Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis on the Dan Patrick Show to recap the Final Four and preview Monday’s national championship game.
Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_
Maryland junior Pe’Shon Howard will transfer away from College Park and likely move closer to his ailing grandmother in California, the school announced in a release on Monday.
Howard spent three seasons with the Terrapins and averaged 3.3 points and 3.6 assists per game during his junior season. Over the course of his career, he played in 83 games and averaged 4.7 points and 3.5 assists.
“We wish Pe’Shon the best and thank him for his contributions as a student-athlete at the University of Maryland,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said in a statement. “We are disappointed that he is leaving, but Pe’Shon shared with me that his grandmother is ill in California and that he would like to finish his final season of eligibility playing closer to home. We understand this is best for Pe’Shon and his family and will support him through this transition.”
“It was a very difficult decision because I really enjoyed my three years as a student-athlete at Maryland, but my grandmother is sick and I feel it is best that I be closer to my family,” Howard said in a statement. “I love my teammates and wish them the very best and appreciate all of the support and guidance that I received from my coaches.”
Maryland finished 25-13 this past season, including 8-10 in the ACC. The Terrapins advanced to the semifinals of the NIT, but were eliminated by Iowa.
With Howard leaving the program, Maryland will rely more on soon-to-be sophomore Seth Allen next season. Incoming freshman Roddy Peters will also likely be a key part of the rotation. Peters is a Top 100 prospect and native of Maryland.
Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_
Regardless of how good you thought your week was, Rick Pitino’s was better.
First, his son was hired at Minnesota to replace Tubby Smith as its next head coach. Aside from the fact that Pitino is his son, he was also a former assistant at Louisville. Then, Pitino’s co-owned horse, Goldencents, won the Santa Anita Derby and now moves on to compete in the Kentucky Derby.
That came not long before Pitino coached his Louisville Cardinals to a win over Wichita State in the Final Four and helped them to advance to the national championship game. What could possibly cap off his week and make it better than it already has been?
Pitino was officially inducted Monday into the National Basketball Hall of Fame along with 11 other members just hours before his team is set to take on Michigan for the national title. And there’s little doubt that he’s worthy of it.
Pitino is the only coach in men’s basketball history to lead three different programs to the Final Four. In doing so with Providence, Kentucky, and Louisville, he has reached that plateau seven times (1987, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2011, 2013). He won a national championship with Kentucky in 1996 and could do the same with Louisville Monday night.
He has amassed 661 total wins in 27 full seasons as a men’s college coach. That is an average of about 24.5 wins per season. That then begs the question, where would Pitino stand if he had not gone to the NBA for six seasons with the Knicks and Celtics?
If he were to have won his average number of games over that span, it would have added about 147 wins to his total and given him around 808 for his career. He is currently 26th on the all-time wins list for Division I coaches. With those average additional wins, it would boost him all the way up to eighth, just ahead of Eddie Sutton.
He is already highly regarded, but would he have reached a different level entirely if he had spurned the NBA and remained coaching at the collegiate level?
Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_
Florida forward Patric Young may already have the frame of an NBA player, but he’ll be returning to school for his senior season.
Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com is reporting that Young will not be among those entering the draft early and will return to Billy Donovan’s team in the fall. The 6-9, 249-pound Young averaged 10.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this past season for the Gators.
With Young returning, the Gators will now have a formidable front line that features the senior and athletic freshman Chris Walker, a McDonald’s All-American who will make his way to Gainesville in the fall. Walker won the dunk contest at the All-American festivities this past week in Chicago.
Point guard Kasey Hill, another McDonald’s All-American, is also set to make his way into the Florida rotation next season.
Florida finished 29-8 this past season, including 14-4 in the SEC. The Gators lost to Michigan in the Elite Eight.
Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_
Dan Patrick gives his take on the feud between Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and CBSSports.com reporter Gregg Doyel following the Orange’s loss to Michigan in the Final Four this weekend.
Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_
UPDATED 8 April 2013, 1:01 p.m. ET
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Former Syracuse guard and current Pepperdine assistant Jason Hart will leave the Waves and join coach Andy Enfield’s staff at USC, Pepperdine head coach Marty Wilson announced via Twitter Monday morning.
Hart is a native of the Los Angeles area, having played high school basketball at Inglewood (Calif.) and Westchester (Calif.). He went on to play college ball at Syracuse and graduated from the university in 2000 as the school’s all-time leader in steals. He was selected to the All-Big East first team during his senior season.
He then went on to play in the NBA when he was selected in the second round of the 2000 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Since his retirement in 2010 and before coming to Pepperdine, he was a fixture on the AAU circuit and at highly regarded Taft High School (Calif.). He led Taft to a 29-4 record two seasons ago and the Los Angeles City Section Division I title.
Pepperdine finished 12-18 this past season and 4-12 in the WCC.
Hart now joins a staff at USC that is being rebuilt for the Enfield era. Longtime assistant and former interim head coach Bob Cantu announced this weekend that he would not be returning to the staff.
Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_