Head coach and Chief Spammer

Breaking News! Jeff Goodman at FoxSports writes that according to sources the Ohio State Trio (Oden, Conley, Cook) will declare for the NBA draft on Friday. Oden will sign with an agent (Conley's dad), while Conley and Cook will hold off until they know more. A lot more details in the FoxSports story link above.


Top Stories

JL Blue at A Sea of Blue has a long article recapping and revisiting the The Tubby Smith Era at Kentucky. An original article and an interesting ensuing discussion following it.

Catch up with the latest recruiting news at Recruiting Wars, a sister publication of this blog. You may notice the "Head Coach and Chief Spammer" cross-post as it pertains to both blogs :-) And invest in carrier pigeons!

Theo Davis gets community service for his participation in the "Heytvelt incident".

An NBA coaching carousel story that could have had significant implications on the colllege coaching carousel: Pat Riley expects to return to the Miami Heat next year and coach through the end of his contract (three more years after this season).


Tourney Talk! I know, I know, the season is over, but that doesn't stop Andy Glockner at ESPN from digging into the RPI and the SOS and its impact on scheduling and ultimately the NCAA selection process. An interesting read, unless of course you have already disected the RPI/SOS formula like KenPom did

On the same topic, Andy Katz look at the impact of this year's NCAA selections on next year's scheduling. Mentioned are some of the most talked about snubs such as Drexel, Syracuse, and Clemson. (I personally think Syracuse and Clemson deserved to be left out, Drexel should have been in)


Head coach and Chief Spammer. They send recruits letters, often daily, sometimes using FedEx and UPS, they call players as often as they are allowed to (or if you are Kelvin Sampson, 500 times more than allowed), they text message all the time, they send emails, they use MySpace, FaceBook, Friendster, instant messaging, carrier pigeons, you name it. If it's not explicitly banned by the NCAA, it's fair game! (Remember when AAU coaches of potential recruits assembled impromptu "all-star teams" and got paid guarantee money for the exhibition games by the colleges recruiting their star players?)

So after so many years, how does the NCAA react? By digesting this topic in various committees. The latest AP story at ESPN.com says that they are considering banning all electronic communications except for email and fax which will be regulated. I told you before, INVEST IN CARRIER PIGEON FARMS!, coaches will buy them by the hundreds!

But something good came out of this, some common sense perhaps, which started to creep into the NCAA after Myles Brand took over: "It also passed a proposal that would allow college athletes to try out for professional teams while still taking classes. The current rules prohibit student-athletes from trying out while still enrolled in school. The new measure would allow athletes to receive money from pro teams to make a 48-hour trip. Or they could also pay the bill themselves and not be bound by the time limit."


NBA Draft 2007

Visit HoopsHype.com for all the details!

As expected, Rodney Stuckey (of Eastern Washington) is expected to declare. Unlike players in "BCS" conferences, going back to school won't get him significantly more "PR" or face time on TV, with the exception perhaps of their annual game with the Zags.

ESPN News reported that Jeff Green is 70-30 on returning.

Shaun Pruitt of Illinois will declare but not sign an agent. I am assuming he is doing it as a "job interview", not because he thinks he is a first rounder

Don't expect Chase Budinger to declare for the NBA draft. If you saw his late season interviews you will see that he was genuinely taken aback by the physical requirements of the game at the college level. He is not going to the NBA regardless of his projected draft position.

Darren Collison is returning to college. Story at FoxSports by Jeff Goodman