A few weeks ago we reported that IUPUI Coach Ron Hunter and his players were going to travel to African this summer to deliver some 250,000 pairs of shoes for underprivileged children with the non-profit group Samaritan’s Feet and Shoes of Hope.
But word has it that while the shoes have already been delivered to Africa and will be distributed to the needy children, Hunter and his players have to cancel the trip due to travel concerns in Nigeria.
Hunter and his players will still travel to Lima, Peru later this month where they will deliver 150,000 pairs of shoes and hold basketball clinics for underprivileged children, and helping others who were hit hard my last year’s devastating earthquake.
According to ESPN.com, a new Muslim law that legislates how women may dress and when they can appear in public, caused Hunter to cancel the trip. He said he still may visit the Continent before the season begins.
It’s very unfortunate that this goodwill trip had to be canceled. It would have been wonderful for the players to visit places where some of their ancestors came from, and gain a valuable learning experience that will last a lifetime.
But not only do you have to applaud Hunter and his efforts to raise awareness and for making such a great donation, but also applaud him for taking a stand for something he sees as unjust and potentially dangerous.
Aren’t you glad we don’t have those kind of problems here?
Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl has accepted an extension that is supposed to keep him with the Volunteers until 2014.
Pearl is another very good if not great coach who got the raise and promotion he deserves. He led his team to the number one ranking last season (although it lasted as long as it did to write this post). Tennessee won the South Eastern Conference and reached the regional semifinals. The Tennessee men’s program still has a long way to go, but it is starting to come out of the shadows of its better-known women’s program.
I hate beating a dead horse, but remember, this is the same Bruce Pearl who all but accepted the Indiana University job in April. He even called it his “Dream Job,” and now he accepts an extension to stay at Tennessee?
According to reports, “should Pearl, 48, leave Tennessee in the next year, his buyout would cost $2.5 million - a figure that will decrease incrementally over the next four years to $1 million.”
I just don’t get Athletic Directors and university presidents who lock coaches into long term contracts when the lure of better jobs and the NBA is as strong as it is to the players they coach.
Soon after I wrote about how Davidson Coach Bob McKillop received a contract extension through the 2015-16 season and won’t be around long enough before heading for the bigger and better, UCLA’s Ben Howland signed a deal lasting through the 2014-15 season this week. The new extension will pay Howland $1.97 million next season and $2.3 million in the final year, plus incentives that could top out at $235,000 a year.
And again I say, yeah, right!
Howland won’t see that $2.3 million because he won’t be at UCLA to collect it.
Howland is an even bigger commodity than McKillop. First off, he’s been to the Final Four three consecutive times. Second he coaches in the media capital of the world where everyone is watching him – especially NBA executives. And third, he coaches at UCLA, not known for keeping coaches for a long time unless their name happens to be John Wooden.
I’m predicting that Howland and the Bruins will win a national title or multiple titles before the 2014-15 season. And when that happens the NBA will call. Hey, it may even happen before the Bruins finally win one under Howland. All Howland needs is a few more solid seasons and some pro team in desperate need of a new makeup, new direction, or someone fresh to lead a team that just stinks will call him.
The NBA is tempting for just about every college coach. It was for Larry Brown, Jerry Tarkanian, Tim Floyd, Mike Montgomery and Rick Pitino just to name a few. Only Brown was able to win at both levels – at the University of Kansas and with the Detroit Pistons.
Howland is a good if not great coach. There’s no way he will resist the temptation of the NBA before 2014-15, especially since he plays in the same town that houses the Los Angeles Clippers.
I’m no Nostradamus when it comes to forecasting players’ draft positions, as you can probably already tell.
My NBA draft predictions weren’t exactly MattMillen-esque, actually far from it, however a couple of glaring mistakes certainly overshadowed the brilliant gems.
Like anyone is keeping score at home, besides me that is.
I keep score.
In previous posts I predicted
Shawn James, a shot blocker out of Duquesne, would be drafted.
I also was high on St. Joes forward Pat Calathes. He too was not drafted. However, I happened to notice that Jay Bilas had Pat Calathes on his list of 6 best remaining players not yet drafted, though that was after pick # 59.
My big monstrosity of an error was the George Hill prediction. Plain and simple I didn’t expect teams to have much respect for George, the little Summit League star from IUPUI.
I will say it again for whoever may have missed it: Seeing George Hill play in person, as I did late in the season last year, didn’t really allow me to gage his full repertoire and potential.
Obviously that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
Now my opinion about the kid could have been swayed because of the complete beating Oakland U put on IUPUI that night, though I would have hoped it would not have because that’s not a sensible way to go about forming opinions on players. Thinking back I probably let the outcome of the game affect what I thought about George Hill.
Still doesn’t mean he will be any good but…
The guy was picked in the first round and by the San Antonio Spurs no less!
Victories
At least Sasha Kaun and Malik Hairston were drafted. And at least D.J. White was drafted in round one, even though the team who drafted him didn’t keep him.
Another little victory for me was Bill Walker. Yeah, he slipped a bit, but he’s on the best NBA team out there right now.
And finally I’d like to take credit and say I knew Jason Thompson would be a top #15 pick, but that would be a lie. Though I did say he was intriguing…
A morsel of my last post discussed Chris Douglas-Roberts’s draft night gag, and as expected, nothing much was accomplished. I guess the post was a good excuse to get Shawn Marion’s name out there, Kevin Martin’s as well, but of course I whiffed at the chance to link out to some frequently visited pro basketball blogs.
Lesson learned.
Mental note forwarded.
Will whore myself out more for the chance of getting more pv’s in the future.
So anyway, the whole story of why CDR’s stock dropped so excessively can be explained quite simply. It’s not as wondrous as a Harry Potter adventure… or an ominous kidney—but it will do for now, at least until Joe Dumars can escape the area so the steadfast anti-Tayshaun Prince portion of Metro Detroit doesn’t tear down his residence with him in it, or worse, leak out malicious, yet well meaning, trade proposals of a re-acquisition of Darko!
CDR apparently took the easy route during the draft workout period. It seems that CDR was extremely confident he would not be around at #20. Thus not only did he decline a workout with the Detroit Pistons, an organization’s fan base who is desperately wondering why Walter Sharpe was picked instead of CDR, he also most likely declined workout invitations from various other teams selecting after pick #20. If that assertion is valid, then shame on CDR for having a bigger head than Placido Polanco and for not putting himself out there to the best of his ability. After all, jobs are hard to come by in the NBA, very hard. There aren’t many openings, but when there are, there’s dozens and dozens of talented guys who would do anything to fill them.
Being picky about who you workout for not only sends a bad message to the teams he blew off, but the league as a whole. You can be sure other teams took note of his behavior.
So it seems that the “unorthodox” label was only part of the pie.
Maybe a demon or two lurk in CDR’s Detroit past? Maybe he’s acutely aware of a leech like entourage waiting for him, waiting to engulf him, to suck from him the very strength and focus he had in order to make it out in the first place.
Bob McKillop was given a contract extension through the 2015-16 season at Davidson.
Many of you will remember Davidson as the little engine that could in last season’s NCAA tournament. The tiny Charlotte, North Carolina school had a run that caused basketball brackets to be torn and shredded at jobs all over the nation.
The Wildcats came within a three-point shot of reaching the Final Four in a 59-57 loss to eventual champion Kansas.
But if anyone thinks that McKillop is actually going to stay at Davidson through 2015-16 is sadly mistaken. Well, you’re nuts!
McKillop, who has a career record of 340-225 at Davidson in 19 years is now a hot commodity. If he has another great season and another great run at the Big Dance, rest assured he will not be around for a 20th season.
He will get offers from some of the big schools. Schools that will be looking for a new start, a fresh face and someone with a solid track record of winning.
McKillop fits that profile.
McKillop said in a press conference last week that he is at peace where he is, loves the school, great fit for he and his family, blah, blah, blah.
But let someone out of the Pacific 10, ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12 or Big East come calling with an offer and see how much McKillop still thinks he’s in the best place at Davidson.
This is not a jab at McKillop or the fine folks at Davidson. I just find it hard to believe that someone of McKillop’s talent would not take advantage of some of the coaching opportunities that will no doubt come his way.
Now that we (when I say we I mean Ryan) have done the NBA draft to death with phenomenal coverage that make some of the other sites bow their heads in awe and worship, it’s time to get on with other news.
It looks like it’s three strikes and you are out for Georgia Bulldogs junior guard Billy Humphrey. Georgia Coach Dennis Felton had finally had enough of Humphrey’s shenanigans and dismissed him after his third arrest.
The final nail in the coffin for Humphrey was a DUI (Driving Under the Influence) failure to maintain his lane and the underage purchase of alcohol last week. Humphrey is 20, and whether the rest of you and Humphrey believe it or not, the legal drinking age is still 21.
It was the second time he was busted for underage drinking. In February he was also caught for possession of alcohol after leaving an Athens nightclub.
Humphrey was previously arrested in November of last year for possessing a pocket knife more than two inches long on the University of Georgia campus, which is a felony weapons charge. That was enough for a suspension.
In all seriousness, it looks like Humphrey will have to find another place to play college basketball and it’s too bad. The 6-2, 190 pound junior guard looked like he was coming into his own averaging 12.2 points a game for the Bulldogs last season.
Let’s hope that this is the wake up call that Humphrey needs to straighten himself out, stay out of trouble and away from the booze and weapons before he and/or someone gets seriously hurt.
Through all the NBA Draft hype, I got a message from reader Ransom Marshall who asked me what I thought about IUPUI guard George Hill.
My response was: “I for one like Hill. Is he an NBA prospect? I agree with Ryan [Pravato] and say not this year. I’m not a fan of players from some of the more low-profile schools coming out that early after not really being tested. With another solid year of college under his belt he could be a good role player for an NBA team in 2009-10. I just hope this kid doesn’t end up bouncing around from one D-League team to another next season and we don’t ever hear from him again.”
Marshall responded with: “I think George will be selected in the first round. Call me crazy but also call me if I’m right.”
Shows how much me, Mr. College Basketball Expert with the big time blog knows.
Not only was Hill drafted, but he was the 26th pick by the San Antonio Spurs! None of the other so-called experts had Hill going in the first round or even being drafted at all.
Hill, a 6-2, 181 pound point guard averaged 21.5 points and 6.9 assists a game as a junior was impressive, but was he really impressive enough to go first round?
Apparently Marshall thought so and so did the Spurs. And as the Spurs continue to age, I’m sure they are looking at Hill to be part of the rebuilding and youth movement that will eventually have to take place.
Hill went ahead of another one of my favorites players Mario Chalmers, an all-everything point guard and the hero of the national championship game for Kansas. Chalmers was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves at in the second round at number 34 and was later traded to the Miami Heat.
Now that Marshall has shown us up the least I can do is offer him a free lunch or a cheap dinner. I’m not sure what Ryan has to offer.
On Thursday night Minnesota had a lot of people respecting them, believing they had made the correct selection at #3. But when folks woke up Friday, many were probably not too surprised the team who gave up Kevin Garnett traded away O.J. Mayo too. This time the T-Wolves didn’t get a Al Jefferson type of talent in return, instead they got a low ceiling player in Kevin Love.
Memphis looks much more legit now with a Mayo-Gay combo.
Minnesota? Jefferson-McCants, Jefferson-Gomes.
Ouch.
Speaking of Memphis, Chris Douglas-Roberts did get chosen by a team on draft night. It might have been after most went to bed or stopped watching, but it did happen.
CDR got to the free throw line 63 times during last year’s tourney. He scored 20 + points in 5 out of the 6 games.
Those stout postseason numbers combined with an impressive 3 year career, in a logical world, would have meant a nice first round guaranteed contract.
Instead he went 40th.
He went AFTER college players such as D.J. White, Courtney Lee, the impervious George Hill, the literal sleepy man Walter Sharpe, household name Sonny Weems and even the next Bruce Bowen, Luc Richard Mbah A Moute.
During the draft the term “unorthodox” was thrown around every time CDR’s name came about.
News Flash
Shawn Marion
Manu Ginobili
Kevin Martin…
are just a couple off hand names that came to mind of unorthodox players.
Additionally: the Nets drafted Ryan Anderson and Chris Douglas Roberts. I love Anderson’s ability to shoot the ball. Chris Douglas-Roberts has some ability as a slashing scorer, but he’s not NBA quick, and he never struck me as that strong. But he’s gotten it done on one of the best teams in the country, so he gets a second round look.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement of CDR, yet his success during his college career cannot be overlooked. The stats are there.
West Virginia phenom Joe Alexander was drafted at #8.
Talk practice believes Joe Alexander is a Mandarin speaking, semi-athletic, solely mid-range jump shooting defensive liability. Well they got the Mandarin part right. Apparently Joe stole the walk-on spot at WVU of someone over at talkpractice—nobody would otherwise be able to come up with that conclusion. The guy has a go get’em attitude and all the skills to be a big time player in the NBA.
12 Pac 10 players were taken, the most out of any conference. A few surprises, at least from my point of view
Maarty Luenen #54
Bayless slipped to #11
Moute was indeed drafted, much to the surprise of… well, probably just me.
Other suprises
Patrick Ewing Jr., all 6.1ppg of him, was drafted at #43.
Bill Walker #47, the guy I’ve compared to Paul Pierce, will actually get to suit with Paul this coming season. Not a bad guy to be mentored by. His reoccurring knee problems were really the red flag that kept many teams away.
Darrell Arthur was THE Surprise of draft night. The Kansas star, after being passes over selection by selection, sunk lower and lower into his chair, all the virility he held at the beginning of the night gone, but at #27 his wait was over. For a short time he had to think it was well worth it, because New Orleans picked him, meaning he would play with the best point guard in the world.
That was not to be. Memphis ended up receiving Arthur at the conclusion of the draft wheeling and dealing. What a find.
Some kind of supposed kidney problem really scared teams away from Arthur.
Was it all just a big misunderstanding? Did 15 or so teams really just pass on a future NBA starter? More info here at SI.com
Kansas was well represented on draft night. Not only did Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur get selected, but fellow starters Darnell Jackson and Mario Chalmers were selected in round two, as was super sub Sasha Kaun.
It didn’t stop there. Former Jayhawk J.R. Giddens (New Mexico) was the last player drafted in the first round.
Rider product Jason Thompson was drafted at #12. I had a good feeling about him going into the draft, but top 15 was beyond outstanding. Remember small school star Rodney Stuckey? Don’t sleep on those small school guys.
Some mentionable undrafted players
Chris Lofton- Will get his chance Gary Forbes- A guy who could improve his craft overseas Josh Duncan- A tweener who will have to take the tough route DeMarcus Nelson- Could latch on somewhere as a lock down defender Pat Calathes- His inability to out jump and run people really got him Jamont Gordon- Should have returned to school and improved his stroke Davon Jefferson- Came out way too early and didn’t play with enough passion in the Pre-Draft camps David Padgett- Better off not drafted, he will get to choose which team is best for him to try out for. Good chance he’s on a roster within a couple of years. He’s still really cool either way. Drew Neitzel- Spartan Weblog believes this was best for Drew. He, like Padgett, gets to choose the “best fit”
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