We got a lot on tap for today. Yesterday was National Signing Day, and the first round of “Feast Week” tournament games take place. Strap in for a fully loaded 24 hours of college hoops.
Thursday’s Top Games:
10:30 a.m. – Oklahoma State vs. Akron
12:30 p.m. – Dayton vs. Colorado
12:30 p.m. – UNC-Asheville vs. Tennessee
3:00 p.m. – No.16 Baylor vs. Boston College
5:00 p.m. – St. John’s @ Charleston
5:00 p.m. – No.6 North Carolina State vs. Penn State
7:00 p.m. – Alabama vs. Oregon State
7:00 p.m. – Illinois State @ Drexel
7:00 p.m. – Sam Houston State @ No.1 Indiana
8:00 p.m. – Auburn vs. Murray State
8:00 p.m. – Tennessee State @ Minnesota
9:30 p.m. – Villanova vs. Purdue
10:00 p.m. – UTEP @ No.12 Arizona
Read of the Day: Brendon Prunty on the memory of former Seton Hall assistant Kenny “Eggman” Williamson. Read it. (New Jersey Star Ledger)
Read of the Day: Did the NCAA prejudge Shabazz Muhammad before making a decision on his eligibility? (L.A. Times)
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Top Stories:
Late Night Snacks: Fresno State beat UC-Riverside 39-30….in basketball. Yuck.
Calipari gives tour of new Wildcat Coal Lodge: As if the “Kentucky Effect” wasn’t already strong enough, John Calipari gave a video tour of the new state-of-the-art dorm built specifically for the Wildcats hoops team. This is just many in a long line of powerful weapons Kentucky has at its recruiting disposal.
Champions Classic will serve as a great teaching tool for Bill Self and his young Jayhawks team: The experience gained by the Jayhawks in their 67-64 loss to Michigan State in the Champions Classic will help serve a purpose for Bill Self as he continues to mold a talented but young team.
Saint Louis loss caps a tough week for the Atlantic Ten: The A-10 was expected to be extremely deep this season, but already teams such as VCU, Butler and now Saint Louis, who lost to Santa Clara 74-62, are looking like we may have overrated the conference.
Hoops Housekeeping:
- Eastern Michigan’s James Still plead guilty to felony assault charges stemming from an altercation he had in Rhode Island while a member of the Providence basketball program (Detroit Free-Press)
- Mississippi State guard Jalen Steele fractured his wrist during the Bulldogs’ 78-58 win over Florida Atlantic and will force him to miss the next six weeks (Jackson Clarion Ledger)
- Providence guard Vincent Council will miss the next 4-5 weeks due to a hamstring injury he sustained in the Friars win against NJIT on Friday (Friar Blog)
- highly touted big man Karl Towns will make his college decision on December 4th (New Jersey Hoops Haven)
- UCLA freshman Kyle Anderson suffered a bone contusion on his right wrist during the Bruins’ 80-79 overtime win over Cal Irvine on Wednesday, and his status for Thursday’s game is still uncertain (ESPN LA)
Observations & Analysis:
- The top ten best recruiting classes of the past 25 years (ESPN Insider)
- It was very evident in Wisconsin’s 74-56 loss to Florida that the Badgers really need a point guard to step up and fill the void left by Josh Gasser’s season-ending injury (Backboard Chronicles)
- It does not appear that traditional rivalries will be renewed as part of the SEC/Big-12 series (The Dagger)
- Arizona forward Solomon Hill thinks freshman who worry about eligibility issues should skip college all together (Eye On College Basketball)
- After two impressive performances, its apparent that Maryland’s defense is already making great strides (Washington Post)
- Potential mid-major darling Delaware is hoping to use the Preseason N.I.T Tip-Off as a stage to capture some national attention (The Dagger)
- The Pit at New Mexico is arguably one of the best venues in college hoops. If you weren’t already aware of this, the Lobos home-opener against Davidson as part of the Tip-Off Marathon proved why. (Albuquerque Journal)
- An excellent preview of the surprisingly deep Charleston Classic field (NBA Draft Blog)
- Despite the absence of Otto Porter, who sat out due to concussion-like symptoms, the Georgetown Hoyas were able to stymie the Liberty Flames en route to a 68-59 win (CBS DC Local)
News & Notes:
- The Kansas Jayhawks are eager to get back on the court following their Champions Classic loss to Michigan State (KUsports.com)
- A bunch of good quotes from UTEP head coach Tim Floyd on his role in Sean Miller-era at Arizona (Arizona Daily Star)
- UConn coach Kevin Ollie pledged $100,000 towards a new basketball facillity in Storrs, CT (Connecticut Post)
- Some great info on the conferences and teams participating in the annual late-season BracketBusters Week (The Horizon League)
- Did you know that this is the 75th anniversary of the NCAA tournament? (Sporting News)
Odds & Ends:
- Vermont’s Clancy Rugg: Great name, better dunk (Ballin’ is a Habit)
- Former-Michigan State Spartan-turned actor Delvon Roe made an appearance on Tosh.0 (Diehard Sports)
- The Hawaii basketball team wants more fans to attend home games this season (Warriors Insider)
- Some pretty entertaining suggestions for future gimmick games featuring the Syracuse Orange (Troy Nunes)
- “Free Shabazz” t-shirts are going to be the next hipster trend. I can just see it now. (Deadspin)
- There are no words to describe the picture you are about to see (The UConn Blog)
Video(s) of the Day:
I want to go back to college not for the women or for the fame, but to be able to spend four seasons with Creighton guard Grant Gibbs (You need to follow him on Twitter @DoubleGfor3).
Do you like the new Morning Mix? Hate it? Have a suggestion or wanted something featured? Troy Machir will take all your praise, insults and inquiries via Twitter (@TroyMachir)
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Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski made it official on Thursday afternoon: he’ll be coaching Team USA basketball through at least the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. That’s been known for almost a week now. The interesting bit of news that came out of his press conference on Thursday afternoon had nothing to do with…
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I’m not sure there is a coach in the country that is better at developing players in his program than Bill Self at Kansas. Over the years, the best players that have come through Lawrence during his tenure have been moderately recruited — i.e. somewhere around the top 40 or top 50 of most lists…
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Bringing in ex-Gator Cody Larson worth the risk South Dakota State
May 23, 2013, 1:05 PM EDT
Cody Larson’s basketball career never got off the ground in Florida. After redshirting as a freshman, Larson was involved in a bizarre incident along with a team manager and Erik Murphy where he tried to break into a car after sneaking into a bar after closing time to inquire about a lost wallet. After being…
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It’s late May, it’s Thursday, and you don’t want to be paying attention at work when it’s nice out. So take 10 minutes and watch some dunks.
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Vanderbilt has made a change to their coaching staff, as Kevin Stallings went out and plucked Yanni Hufnagel off of Tommy Amaker’s staff at Harvard. “I couldn’t be more excited to join Coach Stallings and the rest of his outstanding staff here at Vanderbilt,” said Hufnagel. “Coach Stallings is not only recognized as one of…
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Michigan has no plans to part ways with Adidas at any point in the near future, according to a report from MLive.com. There had been some speculation in the last month that the Wolverines would end their contract with the apparel company because of the way that Adidas had handled a worker’s rights issue at…
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Kentucky phenoms choose 2013-14 preparation over other possibilities
May 22, 2013, 10:04 PM EDT
AP
As a recruiting class that has been hailed by some as the best in the history of college basketball, Kentucky’s incoming freshmen will receive a lot of attention throughout the 2013-14 campaign. And with the skills that players such as Julius Randle, Aaron and Andrew Harrison, Dakari Johnson and James Young possess a number of…
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AP
A third player with eligibility remaining will not return to the BYU program next season, as it was reported that 6-8 forward Agustin Ambrosino will not be a member of the basketball program in 2013-14. Ambrosino, who played an average of 6.2 minutes in 31 games last season, joins Raul Delgado (transferring to Metro State)…
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UMKC head coach Kareem Richardson completes coaching staff
May 22, 2013, 7:07 PM EDT
One week ago UMKC announced the addition of a fourth player to the program, as 6-10 forward/center Isaac Kreuer will return to the Kansas City metropolitan area after spending last year at the Impact Basketball Academy in Las Vegas. According to the Kansas City Star, first-year head coach Kareem Richardson has filled out his coaching…
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Report: Elon to officially join Colonial Athletic Association Thursday
May 22, 2013, 5:55 PM EDT
AP
With the loss of four institutions the Colonial Athletic Association has some work to do on the realignment front. Apparently the league has found a new member, as it was reported by the Wilmington Star-News that Elon will officially join the CAA on Thursday. Elon has announced a press conference for 2:00 p.m. EST Thursday…
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Nate Robinson, other Washington greats to play in alumni game June 23
May 22, 2013, 4:44 PM EDT
University of Washington
On Tuesday, the University of Washington announced plans for an alumni basketball game to be held on June 23. Returning for the game will be former Husky stars such as Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson and Jon Brockman among many. Festivities will begin at 1:00 p.m., with there also being three-point and slam dunk competitions for…
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Will Yeguete out four months after another surgery on right knee
May 22, 2013, 3:10 PM EDT
Getty Images
Will Yeguete just cannot get healthy. The Florida forward missed the final nine games of his sophomore season with a broken foot and then had to sit out much of February after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee as a junior. He returned to play the final six games of the season. Yeguete underwent more…
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Is Antonio Barton the answer for any of the four schools chasing him?
May 22, 2013, 2:04 PM EDT
On Monday afternoon, former Memphis big man Tarik Black announced that he would transferring to Kansas where he’ll team up with Andrew Wiggins, Wayne Selden and Joel Embiid to give Bill Self the nation’s best non-Kentucky recruiting class and a shot at a national title. Black, who will be eligible immediately, may never end up…
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USA Basketball has released a list of 24 players that will be attending training camp in Colorado Springs from June 14th-19th to try and earn a spot on Team USA for the U19 championships, which take place in Prague from June 27th-July 7th. While there is some solid talent on that roster, it’s not necessarily…
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AP
It’s all-but official now: Mike Krzyzewski will be returning to coach Team USA in the 2014 World Championships in Madrid and the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. That’s according to a report from Pete Thamel of SI, who reported over the weekend that Coach K was strongly considering returning to head up the stars…
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Five-Star NC native Theo Pinson commits to North Carolina
May 22, 2013, 12:34 PM EDT
On Wednesday afternoon, five-star small forward Theo Pinson officially announced his intentions to stay in-state and attend North Carolina. The Greensboro, NC, native picked the Tar Heels over Indiana, Louisville, Georgetown and Duke. A 6-foot-6 athlete on the wing, Pinson is known for his ability to get up and down the floor and finish around…
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FBI: San Diego point-shaving scandal netted ‘more than $120,000′
May 22, 2013, 11:52 AM EDT
Getty Images
Back in March, former San Diego Torero Brandon Johnson, the school’s all-time leader in points and assists, was sentenced to six months in federal prison for his role in a point-shaving scheme during the 2009-2010 season back in March. Johnson was lucky; the state wanted to give him a year. He’ll begin serving his sentence…
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Memphis emerging as the leader to host the AAC tournament?
May 22, 2013, 10:38 AM EDT
The last that we had heard about the AAC tournament, Mohegan Sun was planning on cobbling together an offer to get bring the ‘old Big East’ to Connecticut to play out their league championship. That does not look like it’s going to end up happening, however. According to a report from the Memphis Commercial-Appeal’s Kyle…
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Enosch Wolf’s suspension lifted, but no scholarship available at UConn
May 22, 2013, 9:47 AM EDT
AP
Enosch Wolf’s suspension from the UConn basketball team has officially been lifted, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the 7-foot-1 German will be returning to Storrs next season. Wolf was suspended back in February as a result of a domestic dispute where he refused to leave a women’s apartment, pushed her and knocked her glasses…
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Renovations to Hinkle Fieldhouse to cost $34 million dollars
May 21, 2013, 9:52 PM EDT
AP
Butler will begin play in the Big East next season with Hinkle Fieldhouse, its home floor for more than 80 years under renovations that will cost up to $34 million dollars. The university believes the renovations will be complete around November 2014. “The important role our athletic programs have had within Butler’s strategy and national…
