Champions Classic -The Best Night Of The Non-Conference Season

The best single night of the non-conference season is the Champions Classic tonight in Chicago. (nationofblue.com)

In the first week of the college basketball season, when ranked programs are supposed to hone their skills against weaker opponents, the big boys are coming out to do battle tonight in Chicago. Four of the most storied programs in college basketball will be under the same roof for a double header that will be the center of the college basketball world.

This is the final leg of the three-year, round-robin-style Champions Classic. No. 1 vs. No. 2 and No. 4 vs. No. 5. Kentucky vs. Michigan State and Duke vs. Kansas. These are matchups perfect for March but four months early. Freshmen phenoms will battle. Hall of Fame coaches will try to outwit their counterpart. Passionate fan bases will get into heated Twitter fights about how the other team is a bunch of cheaters.

These coaches and programs need to be commended for agreeing to this tournament. It seems like an easy sell; go play in the United Center or Madison Square Garden in prime time against one of the best teams in the country. But doing so the second week of the season when even John Calipari thinks his team of McDonalds All-Americans isn't very good yet is a lot to ask.

Yet no one will look in March at a Kentucky or Michigan State loss tonight as a reason either should fall in the bracket seeding. A win for either side doesn't guarantee anything, but it's a marker to evaluate and boost a team's confidence. And after playing this level of competition, Miami of Ohio is going to seem like a walk in the park. You want your team to get better? Play the best.

One of the best decisions of the college basketball season thus far was to extend the classic for another three years, traveling to Indianapolis in 2014, Chicago in 2015 and New York City in 2016. The Maui Invitational and Preseason NIT are great early-season tournaments, but there is no greater one night of hoops in November than the Champions Classic. You know what you will get every year. Great players, great coaches and a ton of hype.

In the first year of the event, Kansas faced Kentucky. Those two teams later met up in the national championship game. Enjoy the games tonight and hope and we may be lucky enough to see part two of these matchups in March.

Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter
Like Beats Dimes and Drives on Facebook

SEC Preview: Can Kentucky Live Up To The Hype?

The long wait will soon be over when the first full slate of NCAA basketball games of the 2013-14 season will tip-off on Nov. 8. Some of our favorite players have moved on the ranks of professional athletes, new recruits have been polishing their games in gyms with recognizable logos on the court, and schools have switched conference allegiances. Through a series of conference previews, the BDD crew will do its best to prepare you for the next 4.5 months of collegiate hoops.

It could be all smiles for Julius Randle (30) and Kentucky as the Wildcats enter the season as the No. 1 team in the country. (kentucky.com)

Favorite: Kentucky
Before playing a game that matters, Kentucky is not only the favorite to win the SEC, but is also the No. 1 team in the country. The Wildcats will have something to prove after last year's experiment ended in a hugely disappointing loss in the NIT to Robert Morris. Like any Kentucky team under John Calipari, the Wildcats will be young, but very talented. This might be the most talented class Cal has assembled. Kentucky brought in five players ranked in the top 11 in Rivals 150 (Julius Randle, No. 2, Andrew Harrison, No. 5, Aaron Harrison, No. 7, Dakari Johnson, No. 9, and James Young, No. 11). Add in returners Willie Cauley-Stein and Alex Poythress and this UK team is stacked. The question will be if these young players can mesh together and mature quickly, and if there are enough shots to go around. Still, inexperienced or not, this Kentucky team should be skilled enough to avoid a scenario like last season.


Dark Horse Team To Watch: Alabama
Alabama is coming off a 23-13 season in which it found itself in a three-way tie for second place in the SEC with Ole Miss and Kentucky. Alabama was picked sixth by the media, but Anthony Grant's squad could make a run similar to last season. The big loss for the Crimson Tide is Trevor Lacy, who transferred to North Carolina State after finishing second on the team in scoring (11.7 ppg) last season. Still, Alabama returns another Trevor in senior Trevor Releford, the point guard who led the team with 15.4 ppg last season and was voted Preseason First-Team All-SEC by the media this year. Add in Rodney Cooper and freshman big man Jimmie Taylor, who was No. 69 on the Rivals 150, and the Crimson Tide could compete in the top half of the conference.


Player of the Year: Julius Randle, Kentucky
Randle was the No.2 player in the 2013 recruiting class, only behind Kansas' Andrew Wiggins. The left-handed, 6-9 forward is dangerous from every part of the floor and figures to be a very high pick in next year's draft. There will be a lot of bright spots on this Kentucky team, but Randle should shine the brightest. He will have some big stages to practice on before conference play as Kentucky plays No. 2 Michigan State, No. 25 Baylor, No. 12 North Carolina and No. 3 Louisville all before the new year.


Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Kentucky
It's difficult to pick anyone else when the leader of Big Blue Nation has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country and the No. 1 team in the preseason rankings. The pressure will be on Cal because of Kentucky's disappointment from a year ago, but that might actually help his chances of winning this award this season. If Cal can get his team to play like the national champion from two years ago and not the NIT team from last year, and win the league, the award will probably be his.


Newcomer of the Year: Julius Randle, Kentucky
Randle clearly has the biggest upside of any player in the SEC this year. Randle is a tough matchup with his ability to drive to the basket and post up. The only reason Randle is not either SEC Newcomer of the Year or SEC Player of the Year is because of all the talent around him getting their shots as well. Florida also has a pair of freshmen, Chris Walker (6-10" center, No. 6 Rivals recruit) and Kasey Hill (6-1" guard, No. 10 Rivals recruit), that could make a run at this award.


Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter
Like Beats Dimes and Drives on Facebook
 

Kentucky Can't Replace Nerlens Noel's Defensive Presence After Injury

Nerlens Noel's torn ACL is a painful exclamation point on an already rough season. (espn.com)

Kentucky fans thought this season had been rough after winning a national championship last year. They didn't quite know what rough was until Tuesday when freshman Nerlens Noel tore the ACL in his left knee.

For the rest of the country, the biggest concern with Noel's injury is how this will affect his NBA draft stock and the future of the one-and-done rule. But Kentcky has bigger concerns than if Noel will head to the NBA in June (in case you're curious, ESPN's Chad Ford still has Noel as the No. 3 prospect even after the injury).

The Wildcats are fighting just to get into the NCAA Tournament and now will do so without the most consistent all-around force they have. The schedule isn't a cakewalk for a team in Kentucky's position, as they still have to go on the road to Tennessee and Arkansas and face Missouri and Florida in Rupp Arena. If the Wildcats come out of those four games at or below .500, they may be on the outside looking in on Selection Sunday, barring a run in the SEC Tournament.

The loss of Noel form a statistical standpoint is painful, but the biggest loss for UK is the now empty defensive presence around the basket.

Kentucky still has offensive weapons. Noel was the fourth leading scorer on the team, so it just means that Archie Goodwin, Alex Poythress and Kyle Wiltjer can still carry the load by stepping up a bit more. The real concern is on the defensive end and having a shot blocker roaming the paint and terrifying opponents into resorting to jump shots. Freshman Willie Cauley-Stein will take Noel's place in the lineup (he has averaged 7.8 ppg and 5.5 rpg) and while he has great potential, it's impossible to replace a player who is one of the best shot blockers in the game and deflects more than four per contest.

Imagine if Jeff Withey would go down for Kansas. That defense is completely altered because the player who made it impossible for the other team to get easy shots inside is not longer a threat. Withey, like Noel, is a player who cleans up his teammates mistakes with his blocking ability. Poor guard defense is much less noticeable if the opposing guard blows by his defender but his layup is blocked into the third row.

This means less room for error for the other Kentucky defenders and the aspects of the defense like rebounding and challenging shots, which Noel did so well, might come a little bit tougher the rest of the season.

Kentucky could already not afford a loss as significant as Noel, and especially now that the chances of a NCAA Tournament appearance becomes more bleak with every loss and poor performance. The season has been unusual by Kentucky fans' standards and now the young Wildcats have possibly their most difficult challenge ahead in the form of a 7-foot road block placed in their path.


Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter
Like Beats Dimes and Drives on Facebook 

Turgeon, Recruits Aim To Bring Maryland Back to Prominence

Coach Mark Turgeon is in the process of bringing Maryland back to success. (testudotimes.com)

It hasn't been that long ago that Maryland basketball was in the hunt for ACC and national titles every season.

The program hit a rebuilding process after the retirement of coach Gary Williams, and now head coach Mark Turgeon is trying to bring the program back to prominence. After this recruiting season, he could be close.

The Terrapins landed former Xavier guard Dez Wells at the beginning of the month, who left Xavier after an alleged sexual assault incident. Wells, a member of the Atlantic 10 rookie first-team last season who averaged nearly 10 points and five rebounds per game, will likely have to sit out this season due to the school change.

If the Terps can be patient and continue to progress this season, look for the 2013-14 year as the time Maryland begins making noise. Turgeon brought in a transfer forward from Michigan, Evan Smotrycz, who will also be eligible in 2013, and Maryland is in the market for the best guard duo in the 2013 high school class.

Aaron and Andrew Harrison, twin guards from Fort Bend, Texas, and the Nos. 3 and 4-rated recruits in their class, have just narrowed their list of possible schools to three, and the Terps are still in the hunt. Kentucky is one of the other schools remaining, and SMU the third school, so nothing is certain.

The Harrisons will visit Maryland for the program's Midnight Madness on Oct. 12, and while everything is uncertain when judging high school talent transitioning to the college level, landing the twins would likely be monumental for the Terps' growth. We mentioned in a previous post on the 2013 class what talented twins can do for a team.

The combination of a strong 2012 recruiting class — led by center Shaquille Cleare, who will have a year of experience by 2013 — the transfers who will be eligible to play, and the signing of the Harrison twins could shoot Maryland back into the top of the ACC in the 2013-14 season.

Turgeon's track record speaks for itself. He turned Wichita State and Texas A&M into conference contenders and NCAA Tournament teams, and he can do the same for Maryland. The Terps haven't made the NCAA Tournament since the 2009-10 season, but don't expect this streak to continue much longer.

If all goes Maryland's way, the Terps will have the talent and the coach to return to the program's rich tradition of success.


Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter

Are NCAA Precedents Applied Fairly for all Sports?

A Penn State football fan looks away from the Nittany Lions' loss to Ohio. (Getty Images/Patrick Smith)

The Penn State community is no longer used to winning. A series of horrendous actions compounded by inexcusable cover-ups; the tarnished legacy of a longstanding football coach who was more like a father figure to students at large; and, trivial in comparison, being on the wrong end of a 24-14 result on their home turf against the Ohio Bobcats during the first weekend of the college football season.

For the first time in decades, the emphasis of "Happy Valley" is on the latter word.

While the penalties levied against Penn State are harsh, the Nittany Lions dodged the death penalty. The University of Miami is also still competing in the NCAA football ranks despite some demand for a ban after a booster implicated dozens of players, coaches and former players in an illicit benefits scandal in August 2011.

But what if the allegations at Miami had fallen more on the basketball team than on the gridiron Hurricanes? Or if an assistant basketball coach at any university in the country committed the heinous acts of Jerry Sandusky?

The hypothetical situations, obviously, cannot even approach the seriousness of what really happened. However, it is imperative to note that football is the clear breadwinner of athletic departments across the nation. Of the top 50 most profitable college athletic programs in 2009-10 season, 38 were football programs. Twenty spots passed before the first basketball program appeared, and it made more than $50 million less than the list's premier program.

Incidentally, the Penn State football program came in third on that list, turning a $50.4 million profit. If a program of that magnitude were removed from competition all together, the university would not be the only institution taking a financial hit. The NCAA would not reap any rewards either, financial or otherwise. Other areas of the institution would suffer as well, as football money is used to support other teams and it is widely believed that some students choose a university because of athletic success.

Axing a school's basketball program would not have such a far-reaching ripple effect, though. Players fall in hot water because of accepting improper benefits, and sometimes multiple members of the same team face such inquiries simultaneously, but nothing of Miami-magnitude has occurred in college hoops. Removal of a college basketball program would affect fewer student-athletes than taking away football due to sheer roster size disparity. Couple that with the second-tier profitability of college hoops and, no matter the offense, it would be far easier to wipe basketball from a campus than it would be to knock football out of the practice facility.

The most infamous reference among NCAA death penalty cases — those in which participation bans were actually levied, not just rumored or threatened — is that of Southern Methodist University's Pony Express football team. But the precedent of all major penalties was set by the University of Kentucky's basketball team of 1952. Four Wildcats were found culpable for their involvement in a point-shaving scandal as Kentucky was in the midst of winning three national tournaments in four years, the last coming in 1951 after allegations were already public. Despite legendary coach Adolf Rupp defending his players in the media, the Wildcats' 1952-53 season was effectively cancelled by a postseason ban and other programs' refusal to play Kentucky because of NCAA pressure.

A scandal more comparable to that of Miami's left the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisana at Lafayette) basketball team banned from NCAA play for the 1973-74 and '74-75 seasons. The multi-season was implemented for 120-plus violations involving cash payments and various other infractions in the program.

The NCAA powers-that-be take necessary action to keep member institutions and their student-athletes clean, acting with the intention of setting examples that are supposed to inhibit future infractions. It is the opinion of each individual fan, player and coach as to whether the penalties are reasonable or applied appropriately in the spectrum of all sports rather than on a basis that would give preference to one sport over another.

Hypothetical questions rarely provide relevant answers, but they can act as primers for situations that may come up in the future. As long as every athletic program is trying to gain a competitive edge, NCAA investigations will persist. The territory entered with the Penn State sanctions ensures that programs now face the specter of ramifications for actions involving neither payments or play, but for other actions committed off the field.

Right now an argument about fair treatment between varying sports programs is the farthest thing from the collective mind of a football team in Happy Valley, though.


Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter

Kentucky, Louisville Are Monitoring Their Athletes' Social Media Use

Universities are taking precautions to monitor their athletes' social media use. (cosida.com)

University of Kentucky and University of Louisville athletes are free to tweet whatever they want. They don't, however, have a say in if their tweet will still be there the next morning.

Both Kentucky and Louisville athletes have agreements with their schools to have a monitoring system set up on their social media accounts. If an athlete tweets or posts one of the more than 400 banned words and phrases, the school is notified and can decide if the post needs to be removed.

What are these words? Many are references to alcohol, sex and drugs; some generic and others brand names. Blow, chronic, crunk, benjamins, stoned and breasts are all included. Names of alcoholic drinks and drugs — both kinds (Ale, whisky, cocaine, K2) and brands (Budweiser, Crown Royal and every other alcoholic drink imaginable) — as well as references to being drunk or under the influence are all covered. One of the gems on the banned phrase list is, "act a fool." So players, don't be quoting any DMX lyrics in your social media posts.

In an effort to keep players out of a different kind of temptation, Kentucky also has banned the names of 370 sports agents - as well as words like extra benefit, agent and contract - all of which referencing could compromise the athletes' amateur status.

Players are going to tweet. They are going to post statuses and comment on photos on Facebook and check in on Foursquare. Most athletes will be fine, but there will be those to tweet and post inappropriate subjects, ones that can get them, and the school, into trouble.

(socialmediacoachforathletes.com)

The power of social media was proven once again when multiple cases arose during the 2012 Olympics, where a Swiss soccer player and Greek track athlete were kicked off their national teams for racist tweets.

The monitoring system allows school officials to see and handle situations before the words become national news. With more and more cases of issues involving social media and athletes, it will be interesting to see if more universities take the "watchdog" approach to their athletes' social-media lives.


Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter

Nike-Sponsored Squads Set For Elite Event in 2017

Nike-sponsored schools will square off in a two-tournament event featuring college basketball's elite in 2017 (nikeblog.com)

It's not too early to look ahead to the 2012 college basketball season, which is three months away. But how about looking ahead to 2017?

Thanks to Michigan State Athletic Director Mark Hollis, the best early-season college basketball tournament won't take place in Maui or Madison Square Garden. This tournament will take place in Portland, and the star power represented by the schools is fitting given the star power of the sponsor they are celebrating. 

According to Andy Katz of ESPN, Hollis was able to receive commitments from 16 Nike-sponsored programs to play in a two-tournament event held over four days in November 2017. This is in celebration of Nike co-founder Phil Knight's 80th birthday, which is the following February.

The premise itself is enticing — having teams sponsored by the same company compete against one another — but it's the programs represented that will make college hoops fans' mouths water. 

The tournament will include a mix of blue bloods (Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, Michigan St.), as well as power-conference representatives (Florida, Ohio St., UCONN, Georgetown, Texas, Oklahoma, Stanford and Oregon), and some choice mid-majors (Xavier, Butler, Gonzaga and Portland).

Let that sink in for a moment. No matter the combination of seedings, elite programs will have a hard road to win these two tournaments. Unlike other early-season tournaments, there is no Chaminade in the quarterfinals. Even the "mid-majors" are no one to mess with. This event is loaded from top to bottom.

That's what fans want to see. Why else would this event even be a topic of conversation five years early if it wasn't big? The third game of the year against Towson isn't circled on any calendars. If you think your team is better than Duke, and the team doesn't play in the ACC, then you're excited to play the Blue Devils and find out if you're right. 

This not only is a win for fans and for the teams — this should help boost the RPI at the end of the year — but imagine what this does for Nike. It's hard to say which is more impressive:  that Nike sponsors all of these teams or that, when Hollis came calling with the idea, everyone said yes. The king of sports apparel and marketing will have its name on the biggest regular-season basketball event of the year, maybe even the decade, while every player on the court wears its equipment. 

The only downside is this won't take place for another five years. It's unlikely these teams will plummet to mediocrity during the waiting period, so if this upcoming season is any indication, college hoops fans are in for a treat in 2017.


Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter

NBA benefits from college fandom

By: Kyle Davis

It has the feel of a big brother, little brother relationship.

Everyone wants to hang out with the big brother. Big brother takes who he wants, leaving the rest for the little brother. It’s a relationship of respect but an understanding that the big brother has the upper hand. Little brother just wants to be invited to the party.

It is this dynamic that exists between the worlds of college basketball and the NBA. The majority of basketball fans are divided, choosing an alliance and rarely deviating. Sure, die-hard sports fans who are passionate about college basketball will still watch the NBA playoffs and the big-time, regular season matchups, and vice versa. But rarely do you find a person who hangs out with the little brother one night and big brother the next. They have different personalities, and thus different friends. 

Why? One reason is because the games are so different, and I believe apparent enough that I won’t waste 200 words explaining how. There’s also some hostility between the two leagues due to the one-and-done rule. Whether it means having elite players stay in college longer or not at all, college fans feel like they’re getting a raw deal. Big brother is taking all the good stuff and little brother has what’s left.   

Now’s the time in the poorly produced metaphor where little brother proves worth keeping around.  The NBA needs the college game in a way that has become more clear to me during these NBA Finals. It’s not that players will be better prepared, playing against stiffer competition, or older or more mature. It’s because of the fans.   

The bond between devoted fans and their athletes is much stronger on the college level. Players give their school four (or three, two or one) years of memories in which fans are eternally grateful. New players come in and carry on the legacy of the school, but alumni are not forgotten or less loved by their alma mater. Maybe it is because fans feel more of a connection watching players develop and mature from skinny freshmen to All-Americans, or because they are naturally moving on to another level in their life instead of leaving you for the guy down the street with a Ferrari in the driveway. 

Regardless, this isn’t a one-way street. For the majority of players, especially from elite programs, it is a thrill to come back to campus in the offseason and reconnect with fans. For most, the college campus is where it all began, and because of this, the connection runs deep. 

I’ve been observing these Finals in the heart of Kansas Jayhawk country. I won’t tell you my stance for fear you will close the page right...about...now, but I have witnessed, firsthand, an aspect of the Finals that often gets overlooked.

KU has former players on both teams (Mario Chalmers on the Heat; Nick Collison and Cole Aldrich on the Thunder) and I have seen and heard from KU fans who normally would be watching The Bachelorette, but are glued to the games because they want to see one of their own win a ring.

And that’s the important part for the NBA; no matter what team’s name is on the front of these guys' professional jerseys, to passionate KU fans, Collison, Chalmers and Aldrich will always be Jayhawks. The same could be said for UCLA fans wanting to see Russell Westbrook succeed and Florida fans hoping for the same with Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem. They may not have enrolled in classes in eight years, but they will always be a Bruin or Gator. 

NBA teams don’t draft players based on their school, nor should they. While the market is small compared to passionate NBA fans who will watch playoff basketball even if their team has been eliminated, the NBA should take advantage of a college fan’s loyalties to their school’s former players. Is it a coincidence that the Sprint Center in Kansas City hosts a preseason NBA game each year, and it just happens to include former KU players on the rosters of the teams invited? In 2010, the Thunder and Heat met in KC, and the KU ties have been well documented by now. Last year was Houston (Marcus Morris) against Miami, and this year will be the Heat once again facing Washington (who has the No. 3 pick in the draft with KU’s Thomas Robinson lingering near that spot).   

The beauty of the college fan’s devotion is not defined, nor limited to geography or success. Kentucky fans are still going to cheer for John Wall when Washington isn’t winning. The NBA shouldn’t look at the college game as a competitor. When the college game is strong -- meaning outstanding teams, all-star players and large numbers of fans -- the NBA benefits. The college basketball season is over and its fans are searching for a fix for their postseason basketball absence. What those fans want arguably most, other than watching entertaining basketball, is to see players with their college allegiance succeed.   

Little brother is always going to want to hang around and see what big brother is up to, and in a business that lives by the numbers, little brother’s friends are useful.


Follow @BeatsDimesDrive on Twitter