thisgivensunday theoutsidecorner crossoverchronicles puckdrunklove crystalballrun runthefloor

Anatomy of a roster: Missouri Tigers

Written by Michael Rogner on .

Seniors

Tony Criswell, 6-9: Criswell enrolled at UAB in 2009 and redshirted. After his redshirt freshman year (3.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg) he transferred to Independence CC for a year before enrolling at Mizzou.

Ernest Ross, 6-5: Ross began his career at Auburn, where he played for two seasons. He sat out the 2011-12 season after transferring to Missouri.

no comments

Evaluating Darion Clark to USC

Written by Michael Rogner on .

When Andy Enfield took over Florida Gulf Coast he immediately turned to the transfer market in order to upgrade the talent on the roster. So it's no surprise that he's doing the same thing at USC.

And just like at FGCU, Enfield isn't necessarily looking for the quick fix. While his team was earning the name 'Dunk City' in last year's tournament, two of his most talented players were sitting out the year on the bench after transferring. He had 6-6 Jamail Jones from Marquette and 6-10 Nate Hicks from Georgia Tech. And this was after his first recruit - Eric McKnight from Iowa State - sat out the previous year. And now Clark will be in the same boat.

no comments

Evaluating Terry Whisnant to ECU

Written by Michael Rogner on .

FSU head Coach Leonard Hamilton doesn't look it, but he's 64 years old. Long ago he was a star high school basketball player in Gastonia, North Carolina, and he began his college career at the local community college. But once he left for Tennessee-Martin he was out of North Carolina for good.

But throughout his career he has maintained his ties to his home state. He's cultivated relationships with high school and AAU coaches. And he goes there and wins recruiting battles. FSU currently has four players from the state.

Terry Whisnant II (6-3, 185) grew up in Cherryville, just down the road from Gastonia. His family was rooted there, and Whisnant stayed home instead of transferring to a big high school, largely because of his family. That, and he got to break all his father's scoring records. He was Mr. Basketball as a senior - the only 1A public school player to ever win the award. And he scored. A lot. He averaged over 32 points a game.

no comments

Kentucky's 2013-14 Championship odds slightly better than last year's

Written by Michael Rogner on .

Now that Andrew Wiggins has made his college choice (you're not really expecting me to put a link on that, are you?) the Vegas sports books have begun releasing their odds for the 2013-14 college basketball national title. Bovada and Vegas Insider both dropped today, and they both have Kentucky as the favorite with 5/1 odds (bet $1 to win $5).

This is better than last year's favorite -  Indiana - which had 7/1 odds. Right behind Indiana was Kentucky, with 15/2 odds. And pretty much every expert in the nation had Kentucky in their top 3 to start the season. Of course, they ended in the NIT, while the Hoosiers fell in the Sweet 16. The champion last season (Louisville) began with 8/1 odds, while the runner up (Michigan) was at 20/1.

Eight teams begin this season with odds as good as Michigan's were or better.

no comments

Even without Andrew Wiggins, SEC dominating recruiting

Written by Michael Rogner on .

No one had any idea where Andrew Wiggins was going to play his one year of college basketball. He chose Kansas, which will obviously give the Jayhawks class a huge boost. But this is the time of year when I like to begin looking at recruiting by conference.

To begin, I focus on the consensus top 100 recruits, rather than any one service. RSCI hoops is the best site for this but they won't update their rankings until everyone's final lists come out. In the interim I make my own. I take every player's ranking from several recruiting services, and then apply some formulas, and boom, there's the top 100 list. It's the crowd sourcing approach to recruiting, rather than trying to pick your favorite person out of that crowd.

The immediate impact of Wiggins was on the upper end of that scale - the can't miss, 5*, top 25 kids. And looking at just those top 25, the SEC is killing everybody. Imagine if Kentucky would have gotten Wiggins.

The initial reaction is that of course the SEC is killing everybody because of Kentucky. But even if you remove all of Kentucky's recruits from the equation, the SEC still has more top 25 recruits than any other conference.

no comments

Douchebags of Twitter vs Andrew Wiggins

Written by Michael Rogner on .

 

 

no comments

Your RTF Guide to the Andrew Wiggins Announcement

Written by Michael Rogner on .

1. When is he announcing his college choice?

Students will be assembling at 12:15 Tuesday for the ceremony. Expect an announcement between 12:16 and 12:30, with a potential for lingering until dinner.

2. Where will he be announcing?

From St. Joseph's Central Catholic High School, in West Virginia.

3. But he goes to Huntington Prep.

True. But Huntington Prep is not a high school. It's an all-star basketball team that practices at Marshall University. The players attend classes at St. Joe's. That's how stuff works these days.

no comments

Michael Jordan vs Martin and Charlie Sheen

Written by Michael Rogner on .

Incredible video, converted from VHS by this guy.

no comments

The Wiggins Reporter gains nearly 6,000 Twitter followers overnight

Written by Michael Rogner on .

Everyone in basketball has been waiting for Andrew Wiggins to announce his college destination. Yesterday, the news finally dropped that the announcment was coming on Tuesday.

A few details emerged about the announcement as well. It's happening at St. Joseph's Catholic High School in West Virginia. His parents will be there. And television cameras will not be there. This will just be a celebration with friends, family, and classmates.

The other interesting note is that a local reporter will be allowed to attend. Grant Traylor is a sports reporter at the local paper, who - until the announcement was made - was currently focused on the Marshall University softball team.

no comments

Andrew Wiggins to announce his decision on Tuesday

Written by Michael Rogner on .

The wait is almost over. Rob Fulford, the head coach at Huntington Prep, tweeted this evening that Andrew Wiggins will announce his college choice on Tuesday, around 12:15. He'll choose between Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

 

no comments