There is a distinction between lack of talent and lack of effort!
-------Larry Laker
Oh, really?
The ACC has always been basketball first and other sports vying for second place in the hearts and minds of fans and alum. I believe when we consider the Big 10 it’s probably considered a football first conference. It’s my belief the Big 8/12 conference was once football leaning it appears basketball is now in the lead. As for the SEC football has long been the dominant sport despite the Kentucky Wildcats.
For years its been Kentucky and the rest of the SEC. Basketball might not be on the level of other conferences however it’s improving. Early in the basketball season one of the local sports radio host was laughing out loud comparing Big 12 basketball to the SEC. I could be wrong however I believe the SEC will have same amount of teams make the “Big Dance” as the basketball driven Big 12.
Jim Boeheim
Syracuse and Jim Boeheim have been one of those most successful college basketball programs in the nation. In addition I’ve always been a fan of Boeheim so this is not intended as an indictment against him. Rather than Boeheim this is an indictment of Soren Petro host of a morning program on WHB-810. Petro is a Syracuse graduate and in the past voiced his love all things connected with Syracuse basketball. As for former Mizzou coach Frank Haith that’s a different matter. I’m unsure at what point Petro became disenchanted with the coach. Petor has allowed his radio audience to believe he doesn’t think much of Haith’s coaching or recruiting ability.
Last season Haith received a 5-game suspension based on improprieties occurring while he served as head coach at Miami. I’m unsure this may have been the beginning of this changed view of Haith. I’m not going to repeat the Miami story it’s been covered on several other occasions. As we have discovered Boeheim has issues as well, the NCAA has suspended Jim Boeheim for 9 games. In addition they took 12 scholarships over a four year period and vacated 108 of his wins. Haith is a winning coach first at Miami then Mizzou and so far at Tulsa. I’m anxious to hear what Petro has to say about Haith going forward after the revelations at Petro’s alma mater. If you believe your favorite school is innoncent of any improprities well what can I say.
Where are they now?
I hope you believe me when covering prospects I often hesitate. We often fall prey to hype and believe the ability of an athlete is often greater than their ability. That might be the case of Luis Felipe Lopez more commonly known as Felipe. Lopez was born in the Dominican Republic but moved to New York City as a youngster. He would grow up to become a school-boy basketball legend in the city. The basketball world was placed on notice when his smiling face was displayed on an SI cover. The heavily recruited McDonald’s All American chose to remain in the city; he chose to attend St. John’s over a number of possible destinations.
No early entry for Lopez he remained all four years at St. John’s. His numbers while not eye popping were above average which led many to believe the NBA was clearly in his future. He was made the 24th pick in the first round of the 1998 by the Spurs. His rights were traded to the Vancouver (Memphis) Grizzlies where he remained for two years. He was traded to the Wizards and later played for the Wolves, 2002 was the last year Lopez would play in the NBA. He ended his NBA career with 5.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and one assist per game. Lopez has served as a broadcaster for Spanish-language networks.
He makes his decision
Stephen Zimmerman has actually not made up his mind yet. This is prompted by Bishop Gorman senior reducing the number of schools he’s considering. The
7-foot 230 pound Zimmerman is rated the number 11 prospect in the Class of 2015 by Rivals and number 10 on ESPN’s Recruiting Nation. His revised list not in any order consists of Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA, Arizona and UNLV. Best guess on my part he attends Arizona or hometown UNLV.
New Zealand
This southwestern Pacific island nation plays basketball too in fact even has a pro league. Steven Adams of the Thunder is the third player from that nation to play in the NBA. Don’t be surprised if Tai Wynyard is the next NBA player from the Pacific Island nation. He’s not in the states yet although he will be very soon he toured several colleges before making a decision. You may not realize John Calipari’s reach extends to New Zealand but that’s the case. Wynyard a 6-9 230 pound forward decided on Kentucky and play for Calipari. Since he’s not graduated high school it’s likely we’ll not see him in action until 2016. As for the pronunciation of his first name Tai is pronounced Ty.
You got to be kiddin’
Last week I quoted Tony Kornheiser describing Clippers guard Austin Rivers. He said; “He’s always had a sense of entitlement” Rivers isn’t the only one. There is a group of Kansas fans who also suffer the same conviction. Last week the NCAA vacated a number of victories Syracuse won. Word begin circulating among a number of Kansas fans they should be awarded another NCAA championship. In this instance they are referring to the 2003 NCAA Championship, Syracuse defeated Kansas 81-78. Check the 1971 championship game, UCLA defeated Villanova. Much later it was discovered Howard Porter of Villanova had signed an ABA contract during his senior year.
Villanova is listed as runner-up however Most Outstanding Player Howard Porter’s name has been omitted but not the second place finish of his school. At the point this is written I'm reading two different versions of the penalty one in the Los Angeles Times and the other in the Kansas City Star. The Star piece claims "The 108 games Syracuse vacates goes back to 2004 thus the championship remains intact." Sorry Kansas faithful you must satisfy yourself with your 1952, 1988 and 2008 NCAA championships. You probably are not happy but keep in mind you have two more championships than Syracuse. In addition keep this in mind with the eventual retirement of Boeheim Syracuse has almost certainly won it's only NCAA championship.
