Jim Calhoun and UConn Accused of NCAA Violations

Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun and the UConn men’s basketball program have been accused of eight major NCAA infractions, with investigators citing hundreds of improper calls and texts from UConn staff to recruits. Aside from the calls and texts, the accusations include giving recruits improper benefits and improperly distributing free tickets to high school coaches and others. Calhoun is cited for failing to promote an “atmosphere of compliance”, whatever that means.

 The NCAA alleges 160 telephone calls and at least 191 text messages between recruits and coaches, including assistants Beau Archibald, Patrick Sellers (both have resigned already amidst these allegations), Andre LeFler, associate head coach George Blaney, and then-assistant Tom Moore, who is now the head coach at D-1 Quinnipiac in Connecticut. UConn will appear in front of governing body on October 15 of this year to respond.

The allegations come at the end of a 15-month investigation into the recruiting of former player Nate Miles, who was expelled from the school without ever having played a game for them. Ramifications from allegations  such as UConn’s, that are centered around recruiting, usually only result in loss of scholarships, not a ban from the NCAA tournament or erasing any wins. It helps that Nate Miles never played for the Huskies, so none of this ever resulted in a competitive advantage for them. Regardless, for a high profile program like UConn, this is negative attention is not good. A few weeks ago, Calhoun signed a 5-year, $13M deal to remain as head coach of the Huskies and this is the first time the school has ever received a letter from the NCAA.

Calhoun addressed these allegations not long after they surfaced and said, “It’s not exactly, certainly anywhere near the high point of my career, as a matter of fact it’s certainly one of the lowest points at any time that you are accused of doing something. It’s a very serious matter.” It is important, however, to point out that Calhoun stated that he wasn’t aware that school did anything wrong.

As a UConn grad, this hits close to home. I brushed it off when it surfaced 15 months ago, but to actually receive a letter from the NCAA probably means that they have proof. This isn’t good for the school. I would like to believe that this isn’t true but I’m having a tough time doing so. I’m just happy that this shouldn’t result in any NCAA tournament ban. At the end of the day, that’s all that really matters. That’s what brings in the dollars for the school. We’ve seen a number of programs face NCAA tournament bans and never return to their former selves. But how will this impact the type of talent they bring in now? Hopefully that won’t change either.

If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe too for free on iTunes.

The NBA Needs To Stop The Flopping

The 2009-2010 NBA Season has entered its final stage with the NBA Finals starting on Thursday June 3rd. The two most successful franchises will once again battle each other for the championship trophy. Both the Lakers and Celtics defeated their opponents primarily for putting the focus on the defensive aspect of the game. Defense always has been a winning formula in the playoffs – some teams played a ‘dirty’ defense like the Pistons or Knicks in the 90s, some play a tough one-on-one team defense like the Celtics in recent years.

As an editor or beat writer, you try to find the story behind wins or losses. Often, it’s the players that step up their game (surprisingly) and be a factor in a playoff series.

J.J. Redick for example impressed me with his hardnosed defense and good decisions on offense. On many occasions, he drew charges or harassed Ray Allen on the perimeter while taking good shots on the offensive end. Redick is a good example for an intelligent player who knows the rules of the NBA and adapts his game to the philosophy of the referees.

However, these rules have taken a negative turn recently in terms of the overall game, the flow and enjoyment from a viewers’ perspective. By the time you see Glen Davis taking a charge from Jameer Nelson in the paint, you know that there is something wrong. If you start to take a serious look on how many of these charges will be called you get the notion that the game simply changed. In fact, you see players like Derek Fisher flopping all over the place trying to draw an offensive foul or implying that the opponent just elbowed him to death.

This negative development draws comparison to soccer. Especially here in Europe, certain teams have the philosophy to dive and flop all the time. This not only frustrates the fan, it destroys the flow of the game and the opponents’ concentration.

The only positive difference is the English Premier League. British fans in the arena do not appreciate this kind of behavior. Every time, a player is acting after a foul of flops, the audience reacts.

In fact, this reaction made players change their attitude resulting in a more fair and hard game that is great to watch.
Transporting this into the NBA is rather difficult though, since the audience has no true influence on the players or referees – in fact, you won’t find a single person in the STAPLES Center, throwing f-bombs towards Derek Fisher. The NBA needs to react and apply some rule changes. The game should not get out of hand, don’t get me wrong. But wouldn’t it be better if certain behavior of certain players simply vanish? Every time I see Fisher falling to the ground I hope that the opponent is performing a Vujacic on him … several times. It just frustrates me a lot.

So please, Dear NBA, find a way to remove these cheap flops and theatrical performances by the players.
If you don’t put a stop on it, the wheel will continue to spin and the game gets more and more tough to watch.

Robert Jerzy is addicted to basketball and analyzes the game beyond the usual stats and figures. Robert is a regular columnist for the biggest german speaking magazine BASKET and his own site nykjournal.wordpress.com.

Play The Smash Dwight Howard Game

Now that the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals are over, and the Boston Celtics are moving on in an attempt to win their 2nd title in 3 seasons, they will have nearly a week to recuperate from one of the more physical playoff series’ in recent memory. The grudge match between the Eastern Conference’s top two teams was filled with blowouts, technicals, flagrant fouls, and ejections which brought back memories for me of the now ancient rough and tough Bulls/Pistons and Knicks/Pacers legendary playoff tilts of the late 80’s and early 90’s.

After all of the flailing elbows and hip checks from Orlando’s Dwight Howard, no less than half of a dozen Celtics players will be on the mend as Howard resorted to his usual physical style of play against Boston’s bigs like Kendrick Perkins, Rasheed Wallace, and “Big Baby” Glen Davis. Although Kevin Garnett’s play bordered on assault and battery at times as well and even though Boston won the series, the Celtics will probably be more in need of pain relievers and ice bags this week, with no thanks to one Defensive POY Dwight Howard.

But with so much time off and with nothing to do until the Finals begin on Thursday, I thought that the Celtics players and fans alike would enjoy playing my newest creation titled the Smash Dwight Howard Game. Surely it will bring back memories to the old Whack-A-Mole game.  Check it out and if you like it, I’m sure you’ll love the Paul Pierce vs Stan Van Gundy Game over at Gino’s Jungle as well.

Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.

Is Derrick Favors The Second Best Prospect In The Draft?

Heading into the pre-Draft camp in Chicago, it has been widely accepted that John Wall and Evan Turner would be announced as the first and second picks in the 2010 NBA Draft on June 24 in Madison Square Garden.  But with the official measurements in from the combine, more scouts are beginning to think that the Philadelphia 76ers may select Georgia Tech power forward Derrick Favors with the second overall pick.

Unless something drastic occurs in the next month, it seems that John Wall will, in fact, be a Washington Wizard next season.  Even ignoring the internal leak via Facebook, Wall’s performance in Chicago lived up to all of the expectations.  His 6 foot 9.25 inch wingspan, 196 pound NBA-ready frame, and performance in the drills pretty much cemented his position as the best overall prospect.

So now the Wall/Turner debate has become the Turner/Favors debate for Philadelphia.

Naturally, a big part of the decision will be the opinion of newly hired head coach Doug Collins.  Collins is a proven winner with over 300 career coaching victories and was the 76ers first overall pick in 1973 as a player.  Turner, the 2010 National Player of the Year, certainly had a better collegiate season than Favors, but would he be the best fit in Philadelphia?

Turner played all five positions on the floor in college, but his size and skill set at the next level place him between the 2 and 3 positions.  While tremendously gifted offensively, one of Turner’s few weaknesses is the presence of a reliable outside shot.  Relying on slashing and making plays near the rim would create a crowded court for Philadelphia with Andre Iguodala already on the floor.

But Favors presents a chance for Philadelphia to improve themselves on both ends of the floor without taking touches from their superstar.  His measurements in Chicago (6-8 ¾ without shoes, 7-4 wingspan, 9-2 standing reach) are comparable to that of Dwight Howard, a fact that DraftExpress’s Jonathan Givony suggests show the potential to eventually slide to the center position and give him fantastic size as a power forward.

The 29 year-old Samuel Dalembert is a potential double-double every night out, but has likely already peaked and is on the backside of his career while Elton Brand continues to gobble up cap space like a fat kid at Golden Corral (Brand made $14,918.14 per point across 76 games in 2010).  Favors could join second-year up and comer Marreese Speights to anchor a fresher, younger front court for the 76ers.

Favors’ size, lateral quickness, and defensive fundamentals will give him the opportunity to make an immediate impact for a team on one end of the floor, but his offensive production has been where many of the questions have been directed.

It’s not that scouts don’t believe he can reach a point of offensive dominance, he is just unproven.  In his only year at Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets struggled mightily to get offense going in the half court and relied on the offensive rebounding abilities of Favors and Gani Lawal to clean up broken plays.  While Favors’ finishing was certainly noticed, scouts continue to doubt his abilities to create for himself in the post.

The fact that Favors has come so far on basketball instincts may reflect in his college production, but it leaves infinite upside for the future.  The Philadelphia 76ers may prefer to have a proven producer and select Turner, but I believe that the opportunity to pair Favors’ natural talent with a legendary coach like Doug Collins will be one that GM Ed Stefanski will find difficult to pass up.

Nate Robinson’s Game 6 Heroics Provides Angst for the Knicks

In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals Nate Robinson put on quite a show. He spelled Rajon Rondo for a while after Rondo fell awkwardly on his back. Nate Rob dropped 13 of the most exciting points you’ve ever seen. In the grand scheme of things, 13 points isn’t a whole lot, but you had to have seen the game to truly appreciate what that did for the team. He provided an emotional charge to not only the Celtics, but for the crowd as well.

In his days as a New York Knick, the knock on Nate was that he was too emotional. I never quite got how that’s a bad thing. Is an athlete not supposed to show emotion? Jeff Van Gundy called the game 6 clincher alongside Mark Jackson and Mike Breen. When Nate was inserted into game, he made a quick bucket and had a very nice assist to Kevin Garnett in traffic and naturally, he got fired up. Then we had to sit through Jeff Van Gundy complaining that Nate shows too much emotion. Mark Jackson disagreed with Van Gundy telling him that you need that spark off the bench. A few buckets later, Van Gundy (who is very good as an analyst, but spends too much time during telecasts complaining about rules in the league that he doesn’t agree with) changed his tune and said Nate had every right to celebrate. That same exuberance is what helped push Nate out of New York. Living in the New York market, I was able to see the whole thing unfold.

Nate’s fiery personality on the court rubbed his then coach, Mike D’Antoni the wrong way. It did so much that it found Nate on the bench for no apparent reason. Earlier this season, Nate was benched 14 straight games by D’Antoni. That’s right, 14 consecutive DPN-CDs (Did not play – coach’s decision). After sitting out an entire month, Coach D’Antoni called Nate’s number and brought him in with 3 minutes left in the first quarter, of a game in January against the Hawks in Atlanta, and the rest was history. Nate did what Nate does. He scored 41 points on 16/24 shooting and grabbed 8 boards in 38 minutes work – after not playing a single minute in the 14 games prior. That doesn’t even begin to tell the story though. The majority of his points were in the 4^th quarter and in overtime, with the game on the line. He was absolutely unstoppable. No matter who the Hawks switched on him, it didn’t matter. Mike Bibby got some. Joe Johnson got some. Josh Smith got some, and Marvin Williams got some too.

The amazing thing about it is that at only 5’8”, Nate is capable of doing this as often as he’d like because I’ve seen him score 30+ many times. David Lee was the best player on the Knicks this past year (you could argue that Nate was but he didn’t play enough), but Nate was their best crunch time player. Believe it or not, he was their best perimeter option as a go-to-guy. Despite all of this, Mike D’Antoni insisted on benching him without ever giving a clear, credible reason why. Nate is a firecracker and that rubs some old-school basketball guys the wrong way, and that’s apparently what happened  with D’Antoni. Nothing else would make sense.

But this is nothing new for D’Antoni. In 2 years in New York, he has become infamous for benching the best player on his team for no apparent reason. He inexplicably banished Stephon Marbury in his first season. Marbury had a solid preseason, then D’Antoni told him he wouldn’t be in the rotation when the season began, and Steph was eventually ordered to stay away from the team as the season progressed. And Stephwas the best player on the team last year. D’Antoni did the same thing this year with Nate. What does he have against the guy who is the best player on his team? In each instance his issue appears to be personal and that’s unfortunate because the number 1 objective of coaching is to add Ws to the win column. Personal matters shouldn’t get in the way of that and it clearly has in each case  because you can’t tell me that D’Antoni really thought Chris Duhon (who I think is a solid pro) gave them a better chance of winning than Marbury did. I also say that it has to be personal because D’Antoni never gave a real reason why he benched either guy. He would say stuff like “I don’t really want to get into it.” What if the Knicks get LeBron next year and he’s their best player. Is he going to  bench LeBron if he doesn’t like his pregame ritual? It would certainly follow suit.

Sorry, I went off an a tangent. Back to the Celtics. When Boston acquired Nate, I knew that he would pay dividends for them. He should be first off the bench to relieve Rondo, not Tony Allen. Nate is a free agent after this year and I’ll personally be interested in seeing where he lands, and more importantly, how he is used. I said it then and I’ll say it again. The Knicks should’ve and could’ve kept Nate. I know they’re clearing cap room, but Nate doesn’t warrant a huge salary, and that kind of spark off the bench cannot be measured.

If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe too for free on iTunes.

Kobe Bryant’s Love Tap To Alvin Gentry [Video]

If it wasn’t bad enough that Kobe Bryant was once again sticking it to the Phoenix Suns to the tune of a 37 point and 6 rebound gem which could be described as nothing less than dominating, the “Black Mamba” decided in the heat of the moment to let Suns coach Alvin Gentry know that the series was over. After draining a late game dagger of a jump-shot right in front of Gentry and the Suns bench, Kobe decided to give a wink and a pat on the butt to Gentry in a ever so subtle way of saying, “See you next year.”

The heat of the moment display of body language brings back memories of Michael Jordan’s now famous head waving and shoulder shrug, seemingly towards the Portland Trailblazer’s bench, when Jordan nailed an amazing 6 first half three point shots in the ’92 NBA Finals.

Kobe put in another dominating performance to help lead the Lakers to a series clinching 111-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns and earn a trip to the NBA Finals for a rematch with the 2008 champion Boston Celtics.

Check out Kobe’s Love Tap To Alvin Gentry:

Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.

Rashard Lewis: The $100M Role Player

Throughout the history of the NBA, we’ve seen players sign large, exorbitant contracts and never live up to them. That is certainly not unheard of. But, then there’s Rashard Lewis who takes this to new heights. In the summer of 2007, Rashard, the former Seattle SuperSonic, signed a 6-year, $118M contract with the Orlando Magic. From the moment I heard the news, I absolutely could not believe that they gave Rashard a max deal. He has never been regarded as a great, top-caliber player, which max deals are normally awarded to. In fact, he played alongside Ray Allen for all those years in Seattle and Ray was considered the best player on the team. Why in the world was a guy who is average at best given so much money?

Lewis is a career 16.7ppg guy and has averaged 20 points or more only 3 times in his 12 year career. Since signing this ridiculous contract with Orlando, he has averaged just under 17ppg  and his scoring has decreased in each of his 3 seasons with the central Florida club. He’s the highest paid player on his team but is probably the fourth best player on the squad.

The Magic were just eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals at the hands of the Boston Celtics in 6 games, and Orlando really needed Lewis that series. He was nowhere to be found. In watching the games, you sometimes even forget he was on the floor. He’ll knock down an occasional unorthodox 3-pointer but that’s pretty much all you’ll get out of him. I don’t know if there’s a less aggressive player in the league. For a guy with the size and physical tools that he has, he should have contributed more to his team this playoff series and should, overall, be a better player.

After the first few games of the series, people started to question why Lewis wasn’t asserting himself. Lewis heard these questions and said that he was suffering from a viral infection the whole series which impacted his play because it made him feel weak and tired. If he says that’s the case then it is what it is. I’m not going to call him a liar. But for $118M, he needs to be more aggressive and more than just a 3-point shooter. Viral infection or not viral infection. Especially in the playoffs when his team needs him the most. I’m not saying that Orlando lost just because of Rashard (who averaged 8 ppg in the series and was outscored by J.J. Redick) but he certainly would’ve helped their chances. I’m still debating where he ranks on the all-time overpaid list.

CJ Leslie Jumps Over A Player To Block Shot [Video]

The immensely talented Class of 2010 recruiting class coming out of HS is poised to be make a splash in the college ranks next season. A number of players have the potential to be walking human highlight reels from day one like Kansas recruit Josh Selby, who won this season’s McDonald’s Game Dunk Contest and St. John’s commit Dwayne Polee, who is rumored to have a higher vertical leap then Lebron. But CJ Leslie, who recently committed to NC State could be the ultimate high riser of the class since he continues to add to his already impressive resume of feats of slam-dunkery.

One of his most impressive feats during his senior season at Word of God was when he leapt clear over another player while swatting his shot like a missle into the hardwood with Kentucky coach John Calipari in attendance to attempt to sway Leslie into coming to Lexington next season. Unfortunately for Cal, this was one of the few that got awa, but he recently got a commitment from Top 10 recruit Terrence Jones instead.

Check out Leslie’s One Giant Step For Basketball Mankind:

Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.

Alvin Gentry Pukes On National TV

Given the Phoenix Suns high paced style of offense, which generally comes in big waves of scoring output followed by big waves of scoring droughts and so on, if you’re coaching it must wreak havoc on your nerves. Well that must have been the case for Suns Coach Alvin Gentry last night just before halftime of the Suns-Lakers Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.

Coach Gentry tossed his cookies on National TV. Sure it could have been a stomach bug, but I prefer to think Gentry is so invested in his team being on the doorstep of taking down the mighty Lakers, that every lost possession causes his stomach to churn.

And if Gentry was sick before halftime, just imagine how he felt right after Ron Artest hit the game winning put back shot at the buzzer to win Game 5, and give the Lakers a 3-2 series lead.

The Ultimate Evan Turner NCAA POY Highlight Mix

In virtually any other year, Evan Turner, who was named the 2010 NCAA Player of the Year, would have been selected #1 overall in the NBA Draft. While some argue that this year’s probable #1 pick John Wall has a higher ceiling as far as potential, Turner has the skill-set and experience to come in and help a team out right away. Surely the Philadelphia 76ers must be thrilled to have the #2 pick in the upcoming draft and in my opinion, would be absolutely out of their minds not to select Turner come June 24th.

Now just in case you have been living under a rock this college basketball season, I feel it’s my duty as thehoopdoctors.com’s resident NCAA hoops writer to get you up to speed on one of the best all-around players in Ohio State history. All that Turner has done this season is lead the Big Ten Conference in scoring(19.5 ppg) and rebounding(9.4 rebs), while also ranking in the Top 3 in assists(5.8 ast), and steals(1.8). During the regular season, he even pulled off a true rarety in the college ranks, a triple-double in points, rebounds, and assists an impressive two times within his first 8 games. He reached double figures in rebounds in 19 of 31 games as their de fact point guard, and helped lead the Buckeyes to a 29-8 record, a Big Ten Conference Tourney Title, and a deep run into March Madness which ended with a loss in the Elite 8 to the Tennessee Volunteers.

All season long Turner has ranked among the top players in our monthly NCAA POY rankings. He has also graced our pages of our site seemingly on a daily basis for his penchant for high degree of difficulty plays like his 360 slam vs West Virginia and his near 40 foot buzzer beater to win a game in the Big Ten Tourney Semi-Finals.

If you need further evidence, check out this brand new Evan Turner Ultimate Highlight Mix:

Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.

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