Note: I’m off to Greece this week, trying to catch up with Josh Childress and maybe Travon Bryant.  Look for Patrick’s triumphant return soonish.

So, the season is really underway.  What the hell do we know?

1.  Heehee.

2. My-T-Sharp: In case the comment threads at Uni Watch have always been a bit much for you, Michigan and UCLA are both all-adidas schools.  While Herr Dassler’s basketball shoes have been fail lately (patent leather shell-toes?  really?)  I think we can agree that if these two programs were OMG SWOOSH schools, we wouldn’t have been treated to this:

Seriously, making it work.

3. Ew: The SEC, she’s not so good.

3b. Not Ew: Tennessee is not on basic cable enough for my liking.  It’s hard to imagine how they could be.  I may have developed a soft spot for these guys.  Stay tuned.

4.  A Broken Watch is Right Twice a Day: S.A. Smith is very, very right about Dave Robbins.  Send him (Robbins, not Smith) to Springfield.

5.  If You Don’t Go to U.Va., Please Please Please Go to a Major Media Market: Fairfax (CA, somehow) senior Renardo Sidney’s dad is, ahem, quotable: “They [MAH HOOS] understand the difference between a Big Mac and a Whopper with cheese . . . Big Macs are good for resumes, Whoppers with cheese bring home gold balls.”  I love it.  I just . . . I love it.  Please please please be a Hoo.  Someone in C’ville: find this kid’s dad a sinecure and some blogging software RIGHT GODDAMN NOW.

BONUS!!!!!oneone11!!twelve!!exclamation!!!!

6. GITCHA GUNS UP WOOOO!!!

See you fools Sunday.

Somewhere in California, and also kind of in a fever dream I had the other night.

GHOST OF GEORGE MARSHALL: Ashley Juuuuuudd!  I have a spoooky message to deliver from beyond the graaaaave!

ASHLEY JUDD: I don’t usually take messages from ghosts, but I’ll make an exception for a Nobel Prize winner!

(more…)

Thanksgiving in Maui – perfect.

THE STORY EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT
Key Preseason Tournaments Announce Matchups

If the NFL preseason has taught us anything – unlikely at best, but roll with us for a minute – it is that “meaning” does not guarantee priority viewing. Preseaon NFL games may be both meaningless and poor in quality, but they’re still more entertaining to watch than Game #120 in the MLB season. (And, jeez, we actually like baseball.)

But that dirty secret is a double-edged sword, and it cuts football harshly around Thanksgiving. As anyone who has suffered through watching the Lions with a belly full of tryptophan should admit, the best sports on television during the Week of the Bird has nothing to do with a pigskin. Nay, it is the exempt preseason college hoops tournaments – they of the meaningless games and odd locales – that take the cake. And the pie. And whatever other deliciousness is left in the Thanksgiving cornucopia of metaphor.

The WWL released the schedules for three of this season’s premier exempt tourneys, and each features a few can’t miss early season matchups:

In Maui – Trendy pick Notre Dame faces off against Tom Crean’s Indiana(ish) squad, but undisputed preseason #1 North Carolina leads the field and will face host Chaminade in their first game. Given the air of infallibility surrounding this UNC team, pardon us if we cheer for the Silverswords to … ya know, pull a Chaminade.

In Anaheim – In its second year, tWWL’s own tournament might be labeled the Up-and-Coming Classic. Wake Forest, coming off a Top 10 recruiting class, will face the defending Big West champs and hosts Cal State Fullerton. The winner takes on a field consisting of former bottom-dwellers like Baylor and Arizona State, punched up with solid mid-majors like Saint Mary’s and Charlotte.

In Orlando – Also owned by tWWL but with two years of history, the Old Spice Classic pulls in an impressive field of solid teams from last year with major question marks. Tennessee post-Chris Lofton? Georgetown post-Roy Hibbert? Siena trying to become the new Gonzaga? Gonzaga trying to do better than … ya know, Gonzaga? This is literally anyone’s tournament. All we know is that Neil Patrick Harris better be there.

Three more headlines, including a lot more travel for teams and coaches, after the jump

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We’re not sure what is in the water in Lexington, but something about ties to Kentucky makes a coach yearn for the company of barely adolescent boys. After current UK coach Billy Gillespie’s child-chasin’ forced the National Association of Basketball Coaches to “strongly” encourage college coaches to stop seeking and accepting commitments from players before they finished their sophomore year, current Florida coach (and former UK assistant) Billy Donovan accepted the commitment of a player who just finished his freshman year.

In fairness to Donovan, the newly-tagged Gator in question is hardly the type of spring (swamp) chicken the recruiting covenant was meant to protect – he is Austin Rivers, the youngest son of one Glenn Anton “Doc” Rivers of Boston, Mass., formerly of JustwontheNBAtitle-ville. Still, Donovan essentially pooped in the hat of the NABC by hitting the candy store recruiting trail only two weeks after the NABC’s decision came down.

But because he’s Billy Donovan and has won two national titles, and you are not, no criticism for the blatent flimflamming has come his way. Needless to say, the Kentucky faithful are less than pleased at the double standard, after taking more than their fair share of crap for Billy Clyde’s junior high skeeziness.

It’s really too bad that the NABC has no teeth whatsoever. We would have paid good money to see JTIII enforcing the new policy in a very NSFW fashion upon Messr. Donovan.

THE STORY EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT

Sadly, the biggest – and, for the most part, only – story in college basketball today is actually a story about pro basketball:

How old school are we? 2006 old school, that’s how we do.

The draft is melancholy for us. On one hand, we will watch any draft of any sport because we are … how do you put this … addicts. There is something intensely interesting about watching the future unfold, not to mention that we, like Bill Simmons’ and his dad, roundly enjoy reviewing the suits each year. Plus, if you can’t enjoy watching Stephen A. Smith interview someone who doesn’t speak English – well, brother, we just don’t know what to tell you.

(Oddly, we now have a taste for cheez doodles. Which are delicious.)

On the other hand, however, the draft is where we bid a fond farewell to college players we enjoyed because … well, we just don’t give a damn about the NBA. We’ve tried, and we just can’t. It’s not because we think the quality of play is poor; we don’t think that’s true in the slightest (at least, not anymore). It’s not that we don’t find the games entertaining, or that we have a problem with the NBA “culture”. It’s that we have no blood on that field; we have no stake in what happens at that level.

We grew up as Cleveland Cavaliers fans, which was fun during the glory years with Mark Price and Brad Daugherty. (See, Carolina fans? We can let grudges go.) But then Daugherty got hurt and starting caring more about racing than playing. Price got traded. The Cavs acquired Shawn Kemp (and future negotiation rights with all 329 of his children), who promptly got fat and terrible. The team sucked. And then the 1998 lockout happened.

Even as college kids, there was only so much time we had to devote to following sports – there were things called “Goldeneye”, “beer” and “trim” to which we wanted to devote our attention. And at that time, with our team in shambles and the league thumbing its nose at its fans – well, we just couldn’t care anymore.

We’ve tried to go back to it – it’s not like we’re unaware that the Cavs have the best basketball player alive right now – but any devotion we may have had to our team is gone. As Simmons put it – like him or hate him, he sometimes finds a nut – when you cheer for a team these days, you are essentially cheering for laundry. And you know what? We just don’t care about that laundry anymore, because it’s so evident that those wearing it don’t care either. And without a rooting interest, frankly, just about any sport becomes difficult to follow with any sort of regularity.

Is it that much better at the college level? We’d like to think so – after all, a player chooses where to go to play his college ball, and part of us really wants to believe that players who choose to attend our alma maters share some of the same hopes and dreams we had when we first stepped on campus years ago. It can’t ALL be based on booster gifts, coaching personalities, and co-eds, right? (Though, in fairness, we had hopes and dreams for the same co-eds. We just had no chance.)

No one knows for sure, of course, and we’ll admit that our view is a rosy one, especially as it pertains to top level players. But we’d rather cast our lots with the guys who, at the margins, are playing for fun rather than the guys who are, at the margins, playing as a job.

So, we’ll be watching the Draft tonight – partly for fun, but partly to say goodbye to players that we won’t see or read much about again. It’s the cyclical nature of college sports, but it’s still kind of sad.

Emmanuel Negedu, the last top-level recruit available for the Class of 2008, faced the same difficult choice as other top recruits: which major program will he give his soul for the next four three two some indefinite period of time?

After commanding the full attention of four top programs for the last month, Negedu finally made his decision yesterday, committing to play in Knoxville for Bruce Pearl and the Volunteers.

For Memphis and Arizona, two of the programs Negedu jilted, the news makes this week bittersweet. Both programs went 50-50 with players leaving early for the pros, and both could have used the services of the small-in-size but big-in-game power forward. For Indiana … Tom Crean’s search for any bodies willing to throw on an IU uniform continues.

But for Pearl, it’s celebration time, and for the media’s favorite coach, you know that can only mean one thing:

Time to hit the lake! Where’s Pat? Call Erin!

Is nice!

THE STORY EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT
Late Recruits Give Ringing Endorsements

With the draft intrigue now long passed (well, unless Mbah a Moute doesn’t hire an agent, then goes undrafted, then returns to school … [sigh] … ), we return our attention to the players who actually want to play college basketball.

With the recruiting season all but finished, only a few big names from the juco ranks remained up for grabs – and boy, they all committed to their new schools with unbridled joy! Just look at these statements:

From Charles Garcia, Jr., the newest member of the Washington Huskies: “I just didn’t want to deal with the whole recruiting process,” he said. “I wanted to get it out of the way.” That’s the spirit! Go UW!

From Roburt Sallie, now a Memphis Tiger – which isn’t too bad considering that the only reason he was available now was because Nebraska – that’s right, NEBRASKA – was forced to boot him under Big XII rules due to an administrative error. “For some reason, God didn’t intend me to play for Nebraska. I was dedicated to them and I still wish today I’d have the opportunity to play for them because they’re great.” See? A Tony the Tiger reference! He’s gonna love Memphis! And it’s natural to be pining after your homely ex after you start dating the cheerleader!

Finally, Kentucky transfer Derrick Jasper finally determined where his new home would be – and it will be in the desert, playing for Lon Kruger’s squad in Vegas. His supporters say he wanted to be closer to his Cali home. UK fans think he might have been too soft for Lexington. We think, given the destination, the reason behind the transfer is more basic:

Four more headlines, including plenty of legal action for the week, after the jump.

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College basketball just stole back two very good guards from the NBA for another year: this hour, Texas’ A.J. Abrams and Alabama’s Ronald Steele both announced their withdrawal from the draft.

For the Longhorns, Abrams’ return means that Rick Barnes avoids a total loss of experience in his backcourt, as point guard D.J. Augustin will stay in the draft (and likely go in the first eight picks). Texas doesn’t have a great recruiting class coming in, so the decision by Abrams to return is a huge save for the program.

For the Tide, however, Steele’s reported decision to return means even more. Steele missed the entire 2007-2008 season on medical redshirt after knee surgery last offseason, and his absence at the point badly hurt a team needing a floor leader. With Richard Hendrix moving onto the pros, Steele’s return saves Bama’s chances of competing for an SEC West title.

Unfortunately, it also means more of this on national television:

It’s not Creamsicle orange, but that doesn’t mean it’s pretty.

UPDATE: Jeff Goodman – baller – reports via text message (to him, not from him to me) that Josh Akognon of Call State Fullerton became the third long range baller of the day to stay in college. Lists updated.

Updated tables:

Decision Unknown

Ryan Anderson, Cal (likely go)
Chase Budinger, Arizona (50-50)
Derrick Caracter, Louisville (50-50)
DeMarre Carroll, Missouri (50-50)
Paul Graham II, Florida Atlantic (likely stay)
Kalen Grimes, Missouri (50-50)
Lester Hudson, UT-Martin (50-50)
Reggie Huffman, UAB (50-50)
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, UCLA (50-50)
JaVale McGee, Nevada (likely go)
Courtney Pigram, ETSU (likely stay)
Walter Sharpe, UAB (likely stay)

Definitely Returning to School

A.J. Abrams, Texas
Josh Akognon, Cal State Fullerton
Antonio Anderson, Memphis
Josh Carter, Texas A&M
Darren Collison, UCLA (who, admittedly, withdrew before the declaration deadline)
Lee Cummard, BYU
Wayne Ellington, UNC
Alonzo Gee, Alabama
Danny Green, UNC
Stefon Jackson, UTEP
Ty Lawson, UNC
Leo Lyons, Missouri
Jerel McNeal, Marquette
Josh Shipp, UCLA
Ronald Steele, Alabama
Robert Vaden, UAB
Lorrenzo Wade, San Diego State

Second draft status update of the afternoon:

Clearly, the Profiles in Hubris leave their mark on players – first Danny Green softened his insistence that he would leave school, and now Gonzaga’s Jeremy Pargo has taken his name out of the draft. Pargo’s return means that for the first time in four years, the Zags will get their best player from the previous season back. Can’t hurt.

Joining Pargo back in the college ranks – Robert Dozier of Memphis. No surprise, as John Calipari said last week that he expected Dozier to return. But coupled with the return of Antonio Anderson, Dozier’s decision softens the blow from the loss of Derrick Rose and CDR.

Meanwhile, Richard Hendrix of Alabama announced he would stay in the draft without a first round guarantee. The All-SEC player who averaged a double-double last season has a good shot of making a team as a bench post player even from the second round, and even the most vociferous “stay in school advocates” can’t argue with a guy leaving who graduated in three years. Considering we needed every second of four years to get our undergraduate degree due to too much drankin’ the rigorous requirements, we simply say good on ya, Messr. Hendrix.

Also draftbound: Bill Walker of Kansas State is now formerly of Kansas State, as the redshirt freshman wing decided to stay in the draft despite a partial tear in his right meniscus that will prevent him from doing any more workouts before the draft. DraftExpress has him as the first pick in Round 2 right now, which isn’t too bad considering that earlier this year, insiders said he wasn’t ready for the draft at all ($).

The updated tables:

Decisions Unknown
A.J. Abrams, Texas (likely go)
Josh Akognon, Cal State Fullerton (likely go)
Ryan Anderson, Cal (likely go)
Chase Budinger, Arizona (50-50)
Derrick Caracter, Louisville (50-50)
DeMarre Carroll, Missouri (50-50)
Wayne Ellington, UNC (likely stay)
Paul Graham II, Florida Atlantic (likely stay)
Danny Green, UNC (likely stay)
Kalen Grimes, Missouri (50-50)
Lester Hudson, UT-Martin (50-50)
Reggie Huffman, UAB (50-50)
Ty Lawson, UNC (likely go)
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, UCLA (50-50)
JaVale McGee, Nevada (likely go)
Courtney Pigram, ETSU (likely stay)
Walter Sharpe, UAB (likely stay)
Ronald Steele, Alabama (50-50)

Definitely Returning to School

Antonio Anderson, Memphis
Josh Carter, Texas A&M
Darren Collison, UCLA (who, admittedly, withdrew before the declaration deadline)
Lee Cummard, BYU
Robert Dozier, Memphis
Alonzo Gee, Alabama
Stefon Jackson, UTEP
Leo Lyons, Missouri
Jerel McNeal, Marquette
Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga
Josh Shipp, UCLA
Robert Vaden, UAB
Lorrenzo Wade, San Diego State

Or, if he is the Jimmy Swaggart type, maybe he will: according to an anonymous SEC coaching source close to George Dohrmann of SI, surviving as a coach in ESS-EEE-SEE territory requires more than just hitting the hardwood and your knees:

Coaching in the SEC requires “a moral flexibility,” as one coach terms it. “Most of the schools are willing to bend the rules to help get the recruits you need to win.”

Lawd have mercy! Devil done come down and stole the purity right out of them SEC coaches … or, something. Flexibility with your eight-man rotation and practice regimes we knew about, but who knew that coaching in Dixie required a man to do unspeakable acts he doesn’t talk about with his Momma at night?

We aren’t quite sure how Dohrmann justifies a quote that, in the context of the remainder of the article (tough coaching jobs), implies that only SEC coaches practice such moral flexibility, but there you have it. The article claims that other coaches view Mississippi State as the toughest coaching job in the conference. Given that Rick Stansbury has won 65% of his games (including 54% in conference) in ten years in Starksville, including one conference title and five trips to the Tournament, we’re not sure if his colleagues came to praise or bury him.

One thing, however, is sure – a quote so devious and yet so naively honest at the same time must have come from one of those carpetbagger coaches. Hmm … we need a Yankee … plenty of those … who is hateful brave enough to throw his in-conference colleagues under the bus … and chatty enough with the media that no one will suspect him of doing it anonymously. I dunno. Could the person responsible please raise his hand?

Just a guess.