It’s getting worse in Tuscaloosa

The Alabama basketball program is, for lack of a better word, effed!  First Ronald Steele, Crimson Tide point guard since 2004, decided that his knees weren’t going to hold up for the final 13 games of this season, and elected to abruptly end his injury riddled college career. His excuse was the bad knees, but many say he just didn’t want to go to war for Coach Mark Gottfried any more.

Just five days after Steele essentially quit Gottfried is also gonzo, ending an 11 year tenure that produced five tournament appearances and one trip to the Elite Eight.

There’s still varying reports as to whether or not Gottfried was fired or left on his own terms. FoxSports.com’s Jeff Goodman says Gottfried didn’t have a choice in staying or leaving, and that the departure of Steele clinched it with the university people.  We think the truth is somewhere in between both schools of thought.

So if you’re keeping score, this has been an awful month for fans down in Confederate country. Like, it’s been terrible. An absolutely brutal way to start 2009.

Roll Tide!

Maryland got overwhelmed

Has anyone checked in on Gary Williams this morning? Is he breathing OK?  Duke destroys their [former] rival 85-44, at one point holding a 43 point lead (as displayed in the line graph above).

How much do you think the Terrapins miss even their mediocre and forgotten players– like I don’t know maybe a Laron Profit or even a Mike Jones (Back then the Terrapins didn’t want me, now they’re in complete dismay and...ok sorry I’ll stop). Anyway, those guys probably seem like pretty damn good basketball players right now.

We loved this match-up at the beginning of this decade, but not anymore. The Terps are now 2-3 in the ACC, and are starting to generate talk that this program is headed south for the forseeable future.

Don’t mess with Jeff Xavier’s brother

Things got a little chippy between Marquette and Providence on Saturday night, and it was highlighted by Friars guard Jeff Xavier getting drilled in the eye.  It looked as though Xavier was just going to shoot his free throws and continue the game, until his brother–just chillin courtside–felt there was retribution to be served.

This is kind of like when we were in fifth grade and a mother walked on to the court to tell the ref that Jimmy’s elbow did not inadvertently jab into Timmy’s eye, and that the foul wasn’t deserved.

Kind of like…only Jeff Xavier’s brother just might of been packing something at the Dunkin Donuts Center. Jimmy’s mother had nothing more than a Gucci handbag. This incident on Saturday night was awkard, and could of quickly got dangerous.  Luckily, it didn’t.

Another chapter..er in the ED files

If Syracuse were the setting for “The Departed,” Jim Boeheim would play Jack Nicholson’s Costello. He is, unquestionably, the law of upstate New York.

In the latest episode of the Chronicles of Eric Devendorf, university officials have suddenly reinstated Devo, as apparently the punk has done his time. Devendorf’s suspension for striking a woman in the face was reduced to “a verbal confrontation,” because the victim decided to recant on her initial statement. Funny how that works out.

ED has completed his 40 hours of testing out whether Spaulding fits through the Carrier Dome rims community service and has been reinstated, making him eligible for the Big East opener on Tuesday vs. Seton Hall. This all seems strange to us, as many facts now seem to have been misconstrued or not factual at all.

So with this seemingly swept under the rug, we’re going to make the assumption that Boehiem didn’t like his team sans Devendorf and feared the Orange could not win even ten effing games!!! without him. We don’t like how this played out, but will begrudgingly root for Devendorf the few times times he is needed during the sure-to-be treacherous Big East schedule.

Andy Kennedy has two mics, they don’t like feedback

Fisticuffs are contagious. Players are not the only ones reaching back and throwing four knuckles of furry into the face of another person, coaches are now joining the punching parade…Cincinnati cab driver Mohamed Moctar Ould Jiddou can attest.

Jiddou says Old Miss head coach Andy Kennedy was the odd man out for a cab ride home, after a night of drinking with his coaching staff at The Lodge Bar (Gotta love $4 Cherry Bombs!). This rejection led to a profanity laced rant with some tasteless “Bin Ladens'” thrown in as well. The incident was allegedly capped off by a closed fist to Jiddou’s face. Kennedy now faces assault charges, and will be back in Cincy in January for a court appearance.

Kennedy is the centerpiece here, but this whole ordeal could probably have been avoided if the Ole Miss Director of Basketball Operations, Bill Armstrong, wasn’t “ejected” from the bar. We’re just saying, karma, bad karma.

This story gets a little better because the serves as a not-so-welcome, welcome back to the ‘Nati. You remember Kennedy was an assistant coach for Bob Huggins from 2001-2005, and was interim head coach for one season before Mick Cronin took over.

Lost in all of this was the actual reason Kennedy was in town. Ole Miss played it tough tonight for their fearless leader, but fell short against Louisville thanks to a career night by Earl Clark.

Eric Gordon burns bridges

Kelvin Sampson ruins basketball programs, and hard drugs might too

Some interesting words uttered by NBA rook Eric Gordon this week. Much of the blame on last year’s implosion in Bloomington was placed squarely on Kelvin Sampson, but there may be something a little more interesting to probe.

Gordon spoke candidly about drug use among many of his former Hoosier players. What’s interesting here is that Gordon wasn’t necessarily hinting at just a little puff puff pass, it could be much more illicit than that. These rumors have been swirling for some time now, and could carry more weight now that Gordon is essentially backing up that speculation.

Rush The Court delves into this further, as we’re just digesting it after a day of work and company holiday parties. Not sure if this will develop any further, but certainly some interesting tattle-telling by Gordon.

Finals week is fun

Ah, finals week. A rare stressful time for the model college student. The vicious cycle of sleep, test, eat, study, sleep is certainly grueling, but you push through it.  You return home to share stories and partake in debauchery with high school friends. Your mom just wants you to leave, your dad just wants his case of PBR back. It’s a wonderful time.

Finals week is also the time where all students must face the music. This includes the college basketball player who is not necessarily exempt from a crappy semester, or even a sub 2.0 GPA. Finals week can mean significant trouble for a basketball team. We remember the 2005-2006 Maryland team, when leading scorer Chris McCray became academically ineligible after the fall semester, spoiling the rest of the Terrapins season.

This year UAB is the first to report players who aren’t cutting it, booting four from the team. Most notably is former Indiana guard Armon Bassett. He had transferred to Birmingham but was sitting out the season due to NCAA requirements. It’s reported that Bassett is leaving on his own terms, but we’re not so sure.

Jeremy Mayfield, Terrence Roderick and Ed Berrios are the other three casualties.  Now the Blazers will finish the season with just six scholarship players, and Conference USA’s quest to becoming a two-bid league just got a little tougher.

So with finals week in full-swing across the country, here’s to hoping your favorite player passed his tests…or at least hoping someone took them for him.

Eric Devendorf does well with women

We wonder if Boeheim ever whispered a 'what the hell were you thinking?'

Things have been looking dandy for Syracuse basketball fans this season.  An 8-0 start coupled with a #17 ranking, a pair of solid non conference victories over Florida and Kansas, and assistant coach Bernie Fine is looking healthy.

However, bowel movements may soon hit the dehumidifier, as the hammer is being brought down in the case of Eric Devendorf and Syracuse co-ed Kim Smith.

Wednesday night, a university judicial board has determined the Orange swingman should be suspended, drawing from Smith’s claim she made early November 1st to campus police.

Apparently Smith and Devendorff are MySpace friends, and there was drama. We’re thinking someone probably changed their relationship status or something.  This then resulted in Devendorf and his entourage surrounding Smith’s Hyundai Elantra on Halloween night, kicking it until she popped out of the car.  When she confronted the crew, she was allegedly met by the closed fist of Mr. Devendorf. He also is reported to have called her a sexually promiscuous female dog, one that belonged on her knees.

Coach Jim Boeheim told ESPN Wednesday that Devendorf’s status on the team will not change until he has been formally been suspended by the school.

The suspension has come down from the same administration that went to bat for Devendorf in front of the NCAA back in September, to grant him one more year of eligibility.  Expect an appeal to be filed, which will then be reviewed in the next 10 days by the ‘Cuse bigwhgs.

Stay tuned

Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach gets penalized

What is the big deal you ask? I mean it’s the NBA, and a fairly insignificant NBA team at that. But the assistant were talking about here is Kelvin Sampson. Today the NCAA charged Sampson, who has seemingly inauspiciously drifted to the league’s sidelines, barring him from coaching in college for the next five years.

Sampson, you probably remember, was the big hire intended to help Hoosier country suppress all thoughts of Mike Davis. Those fans welcomed Sampson to campus with open arms, emphasizing his consistent body of work at Oklahoma, while at the same time neglecting to acknowledge the fact he was bringing baggage with him–in the form of past recruiting violations. Those illegal tactics continued in Bloomington, and after only one-and-a-half seasons the NABC Ethics Committee–the same committee Sampson was once the president of—put together a report that outlined numerous phone calls to recruits that fell outside the lines of what was allowed. Sampson was given a buy out deal, right in the middle of Big 10 conference play, in a season that started with IU envisioning a deep tournament run. Dan Dakich was moved to interim head coach, and managed to get IU a 7 seed, where they lost in the first round to Arkansas.

Sampson’s name now carries more than baggage, it carries a stigma and he’s made a mockery of two BCS schools. One has recovered, and one is in a terrible mess that Tom Crean will work tirelessly to rectify. Basically, it would be better for the game if Sampson left college alone for good.

In addition, there were no additional penalties brought down on the Hoosier program, as the NCAA deemed Indiana University’s self-imposed sanctions (one lost scholarship for this season, and restrictions on Sampson’s favorite hobby-phone calling) were appropriate. This means that IU will not face any postseason bans, although were going to make a safe assumption that would take a few years to actually matter.

The Doug Wiggins Level of Embarrassment Test

Does Doug need a hug?

Scenario #1: Caught alone, in a bathroom of a house, that you broke into? A bathroom, really?

Scenario #2: Caught alone in a car, parked, on the side of the road, with Jerome Dyson (pot and booze on hand)? Did we mention they were alone, parked on the side of the road?

Which one do you think is more embarrassing? Couldn’t decide? Good, we can’t either. Well, we could just ask Doug Wiggins, he lived them both. Don’t be confused by the two different schools in the articles, this isn’t one of those “one armed man” deja vu-type events. Doug Wiggins is currently sitting out his mandatory year, resulting from his transfer from UCONN to UMASS.

Don’t go down that road Doug!!! You could one day have a blog named after you!!!

From bad to much worse at St. Johns

There will be no high flying action from Mason Jr. this season

We’re aware that St. Johns hasn’t really been a significant piece of the college basketball landscape in a while; not since Ron Artest and Erik Barkley led them to the Elite Eight in 1999. And while this year the Red Storm certainly were once again going to be no more than a Big East doormat, they’re really are up against the wall right now.

The team lost Anthony Mason Jr. today. He needs a foot operation, which will sideline him for the season. He’s unquestionably their best player, and yes, is the son of former NBA forward Anthony Mason. We’re guessing you already knew that, but just wanted a reason to perform a Google image search on Anthony Mason and look at some of those crazy phrases buzzed on his head.

NY Daily News’ Roger Rubin reports that Mason Jr. is tough–he played through the pain for two games against Cornell and Boston College, and managed to average 18 points. He also notes that Mason Jr. will apply for an additional year of eligibility.

Anyways, considering the heavy loss comes to a bad team playing in the arguably the deepest conference we’ve ever seen in a single season, it looks like this team could acquire the label of “historically bad” before the season is over.

UNC is Injury Prone

Zeller does his Best “Sprite” Commercial

Boo hoo. UNC fans suffered their first pitfall on Tuesday night when Freshman forward Tyler Zeller went down with a fractured wrist after ATTEMPTING a dunk. Yes, I said attempting, because he didn’t make it. But should you really be worrying about a 7 foot tall kid that can’t finish a fast break dunk? Don’t kid yourself, the dunk looked contested but he was untouched. Go ahead say what you will, just a goofy freshman trying to make SportsCenter.

Zeller scored 18 points in their opener against Penn. Let’s be realistic. It was Penn and we’re talking about a “penciled-in” National Championship team. Zeller only finished with 2 points against Kentucky and his injury came with 1:26 left in the game.

With Zeller out, the Heels will be using Deon Thompson and fellow Freshman big man, Ed Davis, as their post presence while eagerly awaiting the return of…(cue the Harps and Hymnal-esc music)…PSYCHO T or Tyler Hansbrough in laymen’s terms.

UNC will be getting lei’d in Hawaii next week at the Maui Invitational. Possible intriguing match-ups await them in Alabama, Texas or Notre Dame. (Note: If UNC play’s Notre Dame, you get to listen to Dickie V run his jabber jaw about his over the top love for the Hansbrough family. Tyler’s little brother Ben, shoots the rock for the Irish).