College Basketball

Olsen sweeps it clean

Lute Olsen is back in charge at Arizona and has cleaned house to prove it. Besides losing Buddinger and Bayless to the pros he has also dismissed his entire staff.
Kevin O Neill, who was supposed to get the job when and if Olsen ever retires, was pushed aside and reassigned within the department. […]

NBA Early Entries

The following is a list of early entries into the NBA Draft. Obviously, some won’t keep their name in, but I am sure there are enough kids on this list who will listen the wrong advice and stay in. Testing the waters is a good thing, but if you aren’t getting guaranteed money […]

NBA and NCAA not a good mix

David Stern and Myles Brand have no idea what a high school basketball player, who is trying to make a name for himself, needs to get noticed. Nor do they care. They only care about the best of the best, making money and protecting their turf.
That is how I interpret the new proposal […]

Sampson Joins Bucks

As reported here last week Kelvin Sampson has signed on to be an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks under new head coach Scott Skiles. Follwing his dismissal from Indiana he was hired by Greg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs. Sampson is a tremdous coach and someone who can really relate to players. […]

Koufos to Stay in Draft

It looks like Ohio State seven-footer Kostos Koufos is going to sign with an agent and stay in the NBA draft. He is projected to go in the middle of the first round. Even if he doesn’t sign with the NBA his Greek passport will enable him to get over a $1 million […]

First Basketball President

I still remember seeing pictures of President Bill Clinton in the Arkansas cheering section when they won the national championship, but Barack Obama has gone one better. He got to play in a pick up game against some of the North Carolina players. Check out the video - even Bill Clinton couldn’t do that.
It’s […]

Underclassmen in the Draft

Are you kidding me? Who’s next for the NBA draft? I hear there is a back up guard at New Jersey Tech who is putting his name in the draft. Not really, but that’s how cheap the list of underclassmen entering the draft has become. The NBA needs to do something […]

Stanford Hires Dawkins

The Pac-10 continues with it’s bizarre hirings of head coaches. First Oregon State hired Craig Robinson away from Brown after two seasons (including only one winning one) and now Stanford has hired Johnny Dawkins from Duke.
Guys like Herb Sendek and Ben Howland must be licking their chops. Dakwins has been an assistant at […]

Buffalo Player Suspended for Face Book Posting

You are not going to believe what the leading scorer at Buffalo posted on his facebook account. Read the following:
The junior guard, who averaged 13.4 points per game, posted a message on Facebook last week that looked like this:
“I am paying anybody who have read the book `there are no children here’ by […]

Sampson headed for the Bucks

Former Indiana Head Coach Kelvin Sampson appears to be headed for an assistant position with Scott Skiles and the Milwaukee Bucks. I think it is a great move for him. His ego is such he will become a very good NBA coach. More importantly, now the NCAA can go after someone else’s […]

Tyler Hansbrough staying in school

Naismith POY Tyler Hansbrough has decided to return to North Carolina for his senior year.
However, sophomores Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington will declare for the NBA draft, but will not hire agents — leaving open the possibility of their return.
Hansbrough, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds. He led the Tar Heels (36-3) […]

One and dones

I’m through watching my last press conference where a freshman basketball player announces he is going to the NBA. What a charade! At least in Kansas State’s case they were honest in their presentation. Kudos to Coach Frank Martin and Michael Beasley for not thinking we’re all idiots. Martin, for his […]

Snyder Happy

Former Missouri head coach Quin Snyder is out of the limelight, but happy living another basketball dream. There is a great story on his year coaching the Austin Toreros in the D League.
I coached against him in his last year at Missouri. After the game he looked like death warmed over. I […]

Flannery Retires

College basketball lost one of it’s good guys today when Bucknell coach Pat Flannery retired. After 14 years at his alma mater he will move into fundraising for the university.
Flannery, a fiery sideline coach and great teacher, will be most remembered for his back to back first round (NCAA tourney) victories over Kansas and […]

Coaching Moves/Rumors

The million dollar man has arrived in Stillwater and it’s not Bill Self or a big name. Travis Ford took UMass to the NIT this year and coached Eastern Kentucky to one NCAA tourney appearance. He still finished 20 games under .500 at E. Kentucky. It is unbelievable to me that $1.3 […]

Ford to Oklahoma State

After dalliances with LSU and Providence, Travis Ford (UMass) pulled the trigger today by accepting the Oklahoma State head coaching position. His run at UMass combined with the rebuffs by Bill Self and Billy Gillespie led Mike Holder (Cowboy AD) to hire Ford.
On the surface it is a strange hire. Ford’s run at […]

Taylor King will transfer to Villanova

Taylor King, a former McDonald’s All-American, decided a couple of weeks ago to transfer out of Duke. Recently, he decided to play for Jay Wright at Villanova.
By NCAA rule, King won’t be eligible to compete for a year. But he figures it will actually work in his favor. By the time King is ready to […]

Beasley Turns Pro

The suspense is over (lol). Michael Beasley of Kansas State announced today at a press conference that he is entering his name into the NBA Draft. This news could have been delivered with a press release, but you have to give Kansas State credit for holding a press conference to announce the obvious. […]

San Francisco Tabs Walters

Moves from East Coast to West Coast continue with the hiring of Rex Walters (Florida Atlantic) at San Francisco. On the surface this hire looks as bizarre as the hiring of Craig Robinson at Oregon State. Walters, who is coming off a losing season at Florida Atlantic, is 31-33 as a head coach. […]

Providence Coaching Search

The search for a new coach at Providence continues. With Travis Ford (UMass) pulling out a couple of names have come to the forefront. Kevin Willard (Iona) and Larry Shyatt (Florida). Willard is a former Pitino assistant, but has not proven himself as a head coach yet. There are two better […]