morning’s report in The Bloomington (Ind.) Herald-Times that cited unnamed sources stating John Calipari is in negotiations to be the next basketball coach at Indiana. "I talked to (Calipari) this morning," Johnson said. "That’s not true." The report – admittedly sourced on "rumor" – states Calipari is in discussions with IU about improving facilities. It suggested he is now the leading candidate to replace Mike Davis, who resigned amid criticism during this past season. When read the above excerpt from the article, Johnson replied "That’s news to me." He added no one from Indiana or a firm working on behalf of Indiana has contacted him to request permission to speak with Calipari in what would be a gesture considered common courtesy among coaching searches.
Calipari, fresh off Saturday’s loss to UCLA in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment this afternoon. But Johnson said he and his sixth-year coach will reconvene soon to have the normal season-review meeting, one that could result in an increase to a package that already pays Calipari roughly $1.5 million per year. "He had a great year and we always want to recognize that," Johnson said. "Obviously, I will do anything I can to keep him and his staff."

-- Gary Parrish: (901) 529-2365

Overperforming and Underperforming

Here is a great post by Rocky (a Pitt fan) on www.collegehoopsnet.com

Overperforming and Underperforming

There's been a fair amount of discussion about which teams are over or under seeded in the tournaments, and which teams' reputations get them favorable or unfavorable seeds. So I figured I'd do some numbers.

I took all of the tournaments in the 2000's (2000-2005) prior to the current one. I looked at each team's seed, and compared that with how many games that seed would say they should win. That is, seeds 9-16 should win 0 games, seeds 5-8 should win 1 game, 3-4 should win 2 games, #2 seed should win 3 games and the #1's should win 4 games. (I've ignored the play-in game).

For each team I calculated the difference between how many games they "should have won" and how many they actually did win.

Basics: there have been 163 different schools making the round of 64 in that period.
65 teams were in just once
43 were in 2 tournys
20 were in 3
15 were in 4
7 were in 5
13 were in all 6

Of those teams, the ones that performed most over their seeds:
Mich St. +6 (in 6 tournys)
Wisconsin +5 (6)
Kent St +4 (2)
Tulsa +4 (3)
Missouri +4 (4)

Those that performed worst vs their seeds:
Stanford -9 (6)
Cincinnati -6 (6)
Wake Forest -5 (5)
Kentucky -5 (6)
Oklahoma -4 (5)
Duke -4 (6)

Seeing schools like Kentucky and Duke on the most over seeded list would seem to confirm a bit of reputation bias. Though it also looks like there is some bias against the Big 10.

Stanford though is a case unto itself, having underperformed in every year except 2002 (when they did as expected):

Stanfords seeds, wins, expected wins and difference:
2005 8/0/1/-1
2004 1/1/4/-3
2003 4/1/2/-1
2002 8/1/1/0
2001 1/3/4/-1
2000 1/1/4/-3

Tigers Rumored to be in the Hunt to Land Prep Star Tyler Smith


Profile: Tyler Smith
Height: 6 Foot 7
Weight: 210 lbs

Prep School: Hargrave Military Academy (Virginia) Class of 2006
High School: Pulaski, Tennessee (Giles County) Class of 2005

Rivals Hoops 2006 Rank: Top 150 (#56) Position Ranking 2005: Small Forward (#17) Four Star (out of five)

Rivals Hoops 2005 Rank: Top 150 (#34) Position Ranking 2005: Small Forward (#10) Four Star (out of five)

Smith, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward from Pulaski, Tenn., was selected as one of the top 10 high school players in the nation when Street & Smith's named him a second team selection on the 2004 Boys High School All-America Team. As a junior at Giles County High School the first team all-state selection averaged 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists while leading the Bobcats to the state tournament. As a sophomore he earned tournament MVP honors after leading Giles County to a state championship. Rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, he was named the MVP of the all-star game at the adidas Superstar camp last summer in Atlanta.

College Choice:
Rivals.com reports that Tyler is currently interested in Iowa, Kentucky, Memphis and Pittsburgh. All four schools was reported offered scholarships.

Tyler was originally was a solid verbal recruit of the University of Tennessee. Other schools said to have been in the hunt prior to Tyler choosing prep school were Alabama, Kansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and UCLA. Apparently Tyler decided against attending UT after Buzz Peterson was fired in the Spring of 2005.

Quotes:
"Tyler will probably play small forward and maybe a little shooting guard in college, but he has played every position for us. We even used him at point one night when they were playing a box and one against him. We rubbed him off some screens, and he looked real good handling the ball." - Giles County High School coach Billy Holt

Newspaper Articles:

Wednesday, April 20, 2005Smith chooses prep school over UT
By CHRIS LOWStaff Writerhttp://www.tennessean.com/
KNOXVILLE — New Tennessee men's basketball Coach Bruce Pearl has denied Tyler Smith's request to be released from his scholarship, and the Giles County High star now plans to attend a prep school next year.
''At this point, we're not releasing him,'' Pearl said. ''Tyler and his father have some decisions to make and have to represent what they feel is in the best interests of Tyler, and I've got to represent what's in the best interests of all my student-athletes who are hoping to have him as a teammate next year.
''I'm going to stand with my team and my university on this issue. If Tyler wants to be a part of that, we'd love to have him. I plan to honor the scholarships that were given to all three of the young men (Matthew Dotson, Damion Harris and Smith) before I got here.''
Pearl met with Smith, Smith's father, Billy, and Giles County High Coach Billy Holt at the high school yesterday. It was the second meeting between Pearl and Smith.
Billy Smith confirmed that his son would not be at Tennessee next year. He said Tyler wouldn't comment about the situation until today.
''We're going to wait and not say much to the media until tomorrow, and then Tyler will explain why he's chosen not to attend to the University of Tennessee,'' Billy Smith said. ''This was not Billy Smith's decision. It was all Tyler's decision, and he's the one making the choice. I was just being there as a father.''
It's been a tumultuous first three weeks on the job for Pearl, who replaced the fired Buzz Peterson as Tennessee's coach on March 28.
Two weeks ago, former Glencliff High star Jamont Gordon canceled his trip to Tennessee and instead visited Mississippi State that weekend. Gordon, now at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy, signed with the Bulldogs last Wednesday.
Smith and Gordon were the state's top two prospects in the 2005 class and recruited extensively by Peterson and his former staff, specifically Chuck Benson.
Pearl elected not to retain Benson on his staff last week and instead hired former Alabama-Birmingham assistant Scott Edgar.

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Tiger Fans Unite!

Ok, I can't believe I can't find a blog out there with all of the Memphis Tiger fans I know. Not to mention the fact that this year's Tiger team gained lots of new fans. Yeah, yeah, the end was a nightmare, but I'm still very excited about the energy level and the success of the '05-'06 Tigers. This was by far the best team since the '84-'85 team led by Keith Lee. The 1992 Elite Eight team was an over acheiver with Hardaway and Vaughn.

As depressed as I have been today following the UCLA loss, I did get consoled by the losses today by UConn and Villanova. I feel like the majority of the nations best teams did not make the Final Four (albeit UCLA and Florida are legitimate top 10 teams).

So I am already gearing up for October 2006 - let the Freshman come on down.

Hashim Bailey, come on down
Pierre Niles, come on down
Willie Kemp, come on down
Tre'Von Willis, come on down

and Tyler Smith (we can make room for you, we just need that National Letter of Intent).