While I fully agree with their right to leave college after one year and go to the NBA, or even just go straight from high school, I will give you two one-and-dones that I have examined lately that are concerning.
John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins show why drafting one-and-dones is often accompanied by growing pains
January 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
What College Basketball Program Should Each Locked-Out NBA Fan Base Adopt for the 2011-12 Season?
October 20, 2011 By 26 Comments
The longer the NBA lockout drags on, the more likely it is that fans of NBA will have to find something else to occupy their time this winter and spring. The obvious alternative for NBA fans looking to satisfy their basketball jones is, of course, to watch old NBA Superstars videos on YouTube.
I highly recommend this one on Mark Price, not only because I can appreciate a white guy in short shorts who can shoot, but mainly because of the ironically named song “Black Gold” providing the background music. Other classics are Charles Barkley as “The Warrior”, Larry Bird and his “Small Town” roots, and, of course, Michael Jordan taking our breath away.
But once NBA fans are done reminiscing with these terrific videos, what then? I mean, yeah, Google Image searches for “kurt rambis mustache” and “brian cardinal” are entertaining, but it’s not replacing watching actual basketball games.
That is why NBA fans need to direct their basketball-starved attention one level down to the college game. And for those NBA fans who are not too distraught by the lockout to acquiesce, here is a guide for which college basketball team each should follow based on his or her NBA allegiance.
Sweet 16 Preview: Ohio State v Kentucky – 3 Things the ‘Cats Must Do To Knock Off the Buckeyes
March 21, 2011 By 18 Comments
The Wisconsin-Butler matchup on Thursday night is going to be outstanding. I cannot wait to watch that game. I am also greatly intrigued by UCONN-San Diego State, Florida-BYU, and really all of the other matchups on Thursday and Friday night because, well, this is the Sweet 16 after all.
But no matchup has me more intrigued than the matchup between the #1 seed and the #4 seed in the East Region – Ohio State versus Kentucky.
That’s why I am kicking off my part of our Sweet 16 previews off with this matchup. No sense saving the best for last. The most compelling matchup comes first for me.
LeBron-to-Bulls and LeBron-Calipari Rumors Pick Up Steam
May 17, 2010 By 3 Comments
And so it continues.
If you didn’t expect this Monday morning to filled with more unnecessary but inevitable LeBron James rumor mongering, well you just don’t understand the new world of sports media.
On Saturday, I looked at two of the most prominent rumors circulating in the aftermath of the Cavs Game 6 loss to the Celtics. I told you why you should dismiss one and pay attention to the other.
As we sit here on Monday morning, nothing has occurred to change the opinion expressed there one bit. Quite the contrary in fact. Reports this morning indicate I just might have been right on the money.
Analyzing the LeBron Rumors: One Easy to Dismiss, Another One…Not So Much
May 15, 2010 By 5 Comments
In the 48 hour aftermath of the Cavs’ Game 6 loss to the Boston Celtics, two prominent rumors started to circulate through the paper-thin walls of the Interwebs.
The first rumor was not necessarily new, it just started to gain new steam: basically that LeBron and current Kentucky coach John Calipari were going to be a package deal wherever LeBron ends up playing next season. The close association of both to William “Worldwise Wes” Wesley had turned this whisper into a low murmur some time ago.
The second rumor was new, and while it is significantly more sensational, scintillating, and salacious, it is much, much easier to simply dismiss as baseless Internet chatter. That rumor, if you have not heard it, is that LeBron found out before Game 5 that teammate Delonte West was sleeping with Gloria James, LeBron’s mother.
Since I remain fascinated by this story despite multiple proclamations that I’m sick of it, I decided to dig a bit more into both this morning. What I found didn’t really surprise me.
MSF Top 10 List: Reactions to the “Quicken Groans LeBracle”
May 12, 2010 By 12 Comments
There is only one way to accurately describe what happened last night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland:
WTF?
Perhaps not so coincidentally, the three letters above represent the same WTF number of shots LeBron James made last night.
Really, WTF doesn’t even describe last night’s game. Cleveland and LeBron pretty much rolled over, on their home floor, in a must win game, in a performance that even the Atlanta Hawks would have considered soft.
Every sports news outlet from Bristol to Bangkok will be dissecting LeBron’s poor play last night and assessing what it may or may not mean for his future in Cleveland. I thought I’d throw my two cents in as well, although with a little bit of a difference perspective.
So…what exactly does go on behind the scenes at Kentucky?
April 28, 2010 By 2 Comments
From TestudoTimes.com:
There’s a John Calipari impersonator on Facebook, who sent this (100% fake) message to Marquis Teague, the five star point guard and recent commitment to Kentucky.
Teague’s response, though, is 100% honest and true. Which, to me, is hilarious. As fans of one of the last “honest” coaches in the NCAA, I thought some of you would get a kick out of it.
Click here to view the awesome Fake John Calipari message.
This should perk up the ears of the NCAA, no?
Elite 8: Kentucky-West Virginia Preview and Prediction for East Regional Final
March 26, 2010 By 1 Comment
Last night, Kentucky disappointed everyone in America who is not a part of Big Blue Nation by knocking off 12th seeded Cornell in rather efficient, easy fashion. The Big Red played hard, but ultimately didn’t have the horses to run with John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Co.
Kentucky’s victory, along with West Virginia’s second half dominance over Washington, sets up Saturday night’s marquee primetime Elite 8 matchup that will determine the East Regional representative in the Final Four.
As we know, every Kentucky victory is just one more that will ultimately have to be wiped from the books once John Calipari’s diabolical team-building methods are uncovered. Will Big Blue Nation at least get enjoy their basketball house of cards for one more weekend? Or will the Huggy Bear and his Mountaineers travel west to Indianapolis for the Final Four?
March MADness: 22 Pictures of the Angriest College Basketball Coaches in America
March 11, 2010 By 6 Comments
March Madness is upon us, so as part of our continuing coverage here at MSF I thought it might be fun to do something a little different.
Lacking any motivation to do serious bubble or conference tournament analysis, I decided to spend a half hour with Google Images and find some of the funniest pictures of college basketball coaches that were available.
The result is what follows, a pictorial celebration of the MAD in March Madness, featuring the coaches of the current top 16 teams in America, as well as five others thrown in for good (see: hilarious) measure.
The Top 8 Coaches in College Basketball – Who is #1?
March 2, 2010 By 8 Comments
The NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament is quickly approaching as you no doubt are aware if you’ve spent any time here at MSF lately. This site gets completely overtaken by March Madness and college basketball talk during the third month of the year…and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
With that being the case, it seemed more than reasonable that we take a few moments to analyze the most important individuals for the upcoming month. No, I’m not talking about John Wall, Evan Turner, or any of the players; this is college basketball, where any talk of “most important individual” begins and ends with the coaches (who, by way of their massive egos and general self-aggrandizing propensities, wouldn’t have it any other way.)
Today’s discussion will center around one simple question: who is the best active coach in college basketball?
The way I see it, a case can really only be made for eight men to even be in the discussion. I’ll rank all eight, and then you can agree or disagree in the comment section.
Deuce Bello: Awesome Name, Even Better Dunk (Video)
February 1, 2010 By 1 Comment
A few weeks back I shared with you a sweet dunk by Errick McCollum, a small school college basketball player from Indiana. Today, I’m going even younger to show you an even more ridiculous dunk by a kid who is still in high school.
The kid in question is named Deuce Bello, which is the kind of smooth, rhythmic, catchy name that a guy named Jerod Morris can only dream about.
Bello, who attends Westchester Country Day High School in North Carolina, and is only a junior, threw down a ridiculous between-the-legs dunk during a game, the video evidence of which you can see below.
Monday Link Dump: Terrorists on the Detroit D-Line, a Potential Chris Johnson-Usain Bolt Race, More
January 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
“John Calipari Rule” Now In Effect for Letters of Intent
October 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment
From our friends at The World According to MoonDog:
In what could be called the John Calipari Rule, the Collegiate Commissioners Association issued a memo last week that immediately prohibits National Letters of Intent from being modified.
The CCAs action comes about as more highly rated prep basketball recruits had increasingly asked for amendments to the letters of intent.
While the amendments varied, most centered on a recruits ability to be let out of his commitment without penalty if the coach leaves the school for any reason.
Follow the link to read more about the “John Calipari Rule” that will now be in effect for national letters of intent…and why MoonDog is suggesting it be named after Mr. Ethics himself.
Sports World Roundup: Video of the Carlos Zambrano Ejection and Problems in Memphis
May 28, 2009 By 1 Comment
Earlier this week in my fantasy baseball league we began debating what makes a pitcher an ace. Naturally, this came in response to me taking it personally that I did not think one of my leaguemates was giving Mark Buehrle the credit he deserved for being an ace. I don’t want to rehash the whole argument here, because any consistent MSF reader knows that I espouse the underrated greatness of Mark Buehrle at every opportunity already. However, I do want to correct one claim that I made in my message post that was attempting to define an ace.
I listed out all of the current MLB pitchers that I consider to be aces. Here is the list:
- Roy Halladay
- C.C. Sabathia
- Josh Beckett
- John Smoltz
- Mark Buehrle
- Zack Greinke
- Justin Verlander
- John Lackey
- Cole Hamels
- Johan Santana
- Chris Carpenter
- Yovani Gallardo
- Roy Oswalt
- Carlos Zambrano
- Chad Billingsley
- Jake Peavy
- Brandon Webb
- Tim Lincecum
Of all the guys listed on there, the one that gave me the most trouble was Carlos Zambrano. Certainly he is a talented pitcher and has put up very good statistics over his career. But what made me pause when listing his name was Zambrano’s famous propensity to completely lose his cool, especially in big moments.
Well, the day after I posted the above list, Carlos Zambrano blew another gasket and not only embarrassed himself and his team, he was ejected in a big spot and will probably be suspended. The Cubs were leading 2-1 in the 7th inning at the time, and luckily for Zambrano his teammates bailed him out and held on for the 5-2 win. Still, with the Cubs struggling and their purported ace on the hill, you would like to think he could be counted on to keep his emotions in check and not be removed from the game for such a silly outburst.
Here is the video of the Carlos Zambrano ejection if you have not seen it yet:
While driving in to work today, Tim Kirkjian was on the radio and he was specifically asked if Carlos Zambrano was an ace, if his teammates trusted him. Kirkjian said that he talked to a former Cubs player who said he loved Carlos Zambrano, and obviously thought he was a great pitcher; but, that he would not trust him to control his emotions and put his team in a position to win in Game 7 of a playoff series or any other big game.
I defined an ace very much that way: a guy that the manager, teammates, and fans expects to put his team in a position to win every time he takes the hill, regardless of opponent or circumstance. It looks like I was wrong to include Carlos Zambrano on that list.
In other sports news…
The Memphis basketball program is facing some major trouble regarding possible impropriety in regards to the SAT test of a prominent member of the 2008 National Finalist team. Though his name is not officially included in the NCAA report, all of the speculation is surrounding former Tiger and current Bull Derrick Rose. Looks like John Calipari may have gotten out just in time. I wonder if he knew this was coming down and if that was any motivation to leave?
In other feel-good John Calipari news, his latest phenom recruit John Wall plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of breaking and entering. The charges don’t sound egregious by any means, but made all the more interesting as the stench of Calipari continues to envelop college basketball.
Zoner Sports has decided to make a list of the five coaches most likely to be “Sprewell’d”. Coaches from two of my favorite teams made the list: Lane Kiffin and Ozzie Guillen. And if Bob Knight were still coaching, he might have made the list too. What is it with me being a fan of teams with loose cannon coaches?
I wish I could shoot pool like this kid.
You can feel the court of public opinion starting to trend in Michael Vick’s favor. The latest and greatest to jump on the “give Vick a second chance” bandwagon is JM Van Horn at MoonDog Sports.
While they are waiting, the guys over at WFNY wonder if tonight’s game impacts LeBron’s future in Cleveland. If it does, all I can say is I hope the Cavs win. I do not want to see him playing anywhere else…but this series has definitely proven that he still needs more help. Robert Littal BSO likens the current version of LeBron James to MJ circa 1989. It is an apt comparison.
It’s Thursday and she’s hot, so why not?
The player ratings for the new Madden video game have been released. I wonder what LaDainian Tomlinson will think seeing himself at 94…but former backup Michael Turner at a 95. And does anyone else have a problem with Calvin Johnson being below Anquan Boldin and Roddy White? Those are both great receivers, but I think I’d rather have Johnson.
And that’s a wrap for this morning. Have a great day everyone.
Bob Knight Thinks John Calipari Has an Integrity Problem
Last night I saw a few tweets saying that Bob Knight had returned to the Hoosier State to speak on behalf of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Even though I’d rather he return to Indiana University, where he can be properly honored, at least he was within state borders. So I was excited at least by the progress.
What I did not realize until I woke up this morning was what Knight actually said during his speech, which is making the rounds this morning and rightfully so.
What did Bob Knight say? Basically he said exactly what I’ve been saying about John Calipari for years now.
To which I really have only one response:
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