| | Stromile Swift has this to ponder: Stay in school and LSU will be a
SEC contender again next season. Leave for a hefty NBA contract and the
Tigers will take a big step back.
Swift's stock has risen to lottery status over the past few months. NBA scouts have told ESPN.com that Swift would be one of the first few names called June 28. But after what LSU has accomplished so far this season, the folks down in Baton Rouge are torn.
|  | | LSU could lose Stromile Swift to the NBA after this season. |
"Next year if he stays we're over the hump," LSU coach John Brady
said. "If he doesn't, we drop back. There's nothing I can do about that."
Swift's game has matured along with his body -- he's added 20 pounds to his 6-foot-9 frame to help bang inside. It's a far cry from where he was two summers ago, when his name was bounced around as a potential early-entry candidate out of high school after he failed to qualify academically. But Swift spent the first semester working toward getting eligible and qualified through another standardized test.
"I always wanted to go to school," Swift said. "I haven't thought
about leaving early yet. I want to finish school at least one more year.
I've got a lot of room for improvement and I'd rather do it here than the
NBA. That's what I've been thinking about lately."
Swift said he's concerned seeing players who leave early and then
fizzle rather than sizzle in their rookie season.
"I don't want to take any chances," Swift said.
But it's hard to imagine he would turn down a chance to be a top 10
pick if he continues on his recent tear.
A year ago, Swift's lack of practice time and conditioning
led to a subpar freshman season, averaging 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in
the final two-thirds of the season.
But he's been on from day one this fall, averaging 18.4 points, 8.1
rebounds, shooting 67.3 percent from the field and adding 40 blocks during LSU's 13-1 start.
Swift's frontcourt partner Brian Beshara would return next season
but the Tigers would lose 6-11 senior Jabari Smith. The backcourt would
remain intact with freshman Torris Bright at the point and junior Lamont
Roland at shooting guard. But the Tigers can't add much because of an NCAA
penalty related to the Lester Earl case -- a fact that draws Brady's sharp
criticism of the NCAA, Earl and former LSU coaches Dale Brown and Johnny Jones, who is currently the interim head coach at Memphis.
The violation with Earl occurred in 1996 when it was determined that
he received extra benefits under the watch of former LSU coaches Jones and
Brown. Earl eventually left for Kansas and was allowed to continue his
career (although it has been essentially ended by a knee injury). The Tigers
had their scholarships reduced from 13 to 11 and, worse, they can't offer
more than four scholarships this season or next, regardless of how many
players leave the program.
"We're being punished for our success," Brady said. "Who takes the
blame (for the violation)? It is misplaced accountability. It will be six
years before we'll be through with this.
"The NCAA has stifled this program greatly," Brady said. "We've had
success in spite of it."
Swift is saying the right things, adding that he came to LSU to turn
the program around. He has in half a season, assuming the Tigers get to the
NCAA Tournament.
"We've all got the same goals to get LSU back to where they were
with Shaq," Swift said.
For the record, Shaq played three years. Swift is on year two.
Bayno on the sideline
Bill Bayno claimed he didn't know the meeting was mandatory. But
Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson wouldn't budge. The
conference rule was clear for head coaches: miss a meeting,
miss a game. And when Bayno missed a preseason coaches meeting, that penalty was leveled on the UNLV coach.
Monday night's the night. Bayno was to watch the UNLV-BYU Mountain West
opener Monday night from somewhere other than the bench at the Thomas & Mack
Center.
"I'll probably just stay at home but I don't know if I can watch it
on TV," Bayno said. "If I don't, I'll go for a run or something."
The meeting went over rules for the season. The other seven league coaches
attended before visiting with the media later that day at the Four Seasons
Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. In Bayno's place, assistant coach Glynn Cyprien was scheduled to run the show, likely leaning heavily on assistants Max Good and Dave Rice.
The Runnin' Rebels (9-3) face a critical stretch in their season as they
begin conference play, a run that will be helped by the addition of JC guard Lou Kelly. Kelly was supposed to make his UNLV debut against BYU but a delay in posting his grades from junior college kept him from being cleared to play.
Cleaves to start
The Big Ten's biggest game so far will likely have its best name in the starting
lineup Tuesday night. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said he is 80 percent likely to start senior point
guard Mateen Cleaves against Indiana at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
Cleaves has played two games since coming back from a broken foot.
He exceeded his 15-minute target by playing 21 against Penn State last
week. He was 3-for-6 with five assists. But he wasn't as effective against
Iowa on Saturday. He was 1-for-3, with three assists, three turnovers and
four fouls in 20 minutes.
The Spartans won both games but Cleaves wasn't
pleased with his play. Cleaves isn't practicing every day because of
soreness, which might hurt his rhythm.
But don't think the Spartans are hurt by having Cleaves in the
lineup. His presence alone is a lift for Michigan State, especially on fast breaks when the Spartans are trying to beat Indiana down court. But Cleaves has to remain patient during the comeback or else he
could end up bringing himself down during the Spartans' run to the Big Ten
title.
Huskers get a guard
New Mexico guard John Robinson II arrived at Nebraska and began
practicing Monday. He'll sit out two semesters and be eligible as a junior
next December.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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