I spend a fair amount of time reading opinions of other writers like myself so as to broaden my view and scope.  Today I was reading Pat Fordes Minutes on Espn.com and it reminded me of something I witnessed first hand while playing in high school ball in Iowa. 

Specifically I’m talking about how so many freshman are eligible to play now when this was a major issue for years.  Pat talks about how students are labeled as having learning disabilities so they can take an untimed test.  When i was a senior in high school I went to Cedar Rapids Washington and played with Russ Millard.  Russ was being recruited by about everyone in the country and had narrowed his choices to Iowa, UConn, Arizona and Kansas.  He was a great player that had great hands and could jump for someone his size.  I loved playing with him because he made me look good and helped me to sign my letter of intent to play at Utah.  Russ had some serious issues in the classroom however and we all knew it.  He had been diagnosed with ADD (or so we were told) and had failed 2 previous attempts at passing the ACT the standard way like the rest of us.  Once Russ committed to Iowa to play his college ball he was given a ’special’ test where he sat one on one with someone to help him stay focused.  He even told us that she would read the questions and answer choices to him.  We laughed because of how obvious it would be to help someone in this situation by changing the inflection of your voice to give the correct answer.  He didn’t have the normal time constraints either and wouldn’t you know it, he passed the test.  When the results came out it was a front page story in the sports section describing how Millard had passed the test.  It was great vindication for him because every team we played would chant A….C…..T with each of his foul shots and he didn’t like it. 

The point is that this was happening long before it happened to Russ Millard and it’s been happening a ton since.  Is it worth looking into and getting involved?  Russ passed the test and was eligible to play as a freshman but more importantly he was able to get into college and gain an education.  If he failed the test he may have had to go to a junior college and who knows what would’ve happened.  Many kids need the chance that Russ got to pass the test to improve life but not all get it and it’s sad that basketball is an avenue that can get that to happen.  For that reason the NCAA has to crack down on stuff like this because what is fair for one must be fair for all as hard as that seems.

I’ve always thought the NCAA had too much time on their hands but with Kelvin Sampson being dumb enough to commit the same infraction twice and then lie about it I’m going to open my eyes a little wider to see what else is out there.  What bothers me is why Indiana would pay 750k to a coach that has a history of cheating?  Fire the guy and go to court and do whatever but don’t pay a guy 750k to walk away from the program and not cause a fuss. 

The NCAA has some issues and I think Indiana and Kelvin Sampson may have awakened them a little more than we all want.

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Tennessee has taken over the top spot in college hoops after a big time win this weekend over Memphis, who fell from the ranks of the unbeaten.  Memphis has fallen to the 3rd spot behind North Carolina, but remained ahead of Ucla and Texas who round out the top 5. 

In one of the best college games of the year, Memphis just went cold down the stretch missing 15 of their last 16 3 point shots and a dismal 8-17 from the foul line to assist in the loss.  Memphis, who had been the #1 team for a while now, was the last remaining unbeaten in division I basketball.  The loss creates some major question marks about how Memphis will play in close games during the NCAA tournament with the most apparent being the Tigers inability to shoot foul shots.  Tourney teams consistently foul and Memphis can’t trust the inside presence of Joey Dorsey to get the ball in case he is immediately fouled.  The puts more pressure on Douglas-Roberts and Rose. 

On a side note, I was very impressed with Derrick Rose again.  The kid scored 23 points on his first really big stage and he shined.  He handled the pressure well and plays at a different speed than most.  He is a little out of control at times but he’s a shot maker and you can’t teach that.

The player of the night, in my opinion, was JP Prince.  He had a 5 minute stretch in the second half that gave Tennessee a little breathing room and made up for the fact that Chris Lofton couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn.  It was amazing to me that Tennessee could win at Memphis with Lofton only scoring 7 and having Derrick Rose go for 23.  I never thought that would happen.  I never though Joey Dorsey would only score 1 point and that point would come on a free throw.  When he shoots the foul shot and it hits the rim they should give him a point.  Dorsey makes this face when he releases a foul shot like a kid trying to win a prize on the hoop shoot at the carnival.  Problem is he has the equivalent of spending 25 dollars there and never winning the prize for his girl.

Memphis also lost out on the nation’s longest home court winning streak which now, i believe, falls to BYU.  I’d like to see Memphis play Byu at home in Provo instead the patsies they usually do there but that’s another article.

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Jason Kidd is overmatched in the Western Conference.  The Mavs played the Hornets last night and he was dominated by Chris Paul to the tune of 30 plus points, 10 plus assists and nearly 10 steals.  Kidd should’ve stayed in the east where he was playing against the likes of Tyron Lue and whoever else the Knicks have playing the position today.

Let’s look at the top 5 Point Guards in the East as compared to the West.

Eastern Conference:

1.  Chauncey Billups

2.  Gilbert Arenas

3.  Jose Calderon 

4.  Andre Miller

5.  Kirk Hinrich

 Sure some arguments can be made about these top 5 but this is the best of the East.  This is terrible.  Kidd would’ve been 1,2 or 3 on this list depending on who filled it out.  Now let’s look at the West and include Kidd.

1.  Steve Nash

2.  Chris Paul

3.  Deron Williams

4.  Baron Davis

5.  Tony Parker

I don’t even have Kidd in the top 5 here.  Is it a stretch to not include him?  I don’t think so.  5 years ago it would’ve been but he’s no where near the top 4 on this list.  He can’t athletically play at the same level and can’t shoot.  He’ll get rebounds and triple doubles and is a first ballot hall of famer but he’s never won a title.  Tony Parker keeps getting better and better and is incredible in the playoffs. 

Facts are facts, Kidd should’ve stayed in the East.  The southeast conference has not one dominating point guard in the whole division.  Miami, Charlotte, Atlanta?  If i were a guard I’d beg to play those guys every night as compared to the West where it is a list of should be all stars. 

Dallas messed up big time and it is all down hill from here.  They didn’t need a replacement for Devin Harris but instead got an older version that will struggle defending the best guards the NBA has to offer.  Harris will thrive in New Jersey and Kidd will fall on his face in Dallas.

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I have been following the trade talks involving Jason Kidd very closely and when word was out that Keith Van Horn might be involved i had a bit of a flashback.  Van Horn last played in the playoffs in 2006 and that was it.  He just kind of walked away from basketball.  He never officially retired and the Mavericks retained his draft rights.  I’ll bet in the past 2 years he’s been asked about his retirement 300 times.  No exaggeration there because everyone has to know why he wouldn’t just make it official.  Turns out Keith is a genius.  If I’m an Nba player that a team still has rights to I’m probably never going to retire based on what is about to happen to Van Horn. 

In case you haven’t heard Van Horn is going to be involved in the Jason Kidd deal and get a 3 year contract from the Mavs to the Nets via a sign and trade.  The Mavs will make the first year guaranteed to the tune of over 4 million dollars not pro rated.  Van Horn is going to sign a 4 million plus dollar deal just to go to New Jersey and take a physical and then go right back to what he was doing.  The Lakers did it a week before with Aaron McKie and the Mavs are just following suit.  If Van Horn had retired the Mavs wouldn’t have his rights and this would have been an impossibility.  Since he didn’t he’ll be 4 million dollars better off and make the Mavs better in the process.  Since it is a 3 year deal with only the first guaranteed the Nets will be able to now hold Van Horn’s rights again like they did when they drafted him. 

Van Horn was a very good NBA player that was never as good as he was supposed to be, but I’m sure he’s ok with that today.

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Jason Kidd is still a Net after Devean George rejected the trade on Wednesday.  What is funny is George’s play since then.  The night the trade would’ve gone down, George went 0-11 from the field and even missed his 2 foul shot attempts.  Not a good way to be wanted in Dallas there Devean.  George needs to accept the trade and move on and let the Mavs screw themselves in this deal.

If I’m Kidd I would want to stay in the East because the West is loaded with top point guards.  Any league that has Baron Davis and Deron Williams on the outside looking in for all star consideration is where you don’t want to be.  The West features Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Baron Davis, Deron Williams, Tony Parker and so on.  To top it off, the Mavs would be giving up Devin Harris who is one of the few defenders in the league that is athletic enough to guard this list of point guards.  This makes Dallas older and certainly not better.  They would lose some inside depth with Diop and certainly Stackhouse off the bench.  I would say Devean George, but i don’t think my city league team would miss him if he were on our roster and called up sick one night 30 minutes before the game. 

Jason, call up Devean and thank him from keeping you from showing your age in the Western Conference. 

No other real rumors are floating around out there right now.  Teams will talk more as the deadline approaches but for now the attention is on Devean George and Jason Kidd and what happens there.

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Just in case you haven’t been keeping up with college basketball, Kelvin Sampson and Indiana have been hit with 5 major violations and will find out the fate of those violations sometime in June.

Believe it or not, I don’t fault Sampson for this because he is what he is.  I fault Indiana for hiring a cheater in the first place.  We now know why Sampson is recognized as a great recruiter, he’s cheating.  This bothers me so bad it isn’t even funny.  I’ve put up with defenders of this guy for months now and it isn’t the first time for him.  I’m not perfect at all, none of us are but this type of behavior is ridiculous coming from a guy who was supposed to be on his best behavior.

Indiana has been spotless since 1960 and this won’t sit well with them.  Sampson was brought in to replace a legend in Bobby Knight as was promising to run a clean program.  In turn, he’s going to be fired by season’s end or at season’s end because of his consistent lying and cheating.  I have to call it like it is at this point.

Bruce Weber, at Illinois, has been hammered for his supposed recruiting misgivings but nobody questions whether he does things the right way or not.  I’ve been told numerous times to let it go about Eric Gordon going to Indiana but it’s hard to overlook when one coach is playing by the rules and one isn’t.  There is no proof saying these over abundance of calls went to Gordon but he’s one of the best recruits in the past 5 years so I’d assume that some calls were made to him that shouldn’t have been.

I won’t listen to another person try to tell me different about Kelvin Sampson because he is what is…a cheater and it is about time that he got fired from Indiana and moved on to Division 3 basketball in Alaska. 

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I’ve followed this game each year hoping for the chance to actually see Clemson beat North Carolina and I was sure that last night was the night.  Clemson was running up and down the court and the pressure they were putting on Carolina seemed too much.  I was cooking dinner for the family when Clemson was up 14 points with 8 minutes to go and they were not showing signs of slowing down.  Carolina was missing everything that wasn’t shot by Hansbrough or Duke goat Wayne Ellington.  I thought it was over. 

I glanced back at the tv with a little over 3 minutes to go and Clemson was still up 11 so I focused more on the cooking than the game.  Then I noticed the crowd started to sound different and it was an 8 point game, then a 5, then a 2.  Then when Clemson missed the front end of a one and one I knew destiny was about to happen again to the poor Tigers.  Carolina tied the game and eventually won in 2-ot’s.  It was a great college basketball game where Clemson was winning the game for literrally 39 minutes and couldn’t hang on.  What are the odds of the streak still going on?  It’s crazy now that 53 straight times Clemson has gone to Chapel Hill and lost.  If they didn’t win last night they certainly dont’ get my confidence for it happening any time soon.  It didn’t help their cause that they were only 1-7 from the foul line, which is very Illinois like if you ask me.  It didn’t help that Hansbrough ended up with 39 points either.  I’m a Cubs fan and in the end I believe one thing:  53 games ago someone from Clemson caused a curse and it’s not leaving anytime soon.

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In what is supposed to be a day that is recognized as the day where all sports attention is focused on college football’s signing day, the NBA has found a way to trump it by announcing that Shaq has been dealt to the Phoenix Suns.

The Miami Heat traded Shaq to the Suns for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks.  Shaq, who is currently out with injury, passed the team physical and should be very excited about the move to Phoenix.  After all, he’s leaving the worst team in the NBA for one of the best and is surrounded by star players.  Dwyane Wade had outgrown Shaq in Miami and the team needed some fresh faces.  By adding Banks and Marion the team actually fills two large holes.  Marion is athletic enough to play the small forward or power forward and Banks is going to actually see the court after riding the pine in Phoenix since he got there.  This may be Banks last shot to really prove he can play and he’ll get every chance in Miami playing with and behind Jason Williams.  Marion has been wanting out of Phoenix for some time and gets his wish even though he won’t in any sort of playoff contention this year. 

I like the move for Miami because they are entrenched in the bottom of the league and should get a top 3 pick in the upcoming draft.  Team that pick with Wade and Marion and you have very good nucleus to a team.  Shaq was getting older and his relationship with Riley was apparently very strained.

As for the Suns, I don’t really get it.  They will put Shaq underneath and let Stoudamire play power forward.  Grant Hill will play small forward and then have Boris Diaw rotate between the 3 and 4 spots off the bench.  It all comes down to Shaq and how healthy he is.  The Suns know that the window for them is closing and with Gasol going to the Lakers, Steve Kerr of Phoenix needed to do something and he did.  Shaq gives them a center to go up against the powers in the WEst like Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, Gasol or Bynum.  It boils down to his health.  If Shaq comes back rejuvenated then look out western conference.  I don’t see it however and think this deal comes back to haunt the Suns for the next two season as they pay the big guy 20 mill per season.

And if this deal wasn’t enough to trump signing day, tune in to ESPN tonight at Duke #2 plays North Carolina #3.  I love basketball.

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Bobby Knight, retired?  Just doesn’t sound right.  I remember Bobby Knight as the first coach who i really followed.  He is extremely interesting and unpredictable and the latest turn is no different.  Bobby Knight apparently resigned yesterday as coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, making his son the new head coach.

The question remains, is Bobby Knight really done with coaching?  After all, he’s been coaching for 40 plus years and has been very good at it.  The number of coaches that have come from his tutelage are incredible.  He’s only 67 years old and still very sharp.  I can see him getting bored and coming back because this is all he’s ever known.  Lute Olson, from Arizona, took a break this year to work on some personal matters and people wonder if he’ll be coming back soon.  After all, if you ask a man in his 30’s to name a college coach Bobby Knight would be one of the top 5 names mentioned.  Surely he could land on his feet somewhere and build up a program.  Texas Tech never got to prominence with Knight but they sure got more consistent. 

If he stays retired I’ll miss him greatly but I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of Bobby KNight no matter what he says over the rest of this week.  After all, do we believe Bill Parcells anymore?

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The Nba Trade Deadline is set for February 20th and this time of year is always full of great rumors that usually never happen.  They happened this year already with Gasol going to the Lakers and more are sure to follow.  I’ve scoured some of the main newspapers throughout the country this morning and found a list that I would mention or at least deserve mentioning. 

Mike Miller- Grizzlies- The Grizzlies have been called everything the past week including Clearance Sale, 50% off and any other joke associated with trading your best players.  Mike Miller is a player that has been in the league a while and is established.  The Grizzlies won’t be trading Mike Conley or Rudy Gay but they will look to acquire whatever they can for Miller.  Most teams would be interested in the 6*8 versatile forward but the Cavs could really use him.  With Pavlovic out for a while and no other real scoring threat, Miller would be a perfect get for the Cavs. 

Jason Kidd:  Nets-  Is this the year Kidd finally gets dealt?  He had better hope so because he isn’t getting any younger.  He doesn’t want to go to any team that doesn’t have a shot at a title and he has to seriously regret not playing with Tim Duncan in San Antonio when the opportunity presented itself.  One deal had been discussed involving the Blazers and Mavs but nothing has happened yet.  I think he’ll move but I think that every year and he still wears that ugly Nets jersey.

JJ Redick:  Magic-  I only wanted to mention him because he thinks he’s still at Duke.  Truth is that many of us have wondered where the guy has been for a couple years now.  He’s with the Magic and thinks that he’s better than Magic Johnson.  He’s not, but he does want out of Orlando.

Damon Stoudamire: Spurs?-  Damon Stoudamire has signed with the Spurs and will surely see some time in San Antonio with Tony Parker on the mend.  The Spurs are notorious for peaking at playoff time and this year will be no different.  Damon can still play and will help them but has he ever been on a winner before?  I’m a believer that players are winners or losers and I’d lump Damon in the loser category.  Marbury is in the loser category and most of the KNicks for that matter.  Some players teams always seem to win and DAmon isn’t one of those guys.

Sam Cassell: Clippers-  Sam I am is going to be on the move.  He’s 35 and playing for a losing franchise in LA.  Sam is a proven winner and would be a welcome addition to a number of teams.  He can’t play for 38 minutes a night but would be great coming off the bench and can still lead a team. I expect Sam to go before the deadline to a very happy franchise.

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