11/22 – College Hoops Week in Review: The preseason tournaments start; some leagues disappoint

By Rob DausterNov 22, 2010, 3:27 PM EST

Game of the Week: UNLV 68, Wisconsin 65

We’ve already touched on the Iowa State-Creighton finish and the San Diego State-Gonzaga tilt out in Spokane. The refs ruined a potential classic in Provo, which leaves us with UNLV’s win over Wisconsin. Neither team could really find any kind of offensive rhythm in the first half, and if it wasn’t for the performance of the two point guards — Jordan Taylor and Oscar Bellfield, who both ended up with 16 points heading in to the break — the score could have been really ugly.

UNLV made a couple of pushes to try and break the game open in the second half, but every time Chace Stanback — who scored 18 of his 25 points in the final twenty minutes — made a clutch jump shot, Wisconsin was able to answer despite their star Jon Leuer having an off-night (10 points, 3-11 shooting). With just over a minute left in the game, Wisconsin’s Ryan Evans knocked down two free throws to give the Badgers a 65-64 lead, but Stanback answered with an 18 foot pull-up with just 54 seconds remaining. The two teams would trade misses before Wisconsin eventually wound up with the ball underneath their own basket with just eight seconds remaining. The Rebels switched a screen on the inbounds, leaving 6’3″ defensive specialist Justin Hawkins to cover Leuer, and Hawkins stole inbounds pass before getting fouled. He would knock down both free throws, and Taylor would miss a three at the buzzer that would have tied the game.

Player of the Week: Tu Holloway, Xavier

Xavier looks like they might be in a bit of trouble this season. The Musketeers are 4-0, but they have yet to notch anything close to a convincing victory. Just imagine where they would be without Holloway. Holloway is averaging 27.0 ppg and 4.3 apg for Xavier. In back to back games last week he set his career high, scoring 28 points in an 86-73 win over Iowa and 31 points in a 57-52 win over Seton Hall. You read that right. Holloway outscored the rest of his teammates on Sunday night, hitting a three with 17 seconds left that broke a 52-all tie and gave the Musketeers the win. It was the third game this season that Tu has single-handedly won for his team. There is no way that Holloway can shoulder this heavy of a workload all season long; he looked exhausted at the end against Seton Hall, and has to come back tonight to play an even tougher opponent in Old Dominion. Holloway has to be on every early season all-american list. Tired or not, I’m not sure there are five players (if there is one!) I would rather have with the ball in their hands in a critical moment.

The All-they-were-good-too team:

G: Casey Mitchell, West Virginia: Mitchell proved to the nation why he won the national JuCo player of the year award in 2009 with two impressive performances. He went for 31 points in West Virginia’s win over Vanderbilt, and had 27 to keep the Mountaineers close in their title game loss to Minnesota.
G: John Jenkins, Vanderbilt: Jenkins, like Mitchell, was impressive in his three games out in Puerto Rico, averaging 21.7 ppg in a 2-1 week.
F: Chace Stanback, UNLV: Stanback averaged 17.5 ppg for the week, but it was his 25 point performance — including 18 in the second half and the game-winning jumper with 54 seconds left — against Wisconsin that got him on this list.
F: Trevor Mbakwe, Minnesota: Mbakwe’s numbers — 15.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg — were not as impressive as his dominating physicality in the paint against West Virginia and North Carolina. He may be the most pleasant surprise of this young season.
C: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State: Sullinger’s 26 points, 10 rebound performance against then No. 10 Florida convinced a lot of people that he may be the only freshman that was properly hyped.
Bench: Jordan Hamilton, Texas; Harper Kamp, Cal; Anatoly Bose, Nicholls State; JaJuan Johnson, Purdue; Kemba Walker, UConn

Team of the Week: Minnesota Golden Gophers

This was a pretty easy pick. Minnesota has gone from a preseason after thought to arguably a top ten team in the country after notching five consecutive impressive victories. This week, the Gophers beat Siena before taking home the Puerto Rico Tip-Off title with wins over Western Kentucky, UNC, and West Virginia. Trevor Mbakwe was the MOP out in Puerto Rico, and rightfully so as he has anchored a front line that will be considered one of the best in the country (which also includes Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson) while become the leading scorer and rebounder for Minnesota. There are athletes and playmakers (Austin Hollins, Rodney Williams, Blake Hoffarber, Chip Armelin) on the perimeter, and Al Nolen is one of the more underrated point guards in the country. This team defends, they beat you up in the paint, and they are efficient and balanced scoring the ball. And you want to know what is scary? They still may only be the fifth or sixth best team in the Big Ten.

Much of the talk when it comes to the worst conferences in the country focuses on the Pac-10 and the SEC. Those sentiments are not necessarily wrong.

The Pac-10 claimed a few impressive victories this week — Arizona and USC both dismantled New Mexico State; Stanford beat Virginia by 21; Cal smacked New Mexico by 25 — but the number of questionable losses continued to mount. Before USC’s win at NMSU, they lost by 20 to Rider at home and dropped a one point decision to Bradley in Springfield, MA. Cal’s win over New Mexico came just four days after the Lobos had beaten Arizona State at The Pit by 14. The state of Oregon took an 0-fer this week, as the Ducks lost to San Jose State while the Beavers lost on the road to Seattle and at home to Texas Southern.

The SEC hasn’t been much better. The western division is down right terrible. Auburn needed a 68-66 win over Middle Tennessee State to avoid an 0-4 start at home against mediocre mid-major competition. Alabama is currently playing in the 7th place game in the Paradise Jam. LSU surrounded a 23 point win over UT-Martin with a loss to Nicholls State at home and a loss to Memphis in Mississippi. Ole Miss (win over Murray State, loss to Dayton) and Mississippi State (two point win over Appalachian State) have looked far from dominant, but at least their struggles are coming against better competition.

The SEC East was supposed to be as competitive as any of the Big Six conference races. We thought it was due to the quality of the teams, but it appears that mediocrity will beget parity as much as anything. Tennessee struggled looked far from a top 15 or 20 team in their two wins in the Preseason NIT. Georgia had a nice win over Colorado, but surrounded it with two point wins over Mississippi Valley State and St. Louis. Florida’s 50 point win over North Carolina A&T wasn’t as telling as their 18 point loss to Ohio State of their struggles in a win over Morehead State. Vanderbilt looked good in a win over overrated North Carolina but also lost to unranked West Virginia. Kentucky, who handily beat Portland on the road, is the only team that looks like they are really clicking early in the season.

But will anyone mention the struggles that the ACC has had. Can it be that North Carolina, the team that lost twice in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament this weekend, is the second best team in the conference?

It looks like it.

That is, of course, unless you are willing to name Florida State the league’s second best. The Seminoles have looked good, there’s no question, but this is a team that many considered borderline top 25 coming into the season. I’m not sure that four 20 point wins in guarantee games should really impress us.

Virginia Tech? They were exposed against a Kansas State team that was missing Jacob Pullen for a half and Curtis Kelly for the entire game. They aren’t hitting shots from the perimeter (26.9% on threes) and have gotten an impressive 7.0 turnovers per game out of superstar Malcolm Delaney.

NC State hasn’t been much better. They lost Tracy Smith for three weeks to a knee injury, and their win over George Mason without him doesn’t speak as loudly as their unimpressive second half performance against Georgetown.

Wake Forest got lit up at home by both Stetson and VCU. Boston College took a loss to Yale. Virginia had any goodwill they built in their back to back 20 point iwns to open the season erased with a 21 point loss to Stanford. Miami followed up an ugly performance against Memphis with a loss to Big East cellar dweller Rutgers. Georgia Tech at least bounced back from their 17 point loss to Kennesaw State with a couple of big wins in guarantee games.

Perhaps the biggest sign of problems for the ACC is that Clemson, who trailed for majority of the second half in a one point loss to Old Dominion, and Maryland, who went 0-2 this weekend in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, both look like they can finish in the top half of the league.

Its looking more and more like Duke can go through the ACC schedule undefeated.

Other News and Notes from the past week:

Twice this week a team lost because they called a timeout when their team didn’t have any left. The first team was Southern Illinois, who called their timeout with the score tied and just 2.5 seconds left on the clock against Northeastern during the Tip-Off Marathon. Colorado also lost in overtime to San Francisco on a similar call. The Dons had tied the game up with 2.4 seconds left. Colorado inbounded the ball and Alec Burks missed a potential game-winning three. The game looked like it was head to overtime, but the referees huddled and the scorer’s table and ruled that Cory Higgins had called a timeout when the Buffs didn’t have any remaining. He denied it, but to no avail.
You should already know this by now, but the Mountain West is legit. And not just legit in the sense that they are one of the best conferences outside the Big Six. There is an argument to be made that the MWC is the fifth best conference in america. After beating Gonzaga, San Diego State should climb somewhere up into the mid-teens in the next top 25 poll, and that still may be too low. UNLV notched a very good win at home against an underrated Wisconsin team, made all the more impressive by the fact that their star Tre’Von Willis made only two shots returning from his suspension. All homer referees aside, BYU picked up a quality win against WAC favorite Utah State. New Mexico did lose by 25 to Cal, a middle of the pack team in the Pac-10, but they also beat another middle of the pack Pac-10 team — Arizona State — by 14. And the Lobos won’t have one of their best players, UCLA transfer Drew Gordon, available until mid-December. Put those four teams up against the top four of the SEC, the Pac-10, and the ACC. Who ya got?
Duke, Ohio State, and Pitt have all asserted themselves as Final Four favorites thus far. Kansas State would probably get thrown into that mix had they looked better against Presbyterian. Michigan State will get thrown into that mix if they have a good showing out in Maui. The thinking is that Kansas will as well once Josh Selby becomes eligible. But outside of those top five or six teams, its essentially a coin flip when it comes to the rest of the top 25. Take a look at the rankings. Georgetown will be near the bottom of the top 25. Have they been any less impressive that Villanova or Syracuse, who will almost surely be ranked in, or near, the top ten? Texas will likewise be near the bottom of the top 25, but are they really behind Baylor or Missouri based on what we have seen this season? There is a pretty significant drop off from the top five or six teams to the next 20 or so, but those 20 or so teams are incredibly difficult to differentiate.
There are different levels of wins and losses, and anything that happens this early in the season should be taken lightly. We’ve touched on UNC already, but what about Butler’s loss to Louisville? Probably not as bad as it was made out to be. Louisville was underrated and playing on the raw emotion of opening a new arena and attempting to erase the critics from the offseason. Yes, Butler was a bit overrated, but regardless of opponent, Louisville was going to be tough to beat that night.
In that same light, be careful of how you rank Syracuse this season. The Orange are 4-0, yes, but its not been an impressive 4-0. In four games, the Orange have probably played a grand total of 40 minutes of impressive basketball — the second half of their wins against Northern Iowa and Canisius. Their latest effort? A 63-60 win over a William & Mary squad that lost to Virginia by 24. The Orange had to come back from four down with three minutes to go. Maybe Jim Boeheim was right when he called this his most overrated team at Syracuse. They remind me a bit of the 2007-2008 team. Those Orange added freshmen Donte Greene and Jonny Flynn to the likes of Andy Rautins, Paul Harris, and Eric Devendorf, and while they were a preseason top 25 team, early struggles continued and the Orange eventually were headed to the NIT. With this club, the issue seems to be that no one wants, and is capable of, being the star. Kris Joseph was expected to be the guy, but he’s been up and down through four games. Scoop Jerdine is talented, but not talented enough to be taking 17 or 18 shots a night on a consistent basis. Freshmen Fab Melo and Dion Waiters haven’t quite become the players they were expected to be, either. There aren’t many shooters on the roster and as a result the Syracuse offense has looked stagnant and out of sync early in the season. These are solvable problems, but do the Orange have the pieces to solve them?Staying in the Big East, it would be wrong not to give some credit where credit is due. The Georgetown front line has been criticized left and right this season. The general consensus is that the big three in the back court will carry this team as far as they can. While I know it was against NC State’s young front line that was without Tracy Smith, it still deserves to be mentioned that Georgetown’s big guys were impressive. Julian Vaughn had 8 points, 7 boards, and 4 blocks, as well as scoring on a couple of post moves. The oft-maligned Henry Sims finished with 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Sophomore Jerelle Benimon added 6 points and 4 assists, while Hollis Thompson (who is more of a three, but whatever) led the team with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Combined, they got 15 offensive rebounds.

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @ballinisahabit.

Biden celebrates LSU women’s and UConn men’s basketball teams at separate White House events

Associated PressMay 26, 2023, 11:56 PM EDT

Jack Gruber / USA TODAY NETWORK

WASHINGTON – All of the past drama and sore feelings associated with Louisiana State’s invitation to the White House were seemingly forgotten or set aside Friday as President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden welcomed the championship women’s basketball team to the mansion with smiles, hugs and lavish praise all around.

The visit had once appeared in jeopardy after Jill Biden suggested that the losing Iowa team be invited, too. But none of that was mentioned as both Bidens heralded the players for their performance and the way they have helped advance women’s sports.

“Folks, we witnessed history,” the president said. “In this team, we saw hope, we saw pride and we saw purpose. It matters.”

The ceremony was halted for about 10 minutes after forward Sa’Myah Smith appeared to collapse as she and her teammates stood behind Biden. A wheelchair was brought in and coach Kim Mulkey assured the audience that Smith was fine.

LSU said in a statement that Smith felt overheated, nauseous and thought she might faint. She was evaluated by LSU and White House medical staff and was later able to rejoin the team. “She is feeling well, in good spirits, and will undergo further evaluation once back in Baton Rouge,” the LSU statement said.

Since the passage of Title IX in 1972, Biden said, more than half of all college students are women, and there are now 10 times more female athletes in college and high school. He said most sports stories are still about men, and that that needs to change.

Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in federally funded education programs and activities.

“Folks, we need to support women sports, not just during the championship run but during the entire year,” President Biden said.

After the Tigers beat Iowa for the NCAA title in April in a game the first lady attended, she caused an uproar by suggesting that the Hawkeyes also come to the White House.

LSU star Angel Reese called the idea “A JOKE” and said she would prefer to visit with former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, instead. The LSU team largely is Black, while Iowa’s top player, Caitlin Clark, is white, as are most of her teammates.

Nothing came of Jill Biden’s idea and the White House only invited the Tigers. Reese ultimately said she would not skip the White House visit. She and co-captain Emily Ward presented team jerseys bearing the number “46” to Biden and the first lady. Hugs were exchanged.

Jill Biden also lavished praise on the team, saying the players showed “what it means to be a champion.”

“In this room, I see the absolute best of the best,” she said, adding that watching them play was “pure magic.”

“Every basket was pure joy and I kept thinking about how far women’s sports have come,” the first lady added, noting that she grew up before Title IX was passed. “We’ve made so much progress and we still have so much more work to do.”

The president added that “the way in which women’s sports has come along is just incredible. It’s really neat to see, since I’ve got four granddaughters.”

After Smith was helped to a wheelchair, Mulkey told the audience the player was OK.

“As you can see, we leave our mark where we go,” Mulkey joked. “Sa’Myah is fine. She’s kind of, right now, embarrassed.”

A few members of Congress and Biden aides past and present with Louisiana roots dropped what they were doing to attend the East Room event, including White House budget director Shalanda Young. Young is in the thick of negotiations with House Republicans to reach a deal by the middle of next week to stave off what would be a globally calamitous U.S. financial default if the U.S. can no longer borrow the money it needs to pay its bills.

The president, who wore a necktie in the shade of LSU’s purple, said Young, who grew up in Baton Rouge, told him, “I’m leaving the talks to be here.” Rep. Garret Graves, one of the House GOP negotiators, also attended.

Biden closed sports Friday by changing to a blue tie and welcoming the UConn’s men’s championship team for its own celebration. The Huskies won their fifth national title by defeating San Diego State, 76-59, in April.

“Congratulations to the whole UConn nation,” he said.

Marquette’s Prosper says he will stay in draft rather than returning to school

Associated PressMay 26, 2023, 7:08 PM EDT

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

MILWAUKEE — Olivier-Maxence Prosper announced he is keeping his name under NBA draft consideration rather than returning to Marquette.

The 6-foot-8 forward announced his decision.

“Thank you Marquette nation, my coaches, my teammates and support staff for embracing me from day one,” Prosper said in an Instagram post. “My time at Marquette has been incredible. With that being said, I will remain in the 2023 NBA Draft. I’m excited for what comes next. On to the next chapter…”

Prosper had announced last month he was entering the draft. He still could have returned to school and maintained his college eligibility by withdrawing from the draft by May 31. Prosper’s announcement indicates he instead is going ahead with his plans to turn pro.

Prosper averaged 12.5 points and 4.7 rebounds last season while helping Marquette go 29-7 and win the Big East’s regular-season and tournament titles. Marquette’s season ended with a 69-60 loss to Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 32.

He played two seasons at Marquette after transferring from Clemson, where he spent one season.

Kansas’ Kevin McCullar Jr. returning for last season of eligibility

Associated PressMay 25, 2023, 9:18 PM EDT

Jeffrey Becker/USA TODAY Sports

Kevin McCullar Jr. said that he will return to Kansas for his final year of eligibility, likely rounding out a roster that could make the Jayhawks the preseason No. 1 next season.

McCullar transferred from Texas Tech to Kansas for last season, when he started 33 of 34 games and averaged 10.7 points and 7.0 rebounds. He was also among the nation’s leaders in steals, and along with being selected to the Big 12’s all-defensive team, the 6-foot-6 forward was a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award.

“To be able to play in front of the best fans in the country; to play for the best coach in the nation, I truly believe we have the pieces to hang another banner in the Phog,” McCullar said in announcing his return.

Along with McCullar, the Jayhawks return starters Dajuan Harris Jr. and K.J. Adams from a team that went 28–8, won the Big 12 regular-season title and was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where it lost to Arkansas in the second round.

Perhaps more importantly, the Jayhawks landed Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson, widely considered the best player in the portal, to anchor a lineup that was missing a true big man. They also grabbed former five-star prospect Arterio Morris, who left Texas, and Towson’s Nick Timberlake, who emerged last season as one of the best 3-point shooters in the country.

The Jayhawks also have an elite recruiting class arriving that is headlined by five-star recruit Elmarko Jackson.

McCullar declared for the draft but, after getting feedback from scouts, decided to return. He was a redshirt senior last season, but he has another year of eligibility because part of his career was played during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a big day for Kansas basketball,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “Kevin is not only a terrific player but a terrific teammate. He fit in so well in year one and we’re excited about what he’ll do with our program from a leadership standpoint.”

Clemson leading scorer Hall withdraws from NBA draft, returns to Tigers

Associated PressMay 25, 2023, 9:15 PM EDT

Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson leading scorer PJ Hall is returning to college after withdrawing from the NBA draft on Thursday.

The 6-foot-10 forward took part in the NBA combine and posted his decision to put off the pros on social media.

Hall led the Tigers with 15.3 points per game this past season. He also led the Tigers with 37 blocks, along with 5.7 rebounds. Hall helped Clemson finish third in the Atlantic Coast Conference while posting a program-record 14 league wins.

Clemson coach Brad Brownell said Hall gained experience from going through the NBA’s combine that will help the team next season. “I’m counting on him and others to help lead a very talented group,” he said.

Hall was named to the all-ACC third team last season as the Tigers went 23-10.

George Washington adopts new name ‘Revolutionaries’ to replace ‘Colonials’

Associated PressMay 24, 2023, 7:12 PM EDT

Getty Images

WASHINGTON — George Washington University’s sports teams will now be known as the Revolutionaries, the school announced.

Revolutionaries replaces Colonials, which had been GW’s name since 1926. Officials made the decision last year to drop the old name after determining it no longer unified the community.

GW said 8,000 different names were suggested and 47,000 points of feedback made during the 12-month process. Revolutionaries won out over the other final choices of Ambassadors, Blue Fog and Sentinels.

“I am very grateful for the active engagement of our community throughout the development of the new moniker,” president Mark S. Wrighton said. “This process was truly driven by our students, faculty, staff and alumni, and the result is a moniker that broadly reflects our community – and our distinguished and distinguishable GW spirit.”

George the mascot will stay and a new logo developed soon for the Revolutionaries name that takes effect for the 2023-24 school year. The university is part of the Atlantic 10 Conference.