Floyd at UTEP, not concerned about USC
May 31, 2010
EL PASO, Texas (AP)—Tim Floyd has only been back in El Paso a few weeks, butit’s hard to tell from the clutter on his new desk and the scribbles covering awhite board in his office overlooking Texas El-Paso’s new basketball practicefacility.
Floyd, no stranger to El Paso and UTEP fans, returned to college basketballthis spring after spending a year as an assistant coach with the New OrleansHornets.
“I just have always loved the college game,” Floyd said. “I’ve alwaysenjoyed putting your own team together.”
Of course, Floyd also comes back to the amateur game after an unceremonious2009 departure from Southern California amid allegations of recruitingviolations involving standout O.J. Mayo, now with Memphis in the NBA. The NCAAis investigating, among other things, whether Floyd gave $1,000 to a man whohelped steer Mayo to USC.
Earlier this year, USC said an internal investigation concluded there wererules violations involving Mayo and pre-emptively forfeited 21 wins from the2007-2008 season, took away one scholarship through the 2010-11 season andimposed a one-year ban on postseason play. The NCAA could impose othersanctions.
Floyd has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and he’s been reluctant to speakabout the case, saying he has been asked to remain quite because of the ongoinginvestigation.
“It will all come out,” Floyd said.
UTEP athletic director Bob Stull said there is always a risk in picking anew coach, but the school did its “due diligence” in hiring Floyd before theNCAA probe was completed.
“Tim had never had a previous NCAA violation and from further investigationwe, along with five other universities who were trying to hire him, felt like itwas unlikely for (the) allegations to be valid,” Stull said.
Floyd is taking over a storied program that counts among its accolades theonly NCAA basketball national championship in Texas. And the Miners have been onthe upswing thanks in large part to outgoing coach Tony Barbee, who is now thecoach at Auburn.
“Tony left it in good shape,” Floyd said.
But he is losing standout junior forward Derrick Caracter to the NBA draftand power forward Arnett Moultrie, who has opted to transfer, and faces acomplete rebuilding of the team in the next year.
“We will build this (program) the way we built USC, with qualityfreshmen,” Floyd said.
At USC, Floyd was 85-50 over four seasons and took the Trojans to the NCAAtournament three times, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2007.
Floyd started his basketball career as an assistant to UTEP coach DonHaskins from 1978-86, before coaching at Idaho, New Orleans and Iowa State. Hetook over the Chicago Bulls in 1998 before his stints with the Hornets and USC.
Had he had his way, Floyd says he would still be leading the Trojans. But heleft, he says, after it became apparent that he no longer had support from theschool.
Questions about Floyd’s hiring—How will the NCAA probe end? Will he followin the footsteps of his predecessors and use UTEP as a basketball springboard toa bigger program?—have swirled since he was introduced as the Miners’ newcoach in late March.
Stull has said has said he has every confidence in Floyd, who spent part ofhis childhood in the city before returning as Haskins’ assistant. And he was thefirst on the list of successors when Barbee left.
“Tim was an ideal fit,” Stull said. “He coached with legendary coachHaskins for nine years, he spent several early years growing up in El Paso,”Stull said. “He was an excellent and very popular choice to build on (Barbee’s)success.”
None of the details concern Floyd, who said he’s been concentrating onrecruiting, filling out his coaching staff and getting the program ready to makea second consecutive run at the NCAA tournament. He didn’t even worry much aboutsigning a contract before having his first press conference at UTEP.
“I’ve never not signed a contract before the press conference,” Floydsaid. “But it just hasn’t been a big priority.”
From his point of view, the program is poised to be a consistent playeramong the big boys in college basketball. And Floyd says he hopes for long-termscheduling agreements with teams, including New Mexico.
“It use to be you scheduled a bunch of barking dogs,” Floyd said. “We aregoing to try to play the toughest out of conference schedule. I’d rather beplaying Kansas, Duke, UCLA than playing a one and one with (less competitiveschools).”
And while he won’t make any guarantees about his second tour in El Paso—life is too unpredictable, he says—Floyd said he plans to lead the Miners aslong as he’s supported.
“You never want to stay at a place you don’t feel wanted,” Floyd said.“You can’t predict life, you just can’t. All I know is we are going to enjoythis ride as along as we can.”
Connect with Yahoo! Sports on Facebook for breaking news and exclusive contests and prizes.
Kentucky: Ex-G Bledsoe cleared by NCAA
May 29, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP)—University of Kentucky spokesman DeWayne Peevy says formerbasketball star Eric Bledsoe passed an extensive review process by the NCAAbefore joining the Wildcats.
The statement comes after a report in The New York Times that the NCAA islooking into questions about Bledsoe’s academic history and recruitment.
In an e-mailed statement, Peevy said Bledsoe participated in the normalacademic review process and also an extensive prospective student athlete reviewby the NCAA Eligibility Center and was cleared academically.
Bledsoe helped the Wildcats go 35-3 last season, averaging 11.3 points, 3.1rebounds and 2.9 assists. He declared for the NBA draft after one season andmost projections have him going late in the first round or early in the secondin the June draft.
Connect with Yahoo! Sports on Facebook for breaking news and exclusive contests and prizes.
Report: NCAA probing former UK G Bledsoe
May 28, 2010
NEW YORK (AP)—The NCAA is looking into the academic history andrecruitment of former Kentucky star Eric Bledsoe, The New York Times reportedFriday night.
The investigation is centered on Bledsoe’s high school transcripts, paymentsmade for an apartment shared by him and his mother, and whether his high schoolcoach in Birmingham, Ala., demanded money from schools recruiting him, accordingto the story on the newspaper’s website.
Bledsoe declared for the NBA draft after one season at Kentucky, where heaveraged 11.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
Whether any rules violations were committed is unclear because the NCAA doesnot discuss ongoing investigations. Bledsoe and Kentucky coach John Calipariwere unavailable to comment.
According to the report, Bledsoe transferred to A.H. Parker High School forhis senior year and needed to make an “improbable” improvement in his gradesto meet the minimum standards to qualify for an NCAA scholarship. The school’sprincipal at the time, Joseph Martin, said he never saw Bledsoe’s finaltranscript but maintained that his grades were not inflated.
“I’m not saying it wasn’t a challenge,” Martin said. “He knew what he hadto do at Parker.”
The report also said that a woman who rented a home to Bledsoe and hismother claimed that at least three months’ rent was paid for by A.H. Parkercoach Maurice Ford, which would violate NCAA rules, and an anonymous collegecoach said Ford asked for money to recruit Bledsoe.
Ford denied any wrongdoing, telling the Times: “I’m a poor black man. Andwhen one black man tries to help another black man, there’s always somethingwrong.”
Bledsoe eventually signed with Kentucky and helped the Wildcats go 35-3 lastseason, winning the Southeastern Conference championship and earning a No. 1seed in the NCAA tournament. They lost to West Virginia in the East Regionalfinal.
Most projections have Bledsoe going late in the first round or early in thesecond in the June draft. His teammate John Wall could be the No. 1 overallpick, and former Wildcats Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins are alsoexpected to go in the first round.
Connect with Yahoo! Sports on Facebook for breaking news and exclusive contests and prizes.
Penn St. could provide clue on expansion
May 28, 2010
HERSHEY, Pa. (AP)—Insight into how the Big Ten might proceed if it decides toexpand can be found at the last school to join the conference.
The Big Ten took in Penn State in 1990, adding a former independent footballpower with two national titles and an influential coach in Joe Paterno. PennState remains a large public institution with a solid academic reputation, muchlike most of the other schools in the Big Ten.
Plus, Penn State’s national fan base offered the Midwest-centric league afoothold in lucrative Eastern television markets, notably Philadelphia. With theBig Ten considering expansion again, TV dollars could play an even larger rolein how the conference proceeds.
“Television in today’s environment plays a big role, and I’m sure as welook at all the factors that will be one of the ones right at the top, but itwon’t be the only one,” Penn State athletic director Tim Curley said this weekin response to question on the impact of television.
“There are going to be many factors, but we certainly can’t ignore thechanging factor of television and how important it is to the conference.”
The Big Ten shook up the college sports landscape in December when itannounced it was going to consider expanding from its current 11-team lineup.Conference commissioner Jim Delany said last week the league was sticking withits original time frame of making a decision in 12 to 18 months .
Schools rumored to be potential targets include Texas, Notre Dame, Nebraskaand Missouri. Further east, other schools rumored to be candidates includeRutgers, Syracuse, Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Maryland.
All boast some combination of strong academics, athletic success andexposure to large markets.
In a time when athletic departments across the country are grappling withbalancing budgets or cutting sports as the economy tries to emerge from therecession, television revenues can provide a much-needed boost.
The Big Ten reportedly distributes about $22 million annually to each of its11 members, thanks in part to the creation of the Big Ten Network three yearsago. It’s about double what any other conference pays its members.
Echoing in part comments from Delany last week, Curley stressed the Big Tenmust be patient in making the right choice—or choices—to expand.
“With a decision of this magnitude, you really have to be patient. Youreally have to let the process play out,” Curley said before a receptionThursday night for university alumni in Hershey. “At the end of the day, whenyou’re making a big decision like this, it needs to be thoughtful, it needs tobe deliberate … You need to hit this one right.”
Curley has deemed Penn State’s membership in the Big Ten a “win-win”situation.
Penn State has won 19 NCAA championships since 1993-94, the Nittany Lions’first full season in the league. It’s more than double the number of the nexttwo Big Ten schools on the list, Iowa and Minnesota, each has nine, according toPenn State’s sports information department.
Academics may also play a role in any expansion. Each of the 11 currentmembers of the Big Ten belong to the Association of American Universities, anonprofit, invitation-only group of public and private research universities.
Curley said the school has benefited as much academically from its Big Tenaffiliation as it has athletically.
“If you can do that in an expansion, then you’ve hit a home run on bothsides of the plate,” he said. “When you try to look at who may be new partnersto join, certainly the academic piece is very, very important.”
Paterno has been ill the last couple weeks with a stomach flu and missed BigTen meetings in Chicago last week. But the Hall of Fame coach who has been oneof the most vocal proponents of expansion is clear about what schools might makethe best candidates.
“It’s not a question of just bringing somebody in that you’re just going tokick around,” Paterno said last month. “It’s a question of bringing someone inwho can handle the academics, the research, AAU schools, people with acommitment to the women’s sports, a commitment to all sports programs, acommitment to the ideals of what intercollegiate athletics should be allabout.”
Connect with Yahoo! Sports on Facebook for breaking news and exclusive contests and prizes.
Early draft entries taking big risks
May 28, 2010
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)—Kalin Lucas’ rehab from a torn Achilles’ tendon wasahead of schedule, enough that he’d likely be ready for the start of NBAtraining camp. His stock was still high despite the injury, putting him amongthe nation’s best guards.
Lucas just couldn’t do it. Couldn’t enter his name in the NBA draft. Hewanted to come back to Michigan State for a chance to finish what he couldn’t atthe past two NCAA tournaments.
The decision makes Lucas an anomaly.
Fueled by the get-rich-now attitude and uncertainty about the NBA’s laborsituation, a record wave of college hoops players have decided to leave schoolearly in hopes of getting paid.
For some, like Kentucky’s John Wall and Ohio State’s Evan Turner, it’sprobably a good idea; they’re the likely top two picks in the draft.
The others? Not so much.
“It’s crazy,” Lucas said. “With some of the guys, I’ve thought, ‘Why arethey putting their name in the draft?”’
This leave-before-you’re-done trend has been going on for a while. Playershave been trading pencils for Porsches since Spencer Haywood sued for the rightto leave college early in 1972.
It really took off in 1976, when the NBA discarded its financial hardshiprule and instituted its current early-entry policy. That first year had 13players leave school early, including Notre Dame’s Adrian Dantley and NormanCook of Kansas.
The numbers remained relatively flat until the mid-1990s, when it seemednone of the best players wanted to stay in school. The skip-college-altogethermovement was next, followed by one-and-done after the NBA started requiringplayers to spend at least one year in college.
Not all have had the success they expected. For every Kobe Bryant, KevinGarnett or Kevin Durant, there were players like St. John’s Omar Cook and highschoolers Lenny Cooke and Jonathan Bender who never quite reached the prize theyhad hoped.
This year could have a whole new batch of failed gambles.
Initially, 103 players, including 23 from overseas, declared for the June 24NBA draft. The NBA’s deadline for pulling out of the draft is June 14, but a newNCAA rule required players to decide by May 8 if they wanted to return to theirschool.
Twenty-nine players backed out of the draft before that deadline, leaving arecord 74 non-seniors available. The previous high for early entries was 57 in2005.
Based on recent history, many of them will be disappointed on draft day.
Of the 49 early-entry players who stayed in last year’s draft, 17 wentundrafted, leaving them with the choice of trying to play their way onto a teamin training camp, hit the NBA Development League or go overseas.
More early-entry players this year will likely mean more disillusionment.
“You’ve got some bad advice on some players,” said Ryan Blake, the NBA’sassistant director of scouting.
Some of it stems from the flux of the NBA labor situation.
The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement ends after the 2010-11 season anda lockout is a distinct possibility. Even if the owners and NBA PlayersAssociation find a way to make nice, the rookie salary scale will likely bedrastically reduced, perhaps by as much as 30 percent.
The uncertain future has sent college players, many of whom might not beready, rushing toward the exits.
“A lot of advisers have tried to talk players out of school on the notionthe collective bargaining agreement is coming up in 2011 and you must get outnow, which is a ridiculous ploy,” Blake said. “If you don’t get drafted andyou don’t make a team, you’re not going to get paid this year or next year, ifyou’re really thinking there’s going to be a lockout.”
The chances of making a team are going to be tougher.
This year’s draft class is one of the deepest in recent years, loaded withgame-changing talent—Wall, Turner, Wall’s teammate DeMarcus Cousins, GeorgiaTech’s Derrick Favors—at the top and solid all the way through. And with somany underclassmen jumping into the get-paid-to-play fray, there will be fewerroster spots available and more players scrambling to find work.
“There’s obviously going to be a lot of underclassmen who are not going toget drafted, not make teams,” Blake said. “If you think about it, there areonly 30 guaranteed contracts. Clearly, there was some bad advice out there.”
Sometimes, though, the advice only goes so far. For all the talk aboutlockouts, rookie salary caps and the chance at life-altering money, the decisionto go or stay comes from the gut, from reaching for a since-you-were-littlegoal.
“It’s not at all about the money for me, it’s about trying to pursue adream that I’ve had my whole life,” said Butler star Gordon Hayward, who optedto leave after leading the Bulldogs to the 2010 national title game as asophomore. “That (labor situation) is something you have to look at, but it’snot something that’s a big factor at all.”
That’s the same way Lucas looked at it. He just came up with a differentconclusion.
Connect with Yahoo! Sports on Facebook for breaking news and exclusive contests and prizes.
NCAA: 8 violations in UConn men’s hoops
May 28, 2010
STORRS, Conn. (AP)—University of Connecticut officials are set to release theresults of a 14-month NCAA investigation into its men’s basketball program.
Friday morning’s news conference follows the resignations Thursday ofassistant basketball coach Patrick Sellers and director of basketball operationsBeau Archibald.
The NCAA and the school have been investigating the program since shortlyafter a report by Yahoo! Sports in March 2009. It said former team manager JoshNochimson helped guide basketball recruit Nate Miles to Connecticut, giving himlodging, transportation, meals and representation.
The Yahoo! report also alleged that UConn coaches exceeded limits on thenumber of phone calls that can be made to recruits.
Documents released by the school last year showed many pages of phone andtext message correspondence between Nochimson and UConn coaches Jim Calhoun; TomMoore, who is now head coach at Quinnipiac; and Sellers.
Connect with Yahoo! Sports on Facebook for breaking news and exclusive contests and prizes.
UConn to release investigation results
May 28, 2010
STORRS, Conn. (AP)—University of Connecticut officials are set to release theresults of a 14-month NCAA investigation into its men’s basketball program.
Friday morning’s news conference follows the resignations Thursday ofassistant basketball coach Patrick Sellers and director of basketball operationsBeau Archibald.
The NCAA and the school have been investigating the program since shortlyafter a report by Yahoo! Sports in March 2009. It said former team manager JoshNochimson helped guide basketball recruit Nate Miles to Connecticut, giving himlodging, transportation, meals and representation.
The Yahoo! report also alleged that UConn coaches exceeded limits on thenumber of phone calls that can be made to recruits.
Documents released by the school last year showed many pages of phone andtext message correspondence between Nochimson and UConn coaches Jim Calhoun; TomMoore, who is now head coach at Quinnipiac; and Sellers.
Connect with Yahoo! Sports on Facebook for breaking news and exclusive contests and prizes.
Paterno cancels appearance due to flu
May 28, 2010
HERSHEY, Pa. (AP)—Penn State coach Joe Paterno bowed out a few hours before ascheduled appearance Thursday night at a university alumni event because of alingering flu bug.
The 83-year-old Paterno has had an intestinal ailment that kept him fromattending a similar reception in Pittsburgh two weeks ago as well as Big Tenmeetings in Chicago last week.
Offensive coordinator Galen Hall was one of three assistant coaches who tookJoePa’s place Thursday night as featured guests. Hall said Paterno is slowlygetting better and has been working in State College, to the point where Paternosometimes tries to overdo things.
Paterno held a team meeting earlier this week, and had met earlier Thursdaywith receivers coach Mike McQueary. Paterno had been planning to attend thepublicized event in Hershey, athletic director Tim Curley said.
“He’s doing great. I was with him yesterday, he was actually feeling reallywell yesterday,” Curley said before the Hershey reception. “I was surprisedthat this afternoon he didn’t make it … He’s just having a little problemgetting over the hump and getting 100 percent.”
Connect with Yahoo! Sports on Facebook for breaking news and exclusive contests and prizes.
2 UConn assistants agree to resign
May 27, 2010
STORRS, Conn. (AP)—A University of Connecticut official told The AssociatedPress that two assistant coaches have left the men’s basketball program a daybefore the school plans to hold a news conference to update an NCAAinvestigation of potential recruiting violations.
School officials, including coach Jim Calhoun, were to attend Friday’son-campus event, along with attorney Rick Evrard, an outside counsel who advisesUConn on NCAA-related matters.
A school official said assistant coach Patrick Sellers and director ofbasketball operations Beau Archibald had both agreed to resign from the schoolin advance of the news conference. The person spoke on the condition ofanonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information.
The Hartford Courant, citing unidentified sources, first reported theresignations Thursday.
Messages seeking comment from the AP were left for Calhoun, Sellers and anNCAA official.
The NCAA and the school have been investigating the program since shortlyafter a report by Yahoo! Sports in March 2009 that former team manager JoshNochimson helped guide basketball recruit Nate Miles to Connecticut, giving himlodging, transportation, meals and representation.
The Yahoo! report also alleged that UConn coaches exceeded limits on thenumber of phone calls that can be made to recruits.
As a former team manager, Nochimson could be considered a representative ofUConn’s athletic interests by the NCAA and prohibited from having contact withMiles or giving him anything of value. Documents released by the school showedpages and pages of phone and text message correspondence between Nochimson andUConn coaches Calhoun, Tom Moore, who is now head coach at Quinnipiac, andSellers.
Miles was expelled from UConn in October 2008 without ever playing a gamefor the Huskies after he was charged with violating a restraining order in acase involving a woman who claimed he assaulted her. He played during the2008-09 season for the College of Southern Idaho, and was cut last November bythe NBA Development League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Calhoun has acknowledged that he or his staff might have made mistakes inrecruiting Miles, and earlier this month said he expected the investigationwould find violations.
“They are not going to do a review for 14, 15 months and then say, ‘See youlater,”’ he said. “That normally doesn’t occur.”
Calhoun, who turned 68 this month, has led the Huskies to two nationalchampionships. He signed a five-year, $13 million contract earlier this month.
UConn was 18-16 last season. Calhoun took a medical leave of absence inJanuary, missing seven games with an undisclosed condition.
Connect with Yahoo! Sports on Facebook for breaking news and exclusive contests and prizes.
UConn to give update on NCAA probe
May 27, 2010
STORRS, Conn. (AP)—The University of Connecticut has called a news conferenceto update the NCAA’s investigation of the men’s basketball program.
School officials, including coach Jim Calhoun, were to attend Friday’son-campus event.
The NCAA was looking into the school’s recruitment of former player NateMiles. Calhoun has acknowledged that he or his staff might have made mistakes inrecruiting Miles.
Calhoun, who turned 68 this month, has led the Huskies to two nationalchampionships. He signed a five-year, $13 million contract earlier this month.
UConn was 18-16 last season. Calhoun took a medical leave of absence inJanuary, missing seven games with an undisclosed condition.
Connect with Yahoo! Sports on Facebook for breaking news and exclusive contests and prizes.
