College Basketball: 20 Random Thoughts & Observations

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:08:29 -0500

20 Random Rants, Thoughts, and Observations from the Week in College Basketball by CollegeHoops.net Editor Shawn Siegel:

1 - This has unexpectedly become a weekly thing, so except 20 more random rants every Tuesday from now on.

2 - There's another Curry on the lose. Steph's brother Seth is quietly emerging as the star of an upstart Liberty squad that is 5-1. The Flames already have a win over Virginia, and just won an OT game against a quality George Mason side. Curry is already averaging 22 ppg.. as a freshman.

3 - Perhaps after tonight's drubbing, Purdue fans can take a step back from their "How dare you suggest we're not a Top 10 team" nonsense and return to reality. The Boilers are still (and have been for a year now) a fringe top 25 team.. nothing more, nothing less.

4 - Along with Tom Pritchard, Colton Iverson is another Big Ten rookie big who has impressed so far. Those two have put BJ Mullens to shame so far, as the highly-touted OSU center has yet to score double-digits.

5 - Another young Big Ten big to watch is Kyle Rowley.. a 7-footer on Northwestern. Don't get me wrong, Rowley is not an All-American talent, but as far as Northwestern recruits go.. he has the potential to be a major contributor with more experience.

6 - Who knew AD Vassallo could simply carry a team on his back like he did against Wisconsin Monday night. The Hokies ended up losing a well-fought thriller against Wisconsin, but it was a joy to watch Vassallo light it up from deep.

7 - One of the biggest league games of the year is about to happen tomorrow night. Cleveland State (5-2) hosts Butler (5-0) in an early-season battle between Horizon League contenders. I expect the Vikings to pick up the win and begin their quest for the league title.

7 - Mark down another quality win for Savannah State, who knocked off Bowling Green and are now 5-2. The fightin' Tigers lead all independent squads with a solid 125 RPI right now.

8 - I miss Thanksgiving basketball already.

9 - Remember when Siena was a trendy mid-major sleeper pick in all the preseason magazines?.. the Old Spice Classic sure killed all that talk.

10 - Last year, I gave Jon Diebler a lot of slack for hovering around college basketball's Mendoza Line (30 fg%), but it's nice to see he's off to a much better start this season and finding his long-range stroke.

11 - The emergence of Mike Davis has helped Illinois remain competitive despite a lack of big-time talent. The sophomore, who only played 10 mpg last year, is averaging over 15 ppg this year and poured in 28 against Clemson. The Illini lost by 2, but should pile up more wins in coming weeks as they continue to avoid the road. They'll end up playing only 1 true non-conference road game all season.. something to keep in mind when judging the team in March. Missouri on November 23rd (in St Louis) is their only remaining challenge before Big Ten play begins.

12 - Illinois' schedule looks treacherous compared to LSU's joke calendar. They start the season with 8 home games against teams that will all almost certainly finish in the bottom 150 of the RPI. It's almost like they're 0-0 so far.

13 - If Leo Lyons played 35 mpg like most big time players, you'd hear his name all the time. His 19 ppg and 7 rpg already look good enough, but are amazing considering he plays 24 mpg. He basically averages 30 points and 11 boards per 40 minutes.

14 - I don't watch enough Colorado State basketball (or his old NDSU teams) to know exactly how good a coach Tim Miles is, but he sure gives a good interview. This guy has a future.

15 - If not for Jack McClinton getting tossed from Miami's loss to OSU, the ACC might have finished 9-2 against the Big Ten. As it is, an 8-3 or 7-4 win is likely.

16 - IF UNC's bench (including Green & Davis when Ginyard & Hansbrough return) played as a separate team, I wonder how far they'd go in the NCAA Tournament?

17 - It will be unfortunate when UNC rips MSU apart on prime time TV tomorrow night. The Spartans were one of my teams heading into the season, but I dont see them coming close tomorrow. I've been wrong before though.

18 - Lowly NJIT had a chance over the weekend to finally win a game for the first time in almost two years, but blew a half-time lead against Monmouth. In two home games, they've lost by over 20 each time, but St. Peter's on November 10th could be the day the streak ends. For their sake, I hope it happens.

19 - I mentioned this on the message board, but Charlotte's had some rough luck so far. They've lost a game in double-OT, OT, by 1 point due to a late three, and another game by 1 point. All those losses add up to a disappointing 1-6 start for coach Lutz.

20 - There was an actual Zane Johnson sighting Tuesday night. The Arizona soph averaged a whopping 1 ppg in his 18 game career before blowing up for 18 against LMU. This was a consensus Top 150 product.

- Think I'm an idiot? Then prove your stuff in CHN's new Weekly Pickem Game.

Question of the Week: Who Will be Arizona's Next Coach?

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:28:56 -0500

This Week's Question: Who Will be Arizona's Big-Name Coach Next Year?

Its safe to assume Arizona will go big-time when hiring a full-time coach to replace retired legend Lute Olson. Who do you think Arizona will hire? Or who do you think they should hire? Some potential candidates that have been thrown around media articles and message boards includes:

John Calipari - Memphis

Jamie Dixon - Pittsburgh

Scott Drew - Baylor

Mark Few - Gonzaga

Jim Livengood - Will the Arizona AD hire himself?...

Sean Miller - Xavier

Kelvin Sampson - Milwaukee Bucks (not really)

Jay Wright - Villanova

What do you think? Post your thoughts below:

-- Question of the Week Archive:

Nov. 26 - Did the NCAA Come Down Hard Enough on Kelvin Sampson?

Nov. 19 - When Will UNC Lose For the First Time?

Bracketology 08-09: Week One

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:24:09 -0500

This is the first of what will start as a weekly and eventually daily Field of 65. The Bracketology field is based on how the tourney looks "as of this moment." Arrows indicate a team that moved up or down based on last night's performance. (Just because a team won or lost doesn't necessarily mean they'll move substantially.)

Important: Up until the beginning of conference play, the #1 RPI team in the conference is listed as the projected champ! (w/ the exception of Davidson at this point)

Note on Today's Movement:

This is the first Daily Bracketology edition of the year.. and thus everything is new.. so no

ONE

TWO

Gonzaga*

THREE

Xavier*

Syracuse*

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

Clemson*

SEVEN

EIGHT

California*

NINE

UAB*

Ohio State

Florida St

Butler*

TEN

Saint Mary's

Michigan

Washington State

Western Kentucky*

ELEVEN

Ohio*

Texas A&M

Utah*

Missouri

TWELVE

LSU

Seton Hall

Minnesota

George Mason*

THIRTEEN

USC

Utah State*

Evansville*

Mercer*

FOURTEEN

Long Beach State*

Niagara*

VMI*

Oakland*

FIFTEEN

American*

Murray State*

Cornell*

Albany*

SIXTEEN + ONE

Eastern Washington*

Lamar*

Mount Saint Mary's*

Hampton* / UAPB*

* = Conference champion

Bold = Tournament Bid

League Winners (31)

America East - Albany

A-10 - Xavier

ACC - Clemson

Atlantic Sun - Mercer

Big 12 - Oklahoma

Big East - Syracuse

Big Sky - Eastern Washington

Big South - VMI

Big Ten - Illinois

Big West - Long Beach State

CAA - George Mason

Conference USA - UAB

Horizon - Butler

Ivy - Cornell

MAAC - Niagara

MAC - Ohio

MEAC - Hampton

MVC - Evansville

MWC - Utah

Northeast - Mount St Mary's

Ohio Valley - Murray State

Pac-10 - California

Patriot - American

SEC - Tennessee

Southern - Davidson* (Wofford actually leads Davidson in RPI 37 to 43, but I'm breaking the RPI rule here)

Southland - Lamar

SWAC - UAPB

Summit - Oakland

Sun Belt - Western Kentucky

WAC - Utah State

WCC - Gonzaga

Last In: LSU, Seton Hall, Minnesota, USC

Last Out: UNLV, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

- Check out yesterday's Daily Bracketology to compare the subtle changes.

- Finally, sign up for the CHN Pickem Game and strut your stuff!

Post your thoughts below about the projected field of 65..

College Basketball: 20 Random Thoughts & Observations

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:42:39 -0500

20 Random Rants, Thoughts, and Observations from the Week in College Basketball by CollegeHoops.net Editor Shawn Siegel:

1 - Jonny Flynn is even better than I ever gave him credit for. He's more than just a speed guy.. he's a money point guard.

2 - Syracuse needs to do some serious work on their ole 2-3 zone. The problem right now is simply personnel. They don't have enough length & height to really cause havoc with their traps.

3 - Damion James (Texas) is up there right now for the Least-Improved Player award.

4 - What's with all the Purdue fans who think their team is the greatest thing since Double Stuffed Oreos?

5 - Blake Griffin has been a monster, but Oklahoma still seems majorly flawed. Willie Warren's putting up decent ppg totals, but needs to become a much more active rebounder, passer, and ball-handler if the Sooners expect to go far.

6 - The Old Spice Classic is loaded. Can't wait for this event.. it puts the Preseason NIT or even Maui to shame.

7 - Bob Knight is getting better as an announcer, but I could still do without him.

8 - Yes, Indiana will stink this year. But Tom Pritchard is a pleasant surprise, he's a legit Big Ten talent, which is more than I expected

9 - Arizona fans better get used to losing. Losing to UAB at home isn't a huge deal, but barely putting away Santa Clara is. The Broncos couldn't even beat FAU.

10 - Get ready to start hearing about Washington State's Klay Thompson. With the way DeRozan and others have struggled, its not even out of the question he could be the Pac-10 ROY.

11 - Back to DeRozan for a sec, he has to be considered a major disappointment so far. 9 ppg wont cut it, especially when you add in his 12 turnovers and just 3 assists. Yes, its early, but I just haven't seen any reason to think he'll be effective in the half-court offense.

12 - On the flip side, Samardo Samuels has been dominant in two blow out wins. 42 points in 50 minutes of play. Louisville plays an extremely soft early schedule so I see no reason why he won't put up big numbers for the next month. He's legit.

13 - Notre Dame needs to hit a couple damn FT's. At least no air balls fellas.

14 - I hyped up VT's Jeff Allen in the off-season as Most Improved Player candidate, and he's made me look good so far averaging 18 and 11 per game. Allen has even more room for improvement left.

15 - I dont think G'Town's Austin Freeman worked out all summer.

16 - Xavier's a very fun team to watch. They have 8 legitimate starting-quality players, and Kenny Frease has serious potential. But yet, they still seem to lack that one go-to guy that will put them over the top. Their depth and athleticism should lead them to an A-10 title, but I don't see a big March run happening this year.

17 - Outside of Drake's surprise season, last year was somewhat of a downer for the MVC. This year looks to be ho hum again, as SIU and Creighton are only okay. Illinois State's off to a nice start but they don't play a good team until January 3rd..

18 - Wright State was supposed to be a contender for the HL title along with Cleveland State and Butler, but the Raiders are 0-3, and coming off a brutal 55-37 home loss to Miami. The team is shooting a hard to imagine 34.8% from the floor.

19 - What are the odds Oregon State loses every game this season against D1 opponents? 50%? 90%?

20 - Anthony Tucker's been a nice find for Iowa. The freshman guard is averaging 16 ppg for a team that desperately needed help scoring the ball. In fact, the Hawkeyes 2nd leading scorer is also a freshman, Matt Gatens. Iowa finally faces a real test this weekend against West Virginia.

- I've been busy getting the pickem game going (why haven't you signed up yet??) and finishing CHN's preseason material, so apologies for the lack of content recently!

Question of the Week: Did the NCAA Come Down Hard Enough on Sampson/Indiana?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:28:04 -0500

This Week's Question: Did the NCAA Come Down Hard Enough on Kelvin Sampson & Indiana?

Post your thoughts in the comments section whether you think these penalties are fair. Are they to strict? Or too leniant? Did IU get off easier than you expected?

-- Sampson's Penalty for recruiting violations:

A five-year show-cause punishment. Sampson cannot engage in any recruiting activities from 2008-11. The penalty also drastically limits any contact he could have with high school players in 2012 & 2013.

The NCAA Infractions Chairwoman called the rules violation "extremely serious."

“It was extremely serious,” Josephine Potuto, chairwoman of the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions, said on a media conference call. “The show-cause order appropriately limits his athletic-related duties.”

The gist of the punishment is to basically prevent Sampson from coaching in the NCAA for the next handful of seasons.

-- Indiana's Penalty

Forfeit one scholarship. IU will be on probation for the next three seasons for failing to monitor the activities of Sampson and his assistant coaches. However, there is no postseason ban. Basically, the NCAA didn't really add to IU's self-imposed penalty.

What do you think? Post your thoughts below:

-- Question of the Week Archive:

Nov. 19 - When Will UNC Lose For the First Time?

Site Downtime?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:47:20 -0500

Just wanted to apologize for any possible site downtime or extreme slowness you may be experiencing today (especially around 5 to 6:30). Not quite sure what the deal is to be honest, as various tech guys have been trying to figure things out to no avail. But hopefully everything will return to normal shortly.

Shawn Siegel

- Editor - Collegehoops.net