Each week I will write about the sport I love, college basketball:
The Kansas-Memphis will be remembered as a great game. Congratulations to Bill Self and the Jayhawks for a great comeback. Kansas was down nine points with 2:12 left and found a way to get the game into overtime before winning. Let's also give credit to Memphis. Yes, there are the critics for the late failures, but remember this program went 38-2. John Calipari did a masterful job this season but the Tigers fell in two heartbreakers.
It is a busy time of the year for the college coaching carousel. It feels like you need a scorecard to keep up with the rumors and the moves. This happens every year now, with some coaches getting fired and others leaving for what they perceive as a better job. Sometimes the story is an upgrade in the cash, baby! Trent Johnson opted to leave Stanford to go take over at LSU. Johnson saw the Lopez twins jump to the NBA draft and it was time to go south.
At Marquette, the school decided to keep continuity by promoting Buzz Williams as Tom Crean's replacement. The former New Orleans head coach has almost 15 years of experience in college coaching at various levels.
Western Kentucky did a good job in finding a replacement for Darrin Horn (now at South Carolina). Ken McDonald was a highly-regarded assistant at Texas who was deserving of a head coaching position now he will take over the Hilltoppers.
Oregon State got a rising star in former Brown coach Craig Robinson. It will be a challenge for the Beavers in the Pac-10.
Miami made a wise move in giving coach Frank Haith a contract extension through the 2012-13 season. Haith led a Miami team that to 23 wins and an NCAA berth. That was impressive considering the Hurricanes were projected to finish in the basement of the ACC.
Often coaches that get fired have trouble finding a spot on the sideline the next year. That has not been the case for Ben Braun and John Brady. Braun was let go by California but landed on his feet at Rice quickly. Looking at his resume, Braun has had success at Eastern Michigan and also with the Golden Bears. Brady was let go by LSU before the end of the season but was hired by Arkansas State.
This is also the time where a number of college players throw their names into the NBA draft hat. A player like Indiana's Eric Gordon is a no-brainer as he will be a top five pick for sure. The same can be said for OJ Mayo of USC, who should go in the top 10. Others that entered the draft include Louisville's Earl Clark, Arizona's Chase Budinger and Jerryd Bayless, LSU's Anthony Randolph, Syracuse's Donte Greene, Alabama's Ronald Steele and Mareese Speights of Florida. When I see so many players entering the draft, I just hope they don't have delusions of grandeur. Some players have their heads filled with the idea they will go high in the draft without realizing there are only 60 spots in the selection process and only guarantees for the first rounders. You also see a number of players go into the draft and end up in the D-League when they could have developed and progressed another year in college.
Purdue suffered a setback when 6-8 Scott Martin decided to transfer. Martin averaged just under nine ppg. and was a member of the highly-regarded freshman class that led the Boilermakers to the big dance.
I have said it many times; athletes have to be held accountable for their actions. The latest was Xavier's Drew Lavender, who was accused of marijuana possession. It is sad to hear these stories over and over again.
Duke center Brian Zoubek will be sidelined for approximately four months following surgery on his left foot. It is tough to miss time that affects a player's progress.
Ben Hansbrough, the brother of North Carolina's PTP'er Tyler Hansbrough, has decided to transfer from Mississippi State. It looks like he will be closer to home at Missouri.
Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in December 1979. Send him a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.
