HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION  

FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH 2001

Hot Recruiting Information available for previous months June 1998 July 1998 August 1998 September 1998 October 1998 November 1998 December 1998 January 1999 February 1999 March 1999 April 1999 May 1999 June 1999 July 1999 August 1999 September 1999 October 1999 November 1999 December 1999 January 2000 February 2000 March 2000 April 2000 May 2000 June 2000 July 2000 August 2000 September 2000 October 2000 November 2000 December 2000 January 2001 February 2001 March 2001

Chris Monter of www.collegebasketballnews.com and www.monterdraftenws.com is in Hutchinson, Kansas for the National Junior College Tournament and provides us with a great recap of what happened at the tournament in opening round games from several days ago.. His sites were previously part of the Rivals network, but he is venturing on his own with a website that will cover college, pro, junior college and high school hoops. The website will be a subscription site, but you can check it out for the next two weeks for free at www.collegebasketballnews.com. It will also feature recaps of the NJCAA tournament, Final Four, the three NBA pre-draft camps, Boo Williams Invitational, prep All-Star games, top teams and players, transfers recruiting, and much more.  Schoolcraft (JC) MI jumped out on a 20-2 run and they were never challenged in their 77-54 win over Western Nebraska (JC) NE in the opening game of the National Junior College Tournament.  Schoolcraft was paced by 6'4 Derrick Bird's 18 points. DePaul signee Sam Hoskin added 16 and nine boards.  Hoskin, a 6-8 260 pound center, averaged 24.5 ppg and 10.0 rpg in the regular season.  He was named the regional MVP after playing at Eastern Kentucky as a freshman. Bird chipped in 19.8 ppg and led the team in three-pointers made (67).  He is a transfer from Central Michigan and was a first team selection.  Schoolcraft led the country in scoring with 106 ppg.  6'5 Frosh Deonte Moses led unranked Cougars with 18 points and 6'9 Soph Justino Victoriano added 16 points.  Western Nebraska made just 18-47 shots (38%) from the field and had 22 turnovers in the loss. Western Nebraska had just a seven-man roster after three players were dismissed from the team with three games left, due to team policy infractions. The Cougars' leading scorer Tommie King, a Iowa State signee, was dropped after averaging 20.6 ppg and 5'9 Soph Bobby Moore played in just eleven games before leaving the program.  Moore was averaging 16.3 ppg and 4.5 apg at the time.   In the second game of the tournament #3-ranked Wabash Valley (JC) IL used a late first half run to pull away from Barton County (JC) KS, 90-77.   The Warriors shot 54% from the field and outrebounded Barton County, 55-25. Wabash Valley is now 33-1, while Barton County dropped to 26-9.  6'4 Frosh Antwain Barbour, who had two big dunks when Wabash Valley went on a 15-0 run in the first half, led all scorers with 25 points on 9-17 shooting.  He also made all six free throws.  George Mason signee 6'2 Soph Darren Tarver added 22 points and 6'7 Frosh Omari Westley chipped in 14 points.  Wabash advanced to the NJCAA Tournament with a 90-87 win over Highland (JC) IL. They trailed by 19 points before rallying for the win.  Head coach Jay Spoonhour, son of long-time Southwest Missouri State and St. Louis head coach Charlie Spoonhour, took over the program one week after practice had started this season.   Previous head man John Loyer left for a job with the NBA's Portland TrailBlazers and Spoonhour, an assistant with Valparaiso last season, took over. Wabash is a high-scoring offensive machine that averaged 91.4 ppg and won by a margin of 26.8 points.  Tarver led this balanced attack with 16.6 ppg.  Barbour added 12.3 ppg and 6'7 Soph Chaz Briggs contributed 10.3 ppg.  Fresno State signee 6'9 Hiram Fuller averaged 7.6 ppg and tied Briggs for team honors in rebounding with 5.8 rpg.  Barton County was paced by 6'4 Ebi Ere and 5'0 Eric Bush, who scored 17 points apiece in their opening round lost against Wabash Valley.  Barton County advanced to the NJCAA tournament with a 93-87 win over Independence (JC) KS in the Region 6 championship game.  Ere hit a 30-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to rally from a 17-point deficit to win their Region 6 quarterfinal game over Coffeyville (JC) KS, 76-73.  The Cougars finished just fourth in the Western division of the Jayhawk Conference and lost two star forwards during the season.  Carlton Baker was suspended for the season after being ejected from his second game this year.  Baker was averaging 22.7 ppg and 9.2 rpg.   Former Fresno State transfer Travis Robinson left the team in December after complaining about his role with the team.  Ere averaged 23.9 ppg and 7.3 rpg in the regular season.  He signed with Oklahoma out of high school, but went the JUCO route due to his academics. The Sooners are among his many suitors.  Bush was named Region 6 MVP after averaging 18.6 ppg and 6.3 apg.  He finished 8th in the country in assists and 5th in steals. He signed with Illinois State out of high school, but left after one week.  In the third opening round game of the National Junior College Tournament #13-ranked Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL dominated the offensive and defensive boards in their 90-77  win over Southwest Tennessee State (JC) TN.   The Raiders outrebounded Southwest Tennessee State, 55-30. Okaloosa-Walton is now 28-4, while Southwest Tennessee State dropped to 22-7.  The leading scorer for Okaloosa-Walton was 6'7 Kedrick Brown with 23 points on 7-12 shooting.   Ben Lambert added eight points and 17 rebounds and 6'8 Frosh Brandon Vincent chipped in with eight points as Okaloosa-Walton advanced to the NJCAA tournament with a 79-68 win over Daytona Beach (JC) FL in the Region 8 championship game.  The Raiders finished second to #2 Tallahassee in the regular season.   Tallahassee (JC) FL was upset by Palm Beach (JC) FL in the first round.  The Raiders were led by Brown, who averaged 23.2 ppg and 9.2 rpg. He missed three games with turf toe, only to comeback and score a season-high 37 points in his first game back.   Brown signed with LSU in the early signing period, but several NBA scouts have watched him closely in case, he decides to turn pro.  Fellow forward Lambert, who signed with Southern Mississippi, averages 9.3 ppg and 7.6 rpg.   Southwest Tennessee State was paced by 5'10 Lou Wright with 20 points and 5'10 Marlon Walls with 16 points.  Southwest Tennessee State advanced to the NJCAA Tournament with a 100-82 win over Columbia State in the District 7 championship game.   The school, known as Shelby State last season, finished third last year and were runner-ups to Indian Hills (JC) IA in 1999.  They are paced by Walls, who led the team in scoring with 19.9 ppg.  Lou Wright, who signed with Memphis out of high school, chipped in 17.1 ppg.  Next, #1-ranked Dixie (JC) UT defeated #12 Cochise (JC) AZ, 83-63, in the fourth game of the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson KS.. The Rebels outrebounded Cochise, 69-44, in the win.  Dixie is now 33-1, while Cochise dropped to 28-5. Dixie led by just two points at halftime, 36-34, but exploded in the second half, as 6'4 Soph guard Eddie Shelby led all scorers with 21 points.  Also adding 17 points and 15 rebounds was 6'9 Frosh Jaime Lloreda and 6'7 Soph Joshua Clark, who chipped in 16 points and eleven boards.  Dixie advanced to the NJCAA Tournament with a 76-75 win over Southern Idaho (JC) ID in the Region 18 championship game and has won twelve straight games.  The Rebels are led by Scenic West Conference MVP Banks, who averaged 16.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 3.8 apg.  He signed with UNLV in the early signing period.   Lloreda, who also appears to be a near lock for UNLV, if Max Good keeps his job, added 16.6 ppg and a conference-high 10.4 rpg.  The Panamanian native signed with Colorado out of high school, but did not enroll, due to academic problems.   Cochise was paced by 6'1 Vince Haynes with 18 points and 6'1 Kevin Henry with 13 point.  However, Haynes was just 4-17 from the field and Henry made only 5-15 attempts.  Cochise advanced to the NJCAA Tournament with a 98-96 win over Arizona Western in the District 1 championship game as Henry hit an eight-foot shot in the final seconds.  The Apaches lost both games in last year's tournament.   Henry is one of five double figure scorers for Cochise. He signed with Southern Utah in the early signing period.  Haynes averages 17.0 ppg and 6'3 Jay Collins, who committed to Southern Utah, leads all scorers with 19.9 ppg.   The Southern Union (JC) AL and Georgia Perimeter (JC) GA teams wanted to make up for several blowout games in the previous four contests. They more than did their part as the two teams battled to two overtimes before Georgia Perimeter prevailed with a 94-89 win. Georgia Perimeter is now 25-10, while Southern Union dropped to 24-7.  6'2 Soph Tamario Robbins hit a 3-pointer with 49 seconds left to break a 89-89 tie and he hit the second of two free throws to ice the game at 93-89.  6'5 Soph Jarvis Rivers led all scorers with 26 points.  Robbins added 18 points, including four three-pointers. Terry West had 14 points and 10 rebounds and 6'4 Frosh Fred Ford chipped in 13 points and 10 boards.  Georgia Perimeter advanced to the NJCAA tournament with a 86-84 win over Louisburg (JC) NC) in the District 10 championship game.   They have won four consecutive Georgia Junior College Athletic Conference titles. They are led by Ford, who is averaging 17 ppg Robbins with 16.0 ppg, and Rivers with 14.6 ppg.  Southern Union was paced by 6'5 Frosh Bobby Madison with 18 points and Grady Reynolds with 15 points on 7-8 shooting.  Southern Union advanced to the NJCAA Tournament with a 66-58 win over Shelton State (JC) AL in the District 15 championship game. The Bison are led by 6'4 Soph LeRoy Davis, who was named the district tournament MVP after averaging 23 ppg in the three playoff games. He averaged 15.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg this season and signed with Louisville in the early signing period. He is the lone double figure scorer.  Auburn signee Greg Johnson was dismissed from the team before the playoffs, due to attitude problems.   Indian Hills (JC) IA trailed most of the first half, but steamed back in the second period for a 81-73 win over #5 San Jacinto (TX) CC in the final game of the first day of the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.  6'1 Brandon Brooks' eight foot shot in the lane with 6:01 remaining put the Warriors ahead 62-61 and his scooping layup with 5:22 remaining put them up by three, a lead they would never surrender.  The Warriors expanded their lead to eleven 81-70 before San Jacinto hit a three-pointer for the final margin.  Indian Hills was paced by 6'8 Frosh J.K. Edwards with 24 points on 12-16 shooting, Brooks with 18 points and eight assists,a nd 6'5 Jerome Harper, who finished with 15 points and 10 boards.  Indian Hills advanced to the NJCAA Tournament with a win over Moberly (JC) MO in the District 11 championship game. They won the NJCAA titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and won 89 straight games during that stretch.  The Warriors have a balanced attack with four double figure scorers, led by Brooks with 14.8 ppg and Edwards with 12.8 ppg.   San Jacinton was led by Falu, who all scorers with 28 points on 9- 20 shooting in the losing effort.  Leonard Mosley also had 18 points and 6'7 Soph Melroy McKelvey added eleven points San Jacinto advanced to the NJCAA tournament with a 97-88 win over Lon Morris in overtime in the District 14 championship game. The Ravens are led by  Falu, who was named the Regional MVP after averaging 22.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, and 6.4 apg this season. He signed with Valparaiso in the early signing period, but has expressed an interest in reneging.   Falu is one of five double figures. 

Wednesday, March 21, 2001

Yes, Rick Pitino is in Louisville, KY and he has accepted the head coaching job at the University of Louisville.  In other words, the dark ages for Louisville basketball are finally over.  If you will recall, former University of Louisville head coach Denny Crum established the Louisville program as one as one of the top five teams in college basketball, as he won two NCAA Championships and took the Cardinals to the NCAA Final Four six times during the 70's and 80's.  However, since 1987 the program slipped dramatically, as Louisville advanced to the Final Eight only once and did not make the NCAA Tournament four times, including twice during the last four years.  Pitino also fell on hard times last four years with the Boston Celtics in the NBA, but nobody questions the fact that he is one of the best college coaches in the history of the game, which is evident by the fact that his teams advanced to the NCAA Final Four four times (once at Providence in 1987 and three times at the University of Kentucky in 1993, 1996, and 1997) in 10 years at the high Division I level.  And just like when he arrived at Kentucky in the spring of 1989, Pitino will inherit a program at Louisville that currently is in shambles.  Not only were the Cardinals 12-19 this past season, but there is not one quality inside player in the entire program.  And if that weren't bad enough, 6'6 Reece Gaines is the only player in the progam who is good enough to have been a starter on the great Louisville teams that we were accustomed to seeing in the 70's and 80's.  Also, 6'2 Carlos Hurt from Louisville (Moore) KY and 6'5 Dennis Coutee from Jeffesonville (H.S.) IN, both of whom signed with the Cardinals last fall, have not yet qualified academically.  So it is safe to say that the new regime will almost have to start from scratch, which means it will be extremely important for Pitino to hire a staff that is comparable to the one he brought in at Kentucky in 1989, which included Kentucky's Tubby Smith, N.C. State's Herb Sendek, Holy Cross' Ralph Willard, and Florida's Billy Donovan.  Our guess is that Pitino will retain current assistant coach Vince Taylor in order to maintain the continuity with the players that Louisville already has been recruiting, including 6'8 Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL, 6'11 David Harrison from Brentwood (Academy) TN, and 6'9 Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY.  Also working in Taylor's favor is that fact that his brother-in-law is Stu Jackson, who was an assistant for Pitino at Providence and is now one of the top administrative people in the NBA.   Plus, Taylor also has strong Duke ties.  Remember, he played for the Blue Devils 20 years ago and was on short list last summer when Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski was hiring an assistant coach to replace David Henderson.  Also at the top of the list has to be Manhattan College head coach Bobby Gonzalez, who almost was hired twice by Pitino when he was at the University of Kentucky and who is widely regarded as one of the top recruiters in the business.  However, Gonzalez will have almost his entire team back next year at Manhattan and he also appears to be in line for the Massachusetts job.  Speaking of the Massachusetts job, St. Bonaventure head coach Jim Baron interviewed for the job yesterday and UNC-Greensboro head coach Fran McCaffery interviewed today.  However, it may come as somewhat of a surprise that Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard does not appear to be on the short list.  Instead, we hear he may be in line for something bigger, like Tennessee.  As a matter of fact, Willard almost got the Tennessee job six years ago when he was the head coach at Western Kentucky.  However, the Volunteers elected to go with Kevin O'Neill, who lasted only two years before he left for Northwestern and the current regime was hired.  Speaking of the current regime, can you believe that Jerry Green got fired yesterday?  This guy was 89-36 in four years with the Volunteers.  However, he never seemed to be able to win big in the post season and this year his team was once again a major disappointment, as they started 16-1 and finished 6-10.  Getting back to the possible assistant coaching candidates for Louisville, University of Florida assistant coach John Pelphrey played for Pitino in the early 90's at Kentucky, but like Gonzalez, he may not be willing to settle for being an assistant at Louisville when he can be a head coach at the lower Division I level.  However, the word we get is that Pelphrey has already turned down the New Orleans job.  So it doesn't look like he's willing to settle for just anything.  Another name we've heard a lot is Steve Masiello, who knows Pitino from his days as a ball boy for the New York Knicks and as a walk-on at the University of Kentucky.  Currently Masiello is a graduate assistant coach at Tulane and our guess is that he will get a similar position at Louisville.  Others who have been mentioned include Eastern Kentucky head coach Travis Ford, former Massachusetts head coach James "Bruiser" Flint, Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY head coach Gary DeCesare, former University of Kentucky assistant coach Delray Brooks, Arizona graduate assistant coach Josh Pastner, and even Boston Celtics head coach Jim O'Brien, if he doesn't think he's going to retain that position at the end of the current season.

We believe more than ever that the legendary Morgan Wootten, who is the all-time winningest high school coach in the history of the game, will be back for another season, especially after his team's shocking first round upset last Thursday against Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph) MD in the first round of the Alhambria Tournament in Cumberland, MD.  Not only did Mt. St. Joseph play extremely well down the stretch, but they also wanted it a lot more than DeMatha, which got out hustled and out rebounded throughout the entire game.  DeMatha did recover to finish 5th in the tournament, but clearly Wootten still has something to prove next season.  He also will have five of his top seven players - 6'9 Jr Travis Garrison, 6'0 Jr Warren Williams, 6'0 Jr Chris McRae, 6'2 Jr Chris Stevenson, and 6'8 Soph Steve Danley - back next season and, as a result, DeMatha will be the heavy favorite to once again win the WCAC (Washington Catholic Athletic Conference) next year.  Instead, Washington (Gonzaga) DC, which finished second to DeMatha in the WCAC playoffs, won the Alhambria Tournament Championship.   And they made it look easy, as they beat Towson (Catholic) MD, 54-47, in the first game; Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA,76-43, in the semi-finals; and Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 76-43, in the championship.  Gonzaga's best player against Towson Catholic was 6'0 Frosh Eric Price, who will be one of the top five freshmen nationally by the HOOP SCOOP when we come out with our nationally rankings later this spring, with 21 points, four rebounds, and four steals.  However, the MVP for the tournament was 6'4 Mike Orfini, who had 20 points and seven rebounds against Roman Catholic and 25 points and seven rebounds against St. John Neumann.  Also named to the first team all tournament team were Garrison, 6'7 Jr Carmelo Anthony from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'6 Tamal Forchion from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, and 6'6 Jr Mike Haddix from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA.  The other big news in the Washington, DC area involves Kevin Sutton, who is expected to get the Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD job.  If you will recall, Sutton was an assistant coach under the legendary Stu Vetter when he won high school national championships at Oakton (Flint Hill) VA and Frederick (St. John's at Prospect Hall) MD.  Then, Sutton left to start the program at Montrose Christian and more recently he's been an assistant coach at Old Dominion.  And this would make a lot of sense, because Sutton, who previously an assistant coach for Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD head coach Stu Vetter, has strong DC area ties.  Speaking of Montrose Christian we have confirmed that 6'5 Soph Ricky Lucas, who is widely regarded as one of the top sophomores in the DC area, is transferring from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) MD to Vetter's basketball factory in Rockville, MD.  Also of interest are the rosters are the rosters for the Capital Classic All-Star Game, which will be played at the MCI Center in Washington, DC on Saturday, April 7th. The U.S. All-Stars will includes 6'8 Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA, 6'5 Chey Christie from Biloxi (H.S.) MS, 6'1 Ben Gordon from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'5 Mike Grinnon from Oyster Bay (St. Dominic's) NY, 6'9 Jamal Levy from Homestead (Berkshire) FL, 6'8 Ed Nelson from Ft. Lauderdale (St. Thomas Aquinas) FL, 6'9 Anthony Richardson from Raleigh (Leesville Road) NC, 6'11 Rick Rickert from Duluth (East) MN, 6'8 Wayne Simeon from Leavenworth (H.S.) KS, 6'1 Chris Thomas from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'3 Jermaine Watson from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, and 6'9 Adam Waleskowski from Kettering (Alter) OH.  The Capital All-Stars includes 6'6 Eddie Basden from Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD, 6'1 Tony Bethel from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'2 Lamar Butler from Oxon Hill (H.S.) MD, 6'2 Drew Hall from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'4 Darshan Luckey from Baltimore (Southern) MD, 6'1 Marcus Deal from Annapolis (H.S.) MD, 6'2 Melvin Scott from Baltimore (Southern) MD, 6'8 Levi Watkins from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'4 Delonte West from Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD, 6'3 Shawn Wiggins from Washington (Springarn) DC, and 6'5 Jamaal Wise from Burtonsville (Paint Branch) MD.

Guess who was seen earlier this week at the National Junior College Tournament in Hutchinson, KS?  I'll give you hint.  During his 29 years at Indiana University he thought recruiting was like an Olympic Sport - something you do every four years.  Yes, we're talking about Bob Knight and apparently he was in Hutch on his own dime, because he won't be officially employed by Texas Tech until he takes the head coaching job on Friday.  In addition to any junior college players he might be targeting, we also believe that Texas Tech will immediately make a strong push for 6'9 Emeka Okafor from Houston (Bellaire) TX, who is one of the top unsigned big men in the nation.  So might Louisville, which signed Okafor's AAU teammate 6'2 Carlos Hurt, who transferred from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX to Louisville (Moore) KY last fall.  This makes even more sense when one remembers that Hurt and Okafor both played for the Josh Pastner on the Houston Hoops AAU team the last several years.  Not only is Pastner one of the hottest young coaches in the nation, but he also did a remarkable job of getting the most out of Hurt last summer.  As a result, Pastner is one of many being mentioned as a possible assistant for Rick Pitino at Louisville.  However, all that is speculation.  Right now the short list for Okafor is Connecticut, N.C. State, and Ohio State and all three programs are making in-home visits this week.  Another coach who is out looking at junior college players is Missouri head coach Quin Snyder, whose main targets are 7'1 Moustapha Diagne from Trinity Valley (JC) TX and 7'0 Uche Okafor from Southern Idaho (JC) ID.  Clemson has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'8 Jereme Hendrix from Covington (Eastside) GA.  This one is especially interesting, because Hendrix committed to Notre Dame last fall, but apparently didn't meet Notre Dame's high admission standards and, as a result, is still available.  Also showing interest in Hendrix, who appears to be one of the best kept secrets in the South, were N.C. State and Georgia Tech.  Other players who have made recent commitments, include 6'5 Markee White from Long Beach (Poly) CA to San Diego State; 5'11 Eric Branham from Hagerstown (JC) MD, who recently picked Virginia Tech over Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and George Mason; and 6'0 Lou Chapman from Colby (JC) KS, who is an absolute steal for UNC-Wilmington.   Speaking of UNC-Wilmington, we're hearing Seahawks head coach Jerry Wainwright's name mentioned for both the Rhode Island and Duquense jobs. 

How quickly things can change within 24 hours.  Last night we really thought Indiana University might be on the verge of hiring Iowa head coach Steve Alford and, if that happened, we thought Creighton head coach Dana Altman would be the leading candidate to take over the Hawkeyes.  But then two things happened.  First, Iowa was smart enough to do what was necessary to keep Alford, who is one of the best young coaches in the game, as well as one of its best role models.  Yes, Alford got a huge raise and contract extension from Iowa!  Second, Indiana gave interim head coach Mike Davis a four-year contract extension, which means he gets to keep the job on a permanent basis.  Speaking of getting the job on a permanent basis, the longer it goes the better chance we think Max Good will have to keep the job at UNLV.  And once again we maintain this would be the smart move, because all three of UNLV's recruits - 6'1 Marcus Banks from Dixie (JC) UT, 6'2 Ernest Turner from Somerdale (Sterling) NJ, and 6'11 Simplece N'Joya from Dobbs Ferry (The Master) NY - from a recruiting class that was ranked #23 nationally last fall have expressed interest in transferring, if Good is not the coach next year.  This becomes even more important when you remember the five and three rule, whereby, a school can only sign eight players over a two-year period (five one-year and only three the next).  In other words, you could set the program back a year just by making the change and you probably wouldn't be getting any better coach.  Remember, Good has won every place he's been - Eastern Kentucky University, Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, and UNLV this season under extremely difficult circumstances.  The word we get is that Good has enough support from the fans to keep the job.  Instead, the problem appears to be the powers-that-be in the administration and athletic department who apparently are pissed that Good gives a lot of the credit for his success this year to the guy who hired him (Bill Bayno).  Also, Good hasn't done a good enough job sucking up, kissing babies, and doing the public relations bit.  However, he knows how to win games.   Among the names we've been hearing for UNLV are N.C. State head coach Herb Sendek and Maryland head coach Gary Williams, but now it looks like it's going to be Texas Christian head coach Billy Tubbs.  At least that's what Sam Albano of Redmen.com is telling us.  And if that happens, Albano also believes Sendek will get the job at Texas Christian and Providence head coach Tim Welsh will get the job at N.C. State.  As a matter of fact, we know for a fact that Sendek is in Dallas, TX right now and we also know that he is extremely close to the athletic director at TCU.  All this would open the door for 6'6 Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who ranks #3 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, to renege on the Wolfpack.   Remember, we reported two weeks ago that Hodge never signed a National Letter-of-Intent with N.C. State last fall and we know for a fact that Sonny Vaccaro, who is the most powerful man in basketball, has been lobbying hard to get Pitino to hire Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY head coach Gary DeCesare.   All this very important, because DeCesare always has had a lot of influence upon where his players go to college.  In other words, the dominos are falling fast and the big winner in the end could be Rick Pitino, if he hires Gary DeCesare and, as a result, gets Julius Hodge.

Sam Albano of Redmen.com also believes the Rutgers could blow it if they don't move fast for Hofstra head coach Jay Wright.   Apparently Rutgers is still negotiating the buy-out for Kevin Bannon, who was fired yesterday, and the big stumbling block is they aren't willing to give Bannon any more than the $700,000 figure that was mentioned several days ago.  As a result, Wright hasn't been contacted yet by Rutgers.  However, he has been contacted by Massachusetts and suddenly that appears to be a real possibility.  So does Seton Hall, if Pirates head coach Tommy Amaker takes Michigan or South Carolina.  The word we get is that Michigan has not contacted him yet, but they will.  And South Carolina, which already has contacted Amaker, would be a great fit for this former Duke assistant who has already proved that he can recruit like crazy.  Getting back to Wright, if he takes Seton Hall, which right now is a better job than Rutgers, and the Scarlet Knights can't get P.J. Carlesimo, it really would make the state school of New Jersey look bad.  However, that might open the door for Rutgers to go after St. Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli, who also is one of the hottest head coaches in the business.  We're also have to believe that Tom Penders may still be in line for Rhode Island, especially since we're hearing he may have worn out his welcome at George Washington.   As a matter of fact, our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that Penders could get fired and St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis may use his contacts to get Red Storm assistant coach Kevin Clarke the job.  Remember, Jarvis used to be the head coach at George Washington.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that UNC-Greensboro head coach Fran McCaffery will be interviewed tomorrow by La Salle.   That will bring the list to four who have already interviewed to become the next head coach of the Explorers.  The others were former Boston Celtics head coach Chris Ford, Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Randy Ayers, and Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon.  Rubins also thinks long time Maryland assistant coach Bill Hahn, who is widely regarded as one of the top assistants in the business, as well as a very astute judge of talent, would be the perfect candidate for Towson State.   "He wouldn't even have to move," says Rubin. Another likely candidate for the Towson State job is Providence assistant coach Steve DeMeo.  We mentioned UCLA assistant coach Michael Holton, who we regard as another one of the bright young guys in the business, for the Portland job last week.  However, Holton also now appears to be in the mix for both New Orleans and North Texas. 

Tuesday, March 20, 2001

Sam Albano of Redmen.com tells us it's now official.  Rutgers head coach Kevin Bannon has been fired.   He also tells us that the only reason it took so long is that the president of the school was out of the country last week.  "If he'd been around, it would have happened at this time a week ago," says Albano.  Bannon's contract is worth $1.1 million, but Albano is reporting that the buyout was for only $700,000.  Yesterday we reported that Hofstra head coach Jay Wright was the heavy favorite to become the next head coach at Rutgers, but Albano also believes that former Seton Hall head coach P.J. Carlesimo may still have interest in the job, despite earlier reports to the contrary.  And this would be perfect for Rutgers assistant coach Rod Baker, because it would mean that he and Carlesimo, who were together at Seton Hall in the early 90's, would be reunited.  It also would solve the problem regarding what to do next season with Baker, who currently is in the first year of a two-year contract.  As a matter of fact, Carlesimo might be smart to also retain Danny Hurley, because nobody has better recruiting connections in North Jersey, and Geoff Billet, which probably would be enough to keep his younger brother (Todd Billet) from transferring to Princeton.  Albano also tells us that St. Bonaventure head coach Jim Baron is a serious candidate for the Massachusetts job.   And he think this would be great for the Minutemen, because Baron has strong New York City ties, which is something the former regime appeared to be lacking.  This also would be good for Baron, because he hasn't been able to take advantage of these New York City ties with the Bonnies, because St. Bonaventure, NY is a tough place in which to recruit (it's a long way from New York City and it's extremely cold in the winter).  If Baron does get the Massachusetts job, then it would seem logical to assume that Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard would probably get the Rhode Island job.  And if that happens, Albano thinks Boston College assistant coach Tim O'Shea, who has done a remarkable job of identifying players nobody else wanted previously at Rhode Island and now at Boston College, would be a natural for Holy Cross.  Apparently Jeff Ruland is no longer a candidate for Rhode Island, because he just signed an eight-year contract extension at Iona.  The list continues to grow for Hampton head coach Steve Merfeld, who guided his team to a stunning first round upset in the NCAA Tournament last week against Iowa State.  We've already previously mentioned his name with Old Dominion and Ohio University, but Duquesne and and Wisconsin also are now showing interest in Merfeld, who is originally from the Midwest.  Speaking of Wisconsin, it comes as no surprise that interim Brad Soderberg is out after the Badgers shocking first round loss in the NCAA Tournament to Georgia State.  However, we have to wonder why it happened so soon?  Maybe they've already decided to go hard after Utah head coach Rick Majerus and/or California head coach Ben Braun.  We're also still waiting to see what's going to happen with Indiana's Mike Davis, who also was surprised in the first round of the NCAA by Kent State.  And as a result, a lot of Hoosier fans want IU to make a strong pitch for Iowa head coach Steve Alford.  However, the one we're anxiously anticipating is Rick Pitino's announcement, which is expected to happen tomorrow, regarding whether he will take the head coaching job at the University of Louisville.  We've been led to believe it's been a done deal for three weeks, but right now a lot of people are real nervous.  Apparently the word on the street is that Pitino is having second thoughts.  So stay tuned!

Any time I take the handcuffs off our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin and allow him to update his area report, I know that it is going to be a major project.  However, even I wasn't prepared for Rubin's latest effort.  As a matter of fact, it seems like that's all I've been doing for the last four days and the final result proves it, as his list last fall has now expanded from 23 pages to 29 pages, all of which were posted to our web site in the Members Section tonight.  Breaking it down by class, Rubin's list last fall included 498 seniors, 416 juniors, 269 sophomores, 106 freshmen, 34 8th graders, and 11 7th graders, which is a total of 1,334 players.  In contrast, his current report includes 606 seniors, 501 juniors, 352 sophomores, 166 freshmen, 48 8th graders, and 14 7th graders.  That is a total of 1,687 players.  In other words, the net gain was 353 names to the current list.  That's because he also eliminated about 50 names, plus he corrected heights and spellings and changed over 15% of his rankings.  Remember, we rank everybody in numerical order, which makes the enter task even more tedious.  And when I'm done I always get a few people who tell me that I should limit his list to the top 100 players in each class.  However, Rubin must be doing something right, because we get more subscriptions from people who are interested in our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report than any other state or area.   So if you are interested in seeing the most comprehensive report ever published on a single area, click on Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey.

Monday, March 19, 2001

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that it is a done deal.  Rutgers head coach Kevin Bannon is out and it could happen as soon as tomorrow.  Assuming this is true the top three candidates for the job are Jay Wright, Jay Wright, and Jay Wright.   In other words, Wright is the perfect guy for the job and the word we get is they're going waste no time going after him with everything they've got.   Not only is Wright widely regarded as one of the hottest young head coaches in the business, but he's about to the point where he can name his own job.  Certainly the fact that Wright wants to remain in the New York City are is a big plus for the Scarlet Knights.  But so is the fact that there are four jobs - Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John's, and Villanova - that Wright will go hard after when and, if, any of them open.   When Wright gets the Rutgers job, you can almost bet the ranch that Hofstra assistant coach Tom Pecora will replace Wright as the head coach of the Flying Dutchmen.  We also believe that Wright will bring the rest of his staff with him from Hofstra, which means there will only be one opening on the staff for an assistant at Rutgers.  Naclerio believes it will likely be Villanova assistant coach Joe Jones, who got his big break in the business when Wright originally hired him as an assistant at Hofstra.  However, the smart move would be to retain current Rutgers assistant coach Danny Hurley. As a matter of fact, Hurley was probably the main reason why Bannon has kept his job this long.  Not only does he have strong connections to his dad's program at Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, but he also has laid the groundwork for the Scarlet Knights to land a number of the outstanding guards in New Jersey's strong junior class, like 6'0 Jr Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'4 Jr Randy Foye from Newark (East Side) NJ, 6'1 Jr Taquan Dean from Neptune (H.S.) NJ, and 6'0 Jr Dewayne Lee from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ. 

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio also tells us that Brooklyn (Grady) NY beat Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY to win the  New York PSAL (Public School Athletic League) Championship before a crowd of 10,804 yesterday at Madison Square Garden.   Grady was led by 6'4 Michael Clarke and 6'2 Quincy Dooby with 18 points apiece.  Clarke, who has already made a verbal commitment to Albany, also took home tournament MVP honors.   The leading scorer in the game was 6'1 Jr Gary Ervin from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, who has a chance to emerge into one of the top point guards in the city next year, with 21 points.  However, Ervin's highly touted teammate - 6'8 Kenny Adeleke - was a major disappointment with only four points, including 1-6 field goals, and 11 rebounds.  Speaking of Adeleke, this athletic power forward signed with DePaul last fall, but now it looks like he may renege on the Blue Demons.  Instead, he's talking about going the prep school route or enrolling at Hofstra where he will have to sit out a year.  Grady will now advance to the New York State Final Four in Glen Falls, NY, where they will join Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, which won the New York City CHSAA (Catholic High School Athletic Association) in a double overtime thriller against Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY and beat Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, 62-59, to win the state catholic league championship.  So it will be St. Raymond's versus Brookville (Long Island Lutheran) NY, which is the New York State Private School Champion, at 6:45 PM and Grady versus Schenectady (H.S.) NY, which won the New York State Public League Championship, at 8:30 PM in the semi-finals on Friday night, March 23rd, in Glen Falls, NY.  Then, the two winners will meet for the state championship on Saturday at 5:00 PM.  St. Raymond's had no better than an 8-8 record earlier this season, but Naclerio still thinks the Ravens are the favorite.  "St. Raymond's has played the toughest high school schedule in the nation," says Naclerio.   "They're also extremely well coached and they've had the toughest road in the playoffs."

Wasn't it just a few days ago when former University of Kentucky and Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino said that he wasn't going to think about any other coaching jobs until he'd made up his mind about whether to become the next head coach at the University of Louisville?  We also were told last week that he wasn't interested in the head coaching job at Michigan and, as a result, had planned to take his name out of the running for that job.  So why wasn't I surprised this morning when I read about Pitino's meeting prior to the Kansas-Syracuse game yesterday with Michigan athletic director Bill Martin?   Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that he was totally shocked last Thursday over Larry Hunter's firing at Ohio University.  We're talking about a head coach who was 18-11 this year and 203-148 during his 12 years with the Bobcats.  As a result, we're only in the early stages of putting together a list of candidates for the job.  Obviously, Ohio State assistant coach Paul Biancardi should be right at the top of that list, along with former Ohio State associate head coach and William & Mary head coach Rick Boyages, Cincinnati (Withrow) OH head coach George Jackson, Hampton head coach Steve Merfeld, and Michigan State assistant Stan Heath.   What makes this especially interesting is the fact that Merfeld and Heath were both on the same staff when George Mason's Jim Larranaga was the head coach at Bowling Green.  We're also hearing Biancardi's name being strongly mentioned the Northeastern job.  Other candidates for Northeastern job are Boston College assistant coach Tim O'Shea, Brown head coach Glen Miller, Providence assistant coach Steve DeMeo, and St. John's asisstants Mike Jarvis, Jr, and Kevin Clark. 

It looks like the floodgate is about to open, as the first of as many as six or seven high school seniors will announce that they're going to by-pass college and enter their names into the NBA draft this spring.  We're talking about 7'0 Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, who is ranked #4 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  He's supposed to have a press conference today to announce what everybody has suspected since at least last summer.   Chandler has been sidelined with an ankle and foot injury and, as result, missed his last two games, which were the Division II State Regional Finals against Redondo Union (Redondo Beach) CA and the Division II State Championship against Mountain View (St. Francis) CA.  Instead, it was 6'7 Jr Bobby Jones, who scored 21 points and took home tournament MVP honors, who led Dominguez to its third consecutive state title with a 71-53 win over St. Francis in the title game.  Also winning state championships over the weekend in California were Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, which beat Modesto (Christian) CA, 57-54, in Division I; Torrance (Bishop Montgomery) CA, which beat San Francisco (Riordan) CA, 55-43, in Division III; and Berkeley (St. Mary's) CA, which beat Santa Monica (Crossroads) CA, 76-62, in Division IV.  Getting back to Chandler, his injury also provides the perfect excuse for Chandler not to play in the  McDonald's All-American Game next week.  If you will recall, Chandler was not expected to play anyway, because he didn't want to hurt the value of his stock with NBA general managers.  And it is easy to see why he might have this sort of mentality, especially in light of the fact that we know of at least one NBA scout who thinks Chandler could be the #1 pick in the draft.  Other high school seniors, ready or not, who also are expected to put their names into the draft are 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, 6'11 Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA, 7'0 DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'8 Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL.  But the only high school senior who is really ready to go straight to the league is 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ.  However, Wagner, unlike the rest of these guys, seems to understand how much year or two of college can mean in his development when looking at the long range picture.

Saturday, March 17, 2001, and Sunday, March 18, 2001

In the history of Kentucky high school basketball one team stands alone with six state championships.  We're talking about Lexington (Lafayette) KY, which has won state championships in 1942, 1950, 1953, 1957, 1979, and 2001.  And the last one was a stunning upset last night over Louisville (Male) KY, 54-49.  Remember, Male was the pre-season #1 team in the state, as well as the heavy favorite to tie Lafayette and Lexington (H.S.) KY, which won state championships in 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, and 1924, with five state championships.  Instead, Male, which has won state championships in 1945, 1970, 1971, and 1975, remains tied with Ashland (H.S.) KY, which won championships in 1928, 1933, 1934, 1961, and Louisville (St. Xavier) KY, which won championships in 1926, 1935, 1958, and 1962.  Male, which does hold the record with the most losses in the championship game from 1932, 1966, 1973, 1974, and 2001, did not played well throughout the state tournament.  The Bulldogs were down most the first half against Buckner (Oldham County) KY, before pulling out a 54-40 victory on Wednesday.  Then, on Friday it took a 18-4 run midway through the second half to settle the issue, 63-53, in the quarterfinals on against London (South Laurel) KY.    And Male didn't play much better in the semi-finals on Saturday morning, as the Bulldogs escaped with a 61-54 win over Russellville (H.S.) KY.  However, nobody from Male stepped up late in the championship game to take the game over, like 6'3 Soph Michael Bush did in the quarterfinals and 6'7 Jr Lavar Carter did in the semi-finals.   Instead, Male, which led at halftime, 31-18, hit only 5-23 field goals in the second half, as 6'3 Robert Madison stole the show for Lafayette.    Madison, who was ranked #21 in the senior class in the state last fall by our Kentucky editor Larry Kihnley, broke Male's back with just over a minute to play when he hit his 5th 3-pointer of the game.  Madison was also the leading scorer and second leading rebounder in the game with 23 points and eight rebounds, as he took home tournament MVP honors.  Also named to the all-tournament team from Lafayette were James Gentry and Quinton Roberts; Bush, Carter, and 6'5 Larry O'Bannon from Louisville (Male) KY; 6'3 Teco Dickerson and 6'1 Jr Maurice Hampton from Russellville (H.S.) KY; 5'10 Jr Quentin Smith and Cedric Burton from North Hardin (Radcliff) KY; 6'3 Coric Riggs from Fairdale (H.S.) KY; 6'4 Jeremy Asher from Manchester (Clay County) KY; 6'8 Jr Mark Surgalski from Ashland (Paul Blazer) KY; 6'2 Richie Riley from London (South Laurel) KY; and 6'6 Michael Haney from Madisonville (North Hopkins) KY. 

Friday, March 16, 2001

Before yesterday's shocking loss in the NCAA First Round to Kent State, it appeared that interim head coach Mike Davis would get the Indiana job on a permanent basis.  However, now it looks like all bets are off.  As a matter of fact, it was announced today that an eight-man search committee has been formed by Indiana University to look for a new coach.   Sure, Davis may still get the job, but the guy they really want is Iowa head coach Steve Alford.  But the chances of Alford applying for the job are slim and none.   However, that doesn't mean it hasn't always been Alford's dream to become head coach of the Hoosiers.  Remember, he was a high school All-American at New Castle (H.S.) IN and the star point guard on Indiana's 1987 NCAA Championship team.  Alford is also without a doubt the most popular player in Indiana basketball history and he's emerging into one of the premier college coaches in the nation.  Should the search committee go hard after Alford, it might be very difficult for him to turn down the job.   And if they can convince Alford to take the job, there is no doubt in our mind that he immediately would own the state in terms of recruiting and, as a result, Indiana's basketball program would very quickly return to the top five national stature achieved by Bob Knight in the 70's and 80's.  However, let's say Alford can't be convinced to return home to Indiana.  Then, it becomes anybody's guess.  Obviously, Rick Pitino would be right at the top of the list, but we think he's a done deal for Louisville.  The next likely choice would be Utah head coach Rick Majerus.   We know for a fact that in the past he's let it be known that he would have a strong interest in either Indiana or Purdue, if either job ever opened.  However, so far nobody has been able to pry Majerus away from Utah.  Chicago Bulls head coach Tim Floyd and Iowa State head coach Larry Eustachy have also been mentioned, but Eustachy appears to be locked in at Iowa State after recently signing a new contract extension.  Also, Eustachy isn't as hot as he was two weeks ago after losing last weekend in the Big-12 Conference Tournament to Baylor, 62-49, and the first round the NCAA Tournament last night to Hampton by a point.  Speaking of Hampton's shocking first round upset of Iowa State last night, our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Pirates head coach Steve Merfeld was already one of the leading candidates for the Old Dominion job.  Now he might be line for something even higher.  Another coach who really helped himself last night was Kent State head coach Gary Waters.  Before he was kind of an afterthought for the Michigan job, but now he has to be considered as one of the serious candidates.  As a matter of fact, he's a lot hotter right now than Oklahoma's Kelvin Sampson, whose Sooners were upset earlier today by Indiana State, and Seton Hall's Tommy Amaker, whose Pirates were a major disappointment this season.

For almost two weeks now former Boston Celtics and University of Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino has held everybody in suspense wondering when and, if, he will actually take the head coaching job at the University of Louisville.  But the real question is how can he not take it?   Hasn't Pitino all along told us how much he loves the state of Kentucky and the things that go with it, like the quality of life, Churchill Downs, the horse industry, the friendly people, and their intense interest in basketball?  Well, he's already pissed off most of the University of Kentucky fans and it really doesn't matter what he does or how he spins it, they aren't going to forgive him.  That's fine, because that's part of the tradition that goes with the intense rivalry that has always existed between UofL and UK fans.  However, if he doesn't take the Louisville job, then, he would also piss off most of the Louisville fans and, as a result, might not be very popular when he makes his annual trip to the Kentucky Derby or drops in to play a round of golf at Valhalla Country Club, where he is currently a member.  In other words, we think the deal has been done for weeks.  As a matter of fact, we have more than enough circumstantial evidence that indicates an agreement was in place even before Denny Crum was forced to retired as the head coach at Louisville two weeks ago today.  So what's the holdup?  There is no question that Pitino loves all the attention that goes along with being perhaps the hottest head coach for hire in the history of college basketball.   But the real reason why everything is on hold is that he can't officially take any college coaching job until after he's done broadcasting games for CBS.  That's right!   It's against NCAA rules for a college coach to do play-by-play or color-commentary on television.  However, it is not against NCAA rules for a college coach to appear in the studio and provide analysis on television.  In other words, we can't prove it, but we've come to the same conclusion that just about everybody else has - it's a foregone conclusion and just a matter of time before Pitino officially becomes the head coach at Louisville.

Thursday, March 15, 2001

When we keep hinting around about something, you need to pay attention.  A good example is 6'1 Jr Chadd Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL, who is ranked among the top 10 juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, we've been saying for months that Moore would transfer to Oak Hill Academy next year.  Well, it's now confirmed!  Really the only holdup was they wanted to wait until the end of the current high school season to make the announcement.  Several people who are close to Moore tell us that he has already accomplished just about everything he can as a high school player in Alabama.   As a result, this move will allow him to broaden his horizons while playing in what is widely regarded as the premier high school program in the nation.  You also need to listen to us when we tell you that Moore is a near lock for Auburn.  Sure, Indiana, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina are trying, but Auburn has the connections necessary to get him back.  Remember, the pipeline was established a year ago when another former Oak Hill player - Adbou Diame - picked the Tigers.   Moore also will be the quarterback for the new Southeast Raptors adidas sponsored AAU team, which will be absolutely loaded this summer.  We've already mentioned that 6'10 Soph Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, who has emerged as the #1 sophomores in the deep south, will be playing for the Raptors.  However, we haven't told you that Mark Komara, who is the Raptors' General Manager, also has two outstanding freshman - 6'8 Frosh Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL and 6'9 Frosh Al Jefferson from Printess (H.S.) MS - and three Chinese players, including 6'11 Mou Ke, who is widely regarded as the best high school player in China.  Komara, who also is the Alabama Editor for the HOOP SCOOP, also will have a great head coach in Berry Bearden, who is a former UAB player, running the show.

While the rest of the nation is focusing on first round games in the NCAA Tournament, the top Catholic League teams from Washington, DC, Baltimore, MD, and Philadelphia, PA are getting ready for the first round of the Alhambra Tournament at Frostburg State University in Cumberland, MD, which is either the Catholic League Championship for Middle Atlantic states or the DeMatha Invitational, depending upon your prospective.  The first game tips off at 4:00 PM this afternoon with Washington (Gonzaga) DC, which is the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference runner-up, against Towson (Catholic) MD, which is the Baltimore Catholic League runner-up.  Next, at 5:45 PM, it will be Cumberland (Bishop Walsh) MD, which is the host school, against Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, which was the Philadelphia Catholic League runner-up.  Then, at 7:30 PM, Hagerstown (St. Maria Gorietta) MD, which was the Baltimore Catholic Champion, will meet Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, which was the Philadelphia Catholic Champion.  And finally at 9:15 PM, it will be Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, which is the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference winner, versus Baltimore (Mt. St. Josephs) MD, which was the third place team in Baltimore.   Obviously the favorite is DeMatha, which beat Gonzaga, 39-33, to win the tough Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Championship three weeks ago and Washington (Springarn) DC, 69-50, to win the Washington City Title on Monday night.  But perhaps an even bigger question is whether this will be the legendary Morgan Wootten's last hurrah?  Some think it will be, but the smart money is on Wootten returning for at least one year.  Not only has the game's all-time winningest high school coach got a lot of good young talent in the program, but he also seems to have enjoyed coaching this season more than he has in years.  In other words, he probably isn't going to hang it up as he still has his health and it's still enjoyable.

The rosters for the  Sonny Vaccaro Roundball Classic at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, April 9th, have not been officially released, but in his latest newsletter Chris Monter has the tentative list.  On the East Squad are 6'5 John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) PA, 6'9 Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'11 Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA, 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, 7'0 DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 Najeeb Echols from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 6'3 Billy Edelin from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 5'10 Terrance Ford from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'0 Jonathan Hargett from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, 6'6 Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'5 Greg Tinch from Albany (Westover) GA, and James White from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  However, Diop and Echols are hurt and will not play.  The West Squad will include 5'11 Will Bynum from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'8 Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL, 6'3 Daniel Ewing from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'6 Quemont Greer from Homestead (Berkshire) FL, 6'8 Dennis Latimore from Halstead (H.S.) KS, 6'6 Jackie Manuel from West Palm Beach (Cardinal Newman) FL, 6'11 Jamal Sampson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'8 Julian Sensley from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'1 Chris Thomas from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'4 Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, and 6'1 Maurice Williams from Jackson (Murrah) MS.  We also have the scoop on who has committed to play on the U.S. Team in the Baltimore Charm City Challenge at Towson University in Towson, MD, April 28th.  The point guards are 6'0 Jonathan Hargett from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD and 5'11 Brandon Fuss-Cheatham from Beaver Falls (Black Hawk) PA; the wing players are 6'6 Mike Grinnon from Oyster Bay (St. Dominic) NY and 6'5 Eddie Basden from Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD; the slasher/athletes are Derek Stribling from Tallahassee (Rickards) FL and Ismail Muhammed from Atlanta (W.D. Mohammed) GA; and the inside players are 7'0 Craig Forth from East Greenbush (Columbia) NY, 6'9 Marcus Austin from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, and 6'9 Josh Powell from Riverdale (H.S.) GA.  Three more players will be added to the U.S. team.  The local team will be selected and coaches by Mike Daniel, who is Boys Basketball Coach at Towson (Catholic) MD.  If that weren't enough, the 5th Annual Coca-Cola All-American Classic, which will be held on Sunday, April 22nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV at 4:00 PM PST, is extremely impressive.  This rosters are still tentative, but as it stands now the West All-Stars will include 6'11 Jamal Sampson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'9 Isaiah Fox from Santa Monica (Crossroads) CA, 6'9 Julian Sensley from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'7 Andre Patterson from Los Angeles (Washington) CA, 6'7 Dijon Thompson from Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA, 6'6 Jamaal Williams from Corona (Centennial) CA, 6'5 Floyd North from San Diego (St. Augustine) CA, 6'4 Cody Pearson from Sherman Oaks (Notre Dame) CA, 6'3 Dommanic Ingerson from Santa Barbara (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Jason Braxton from Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs) CA, 6'2 Errick Craven from Torrance (Bishop Montgomery) CA, 6'2 Derrick Craven from Torrance (Bishop Montgomery) CA, and 6'1 Chris Hernandez from Fresno (Clovis West) CA.  The East All-Stars will include 6'11 Eddy Curry from Thornwood (South Holland) IL, 6'9 Duane Erwin from Huntsville (Lee) AL, 6'9 Robert Little from Fairfax (Paul VI) VA, 6'8 Dennis Latimore from Halstead (H.S.) KS, 6'8 Hakim Warrick from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, 6'6 Najeeb Echols from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 6'6 Alan Anderson from Minneapolis (De La Salle) MN, 6'5 Marcellus Sommerville from Peoria (Central) IL, 6'5 Anthony Rice from North Clayton (College Park) GA, 6'5 John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) PA, 6'3 Billy Edelin from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Ernest Turner from Somerdale (Sterling) NJ, 6'0 Jonathan Hargett from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, and 6'0 Jason Straight from Chicago (Dunbar) IL.   Remember, according to NCAA rules a high school senior can only play in two all-star games.  However, Sampson is showing up on the rosters for three different games (the Derby Classic, the Roundball Classic, and the Coca-Cola game), plus we've heard that several other players are still up the air regarding the game in which they will actually participate.

Wednesday, March 14, 2001

We have to give our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis an assist, because the five-page list of events for the spring and summer that he faxed us recently was a great starting point when updating our list of future events.  However, we've also incorporated our own additions and, as a result, feel like our list is now the most complete list currently available.  But that doesn't mean we're not missing some events.  So if you see something that needs to be added to the list, now is a good time to email me at clark@hoopscooponline.com or call me at (502)-493-0043.  As you will see, there are an overwhelming number of events where players can get exposure, but it is getting harder and harder to find camps where teaching and skill development are still emphasized.  That's why the sweatshops, which are being run by Eastern Invitational for the top underclassmen in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, all within the next week, are so important.  For more information contact the Hoop Group by phone at (732) 212-1440, by mail at 55 White Road, Shrewsbury, NJ, 07702, by fax at (732) 212-1449, or by going to their web site at www.hoopgroup.com. Another place where teaching hasn't been forgotten is Five-Star.  As a matter of fact, there is no doubt that the great teaching at stations for which Five-Star has become famous will someday be camp director Howard Garfinkel's legacy to the game.  In addition to seven regular camp sessions, Five-Star also has three backcourt and two post-development camps.  For more information contact Five-Star by phone at (914) 237-1306, by mail c/o Will Klein, 569 Kimball Avenue, Yonkers, NY  10704, or by going to their web address at www.five-starbasketball.com.   We also think you can learn a lot at the Cage Scope/High Potential Blue Chip Basketball Camp, which will have three sessions again this summer at Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY.  For more information about the Cage Scope/High Potential Blue Chip Camp call Rick Bolus at (502) 543-7308, write him at P.O. Box 155, Shepherdsville, KY, 40165, fax him at (502) 543-4635, or by going to his web site at www.basketball-camp.net.

We mentioned yesterday that Lamar head coach Mike Deane was among the candidates for the Rhode Island job.  Well, now we're hearing that he might be the leading candidate.  Forget about his 8-18 record this year.  Deane lost a lot off a team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, plus he was 100-55 in five years at Marquette.  So there is no question he can coach!  We also hear that it's only a matter of time before Darelle Porter runs out of time and Duquesne opens.  It may happen now or it may happen after July 1st, which is when the new school president is supposed to come aboard.  That's the decision the current president, who just returned from Rome, Italy, will have to make.  Obviously hiring somebody now would be good from a recruiting standpoint.  However, the new president may want to bring in his own guy.  Yesterday we reported that we've heard rumors about the Fordham opening this spring.  But sources close to the program tell us that's news to them.  As a matter of fact, they feel very strongly that Rams head coach Bob Hill has every intention of being back next year, unless something strange happens, like he gets a head coaching job in the NBA.  How about UNC-Charlotte Bobby Lutz to South Carolina?  Not only has Lutz guided Charlotte to the Conference USA Post Season Tournament Championship two of the last three years, but he's also an excellent recruiter and is media friendly, which is in sharp contrast to former South Carolina head coach Eddie Fogler, who was forced to resign yesterday.  It looks like Tic Price is heading back to the University of New Orleans, where he was the head coach before moving onto to replace Larry Finch at the University of Memphis four years ago.  We also heard the rumor about Billy Tubbs being in trouble at Texas Christian and about Wyoming head coach Steve McClain being his possible replacement.  As expected, Northeastern head coach Rudy Keeling has fired and the perfect replacement would be Ohio State assistant coach Paul Biancardi.  If you will recall, Biancardi established himself as one of the bright young assistants in the game when he was with Jim O'Brien at Boston College.  Other possible candidates for Northeastern now appear to be Brown head coach Glen Miller, former Massachusetts head coach James "Bruiser" Flint, and former Boston Celtics head coach Chris Ford.  We're also still waiting for another former head coach of the Boston Celtics, Rick Pitino, to take his name out of the running for the Michigan job and announce that he'll be the new head coach at the University of   Louisville.  But it hasn't happened yet.  He was, however, in Louisville to tour the campus and have further discussions about the job.  Obviously Pitino   is Michigan's #1 choice.  But the list for the open Wolverines job is growing, as Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith, Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson, Seton Hall head coach Tommy Amaker, Kent State head coach Gary Waters, and Xavier head coach Skip Prosser are also being mentioned as possible candidates to take over for Brian Ellerbe, who was forced out after four years on the job.

The NIKE Derby Festival Classic All-Star Game, which will be played on Friday, April 6th, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY, rosters have been released and there is one major surprise.  We're talking about 6'9 Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY not being on the roster, despite the fact that his high school coach Chris Renner will coaching one of the teams.  Instead, Bender plans to play in the Sonny Vaccaro Roundball Classic in Chicago, IL on Monday, April 9th.  Certainly this would be a great move, if Bender makes a verbal commitment to UNC-Charlotte, Tennessee, or Alabama prior to the game, because he would definitely get booed, if he plays in the Derby Classic.  However, if he is still uncommitted or already has picked Louisville or Kentucky, he will miss out on the local being the local crowd favorite.  Instead, the players who will draw the crowd are Kentucky signees 6'5 Rashaad Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Josh Carrier from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY, and 6'6 Chuck Hayes from Modesto (Christian) KY; Louisville signees 6'2 Carlos Hurt from Louisville (Moore) KY, 6'5 Dennis Coutee from Jeffersonville (H.S.) IN, and 6'5 Greg Tinch from Westover (H.S.) GA; two undecided local players in 6'1 Adam Childress from Louisville (Ballard) KY and 6'5 Larry O'Bannon from Louisville (Male) KY; another player that Louisville would love get back involved with in 6'11 David Harrison from Brentwood (Academy) TN; and the #1-ranked in the nation in 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ.  Also in the game are 6'9 David Lee from St. Louis (Chaminade) MO, 6'1 Aaron Miles from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'9 Jawad Williams from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, 6'4 Pierre Pierce from Westmont (H.S.) IL, 6'0 Will Bynum from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'8 Hakim Warrick from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, 6'4 Karl Hollingsworth from Jonesboro (Mt. Zion) GA, 7'1 Craig Forth from Columbia (East Greenbush) NY, and three of the top players from Southern California in 6'5 Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, 6'5 Cedric Bozeman from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'11 Jamal Sampson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA.  The game features nine McDonald's All-American's in Wagner, Lee, Hurt, Carruth, Bozeman, Childress, Miles, Williams, and Harrison.

Tuesday, March 13, 2001

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Sam Smith, who is a columnist for the Chicago-Tribune, provided his readers on Sunday with a sneak preview of how the NBA draft might go today based on talking with numerous NBA scouts and general managers.  He thinks the #1 pick will be 7'6 Yao Ming from China and he would go to the Chicago Bulls, based on the fact they are currently the worst team in the NBA. This is especially interesting, because two years ago we saw Ming and at the time he was a lot closer to being Neil Fingleton or Shawn Bradley than Hakeem Olajuwon or Shaquille O'Neal.  Maybe he has really improved, but at the time we thought he was the product of a lot of overhype, which often is the case with somebody so tall.  He did have good skills, long arms, and great shot blocking ability, but we lacked the coordination, foot speed, and strength necessary to dominate even at the high school level.  This reminds me of another overhyped big man a few years ago - 7'0 Raynell Brewer.  If you will recall, at the time Mitch Malone , who used to be our Texas editor was touting Brewer as the greatest thing since sliced bread.   Well, Brewer finally got exposed when he went to adidas ABCD camp, where he was embarrassingly non-productive.  So Brewer dropped out of everybody's top 100 nationally and he finally ended up in a junior college.  And believe it or not, Malone, who already killed his credibility once by overpromoting Brewer, was trying to do it again.  As matter of fact, Malone even told me one ranking that I'd seen that had Brewer ranked #19 among junior college players was the lowest by anybody.  Later when we talked with one of Brewer's coaches in junior college we found out that he was only averaging four or five points a game and was no closer to being a junior college All-American than he was to being a high school All-American several years earlier.   This is just one example, but it illustrates a very important lesson we've learned, which is to be cautious when touting big guys sight unseen.  And based on what we saw two years ago, we find it hard to believe that Ming should be the #1 player in the NBA draft even, if he has dramatically improved.  However, he might fit in perfect with this draft, because Smith has four high school big men, who are also very questionable in terms of being ready for the NBA, ranked among the top 10 players in this mock draft.   Let's take a closer look.  Duke's Jason Williams is projected as the #2 pick by the Washington Wizards.  Next is Michigan State's Jason Richardson, who is projected as the #3 pick to the Golden State Warriors.   After that it really gets interesting, because 7'0 DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA is projected as the #4 pick to Vancouver, followed by Seton Hall's Eddie Griffin at #5 to the Atlanta Hawks, 7'0 Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA at #6 to the Los Angeles Clippers, Duke's Shane Battier at #7 to the New Jersey Nets, 6'11 Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA at #8 to Detroit, 6'11 Eddy Curry from Thornwood (South Holland) IL at #9 to Cleveland, and Illinois' Frank Williams at #10 to the Boston Celtics.  The Celtics, which also have the #11 pick, are expected to take North Carolina's Joe Forte.  Next comes Iowa State's Jamaal Tinsley at #12 to Seattle, followed by Duke's Carlos Boozer at #13 to Houston, Notre Dame's Troy Murphy at #14 to Indiana, Western Kentucky's Chris Marcus at #15 to Orlando, North Carolina's Brendan Haywood at #16 to Toronto, Missouri's Kareem Rush at #17 to Charlotte, UNC-Charlotte's Rodney White at #18 to Phoenix, Arizona's Loren Woods at #19 to Cleveland, Stanford's Casey Jacobsen at #20 to Utah, Arkansas' Joe Johnson at #21 to Houston, Tennessee's Vincent Yarborough at #22 to Orlando, 6'8 Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL at #23 to Sacramento, Alabama's Rod Grizzard at #24 to Vancouver, Clemson's Will Solomon #25 to San Antonio, Arizona's Gilbert Arenas at #26 to Utah, Maryland's Terence Morris at #27 to Portland, and Austin Peay's Trent Hassell at #28 to Philadelphia.  Our question is where is 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who is ranked as the #1 high school player in the nation and is probably the only high school player who actually is good enough to make an immediate impact in the league?  Johnson also points out that there should be at least half a dozen players from Europe on the list above.  "European basketball is better right now than college basketball in America," says Johnson.  And this is especially evident when one looks at the 28 players listed above in Smith's mock draft.   Five (Diop, Chandler, Brown, Curry, and Cisse) are high school players and only six (Battier, Tinsley, Haywood, Woods, Morris, Hassell) have made it to their senior year in college.

Our Michigan Editor Steve Bell has confirmed that Brian Ellerbe has been asked to step down as head coach of the University of Michigan men's basketball team.  While this comes as no surprise, it may be a surprise to many that former Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino is taking his name out of the running for the Michigan job so soon.  That's right!  The HOOP SCOOP has a very reliable source close to Pitino who tells us that Pitino will turn down the University of Michigan job later today.  And the same source also believes Pitino will take the Louisville job within the next two or three days.  "Right now it's about as done as it can be for Louisville.  But you know Rick.  He's not even sure himself.  He could change his mind at any minute."  But let's assume that Pitino does take Louisville.  Bell tells us that would open the door for Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson or Seton Hall head coach Tommy Amaker to take Michigan.  Our guess is it will be Sampson, because he's hotter right now.  Bell also tells us that will definitely have an effect on recruiting, as 6'6 Jr Lester Abram from Pontiac (Northern) MI, who made an early verbal commitment to the Wolverines last fall, has let it be known that he will open his recruitment up again.  Among the schools that this top 20 junior nationally, who is already full qualified, is interested in are Michigan State, Illinois, North Carolina, Stanford, Duke, and Georgetown are already being mentioned.  And Abram isn't the only one who is talking about changing his mind now that Ellerbe is gone.  However, if 6'5 JaQuan Hart from Flint (Northern) MI, decides to go elsewhere, he will have to sit out a year or go to prep school for a year, because he signed a National Letter-of-Intent with the Wolverines last fall.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that the latest list for Rhode Island job includes UNLV head coach Max Good, Iona head coach Jeff Ruland, Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard, Lamar head coach Mike Deane, Maine head coach John Giannini, Brown head coach Glen Miller, Toledo head coach Stan Joplin, and Rhode Island assistant coach George Blaney. The word on the street is that Bob Hill may be out at Fordham and we're also hearing that Providence head coach Tim Welsh plans to go hard after the Massachusetts job.  Welsh also could be in line for N.C. State, especially if Providence beats Penn State in the first round and upsets North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, which is something we predicted yesterday, this weekend.  However, N.C. State would have to open first.  But we still think that is a strong possibility.  As a matter of fact, N.C. State head coach Herb Sendek is interviewing for the UNLV job this week and it is a well known fact that the athletic director at Providence and Sendek are extremely close friends.  If you will recall, Sendek was an assistant coach at Providence with Pitino from 1985-87.  Tennessee Tech head coach Jeff Lebo, Marshall head coach Greg White, and Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall are among the names we're hearing for South Carolina, but we still think Bobby Cremins is a no-brainer.  However, the fact that he had the job for a day eight years ago, but then got cold feet and went back to Georgia Tech will likely hurt his chances.  We've already mentioned Welsh for Massachusetts, but if Pitino, who is an alumnus of the school, has any say, Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard will have an excellent shot.  So will Bobby Gonzalez, who is second to none the recruiting trail and, as a result, has turned Manhattan around in a hurry.  We've also confirmed that Akron assistant coach Pat Knight will be going to Texas Tech with dad.  About a week ago Marty Fletcher got fired at Denver and New Orleans head coach Joey Stiebing, who finished 17-12 this year and was named Sun Belt Conference Coach-of-the-Year, was fired yesterday.   Stiebing had the program, which was 12-17 a year ago, heading in the right direction, but an average attendance of 787 per game obviously did him in.  Also out is North Texas head coach Vic Trilli, who has recruited well during his four-year stint at North Texas, but has a 21-86 record, including only 5-23 this season.   We're not sure why Trilli didn't do better, but many in the business believe North Texas has the potential to be a sleeping giant, especially if they hire the right coach.   And that would be, if they can get him, Cincinnati assistant coach Mick Cronin, who not only has established himself as one of the top recruiters in the nation, but also is somebody who has proven that he can go into Texas and get the top players, like Field Williams a year ago and 6'7 Jason Maxiell from Carrollton (Newman Smith) TX last fall. 

We know that UCLA assistant coaches Jim Saia and Michael Holton are in line for the Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and Portland jobs, respectively, and let's say in both cases they get the job.  Who would UCLA head coach Steve Lavin hire to replace them?  How about his buddy Kurtis Townsend, who Lavin hangs out with at the NCAA Final Four every year, and UNLV head coach Max Good?  It looks like both are going to need jobs, plus they bring other things of value to the table as well.  Townsend, who prior to his recent stint at Michigan was an assistant coach at California during the Todd Bozeman era, already recruits Southern California better than most recruiters from the West Coast.  Good, who has had plenty of head coaching experience at Eastern Kentucky, Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, and UNLV, is a tremendous motivator and teacher, plus he knows how to instill that toughness that a lot of teams in this day and age are lacking.  Instead, sources close to the UCLA program think that current UCLA senior Earl Watson will step right into any job that opens at UCLA and we think this would be a great mistake.   Sure, Watson would bring youthful enthusiasm, energy, and loyalty to the table, but he lacks the experience that many UCLA fans believe Lavin needs to hang in there for the long term.  Remember, there are still UCLA fans who are calling for Lavin's head, despite the fact that UCLA finished the regular season 21-8 and Lavin was named the Coach-of-the-Year in the Pacific-10 Conference.  Sure, some people will argue that Duke has two former players - Steve Wojciechowski and Chris Collins - who also are extremely young to be assistants at this level, but nobody believes that for a minute that Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski needs a more experienced guy on the staff to help help teach him and second guess him.   Remember, even the Wizard of Westwood himself, John Wooden, wasn't afraid to have a strong willed assistant 30-plus years ago (Denny Crum) frequently second guessing him.  Make not mistake about, we think Lavin is one of the bright young coaches in the business and we think he has a great future.  But that doesn't mean he still doesn't have a lot to learn and, as a result, two experienced coaches on the staff, like Townsend and Good, could eventually be the difference between success or failure, especially in a pressure cooker situation like UCLA. 

Monday, March 12, 2001

When filling out my NCAA Tournament Bracket, I normally don't like to predict many first round upsets, except, when in doubt, I almost always pick the #9-seed to beat the #8-seed.  However, this year is different.   That's right!  I'm picking 13 first round upsets and some of them are extremely interesting.  Let's start with the East Regional, where I use the rule mentioned above to predict the #9-seed Missouri over the #8-seed Georgia in a game that is really almost too close to call.  I also have the #13-seed knocking off the #4-seed UCLA, but a lot will depend upon which UCLA team shows up.  If UCLA plays like they did when the knocked off Stanford and Arizona, we could look real bad on this.  But, if the Bruins play like they did in December against Cal State-Northridge and on Saturday against Washington, it might not even be close.  Remember, the Flying Dutchmen have won their last 18 consecutive games, plus they've got plenty of experience!  I also have the #11-seed Oklahoma State beating the #6-seed USC.  Actually we think USC is a better team, but we give the Cowboys the edge due to past NCAA Tournament experience.   If you will recall, the last time USC won a NCAA Tournament game was in 1992.  We also like the 10-seed Creighton over the #7-seed Iowa.  Sure, Iowa, which won the Big-10 Conference Championship yesterday, appears to be playing well.  However, Creighton's Dana Altman has beaten Iowa's Steve Alford the last four times they've played and this obviously will be a much bigger game in terms of a rivalry for Creighton than Iowa.  Also, their Sagarin Ratings are almost identical (Iowa has an 84.85 ranking and is ranked #29, while Creighton has an 84.30 ranking and is ranked #34).  In the West we are picking the #9-seed St. Joseph's over the #8-seed Georgia Tech, the #14-seed George Mason over the #3-seed Maryland, and #10-seed Georgetown over the #7-seed Arkansas.  Obviously the St. Joseph's-Georgia Tech and Georgetown-Arkansas games are close calls.  But picking Brigham Young over Cincinnati and George Mason over Maryland takes a lot of guts.   There is no question that the Terrapins have the talent and potential to be a NCAA Final Four team.  However, George Mason has most of their players back from a team that won both the regular season title and conference tournament two years ago, the regular season title last year, and the conference tournament this year.  Head coach Jim Larranaga also has the quality depth necessary to play with Maryland, plus 6'5 Rob Anderson, who missed four or five games late in the season due to an injury, is also fully recovered.  In the Midwest we like the #9-seed UNC-Charlotte over the #8-seed Tennessee.  Remember, UNC-Charlotte won the Conference USA Tournament and Tennessee has struggled down the stretch.  We also like the #11-seed Xavier over the #6-seed Notre Dame.  As a matter of fact, we think Xavier should be the favorite in that game.  Not only do the Musketeers have a better over record, but they also are ranked higher in the Sagarin Ratings (Xavier is #31 and Notre Dame is #40).   And how about the #10-seed Butler over the #7-seed Wake Forest?  If you will recall, Butler took Florida to the wire a year ago and this year we think the Bulldogs are even better.  Also, the Demon Deacons started strong, but finished no better than 8-8 in the ACC.  In the South Regional we like Fresno State over California, but once again it is a tough call between the #8 and #9 seeded teams.  We also like the #11-seed Temple over the #6-seed Texas.  Nothing against Texas, which has been playing well lately, but you can never be sure which Longhorn team will show up.  Also, playing against Temple, especially in a non-conference game late in the year, is never a picnic.  We also believe Providence should be the favorite over Penn State.  The Friars have a better record, a higher Sagarin Rating, and finished much higher in their conference.  However, this might be a case where the selection committee used the RPI Rating, which is a bogus system due to the fact that 25% of the ratings are based on your opponents' strength of schedule.  As a result, we put much more emphasis on the Sagarin Ratings.  We also look at how a team has been playing recently, experience, coaching, personnel, and past NCAA history when making our selections.  So obviously we're looking for a wild and crazy first round of the NCAA Tournament, but after that the upsets are few and far between.  As a matter of fact, the only major upsets we're picking in the second round are Providence over North Carolina and George Mason over Wisconsin.  And we wouldn't be do that if it weren't for the fact that neither team has been playing all that well lately.  That trend also continues into the final eight where we have Arizona beating Illinois in the Midwest, Michigan State knocking off Florida again in the South, Duke beating Kentucky in the East, and Iowa State upsetting Stanford in the West.  In the NCAA Final Four we are predicting that Michigan State will beat Arizona and Duke will beat Iowa State.  We'd love to see Michigan State win it back-to-back, but our gut says that it's time for Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski to move into that elite group of coaches, along with John Wooden (10), Adolph Rupp (4), and Bob Knight (3), all of whom have won more than two NCAA Championships.    

Last week we told you that the days were numbered for both South Carolina head coach Eddie Fogler and Massachusetts head coach James "Bruiser" Flint.  Well, it looks like lightning struck twice today.  Eddie Oliver, the editor and publisher of HoopsUSA.com, called earlier to confirm that Fogler has resigned effective after the Gamecocks get finished playing in the NIT.  Apparently Fogler went into the office today of Gamecocks athletic director Mike McGee looking for a contract extension , but left with a buy out which will pay him $750,000, which is the equivalent of what he'd make over the next three years.   No prosective candidates have been mentioned to replace Fogler other than former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins, who would be the perfect candidate for the job, due to his great personality, South Carolina roots (he is a USC alumnus and currently lives in Hilton Head, SC), and ability to recruit.  Remember, everybody already thinks 6'1 Jr Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC is a lock for North Carolina, but Oliver thinks that could change if the Gamecocks hire Cremins.   Oliver also points out that Cremins instantly would make the Gamecocks tough to beat for all great young players in the state, including 6'9 Soph Major Wingate from Florence (Wilson) SC, and two incredible freshmen - 6'9 Frosh Ra'sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC and 6'1 Frosh Zam Frederick from St. Matthews (Calhoun County) SC.  McGee already has a reputation for not being afraid to spend the money to hire big name coaches (i.e. Lou Holtz in football).  So maybe he'll go after Rick Pitino!  Actually a perfect fit might be Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard, but our guess is that Willard will be one of the leading candidates for Massachusetts.  Another job that may open any tomorrow is Michigan and, as a result, a lot of people seem to think that's one of the reasons why Pitino is putting off finalizing the deal with Louisville.   However, now that it looks like Mike Davis, who has to be one of the leading candidates for National Coach-of-the-Year, will get the Indiana job on a premanent basis, our guess is that the Louisville job is the best job, as well as the highest paying job, that likely will be available this spring.

James Sowell, chairman of Texas Tech's Board of Regents, had some interesting comments in an Associated Press story that ran today about Bob Knight, who likely will be the next head coach for the Red Raiders. "Sowell said that while Knight is an outstanding coach, he also brings' questions about his temper, his anger and his language.'  But Sowell believes some of the problem might have been overblown, and he pointed out Knight's strong suits: no major NCAA violation and a high graduation rate.  'I think if a guy was an embarrassment to the university, that would have come up in 29 years,'  he said.   'I personally wouldn't want anything to happen to the university that would be an embarrassment.  But I'm willing to be open-minded.'"  Has this guy been living in cave or has he just been asleep for the several decades?  I also really liked the part about Knight graduating his players and not violating NCAA rules.  A lot of NCAA rules are not immoral and/or unethical in our society.  But based on what came out last spring in the Neil Reed choking incident and all the other accusations from Knight's former players, it appears that Knight may be both.  I'm sure he was talking about players like Allen Henderson, who came to IU with something like a 1480 SAT and 3.8 gpa., as an example of players Knight graduates.   Henderson, who picked Indiana over Northwestern, Duke, Harvard, and Stanford, has gone onto play pro basketball and likely will be a civic leader, role model, and doctor once his pro career is over.  However, I believe his parents, both of whom are surgeons, had more to do with the way he turned out than Knight did.  But they forget about the tough kids, like Jay Edwards and Sherron Wilkerson, who didn't have any more success graduating from Indiana than most of the players who have played for Jerry Tarkanian.  Can you believe that 25% of Tark's players graduated when he was coaching at UNLV?  That really is incredible considering a lot of their backgrounds!  In other words, it was already set up Knight.  If you're recruiting mostly middle class kids without any academic or behavioral problems, it stands to reason that it won't be too hard to get them to graduate.  So our question is can Knight recruit the same type of quality kids that he had at IU or will he have to go the junior college route and, as a result, take tougher kids who are less likely to graduate?  And if he does, how will Knight and his players interact? 

The National Junior College Tournament in Hutchinson, KS is just around the corner and Kris Vance, who is the former assistant coach at Dixie (JC) UT, as well as another hot young coach who is rumored to be a possible member of Rick Pitino's Louisville staff, tells us that most of the field is already set for the tournament, which runs March 19th- March 24th.  So let's take a closer look at all 16 Districts.  Cochise (JC) AZ, which beat Arizona Western, 96-94, in the finals in District #1 will advance to Hutchinson for a second consecutive year.   In District #2 Westark (JC) AR knocked off Eastern Oklahoma, 66-45, and in District #3 Allegany (JC) MD beat Hagerstown (JC) MD, 92-71.  The representative from District #4 is Wabash Valley (JC) IL, which beat Olney Central (JC) IL, 76-66.   Odessa (JC) TX held off Midland (JC) TX, 63-61, in District #5 and in District #6 the finals are scheduled for Wednesday, March 14th.  It would be a major surprise if Barton County doesn't emerge.  In District #7, which is Kentucky and Tennessee, they're also still playing.  In the semi-finals it will be Motlow State (JC) TN versus Southwest Tennessee (JC) TN and Columbia State (JC) TN versus Walters State (JC) TN.  Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL knocked off Daytona Beach (JC) FL, 79-66, in the championship game in District #8.  In District #9 it was Western Nebraska (JC) NE over Northeast Nebraska (JC) TN, 81-62.  Georgia Perimeter (JC) GA will play at Lewisburg (JC) NC in the finals to decide who goes to Hutchinson from District #10.   District #11 features the top team from Missouri versus the top team from Iowa when Moberly (JC) MO goes to Indian Hills (JC) IA later this week.  In District #12 it was Schoolcraft (JC) MI versus Gogebic (JC) MI last night, but we've yet to hear who gets the trip to Hutchinson.  It will be Lon Morris (JC) TX versus Hutchinson (JC) TX tonight in District #14 and in District #15 Southern Union is making a return visit to Hutchinson after a 66-58 win over Shelton (JC) AL.  In District #16 Northwest Mississippi (JC) MS beat Jones (JC) MS, 94-91.  Last, but not least, is District #13, where Dixie (JC) UT beat Southern Idaho (JC) UT, 76-75.  And Vance is really excited about that because former his players, who are currently 32-1 and ranked #1 nationally, called him from the locker room on a speaker phone after the game.  Not only is the College of Southern Idaho Dixie's arch rival, but they're ranked #4 nationally in the final junior college rankings.  The key for Dixie was 6'1 Marcus Banks, who was the MVP of the region, with 25 points in the championship.  Banks' story is especially interesting, because he is the #1 ranked junior college point guard in the nation.  Banks signed with UNLV last fall, but the big question is whether he will honor that commitment if Max Good is no longer the head coach.  Also noteworthy is the fact that the state of California doesn't participate in the National Junior College Tournament in Hutchinson, KS.  Instead, they have their own junior college tournament and this year Los Angeles Southwest (JC) CA beat San Jose (JC) CA, 75-66, in the championship.  The MVP for was Deshawn Curry from Los Angeles Southwest (JC) CA, who scored 19 points and was the MVP of tournament. 

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that the high school career of 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ is over.  Last night Newark (Shabazz) NY beat Camden (H.S.) NJ, 61-57, to win the New Jersey Group 3 State Championship and, as a result, Shabazz, not Camden, will advance into the New Jersey Tournament of Champions, which features the top team in the state from each classification.  Wagner scored 37 points, but hit only 9-35 field goals.  Apparently he wasn't the only one who was ice cold, because Camden as a team hit only 17-72 field goals for the game.  Rubin also has an interesting list for the La Salle job, which is headed by Fran Dunphy, who has a 206-122 record in 12 years as the head coach at Pennsylvania and is widely regarded as one of the best college coaches in the nation at his level.  He also is an alumnus of La Salle.  Two other La Salle alumni who are also being mentioned for the La Salle job are Drake head coach Kurt Kanaskie and Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich.  Other potential candidates include Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon, UNC-Greensboro head coach Fran McCaffery, Maine head coach John Giannini, Richmond assistant coach Jeff Neubauer and former Massachusetts head coach James "Bruiser" Flint, all of whom are originally from the Philadelphia area or went to school in the area.  Rubin also tells us that former North Carolina assistant coach Dave Hanners, who is one of the best X's and O's coaches in the game, has interest in the head coaching job at Drexel.  And it wouldn't surprise us if Hanners gets it.  Currently Hanners lives in the Philadelphia area and he works for Larry Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers.  Other heavy hitters who will likely go to bat, if necessary, to help Hanners get the job are former North Carolina head coaches Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge and N.C. State athletic director and former head coach Les Robinson.   The North Carolina connections with Smith and Guthridge are obvious, but did you know that Hanners was also the guy who recruited 5'7 Keith Jennings and 6'11 Greg Dennis to East Tennessee State as an assistant coach under Robinson in the mid-80's?

Saturday, March 10, 2001, and Sunday, March 11, 2001

I don't know which was more of a shocking upset - a year ago when Louisville (Male) KY beat Louisville (Ballard) KY in overtime in the Seventh Region Semi-Finals or yesterday when Male destroyed Ballard, 81-63, en route to a second consecutive state tournament appearance.  The game was close early, but Male went on a 8-4 run to make it 17-13 at the end of the first quarter and after that they never looked back, as they coasted to a 38-23 half-time lead and 18-point upset against the #4 ranked team nationally in the USA Today.  As usual, 6'5 Larry O'Bannon, who had 20 points, including 8-10 field goals, and seven rebounds and 6'3 Soph Michael Bush who had 11 points, both played extremely well for Male.  But the big keys to the game were Male's 2-3 zone and the tremendous performance by 5'11 Jr Johnny Mathis, who finished with 20 points, five assists, and four rebounds, as he penetrated and broke down Ballard's quick guards all night long.  Also playing important well for Male were 5'11 Jr Adam Burks, who hit a pair of big 3-pointers in the second quarter when the game was still on the line, and 6'4 Jr Greg Ballard, who finished with nine points and five rebounds.  We also have to mention 6'8 Jr LaVar Carter, despite the fact he failed to scored, because he did a good job the boards and inside helped neutralize 6'9 Brandon Bender, who finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks.. The leading scorer for Ballard was 6'1 Adam Chiles, who finished with 20 points.  Not only does this set up Male as the heavy favorite to win the Kentucky State Tournament next week at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY, but it also firmly establishes the Bulldogs as one of the premier high school teams in the nation next year.  Remember, Bush, Mathis, Carter, Burks, and Ballard all are underclassmen, plus head coach Bryce Hibbard has plenty of young talent in the program, including four freshman and sophomores already on the varsity in addition to Bush, who promises to be the best player in the state next year as a junior.  Not only is Male jelling at the perfect time, but most of the top team's in the various other regions in the state also got beat.  As a result, it looks like the only team that might be able to beat Male is Madisonville (H.S.) KY, which features 6'6 Michael Haney.who currently is ranked #8 in the state by the HOOP SCOOP, but who is an absolute steal for Eastern Kentucky.  However, Male and Madisonville are in opposite brackets, so they can't meet until the championship game.  Let's take a closer look at the bracket.  First round games will begin Wednesday with Ft. Thomas (Highlands) KY versus Russellville (H.S.) KY at 1:00 PM, followed by Manchester (Clay County) KY versus South Floyd (H.S.) KY at 2:30 PM, Alexandria (Campbell County) KY versus London (South Laurel) KY at 7:00 PM, and Louisville (Male) KY versus Buckner (Oldham County) KY at 8:30 PM.  The rest of the first round will be completed on Thursday with Ashland (Paul Blazer) KY Hazard (H.S.) KY at 1:00 PM, Leitchfield (Grayson County) KY versus Radcliff (North Hardin) KY at 2:30 PM, Bardwell (Carlisle County) KY versus Lexington (Lafayatte) KY at 7:00 PM, and Fairdale (H.S.) KY versus Madisonville (H.S.) KY at 8:30 PM.  On Friday the format will be the same, as the four winners from Wednesday will square off in the afternoon at 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM and the four winners from Thursday will meet in the evening at 7:00 PM and 8:30 PM.  The semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday at 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM and the championship game will be played on Saturday night at 8:00 PM.

It comes as no surprise that Texas Tech head coach James Dickey was fired on Friday, but it was somewhat of a surprise that Speedy Morris was fired at 15 years at La Salle.  Morris hasn't had a winning record since 1993, but our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin felt like he'd get one more year to turn the program around. That's partly due to the fact that Morris is such a great guy, but also his lone recruit last fall - 6'10 Marcus Gantt from Camden (Woodrow Wilson) NJ - has improved dramatically this winter and, as a result, will likely be one of best new players in the league next year. Dickey's firing sets the stage for Texas Tech to hire former Indiana University head coach Bob Knight, but don't look for Knight to officially get the job until March 23rd. Texas state law requires the job to be open for 10 business days. However, when, and if, he does get the job, Knight will have a major rebuilding job to do. The good news is that all but two players from the current squad are expected to be back next year. The bad news is they finished last in the Big-12 this year with a 3-13 record. Also, the Red Raiders recruiting class, which included 6'9 Jamal Holden from Westark (JC) AR and 6'6 Bill Pharis from Westark (JC) AR, was ranked no higher than #9 in the league last fall. Speaking of Knight, we not only find his lawsuit against Indiana University interesting, but we actually had this same debate last April when the videotape of Knight choking Neil Reed became public. Our first reaction was to give Knight one more chance and, then, fire him the next time he did something wrong, similar to what Indiana University President Myles Brand ended up doing. However, after debating the issue with several people with whom I respect, I became convinced that I was wrong. Knight needed to be fired for just cause and, although it can be debated whether he actually choked Reed, there is no question that something happened when Knight had his hand on Reed's neck. Remember, Knight previously had made a point to say that nothing happened. But obviously something did happen and, even worse, he used his position to lie, cover-up, and obstruct the process. We were very critical of Brand at the time for not having the guts to do what needed to be done when he had Knight dead to right. But when he finally did fire Knight for violating the schools zero-tolerance policy after a minor incident with a student, the crime didn't justify the punishment. So it comes as no surprise that Knight is seeking damages for "lost income, pain and suffering, mental humiliation, and interference with his ability to obtain subsequent employment." Actually it would be poetic justice if what Knight is claiming were true, because he's done the same thing to Reed and a lot of other people over the years. But that's not the point. Instead, the irony of the situation is that this is what happens when you don't deal with a bully from a position of strength. Knight didn't deserve a second chance at Indiana, but that doesn't mean people don't deserve a fresh start and a second chance. Apparently that's what Knight is about to get at Texas Tech. We just hope he won't repeat all the same mistakes, but the timing of his lawsuit against Indiana University isn't a good omen.

Friday, March 9, 2001

Well, it looks the big game between Louisville (Ballard) KY and Louisville (Male) KY is finally going to be played and at stake is a chance to advance to the state tournament in Lexington, KY next week.   Tipoff time is scheduled for 2:45 PM tomorrow afternoon at Louisville Gardens and the game is expected to be sold out.  It also is the most anticipated game since these two teams met 25 years ago in 1976 when Darrell Griffith and Bobby Turner were seniors at Male and Jeff Lamp and Lee Raker were juniors and Jerry Eaves was a sophomore at Ballard.  Ballard pulled off the upset against Male, but a week later was upset in the state tournament.   However, Ballard did win the state championship in 1977 when Lamp and Raker were seniors and Eaves was a junior.  Then, a year ago Male returned the favor and upset Ballard, which like Male in 1976 was the heavy favorite to repeat as state champions.   All of the top players from both teams, including 6'9 Brandon Bender and 6'1 Adam Chiles for Ballard and 6'5 Larry O'Bannon and 6'3 Soph Michael Bush for Male, are back from a year ago and, as a result, these same two teams have been ranked #1 and #2 in the state all year, as well as among the top 10 in all of the nationally high school polls most of the season.   Currently Ballard is a consensus top five team nationally, while Male is a borderline top 20 team after being upset late in the season by Louisville (St. Xavier) KY.   These same two teams were expected to meet in the L.I.T. (Louisville Invitational Tournament) a month and a half ago, but Male was knocked off by Bowling Green (H.S.) KY in the semi-finals.  They also were scheduled to meet two weeks ago, but Ballard realized at the last minute that they had played in too many games this season and, as a result, their state tournament eligibility could be in jeapordy.  So the game was cancelled.  However, this time the game takes on added significance, because, while the winner will advance to state's Sweet 16 next week, the loser's season will be over.  And both teams appear to be play well, as they won easily in the semi-finals on Thursday night, as Male knocked off Louisville (Seneca) KY, 90-61, and Ballard beat Louisville (St. Xavier) KY, 76-55.  As usual, the two big guns for Ballard were Bender and Chiles, who combined for 45 points, while O'Bannon, Bush, and 6'8 Jr Lavar Carter combined 49 points for Male.  In addition to getting another look at these two great teams, we also got a sneak preview of the future, because Seneca features two underclassmen - 6'8 Frosh Robert Simpson and 6'5 Jr Larry Williams - both promise rank among the top players in the state next year.   Williams, who scored 20 points, impressed with us with his outside shooting, soft hands, and athleticism, but he still needs to get bigger and stronger and/or grow another inch or two to play at the big-time level.  Simpson only weighs about 175 lbs., but he's got incredible mobility and timing for somebody so big and so young.  He also showed he can score away from the basket and, as a result, several people were heard making Tony Kimbro comparisons.  However, it's his long arms, terrific shot blocking ability, and potential to grow four or five more inches that make his upside absolutely unlimited.

Thursday, March 8, 2001

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin has the scoop on 6'8 Nehemiah Ingram from Milledgeville (Baldwin) GA, who ranks #136 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of the best big men still available in the senior class nationally.  Write it down!  It's a done deal!  Ingram will make a verbal commitment to Temple tomorrow.  And he's exactly what the doctor order, because Temple doesn't have a true power forward in the program.  If you will recall, last fall the Owls also signed 6'8 Glen Elliot from Jacksonville (The Bolles School) FL, who is ranked #257 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but our guess is that Ingram will get first crack at the power forward spot.  The key for Elliot is potential, but Ingram has excellent athleticism, good offensive skills around the basket, and actually is consistent right now than his higher rated teammate - 6'10 Larry Turner, who many believe it steal of the University of Georgia.  Rubin tells us that assistant coach Dan Leibovitz, who has been everywhere looking for players during his first year on the road, deserves the credit for getting this one done as well. In addition to Ingram and Elliot, Leibovitz, who is one of the bright young guys in the business, also stole 6'4 Nile Murrah from Houston (Klein Forest) TX, who is ranked #97 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.   Rubin also tells us that Lafayette has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'5 Eric Mugavero from Phillipsburg (H.S.) NJ.  Speaking of Lafayette, the Leopards also recently got a transfer from Drake in 6'4 Andrew Pleick, who will be eligible at the end of the first semester next season in late December.  Rubin also is disappointed in the fact that Drexel head coach Steve Seymour has been fired.  Seymour, who has been at the school eight years (six as an assistant and the last two as head coach), was 13-17 a year ago, but finished the current season with a 15-12 record and had the program heading in the right direction.  And this becomes even more evident when you look at his recruiting.  Drexel's recruiting class, which featured 6'1 Phil Goss from Oxon Hill (H.S.) MD, 6'9 Braheem Howard from Wyncote (Cheltenham) PA, and 6'8 Steve Showers from New Tripoli (Northwestern Lehigh) PA, last fall was ranked #3 by the HOOP SCOOP in the American East Conference behind Northeastern and Delaware.  Drexel also had an excellent recruiting class a year ago when they finished #3 in the league behind Delaware and New Hampshire.  If you will recall, that class included 6'5 Sean Brooks from Seat Pleasant (Central) MD, 6'1 Brett Storm from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 6'8 Patrick Duveney from Marlton (Cherokee) NJ, 6'4 Jamil Moore from Wilmington (A.I. Dupont) DE, and 6'3 Eric Schmieder from Cecil (JC) MD.  In other words, when Drexel goes into the tougher Colonial Athletic Association, along with Delaware and Hofstra, they won't exactly be doing so empty-handed. 

A month ago we thought Bob Knight was a near lock for Florida State.  More recently it appeared that he might surface at Massachusetts.  But now it looks like a done deal for Texas Tech and the only thing holding it up appears to be the likely termination of James Dickey, whose team finished last in the Big-12 Conference this season.  Apparently the connection is athletic director Gerald Myers, who is one of Knight's best friends.  However, we seriously question whether Knight will be able to attract the recruits he needs to win big in Lubbock, TX.  Remember, Dickey also is an outstanding coach, but in the end a lack of recruiting appears to have been his downfall.  This obviously means that Knight won't be taking UMass, so our guess is that would put Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard, Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez, and New Mexico head coach Fran Fraschilla all into a strong position to get the job.  Most people also believe that Marshall head coach Greg White will be a likely candidate for Massachusetts, but we hear he's waiting for something to open in the South.  How about the University of Florida, if Tubby Smith takes the Philadelphia 76ers job and Billy Donavan takes over at Kentucky?  If Tommy Amaker moves onto greener pastures and Kevin Bannon gets fired, our guess is that Jay Wright will get Rutgers and Iona head coach Jeff Ruland will Seton Hall.  However, we're not so sure Bannon is going to get fired.  As a matter of fact, we have a well placed source close to the Rutgers program who swears it isn't going to happen.  Instead, our source tells us that Scarlet Knights assistant coach Danny Hurley will get the time he needs to land some of the great players in New Jersey's strong junior class, like 6'0 Jr Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'4 Jr Randy Foye from Newark (East Side) NJ, 6'1 Jr Taquan Dean from Neptune (H.S.) NJ, and 6'0 Jr Dewayne Lee from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ.  Something we haven't touched on yet is the new contract signed two days ago by Iowa State head coach Larry Eustachy.  Would Eustachy have signed that contract if he didn't know that Rick Pitino was a near lock to take the University of Louisville job?  And would Eustachy still be interested in Louisville, if, by some chance, the Pitino deal falls through or Pitino opts for another job in a couple years?  Speaking of Pitino, a name we're suddenly hearing as one of his possible assistants at Louisville is Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY head coach Gary DeCesare.  Sure, DeCesare would give Pitino the strong connection he needs to recruit in New York City, as well as the entire East Coast, but he also might be able to provide the franchise-like player that Pitino would need to get Louisville off the ground in a hurry.  The key for this to happen would be for N.C. State head coach Herb Sendek to get the UNLV job, which is what we hear he's trying to do.  And, if Sendek leaves, that would open the door for 6'6 Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY to renege on N.C. State.  While Hodge signed financial aid papers with the Wolfpack, he never signed the National Letter-of-Intent.  As a matter of fact, it is a well known fact within the business that none of DeCesare's players ever sign a National Letter-of-Intent.  And who is going to get the Drexel job?  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin had no idea, but he did mention they were going to start a nation wide search.  We don't think former Drexel head coach Billy Herrion, who is now at East Carolina will return, although it is possible.  Instead, we hear that Herrion is going hard after Rhode Island.  But how about his younger brother Tommy Herrion, who is Pete Gillen's top assistant at Virginia?  Or how about current Massachusetts head coach James "Bruiser" Flint, who is a Philly guy?  Other hot young assistant's that Drexel should look at are Cincinnati's Mick Cronin, Providence's Steve DeMeo, Auburn's Mike Wilson, Notre Dame's Sean Kearney, George Mason's Mike Gillian, and Seton Hall's Fred Hill.     

Wednesday, March 7, 2001

A lot of people are having a hard time accepting the fact that former University of Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino may be on the verge of taking the University of Louisville job.  And to fully illustrate this point, I have to tell you about the dream that one fan had the other night.  Throughout the dream he could hear Al Michaels setting the tone, as he kept asking, do you believe in miracles, do you believe in mircales?  The first strange thing that happened was the University of Louisville shocked everybody and won the Conference USA Tournament this weekend.  Next, as is expected, Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich hired Pitino.  Then, Denny Crum, who finally got the Cardinals on a role, did get to go out on top, as the University of Louisville also won the NCAA Championship.  Then, later in the spring, Larry Brown retired and University of Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith got the Philadelphia 76ers job.  So the Wildcats decided to hire the hottest coach in college basketball - Denny Crum.  Naturally this created the potential for all kinds of civil unrest in the Commonwealth, but fortunately the strong arm tactics of the state's new governor, Bobby Knight, restored a sense of calm and order in the state. 

On the more serious side, the rest of the coaching world nationally seems to be almost equally strange and volatile.  As a matter of fact, our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio, who is at the Big East Tournament today, called earlier to tell us that the word among the media on press row at Madison Square Garden is that early next week will be doomsday for Rutgers head coach Kevin Bannon.  And one of the primary sources on this rumor is Sam Albano of Redmen.com, who historically has been right every step of the way about Bannon and Rutgers.  If you will recall, Albano broke the controversial naked free throw shooting contest story at a Rutgers practice and O'Bannon's celebrity bartending scandal.  He also was among the first to mention the possibility that Dahntay Jones might transfer from Rutgers to Duke and Rod Baker would move from Cincinnati to Rutgers as an assistant coach.  If you will recall, Rutgers athletic director Robert Mulcahy gave Bannon a three-year extension on his contract last year, but now it appears Mulcahy, who also was taking some heat of his own due to the O'Bannon contract extension, has gotten the financial backing he needs from important boosters and, as a result, Bannon will be gone sooner than later.  However, it looks like Baker will be retained either on the new staff or in a position within the athletic department.   Naclerio also tells us that he's heard former Seton Hall head coach P.J. Carlesimo has already been contacted about the Rutgers job, but told them he wasn't interested.  So now the leading candidates appear to be Hofstra head coach Jay Wright and Iona head coach Jeff Ruland, both of whom have done a phenomenal job the last several years at their current schools and have the necessary strong New York City recruiting base that appears to be necessary as a prerequisite for the job.  Also previously rumored to be in line for Rutgers was DePaul head coach Pat Kennedy, but upon the conclusion of a very disappointing season after today's loss to South Florida in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament, it's hard to image anybody hiring Kennedy right now.  And yes, we've heard the rumor about Bob Knight going to DePaul, which would give Conference USA four of the top coaches in the game with Knight at DePaul, Pitino at Louisville, John Calipari at Memphis, and Bobby Huggins at Memphis.   However, the word on the street is that Knight is a now a near lock for the Massachusetts job.  As a matter of fact, our sources tell us that Minutemen head coach James "Bruiser" Flint may be out no matter what.   And if that does happen, Flint may be in line for the Northeastern job, if Rudy Keeling doesn't survive.  We're also hearing that Eddie Fogler could be out at South Carolina and, if that happens, the overwhelming sentiment among Gamecocks fans would be to go after former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins.   If you will recall, Cremins, who is an alumnus of South Carolina, is currently living in Hilton Head, SC and is looking for the right spot to make a comeback.  We would be surprised if Herb Sendek doesn't get at least another year at N.C. State, but the UNLV rumor is still alive and so is the Rick Barnes rumor to N.C. State.  This would make sense, because Barnes, who left Clemson for Texas two years ago, is originally from North Carolina and he would like to return, if the right opportunity presented itself.  Obviously, if N.C. State opened, it would be the right job.  And how about Utah head coach Rick Majerus to UNLV?   Apparently he's #1 on their priority list, but we'd be surprised, if he leaves the Utes.  We also still strongly believe that the Runnin' Rebels could retain their current head coach Max Good, who has done a terrific job this season under very tough circumstances.

Mac Irvin, who one of Sonny Vaccaro's right hand men at adidas, as well as the proud father of five former college basketball players, said it was one of the five best games in the history of Chicago High School Basketball.  And a big-time college assistant coach, who was at the game, but has to remain anonymous due to NCAA rules, goes even further, as he tells us this was the best high school, college, or professional game he has ever seen.  We're talking about triple overtime thriller last night between Chicago (Crane) IL and Chicago (Julian) IL.  Crane finally won the game 113-108, but not before 6'1 Jr Sean Dockery scored 45 of his 53 points, including a circus like 3-pointer from the corner to send the game into the third overtime.  "It's the stuff legends are made of," said the assistant coach.  "As his teammates continued to foul out, Dockery just got better and better.  We're talking about the second coming of Isiah Thomas." Also putting on his superman act was Arizona-bound 6'0 Wil Bynum, who led the winners with an impressive 40-point performance of his own.   Our buddy Eddie Oliver, who is the Editor and Publisher of HoopsUSA, also witnessed an incredible performance last night in Lower State Class "A" Finals at Wilson High School in Florence, SC.   We've heard it before, but once again 6'1 Jr Raymond Felton  from Latta (H.S.) SC showed why many think he's best player the Gamecock State has produced since Kevin Garnett.  Felton, who hit his first seven shots, including four straight three points, already had 23 points with three minutes left in the first quarter.  At that point he settled back and started to get his teammates involved.  He finished with 43 points, 15 ssists, and 10 rebounds, but even more, important, he led his team to an impressive 97-79 over Hemingway, which was 23-3 on the year and is one the perennial Class A powers in South Carolina.  Oliver has the all the results and highlights from the tournament in South Carolina on his new web site, which can be found at HoopsUSA.com.  You also can find Oliver's weekly consensus poll that incorporates the rankings of the six national high school polls, which are Student Sports, USA Today, Prep Poll, SSPTS ESPN, Rivals.Com, and HoopsUSA.  And based on Olivers' consensus, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, Louisville (Ballard) KY, and Akron (St.Vincent-St. Mary's) OH are the top five in order.  However, that is already guaranteed to change next week, because Westchester got knocked off last night in the opening round of the CIF Southern California Playoffs against Corona (Centennial) CA.  6'3 Jr Brandon Heath had 23 points and 6'5 Jr Hassan Adams had 18 points, but that wasn't enough for Westchester to overcome the 30-point effort by 6'6 Jamaal Williams.  Centennial, which won the game in overtime, 89-86, will advance into the semi-finals tomorrow night against Fresno (Clovis West) CA and, then, the winner of that game will likely meet Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, which knocked off Glendora (H.S.) CA, 75-38, last night, and will face Upland (H.S.) CA tomorrow night, in the Southern California CIF Championship on Saturday.  Then, the winner of that game will face the winner of the CIF Northern California Championship a week from Saturday in the state championship.

Tuesday, March 6, 2001

Was it a carefully orchestrated series of events or are all the pieces to the puzzle just falling into place by chance?  That is the nagging question that we keep asking ourself as the latest Rick Pitino saga continues to unfold.  If you go with the carefully orchestrated theory, Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich was going to take the Indiana job, unless the board of trustees at Louisville gave him carte blanche to make the move to get rid of Denny Crum and hire Pitino.  To believe this theory you almost have to believe that Pitino and Jurich have already arrived at some sort of an agreement that will make Pitino the next coach at Louisville.  However, we do not believe this to be the case, especially in light of the fact that Jurich announced at a press conference at 3:00 PM this afternoon that he won't be meeting Pitino until this weekend when he is scheduled to fly to Florida to talk with Pitino face-to-face.  And there are a number of other pieces of information that make us believe that all the speculation about Pitino taking the Louisville job is premature.  As a matter of fact, one carefully placed source assures us the media is way ahead of the story.   Another reminds us that this is exactly the same thing that happened last week when Pitino appeared to be close to taking the UNLV job.  It was supposed to have been such a done deal that the press conference was already scheduled for tomorrow to announced Pitino as the new coach for the Runnin' Rebels.  We're also hearing that Pitino is getting pressure from the powers-that-be at the University of Kentucky to postpone making a decision.  The word is that Wildcats head coach Tubby Smith is in line for several pro jobs, including the Philadelphia 76ers and the Sacremento Kings.  We're also hearing that Smith and Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson are possible candiates for the Michigan job.  Pitino himself said in an interview earlier today that he has no plans to make a decision until after the first round of the NCAA, because he doesn't want his future coaching plans to interfer with his broadcasting duties.  If this is true, it is not good news for Louisville - our guess is that the longer this thing drags out, the less likely Pitino will take the Louisville job.   Remember, Pitino is not just impulsive, but he also has a history of taking schools down the aisle, but getting cold feet right before he's forced to make that very important commitment.  He also has a history of establishing a precedent in terms of what he can get salary-wise and, then, getting the next team to later up the ante.  He did this in 1996 when the New Jersey Nets offered him $40 million, but turned it down.   However, this set the stage for him to get $60 million from the Boston Celtics a year later.  And last weekend he turned down $1.6 million from UNLV, which obviously increases his bargining position with Louisville and/or all the other potential jobs that he'll get involved with this spring.  But let's say that Pitino does take the Louisville job.  This time he might be biting off more than he can chew.  There is no question that Pitino would give Louisville the instant credibility it needs to return to the national prominence it enjoyed during the 70's and 80's.  However, Pitino seems to have no idea of the amount turmoil he's liable to create in the state of Kentucky, if he takes the Louisville job.  Evidence of this fact came within the last 24 hours when he said that most Kentucky fans, after they got over the initial shock, would accept the fact that he'd taken the Louisville job.  I would say that 70% to 80% is more realistic.  If Pitino took over at Louisville, he not only would turn the annual Louisville-Kentucky basketball game into the most bitter rivalry in all of sports, but would be know as Benedict Arnold Pitino among Kentucky fans.  And you can bet that he would need to do a lot more than just get an unlisted phone number and address.  A bullet proof vest and several bodies guards would be a good place to start, as we're talking about the potential Second Coming of the Civil War.  But this won't be the first time that brother has been turned against brother and cousin and been turned against cousin in this state.  Remember, Kentucky was a border state in the last Civil War. 

Monday, March 5, 2001

The regional pairings for each of the 16 Regions in the state of Kentucky were announced yesterday and of particular interest is the 7th Region, which includes Louisville (Ballard) KY and Louisville (Male) KY, both of which have been ranked among the top 10 nationally by all the polls most of the season.   Previously Ballard and Male were expected to meet twice already this season, but both times it didn't happen.  The first meeting didn't come off, because Male was upset by Bowling Green (H.S.) KY in the semi-finals of the L.I.T. (Louisville Invitational Tournament) in late January, and more recently the regular season game between the two schools was cancelled, because Ballard had already played too many games this season and, as a result, their post-season eligibility would have been in jeopardy.   After Male was upset in the district finals by St. Xavier last Thursday night, the potential for a Male-Ballard match-up tomorrow night was a definite possibility, because the four district winners play the four district runnerups in the first round.   However, yesterday Ballard drew Fern Creek (H.S.) KY and Male drew Moore.  In each case the district winner will be the home team in the quarterfinals, so it will be Louisville (Eastern) KY at Louisville (Seneca) KY, Male at Moore, Fern Creek at Ballard, and Louisville (Trinity) KY at Louisville (St. Xavier) KY.  All games will be tomorrow night at 7:00 PM.  Then, the upperbracket winners will play on Thursday night at 7:00 PM and the lower-bracket winners will play at 8:30 PM on Thursday night at Louisville Gardens.  In other words, Ballard and Male will both have to win two more games in order to meet for the first time in a year.  If you will recall, the last time these two teams squared off was a year ago this week in the 7th Region Semi-Finals at Fern Creek High School.  And that game was of major significance, because Male upset Ballard, which at the time was the heavy favorite to repeat as state champions, in overtime.  If this long anticipated game does take place, it will be part of a doubleheader, which also will include the championship for the 6th Region.  Our guess is that Pleasure Ridge Park will be tough to beat in the 6th Region, but let's take a closer look at how the 6th Region breaks down.  Tomorrow night it will be Louisville (Butler) KY at Louisville (DeSales) KY, Louisville (Valley) KY at Louisville (Central) KY, Louisville (Shawnee) KY at Fairdale (H.S.) KY, and Louisville (Iroquois) KY at Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY.  All games will be at 7:30 PM.  Then, the upperbracket winners will play on Thursday night at 4:00 PM and the lower-bracket winners will play at 5:30 PM on Thursday night at Louisville Gardens.  The 6th Region Championship will be Saturday at Louisville Gardens at 1:00 PM and the 7th Region Championship will follow immediately at 2:30 PM.

We've been hearing for a long time that former Indiana University head coach Bob Knight was in line for the Florida State job, which makes perfect sense, because Knight is close friends with the president of the school.  And if that weren't enough of a connection, Reggie Tisdale, the Editor & Chief of Indiana Basketball News, tells us that Knight already owns a condominium in Tallahassee, FL and also is friends with Bobby Bowden, who is the legendary head football coach for the Seminoles.   However, we are now predicting that Florida State head coach Steve Robinson and his staff will get another year to turn things around.  Instead, we're now hearing that there is a strong possibility that Knight may take the Massachusetts job, as it's looking more and more like Minutemen head coach James "Brusier" Flint won't survive, unless his team gets on a roll this week, wins their conference tournament, and advances into the NCAA. There is no question in our mind that Knight is still one of the best coaches anywhere, but is he willing do what is necessary to get it done in terms of recruiting trail?  If you will recall, Knight has always tried to be above doing much recruiting during the summer and has been one of the biggest critics of AAU ball in recent years.  However, how hard Knight works in terms of recruiting might not be as important in New England, especially if Knight is able to take advantage of the wealth talent that is buried at all the prep schools.  Also, Knight's son, Patrick Knight, who is now an assistant coach at Akron, would be a major asset when going after prep school players.  As a matter of fact, Patrick himself spent a year in prep school at New Hampton (Prep) NH, before playing at Indiana.  Also, that trend has continued in recent years, as several other players who signed at Indiana, including 6'9 Kei Madison and 6'9 Mike Roberts, were stashed at New Hampton (Prep) NH. 

We continue to get mixed reports about former Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino taking the University of Louisville job and now we're hearing that an official announcement may not be forthcoming as soon as everybody thinks.   And, if Pitino doesn't take the job, we still think Iowa State head coach Larry Eustachy will be the likely choice.  However, right now everything appears to be in a holding pattern.  Louisville has Eustachy on hold, because they are waiting see what Pitino does.  And Eustachy has Louisville on hold, because he wants to concentrate on taking the Cyclones deep into the NCAA Tournament again this year.   But let's say Pitino does take the Louisville job?  Would he be able to convince Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard to also return to the Bluegrass State as his top assistant?  Probably not, because Willard is hot right now (Holy Cross is 20-7 and 10-2 in the Patriot League) and, as a result, he will be likely be in line for a head coaching job, like Massachusetts or Rhode Island.  As a matter of fact, we hear Willard is going after the Rhode Island job, but it appears that Iona head coach Jeff Ruland has the inside track.  However, we also still continue to hear the names of George Washington head coach Tom Penders, UNLV head coach Max Good, and Siena head coach Louie Orr being tossed around as well.  And a new name that has surfaced for the Rhode Island job is Western Kentucky head coach Dennis Felton.  We still think Herb Sendek is safe at N.C. State, but that doesn't mean we aren't hearing rumors.   Especially interesting is that trade, whereby, Sendek goes to Providence and Providence head coach Tim Welsh goes to N.C. State.  And where do Creighton head coach Dana Altman and Boston College head coach Al Skinner end up next year?  Both have done a great job this year and, as a result, are hot enough to make a major move. 

Last week Reggie Tisdale, the Editor & Chief of Indiana Basketball News, told us that 6'7 Prentiss Gates from Chattanooga State (JC) TN might be on the verge of making a verbal commitment to the University of Tennessee.  However, upon further investigation we find that Tennessee is no longer interested in Gates.  Instead, the Volunteers primary recruiting targets appear to be 6'5 Terrance Saulsburry from Moberly (JC) MO and 6'9 Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY.   But we're not sure the Volunteers will take Saulsburry either, unless they think 6'7 Vincent Yarborough is going to declare hardship for the NBA draft in June.  Right now our guess is that the odds are 60%-40% against that happening, but obviously that could change with a strong post season finish later this month.  We're also still waiting to see what happens with 6'1 Kyle Wilson from White Rock (Christian) BC, who committed to Villanova in December.  The word on the street is that Wilson may renege on the Wildcats and, if he does, he would be free to sign with any school he wants, because he committed after the end of the fall signing period.   Xavier, Rutgers, Oregon, and New Mexico are the favorites for 6'8 Mike Hayes from Cowley County (JC) KS.  Maine and University of Missouri-Kansas City are the leaders 6'3 Derrick Glasper from Neosho County (JC) KS and New Mexico appears to be on the verge of getting back 6'6 Jamal Brown from Seward (JC) KS.  If you will recall, Brown signed with the Lobos a year ago.   Youngstown State obviously is taking advantage of assistant coach Eric Skeeters strong Baltimore area connections, because the Penguins have a verbal commitment from 6'1 Doug Underwood from Ft. Meade (Meade) MD.   Connecticut, Rice, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Arizona State, and Kansas are showing the most interest in 6'9 Emeka Okafor from Houston (Bellaire) TX and 6'5 Curtis Nash from Hill (JC) TX likes Auburn, Texas, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State.  We also have confirmed that 6'9 Jr Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC, 6'1 Jr Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC, 6'7 Jr Lee Melchionni from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'11 David Harrison from Brentwood (Academy) TN, and 7'0 DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA were all in Chapel Hill yesterday making unofficial visits during the the Duke-North Carolina game.  Speaking of Diop, we still think Virginia is the leader over Duke and Georgia Tech, but now we're now hearing Diop probably won't attend college.  Instead, we suspect he will put his name into the NBA draft in June, along with 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL and 7'0 Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA.

Saturday, March 3, 2001, and Sunday, March 4, 2001

The Associated Press ran a story earlier today quoting former Boston Celtics and University of Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino saying that he has had no contact with the University of Louisville about the coaching job that opened last Friday when Denny Crum retired.  However, we have a very reliable source who tells us that Pitino was in Louisville on Wednesday and/or Thursday last week.  We also have another source who believes Pitino will be back in town tomorrow and the meeting to finalize the deal may take place at Valhalla Country Club.  This is especially interesting, because Pitino and most of the big money people who are supposed to be involved in the deal, which is being estimated in the $1.5 to $2 million range, are members at Valhalla.  Assuming our source is correct, the announcement could be forthcoming on Tuesday.  But we still are looking for further confirmation, because Pitino is supposed to be meeting with CBS, along with all of the other announcers tomorrow and Tuesday, in preparation for the NCAA Tournament.  We've also heard rumors about Pitino being in Louisville last night and about closing on a house in Louisville yesterday.  However, in both cases that is not confirmed.   Whatever the time table actually turns out to be, everything we're hearing now points to Pitino becoming the next head coach at the University of Louisville.  And this makes perfect sense, because athletic director Tom Jurich would not have pulled the pug on Crum so soon, if he didn't have somebody else of major stature already in the bag.  Remember, a week ago Crum and Jurich were in the middle of a major power struggle, but, then, last Friday, Crum announced that he was going to retire. The buyout was $7 million.  Also recall how quickly Jurich moved when he replaced the football coach, Ron Cooper, who also got a more than generous buyout, with John L. Smith four years ago.  In other words, Jurich, who in our opinion is second to none as an athletic director, knows what he wants to do and doesn't mess around when it comes to hiring coaches.  Several other interesting questions, include what was Louisville assistant coach Vince Taylor doing out recruiting on Saturday when Louisville was playing Memphis in Crum's final regular season home?  Does he already know that Pitino's going to be the coach and that he's going to be the staff?  Both might be safe bets.  We're also already hearing some other interesting possibilities for Pitino's staff.  How about former New York Knicks ball boy and University of Kentucky walk-on Steve Masiello, whose father, a doctor in New York, is good friend with Pitino?  Or Delray Brooks, who played on Pitino's NCAA Final Four team at Providence College in 1987 and was on the staff during all four of Pitino's NCAA Final Four appearances at Kentucky?  Brooks had some off the court problems when he was the head coach UT-Pan American and for a time appeared to have fallen out with Pitino, but we understand that Pitino and Brooks now talk on a regular basis.  Or Bobby Gonzalez, who is the head coach at Manhattan?  Remember, Pitino almost hired Gonzalez twice at Kentucky and being Pitino's #1 assistant would look pretty good on any resume', especially when you've already got head coaching experience.  Or John Pelphrey, who played for Pitino at Kentucky and is now Billy Donovan's right man at Florida?  Or Josh Pastnor, who was the head coach of the Houston Hoops AAU team the last five years?  Currently Pastnor, who is one of the bright young stars in the business, is a graduate assistant coach at Arizona and he's already been earmarked as the replacement for Arizona assistant Jay John, who likely will get a head coaching job this spring.  However, even more important is Pastnor's relationship with 6'2 Carlos Hurt from Louisville (Moore) KY, who signed with the Cardinals last fall.  If you will recall, Hurt had an incredible summer while playing for Pastnor, but has been somewhat of a disappointment this winter.  However, before you get too excited (if you're a Louisville fan) or too pissed off (if you're a Kentucky fan), remember that Pitino, who is extremely impulsive, has a history of showing a lot of interest in a job (i.e. New Jersey Nets in 1996 and UNLV just recently), but then pulling back and changing his mind at the last minute. 

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that the coaching rumor mill in the Northeast is also pretty interesting.  He thinks Seton Hall head coach Tommy Amaker is already a done deal for Michigan.   He also is hearing that Rutgers head coach Kevin Bannon is in more trouble than a lot of people believe.  Plus, he thinks St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis will be gone, if the right NBA job opens up.  What makes all this so interesting is the fact that this is the year that Hofstra head coach Jay Wright has to move, if he's going to move in the near future, because he will lose seven seniors after this season.  While Wright obviously will be mentioned for a lot of big time jobs this spring, there are four jobs that he'd love to have (St. John's, Seton Hall, Rutgers, and Villanova), if and when they open.  And if Iona head coach Jeff Ruland gets the Rhode Island job, that could start another trickle down effect, because Providence assistant coach Steve DeMeo and Hofstra assistant coach Tom Pecora both would be in line for that Gaels job.  However, we think Pecora will likely remain at Hofstra, because he's helped build the program and, as a result, already has been tabbed as Wright's heir apparent.  As a result, we think DeMeo will be the obvious candidate for Iona.  Remember, DeMeo, who was the head coach at Monroe (JC) NY, before moving to Iona as an assistant, got his Division I coaching start with Gaels as an assistant coach under Tim Welsh, who he still works for at Providence.  Also working in DeMeo's favor is the fact that the last time Iona hired a former Welsh assistant (Ruland), it turned out extremely well.   Naclerio also hears that Northeastern head coach Rudy Keeling is still in trouble, but he's gone a long way towards saving his job, thanks to the fact that he's won four out of his last six, including an upset against Drexel in the America East Conference Tournament.  And one of the big reasons for Northeastern's success has been the stellar scoring by Charles Cranford, who has   had 21 points, 27 points, 18 points, 22 points, 16 points and 10 rebounds in five of his most recent games.  Not bad for a guy everybody thought Naclerio had overrated in high school (Cranford played for Naclerio at Cardozo High School in Bayside, NY).   However, if Keeling does get the ax, we're hearing that Mike Jarvis will use his strong connections in Boston and go to bat to get his son and assistant coach, Mike Jarvis, Jr, the Northeastern job.  And if that happens, Pecora and Naclerio will both try and get Jarvis Jr's job.  However, our guess is that New York (Rice) NY head coach Maurice Hicks will be the leading candidate. 

Friday, March 2, 2001

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ scored 52 points last night and, in the process, became the all-time leading scorer in the history of high school basketball in the state of New Jersey.  When Wagner drove in for a lay-up late in the game, he tied a record which as stood for 33 years.  Previously the all-time leading scorer was John Somogyi from New Brunswick (St. Peter's) NJ, who scored 3,310 points from 1965-68. And after being fouled on the play, he hit a free throw to give him 52 points for the game, which Camden won easily, 94-48, against Ocean City (H.S.) NJ.  The other big story of the day involves a report by the Louisville Courier-Journal, which quotes three different unidentified sources who say that University of Louisville and head coach Denny Crum are close to agreeing on a buyout and it could happen as soon as today.  Actually the press conference is scheduled for 1:30 PM this afternoon.  Our belief is that if Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich fills the job quickly, the new coach will be former Boston Celtics and University of Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino.  If he doesn't get it done within the next week or two, that probably means that Iowa State Larry Eustachy would be the more likely successor.  Also interesting is that fact that the Milt Wagner, who is now an administrative assistant at the University of Memphis, but was once a legendary player at Louisville, will be in town tomorrow for the Louisville-Memphis game.  We can't help but wonder if Crum's fate might have been different, if the Cardinals had taken Dajuan Wagner's buddy 6'7 Arthur Barclay, who is now sitting out as a Prop 48 casualty at Memphis, when they had a chance a year ago at this time.   Remember, whoever got Barclay was assured of getting Dajuan, who is best consensus #1 ranked senior in the nation.   A year ago when John Calipari got the Memphis job and quickly landed both Barclay and got an early commitment from Dajuan in April, soon after hiring his Milt, we thought that might come back to haunt the Cardinals some day.  As expected, Crum, who turns 64 years old today, announced earlier this afternoon at his scheduled 1:30 PM press conference that he will retire at the end of the current season.  He will get $2 million dollars up front, plus he will get in the neighborhood of $350,000 per year for the next 15 years, which brings the total buyout to $7 million dollars.  Yes, obviously it is very expensive to get rid of a Hall of Fame coach who doesn't want to go.   However, it now appears that everybody has buried the hatch, because Crum is being retained by the athletic department to help with fund raising and for public relations purposes.  This is especially nice to see, because Crum has always been a leader in the community as a role model in terms of doing things for charity and raising public interest for good causes.  It also means that Crum will not seek another head coach job.  

Thursday, March 1, 2001

Like everybody else, I am anxiously awaiting to see happens with the coaching situation at the University of Louisville.  It already seems to be a foregone conclusion that head coach Denny Crum, who has won two NCAA Championships, been to six NCAA Final Four six times, and is in the basketball Hall of Fame, will be gone one way or another after the current season.   The only questions now appear to be how much will it cost the University of Louisville to buy the remainder of his contract, when will it happen, and will he go gracefully? Last week the answer to that last question appeared to be no, especially after Crum publicly released a number of private memos between himself and athletic director Tom Jurich.  However, nobody has said much of anything this week.  As a matter of fact, the only new development was a double digit loss at home two days ago to U.A.B., which leads us to believe that Crum's fate has already been decided and agreed upon.  One rumor we've heard is that Crum will announce that he is going to accept a $3 million buy-out on Sunday, which is the day after the regular season ends with a home game against Memphis.  Others seem to think nothing will happen until after the conclusion of the Conference USA Tournament next weekend.  Bottom line is there is a lot of speculation, but it is hard to separate fiction from fact.  The same also holds true when speculating on who might be Crum's successor.  Right now the big rumor around town seems to be that former University of Kentucky and Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino is the leading candidate for the job.   We still think in the end it will be tough for Pitino to take the University of Louisville job, due to his strong ties and past history with the University of Kentucky program.  However, with Pitino nothing would really surprise us anymore.  The other logical choice is Larry Eustachy, who has been one of Jurich's best friends much of his life and currently is one of the hottest coaches in the country, as well as one of the leading candidates for National Coach-of-the-Year for the second consecutive season at Iowa State.  However, there does appear to be a question regarding whether he will leave Iowa State.  Not only does he have a year contract that guarantees him $1 million per year, but he's repeated told the people in Ames, IA that he's happy there and that he plans to retire there.  Either Pitino or Eustachy would be perfect for the Louisville job, because they both have the big name recognition, which will be necessary to help heal the wounds created by the Jurich-Crum power struggle, sell tickets, and,once again, rally the community around the Louisville basketball.  But let's say Jurich isn't successfully able to lure either Pitino and Eustachy into taking the job.  Who's next on the list - Mark Gottfried of Alabama or Tim Floyd of the Chicago Bulls?  Both are excellent coaches and terrific recruiters, but neither has the same high profile name recognition that will be necessary to instantly revitalize both the program and the community.  And just imagine trying to get all those people who supported Crum to the bitter end to continue to support the program, if they have to read the newspaper or listen to a television sportscast to find out anything about the new head coach.  So with a fan base that already promises to be soft to begin with, just imagine how many empty seats there would be at Freedom Hall if the new coach didn't turn things around a hurry.  In other words, there isn't much margin for error and, as a result, it is crucial for Jurich to find somebody with the big name recognition necessary for the job. 

Another coach who still appears to be under fire is UCLA head coach Steve Lavin.  Can you believe that we're still hearing that Lavin could be gone, despite the fact UCLA is now 19-6 and ranked #12 nationally in the latest Associated Press poll and #18 nationally by the USA Today/ESPN poll, if he doesn't take the Bruins deep into the NCAA Tournament later this month.  Evidence comes from people who believe that Lavin's recent public support from UCLA athletic director Peter Dalis is only a tepid response to winning 13 of his last 15 games, including shocking upsets against #1-ranked Stanford on the road and top-10 ranked Ariozna at home.  And if this isn't true, why hasn't Dalis already given Lavin the contract extension on his five-year roll-over contract?   Also, why is there the constant leaking of negative articles about Lavin's problems in the Los Angeles media (i.e. articles in the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Daily News today).  There is only one place all this could come from and that's well placed sources within the athletic department who are determined to get rid of Lavin one way or another.  Why else would Bill Shaikin write a lead article in the sports section of  today's Los Angeles Times talking about UCLA's attendance problems?  He points out that attendance has gone down each of the last four years since Lavin has been at UCLA and, at an 8,217 average, it's the lowest it's been since 1992.  However, our guess is that Lavin will survive for another year or two, but, if he's smart now might be the time to start looking for a job where he might be more appreciated.  Another coach who probably needs to start looking for greener pastures is University of Michigan head coach Brian Ellerbe.  Let's face it, when you're 10-15 overall, 4-10 in the league, and already on the bubble, you can't afford to lose to Northwestern.  But that is exactly what happened last night when the Wildcats, who are the only Big-10 team with a worse record the Wolverines, knocked off Michgan, 75-70.  Everybody seems to think that Seton Hall's Tommy Amaker is already a lock for the Michigan job, but the timing for Amaker might not be right, especially in light of the fact that the Pirates also are underachieving this year, as is evident by their 13-11 overall record, 4-9 conference record, and slaughtering last night by Villanova.  We still believe Amaker is one of the bright young head coaches in college basketball today, but it's tough to win when you've chemistry problems and so many young players who must play pivotal roles.  However, all that will likely change next year, if 6'9 Eddie Griffin doesn't declare hardship for the NBA draft and they add 6'5 John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) PA, who is ranked as one of the top 10 seniors nationally in high school by the HOOP SCOOP.  Another job we're watching carefully is Rhode Island, which apparently wants to hire somebody with head coaching experience.   However, we hear the players at Rhode Island would like to see Auburn assistant coach Mike Wilson get the job.  If you will recall, Wilson, who is widely regarded as one of the top recruiters in the nation, recruited a number of the current players when he was on the staff at Rhode Island a year ago.  However, the main candidates are for the Rhode Island are UNLV's Max Good, Iona's Jeff Ruland,  Siena's Louie Orr, and Maine's John Giannini. 

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