The College Basketball Post

[mjmoney23]

I'll be going to the Uconn/MD game at msg tonight with my 8 year old son. Last uconn game I went there was the elite 8 against Michigan state. I think the atmosphere will be pretty intense tonight, especially for a regular season game. Hoping for a good game.

 

[dacomeup]

Xavier vs Cincy is this weekend

The Crosstown Shootout has a special place in my heart

Why?

 

[ricardo malta]

Why?

Dat Royal Rumble

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

Why?

I was stationed with a unit from Ohio back when Xavier had David West.

 

[youngthundercat]

Javon Carter needs to come on home. Stop fighting it bc it looks bad.

 

[stephenb]

Javon Carter needs to come on home. Stop fighting it bc it looks bad.

 

[dacomeup]

 

Why?

I was stationed with a unit from Ohio back when Xavier had David West.

Ah, that's dope. XU has quietly dominated this rivalry lately and pretty much surpassed UC as a program in regards to tourney success. Really need that to swing back the other way. Still feel like we have more talented squads, but the stagnant offenses that Mick's squads have had in the past don't translate to much tournament success. Have to be able to score some.

 

[JustBlaze.]

Xavier vs Cincy is this weekend

The Crosstown Shootout has a special place in my heart

Nice. This will forever remind me of #ZipEmUp

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

Sheldon Mcclellan is going to work . UF never had a chance tonight

 

[pretty tony]

Melo Trimble draft range?

 

[justicedivine]

I'm gonna channel my inner Magic and say Trimble is the best pg in the country

 

[JustBlaze.]

Melo Trimble draft range?

Fringe Late 1st/Early 2nd.

 

[superantigen]

We need real scorers on this Uconn squad. Got a bunch of pretenders running 'round over here...





...

 

[jpzx]

Confusing 1, Journalism 0 (F)

 

[justicedivine]

UCONNs gotta get out of the Kemba and Shabazz model of basketball because from what I've seen tonight, Jalen Adams has a ways to go.

 

[champcruthik]

Melo Trimble draft range?

Probably 20s at highest. He'd likely benefit from a junior season if the goal is to be a lottery pick. Love his composure with the basketball.

 

[zs05wc]

Confusing 1, Journalism 0 (F)

I don't get whats so confusing about that?

 

[ricardo malta]

I don't go to a lot of games anymore but that was probably one of the most exciting 2nd half's I've seen first hand for Uconn.

That touch foul at the end of the game then Ollie's tech was one of the most absurd things I've ever seen.

And I might be going out on a limb but from what I've seen so far, Maryland's front court = best in the country. Carter, Stone, Dodd, and Lyman are the got' damn goods and if Melo wasn't so ball dominant and utilized his bigs more, they'd be a cut above the rest of the country, IMO.

Seeing Rasheed in more of a facilitating role was refreshing to see. Shows his maturity from a year ago and TBH, I wouldn't mind THIS Rasheed at Duke now, especially with his ball hawking defense.

 

[gunna get it]

Will be 1st chance to watch a Entire Zona game this year...


How's Trier looking?

 

[tvobach]

UVA's defense in the second half last night 

 Tony Bennett can really coach, man.

 

[captainsneakerhead23]

UVA's defense in the second half last night   Tony Bennett can really coach, man.

This! They got housed in the paint and out hustled in the 1st half but looked like a completely different team in the 2nd.


And like I said the other day, Maryland's front court is the real deal, gonna give teams fits once it all comes together.

 

[tvobach]

And like I said the other day, Maryland's front court is the real deal, gonna give teams fits once it all comes together.

Diamond Stone showed some great signs last night -- I was wrong on him thus far.

 

[johnnyredstorm]

And like I said the other day, Maryland's front court is the real deal, gonna give teams fits once it all comes together.

Diamond Stone showed some great signs last night -- I was wrong on him thus far.

shame dude got the type of name that makes you think of a female porn star.

 

[jpzx]

Ex-Rutgers coach Mike Rice defies boss's wishes, refuses to answer questions at H.S. practice

By Matthew Stanmyre | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on December 09, 2015 7:30 AM

Mike Rice looked at home on the gym floor Tuesday afternoon, leading his players through a frenetic, fast-paced practice. He wore a green T-shirt and gray sweatpants, his hair now thinning and showing more slivers of silver. His raspy, booming voice echoed through the gym as he barked directions.

Rice, infamously fired as Rutgers men’s basketball coach in April of 2013 after video surfaced of him physically and verbally abusing players at practice, was named interim boys basketball coach at The Patrick School on Sunday, landing his first official coaching job since the scandal.

NJ Advance Media was invited by Patrick School principal Chris Chavannes to report on Rice’s first official practice with his new team Tuesday afternoon at Rahway High, where the Celtics practice because they don’t have their own gym.

We wondered what the rest of the basketball world likely did:

Has Rice changed?

Has he moved on from his infamous past?

Could he reassure parents of high school basketball players that he would not expose them to the same abuse?

Is he ready for the next chapter?

Those answers, however, wouldn’t be coming from Rice.

After a brief introduction toward the beginning of practice, Rice realized the reporter was the same one who wrote a story about Rice being ejected from the stands by a referee during his son’s varsity boys basketball game for Point Pleasant Beach High last February. Rice became upset.

“You were wrong,” Rice said. “I rarely tell people this, but you were wrong.”

Here’s what Rice was ticked off about: According to the Point Pleasant Beach Police Department, Rice and another adult in the stands were ejected from the gym when the crowd vociferously objected to a call. NJ.com reported the incident, including in the story the version from a police spokesman, along with comments from fans who said Rice “did not deserve to be thrown out,” because he “didn’t say a word.”

So, wrong about what?

What did Rice mean?

Wrong for reporting the incident?

Wrong, because he hadn’t actually been ejected, even though police said he had.

We had more questions, but he wasn’t answering.

In his first courtside interaction with the media, Rice had decided he wasn’t talking — a stance that clearly was uncomfortable with Chavannes, who had said coaches would be available to speak after practice.

“I’m not doing any interviews,” Rice said. “You came at my family.”

Patrick School players watched nearby in silence. Then, after about a minute, practice resumed.

About 10 minutes later, Rice approached again and said he would not be making any comments because he wanted the focus to be on the team. But he wouldn’t talk about his players, and they were also not made available for interviews.

He was asked if he would speak generally about how it felt to coach again, but he declined.

Chavannes, who is also the head basketball coach Rice is replacing on an interim basis through December, asked Rice to speak to the reporter at the end of practice. Rice again declined.

“If Walter Cronkite would raise up through the ground, I’m not doing any interviews with anybody,” Rice said. “At some point maybe, but right now it’s just not about me.”

Chavannes said he had informed Rice the media would be at practice Tuesday. Chavannes said he would not have invited the media if he knew Rice would not cooperate.

Rice is going to coach the team during several games in December and he will stay with the team through the entire season. There likely are going to be reporters there, because he was once a national story and because Patrick School is a program with a winning tradition. Is Rice going to refuse to talk to the media after those contests? If so, how will that be received?

Immediate controversy and a media boycott, obviously, are not what Patrick School's officials had envisioned after taking a gamble on Rice.

“I will speak to him,” Chavannes said of Rice.

On the basketball court, the scene was eerily familiar, too. The Rahway gym was coated in red paint and had a giant “R” at midcourt, just like the Rutgers Athletic Center, where Rice roamed the sidelines from 2010 to 2013.

Long known for his fiery demeanor, Rice’s behavior at Rutgers sparked one of the school’s biggest scandals when several hours of video from Rice’s practices surfaced. The video showed Rice shoving and kicking his players and throwing basketballs at their heads. His language was laced with profanity and homophobic slurs.

After Rice was fired, he underwent anger management counseling at the John Lucas’ Wellness and Aftercare Program in Houston. Rice also remained active on the local basketball scene, serving as a Team Tournament Director at The Hoop Group in Neptune.

It was while watching Rice coach at Hoop Group that Chavannes started thinking about bringing him into the program.

When the Patrick School announced Rice as interim coach Sunday, Chavannes said, “When he first came in, he was very open with the kids about what transpired at Rutgers and what he’s done and continues to do to recover from that. It’s not something he hides from and he’s very open about it.”

As practice wrapped up Tuesday, Chavannes appeared confused.

“I don’t know why he won’t speak to you,” Chavannes said. “I don’t.”

I actually don't think media members should craft stories around somebody's unwillingness to speak to the media. I know Chavannes said he wouldn't have invited the media if he didn't think Rice would speak, but come on, that's not a freaking story.

Cover the practice and how the players interact with him, how he interacts with the players, just leave it at that. Clearly the guy still is holding on to his past, but the media's agenda was clear here just by the tone of this article/reaction to Rice's comments on the last article about him getting kicked out of the game.

 

[seymore cake]

Maryland is my favorite to win it all this year. I'd love to see a rematch of them vs UNC in the chip.

Trimble vs Paige was damn good TV.