The College Basketball Post

I'm expecting a lot outta lil Jonny this yr, which is crazy considering everything he did last yr
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^Kelsey Bone is a beast (I think she's actually the number 2 ranked recruit, though). She has Texas A&M in her final 4, too
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UNC to hold top secret scrimmage
By Robbi Pickeral / McClatchy Newspapers
Friday, October 17, 2008 - Added 15h ago

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina's men's basketball team, a Final Four favorite, will play for the first time this season against Vanderbilt - onNov. 2 at the Smith Center.

But it's not on the preseason schedule.

You can't buy a ticket. It won't be on TV.

And the score will never be made public - if one is even kept.

"We can't publicize it, can't let fans in, can't give out any stats," said UNC associate athletic director Larry Gallo, who wouldn'teven name the opponent, place or date.

So: Shhhhhhh.

Under a strange NCAA rule, Division I teams such as UNC can only scrimmage against other Division I teams if it is done in secret - doors locked, no media, nofans, no official scoring. Even when it's conducted in a public building.

Typically, the top teams in the nation play two exhibition games against lower-division schools, foreign teams or club squads.

But teams can substitute an "informal practice scrimmage," as it is called in NCAA rules, for a preseason exhibition. The caveat: The only peopleallowed in are coaches, players and staff members necessary to conduct the workout. Recruits making official visits can also attend.

The (secret) practice rule has been around for about a decade. Wake Forest, for instance, scrimmaged UNC-Greensboro last year and has another conspicuous blankspot on its current preseason schedule. Davidson, which scrimmaged at Texas last season and made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, will make a return trip toAustin in the coming weeks. Vanderbilt has also done it for the past few years.

But the private workout will be a first for the Tar Heels, who are looking to pit All-American Tyler Hansbrough and point guard Ty Lawson against betterplayers than any Division II or III team can provide. Vanderbilt lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season and finished 26-8 under coach KevinStallings, a longtime friend of UNC coach Roy Williams.

Practice for NCAA teams officially begins at 5 p.m. on Friday. The Tar Heels open the regular season on Nov. 15.

"(The private scrimmage) gives your guys an opportunity to practice against a top-ranked team, and sometimes to travel, be on the road, to go through thesame routine and environment that you hope you're going to see during the regular season," said Davidson coach Bob McKillop, whose Southern ConferenceWildcats have quietly worked out against a Division I foe for the past six seasons. He said he was not allowed to name the who and when of those opponents.

Why all the the secrecy? That remains unclear. NCAA spokeswoman Gail Dent said in an e-mail: "The motivation of the bylaw is the concern over the demandsplaced on student-athletes and the games/scrimmages they play."

Exhibition games, she added, are similar to regular-season games which require media, and post- and pregame responsibilities. But not private scrimmages.

That doesn't explain why playing an open exhibition against a Division I team would be any different - or add any more responsibility for athletes - thanplaying an open exhibition against a smaller division team.
 
Quick question...Am i the only the only one that thinks georgetown is being overlooked?
 
Originally Posted by MBen32

Quick question...Am i the only the only one that thinks georgetown is being overlooked?
To what point? Or how good?

I've seen a wide range of opinions to a #11 ranking to the mid 30's.

I see a team around #15.
 
Davidson scrimmaging now...

Ummm...

Their talent level is so bad
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. But with McKillop and Steph...I guess itdoesn't matter much.
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Katz praising Siena
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I'm getting nervous with G'Town getting involved with Jalen Kendrick. UC is supposedly in really good with him right now and I'd hate to lose himto a school in conference. How the +%## is Georgetown recruiting Georgia players anyway? There's enough talent in the DMV to field a whole team
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Then you really won't like this..


"But what about this guy?" Thompson wondered, pointing to the fifth member of the group, Jalen Kendrick, the No. 26 recruit in the class of 2010, according to Rivals.

Kendrick broke into a wide smile and said he was "just waiting for the word" from Starks before commiting to Georgetown. "I'm gonna let the hype die down first," he said, getting the rest of the group to combust into laughter.

Who knows whether he'll actually come here - there are so many variables with recruiting - but he certainly seems to be seriously considering it.
 
Yea, that's what got me. Hopefully, he was just playing to the media and friends because I was expecting a commitment from him.
 
Yeah, IDK...haven't been following his recruitment as closely as others. MM is usually a good tool for III..we'll see.

...

Devendorf got a tat on the back of his neck?
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Seriously, what is in the water up there?
 
damn i wish i had ESPNU

i see the Bouldin avy
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..i like his game, especially how he goes towork in the post...straight abuses smaller guards

their squad is gonna be nice this year
 
Questions remain for players as practices begins

Friday, October 17, 2008 | Print Entry

Posted by Andy Katz
This week brought a few reminders about how fleeting all the chatter about the strength and depth of teams can be.
Check out this blotter:

• Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl talked this summer about competition at the point between freshman guard Daniel West and JC transfer Bobby Maze. The hope was that J.P. Prince could go back to his natural wing position. He still might, and Maze could end up being the starting point. But the Vols lack competition for the immediate future now that West hasn't been cleared to practice due to eligibility issues.

• Nevada coach Mark Fox wants to take his time with highly touted freshman forward Luke Babbitt. Fox was expecting to not have to worry about returning starting guard Brandon Fields. That is, until Fields and two freshmen, London Giles and Ahyaro Phillips, were suspended for misdemeanor petty larceny. The Wolf Pack is the pick in the WAC, but they will be extremely vulnerable if Fields is out for a long period of time. Nevada has a nasty nonconference schedule, including a rare home game on New Year's Eve against top-ranked North Carolina. This team needs to grow by then, not regress.

• Pitt's Levance Fields has been hurting from the effects of surgery on his broken foot in August. Fields' recovery has been slowed in the fall. The Panthers weren't sure he would make it by October, and now are hopeful he can play when the games mean something in late November. It's quite simple: Pitt needs a healthy Fields at the point in January to compete for a Big East title. Without him, they can still be formidable up front with DeJuan Blair and Sam Young, but won't be league champs.

• Louisville senior forward Terrence Williams had successful surgery on his knee and will be out for four to six weeks. The Cardinals are deep with plenty of similarly versatile players. But not having Williams' experience early in the season won't help. Like Fields, the Cards need Williams in January to be fit so they can challenge Connecticut and Notre Dame for the Big East title.

• North Carolina's Marcus Ginyard is out for at least the next month or more with a stress fracture in his left foot. The Tar Heels are deeper than they were a year ago with another strong freshman class, but Ginyard's experience on the court is hard to replace. As with most title contenders, the Tar Heels you see in November and December won't be the complete product you'll discover in March.

• San Diego State is a legitimate threat to unseat BYU and UNLV atop the Mountain West, but not if senior forward Lorrenzo Wade isn't playing. Wade is still suspended after pleading not guilty to a felony charge of stealing a television from a woman's home. Wade led the Aztecs in scoring last season with 14.8 points a game. The incident occurred Sept. 21, and Wade was suspended two weeks ago. He's not expected to be reinstated in the immediate future. If Wade doesn't get his act together soon and earn his way back, the Aztecs can say goodbye to a first-place challenge.

• UAB's Robert Vaden was arrested for public intoxication in Bloomington, Ind., last weekend, just after he was voted Conference USA's Player of the Year. Vaden's punishment isn't known yet. He was already on probation for getting arrested for a disorderly conduct charge in Birmingham last year. For Columbus weekend, Vaden went back to IU, where he was a scoring guard for then-IU coach Mike Davis, his current coach with the Blazers. This is another one that doesn't need any scientific explanation. It's rather first-grade material. If Vaden plays, then the Blazers have a chance at the NCAA tournament. If he doesn't, they won't. It's up to him to behave from this point forward if he's given the chance.

Here's what we still don't know as practice starts on major eligibility issues:

• Will USC get Alex Stepheson for this season after he transferred from North Carolina? He is seeking a waiver to play right away for hardship within his Los Angeles-based family.

• Will Seton Hall get New Mexico State's Herb Pope -- who was shot near his Pittsburgh-area home in high school and claims plenty of home duress in his eligibility appeal to the NCAA -- to be eligible immediately?

• Will the Pirates also get Missouri's Keon Lawrence eligible (academic reasons) in mid-December after Lawrence transferred home to be near his family in Newark that is apparently, according to coach Bobby Gonzalez, going through tough times?

• Will Connecticut, as the Huskies' coaching staff expects, get small forwards junior Stanley Robinson and freshman Ater Majok eligible in mid-December, too? Robinson's issue apparently isn't eligibility but more of a responsibility one, while Majok does have to get through the NCAA clearinghouse. Meanwhile, Nate Miles, the expelled UConn freshman forward, started using a scholarship that can't be given to someone else this season. That means Robinson, if he's eligible, would and apparently plans on paying his own tuition for the spring semester (he qualifies for financial aid). The UConn roster lists 11 scholarship players now; Majok would be the 12th, and Miles has the 13th locked.

One final nugget

•Saint Joseph's Phil Martelli signed a four-year extension to take him to 2015-16 with the Hawks. Martelli's name has been bandied about recently for openings such as Providence and Rutgers. But there may not be a coach who fits his school and his city more than Martelli. I never believed Martelli would leave Saint Joe's or Philadelphia.

..

UNC Asheville senior Kenny George had part of his right foot amputated, a sourceconfirmed to ESPN.com.

The source said the amputation, which occurred three weeks ago, was the result of George's battle with MRSA, a difficult to treat and sometimeslife-threatening antibiotic-resistant staph infection.

The Asheville Citizen Times first reported the story.

In August, George returned to his Chicago home from Pete Newell's Big Man Camp in Las Vegas with an infection in his foot.

Doctors there suggested that George immediately see a specialist. He's been hospitalized in Iowa since then, the source said, enduring several surgeriesand at one time battling for his life. He's expected to remain in the hospital for at least another month.

MRSA is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact through openings in the skin.

Last month UNC Asheville said that George would not play this semester because of a foot infection but did not release further details.

George, at 7-foot-7 college basketball's tallest player, averaged 12.4 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs last season. The Big South'sdefensive player of the year, he led them to a school record 23 wins.

Coach Eddie Biedenbach declined to comment about the specifics but said he expects George to return to campus next semester and complete his degree in masscommunications.

"This is a terrible setback for his basketball life but there is so much more to him than basketball,'' Biedenbach said.
 
STORRS, Conn. - It's difficult to take much from Midnight Madness. However, here are some observations from my day spent up at UConn.

- It's going to be awfully difficult to keep freshman point guard Kemba Walker off the floor. Despite the fact that the team played a 10-minute intrasquadscrimmage, there's a reason why Walker looks as though he belongs. He's quick, gets into the lane and a three-guard lineup of him, A.J. Price andJerome Dyson would be scary in transition.

- Hasheem Thabeet has added about seven pounds of muscle and is certainly oozing with confidence - especially on the offensive end. Thabeet has also opted toget rid of the braids.

- People have to remember that the 21-year-old Thabeet started playing basketball at the age of 15. He said he started playing because he was tall, but that hehas grown to love it.

- Jim Calhoun looks much thinner after radiation this past summer to treat skin cancer.

- A.J. Price on his knee. ``If it was a game tonight, I'd be playing. I'm very close to 100 percent."

- Price on North Carolina being the clear-cut preseason No. 1 team: ``They have a good team and deserve everything they're getting now. As far as thembeing number one now, it's not how you start, it's how you finish."

- Adrien on the Tar Heels: ``I'd rather be under the radar."

- Adrien has a chance to become the first player under Calhoun to grab 1,000 career rebounds. He needs 232 this season. ``He's a stud," Calhoun said.

- Price also said he welcomes the opportunity to play off the ball with freshman Walker. ``He gives us something we didn't have last year - another pointguard. If we need more scoring, I can slide to the two and we won't miss a beat."

- Calhoun said he would have rather been watching the Boise State football team.

- One insignificant footnote: Jerome Dyson edged out Walker and Gavin Edwards to win the Slam Dunk Contest.

..
AJ...he's gona move you off the ball, whether you like it or not.
 
Originally Posted by DaComeUP

He just landed Delvon Roe in his '08 class. He had Kalin Lucas in '07 and Raymar Morgan '06 .He really looks for guys that fit into his system in opposition to going for Mayo's, Roses, or Beasleys.
Yeah Kalin is nice, dude came on strong towards the end of the season and played great against Pitt in the tourney
 
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