By Paul Gotham
John Wall, Antoine Walker and Joe Strummer
‘Tis the season to figure out who is staying and who is leaving. Wait! Is that a Clash song I hear you humming? That’s right – “Should I stay, or should I go?”
Click here to get Sports Illustrated’s most recent list of 2010 NBA draft early entries. The list is still growing. CBS’s Gary Parrish is reporting that Memphis’s Elliot Williams intends to dip his toes into the water and check the temperature. How far behind is Duke’s Kyle Singler?
With Williams included, that makes 45 early entries. Someone check my math on that one, and correct me if I am wrong. There are 30 teams in the NBA. There are two rounds in the NBA Draft. That means sixty guys will hear their name called on June 24th.
Many are referring to the possible lockout as motivation for the large number of early entrants. I realize this a naive view, but look at that logic. These guys are leaving a chance to play for the possibility of sitting out. I know; I know. It’s all about the cash.
Excuse me for a second.
I had to go rinse the vomit from my mouth.
Hopefully, some of these guys will come to their senses by the May 8th deadline to remove a name and maintain college eligibility. Have any of these guys considered that Michael Jordan played three years in the NCAA? Have any of them heard or read the cautionary tale of Antoine Walker? If not, they could click here for one version. Or, click here for another version. If a fourth story is needed, then click here.
Anyone sick of clicking yet?
I can provide more links if needed. Just leave a comment, I’ll post a couple more. We aim to please here at Pickin’ Splinters.
I understand John Wall leaving. His only rival when it comes to hype is…is…um…the Jonas Brothers?
I’ll let you think about that one for a minute.
Seriously, does he think the NBA is going to be any easier than that game against West Virginia?
Funny thing is, when I look at that list, at least half of those guys are going to the NBA because they think it will be easier. Think about it. They can’t hack the requirements of college life, so they go to the Association. At what point do NBA execs realize this, and stop drafting guys who are looking for the easy way out?
Has anyone considered that MJ has contributed to the current watered down level of play in the Association?
Merry go round
“In dreams. Writes ’em down it seems. When she sleeps, she’s free. Merry go round in dreams.”
Players aren’t the only ones making moves. Now is the time for upwardly mobile coaches to claim their stake.
Click here for a list of most of the coaching changes up to this point.
Some worth noting. Oliver Purnell makes the move from Clemson to DePaul. When DePaul hesitated on this hire, I thought for sure they were waiting for the Duke season to end. I expected either one of the Chicago natives on the Duke staff – Chris Collins or Steve Wojciechowski – would make the move.
This is a noble move by Purnell as he tries to resurrect the once proud DePaul program. Purnell did a great job bringing back the Dayton program. He kept Clemson afloat. Here’s the thing, Purnell has NEVER won an NCAA Tournament game. Will he learn his lesson? Purnell’s teams start great and fade because they make a living on full-court pressure. You can’t give good teams a steady diet of full-court pressure. Early in the year, you might catch a team unprepared. That won’t happen in February or March.
Sad to see Fran McCaffery leave Siena. He had a good thing going, and a strong group returning for next year. Here’s hoping Mitch Buonaguro can keep things moving in a positive direction.
Iowa fans should ready themselves for McCaffery’s teams to play up-tempo basketball.
Cheers to Brad Stevens. The Butler coach avoided making like a Monkees’ song and using the Bulldogs as his “stepping stone.” Stevens signed to stay with Butler through…a whole lotta years. Parrish quickly pointed out this doesn’t mean Stevens will stay for the duration.
When Stevens considered his options, it probably didn’t hurt that Butler returns four starters and three important bench players. Did I hear correctly? Is Butler’s incoming class rated higher than Syracuse’s?
The mother of all head scratchers has to be the firing of Dino Gaudio by Wake Forest. Slice this however you want. What it comes down to? The Wake Forest AD (who shall remain nameless for now) has a buddy (who also shall remain nameless for now) who is struggling to win games, and he wants to give him a clean slate.
Good luck!
Gaudio will land on his feet somewhere. Here’s hoping Gaudio takes the Clemson job and kicks the snot out of the Demon Deacons. Fact is, Gaudio probably would not stoop to that level, and the Tigers are already set to name Brad Brownell as their replacement.
Strength of schedule shift?
How will Butler’s run to the national finals affect SOS in the future? Consider this – the Bulldogs arrived at The Dance with four losses: Minnesota (they made the tournament), Clemson (also invited), Georgetown (punched a ticket) AND…AND…UAB! In fact, the Blazers won that game by 10 – Butler’s largest losing margin all season. Take a guess at UAB’s record. I’ll give you a few seconds – let the Jeopardy music play.
Okay, if you guessed 17-17, you would be wrong. If you took a stab with 19-15, again, you would not be right.
The UAB Blazers finished 25-9 and lost in the NIT tournament. If the committee had a chance to do it again, do you think they would put more value on UAB’s win over Butler? How will that affect future decisions?
Of course, none of this will matter when the tournament goes to 96 teams. Tell me something. Is the NCAA tournament going to adapt some form of T-Ball rules where everyone gets an at bat every inning?
More strength of schedule
Can you name the Sweet Sixteen team from this year’s tournament that played the most Sweet Sixteen opponents in their non-conference schedule? In other words, which school had the most teams on their non-conference schedule that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen?
Again, I’ll give Alex Trebeck his due.
The answer: the Xavier Musketeers. The Muskies played Butler, Baylor, and Kansas State in their non-conference portion of the schedule.
Got any College Basketball splinters? Post them here.
Just another year in Calipari’s world. Today was signing day and he signed the best SF (and by best I mean what ESPN tells me to say) in the nation and the best PG in Brandan Knight out of FL. No John Wall or Demarcus Cousins, but here’s to John Soprano winning another 25 games and bowing out in the sweet 16 because his 18 year old lineup sees some adversity they aren’t used to.
ON a side NBA splinter – has anyone watched Durant play this year? They are already crowning him the greatest scorer of all time since he is now the youngest ever to win a scoring title. But watching him play, it seems like that is all he does. Not saying it isn’t valuable. It looks like EVERY single set play is designed for him. If he doesn’t like the shot or doesn’t create one, he kicks it for three to a teammate. Those others guys just have to hit jumpers all night.
I bring this up to see how the Lakers will defend him in the first round. They have some options to combat his length, but will they stick Artest on him? Plus, getting to the paint against Gasol and an athletic Odom waiting will be difficult. That is by far the most intriguing first rounder for me.
Don’t you think Johnny Soprano sounds better? I like the cadence added by the second syllable. Kinda rolls off the tongue a little better. It allows more opportunity for accenting a syllable.
I loved the “John (Wall) is just frustrated with being frustrated.” Like it was wisdom inscribed on tablets brought to us from Mt. Sinai.
It seems like a lot of underclassmen are coming out this year. With only two rounds in the draft, some of the guys are going to be grovelling for a tryout.
Think some of this has to do with the potential lockout in 2011?
Note – I don’t think this has anything to do with Kentucky.. He did this in Memphis and now it is happening again in Kentucky… How far behind is a NCAA probe?