Every Friday I will give my thoughts on the game I love, college basketball.
I have talked about accountability often recently. Lately there have been too many stories about college basketball players failing to live up to their responsibility. At Purdue, coach Matt Painter threw forward Gordon Watt off the team following an alcohol-related offense. Watt started all but one game last season and was expected to be a key contributor in 2007-08. Painter felt it was more important to send a message, the right one, that poor decision making off the court would not be tolerated.
Pepperdine suffered a loss when the team's top returning scorer, Kingsley Costain, was dismissed from school for a violation of university policy. The 5-7 Costain averaged 11.5 points as a junior last season. He finished his career with 146 3-pointers to rank among the school's all-time leaders in that department. It is sad to have to continue talking about these negative stories.
So instead, here is some good news. Jayhawk fans and coach Bill Self had to be thrilled with the news that Brandon Rush was cleared to practice full speed but without contact. That is a step in the right direction as he progresses following knee surgery after he suffered a torn ACL.
The NIT preseason tip-off will change its format next year and the move will benefit the little guy. When the 16-team field begins play, four will advance to Madison Square Garden for the semifinals and championship. The other 12 used to finish short of the Big Apple and that was it. Now the tournament teams that don't make it to MSG will get a chance to gain more valuable game experience. Those schools will be seeded and assigned to three campuses sites with two more games each. That was a good move by the NIT.
Nice to see former Hoosiers guard Damon Bailey voted into the Indiana athletic Hall of Fame. He was such a special player in high school and then later on for the Hoosiers.
I wish the best to Wisconsin guard Michael Flowers, who recently decided to take a medical leave of absence for undisclosed reasons. I hope he can return back to the court as soon as he deems possible.
Pittsburgh suffered a blow when one of its top incoming recruits, 6-7 forward Darnell Dotson out of Greenbelt, Maryland, withdrew from school. Dotson will attend Miami Dade College instead.
Arkansas freshman guard Nate Rakestraw suffered a broken pinkie on his shooting hand. He is expected to miss the beginning of the season. Nevada forward Richie Phillips will miss 4-6 weeks after suffering a stress fracture in his leg.
John Adams will take over for Hank Nichols as NCAA men's basketball officiating coordinator next year. Nichols has been so valuable to the sport of college basketball over the years.
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